Heroines in Romance Novels

HISTORICAL: Post Civil War Romance
SETTING: US 1866
HEROINE: 23 year old widow

Refusing to pick up a gun for the Confederacy, Clayton Holland was branded a deserter and imprisoned during the war. When he returned home to Cedar Grove, he was given a coward's welcome, spurned by everyone in town. To Meg Warner, Clay's presence was a constant offense: a betrayal of the cause for which her husband and brothers died.

As a punishment, she commissioned Clay, a talented sculptor, to create a memorial for Cedar Grove's fallen heroes, hoping that every name he carved into stone would carve remorse into his heart. But, as Meg spent months watching Clay work, she began to see strength instead of cowardice. And she discovered that a hero could be found in the most unlikely of men. That passion could be sculpted from a heart hardened by bitterness. And that sometimes love―like courage―whispers instead of shouts.

HISTORICAL: Pirate Romance
TIME TRAVEL: Modern day to past
SETTING: Atlantic Ocean 1821
HEROINE: 27 year old Navy pilot from USA who travels back in time

Andrew Spencer sailed the seas seeking revenge, and there were very few merchants' treasures that he hadn't given a jolly rogering. But on this particular voyage, he found his task harder than usual. As a brown-eyed beauty was hoisted from the waves, he found his pirate's soul plundered from without and a fiery need conjured up from within.

The freak storm that caused her plane to go down in the Atlantic sent fighter pilot Carly Callahan's life spinning out of control as well. Pulled from the freezing ocean, she found herself in the hot embrace of an Adonis. But his eyes were cold and hard, and the man's burning lips swore she was someone else before he claimed her as his own. Carly knew she had one chance to go home, but there was so much to see and feel here -- and the best was yet to come.

HISTORICAL: Historical Mystery Romance
SETTING: England and Spain 1819
SERIES: Book One in the Charles and Melanie series
HEROINE: 26 year old married mother

On a cloud-shrouded night in November 1819, six-year-old Colin Fraser vanishes from the safe cocoon of his family's Berkeley Square home. For his father Charles, an idealistic MP, former intelligence agent, and grandson of a duke, and mother Mélanie, a beautiful war refugee and society's most charming hostess, it is a tragedy that will rip their extraordinary marriage asunder and force them to question everything they believe in. Colin's captors are demanding a bizarre ransom: an exquisite ring surrounded by the promise of power. The search for it will pull the Frasers into a maze of intrigue that winds through the lowest and highest levels of London secrets -- revealing layer upon layer of deception and betrayal, and a shocking truth that binds Charles and Mélanie inextricably together ... even as it threatens to destroy them both.

HISTORICAL: European Historical Romance
SETTING: England 1817
HEROINE: 25 year old widow and thief

In the glittering world of Regency England, Anne Wilder played a dangerous game. A widowed lady by day, by night she became a masked thief preying on society's elite. She roved high above London's black rooftops, compelled by phantoms from her past to take ever greater risks. Until her restless spirit led her into Colonel Jack Seward's trap. . . where seduction was her only way out.

She'd played him for a fool, taking advantage of his hungry response to escape from his clutches. But as Jack hunted for his thief, his heart fell captive to a self-possessed widow. Torn between illicit passion and tender love, Jack is duty-bound to capture the audacious criminal, even if it means ripping society apart to do so. Now he stalked her through the ton, never realizing the lovely widow who captured his heart was the same woman who roused his most violent passions. A love that defied king and country.

HISTORICAL: European Historical Romance
SETTING: England 1828
SERIES: Book Two in the The Wyldshay series
HEROINE: 20ish year old courtesan

Riding home after a rebuffed marriage proposal, Lord Ryderbourne notices a small boat dangerously adrift. Impulsively, he plunges his horse into the sea and saves the boat’s unconscious occupant – a beautiful, bruised, and nearly naked woman.

Hiding a terrible secret, Miracle Heather has no desire to be rescued, especially by a virile young aristocrat. Yet Ryder drags her to shore, wraps her in his cloak, and carries her to a nearby inn, where he insists on taking care of her. A skilled courtesan, she knows of only one way to repay his gallantry, and Ryder is helpless to resist her seduction. The ensuing night of passion shakes them both to the soul, but fearing the pursuers at her heels, she flees before he wakes.

