Looking for your next Regency romance novel?
Good news: there are plenty to choose from! In Seasons One and Two of the Historical Romance Sampler, we have featured 43 Regency romances. Check out this list to find out more about each title. Without leaving the page, you can hear the author read a scene to help you decide whether it’s the book for you!
What is a Regency romance?
A Regency romance is a historical romance novel set during the British Regency era (technically 1811-1820, but the genre tends to spill over a decade or two on either end). Because it is a part of the historical romance genre, the stories all focus on a romance as the main plot and deliver a happily ever after. They often focus on upper class characters in British society, but not always!
For the purposes of this blog post, I’m organizing the list by mood: romcom Regency, a tender Regency, or an angsty Regency romance. Here’s what I mean by that!
What do you mean by:
Romcom Regency
The romcom (portmanteau of “romantic comedy”) Regency relies on situational comedy to propel the story forward and witty banter to build chemistry between the characters. Jump to Romcoms…
Tender Regency
I’m using “tender” to describe Regency romances that lean into their characters’ emotions without hurting your heart too much. You’ll get find some nice plots, interesting settings, and sweet feelings! Jump to Tender…
Angsty Regency
I’m using “angsty” to describe Regency romances that are going to really put the characters through it before they can get together. You know you’re going to have a happily ever after, but your heart might break first before you get three! Jump to Angsty…
Are these Regency romance novels spicy/steamy/open door?
I don’t ask my guests what spice level their books are! I believe most of them are open door, and they run the gamut from a few on-page intimate scenes to lots of on-page intimacy.
Why Goodreads or Storygraph reviews?
Where possible, I link to the Storygraph reviews because I support Storygraph as an independent reader platform! Some books aren’t on Storygraph yet, so in those cases, I’ve linked to the Goodreads reviews.
43 Regency Romance Novels from Seasons 1 and 2 of the Historical Romance Sampler
Section 1
Romcom Regency Romances
Hot Earl Summer
By Erica Ridley
Average Storygraph Rating: 3.89
When reclusive inventor Stephen Lenox agreed to impersonate his cousin for a few days, he didn't expect the earl to vanish altogether. Nor could Stephen predict mounting death threats... or the arrival of a beguiling, blade-wielding spinster who declares herself his new bodyguard. As the earl's enemies lay siege to the castle, Stephen fights his way past Elizabeth's defenses. She'll share his bed, but when the adventure concludes, she vows to sever their affair. Unless he can somehow convince a swashbuckling siren to surrender her heart...
Bold, curvy Elizabeth Wynchester loves cuddling hedgehogs almost as much as she adores vanquishing villains with the sharp blade concealed inside her cane. Despite others' opinions about her body and gender, nothing will stop her from seeing justice done. When her next mission drops her at the dastardly Earl of Densmore's castle, she's prepared to duel like gentlemen--only to be locked inside! Her trusty sword cannot defeat the castle's hidden traps... or protect her heart from the devilishly handsome rogue guarding the keep.
How to Train Your Viscount
By Courtney McCaskill
Average Storygraph Rating: 3.58
Four years ago, Lady Caroline Astley took one look at Henry Greville, Viscount Thetford, and fell horribly in love, in that particular way you can only fall in love at the age of fifteen.
He didn’t just reject her.
He humiliated her.
But now, in a stroke of rotten luck, he’s the only one who can help her.
It turns out that the “paste” pendant she borrowed from her sister, Anne, was no fake. It’s actually an ancient Egyptian amulet, and now Anne wants to auction it off to save hundreds of widows and orphans. What Caro can’t bear to tell her sister is that the necklace was stolen from right around her neck.
Caro has a few clues, but she doesn’t know an amulet from an obelisk, and the trail has gone cold. Guess who grew up in a house stuffed with Egyptian artifacts? Caro may despise Henry, but she needs him if she’s going to track down the thieves. Which begs the question of which is worse: letting down the orphans or risking her heart all over again.
Portraits, Passion, and Other Pastimes
By Charlie Lane
Average Storygraph Rating: 4.31
When his father dies, Raph Bromley, new Marquess of Waneborough inherits more than his father’s title. He inherits a crumbling estate, an ocean of debt, a valuable art collection, and a most unusual stipulation in his father’s will. No piece in the art collection can be sold unless Raph first creates a brilliant work of art. But his imagination is as nonexistent as his artistic experience, and that’s never going to happen.
Thank goodness for heiresses. Raph will simply marry for money. Problem solved. Except his mother’s new companion, a dark-haired, clever, poor beauty tests his resolve and makes him think …
Maybe painting won’t be so hard.
(It is…)
A companion with no home of her own.
Matilda Bellvue has worked as a companion for fifteen years, but she’s inherited a cottage in Cumbria, and she’ll soon make it her home. She plans to spend her days reading scandalous novels and redecorating every room. But first, she must complete one final job, serving as companion to the Marquess of Waneborough’s mother.
Her task is simple: help the grieving marchioness, argue with the hard-headed marquess, avoid matchmakers, and resist spying on naked men swimming in the lake. Above all else, she must not fall in love with her employer, a man who makes her feel like she's finally found home.
Because she has no money. And he must marry rich. And that way only lies heartache.
