Heroines in Romance Novels

CATEGORY: Harlequin Romance
SETTING: Contemporary Italy
SERIES: Book Seven in the Rinucci series
HEROINE: 28 year old photographer

On a trip to Italy Ferne Edmunds is dazzled by lighthearted charmer Dante Rinucci. What she doesn't realize is that it's easy for Dante to live for the moment when every day could be his last….

But when Ferne discovers she's accidentally pregnant, Dante's chance to be called "Daddy" gives him a reason to fight. This baby could save Dante's life….

CATEGORY : Harlequin Presents
SETTING: Contemporary US
HEROINE: 28+ year old software designer

Time is money to drop-dead-gorgeous tycoon Matt Jacobs. But when he meets beautiful Ella Mackenzie at his best friend's wedding, he decides to break his rule and make the most of his week off work - by spending it in bed with her!

Strong-willed Ella doesn't do sleepovers - but Matt's incredible lovemaking has got her hooked! So when their secret week between the sheets comes to an end, Ella finds herself accepting the sort of indecent proposal she never thought she'd consider..

CATEGORY: Harlequin Romance
SETTING: Contemporary US
HEROINE: 29 year old personal shopper

With the dreaded holidays nearing, the last thing widowed businessman Dawson Burke needed was a personal shopper who wanted to get personal. What part of 'I want to be left alone' didn't Eve Hawley understand? She just seemed intent on getting him into the Christmas spirit....

Eve could see Dawson had stopped wishing on the future, and he didn't know how lucky he was to be surrounded by loving family. But once she'd helped him find the joy he'd been missing, Eve couldn't help wishing Dawson would give her the best Christmas present of all--by proposing to her.

CATEGORY: Harlequin Blaze
SETTING: Contemporary US
HEROINE: 27 year old purse designer and boutiques owner

Purse designer Jessie Beane has some bad habits when it comes to men. So she's going to boost her sexual karma - by indulging in an extra-naughty, one-night stand?

Detective Rick Marshall is the perfect candidate - a hot cop with a creative and insatiable libido. Unfortunately, Jessie's poor excuse of an ex uses the opportunity to rob Jessie's apartment and steal Rick's car.with key evidence in the trunk!

Jessie and Rick don't have time to waste.. They need to find that car now. And if spending time together gives them the chance to unleash their voracious appetite for each other, then they'll be certain to enjoy every salacious minute..

CATEGORY: Harlequin Blaze
SETTING: Contemporary US
SERIES: Book One in the Where You Least Expect It series
HEROINE: 32 year old divorced boutiques owner

Boutique owner Ashley Taylor hates flying. Especially when there's a sugar-fueled little hellion on board. But then David McLean (sexy!) sits next to her, and suddenly Ashley finds herself hoping the delay will last forever - and that David won't notice her comfy pink bunny slippers (sadly, the opposite of sexy).

David does notice Ashley, and when the flight is delayed overnight, they can't get to the airport hotel fast enough. Off with the slippers and in with the zing! Fortunately, America is filled with cities - L.A., New York, Miami - and nothing says "smoking-hot passion" like an intercontinental affair!

CATEGORY: Bantam Loveswept
SETTING: Contemporary US
HEROINE: 36 year old divorced Yale professor and actress with children

The moment she spies the rugged hunk in the faded jeans at the airport, Ellen knows she should run for cover. Instead, she throws caution to the wind and plunges into a sizzling affair with the gorgeous cop. Between romantic dinners, sensual limo rides, and a perfect night of passion, Ellen is living every woman's fantasy. Until she's caught in the sights of a deranged stalker, and the divorced single mother is suddenly turning to N.Y.P.D. detective Sam Schaefer for her very survival.…

Soon Sam's taking a bullet meant for Ellen, and racing against time to stop a killer from hitting his target. Keeping Ellen safe will take everything he's got. Earning her trust could be a mission impossible, as two wary hearts team up for a summer they'll never forget - and a sizzling adventure that could get them both killed…or give them everything they've ever wanted.

