Showing results by narrator "Sasha Higgins" in All Categories

Haunted by her past, Lady Caroline Martindale fled England for the solace of her godmother's palazzo in Venice. But if Caro was hoping to escape the charms of marriage-minded men, she's come to the wrong place. And she'll resort to extreme measures to spurn the advances of a dangerously determined Venetian marquis. Though most of his friends have married off, Gervais, Earl of Huntley, remains bent on eluding the parson's mousetrap. But his convictions begin to falter when he arrives in Venice and meets his match in the alluring Lady Caro.

Miss Lucy Bertram is content to spend her days writing scientific articles or curling up with a Gothic romance novel. Indeed, she'd rather stick a hatpin in her eye than attend a ball. But when her father, the eccentric botanist Sir Oswald, insists she accept the suit of a wealthy but stiffer-than-a-poker industrialist to save the family from penury, Lucy decides to act. She's certain her disowned brother, Monty, will take her side. But first she must find him in St. Giles's cutthroat rookeries.

Amidst the turmoil of Civil War era New York, a young, immigrant woman seeks to escape a life of prostitution so that she may rescue a child from a terrible fate. It wasn’t supposed to be like this. Cast adrift in an unfamiliar city, a young Irish immigrant named Molly finds herself forced into prostitution and has a child stolen out of her arms. With the city descending into the chaos of the Draft Riots, Molly must save herself before she can save the child.

As children, identical cousins Anastasia and Breanna Colby swore always to protect each other. Now that Anastasia's beloved parents have died, she has come to live with Breanna . . . and Breanna's father, whose raging temper has locked his daughter into a life of fear. What is more, Anastasia soon realizes that her uncle is involved in a sinister scheme that places both young women in deadly danger.

All her life, Breanna Colby has lived on the precipice of fear, her only joy the recent reunion with her beloved cousin Anastasia. With her violent father now locked away in jail, the repressed young woman can emerge from her cocoon and pursue all the joys she's been denied. But she finds—to her terror—that not all the shadows have lifted, and an evil from the past stalks both her and Anastasia. When authorities are unable to help with this assassin lurking in the darkness, the Colbys turn to the brilliant Royce Chadwick, England's foremost expert on finding people who don't want to be found.

Aurora Huntley, free-spirited sister to the earl of Pembourne, lives under the dark shadow of the black diamond. The victim of threats from privateers who believe her brother possesses the precious stone, Aurora is a virtual prisoner in her own home. She now faces a fate worse than death: an arranged marriage to an uninspiring suitor. Craving adventure and freedom, Aurora has no choice but to do something shocking, something scandalous . . .

Lord Dudley Beauchamp is utterly miserable. A cannon blast damaged his left eye, so he has been released from the Royal Navy and forced to return home to London. He only wants to be left alone, but his family and friends refuse to let him be. They convince him to travel to Felixstowe for a fortnight in hopes that a change of scenery will do him good. Once there, he meets his friend’s infuriating cousin, who is quite possibly the most obstinate woman he has ever met.

A prodigy pygmy owl. A possessive firedrake. A booby-trapped castle. Gargoyles come to life. Who said magic would be ordinary? No one can access magic like Clara, but her powers are unpredictable and dangerous. She has to learn how to control them.

As the newly minted Lady Fairfax, she finds herself exiled to the tranquil but stifling confines of her husband's Derbyshire estate, her only companionship being that of a governess. Yet amidst the isolation, she encounters Mr. Darcy, the formidable Master of Pemberley, whose aloof demeanor belies a heart yearning for connection.

Chloe is serving a life sentence. In her own home. Ever since the horrific day her mother died, Chloe's life has been anything but normal—more like a carefully constructed prison. Her father hasn't let her go to school, have friends, or leave the house alone. As she grows up, Chloe begins to question the motives behind her dad's obsessive control. What would happen if she broke one of his many rules? And what exactly is he hiding under the overgrown grass in the back garden?

A pretty face, a fabulous gown, a flutter of lashes at just the right moment - Miriam had been taught she must use all these things to land a wealthy husband. Much preferring the company of books to people, the only thing that stopped Miriam from fleeing to the countryside was her younger sister - who was counting on Miriam to make a match that would ensure she could care for her mother and sister properly.

In nineteenth century Norland, magic is forbidden, punishable by death. But it's coming for Clara. Clara was born to the nobility at a time when rank and power are often more valuable than the bonds of family. Her parents have plans for her, none that she wants, all involving her arranged marriage. From her birth, her entire life has been planned out-only what a future wife in society needs to know. Every step of her path is meant to end with her walking down an aisle and then popping out heirs.

Chitterton Fells is all of a flutter. Along with every female member of the village Library League, Ellie Haskell has developed a veritable obsession with novels of the romance variety. The steamier, the better. But tragedy strikes when Miss Bunch the librarian is found dead between the non-fiction stacks. Then the local milkman collapses in broad daylight.

Handsome, charming, and heir to a powerful viscount, Christopher "Kit" Featherton is everything a woman could want—except interested in marriage. So when he hears that someone on his estate near the Scottish border is claiming to be his wife, Kit sets off to investigate. Since her parents' death, Lady Mary Tolliver has been hounded by her cousin, a fortune-hunting fool after her inheritance. Refusing to settle for anything less than love, Mary escapes to the isolated estate of rakish bachelor Kit Featherton.

Dressmaker Miss Lily Martin knows too well the sordid dealings of London's corrupt underbelly. She should have known borrowing from one of the city's most reviled moneylenders was risky. Now the loan has come due—and there's nothing standing between Miss Lily and her darling sister's ruin. Until a dashing American with flashing, defiant eyes intervenes.

Regency London: With her family in dire straits, Kate Harmon agrees to marry the rakish Viscount Nicholas Dunston in return for a generous settlement from his father. But before she even meets her fiance, she overhears him promising to continue his affair with his mistress. Horrified, Kate enters the marriage with an air of coldness and distance. Determined to overcome her dislike, Nicholas attempts to endear himself to his new wife.

As far as William Easton—the Duke of Blackheath—is concerned, love can go to the devil. Why would a man need passion when he has wealth, a stately home, and work to occupy his mind? But no one warned the duke that a fiery and frustratingly strong-willed activist like Lady Beatrice Haven can also be a stunning dark-haired siren who tempts a man’s mind, body, and soul.

London, 1952: Forty-six-year-old Elizabeth Dalloway feels she has failed at most everything in life, especially living up to her mother, the elegant Mrs. Dalloway, an ideal socialite and model of perfection until she disappeared in the summer of 1923—and hasn’t been heard from since. When Elizabeth is handed a medal with a mysterious inscription from her mother to a soldier named Septimus Warren Smith, she’s certain it contains a clue from the past.

Charlotte Browne could just kick herself. What on earth possessed her to tell the Duke of Rockford that she is a lady? But something about the duke’s handsomeness and kind intelligence makes Charlotte blurt out the teeniest, tiniest falsehood. Now it’s too late to admit she’s just plain Charlotte of no particular importance—with cinder-stained hands, a wretched stepfather, and no prospects for marriage.

Marianne Carstairs has unexpectedly inherited a fortune from a father she has never known. In the will, her trustee—Marquess Justin Raymond—is tasked with introducing her into respectable society. But as the manager of her family's farm, Marianne is reluctant to leave behind a life of freedom. What's more, she finds Justin high-handed and stubborn. At the insistence of her grandfather, Marianne agrees to stay with Justin and his family at their Somerset estate. As their relationship grows stormy, Justin sees that it might prove impossible to turn his ward into a debutante.