A Scandal With a Scoundrel
By Cecilia Rene
Average Storygraph Rating: 4.20
Lady Winifred Musgrave never imagined the lengths she would go to protect her family and their home. With their future hanging in the balance, she makes a bold move that could cost her everything. Inventing an impossible scenario, Winnie sets in motion a scandal of epic proportions. One that could ruin her reputation and leave her with nothing. Richard Musgrave, The Duke of Richmore, is a man of honor and integrity. He has always lived by a strict code. But a case of mistaken identity leads him into the arms of a goddess. A single wicked night with the captivating lady and Richard finds himself in a debilitating passion he cannot deny. As they navigate the dangerous waters of their newfound passion, Richard and Winnie must confront the truth. Will they risk everything for a chance at happiness? Or will society's expectations force them to live a life of unhappiness and isolation?
Marigold and the Marquess
By Meara Platt
Average Goodreads Rating: 4.59
Leonides Poole, the Marquess of Muir is a much-admired agent of the Crown. He has just returned to London after spending the last four years imprisoned in an enemy dungeon. Now that he has been released, he is determined to find the man who betrayed him and exact his revenge. The problem with his well-crafted plan is his unexpected feelings for Marigold Farthingale, the little ray of sunshine who lives next door to him on Chipping Way. She seems to understand ancient skulls and bones more than she understands men. Yet, Leonides knows if he exacts his vengeance, he will lose out on the promise of happiness with the beautiful bluestocking. Which does he value more? The answer is suddenly not so clear.
Marigold Farthingale is quite excited about the dragon-like animal whose skull she discovered while on archeological exploration in Devonshire. She has now returned to London with a crate full of bones she must deliver to the Huntsford Academy and is delighted when her new neighbor, the fierce and reclusive Marquess of Muir, agrees to assist her. She has never met anyone quite like this handsome man. He is intelligent, fierce, and endowed with a stunning musculature she would love to explore. But he is too tormented to think about courtship and marriage. Marigold is about to make her Society debut. It seems such a fuss when the only man she wishes to marry is the marquess. Perhaps if she discovered his secrets...how dangerous can they be?
A Duke, Love, and Sunshine
By Tabetha Waite
Average Storygraph Rating: 4.65
With a spirit that knows no bounds, Miss Iona Richards sets her sights on independence and greatness as a landscape architect in Burnham-On-Sea. However, her ambitious dream encounters an unexpected roadblock in the form of the enigmatic Duke of Rosewood.Thorpe Covington, the Duke of Rosewood, is deeply skeptical of Iona’s abilities, yet undeniably drawn to her spirited nature. As she seeks to transform his cottage retreat, a captivating dance of wit and longing ensues between the two. Soon, the duke’s stoic façade crumbles under Iona’s charm, entwining their hearts in a journey of self-discovery and desire.In the enchanting realm of Burnham-On-Sea, passion, and ambition intertwine, and the Duke of Rosewood finds himself yearning for a love that surpasses society’s expectations. In this heartwarming tale, Miss Iona Richards and the Duke of Rosewood uncover a love more vibrant and beautiful than any masterpiece they could have imagined.
All You Need Is a Duke
By Bianca Blythe
Average Storygraph Rating: 3.16
She needs to wed... And he's going to find her a husband.
When Margaret Carberry’s mother drags her upstairs at a ball, Margaret does not expect her mother to tie her to the bed and lock the door. Unfortunately, Margaret’s mother has taken it upon herself to declare Margaret compromised—whether or not Margaret wants to resort to such tactics to snare a husband.
Jasper Tierney, the Duke of Jevington, is surprised to encounter a half-clothed woman sprawled upon his bed. He is even more shocked to discover her identity. Margaret Carberry is renowned as an incorrigible wallflower, not a seductress, no matter how appealing her bare flesh is against his bedding. When Margaret declares she won’t go along with her mother’s scheme and will find a husband on her own, Jasper vows to assist her, lest Margaret’s mother concoct another method to arrange a compromising situation. Jasper is certain of one thing: he has no desire to marry.
As Jasper works to match Margaret to a fellow duke, the prospect of a forced marriage with her lacks its earlier loathsomeness. Perhaps he missed his chance for true bliss.
The Seasonal Habits of Husbands and Honeybees
By Emmaline Warden
Average Storygraph Rating: 4.21
Harrison Metcalf, the newly appointed Earl of Everly, has only ever been in love with Margaret Reedy, his uncle’s widow. When she marries another, and he is once again alone, he decides the cost of love is far too steep to hazard again. Alas, duty calls, and he is required to procure a wife and secure the line. He will fulfill his obligation, but he could never knowingly marry someone who requires love.
Phoebe Kent would happily trade beekeeping for the uncomfortable noise and the press of bodies the social season requires. But with her parents’ fear of spinsterhood, she knows marriage is a must. If only she could approach her inevitable union in the straightforward way one does a business deal.
With an agreement made, and a contract written, Harrison and Phee embark on the beneficial bargain that is to be their marriage. They never fathomed that nightly card games and pesky kittens would be a surefire path to flirting. Contract modifications are made as a touch becomes a kiss, and a kiss becomes a night, and the two settle into their new life as husband and wife. But can their burgeoning love prevail when it was never part of the plan?
Charlotte’s Kisses
By Nicki Pascarella
Average Goodreads Rating: 4.04
After Bow Street Runner Hugh Fletcher’s temper gets him into trouble with the magistrate, he accepts a job searching for a marquess’s by-blows so that he can stay close to the beautiful woman who has stolen his heart.
If only Lady Charlotte Chesterfield could find the confidence to stand up to her evil stepmother and confront her preoccupied father. As if answering her prayers, an injured stranger shows up at her family’s masquerade ball, helping her discover her internal strength.
Despite the dark secrets surrounding them, Hugh will do everything in his power to fight for Charlotte and her kisses.
