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Someone is Getting her Just Desserts

Dear Readers,

This shocking report has just been received in our newsroom:

Dear Mr. Clemens,

It has long been the opinion of the Ton that the Sangford family’s claim to a royal connection is a sham meant only to promote their daughters’ status on the marriage mart. Not that it has worked, mind you. After all, five failed seasons should be sufficient to indicate that Miss Irene Sanford is not a suitable match for any peer she hopes to snag. And Mr. Sangford has made it clear it must be a man of title who marries either of his daughters.

Miss Sangford has gained no traction in her attempts to wed, and will now have to sit this season out, her broken leg binding her to home. No balls or dinners for this (surely by now rather desperate) young lady. It seems spinsterhood will be her fate.

For those of us who have suffered under her sharp tongue and not-so-subtle machinations to win a nobleman, her current circumstance seems well deserved.

It must be a terrible blow to her father that the one man to pay Miss Sangford recent attention is Mr. Nathaniel Macrae. Not only was his grandfather a Jacobite, but Mr. Macrae has been known to mingle in the lowest of circles, despite his breeding as a gentleman.

One almost feels sorry for Mr. Macrae. Even a man who keeps poor company should not associate with a woman of such unpleasant character. One wonders what draws him to her? This correspondent will keep her eyes and ears open. One suspects there is a possible scandal on the horizon. We shall wait and see.

Your faithful correspondent,

A mother relieved to see Miss Sangford unavailable this season

 

Irene’s Fall

Pride comes before her fall. Love helps her stand again.

Irene Sangford has willingly cast herself as the villain of her own story. After all, her family has taught her that arrogance and manipulation are suitable qualities in a lady if she’s seeking a husband with a title. Especially when there are so few such men to be had, and she is competing with her own sister to snap one of them up.

Nathaniel Macrae not only has no title, he has immersed himself in low society in his role as a secret investigator. Miss Sangford would never have given him a second glance, but when an attempted murder leads his inquiries right to her door, and a shocking secret from her past threatens to unravel her entire life, Irene discovers that Mr. Macrae is more compelling than any man she has ever met.

As Irene’s world falls apart, and she questions everything she has ever known, Nathaniel becomes her anchor in life’s greatest storm. Except this storm threatens to destroy them both. They will have to challenge everything they know and trust each other if they are to survive and find the love that has eluded them.

To be released on 27 December (available now to pre-order)

Buy Link https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0G1VMJKS9

Irene’s Fall is the 5th and final book in the “Ladies of Munro” series.

 

Note: This series is part of Dragonblade’s Sweet Dreams line, so this is a sweet, wholesome Historical Romance where passion beyond the bedroom door is left to the reader’s imagination.

Read in Kindle Unlimited!

Tropes You’ll Love:

  • Fake Rake
  • Mystery
  • Secret Life
  • Secrets Galore
  • Forbidden Love
  • Hero Investigates Crime
  • Female Redemption Arc
  • Meet “by Accident”

About the Author

Elizabeth Donne writes award-winning sweet Regency romance, a natural outpouring of a lifelong love affair with English literature.

Although Elizabeth has lived in Cape Town, South Africa for most of her life, she has traveled to 5 continents and loves to learn about local culture. In 2015, Elizabeth moved to Iowa with her husband, their two children, two cats, and their African bush dog.

When she’s not writing, or discovering the secret wonders of the Midwest, she is enthusiastically introducing her visitors to the joys of drinking rooibos tea. With a biscuit, of course.

 Social Media Links:

Free newsletter signup: https://www.elizabethdonnebooks.com/#subscribe

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Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/author/elizabethdonne

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BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/elizabeth-donne

 

Confusion at Woodglen Hall

Dispatch from Nether Abbas, Dorset, November 1818

Confusion reigns over at Woodglen, the duke’s estate. After sitting empty for months, the place is hopping with traffic.

To begin with, our beloved duke, His Grace of Glenmoor, has disappeared. He went off with his father’s (young and very pretty) widow to Wales and hasn’t been seen since. Maud Pritchard put it about that he ran off with the woman, but my nephew in London saw an announcement that the dowager duchess had married some Welshman, a commoner if you can believe it.

With the duke missing and the house empty, we were shocked by the arrival of some dandy claiming to be the heir. Felton Tavernash claims he is a distant cousin, and his pushy mother assures everyone it is true. The man is nothing like our own beloved duke, so I have my doubts. The mother insists the “poor, dear duke” must be dead on the wayside somewhere. Vultures they are, circling for the spoils. My nephew says betting in the clubs is that the duke did himself in, but the good folk of Nether Abbas want proof.

