Lord Sin by Kalen Hughes (2007)
HISTORICAL: European Historical Romance
SETTING: England 1788
SERIES: Book Four in the Rakes of London series
HEROINE: 26 year old widow
Georgianna Exley's passionate nature has always been her undoing, and for this reason the beautiful young widow allows her lovers only a single night in her bed. But Ivo Dauntry has come home to England, and for him she'll break her most sacred rule: granting him six nights of sensual bliss, one for every year he's given up for her...
As a gentleman born, Ivo risked his reputation and his life in a duel to defend Georgianna's honor. Now, returned from exile, Ivo discovers that she has proven to be less than a lady...and soon, his daring seduction becomes a sensual contest of wills. But the long-ago duel that bound them forever has fueled the hatred of a madman determined to make Georgianna pay for her misdeeds with her life, and once again, Ivo must risk everything to save the woman he loves...
The Seduction of the Crimson Rose by Lauren Willig (2008)
HISTORICAL: European Historical Romance
SETTING: France & England 1803
SERIES: Book Four in the Pink Carnation series
HEROINE: 25 year old woman,
Lauren Willig continues the exciting Pink Carnation series with her fourth novel, The Seduction of the Crimson Rose, featuring Lord Vaughn, the delightfully devilish spy from The Masque of the Black Tulip, and Mary Alsworthy, the raven-haired beauty whose sister accidentally stole her suitor in The Deception of the Emerald Ring. Determined to secure another London season without assistance from her new brother-in-law, Mary accepts a secret assignment from Lord Vaughn on behalf of the Pink Carnation: to infiltrate the ranks of the dreaded French spy, the Black Tulip, before he and his master can stage their planned invasion of England. Every spy has a weakness, and for the Black Tulip that weakness is black-haired women--his "petals" of the Tulip. A natural at the art of seduction, Mary easily catches the attention of the French spy, but Lord Vaughn never anticipates that his own heart will be caught as well. Fighting their growing attraction, impediments from their past, and, of course, the French, Mary and Vaughn find themselves lost in the shadows of a treacherous garden of lies.
The Prince of Midnigh by Laura Kinsale (1990)
HISTORICAL: European Historical Romance
SETTING: France & England 1772
HEROINE: In her early twenties,
Proud Leigh Strachan hires highwayman and ex-hero S.T. Maitland to avenge the murder of her family, never expecting to fall in love with him.
They called him the Prince of Midnight - a legendary highwayman, once dashing and dangerous...now a tarnished, forgotten hero, exiled and alone. She sought his fabled skills in the ruins of a French castle - a proud and desperate English beauty, drawn to the myth...but bewildered by the man. Across perilous mountains and tempestuous seas, together they pursued their separate dreams - of vengeance, of passion, a glory reborn...kindling the all-consuming fires of a bold and unexpected love that would set the midnight skies magnificently ablaze.
To Beguile a Beast by Elizabeth Hoyt (2009)
HISTORICAL: European Historical Romance
TIME PERIOD: Georgian era
SETTING: Scotland & England 1765
SERIES: Book Four Legend of the Four Soldiers series
HEROINE: 31 year old mistress with two children
Reclusive Sir Alistair Munroe has hidden in his castle ever since returning from the Colonies, scarred inside and out. But when a mysterious beauty arrives at his door, the passions he's kept suppressed for years begin to awaken. Running from past mistakes has taken legendary beauty Helen Fitzwilliam from the luxury of the ton to a crumbling Scottish castle . . . and a job as a housekeeper. Yet Helen is determined to start a new life and she won't let dust-or a beast of a man-scare her away. Beneath Helen's beautiful façade, Alistair finds a courageous and sensual woman. A woman who doesn't back away from his surliness-or his scars. But just as he begins to believe in true love, Helen's secret past threatens to tear them apart. Now both Beast and Beauty must fight for the one thing neither believed they could ever find-a happy ever after.
The Changeling Bride by Lisa Cach (1999)
HISTORICAL: European Historical Romance
TIME TRAVEL: Modern day to past
SETTING: England 1790s
HEROINE: 25 year old receptionist from USA who travels back in time
In order to procure the cash necessary to rebuild his estate, the earl of Allsbrook decides to barter his title and his future: He will marry the willful daughter of a wealthy merchant. True, she is pleasing in form and face, and she has an eye for fashion. Still, deep in his heart, Henry wishes for a happy marriage. Wilhelmina March is leery of the importance her brother puts upon marriage, and she certainly never dreams of being wed to an earl in Georgian England-or of the fairy debt that gives her just such an opportunity. But suddenly, with one sweet kiss in a long-ago time and a faraway place, Elle wonders if the much ado is about something after all.