The Earl Was Wrong
By Britt Belle
Average Storygraph Rating: 3.81
When his father died, sixteen-year-old Sebastian inherited a crumbling earldom. He dedicated himself to becoming a respectable lord, and now, a decade later, he will do anything to prevent his scandalous sister from undermining his status-even marry a sensible spinster. Emmeline ought to be the ideal wife, but she is less biddable and more beddable than he expects. To his dismay, feelings beyond friendship begin to emerge. Although intimacy breeds affection, can it inspire love?
Born a vicar's daughter, Emmeline has dedicated herself to her younger siblings and, as a result, has been too busy to consider her own future. At twenty-four, marriage seems unlikely-until she meets a practical lord who offers her the very thing she's always dreamed of: a family of her own. Sebastian ought to be the perfect husband, but he can be overbearing and emotionally distant. To her relief, she begins to catch glimpses of a kind, caring man behind his cold exterior. Can she convince him that they deserve more than a marriage of convenience?
The Deed With the Duke
By Sri Savita
Average Storygraph Rating: 3.82
SHE HAS THE DEED.
Camelia Parikh is a fallen woman trying to start over. When she wins the deed to a cottage in a card game, she believes her luck has finally changed. A charming coastal village seems like the perfect place to begin again, far from London and her romantic regrets. That is, until the stern Duke of Wednesbury arrives to claim the deed and cottage as his.
HE HAS THE TITLE.
Raaz Panchal, the new Duke of Wednesbury, is searching for the missing deed to his late father’s beloved cottage, and he travels to the countryside to investigate. But once there, he learns the home is not vacant, and a beguiling woman claims it’s her property now. When her deed proves genuine, Raaz prepares to leave, but then fate collapses the stable roof. Duty to his father’s memory–and certainly not a pair of alluring amber eyes–compels him to help.
TOGETHER, CAN THEY HAVE IT ALL?
Camelia cautiously accepts the duke’s assistance, but between a bold badger, a moonlit waltz, and dangerous late-night wagers, it’s impossible to keep her distance from the devastatingly handsome duke. When they surrender to temptation, she can no longer ignore their differences in station or the mistakes of her past, but her traitorous heart already wishes for a future that’s surely out of reach.
THE DEED WITH THE DUKE is a steamy, lust-at-first-sight Regency romance with a grumpy Indian hero, a sunshine Indian heroine, and adorable animal antics.
Second Duke’s the Charm
By Kate Bateman
Average Storygraph Rating: 3.78
The wedding-night death of her much older husband left Tess Townsend the Dowager Duchess of Wansford—and still a virgin. Now she and her two best friends investigate London’s most scandalous crimes, and while Tess longs to experience physical pleasure for herself, she can’t risk losing her treasured independence...
Cynical shipping magnate Justin Thornton never expected to inherit a dukedom, but he’ll do his duty. When the ravishing woman he kissed at a party turns out to be the Dowager Duchess, Justin sees an obvious solution: a marriage of convenience that will suit them both.
But the passion that sparks between them is anything but convenient. As Tess works on a new case at the request of Queen Charlotte, her increasingly suspicious behavior makes Justin question her motives—and her past. The infuriating woman clearly can’t be trusted, but Justin doesn’t believe in love, so there’s absolutely no danger of him falling for his own wife...is there?
Hell’s Belle
By Annabelle Anders
Average Goodreads Rating: 4.15
A Scheming Minx
Emily Goodnight, a curiously smart bluestocking – who cannot see a thing without her blasted spectacles – is raising the art of meddling to new heights. Why leave her future in the hands of fate when she’s perfectly capable of managing it herself?
An Apathetic Rake
The Earl of Blakely, London’s most unattainable bachelor, finds Miss Goodnight’s schemes nearly as intriguing as the curves hidden beneath her frumpy gowns. Secure in his independence, he's focussed on one thing only: evading this father's manipulating ways. In doing so, ironically, he fails to evade the mischief of Emily’s managing ploys.
Hell’s Belle Indeed
What with all the cheating at parlor games, trysts in dark closets, and nighttime flights to Gretna Green, complications arise. Because fate has limits. And when it comes to love and the secrets of the past, there’s only so much twisting one English Miss can get away with…
A Fighting Chance
By Emily EK Murdoch
Average Storygraph Rating: 4.11
William Chance, Duke of Cothrom, is tired of fighting for his family’s reputation.
And it’s not like his wayward brothers do much to help. Rascals, rakes, and rogues, the lot of them—and William is always the one picking up the pieces and staving off scandal.
He needs stability. He needs calm. He needs certainty.
He doesn’t need a wild young woman launching herself into his arms and demanding that he marry her . . .
But marriage is precisely what Alice Fox-Edwards does need. After surviving a scandal four years ago, the threats of a blackmailer now mean she must find a protector—preferably one with lots of money.
An unlikely pairing, to be sure, but William decides that a wife will give him the balance he so desperately needs. Because Miss Fox-Edwards has no outrageous past, does she? Nothing that might upset his calm or set any tongues wagging. Surely, she wouldn’t lie about a thing like that . . .
Soon they’re fighting their feelings, fighting the truth, and fighting the disaster that fast approaches as secrets and lies—on both sides—threaten what could be a chance for happiness.
Good Duke Gone Wild
By Eliana Piers
Average Storygraph Rating: 4.67
She needs an out from London society. She didn’t realize she’d get an in with pirates.
Agatha is the perfect example of how a lady should act in polite society. But when she mistakes a man for a pirate and shares a secret kiss with him, she takes the only logical next step. She climbs aboard his ship.