Before we could properly adjust to those two interlopers, another one turned up and moved in. Calls himself Gideon Kendrick. This one claims to be the duke’s older brother, but the old duke said that one had run off and got himself killed as a boy. That was years ago. Besides, the older brother was a bastard and Maud recalls he was some sort of cripple. Well the one at the Hall is a man full grown and very much alive.

What would happen next but Viscount Clavering’s forward daughter Miss Serena Selwyn went and presented herself on the doorstep. One of the maids reported she is after the so-called heir. As we should have expected, that cousin of hers, Miss Euphemia Selwyn took off after her, and they are claiming the first one took sick and the second is caring for her. Does anyone believe that Faradiddle? Not anyone in Nether Abbas I can tell you.

What we do know is there are two young unmarried women up at the Hall with single gentlemen in residence, and that is a fact. Readers can draw their own conclusions.

Milly Sheldon, Correspondent.

_____

Duke in All But Name

Secrets and lies threaten to pull them under, but a forced marriage may be their salvation.

Gideon Kendrick grew up as the despised bastard son of the Duke of Glenmoor. Exiled to the mines by his father, he has not only survived but thrived and prospered. He lives apart, wanting nothing to do with the duke, the estate—or anything in his past, except his younger brother Phillip, the new duke.

When Phillip disappears, leaving behind a letter asking his brother to care for his affairs, Gideon can’t refuse. Armed with authority making him the duke in all but name, he returns to the scene of his worst memories, facing vicious rumors and his family’s past. He also finds a grasping would-be heir, a steward with secrets, and a woman who stirs in him a desire he thought buried with his beloved wife.

Mia Selwyn lives in the shadows, an unwanted poor relation in the house of her viscount uncle. When her cousin’s hoydenish attempt to meet the supposed heir sees her drenched, ill, and in need of nursing, Mia is sent to care for her. Though warned to stay clear of the despised Kendrick, she is drawn into the dark undercurrents among the mismatched collection of residents and enthralled by the enigmatic Mr. Kendrick.

She quickly realizes he is not the monster he is rumored to be, twisted in body and mind. Instead, he is a resilient resourceful man with a deep love of family. As family, household servants, and villagers take sides on whether Gideon is the source of all the estate’s problems or its salvation, Mia and Gideon forge a partnership. Together they struggle to unravel secrets and the tangle Phillip left behind, and in the process, find a future for themselves.

Free with Kindle Unlimited or purchase the book at https://www.amazon.com/Duke-Name-Entitled-Gentlemen-Book-ebook/dp/B0BJS3GDN7/

And where is the duke? Find out in Duke in Name Only  https://www.amazon.com/Duke-Name-Only-Entitled-Gentlemen-ebook/dp/B0C1L3L968

The Author

Caroline Warfield, Bluestocking Belle and author of books featuring cheeky lads, resourceful ladies, and heroes of the loyal and protective variety who need the occasional push in the right direction.

https://www.carolinewarfield.com/

 

On Matters of the Heart, the Teeth, and Terribly Dangerous Truths

Dearest Reader,

It has come to the attention of this author that the London season, already awash with its usual trifles and dalliances, has a new and most peculiar drama unfolding within its very heart. One might even say it has bite. The whispers begin not in the gilded ballrooms of Mayfair, but in the hallowed halls of Harley Street—a place one typically associates with ailments of the body, not affairs of the soul.

Our tale concerns a certain Miss Maisie Morgenschein, a lady of quiet disposition who has taken on the rather weighty responsibility of guardianship to a young, orphaned marquess. A noble duty, to be sure. Yet, this author cannot help but wonder at the shadows that seem to cling to Miss Morgenschein like a second shawl. She moves through society with a placid grace that seems almost… rehearsed. One might suspect she is guarding more than just her young ward. Could it be a secret so perilous that to speak it would invite ruin?

And what of her name? Morgenschein. It has a distinctly foreign air, does it not? Tongues are wagging that this is not her true name at all, but a shield to conceal a past she desperately wishes to keep buried. A past, it is said, that contains a lost love she dare not seek, for fear of leading a villain to his door. How very tragic. To yearn for a phantom while living as one herself.

But every story of a lost lady requires a hero, and it seems ours has arrived in the most unexpected of guises. Step forward, Dr. Felix Leafley, the most sought-after dentist on Harley Street. They say his hands are as skilled at soothing a toothache as they are at, well, other delicate matters. Ladies of the ton flock to his practice, citing all manner of dental distress, though this author suspects their true afflictions lie closer to the heart. Dr. Leafley is dashing, capable, and, much like our Miss Morgenschein, cloaked in an alias.

