Showing results for "Duke" in Literature & Fiction

One chance meeting on a Texas ranch. One wild, too-charming cowboy. One snowed-in night that changes everything. Wheeler Rankin isn't here for romance—she's come to Lucky River Ranch to visit her best friend, wrangle a business deal, and prove herself to everyone who ever doubted her. But when...

Gawain Burton, the Duke of Bromleigh, is a Silver Duke, and everyone in the ton knows these exceptionally handsome forty-something men with some gray salted in their hair have no intention of ever marrying. However, carrying on the Bromleigh title is important, and Gawain is determined to find a proper wife for his nephew and heir.

For years, Abigail Linton devoted herself to caring for her parents and her siblings’ children. Now, eager to create a life of her own, Abby seizes upon a position as a governess on a neighboring estate. Unfortunately, her absentee employer is Maxwell Bryce, the Duke of Rothwell, the notorious rake who once broke her youthful heart. But since he hasn’t set foot on his estate for 15 years, Abby assumes she’ll never have to lay eyes on him ever again.  

Artemis Jones—respectable finishing-school teacher by day and Gothic-romance writer by night—has never lost sight of her real dream: to open her own academic ladies' college. When she’s unexpectedly called upon by a dear friend, a fellow Byronic Book Club member, to navigate her first London Season, she comes at once—who knows, perhaps she can court the interest of a wealthy patron for her school. It’ll all be fine as long as she can avoid her high-handed aunt's schemes to marry her off.

England, 1817. Miss Adeline Hays is out of options. Determined to escape marriage to a repugnant earl, Adeline plans to deliberately allow herself to be caught in a compromising position at a house party with the much kinder man she’d hoped to marry. Instead, Adeline accidentally enters the wrong chamber and tumbles into the bed of the mad duke. Edmond Rochester, the duke of Wolverton, is seeking a wife to care for his two daughters. 

His Grace, Martin MacGalloway, has well-earned the reputation as the most celebrated rake on the entire isle of Britain. But upon his father's sudden death, he heads for Scotland, where he finds his inheritance in a shambles, his sisters without prospects, and his brothers relying on his patronage—and he's not about to conquer his problems alone. Penniless, Lady Julia St. Vincent has no choice but to dress as a man and accept a position as steward to the Duke of Dunscaby. The more time she spends with the duke, the more difficult it is to ignore the flickers of passion in her heart.

Jared Malcolm Lippincott, the Sixth Duke of Wyndmere, has restored the family fortune. Will his plans to restore the family name mend his pride? An unknown enemy from the past will stop at nothing to ruin him. Lady Persephone does not wish to marry, cleverly donning the guise of a bespectacled bluestocking to discourage offers of marriage. Fate has other plans the night she falls into the duke's arms, captivated by the sparkle in his brilliant blue eyes. Society is all agog speculating if the two are more than just strangers.

When the dangerous men who killed her husband in a political assassination threaten Ara, Duchess of Burghly, the Crown assigns her a bodyguard. But the man charged with protecting her is no stranger. He’s Clayton Ludlow, the bastard son of a duke and the first man she ever loved. Eight years after he took her innocence and ruthlessly abandoned her, he’s back in her drawing room and her life. This time, she’s older, wiser, and stronger. She will resist him at any cost and make him pay for the past.

Vivi, the Duchess of Bradford, loved her husband from the day they first met. She was an unabashed hoyden. He was the heir to a dukedom and her older brothers best friend. She vowed to marry him, but she never could have imagined just how dreadfully that youthful promise would go awry...

The wedding-night death of her much older husband left Tess Townsend the Dowager Duchess of Wansford—and still a virgin. Now she and her two best friends investigate London’s most scandalous crimes, and while Tess longs to experience physical pleasure for herself, she can’t risk losing her treasured independence.

Aidan Somerville, Duke of Forster, is a rake, a spy, and a soldier, richer than sin and twice as handsome. Now he is also guardian to his deceased best friend’s young son. The choice makes perfect sense - except that the child’s mother is the lovely Sophia Gardiner, to whom Aidan was engaged before he went off to war. 

Crispin Ashforth returns from battle the newly inherited Duke of Whitley with two sisters under his charge. Publicly lauded as a hero, he is haunted by the bitter mission that nearly saw him killed and cost the life of his best friend. Hes desperate to drown out the demons tormenting him by any...

Meet the damaged dukes from the Napoleonic wars and the spirited, strong-willed, and beautiful women who help them discover the joy of living again. Romance, intrigue, and passion ignite in this stunning new series.

When Lady Henley Killigrew's father dies and his title of earl passes to a not-so-friendly cousin who wants her and her two younger sisters out of their elegant London townhouse, she takes them to Moonstone Cottage, a lovely manor house they inherited from a maiden aunt in the Cornwall seaside village of Moonstone Landing. But their funds are limited, and the new earl is a stingy guardian who will not loosen the purse strings to allow her to properly maintain herself and her sisters in their new home. The only way to save them all is for her to marry.

Iris Almeria, the daughter of a powerful duke, is arrested and forced to her knees in front of her fiancée. Her betrothed, Prince Edward, is rejecting her for another woman! As Iris's life flashes before her eyes, she suddenly realizes she knows exactly what's coming next--because she has been reincarnated into her favorite otome game as its villainess. Quick thinking saves her from exile, but Iris can't rest yet. If she wants to survive this world that sees her as wicked, she'll have to change the world itself.

The first novel in Julia Quinn's worldwide bestselling Bridgerton novels, now a series created by Shonda Rhimes for Netflix. This is the story of Daphne Bridgerton and the Duke: welcome to the ballrooms of Regency London . . . Can there be any greater challenge to London's Ambitious Mamas than...

When Lady Emma Carlisle's twin sister jilts the wealthy and influential Duke of Ashford, their distraught parents pressure shy Lady Emma to marry the duke in her sister's place, dashing her hopes of a love match. Lady Emma is determined to make the best of the situation, but her new husband is cold and aloof and wants nothing to do with her. In his quieter moments, she catches glimpses of a thoughtful and intelligent man she'd like to know better. If only he weren't determined to keep her at a distance.

Joanna Porter loves being one of London's hottest up-and-coming matchmakers. But her heavenly vocation is about to turn into a nuptial nightmare—thanks to the Duke of Crestmont. He's as handsome as he is insufferable and obsessed with all things proper. Matching him would cement Jo's status as England's greatest matchmaker. Except, of course, the impossible-to-please duke refuses all of her most eligible ladies...confirming his status as a complete and utter pain in her petticoats.

Marcus Braddock, Duke of Hampton and former general, is back from war and mourning the death of his beloved sister, Elise. Marcus believes his sister's death wasn't an accident, and he's determined to learn the truth, starting with investigating Danielle, the beautiful daughter of a baron and his sister's best friend. Danielle's keeping deadly secrets of her own. She has dedicated her life to a charity that helps abused women - the same charity Elise was working for when she died. When Danielle's work puts her danger, Marcus comes to her rescue. But Danielle may not need rescuing.

‘One of the finest romance authors of all time’ JULIA QUINN A Runaway Bride… Bookish, brainy Lady Olympia Hightower should be elated she's marrying the ‘catch' of several London seasons. Her large, spendthrift family certainly is! And yet, Olympia finds herself sneaking out the chapel...