Jude, the Duke of Sutherton, has escaped the ton for as long as he could. Now he finds himself wrapped around the body of a lady—the likes he swore off—and he’s kissing her like there’s no tomorrow. When she sneaks onto his ship, he really should send her home. Only he can’t, because she drugged him.
Who is this perfect lady of the ton but temptress of the sea? And what does his heart think about her?
This Marquess of Mine
By Sylvie Sinclair
Average Storygraph Rating: 4.22
Lady Olivia Blakely was once in love with her best friend's older brother...until the night he rejected her. Heartbroken and humiliated, she vows to forget the awful incident and avoid the high-and-mighty marquess like the plague. It should be easy enough to do—he is a busy man, after all, and she must secure a husband by the end of the Season or marry a man of her father's choosing. With no time to waste, she sets out to win a duke's heart and ignore, at all costs, the man who broke her own.
Griffin Denfield, Marquess of Keswick, wants nothing to do with Olivia Blakely. She might be beautiful, but she's also spoiled, and a title-chasing flirt to boot. Regrettably, she's also his sister's closest friend. When Griffin's mother suffers an injury that confines her to her bed, he is tasked with acting as his sister's chaperone, and wherever his sister goes, unfortunately, so goes Olivia.
Thrust together against their will, proximity soon gives way to passion. But Griffin wants nothing to do with marriage, and Olivia wants nothing less than a duke. With the end of the Season fast approaching, will these two stubborn souls hold fast to their convictions...or finally give in to their hearts' true desires?
A Lady’s Guide to London
By Faye Delacour
Average Storygraph Rating: 3.56
Della Danby is determined to prove she's more than just a flighty heiress riding on her parents' money to get through life. When her closest friend and business partner finds her hands full with a new baby, Della takes the opportunity to shoulder more responsibility at their ladies' gambling club and secure their financial stability, and she has the perfect idea: to drum up new business by adding their club to a popular guidebook of local attractions.
Gambling ruined Viscount Lyman Ashton's life and his marriage. He has no intention of putting a new club in his guide, nor of getting involved with its intriguing and energetic proprietress. But when Della refuses to take no for an answer and approaches his publisher with a plan to write her own book of attractions for ladies, Lyman reluctantly agrees to collaborate with her in exchange for the money he so desperately needs to pay his debts. As they grow closer, Lyman finds himself falling for Della even though his past could jeopardize her reputation. But if they can ever have a future together, Della may have to choose between the club she's worked so hard to build and her chance at love.
A Touch of Steele
By Cathy Maxwell
Average Storygraph Rating: 3.97
From the moment the enigmatic Mr. Steele “almost” kissed her on a Dublin street, her world was forever altered. He commands the respect of rogues and nobles alike . . . and Gwendolyn owes him a favor.
Beckett is a lone wolf. However, he needs Gwendolyn to discover the secrets of his past. He has no choice but to seek her help—even though she threatens the walls he has carefully erected around his heart.
Together, they must navigate a world of deception, where love defies the odds and secrets threaten to unravel everything they hold dear. Will they find a future together, or will the past tear them apart?
He doesn’t need a woman in his life; she knows he can’t live without her.
She believes he owes her a kiss.
The Lady
By Ava Bond
Average Goodreads Rating: 4.50
Lady Flora met Doctor Caton at seventeen. She fell in love with him. However his overheard comment about her youth and naivety has ruined her affection for him, and she vows revenge.
Ten years later Doctor Philip Caton desires to wed and who better to ask that the beautiful, clever Lady Flora?
You May Kiss The Duke
By Charis Michaels
Average Storygraph Rating: 3.61
A MARRIAGE OF CONVENIENCE
Against her better judgement, spirited beauty Sabine Noble agrees to speedily marry a stranger who can remove her from the home of an abusive uncle. The union allows her to relocate to London and start a new life writing travel guides and enjoying the city on her own terms.
A DOWRY WITH NO EXPECTATIONS
Sea Captain Jon Stoker has no desire to be a husband, but Sabine's offer of a commitment-free marriage and a hefty dowry is hard to refuse. After he delivers Sabine from her violent uncle, the deal allows Stoker to say good-bye and sail away.
A CHANCE RESCUE
When Stoker's travels put him in harm's way, neither dowry nor freedom can save him. His unconscious body is returned to England, and a chance discovery by his estranged wife rescues him from the morgue. Sabine is uncertain of her responsibilities to the unconscious husband she barely knows, but she begins the reluctant job of nursing him back to health.
A RECOVERY OF THE HEART
In the private confines of Sabine's bedroom, the estranged husband and wife reckon with the attraction that has been there all along and the new, hot-sparking desire. And when Stoker has recovered and Sabine takes revenge on her dangerous uncle, they realize that attraction and desire have evolved into love.
An Inconvenient Earl
By Will Forrest
Average Storygraph Rating: 4.00
It was meant to be an easy job: remove a lord from the public eye until his title is usurped. Much harder to do when the lord turns out to be the same man Harry has been bedding on the sly for the past six months. Even more inconvenient when the lord himself has been asking him to do the very same: steal him from his rigid, terrifying future and find a way to set him free.
Ralph, Viscount Elsternwick, doesn’t need and cannot serve the earldom, his intellect and instincts wholly out of step with the impossible obligations of courtly life. What he needs is a means of escape, one he cannot avoid. Say, being stolen away by a heartless and hopefully handsome rogue, like the man he’s been meeting in secret for months.