Is it not a curious coincidence? Two souls, each hiding behind a fabricated name, moving in the same circles yet never quite meeting. This author has heard tell of letters written but never sent, of near-misses in crowded drawing rooms that leave one breathless with the tension of what might have been. It is a duel of aliases, a dance of deception where the grand prize is a reunion years in the making.

We are told a single, dangerously perfect kiss has already occurred. A spark of a long-forgotten flame? Passion, dear reader, has a way of defying even the most carefully constructed secrets. It seems our quiet guardian and our handsome doctor share a history that stretches all the way back to Vienna—a past filled with whispered vows and a love torn asunder by cruel circumstance.

But as these two tormented souls inch closer to speaking their own names, a darker presence makes itself known. A villain, it is said, lurks in the shadows, the very reason for their years of hiding. This malevolent figure is closing in, and the truth, when it finally emerges, may carry a cost far greater than a tarnished reputation. It may cost them their future.

One must ask: Can love truly conquer all when it is built upon a foundation of secrets? And what will become of our Harley Street miracle workers when their carefully constructed worlds collide? This author shall be watching, pen in hand. After all, the truth will always out in the end.

A Taste of Gold

by Sara Adrien

Her silence protects the man she loves and hides the woman she is.

Miss Maisie Morgenschein is very good at pretending everything is fine. Guardian to an orphaned marquess, she remains calm and protects a dangerous truth: nobody must know her real name—which makes it impossible for her lost love to find her, and that’s what she wants most. She still writes him letters she can’t send, not knowing where he is. A connection to her might lead the villain to him.

Dr. Felix Leafley, Harley Street’s most sought-after dentist, uses an English alias to keep his patients—and the other doctors at the practice—safe. Years ago, he was a medical student with Maisie in his arms. When circumstances tore them apart, they vowed to find each other. But passion refuses to stay polite, and secrets refuse to stay buried.

She can’t use her real name to find him. He can’t use his to be found.

The result? A duel of aliases, near-miss letters, and one dangerously perfect kiss.
But just as Felix and Maisie dare to speak their names, the villain closes in—and the truth may cost them the one thing neither believed possible: a future together.

From nostalgic Vienna to elegant historical London, A TASTE OF GOLD is a steamy, heart-forward romance about second chances, found family, and the courage to claim your life. This full-length novel is a steamy Regency romance with a happily ever after and no cliffhangers. It is part of a series that can be read in any order.

Tropes you’ll love:

  • Second-chance romance
  • Secret identities & hidden pasts
  • Found family
  • Redemption and reunion
  • Medical romance
  • Guardian-ward family stakes
  • Tortured hero with a heart of gold
  • Powerful antagonist / villain
  • Slow burn with steamy payoff
  • Pining for years
  • Near-miss / almost-meet tension
  • Brotherhood of doctors
  • outsider hero

Read in Kindle Unlimited! https://www.amazon.com/Taste-Gold-Regency-Historical-Miracles-ebook/dp/B0FZL49HT4

Miracles on Harley Street series
Book 1: A Sight to Behold
Book 2: The Scent of Intuition
Book 3: A Touch of Charm
Book 4: The Sound of Seduction
Book 5: A Taste of Gold
Book 6: Bring Me A Winter Miracle

About the Author

Bestselling author Sara Adrien writes hot, heart-melting regency romance with a Jewish twist. As a law professor-turned-author, she writes about clandestine identities, whims of fate, and sizzling seduction. If you like unique and intelligent characters, deliciously sexy scenes, and the nostalgia of afternoon tea, then you’ll adore Sara Adrien’s tender tear-jerkers. She is the author of the series Infiltrating the Ton, Diamond Dynasty, Check Mates, and Miracles on Harley Street. Get 50% off her #1 bestselling 9-book bundle https://www.saraadrien.com/products/diamond-of-the-ton-collection-1

Instagram: @author_sara_adrien

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61565938324623

Substack: authorsara.substack.com

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/22249825.Sara_Adrien

Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/sara-adrien

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/s?i=digital-text&rh=p_27%3ASara+Adrien

 

 

 

 

Leaves Instead of Roses? Our Bond Street Correspondent Spies a Duke with Designs

Dearest Readers,

Sharpen your quizzing glasses and pour the strongest Darjeeling, for London hums with a most diverting on-dit. The new Duke of Rotheworth—yes, the very one whose elevation arrived on the heels of a family disgrace—has returned to Town with something far more dangerous than a coronet: regret… and a particular lady on his mind.

