Sunday, February 28, 2016

Free and 99-cent Historical Romance Novels


Heaven's Fire (Lords of Conquest) by Patricia Ryan
FREE on Amazon

About the book:

352 pages, 54 reviews (Average customer rating: 4.5 stars)

Rainulf Fairfax -- priest, Oxford scholar, and ex-soldier -- is summoned to give last rites to a village rector who died of smallpox, and discovers Father Osred's lovely young housekeeper, Constance, near death from the same disease. With Rainulf's help, she recovers, only to find herself at the mercy of the village's brutal overlord, who means to make her his unwilling mistress. Disguised as a male, she escapes to Oxford in search of Rainulf, who offers her the protection of his home. Inexorably drawn to each other, the celibate Rainulf and the beautiful and vibrant Constance find themselves swept into a firestorm of forbidden passion.

Originally published by NAL



Deceiving the Duke of Kerrington (Ladies of Deception Book 1) by Ginny Hartman
FREE on Amazon

About the book:

273 pages, 109 reviews (Average customer rating: 4.1 stars)

Hope Hillburn was born to a life of servitude and never once questioned her role in society. As a lady's maid to Noelle Parrish, she had everything she wanted out of life; a secure and honorable post, a decent room to call her own, and ample time to write fantastical tales of winsome creatures while her mistress, Lady Noelle, attended the various society events offered by the ton.

Lady Noelle Parrish knew that her father was anxious to see her wed but she never imagined he'd go behind her back and arrange for her to marry against her will, to a duke with a questionable reputation no less. Disheartened by the prospect of marrying a man she's never met and the possibility of foregoing a lifetime of love, Noelle makes the impulsive decision to flee England with an American gentleman she's only just met.

There's only one problem ...

Lady Noelle's father, the Earl of Brattondale, would never permit her to marry an untitled American, nor was he willing to go back on his word to the duke. In her desperation, Lady Noelle convinces Hope to take her place after noticing an uncanny resemblance between them both.

Against her own better judgment, Hope agrees to take Noelle's place when she realizes there's no other way for Noelle to flee to America without causing her family disgrace. Thrown into a life she has only ever viewed from the outside, Hope must convince everyone that she is a lady lest her farce be discovered. She is confident that she can handle society's strict rules of propriety but she soon learns that guarding her heart from falling in love with an incredibly handsome, self assured duke with a penchant for snarling isn't going to be quite as easy.



Belle of the Ball: Three Graces Trilogy, Book 1 by Pam McCutcheon
FREE on Amazon
About the book:

320 pages, 64 reviews (Average customer rating: 4.2 stars)

Beauty, Charm, and Grace -- something the nouveau-riche Sullivan sisters of Colorado Springs lack. But a wish at a magical rock formation is about to change all that, in a most a-MUSE-ing way ...

The three Sullivan sisters, named for the Three Graces of Greek legend who embody beauty, charm and grace, don’t live up to their names. Belle is no beauty. Charisma lacks charm. And Grace is somewhat less than graceful. But this doesn't deter their ambitious mother from bribing three bachelors to escort them to Colorado Springs’ beautiful Garden of the Gods.

When the girls overhear their escorts mocking how little they resemble their names, each girl makes a wish at the magical Three Graces rock formation. Belle wishes aloud for beauty, but only so she can use it as a weapon to punish the cads who hurt her sisters. Her true wish is for revenge.

Handsome viscount Kit Stanhope regrets his rude remarks and apologizes to Belle. He’s surprised when she tells him that's not enough. If he truly regrets his behavior, he has to make her beautiful in time for the Founders’ Day Ball. Kit isn’t sure he’s up to the task. But, intrigued by the spirited Belle, he agrees to assist her transformation from an ugly duckling into a swan with the help of a mysterious Greek dressmaker with muse-like qualities.

Unfortunately, Belle makes a rather awkward swan. Still, after a few embarrassing escapades, she masters the flirtatious language of the fan and takes the town known as Little London by storm. Belle soon finds herself falling for the viscount and his sinful mouth. It seems he returns her regard, but she can’t renege on her promise to humiliate him ... can she?