But it takes more than shared desire and a fear of the past to make a life together. And some secrets are best left unspoken. Is Ralph’s dearest wish about to come true? Or is the only man he trusts now his enemy?
Cinderella’s Charade With the Duke
By Jeanine Englert
Average Goodreads Rating: 4.33
Once upon a time, governess Hattie Potts longed for adventure, but accepting a position in Duke of Wimberley William Sutherland's household was only the beginning…
For when the scandal surrounding his wife’s death exposes him and his daughter to Society gossip, William has an unorthodox solution to divert the unwanted attention: a pretend courtship with Hattie!
She’s transformed into the perfect lady for her dashing employer. Yet, while very real sparks are flying between them, an accident leaves William with no memory that their engagement is only a charade…
Section 2
Tender Regency Romances
Bequeathed
By Andie James
Average Storygraph Rating: 3.81
What if the person you fall for fits the exact mold of whom you've vowed never to marry?
Robert “West” Beaumont has just become the Marquess of Hampton and is embracing freedom from his father’s iron grip on the family. Seeking to restore the family finances while simultaneously divesting from businesses that leave a moral stain on the Beaumont family, the last thing he wants to deal with is looking for a wife.
Lady Priscilla, Dowager Duchess of Stern, is looking to stretch her wings and explore the new mobility in society now available to her as a widow. While her mother wishes to re-match her right away while still young enough to provide children, Priscilla is reluctant to tie herself down again so quickly.
Both are determined not to make matches based on the expectations of their family, but when West assists Priscilla in avoiding fortune hunting men after being introduced by friends at a ball, the ton mistakes them for a couple. Though neither wants to consider the other as a possible partner (they are exactly whom would please their families), the misconception continuing allows them to satisfy everyone and provides the space needed to meet their goals. But what happens when a fake relationship begins to feel all too real, and they may be the answer to what each was searching for all along?
In Want of a Wife
By Rebecca Paula
Average Storygraph Rating: 3.86
Lily, twice jilted at the altar, decides to rewrite her story by answering a clandestine newspaper ad from a man seeking a wife. Little does she know, this leap of faith will lead her to Lieutenant Rafe Davies, a weary Royal Navy officer yearning for change.
Rafe, summoned by his newly appointed Earl of Devlin brother to restore the family estate on the Isle of Wight, finds himself unwittingly entangled in a humorous plot. As a lighthearted prank, the Earl places an outlandish advertisement seeking a wife for Rafe. However, the laughter turns to surprise when Rafe is dispatched to escort his brother's bride-to-be from Cumbria.
Amidst the scenic landscapes and unforeseen romantic escapades, Rafe and Lily discover that love has a way of defying expectations. Join them on a journey where a jest transforms into a heartfelt connection, proving that sometimes, the most delightful surprises happen when love becomes the punchline.
The Temple of Persephone
By Isabella Kamal
Average Storygraph Rating: 3.65
Persephone Honeyfield is witty, intelligent, and very aware that the only way to escape the monotony of the life she shares with her father and sister in the English countryside--and the wagging, ever-critical tongues of the people around her--is through marriage. She also knows the likelihood of it being a love match is nearly zero.
Aidon Barrington has carried on the legacy of his family's funeral furnishing business, losing himself in the process. A shell of his former charming self, he's traded his reputation as a rake for that of a recluse and regularly appears in the scandal sheets as London's mysterious Lord of the Dead.
When Persephone finds herself at Gallowsgate--the old Barrington estate--on a seemingly simple errand, an unexpected run-in with the Lord of the Dead himself leaves her on the brink of ruination. With no other way to silence the village rumor mill, or save her sister's reputation, Persephone agrees to marry Aidon, becoming the wife of a man she hardly knows.
Persephone finds herself increasingly fascinated by her new husband, whose kind, patient nature stands in stark contrast to the ever-swirling rumors about him. But when the gossip begins to sound more like reality than fiction, she attempts to uncover the truth behind the Lord of the Dead while discovering she may have already lost her most guarded possession: her heart.
A Duke Makes a Deal
By Matilda Madison
Average Storygraph Rating: 3.73
When nouveau-rich Clara Woodvine attends her first high society ball, she’s expecting it to be the most wonderful night of her life. Unfortunately, it turns out to be the worst. When Clara overhears her would-be fiancé has bet her and her dowry away in a card game to the Duke of Combe, aka the Divorced Duke, all hopes for a happily ever after seem lost.
Silas Winters, the Duke of Combe, has spent over a year brooding in misery after the end of his toxic marriage. Saddled with crippling anxiety and the reasonability of recovering Clara’s reputation, Silas proposes a marriage based on friendship and nothing more. Clara accepts, but only on the condition that she understands this is a marriage of convenience because Silas is determined never to love again
But when the past comes back to haunt them, will Silas realize that love is something he can choose? And will Clara be able to stand up for those she loves, even if she must do it alone?
The Sailor Without a Sweetheart
By Katherine Grant
Average Storygraph Rating: 4.19
Six years ago, Amy Lamplugh decided not to elope with Nate Preston. Ever since, she has been working hard to convince herself she was right to choose her family over Nate.
Now, Nate is back. After an illustrious career as a naval captain, he faces a court martial for disobeying orders while fighting the slave trade. He accepts an invitation to await the trial at a country estate outside of Portsmouth - and discovers he is suddenly neighbors with Amy.
Nate is shocked to find that Amy didn’t end up marrying someone rich and titled. Instead, she is a glorified companion to her younger sister - and is clearly battling some unnamed illness.