Your obedient correspondent was positioned (purely by accident) behind a tower of ribbon at a certain Bond Street establishment when His Grace entered, unannounced and unescorted, carrying—do not swoon—a tidy packet of autumn leaves tied in satin. Leaves, my dears. Not roses, not orchids from Kew, but the very gold and crimson carpeting St. James’s Park. And to whom, you ask, did this rustic bouquet belong?

To Lady Charlene Fielding.

Now, Lady C is no feather-headed debutante. Since a certain gentleman of our acquaintance—Mr. David Cross as was Rotheworth’s twin brother, ahem—mislaid her trust some time ago, our lady has grown as sharp as a new hatpin and twice as difficult to dislodge. She laughs, she walks out with her friends, she minds her own fortune, and by all reports entertains no dukes, rakes, or anyone who answers to “Cross.”

Yet there he stood, a fallen Apollo with a ducal seal, presenting a ribbon-tied October to a woman who has wintered her heart to safety.

“Flowers are apologies,” a milliner’s girl whispered behind the counter. “Leaves are a promise. They say, I know what season you’re in.

Do not be deceived by the gentleness of the token. This correspondent has it from a footman who keeps late hours (and an ear to keyholes) that the pair were observed in close conversation beneath an orangery lantern at last night’s small party in Mayfair. No raised voices; only the careful sort of silence that lives between two people who remember exactly what a kiss once cost.

Meanwhile, society lists bloom like Michaelmas daisies: three weddings in as many weeks, if our invitations are to be believed. Will Lady C add her name to the harvest? Or will she prove that a woman may prefer her independence to a title polished by penitence?

As for His Grace, those who have watched him take the cut direct with admirable composure swear he carries the look of a man who will not lose the same thing twice. Whether the lady will permit a second chance is another matter entirely. My recommendation to the ton: keep to the edge of the ballroom and do not blink when the leaves change again.

Your most faithful purveyor of harmless mischief,

A Lady’s Maid Who Knows Where the Pins Are Hidden

 

How To Seduce a Duke This Autumn

by Sara Adrien and Tanya Wilde

One scandal. One missed chance. One impossible love.

Lady Charlene Fielding has no interest in dukes, rakes—or anyone named Cross. Not after Adam Cross shattered her trust and vanished without a word. With the help of friends, laughter, and hard-won independence, she’s mended what he broke. She doesn’t need a man. Least of all him.

She vowed never to forgive him. He vowed never to give up.

Adam Cross never wanted a title—let alone his brother’s disgrace. But as the new Duke of Rotheworth, he returns to London with more than duty on his shoulders. He carries regret. And the memory of the one woman he let down. The one he still wants.

But winning her back won’t be easy.

She’s colder now. Sharper. And determined never to let him close enough to hurt her again.

But the Season is full of surprises.
Weddings bloom like wildflowers.
Old secrets resurface.
And one stolen kiss could undo everything.

Is love worth risking it all… again?

A full-length steamy Regency romance with a happily ever after, no cliffhangers, and plenty of heat, heartbreak, and redemption.

Tropes You’ll Love:
✔ Childhood Sweethearts
✔Friends to Lovers
✔ Second Chance Romance
✔ He Fell First
✔ Protective, Sexy Duke
✔ Stolen Kisses
✔ Dance Lessons
✔ Twin Brother Rivalry
✔ Secret Past
✔ Fireworks & First Kisses
✔ Found Family / Female Friendship Circle
✔ Autumn Romance

If you crave your Regency romance with emotional stakes, sizzling tension, and a hero who never stopped loving her—this is your next must-read.

Step into a world of glittering ballrooms, fiery attraction, and scandalous secrets in Book 3 of this steamy Regency romance series by #1 bestselling authors Sara Adrien and Tanya Wilde. Perfect for fans of enemies to lovers, sizzling chemistry, and revenge served with a smile. This captivating continuation is packed with witty banter, dangerous stakes, and a love that refuses to be tamed. While best enjoyed in order, this book can also be read as a standalone.

Read in Kindle Unlimited!

Note: This series is part of Dragonblade’s Flame line, so this is a scorching-hot read with open-door steam.