Irresistibly drawn after her, Ryder soon follows, but Miracle cannot risk losing her heart. No honourable future is possible for a duke’s son and a lady of the night. With her life in danger, they agree to travel north together on England’s hidden byways as comrades, not lovers. Yet even as their journey leads them both into the unknown, desire threatens to defeat principle.

HISTORICAL: European Historical Romance
SETTING: England 1849
HEROINE: 29 year old French spy for Britain

Though a celebrated French beauty in 1849, Madeleine DuMais's cleverness is her greatest asset -- and one she puts to good use as a spy for the British. When her expertise is needed in the south of England to break up a smuggling ring, Madeleine willingly puts her life on hold to help the crown...

Arriving in the quaint resort town of Winter Garden, Madeleine meets her partner in subterfuge. Thomas Blackwood is unlike any man she has ever met. His quiet confidence and mysterious intensity send shivers of pleasure coursing through her ... shivers that slowly melt into a desperate passion. As duty gives way to desire, surrender holds its reward. And Madeleine will never recover from the touch of Thomas's hands on her body -- and the touch of his heart on her soul…

HISTORICAL: American Historical Romance
TIME PERIOD: Modern era
SETTING: US 1941
HEROINE: 25 year old pregnant widow with children

In town, they called her "Crazy Widow Dinsmore." But Elly was no stranger to their ridicule--she had been an outsider all her life, growing up in a boarded-up old house under the strict eye of her eccentric grandparents. Now she was all alone, with two little boys to raise, and a third child on the way.

He drifted into Whitney, Georgia, one lazy afternoon in the summer of 1941, hoping to put his lonely past behind him. He yearned for the tenderness he had never known, the home he'd never had. All he needed was for someone to give him a chance.

HISTORICAL: Elizabethan Romance
SETTING: England 1586
HEROINE: 30 year old leader of the criminal underworld

Amid the treachery and turmoil of Elizbethan England, Rafe Fletcher returns from war to rescue his kinsmen accused of plotting to kill Queen Elizabeth and place Mary, Queen of Scots on the throne. Racing to save his relatives' lives and restore the family's honor, Rafe has only one hope to find the truth: to infiltrate a cutthroat gang of thieves ruled by the notorious brother-sister team of Nick and Vivian Swift.

Rafe thinks Vivian will be easy to hate. But unlike any woman he's ever met, Viv draws him with a tantalizing power he finds irresistible. Proud and daring, Viv awakens a fire deeper and more consuming than any Rafe has ever known. To taste the passion of the fiery beauty's embrace, however, could expose his secret and finish his family. And for Viv, succumbing to her own exquisite desire could mean downfall too, for she harbors her own dark mystery. Rafe and Viv know that to give in to love may cost them their very lives. Yet how can they resist?

HISTORICAL: European Historical Romance
SETTING: England 1822
HEROINE: 25-ish year old widow

Margaret Esterly is desperate - and desperation can lead to shocking behaviour! Beautiful and gently-bred, she was the essence of prim, proper English womanhood - until fate widowed her and thurst her into poverty overnight. Now she finds herself at a dazzling masked ball,determined to sell a volume of scandalous memoirs to the gala's noble host. But amid the heated fantasy of the evening, Margaret boldly, impetuously, shares a moment of passion with a darkly handsome gentleman . . . and then flees into the night.

Who was this exquisite creature who swept into Michael Hawthorne's arms and then vanished? The startled, yet pleasingly stimulated Earl of Montraine is not about to forget the intoxicating woman of mystery so easily - especially since Michael's heart soon tells him that he has at last found his perfect bride. But once he locates her again, will he be able to convince the reticent lady that their moment of ecstasy was no mere accident . . . and that just one kiss can lead to paradise?

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.

HISTORICAL: European Historical Romance
SETTING: England 1834
SERIES: Book Four in the Seduction series
HEROINE: 22 year old illegitimate woman

The illegitimate daughter of a prince and a notorious courtesan, Lucia has been confined to schools and convents for most of her life. But that hasn't stopped her from causing one scandal after another. Exasperated, her royal father decides that his exquisite hellion of a daughter must be married immediately. And Sir Ian Moore, Britain's most proper diplomat, is the perfect man to choose her a groom.