Thrown together by circumstances outside their control, Nate and Amy try to be friends. Soon, it becomes clear that their feelings for each other never died.
Do they dare risk their hearts again? Has anything changed, or are they destined for heartbreak once more?
Charlotte’s Control
By Maggie Sims
Average Storygraph Rating: 4.50
Widowed at thirty, Charlotte, Dowager Countess of Peterborough, finds herself on the lonely edge of Society, caught between the young chits vying for a husband and older matrons. In a moment of vulnerability, she meets a young rake who tempts her to forget propriety and reclaim her feminine powers of seduction…for a while. Their affair can only last until he marries a wealthy debutante who can give him what Charlotte cannot. An heir.
In his final year at Oxford, William Stanton, heir to the Earl of Harrington, is forced to manage the earldom for his drunken father and provide for his family. With the prospect of an advantageous marriage looming in his future, he yearns for the frivolity of his peers. But when he encounters a lovely widow, he’s drawn to her keen mind as much as he is to her beauty. She believes they are destined to part. To keep her, he must battle Fate, time, and the rules of Society that conspire against them.
A Most Unsuitable Lover
By Kelsey Swanson
Average Goodreads Rating: 4.12
She lives through her books…
Ill as a child, Lady Juliette Crawford is obliged to live a sheltered life, forbidden from overexerting herself. Instead of riding and dancing, she must take her excitement from parchment and ink. When a pair of strong hands rescue her from certain death beneath the wheels of a cart, however, she discovers a new adventure much grander and more thrilling than any found on a page.
People judge him by his cover…
Born in the Scottish Highlands, Ian McCullom clawed his way out of poverty to become one of the preeminent physicians in London. But taming his brogue, dressing in fine clothes, and making the proper connections can only take him so far; he’ll always be viewed as just this side of feral, an outsider to be ogled, a prize to be won by the danger-seeking ladies of the ton. None of it appealed to him, less so after losing the woman he loved to another, so he throws himself into his work…until he encounters the enchanting eyes of one very off-limits lady.
Together, they write a love story for the ages.
While Juliette hires him as her tutor under the guise of learning Gaelic, she has decidedly less pure intentions and is determined to taste the passion and desire burning behind Ian’s eyes. Ian is just as determined to resist her. Although being with Juliette might very well destroy him, it could also fulfill his every dream and desire…if he dares to rewrite his future.
Voluptuous
By Felicity Niven
Average Storygraph Rating: 4.21
Her father’s best friend is the man-of-her-dreams.
Lady Henrietta Stafford can’t remember a time when she wasn’t fascinated by the tall, dark, melancholy Mr. Oliver Hartwell. But she knows she is meant for some other, far less compelling man. Her father’s friend Mr. Hartwell would never be interested in her. She’s too young. She’s not beautiful or clever. And, of course, he’s already married.
A widower twice over, Oliver Hartwell’s life has been one failure after another: his boyhood dream turned into a hellish nightmare, his tragic marriages, the utter botch he is making of fatherhood. In truth, he has only ever felt happiness in the home of his friend, the Duke of Bexton. But now that his friend’s oldest daughter has grown into a gorgeously voluptuous woman, Oliver seems doomed to ruin his chances for love and affection, just as he has ruined everything else.
Sometimes ruination IS the happily-ever-after.
His Regency Goddess
By Steffy Smith
Average Storygraph Rating: 4.10
Sophia Westcott has mourned her late husband for a respectable amount of time by society's standards. She was now a dowager Duchess and independent in her own right. She was Sophie. Her life on her own terms. This would start by lowering the line of her dresses to flatter her hourglass shape and curate her own art collection. And if a gentleman happened to draw a mutual interest, perhaps she would experience the flames of passion that had been absent from her marriage.
Sinclair Montgomery was returning home. The second son, now the heir. He had mourned the passing of his brother as he travelled abroad. And with each hand of cards, each stiff whiskey, and many a woman he took a step closer to accepting his new purpose in life. Living life the way he did, he pictured returning to London to be an absolute bore but alas duty calls.
In all his wildest dreams Sin never imagined to be stunned so forcefully by a vision of beauty. And so captivated by the inner workings of another’s mind. This all happened within twenty four hours when Sophie became imprinted on his soul. Like Venus rising from the sea in all her womanly glory, an indescribable need rose. Sophie could not deny her attraction to Sin. It was palpable. And she did not want to deny herself a chance to feel the desire that had always alluded her. Sophie's only concern – can she accept his love and stay true to herself?
The Earl and the Vixen
By Christina Diane
Average Storygraph Rating: 3.54
A scorned woman. A guarded man. An explosive second chance at love.
Eliza
Falling for the boy next door wouldn’t have been so bad for Eliza, if the object of her affection wasn’t also the son of her father’s rival. Eliza is willing to risk everything for a shot at true happiness after she had given everything to the magnetic future Earl of Craven.
Until he sleeps with her and then breaks her heart, that is, and shows up years later, as if nothing has happened.
Can Eliza forgive and forget? Or will love be her undoing once more?
Nick
For Nick, there has only ever been one woman who possesses his heart. Eliza Nelson. But it seems love is not in the cards for Nick and Eliza…Until fate brings them together after a heartbreaking mystery, that is.
Intent on discovering what happened all those years ago, and why Eliza is so distant, can Nick keep his desires buried? Or will he give up everything for a second chance at a childhood dream?
Her Runaway Duke
By Ellie St. Clair
Average Goodreads Rating: 4.34
Running away from her wedding was Lady Siena’s first act of bravery. Facing her future is the second. When she is saved in her flee by a mysterious figure, she is shocked to finally discover his true identity.
