Members’ Regency Fiction Releases for 02/2022

Looking for a blissful sleepless night? For lovers of historical romance, get ready to stay up late reading with this introductory collection of Georgian, Regency, and Victorian pieces by a group of highly acclaimed, award-winning authors! From gaming hells to ballroom belles, these standalone stories—including many first-in-series—will have you wishing for a time machine! This collection includes stories from Tracy Sumner, Tabetha Waite, Charlie Lane, Sadie Bosque, Cara Maxwell, Diana Bold, Courtney McCaskill, and Fenna Edgewood.

P.S. Make sure you have a fan with you! This is a STEAMY romance collection (various steam levels), so there will be heat! Happy endings guaranteed.

A polished, passionate and entirely original “take” on Jane Austen’s immortal Emma, by Publishers Weekly’s 2021 BookLife Quarterfinalist, Alice McVeigh.

As the Indie Reader put it, “Remarkably fresh: a dialogue-driven story that breezes by. Readers will rarely find the words ‘page-turner’ and ‘Jane Austen’ in the same sentence, but McVeigh’s latest novel certainly fits the bill!”

This is an Emma with a downplayed Emma, an Emma featuring instead the ingenious Harriet and the charismatic Jane Fairfax – and an EMMA with a shocking – but believable – twist in its tail.

This novel is the second in the six-book Warleigh Hall Jane Austen Series.

Social justice crusader Sophia Hawkins will do anything to protect her family. When Kenneth Macleod, the new Duke of Foxworth, forges a feud against her brother, she doesn’t care how powerful he is – or that neither man wants her involvement. If he won’t abandon his revenge, she’ll take matters into her own hands.

Perhaps a little kidnapping is in order.

Kenneth would much rather be in Scotland, the gorgeous country of his mother’s ancestors, than in prim and proper England. Only the father he never knew leaves him a title, wealth, lands and the responsibility to care for it all. It’s the life he never wanted, and there’s one man to blame: the Duke of Bradenton. Now he will exact his revenge. Only something lovely, vibrant and entirely delectable stops him.

Lady Sophia is everything he wants in a woman, and the only woman he can’t have. She is beautiful, brave and brilliant, and the more she defends her brother, the more he wants her. Yet how can he forgo his revenge? He is a man accustomed to getting what he wants.

Perhaps it’s time for a little kidnapping of his own.

Poppy St George’s sharp tongue has done nothing for her except find trouble. When her dearest friend and childhood companion marries, she is suddenly alone and adrift in a society that prefers ladies to be meek and mild. Poppy seizes a chance to escape her melancholy by summering on the Cornish coast, never dreaming she will come face-to-face with a particular gentleman from her past, a man she secretly loved before he broke her heart.

Carlos de la Guerra is a man who has always chosen duty over desire. He always knew Poppy was special, but he lost his chance to court her when he had to defend his family’s interests abroad. Now he has returned to England, and Carlos is determined to correct his mistake, if only Poppy will let him.

Just as the two are brought together again, they are drawn into an intriguing and generous mystery that threatens them both. Caught between smugglers and social climbers, Carlos and Poppy discover that the course of true love never runs smooth…

When the man you desire won’t take the hint, you need to become creative in your pursuit despite the danger.

Lady Phoebe Mountjoy, daughter of the Earl of Sunderland is in trouble. After being violated without her consent at a ball, two months later she discovers she’s increasing. Eight and twenty, unwed and without offers, she’s quite desperate to hide the evidence of the looming disgrace. So, she calls upon a childhood friend in the hopes she can persuade him to marry her for convenience’s sake as well as to save her reputation.

The Honorable Quentin Arkwright, first son of Viscount Tarleton, is no stranger to courting scandal. However, when a woman from his past drops by with a shocking proposition, he’s intrigued and then ultimately enraged as she shares her horrible story. He agrees to the marriage in name only with alacrity, for she doesn’t deserve her situation, and he is in need of a match so he can avoid the Marriage Mart.

As the months slip past and Phoebe’s pregnancy grows more advanced, the two strike up an endearing friendship. Despite the roots of their union, romance blooms, but when the man who put her in the compromising position makes a reappearance and threatens everything she and Quentin have built, they’ll have to make some difficult choices that will scandalize the ton. If they’re lucky, love will be a reward neither of them thought possible.