CATEGORY : Harlequin Presents
SETTING: Contemporary Ireland
HEROINE: 29 year old working at a music distribution business

Circumstance has left Finn McNeill without a place to stay. Which means her only option is the spare room of rugged firefighter Shane Dwyer. Soon Finn's burning question is--should she act on the attraction smoldering between them?

The tension's simmering, the chemistry's sizzling and the flames of passion are licking at their heels! Perhaps one secret white-hot night will be enough to put out the fire?

CATEGORY : Harlequin Presents
SETTING: Contemporary UK
HEROINE: 26 year old office manager

Having just been fired, Francesca has three immediate requirements: a coffee, an extremely calorific pastry and a new job. Stopping off at her favorite café, Giovanni's, she manages to pick up all three!

Working for darkly handsome Giovanni Mazetti is fantastic--except Fran discovers the job comes with a tantalizing caveat: pretending to be his adoring girlfriend! Soon their kisses start happening in private as well as in public, and although Fran knows it's all a game to Giovanni, she can't help wishing his feelings were for real….

CATEGORY: Harlequin Blaze
SETTING: Contemporary US
SERIES: Book One in the Red Choo Diaries series
HEROINE: 32 year business woman in the financial industry

Nicknamed "The Porcupine," Jamie McNamara has a tough-as-nails attitude that makes her a force to be reckoned with on Wall Street. So it's a shock even to her when she seduces a sexy investment broker in a Hummer limo on the way to a business meeting. But when her erotic escapade becomes the topic of the "Red Choo Diaries" sex blog and threatens to destroy her steely persona, Jamie realizes a fling isn't always frivolous.

Used to getting what he wants, gorgeous man-about-town Andrew Brooks knows a good thing when he sees it--and he sees and wants Jamie. Her drive and passion have him consumed. He's determined to transform their passionate limo encounter into a long-term merger--and he's prepared to negotiate!

CATEGORY: Harlequin Blaze Historical
SETTING: England 1887
HEROINE: 26 year old widow

Mariah Eller was only trying to save her inn from being trashed. So how did the widow manage to attract the unwanted - and erotic - attention of the Prince of Wales? Not that being desired by royalty is necessarily bad. Only, Mariah much prefers the prince's best friend. Jack St. Lawrence is very tempting, and very loyal. And he knows that the prince gets involved only with married women. So he figures sexy Mariah is safe.until the prince demands Jack find her a husband! The problem? Jack and Mariah can't fight their sizzling attraction. And once they give in to their desires, the situation is even worse. Because the prince's man has found a husband for Mariah. Himself.

CATEGORY: Harlequin Romance
SETTING: Contemporary Italy
HEROINE: 38 year old divorced television producer with a son

Intelligent, sensible Della Hadley should have known better than to embark on an affair with a playboy Italian six years her junior, but vibrant and sexy Carlo Rinucci was just too hard to resist.... Della knows that a fiery passion so quick to ignite should be fast to die out, despite Carlo's vow that their love is forever. But Carlo is Italian through and through, and determined to win his woman--and make Della his bride before the sun sets on their affair.

CATEGORY: Silhouette Intimate Moments
SETTING: Contemporary US
HEROINE: 30 year old attorney with a son

Injured, weary, Duncan McClain had come home to forget . . . to forget his last mission, and the friend who died. This should have been a time of healing for the haunted soldier, a time of peace. But then she walked in.

She was Gwen Van Allen, a fragile, sophisticated beauty--who also happened to be the mother of his brother's secret son. She'd come to Highpoint to introduce little Zach to his father. Duncan had to do what was right; he had to stay away. But as his brother got to know the boy, Duncan spent time with Gwen. And soon forbidden passion began to rise. Dare he risk the love of his brother for the love of a woman?

CATEGORY: Silhouette Romantic Suspense
SETTING: Contemporary USA
HEROINE: 28 year old psychic

No one believed Anamaria Duquesne when she had premonitions of her mother's death. Now, years later, the town pariah has returned to Copper Lake to unearth what transpired on that fateful night. Although she has the gift of foresight, she didn't predict falling under the tantalizing spell of a rich playboy who's been hired to spy on her. Robbie Calloway scoffed at Anamaria's psychic mumbo jumbo about an unsolved murder and eerie family curses. But before long, the prominent attorney was entrenched in her crusade.. With danger swirling around them, could they overcome incredible odds to be together?