Driven out of London by rumours and rejection, the grieving Duke is but a shell of a man. When he reluctantly saves a woman during one of his nightly rides, little does he realize the ramifications of his act of compassion.
For Lady Siena sees more than his face — she sees the soul of the man beneath. When demons threaten from within and beyond, will they find a way forward together or allow them to break them apart?
Sophia White and Her Seven Promises
By Anastasia Hayward
Average Storygraph Rating: 4.42
Lady Sophia made a promise to her mother that she would only marry for love. Even though her mother has passed away, Sophia keeps her promise close. But something doesn't feel quite right about her father's new wife and Sophia doesn't realize how dire the situation is until it is too late.
When Faine Knight discovers an injured woman in the woods, Faine realizes that in order to help her, he will have to do the unthinkable: break one of his rules. Except the wounded beauty cannot remember who she is. He wants to help her recover her identity, but the longer she stays, the more she chips away at the walls around his heart.
With each promise Sophia makes in her new life, the less she wants anything to do with her old, unknown one. But Faine doesn't want to fall in love again, especially when he is worried that what they don't know could not only keep them apart, it could endanger them both.
Counting on Love
By Carol Coventry
Average Storygraph Rating: 3.85
If the gossips of the ton can agree on one thing, it is that no brothers are closer than the Taverstons of Iversley.
When the Honorable Reginald Taverston, third son of the Earl of Iversley, is unceremoniously dumped by his mistress, what bothers him most is how little it bothers him. To the amusement of his older brothers, Reginald prefers translating ancient Greek texts to the hedonistic pursuits of his peers. Nominated “the brilliant brother,” Reginald is assigned the task of balancing the account books after the death of the family’s steward. He dutifully tackles the work, only to be perplexed when the numbers don’t add up.
Lady Georgiana Stewart, a duke’s daughter who possesses beauty, wit, and a dowry of twenty thousand pounds, is dreading a second London Season. She knows she can’t keep rejecting suitors just because they’re…boring, but wonders what is it that makes a young lady look at a gentleman and think: Yes, this is the one!
Georgiana is pressured by her mother to encourage the attentions of Lord Jasper Taverston. The handsome heir to the ailing Earl of Iversley is the most eligible man in the ton, and he believes Lady Georgiana will make a perfect countess. She goes through the motions of courtship, bored by the lord’s easy charm and frustrated that their betrothal seems to be a foregone conclusion. Until she discovers Jasper’s younger brother struggling to solve an arithmetical puzzle. Numbers are Georgiana’s secret passion. When Reginald accepts her help rather than scorning it, she learns that pouring over ledgers together can be more seductive than a sultry waltz or stolen kiss.
But uncovering secrets better left buried in crooked account books is not the most scandalous thing a lady can do. Even worse is to come between two Taverston brothers.
The Scottish Scheme
By Ally Hudson
Average Storygraph Rating: 3.88
Mr. Tom Grayson’s world was grey—until he laid eyes on Alexander Hasket, Duke of Rosehill. Captivated by the enigmatic Rosehill, Tom bungled their introduction. A tragedy that proved inconsequential, as Rosehill forgot him altogether.
Three years later, the anonymity of a masquerade offers a rare gift—a second chance at a first impression. Their flirtatious yet earnest interlude leaves Tom enthralled, rendering it all the more devastating when he discovers that he still remains utterly forgettable to Xander.
Love is an indulgence—one of which Xander dare not dream. After two failed courtships, rumors haunt the wealthy and powerful duke. When the weight of gossip and responsibilities threaten to drown him, Xander begins to long for the Scottish estate he’s never set eyes on, Kilmarnock Abbey.
Obliged to attend a masquerade that promises only misery, Xander’s night takes an unexpected turn when he is charmed by a handsome stranger. But with his departure to Scotland imminent, Xander hasn’t the time to entertain impossible fantasies—nor does he have patience for the nosy, fascinating Grayson brother who suddenly appears around every corner.
The Duke’s Detour
By Kathy L Wheeler
Average Storygraph Rating: 3.50
Lady Rebecca Thatcher cares nothing for fashion or societal dictates. Her destiny in life is to fight for those less fortunate, be it woman, child, or animal. And when a young boy appears from the trees, clutching her skirts, addressing her as Mama with a vile villain on his heels, it incites every instinct in her to protect. Her priority is to get him where he belongs.
Having married off his youngest sister, the Duke of Ryleigh can finally begin the task of locating a suitable bride of his own. But his well-ordered plans are thrown into chaos by a note from his sister informing him she no longer wishes to be a countess (as if she had a choice) and has vacated to the family's seat in Dorchester. On Ryleigh’s way south, he encounters a carriage with a broken wheel carrying Lady Rebecca, his sister’s long-ago schoolmate—the one responsible for turning his genteel and compliant sister into a hoyden he hadn’t recognized when he took her out of school seven years before.
Ryleigh’s sense of honor will not allow him to look the other way as he and Rebecca are bound for the same destination. She is just as he remembers—unwieldy and uncaring of what anyone thinks—and now? Unmarried with bastard children. Certainly not duchess material.
Section 3
Angsty Regency Romances
Not Quite a Marriage
By Bliss Bennet
Average Storygraph Rating: 3.30
Spencer Burnett, Viscount Stiles, once swore he’d left England for good. Yet after five years of self-imposed exile in West Africa, he’s no longer the same spoiled, selfish boy who ran away from a domineering father, a disappointed grandmother, and a decidedly unwanted wife. Proving himself to the family he abandoned will be no easy task, but Spencer no longer shies away from a good fight. He hardly expects his formerly docile wife will be the hardest to convince. When Philadelphia refuses to accept his apologies—or to allow him back into her bed—Spencer finds himself tempting her into a bargain he cannot afford to lose.