Diplomacy, not matchmaker, is Ian's forte, but he vows to get Lucia married off as soon as possible so that he may return to his real duties. Yet, despite an abundance of very eager, worthwhile candidates, none is a match for Lucia's spirit and fire. And the more time Ian spends with the infuriating beauty, the more reluctant he is to marry her off. Could it be that he has already found Lucia the perfect husband...and it is Ian himself?

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...

HISTORICAL: European Historical Romance
SETTING: England 1813
SERIES: Book One in the Liar's Club series
HEROINE: 25 year old woman

Agatha Cunnington, a headstrong beauty from the country, has come to London in search of her missing brother James. The only clue she has is a cryptic letter signed The Griffin. Agatha decides to disguise herself as a respectable married woman so that she can go about the city unnoticed. But for her charade to work she needs a suitable "husband," preferably someone tall, elegant, and rakish-someone like Simon Montague Rain.

Simon Montague Rain, also known as The Magician, is a member of The Liar's Club, a renegade group of rogues and thieves in the service of the Crown. When someone begins murdering members of the undercover cabal one by one, Simon is given the mission to bring in The Griffin, one of his comrades who is suspected of betraying his brothers. Simon goes undercover and infiltrates the home of "Mrs." Agatha Applequist who he believes is the Griffin's mistress. Before Simon knows what's happened, he finds himself irresistibly drawn to Agatha's soft, feminine charms-and he is tempted beyond reason to break the first rule of The Liar's Club: never fall in love.

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.

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.

HISTORICAL: European Historical Romance
SETTING: England 1823
HEROINE: 30 year old married mother

Sophie, the Duchess of Calton, has finally moved on. After seven years mourning the loss of her husband, Garrett, at Waterloo, she has married his cousin and heir, Tristan. Sophie gives herself to him body and soul. . . until the day Garrett returns from the Continent, demanding his title, his lands-and his wife. Now Sophie must choose between her first love and her new love, knowing that no matter what, her choice will destroy one of the men she adores. Will it be Garrett, her childhood sweetheart, whose loss nearly destroyed her once already? Or will it be Tristan, beloved friend turned lover, who supported her through the last, dark years and introduced her to a passion she had never known? As her two husbands battle for her heart, Sophie finds herself immersed in a dangerous game-where the stakes are not only love . . . but life and death.

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.

HISTORICAL: European Historical Romance
SETTING: Venice & England 1820
SERIES: Book Two in the Fallen Women series
HEROINE: 27 year old divorced courtesan

James Cordier is all blue blood and entirely dangerous. He's a master of disguise, a brilliant thief, a first-class lover - all for King and Country - and, by gad, he's so weary of it. His last mission is to "acquire" a packet of incriminating letters from one notorious woman. Then he can return to London and meet sweet-natured heiresses - not adventuresses and fallen women.

Francesca Bonnard has weathered heartbreak, scorn, and scandal. She's independent, happy, and definitely fallen; and she's learned that "gentlemen" are more trouble than they're worth. She can also see that her wildly attractive new neighbor is bad news. But as bad as James is, there are others far worse also searching for Francesca's letters. And suddenly nothing is simple - especially the nearly incendiary chemistry between the two most jaded, sinful souls in Europe. And just as suddenly, risking everything may be worth the prize.

HISTORICAL: Regency Romance
SETTING: England 1813
HEROINE: 37 year old French aristocrat widow a son,

Broken-hearted years ago by Adam Ashworth, Fabienne Argonac Craigmont finds solace in the works of a popular British gothic novelist. But when Fabienne begins an intimate correspondence with her idol, she has no idea that the pseudonymous author is her long lost love.

HISTORICAL: Medieval Romance
TIME TRAVEL: Modern day to past
SETTING: England 1260
SERIES: Book Seven in the De Piaget series
HEROINE: 20ish old composer-in-residence from the US who travels back in time

A wish upon a star transports the luckless-in-love Jessica Blakely back in time to the thirteenth century. But her desire for a fair and gallant knight yields the fearsome Richard De Galtres. Though wary of Jessica's mysterious ways, Richard protectively harbors her in his castle by the sea. Though her stubborn will nearly drives him mad, the very sight of her puts a smile on a face that has known too few. And when Jessica's tender desire pierces the armor around his heart, Richard fears he may never be able to recover--or resist.