Will her secret muse grant the wish she voiced ... or the one she holds in her heart?

Note to readers: This title was originally published in 2003 by Zebra Ballad.



Tycoon (The Knickerbocker Club) by Joanna Shupe
$0.99 on Amazon

About the novella:

102 pages, 14 reviews (Average customer rating: 4.3 stars)

Sometimes the journey is more pleasurable than the destination . . .


Standing on the platform at Grand Central Station, Ted Harper is surprised by a fiery kiss from an undeniably gorgeous damsel in distress. He's certain she's a swindler who's only after his money, but he's never met a woman so passionate and sure of herself. Disarmed, he invites her to spend the journey to St. Louis in his private car -- perhaps against his better judgment ...

Clara Dawson has long known how to take care of herself, but the savvy shop girl is at a loss when she witnesses -- and becomes entangled in -- a terrible crime. Desperation propels her into a stranger's arms at the train station, but she hadn't expected Ted to offer her the protection she so badly needs -- nor did she expect their chemistry to develop more steam than the engine of the train. He's everything she never thought she could have, and she's everything he didn't know he wanted. But as her secrets begin to unfurl, their fledgling romance could be in danger of derailing before they arrive at the next station.



The Pocket Watch: The Pocket Watch Chronicles by Ceci Giltenan
$0.99 on Amazon

About the book:

171 pages, 33 reviews (Average customer rating: 4.6 stars)

When Maggie Mitchell, is transported to the thirteenth century Highlands will Laird Logan Carr help mend her broken heart or put it in more danger than before?

Generous, kind, and loving, Maggie nearly always puts the needs of others first. So when a mysterious elderly woman gives her an extraordinary pocket watch, telling her it’s a conduit to the past, Maggie agrees to give the watch a try, if only to disprove the woman’s delusion.

But it works.

Maggie finds herself in the thirteenth century Scottish Highlands, with a handsome warrior who clearly despises her. Her tender soul is caught between her own desire and the disaster she could cause for others. Will she find a way to resolve the trouble and return home within the allotted sixty days? Or will someone worthy earn her heart forever?

The Pocket does not contain explicit love scenes. If you prefer more steam than that, you might be disappointed.




The Madness of Viscount Atherbourne (Rescued from Ruin Book 1) by Elisa Braden
$0.99 on Amazon

About the book:

287 pages, 154 reviews (Average customer rating: 4.5 stars)

The night that changes everything ...

Life for Victoria Lacey should be perfect. And it is -- perfectly boring. Agree to marry a lord who has yet to inspire a single, solitary tingle? Why, of course. Smile as though this is not the thousandth time he’s mentioned hounds and hunting? It’s all in a day’s work for the oh-so-proper sister of the Duke of Blackmore. Surely no one would suspect her secret longing for heart-racing, head-spinning passion. Except, perhaps, a dark stranger .. on a terrace ... at a ball where she should definitely not be kissing a man she has only just met.

The obsession that leads to ruin ...

Hatred, not love, drives Lucien Wyatt, Viscount Atherbourne, to tempt the “Flower of Blackmore” into sin. Her brother has done unthinkable damage to Lucien’s family, and he intends to exact revenge in the only way left to him: Ruining his enemy’s sister, then stealing her from Blackmore by making her his own.

The woman who will set fire to her husband’s heart

As Lucien carries out his ruthless plan, tutoring his new bride in the finer points of pleasure, her surrender leaves him breathless ... and soon a new obsession awakens -- a scandalous fascination with his irresistible wife.



Ruthless (House of Rohan Series Book 1) by Anne Stuart
$0.99 on Amazon
About the book:

413 pages, 128 reviews (Average customer rating: 4.0 stars)

Few outsiders will ever witness the dark misdeeds of the Heavenly Host. And among this secret society, where exiled Georgian aristocrats gather to indulge their carnal desires, fewer still can match the insatiable appetite of their chief provocateur, the mysterious Viscount Rohan.