CATEGORY: Harlequin Romance
SETTING: Contemporary US
HEROINE: 36 old school art teacher

Would the most precious gift of all save their marriage? Reese Newcastle and her husband, Duncan, used to be able to finish one another's sentences. Now, neither is sure what the other is even thinking. Years of trying for a baby has driven a wedge between them. But Reese has a chance to make her long-cherished dream of motherhood come true--by adopting a little baby. Duncan has never stopped loving Reese, and will do anything to make her smile again. Could this adorable baby help heal their hearts and remind them why they first fell in love?

CATEGORY: Harlequin Presents
SETTING: Contemporary Greece and Australia
HEROINE: In her twenties and wants to work as a photographer

Pete Bennett: this maverick playboy revels in the thrill of the chase. He never falls for a girl; she falls for him, and he's the one to walk away.. In Greece for the summer, Serena can't resist the glint of sin in Pete's eyes. Soon the baddest of boys has made her his Greek island mistress.. Their supposedly temporary affair is hot and heavy. But one month in, Pete should be ready to roam. So what's keeping Serena in his arms?

CATEGORY: Harlequin Presents
SETTING: Contemporary Australia
HEROINE: 24 year old Junior Account Executive at an advertising agency

Working in Sydney's most dynamic advertising agency, Serena Stevens has just landed the agency's biggest account - this will make or break her career. Serena's sexy boss, tycoon David Miles, may be all business in the boardroom, but soon he wants a little business in the bedroom! One wild night later, Serena has to choose: career versus love, her dream job versus her hot boss! What's a girl to do?

CATEGORY: Harlequin Presents
SETTING: Contemporary UK
HEROINE: 27 year old and works in a bookshop

Millionaire art dealer Guy Masters: unknown mistress has moved into his luxurious London apartment... Sabrina is an unlikely mistress. Guy is a multimillionaire playboy--while Sabrina is, well...ordinary. For one passionate night in Venice she forgets her humdrum life, the pain of losing her fiance. Not wanting to return to real life, she accepts Guy's invitation to stay with him in his luxurious London apartment. On a purely platonic basis, of course...

CATEGORY: Silhouette Special
SETTING: Contemporary USA
HEROINE: 31 year old widow with a daughter and she works as a massage therapist at a spa

My mom hasn't had it easy the past few years. She's spent so much time taking care of me, and now I want to take care of her. When she mentioned that she was out of shape, I decided to get her a personal trainer. Kieran O'Brien's supposed to be the best, and he's even been helping me with my softball! I think my mom likes him, and Kieran can't stop smiling when she's around. They seem like a perfect pair. I just want my mom to be happy - and I wouldn't mind a daddy, either. Who knows? Kieran might just be the guy we've both been searching for..

CATEGORY: Harlequin Presents
SETTING: Contemporary UK
HEROINE: 26 year old teacher

After a reckless, hot encounter with Dominic van Straaten, Sophie tried to slip back to her quiet life as a schoolteacher. But Dominic insisted that she should become part of his glamorous, glittering existence. It didn't take her long to realize that she was out of her depth... Now Dominic was proposing that she be available whenever and wherever he wanted her. But could Sophie let herself become Dominic's mistress on demand when she knew that he didn't love her?

CATEGORY: Harlequin Romance
SETTING: Contemporary UK
HEROINE: 29 year old married TV presenter

Popular TV presenter Belle is married to gorgeous billionaire Ivo. But beneath the veneer of her perfect life is the truth of their marriage of convenience. Belle knows that workaholic Ivo prefers their family of two, but somewhere along the way she fell deeply in love with her husband, and can't help wishing for a baby. Now they must find it within themselves to share the secrets they've never trusted each other with, and make their marriage one in a million again.