Showing results by narrator "Stevie Zimmerman" in All Categories

When Juliana Issot’s godmother invites her to spend the month of Christmas at a house party in Yorkshire, Juliana feels compelled by affection to accept. Never mind that she escaped Yorkshire at first chance to secure a more glittering match in London and that the only matrimonial prospect back home is her childhood playmate, Willelm.

Nicholas Cranleigh suspects his meddlesome sister is up to something when she invites him to stay at Cothill Manor at the same time as Miss Dresden. He’s on his guard, but it’s hard to resist a woman with luminous eyes who’s in need of a savior. Lavinia Dresden is ready to sacrifice herself to save her family from financial ruin in the only path open to a woman of gentle breeding. But she hadn’t counted the cost of her sacrifice until Lord Cranleigh came into her life—a man she knew to be her ideal.

Having inherited his mother's English home and title, Earl of Dunkirk of Scotland is considered a prize catch by the haute ton. He knows one day he will have to marry to carry on his name, but he wants a wife who 'understands' they will each go their own way after she gives him an heir - a marriage of convenience.

Miss Melpomene Rand's only refuge from a life of monotony and cruelty is the extensive library left to her by her grandfather. The fantastic notions and romantic heroes contained in those books are the only thing that distracts her from the abuse of her adopted family. But then a mysterious stranger, the Earl of Austell, finds they have a mutual malady of boredom, and he endeavors to rescue them both.

Paris, 1774. With Sophie Twisden’s grandmother laid up with an illness, causing them to withdraw from the Paris social scene, the pompous Sheldon Cholmsley appoints himself as Sophie’s “protector.” Protector? Ha! More like tormentor. So when her new friend Basile Gervain offers her the protection of his name and promises he will not allow harm to come to her reputation when she breaks their sham betrothal and returns to London, she has little hesitation in accepting.

Giles Goddard, Lord Norcourt is odd. Born with his life's cord wrapped around his neck and sent away to Ireland to be raised in an orphanage run by nuns, he's known nothing but the cold sting of being misunderstood and altogether unwanted. But that's all about to change... Lucy Whitaker is a fallen woman who has done her best to build a life for her and her son. But when her son finds a battered gentleman left on the side of the road, her entire world is about to come crashing down as she once again finds herself caught between two brothers: an heir and a spare.

Leaving her first love behind was the hardest thing Regine, Duchess of Heartwaite, had ever done. Her marriage of convenience to another man saved her family, even as it laid waste to her heart. That was years ago, however. Now widowed, she’s ready to begin her life anew. But all it takes is one glimpse of her former sweetheart to realize the feelings she buried so long ago are still there, stronger than ever. Unfortunately, his feelings for her are decidedly colder....

Cecilia Cosgrove’s beauty opens doors and hearts everywhere she goes. With a marquess courting her, the status and wealth her family is counting on her to obtain is finally within her reach—until she meets a French nobleman who immediately pegs her as affected and superficial. Poor émigré Jacques Levesque has been disguised as a French nobleman for almost as long as he can remember, trying his hardest to keep his head down in a society obsessed with rank and high birth. But when Cecilia Cosgrove comes into his life, he finds it hard to maintain his façade—or to want to.

Elizabeth Bennet’s sympathies often extend to the disadvantaged and mistreated. So when she meets Fitzwilliam Darcy under less than flattering circumstances, her heart goes out to the unfortunate gentleman. Extending him her friendship and her humor, she tries to be content with her lot while helping her dearest sister and friend find love with their new neighbors at Netherfield Park. But the more she comes to know Mr. Darcy, the greater his danger to her heart.

He taught her to trust. He taught her to love. And then, he left her behind without a word. Tonight, he's back. Whether for a moment or forever depends on the turn of a card. Twenty-one to win - or to lose it all. Their future hinges on her dealing him the right card.