Pursuit of physical pleasure is both his preferred pastime and his most pressing urge, until he encounters the fascination of a woman who won't be swayed. And while his dark seduction appalls the pure and impoverished Elinor Harriman, she finds herself intrigued…and secretly drawn to the man behind the desire.



Review: Seduced in September by Genevieve Turner


Click here to buy the book on Amazon

Adele Vere and Edward Coyne are employed in the late Duke of Beckworth's household, and both are waiting for the new duke to be found, so that they could determine how to proceed with their future. Unlike the characters of the previous three books that I reviewed, Adele and Edward don't have titles or wealth to back them. They are the other side of the coin: part of the large group of people who depend on the duke for their livelihood. Their lives are currently in limbo, but it hasn't stopped Edward Coyne, the stablemaster, from continuing Adele Vere's lessons in riding, which the late duke had ordered.

It is such a small detail, but, we come to realize just how much power and authority a duke wields, and how those employed by him have very little say to the contrary.

The riding lessons should not be such a big deal to either one: for Edward, it is part of his job as stablemaster, and, for Adele, governesses are expected to have skills in various areas, and, at this moment, she needs to learn how to sit and ride a horse properly.

And, on the surface, neither one shows just how earth-shattering and soul-shaking each encounter is.

Seduced in September highlights the internal struggle within all of us -- Adele desperately wants to shake off her questionable birthright by behaving correctly. She's never been tempted before, and has never felt desire, but there's something about Edward Coyne, that calls to her most primal self. Edward doesn't actively corrupt her -- he's actually quite a gentleman and handles Adele very professionaly, but, I guess Edward could guess that Adele hasn't fully accepted her whole self -- and he sees glimpses of a different side of the very proper, very stiff governess.

Edward is gruff and practical -- and has devoted his entire life to horses. He doesn't strike me as the kind of person who dallies and sleeps around, and seems to be a bit of a loner. It isn't clear when his attraction to Adele started, but, when it does happen, it's impossible to miss his intensity. What I liked about Edward's characterization is that he isn't brutish, and he never tries to overpower or overcome Adele. I get the sense that he is also holding back a bit of himself.

This is a story about melting the ice princess, but it isn't only for gaining physical pleasure. There's a chapter where Adele is gifted a loaf of bread -- a luxury, considering that harvests have been bad and food is scarce -- but it is a pivotal moment for Adele, who has always practiced incredible self-restraint. And it made me think about how we don't allow ourselves to experience delight, because we immediately associate it with wickedness or wantonness.

There's also another way of looking at this: while the duke may govern all that is external, even the lowliest of his servants still retain the power over their dreams, wants, and desires.

The thought that came to mind after I finished reading this instalment in the A Year Without a Duke series is that I would love for Genevieve Turner to write more historical romances. After reading three books, I really believed that it would be impossible for me to pick a favorite, but, I think, this one is it.

Seduced in September is the third book in the A Year Without a Duke series. To find out more about Genevieve Turner and her books, click below:
Website
Facebook
Twitter
Goodreads






Tuesday, February 23, 2016

Happy Release Day: The Rogue by Katharine Ashe (Giveaway)


Happy Release Day to Katharine Ashe, and to her newest book, The Rogue, the first book in her new Devil's Duke series!

To celebrate, there's a Rafflecopter giveaway. Enter to Win a Katharine Ashe Print Bundle, including: WHEN A SCOT LOVES A LADY, HOW TO BE A PROPER LADY, HOW A LADY WEDS A ROGUE, I LOVED A ROGUE (US Only).

Click here to visit other blogs celebrating the release day.

* * *

The Rogue
Devil's Duke #1
By: Katharine Ashe
Releasing February 23, 2016
Avon

Blurb:

In the first book in Katharine Ashe’s stunning new historical series, to capture a duke, a lady must first seduce a rogue.

Lady Constance Read is independent, beautiful, and in need of a husband -- now. The last man on earth she wants is the rogue who broke her heart six years ago, never mind that his kisses are scorching hot ...

Evan Saint-André Sterling is rich, scarred, and finished with women-forever. He’s not about to lose his head over the bewitching beauty who once turned his life upside down.