Wedding Fever Series
Book 1: Dare to Tempt an Earl This Spring
Book 2: How to Lose A Prince This Summer
Book 3: How To Seduce A Duke This Autumn
Book 4: Ways To Kiss A Marquess This Winter

Get the book here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FT44P8GQ

Get the FREE companion book: https://dl.bookfunnel.com/4mrzm42ill

About the Author

Bestselling author Sara Adrien writes hot, heart-melting regency romance with a Jewish twist. As a law professor-turned-author, she writes about clandestine identities, whims of fate, and sizzling seduction. If you like unique and intelligent characters, deliciously sexy scenes, and the nostalgia of afternoon tea, then you’ll adore Sara Adrien’s tender tear-jerkers. She is the author of the series Infiltrating the Ton, Diamond Dynasty, Check Mates, and Miracles on Harley Street. Get 50% off her #1 bestselling 9-book bundle https://www.saraadrien.com/products/diamond-of-the-ton-collection-1

Instagram: @author_sara_adrien

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61565938324623

Substack: authorsara.substack.com

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/22249825.Sara_Adrien

Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/sara-adrien

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/s?i=digital-text&rh=p_27%3ASara+Adrien

 

 

The Strange Encounter of a Duke and a Scholarly Temptress

Dear Readers,

This report was received just yesterday from one of my faithful correspondents. I know you will find it quite interesting.

Dear Mr. Clemens,

I’m sharing a strange encounter and I’m still unsure whether it was real or a figment of my overactive imagination. I was in a carriage traversing London when I looked out the window and spotted one of the illicit markets that no respectable man or woman would ever attend. Yes, we all love the goods acquired from these illegal events, as they are often tax-free or discounted. I confess I may have an antiquity or a bottle of wine that has passed through such a market.

Still, every respected member of the ton knows to send their servants and not attend themselves, which is why I was shocked to discover the Duke of Sinclair and a brunette woman standing outside one of the events, arguing. At least, I thought it was the Duke of Sinclair. Unfortunately, I only witnessed the interaction briefly.

A carriage passing blocked my line of sight, and by the time it was gone, the man and woman arguing had disappeared. I’ve tried to convince myself it wasn’t him. He is, after all, the most respected duke in London. Yet, the more I ponder it, the more I’m convinced it was him. So, reader, that left me wondering why the Duke of Sinclair would be at such a place and who the woman was with him?

Interestingly, I just read that the Historical Society for Female Curators has partnered with scholar Rose Calvert, an expert in ancient texts. I don’t want to presume too much, but she does have reddish brown hair, and all of London knows how much the duke loves his antiquities. Could it have been them outside arguing, and were they buying stolen relics?

Again, I only caught one glimpse of them, so no one should dare repeat this rumor with any certainty. Yet, if it was them, what could a highly respected duke and eccentric scholar be doing together?

Sincerely,

A Bewildered Lady

 A Translation of Desire

The scholarly temptress is everything he shouldn’t want.

Rose Calvert, famed scholar, returns to London to attend a Season. She has no interest, but her father has forced her hand by shipping ancient tablets back to the city that she is desperate to decipher. She begrudgingly agrees to stay and immerse herself in the balls and teas until she has finished working on the artifacts. Her father hopes she will find her perfect match among London society. She has no interest until an encounter with the imposing Duke of Sinclair makes her begin to question all she has ever desired.

Augustus, the Duke of Sinclair, is the most sought-after gentleman in London. He is considered the unobtainable duke. He has a vast estate and a successful import business that provides goods and antiquities to all of London. Yet, at thirty-five, he still hasn’t found a lady to be his bride. He knows it is his duty to find the perfect duchess, and when he encounters Rose Calvert, it is clear she is not that, but there is something about the woman that he can’t seem to resist.
When Rose’s ancient tablets go missing, she and Augustus team up to find them.

As they spend more time together, these two mismatched partners find it hard to resist the hum of attraction that swirls between them.

Tropes you’ll love:

  • Opposites Attract
  • Class Difference
  • Bluestocking Heroine
  • Stuffy Duke
  • Slow burn
  • Romance with suspense
  • Forbidden Love

About the Author

Since stealing her first historical romance novel from her mother more than twenty years ago, Ramona Elmes has been all in on the genre. Her infatuation with the historical and steamy stirred her to write her own romances.

Ramona loves to write happily ever afters set in the Victorian era. She believes this period makes an exciting backdrop for fast-paced storylines, steamy moments, dramatic endings, and memorable characters.

When not creating ways to entice and torture her characters, she spends her days in Georgia coordinating her family’s crazy life, refereeing pets, hiking, and reading on her front porch.

Reading is hands-down her favorite way to relax, and she is an avid reader of all romance subgenres. Give her a dramatic storyline, a grand declaration, and heart-filled steamy moments, and she is in.

To get updates on Ramona’s books, follow her on Amazon, Facebook, Instagram, or her website.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/elmes_ramona/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RamonaElmes

Website: https://ramonaelmes.com/

 

 

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