Follow the story of one young woman who suddenly finds herself destitute on the streets of Paris in 1878. Faced with the need to survive, she agrees to become a prostitute in one of the most infamous brothels in Paris. Ashamed of her choice and fearful for her future, she meets a handsome lord who has paid a hefty price to take her virginity. Little does she know that the man chosen to deflower her innocence will change her life forever.

Fearless and impulsive, Lady Anne Eliza Lewis, daughter of the Earl of Doverton, is not the usual ton lady. Nor does she want to be, for she's worked the bulk of her adult life at being a balloonist. Well-read Benedict Giles Urquhart, Viscount Worthington is a man who values peace and order over all else in his life. When a freak accident with a crashing hot-air balloon spooks his horse and throws Benedict, his placid life takes an abrupt turn, to say nothing of the distracting and unrepentant woman manning it.

One week before Lady Barbara sails home to London, how can she resist a last fling at the buccaneers' Carnival on Grand Terre? With Mardi Gras banned in the Louisiana bayous, only Jean Laffite and his band of smugglers and pirates dare to celebrate. Widowed after a two-day marriage, Barbara feared her life was over before it really began. Tonight, laissez le bon temps rouler! In a wild crowd of masqueraders Barbara is swept off her feet by Will Stover, the Black Buccaneer.

Lady Caroline Grantby's wedding in Tunis to Jerome Sarratt was the happiest day of her life. But when they set sail for London, Jerome orders separate staterooms. Why? As Caroline ponders, the ship is attacked by the dreaded Barbary corsairs. Their captain, the legendary Barbarossa, promises to sell his prisoners at Algiers: Jerome to torture by his political enemies, Caroline to a pasha with a taste for English virgins. The newlyweds have only one card to play: Lady Caroline’s chastity. If she seduces Barbarossa, can she save their lives by persuading the corsair to offer them for ransom? But if she does, how can she save her marriage? Many alarming twists and turns lie ahead for the captives--and also for their captor--before this high-seas battle reaches its shocking, heart-wrenching climax at an English country-house weekend.

Georgiana Darcy fancies herself a matchmaker. Determined to help her brother out of his blue spell, she decides that her new acquaintance—Miss Jane Bennet—is just the lady to fill Darcy’s heart with cheer. And while she is at it, would not Miss Elizabeth Bennet suit Georgiana’s cousin Colonel Fitzwilliam perfectly?

Captain Blackheart leads a simple life of roving the seas, wenching and treasure-hunting. He steers clear of romantic entanglements that could tie him to land. He shouldn't have any trouble keeping his hands off the gently-bred lady he's commissioned to abduct — except his cargo turns out to be feisty and passionate! She'd be a prize worth treasuring, if having her aboard didn't jeopardize everything...

Oliver York returns from war to find his father dead, his finances in arrears, and himself the new Earl of Carlisle. If he doesn't marry an heiress—and fast!—he and his tenants are going to be pitching tents down by the Thames. He definitely shouldn't be trading kisses with a penniless debutante... no matter how captivating she is!

The Harris List of Covent Garden Ladies, that wickedly witty annual register of the city's light-skirts, was once a grand London tradition. Now, as all of Europe is celebrating the end of the long wars, the scheming Lord Marstoke has revived it - and transformed it into a weapon to be used against his runaway fiancée and the old enemy who helped her escape.

Lottie Crawford's life in poverty sharply contrasts with the luxurious existence of Elizabeth Gilbert, daughter of a wealthy industrialist. While Lottie toils long hours in low-paying jobs as her family descends into despair, Elizabeth yearns for a life beyond the gilded cages of high society.

After her abusive husband’s death, the Duchess of Gooding has been relegated to Kent’s Row, a place where widows are put out to pasture. Valaria isn’t upset by this. She’s running from her past and happy to be independent and away from prying eyes. And she knows she won’t be lonely after she meets and befriends two other young dowager duchesses who are also residing in the Row. Oh yes, life could be perfect…as long as no one ever finds out her secret.