But Constance needs a warrior, and Saint is the perfect man for the job. Only as a married woman can she penetrate Scotland’s most notorious secret society and bring a diabolical duke to justice. When Constance and Saint become allies-and passionate lovers -- he’ll risk everything to protect the only woman he has ever loved.


For more information about this book, visit the Goodreads page.
Link to the series page on Goodreads


Buy the book at:
Amazon
B&N
Google Play
iTunes
Kobo

* * *

Author Info

Katharine Ashe is the award-winning author of historical romances that reviewers call “intensely lush” and “sensationally intelligent,” including How to Be a Proper Lady, an Amazon Editors’ Choice for the 10 Best Books of the Year in Romance, and My Lady, My Lord and How to Marry a Highlander, 2015 and 2014 finalists for the prestigious RITA® Award of the Romance Writers of America. Her books are recommended by Publishers Weekly, Women’s World Magazine, Booklist, Library Journal, Kirkus Reviews, Barnes & Noble, and many others, and translated into languages across the world.
 

Katharine lives in the wonderfully warm Southeast with her beloved husband, son, dog, and a garden she likes to call romantic rather than unkempt. A professor of European History, she writes fiction because she thinks modern readers deserve grand adventures and breathtaking sensuality too. For more about Katharine’s books, please visit www.KatharineAshe.com or write to her at PO Box 51702, Durham, NC 27717.

Author Links:
Website: http://katharineashe.com/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Katharine-Ashe-Community/120254261356587
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/KatharineAshe
GoodReads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3145688.Katharine_Ashe

* * *

Enter to Win a Katharine Ashe Print Bundle, including: WHEN A SCOT LOVES A LADY, HOW TO BE A PROPER LADY, HOW A LADY WEDS A ROGUE, I LOVED A ROGUE (US Only). Click here to visit other blogs celebrating the release day.

a Rafflecopter giveaway
Sunday, February 21, 2016

Free and Discounted Historical Romance Novels

Here are this week's featured bargain reads. Enjoy~


Revenge Wears Rubies (The Jaded Gentlemen Book 1) by Renee Bernard
FREE on Amazon

About the book:

322 pages, 22 reviews (Average customer rating: 3.8 stars)

From an acclaimed author known for her "sinfully sexy" romances comes the first in a tantalizing series of erotic passion set in Victorian London ...

Galen Hawke desires nothing but revenge against the woman who betrayed his dearly departed friend. Instead of mourning the loss of her fiance, Haley Moreland is merrily celebrating her upcoming nuptials to another man. Now, Galen has one mission: to seduce Miss Moreland and enslave her heart. And when she is completely his, he will destroy her ...

With her family on the brink of financial ruin, Haley knows she should be grateful for her providential betrothal. But then she meets the dangerously handsome Galen, whose wicked touch makes her long to abandon all logic. If Galen's promises are sincere, the match to a family of noble blood and strong financial accounts could be the remedy her family desperately needs. And if he isn't sincere, one last chance to taste the passion he ignites before settling into a life of convention is equally alluring ...



A Dangerous Invitation (The Rookery Rogues Book 1) by Erica Monroe
FREE on Amazon

About the book:

355 pages, 39 reviews (Average customer rating: 4.2 stars)

*2014 Daphne du Maurier Excellence in Romantic Suspense Finalist in Published Historical Romance*

Scoundrels, thieves and rebels inhabit the rookeries -- where the women are fierce and the men are dangerous. Are you willing to take the risk?


SHE'S GIVEN UP ON LOVE, AND WANTS ONLY INDEPENDENCE ...

Torn from her life of privilege by her father's death, Kate Morgan survives in London's dark and depraved rookeries as a fence for stolen goods. The last man she ever expects, or wants, to be reunited with is her first love, who promised to cherish, honor and protect her, and instead fled amidst accusations of murder.

HE'S THE REFORMED RAKE DETERMINED TO WIN HER BACK.

One drunken night cost Daniel O'Reilly the woman he loved. If he ever wants to reclaim Kate -- and his old life -- he'll not only have to prove he's innocent of murder, but convince the pistol-wielding spitfire that he's no longer the scoundrel he once was.