Philadelphia Burnett’s desires were once as vast as the sky. But now, after suffering one devastating loss after another, the only thing she allows herself to want is a home. So when her estranged rake of a husband returns from a five-years’ absence to claim the estate promised to her, Delphie resolves to fight him every step of the way. Beechcombe Park will be a sanctuary for her, and for the wayward Audley cousins she’d promised her sister she’d always protect. She cannot, will not, suffer even one more loss.
Especially not the loss of her heart...
The Miss Without a Mister
By Katherine Grant
Average Goodreads Rating: 4.73
At age eleven, Caroline Preston and Eddie Chow vowed to marry.
At sixteen, they renewed their pact with a kiss under a starry sky.
Now, at last, Eddie is done with his apprenticeship. Caroline assumes they can finally begin planning their wedding. Even though she is a baron’s daughter and he is a tradesman, she knows her open-minded father won’t object - not when love is involved.
But when they are finally reunited, they discover that Lord Preston has very different plans in mind. Plans to keep Eddie away from Northfield Hall. Plans to separate Caroline and Eddie forever.
Threatened with never seeing each other again, Caroline and Eddie are forced to break free from their families in hopes of finding a happily ever after. As they come face-to-face with the challenges Lord Preston predicted, they must answer the ultimate is their love strong enough to survive the real world?
The Chelsea Milliner
By Annie R McEwen
Average Goodreads Rating: 4.50
All Paris-born Amelia de Maupassant ever wanted was to make hats. But overnight her dream’s gone up in smoke, along with her London millinery shop. When witty and handsome Hugh Fyne comes to her rescue, Amelia has doubts. Is he there to save her or seduce her?
Hugh’s heart leaps to its own conclusions. He must have Amelia and he will, if she doesn’t discover his secret.
Betrayal and horror in Revolutionary France haunt Amelia. Memories of war and a father’s villainy ravage Hugh. A woman sick of lies. A man lying for love. Will the truth destroy them? Or release them from their pasts to make a future together?
In The Wide Open Light
By Katherine Grant
Average Storygraph Rating: 4.50
At Northfield Hall, Julia Dixon needs a break from her life as a spinner and mother of three. When she hears that Henry Hunt will be addressing a crowd in Manchester, she decides to add her voice to calls for parliamentary reform.
Her husband, Samuel, doesn’t understand why Julia wants to travel far from home to fight for voting rights for other people—but he won’t stand in her way. After years apart from his family as a sailor, Samuel is grateful to have resurrected his marriage, and he intends to keep Julia happy, no matter what she needs.
As Julia departs, they both know the bonds of their marriage will be tested, but neither of them predict what Julia faces when she gets to St. Peter’s Field. In its aftermath, they are forced to reevaluate everything they hold dear as they fight to reunite once more.
Curse of the Ravenscrofft Brides
By Nola Saint James
Average Goodreads Rating: 2.50
On a prosperous estate near the border of Wales, the Viscounts Ravenscrofft and their family live happily with the powerful Ravenal Roma clan. But all is not as peaceful it seems.
The present viscount, 27-year-old, ruggedly handsome Wyatt Sinclair, has vowed not to marry unless he can solve the troubling mystery of the Curse of the Ravenscrofft Brides. But this is not his only problem.
Wyatt and his best friend, Drake Marten, 8th Earl of Heathcoate, rescued a seemingly-mute young boy in Covent Garden. The boy has a fringe of red hair at the base of his skull, as does Wyatt. This is the hereditary mark of the Sinclair line. There has never been more than one Sinclair heir in any generation. Who is this young man?
Sofia Nightingale is being pursued by the powerful 6th Earl of Easton Grey, her stepfather. After a chilling encounter with him, she and her companion flee his estate in fear for their lives. His pursuit is relentless. What does he want?
Curse of the Ravenscrofft Brides, The Ravenscrofft Chronicles, Volume One, introduces readers to a cast of compelling and intriguing characters in a spicy, Regency-era Romantasy in which shape changers abound. Mystical forces are in play and powerful, wise women penetrate the mists of the future to protect their loved ones.
Sofia and Wyatt will have to unearth long-buried family secrets, battle uncontrollable urges and face death before they can claim their happy ending.
The Widower Without a Will
By Katherine Grant
Average Storygraph Rating: 4.69
This secret love affair risks nothing except his legacy—and her heart.
Lord Martin Preston is not looking for love. All he wants is to secure his legacy as a progressive baron and caring father. When the rector’s widow needs a place to stay, he doesn’t think twice before offering her a room at Northfield Hall.
Martha Bellamy lives in shadows. For a decade, she has been under the cloud of scandal around her son’s demise, and now she must also live in the darkness of her husband’s death. Enchanted by Lord Preston, Martha volunteers to be his private secretary—and, she hopes, his new private friend.
Martin didn’t know how much he craved a confidante like Martha. Yet as they share more and more of their hearts with each other, he cannot forget she is a poor widow in his care, not a woman he can love. When tragedy strikes, Martin finds himself doing everything he can in order to protect all he has worked for—and he must decide whether Martha is included in his legacy.
In this final installment of The Prestons, Martin reckons with the legend of Northfield Hall and must prove once and for all whether he deserves the reputation he has earned.