Pretending to be engaged to the most dashing lord in London isn’t all fun and games.
Lady Calantha, middle daughter of the Duke of Wey, has the unique ability to turn invisible in company. Well, not entirely invisible, or the eligible Frederick, Count Montalban, wouldn’t have noticed her at all. But Callie’s shy nature and plain features tend to make people overlook her. And they say the most outrageous things around her as a result, which is why she accidentally overhears strangers plotting to harm the count and his royal brother and father. What can a lady do but warn him?
Fritz, Count Montalban, is determined to keep his family safe. But he can’t drag Callie all over London to identify those plotting against them unless she has a reason to be alone with him. Pretending an engagement sounds like the perfect plan. After all, his dashing demeanor hides a wounded soul that demands he hold a true fiancée at a distance. But there’s something about Callie that pulls him closer.
As the danger grows along with their attraction, Fritz and Callie must work together to protect both their families, and Fritz finds his heart cracking open. Can he prove to the sweet Callie that she will never be invisible, to him?

Love conquers even the most unlikely lord in USA Today bestselling author Ella Quinn’s delightful Lords of London series, as a reformed rogue endeavors to prove himself worthy of his chosen bride . . .

Mistakes happen, to be sure. Rarely are those mistakes as unfortunate as the one made by Nathanael, Viscount Fotherby, when he abducted the now Lady Merton to save his friend from marriage. Nate has been trying to make amends ever since, leaving behind his self-centered ways to fulfill his duties—and that includes finding a wife of his own. One woman sparks his interest above all others—a lady he helped when she was rescuing a child. Alas, there is a devilish complication . . .

Miss Henrietta Stern, Lady Merton’s younger sister, is intrigued by the stranger who comes to her aid—until she learns his identity. Nate’s stunt could have ruined her sister’s reputation, and her family may never forgive him. With beauty, connections, and a sizeable dowry, Henrietta has plenty of admirers. Yet no other suitor quickens her pulse quite like Nate does. Her heart insists that the gentleman has changed for the better. But can a renowned scoundrel possibly prove himself to be the perfect husband?

A dutiful army officer who shuns intimacy. A selfless beauty ready to start living for herself. A chance meeting in the street that leads to love . . .

When Major Spencer Haddock’s father dies, he returns to England as the Earl of Middlefield. He seeks a typical ton marriage, where his wife will provide him with an heir and possibly other children and then they go their separate ways. He intends to find his countess quickly and not waste time at boring social affairs.

Lady Tessa Foster delays her come-out for several years in order to care for her ill parents. Now out of mourning, Tessa is eager to be introduced in Polite Society so she can find a husband and start a family of her own.

When Spence attempts to save Tessa from a thief brandishing a knife, she turns and attacks Spence. He quickly learns that instead of the pliant woman he thought he wanted as his countess, he desires Tessa—a woman of beauty and valor who stands up for herself and those she cherishes.

Can Spence change Tessa’s poor opinion of him and win the heart of the woman he has come to love?

He’s a soldier who can’t remember who he is; she’s a nurse who’d rather forget who she was. One tender night in Chelsea Hospital is all they allow themselves, but when they meet again in the ballrooms of London, can they forget their Sweet Transgression?

Sometimes, Prince Charming isn’t what you expect.

Lady Larissa, oldest daughter of the Duke of Wey, has one goal: find suitable husbands for her two younger sisters and best friend so they may live happily ever after. Despite their attempts at matchmaking for her, she’s all but given up on finding her own groom, a gentleman good enough to meet her late mother’s and grandmother’s expectations. She has a hard enough time meeting those expectations for poise, propriety, and perfection. But a chance encounter brings the most marvelous gentleman to her attention. A shame he is merely a captain of the Imperial Guard of Batavaria and in no way the suitable husband for the daughter of a duke.

Prince Otto Leopold Augustus of Batavaria has one goal: to win back his country from those who ousted his family. But someone seems intent on stopping him, for danger stalks the corridors of their palace in England. So why not trade places with his identical twin brother, the leader of the Imperial Guard? Leo might just uncover their enemies before someone is hurt. And having an ally in the thoroughly proper and pretty duke’s daughter can only help.

The more Larissa and Leo are thrown together, the more secrets come to light and the more their attraction grows. Would the daughter of a duke dare to throw off propriety, if it means winning the heart of the most princely of men?

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.

If you allow your differences to hold you back, you’ll never discover how wonderful your life can be.

Honorable Dorothea Carrington is companion to the Dowager Duchess of Fairfield. Though she enjoys a good life and regularly travels the world at the dowager’s whim, something is lacking. Born with a birth defect that makes her an easy target for ridicule and rejection, all she wants is acceptance and to be loved for herself. If the opportunity to marry comes about, she’d accept with alacrity, no questions asked.