Together, they'll have to face a killer. Time is running out ...



Sinful Confessions (Cynfell Brothers Book 1) by Samantha Holt
FREE on Amazon

About the novella:

105 pages, 69 reviews (Average customer rating: )

Lust, gluttony, greed, sloth, wrath, envy and pride. The Cynfell brothers are the very embodiment of a sinful existence. But could the right woman change that?


Wrath

Locked behind the walls of Lockwood Manor, Julian Cynfell, the Marquess of Lockwood whiles away his days writing angry letters, drinking and sleeping. He never expects his solitude to be interrupted by a brazen American heiress.

An American heiress who is expecting a wedding.

Viola Thompson can’t believe her luck when the English lord she has been corresponding with for the better part of a year asks her to visit him. This has to mean an offer of marriage surely? Finally, Viola will prove to her family and friends that she is more than a ruined woman with no prospects. Not to mention she knows they will be a love match. No one could write such beautiful letters without being the perfect man.

But when she arrives in cold, dreary England to be faced by a foul-tempered, grizzled -- albeit in a handsome way -- marquess, her dreams of marriage are quickly dashed. Can she draw the lord out of his melancholy ways? And does she even want to remain in England while rumours of three dead wives circulate around Lockwood?

One thing is for certain, this American heiress has never been one to back down from a challenge -- especially when not even the Atlantic Ocean could dampen the patent desire running between them.


Forbidden (The Wicked Woodleys Book 1) by Jess Michael
$0.99 on Amazon

About the book:

250 pages, 53 reviews (Average customer rating: 4.5 stars)

Jude Samson has worked for the Woodley family for such a long time that he is seen as a brother. But he has very unbrotherly feelings toward the youngest of the clan, Lady Audrey. When they find themselves off at the family's country estate, long simmering desires will come to the forefront and Jude won't be able to stop himself from taking that one, oh-so-forbidden taste.

After seeing what it has done to her family, Audrey is afraid of passion. But the moment Jude touches her, fear is washed away by intense and powerful lust. Only Jude has a secret that could destroy everything that is beginning to develop between them. And when it comes out, it will change everything.



The Valiant Heart (Heart Series Book 1) by Kathleen Kirkwood
$0.99 on Amazon

About the book:

350 pages, 66 reviews (Average customer rating: 4.7 stars)

A beautiful heiress and pawn of the king ...

Dispossessed of her lands by the marauding Norsemen, Brienne Beaumanior is brought from cloister by royal decree and offered as a bride to her enemy.

A golden warrior of the North ...

Sent to escort his father’s promised bride to the Barony of Valsemé, Rurik Atlison finds himself entranced by the dark-haired beauty and his passions set aflame.

Love unexpected, bringing peril to all ...

Tormented by their desires, Rurik and Brienne resist giving into their yearnings and endangering their people.

But destiny will not be denied. Their love will burn brightly through all the ages to come as Norse and Frank meld into a new people -- the Normans.



Echoes in the Mist (Kingsley in Love Book 1) by Andrea Kane
$1.99 on Amazon

About the book:

384 pages, 64 reviews (Average customer rating: 4.1 stars)

The first book of Andrea Kane’s Kingsley in Love series -- which concludes with Wishes In the Wind: Is Trenton Kingsley’s long-awaited revenge about to be undone by love?


Six years in exile have given Trenton Kingsley time to perfect his plot for vengeance. But when capricious fate turns his dreams to dust, the tormented duke of Broddington devises an even better scheme. An eye for an eye, a sister for a father. And seduction be damned. By royal decree, he will take ownership of his rival’s most cherished possession: the fair, innocent Ariana.

Ariana Caldwell has heard the tragic rumors since she was a child. Kingsley tore her family apart and now she’s being forced to become his wife. Furious at being tied to the man she detests above all others, Ariana isn’t prepared for the tender feelings her new husband arouses. Determined to uncover the truth of the family feud -- no matter how shocking -- she embarks on a search that could cost her everything, including the man who is slowly winning her heart.

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