I grew up reading nothing but mystery novels, which is why when I discovered romance, I found the ones I liked the best had a bit of intrigue to them. As Alyson Chase, I write Regency romances I like to read: full of adventure and mystery, deep emotional connections, and, yes, quite a bit naughty. Character is the most important thing to me, whether as a writer or reader, and the books on this list are full of characters you can’t help but fall in love with.
Lavinia Kent takes the reader on a beautiful journey of exploration in this book. I loved the hero and heroine straight from the start; you can’t help but root for them. Louisa desperately wants to save her dead husband’s reputation, so goes to a madam for assistance in ridding herself of her virginity before she remarries. Swanston is the man given the task. The scene when these two anonymously come together is sexy and moving.
A month later, Swanston finds himself needing a wife, and little does he know, but the woman he marries was the woman he had bedded. I liked how this book wasn’t too angsty, as many in the genre are, and how Kent dove into the reasons Swanston has for his need for control.
One night of fierce passion and unbound pleasure leaves two strangers craving much more in Lavinia Kent’s sumptuous novel.
The time has come for the widow Louisa, Lady Brookingston, to move on, but she refuses to remarry at the cost of shaming her late husband’s memory. Their six years together were wedded bliss—even if a war injury prevented him from fulfilling his marital duties. Only one woman can help Louisa: Madame Rouge, the discreet proprietress of a club where London’s elite explore their wildest fantasies.
Geoffrey, the Marquess of Swanston, has no intention of agreeing to deflower an anonymous virgin.…
I know Sylvia Day is known for her Crossfire series, but I love her historical romance novels. Pride and Pleasure is marked with sharp banter (I’m a sucker for banter), a mild but solid mystery, and lots of heat. Eliza is smart and determined, a worthy foil for Jasper, a detective bent on revenge. They are two very different people but you can see how well they suit. Neither of them is looking for love, but you can practically feel the gravitational pull drawing them together. So while it didn’t have much in common with Pride and Prejudice, which was why I initially picked it up, it was such a good read I wasn’t disappointed.
Fans of E L James will love this erotic romance by the multimillion copy bestselling author of the Crossfire series. A tale of ambition, love and lust . . .
Pursued by fortune hunters, heiress Eliza Martin is the victim of diabolical scheming to get her to the altar. She won't be bullied, however, and she will get to the bottom of this plot.
She needs a man to infiltrate her suitors and find the villain. Jasper Bond is entirely too devilish and too dangerous - who'd believe Eliza would be seduced by a man like him?
David Fletcher needs a surgeon, stat! But when he captures a British merchantman in the Caribbean, what he gets is Charley Alcott, an apprentice physician barely old enough to shave. Needs must, and Captain Fletcher takes the prisoner back aboard his ship with orders to do his best or he’ll…
One of the tropes I always one-click is the well-bred lady with an earthy, pull-himself-up-by-the-bootstraps kind of guy. Sutton’s Spinster gives you all that and more. Jasper has built his wealth by running a successful gaming hell. When two young daughters land on his doorstep, he finds himself in need of a wife. Octavia dreams of creating a gossip journal, but needs a partner to provide the start-up funds. The heat between these two lights up the pages. I love how Jasper reacts to suddenly becoming a father, and how he transforms from a hard and cutthroat businessman to something softer because of Octavia. Scarlett Scott delivered with this one.
From USA Today bestselling author Scarlett Scott comes a deliciously wicked new Regency series...
Jasper Sutton, London’s most dedicated scoundrel, needs a wife. He needs one quickly. He needs one yesterday, in fact. His requirements are precise. She has to be capable of mothering the wild twin daughters who have unexpectedly appeared in his life. She must also possess the patience of a saint and the understanding of an angel. Better still if she is plain and has no expectation of a true marriage. He is not about to reform his ways. But how is he to find such a…
This book has everything. Spies and intrigue. Friendship and family. And some spanking, sexy good times. There is a lightness to the book, a sweetness along with the steam that had me immediately buying the rest in the series. I loved how even though Mary tried her hardest to go unnoticed, Rex saw through her façade to the complex woman underneath. And I had to laugh when Rex rushes to Mary’s rescue only to find she and one of her friends have already taken down the bad guy. His disbelief was priceless. A thoroughly charming and spicy read.
A traitor. A courtship. A scandalous Season. In the race against time, will this pair reach the altar or the traitor first?
In the service of England's spymaster (well, his niece, but surely he'll appreciate the help), Miss Mary Wilson is on a mission to uncover a treasonous plot. Though her only clue leads to the debaucherous secret society of the Marquess of Hartford, a lifetime of being overlooked should ensure her access to all of the gossip her assignment will require. There's just one problem: Mary is due to find a husband this Season and her Aunt Elizabeth, the…
Elizabeth Hoyt was the first historical romance writer I read, and she hooked me on the genre. The Raven Prince is probably my favorite of hers. I love how the meet-cute is actually more of a meet-hate, and how Anna pursues her own happiness with guts and determination, even when Edward has his head firmly planted where the sun don’t shine. This book is also notable for the fact the hero has noticeable scars that to the casual eye might make him unattractive. There is a realism to the couple that you don’t find in a lot of historical romances. Definitely a top pick.
There comes a time in a woman's life when she must do the unthinkable - and find employment. For the widowed Anna Wren, that means taking a job as female secretary for the Earl of Swartingham. Secretaries are always male - never female - as Anna well knows but the real downfall of her career is the realisation that she is falling in love with Edward de Raaf - the Earl. But when she realises that he is going to visit a brothel in London to take care of his 'manly' desires, Anna sees red - and decides to take…
The day her sister murdered their abusive father, Elizabeth Wilcox stopped being a gentleman’s daughter. Willing to do anything to save her sister from the hangman’s noose, now she is a spy... A servant. A liar. A submissive. Masquerading as a parlor maid in the Duke of Montague’s estate, Liz is willing to risk all to uncover the secrets that would save her sister. But submitting to the duke’s peculiar brand of discipline surprises her with a heady mixture of pleasure and pain. Eager to relinquish control of her messy life, Liz soon craves the rough hands of Montague and his powerful, passionate attentions. Can she succumb to the hot sting of his hand and the gentleness of his kisses without revealing her darkest secrets?
This memoir chronicles the lives of three generations of women with a passion for reading, writing, and travel. The story begins in 1992 in an unfinished attic in Brooklyn as the author reads a notebook written by her grandmother nearly 100 years earlier. This sets her on a 30-year search…
Shahrazad’s Gift is a collection of linked short stories set in contemporary Cairo — magical, absurd, and humorous.
The author focuses on the off-beat, little-known stories, far from CNN news: a Swedish belly dancer who taps into the Oriental fantasies of her clientele; a Japanese woman studying Arabic, driven mad…