Major Anthony Jasper’s world has been upended. Though retired from the military, the past won’t stay buried. When his mistress leaves a six-year-old daughter in his care, he’s at sixes and sevens. It was never in his plan to have children, for the world is a horrible place. As his wit’s end is reached, he turns to the most unlikely source for help—his godmother, the Dowager Duchess of Fairfield.

Thea’s intrigued with the major, even more so when she discovers his daughter possesses a birthmark that sets her apart, but the dowager’s not best pleased at the friendship that springs between her companion and godson. To Anthony’s credit, he does everything in his power to ignore the pretty, blonde-haired lady who’s fearful of being in society, but his godmother’s demands on his time constantly puts him in Dorothea’s company. It’ll take some sneaky interference to see them make a go of a happily ever after, but it’ll be worth the effort.

If there was ever a forbidden love, this was it. John Wade. The very man who threatened to destroy all that Diana’s family had ever built.

But by the time Diana realizes the man she has fallen for at the race track is the very man she has vowed to bring down, it is too late — she’s already lost her heart. And her hand in marriage.

Wade had said he’d needed a wife. He just hadn’t counted on falling for the sister of his greatest foe. For Wade is trying to build his own empire, to become a man who is as feared and respected as Arie Hondros. And he must do so while facing secrets from the past he never saw coming — secrets that question everything he ever knew about himself.

The trust between Diana and Wade is as shallow as their passion for one another is deep. But when a shadowy figure from their pasts threatens all that they know and all who they love, they must learn to work together or risk losing everything — including each other.

This Regency romance contains some steamy content.

Sometimes, the winds of change don’t come on a storm; they arrive with a beguiling breeze.

Inspector William Storme is a Bow Street Runner who’s working a series of gruesome murder cases. His dying mother wishing to see him settled adds to the anxiety his position brings. So when he courts a pretty young lady, and she agrees only if he’ll let her accompany him on cases, everything seems to work out fine until the attraction begins and he’s forced to compete with another man for her attention.

Lame and socially shy Miss Francesca—Fanny—Bancroft, daughter of Viscount Nattingly, is a budding society reporter for the General Evening Post, but she aspires to write articles on more important topics. When she encounters the inspector at a rout and he asks to court her, she presses her advantage. What’s more exciting than interviewing a Runner? The plan is sound until she begins to desire the mysterious, oftentimes grouchy man.

While the murders increase, William and Fanny accelerate their investigation of a possible serial killer, but between the shocking scenes, an unexpected romance develops. Emotions swirl around them and truths are revealed as they track down clues and talk with suspects. Passion ignites between them, which leads to the murders becoming personal, bringing danger to them both. It’ll take intelligence and instinct to catch the killer before it’s too late, because their love and their lives now hang in the balance.

A man she can trust…

With her life…and her heart?

Ordered by her father to choose a husband by the end of the Highland Games—or he will select one for her—widow Moira Fraser hastily elopes with Rory McKenna, Laird of Blackmore. But they soon discover neither is free of the past. Rory has a price on his head and needs an heir as soon as possible, and Moira’s horrible first marriage has left her afraid of letting her new husband get close…

LOVE DENIED

Catherine Baring has chased her brother Laurence, and the neighboring Sinclair boys, through childhood into adulthood. She adores all three, but it is the younger Sinclair, Nicholas, who owns her heart. When Nicholas leaves to join the fight against Napoleon, she vows she will wait for him. However, four years is a long time and circumstances change. Faced with the threat of a scandal that will lead to penury and, worse, possible criminal charges, Catherine agrees to do the only thing that might deflect attention from their families—marry the elder Sinclair, Daniel. Daniel is killed before the two are wed, and Nicholas is summoned from the battlefield to assume the role as heir to Woodfield Park. Disillusioned by the atrocities committed on the continent, his brother’s death is another blow. He clings to thoughts of Catherine, certain that in her arms he will find the solace he craves.

Instead, Nicholas finds betrayal and deceit. Catherine claims to love Nicholas, but she refuses to repent for the betrothal to his brother. Nicholas buries his conflicting feelings, and himself, in the neglected affairs of the estate. But a lifetime of loving is hard to set aside, and when he discovers a series of letters that reveal the truth behind the traitorous engagement, he’s not sure he can.

As they struggle with loss and longing, one thing becomes clear to both Nicholas and Catherine. Only in confronting the past can they hope to build new dreams for the future.