99-cent and $1.99 Historical Romance Novels

Only For His Lady by Christy Caldwell
$0.99 on Amazon

About the novella:

114 pages, 29 reviews (Avevage customer rating: 4.9 stars)

***Please note, "Only For His Lady" was previously featured in the "With Dreams Only of You" collection. It now features a prologue and epilogue! It is an approximately 30,000 word novella.

A curse. A sword. And the thief who stole her heart.

The Rayne family is trapped in a rut of bad luck. And now, it's up to Lady Theodosia Rayne to steal back the Theodosia sword, a gladius that was pilfered by the rival, loathed Renshaw family. Hopefully, recovering the stolen sword will break the cycle and reverse her family's fate.

Damian Renshaw, the Duke of Devlin, is feared by all--all, that is, except Lady Theodosia, the brazen spitfire who enters his home and wrestles an ancient relic from his wall. Intrigued by the vivacious woman, Devlin has no intentions of relinquishing the sword to her.

As Theodosia and Damian battle for ownership, passion ignites. Now, they are torn between their age-old feud and the fire that burns between them. Can two forbidden lovers find a way to make amends before their families' war tears them apart?

Three Weeks to Wed by Ella Quinn
$0.99 on Amazon

About the book:

320 pages, 81 reviews (Average customer rating: 3.9 stars)

In the first book of her dazzling new series, bestselling author Ella Quinn introduces the soon-to-be Earl and Countess of Worthington -- lovers who have more in common than they yet know. The future promises to be far from boring ...

Lady Grace Carpenter is ready to seize the day -- or rather, the night -- with the most compelling man she's ever known. Marriage would mean losing guardianship of her beloved siblings, and surely no sane gentleman will take on seven children not his own. But if she can have one anonymous tryst with Mattheus, Earl of Worthington, Grace will be content to live out the rest of her life as a spinster.

Matt had almost given up hope of finding a wife who could engage his mind as well as his body. And now this sensual, intelligent woman is offering herself to him. What could be more perfect? Except that after one wanton night, the mysterious Grace refuses to have anything to do with him. Amid the distractions of the Season he must convince her, one delicious encounter at a time, that no obstacle -- or family -- is too much for a man who's discovered his heart's desire ...

Luck is No Lady by Amy Sandas
$0.99 on Amazon

About the book:

417 pages, 43 reviews (Average customer rating: 4.6 stars)

He's the dangerously charming owner of a gambling hell.
She's the brilliant daughter of a gentleman drowning in debt.
Forced to use her talent for mathematics to save her family, Emma finds herself drawn from London's glittering ballrooms deep into its gritty underworld ... and discovers there the pleasure of falling from grace.

Emma Chadwick always assumed she'd live and die the daughter of a gentleman. But when her father's death reveals a world of staggering debt and dangerous moneylenders, she must risk her good name and put her talent for mathematics to use, taking a position as bookkeeper at London's most notorious gambling hell. Surrounded by vice and corruption on all sides, it is imperative the ton never discovers Emma's shameful secret or her reputation -- and her life -- will be ruined.

But Roderick Bentley, the hell's sinfully wealthy owner, awakens a hunger Emma cannot deny. Drawn deep into an underworld of high stakes gambling and reckless overindulgence, she soon discovers that to win the love of a ruthless scoundrel, she will have to play the game ... and give in to the pleasure of falling from grace.

"You should not have kissed me," she replied breathlessly.
"I do a lot of things I shouldn't. It does not mean I won't do them again."

An English Bride in Scotland by Lynsay Sands
$1.99 on Amazon

About the book:

389 pages, 242 reviews (Average customer rating: 4.3 stars)

Annabel had planned to become a nun. But when her mother arrives at the Abbey to bring her home to marry a Scottish laird -- her runaway sister’s intended husband -- her life takes a decidedly different turn.

And though Annabel isn’t the wife he’d planned for, strong, sexy Ross McKay is taken with his shy, sweet bride.

Annabel knows nothing about being a wife, running a castle—or the marriage bed. But her handsome new husband makes her want to learn. When Annabel’s life is threatened, Ross vows to move the highlands itself to save her and preserve the passion that’s only beginning to bloom.

The Bride by Julie Garwood
$1.99 on Amazon

About the book:

388 pages, 816 reviews (Average customer rating: )

By edict of the king, the mighty Scottish laird Alec Kincaid must take an English bride. His choice is Jamie, youngest daughter of Baron Jamison -- a feisty, violet-eyed beauty. Alec aches to touch her, to tame her, to possess her ... forever. But Jamie has vowed never to surrender to a man she considers a highland barbarian.

Alec is everything Jamie’s heart has warned her against—an arrogant scoundrel whose rough good looks speak of savage pleasures. While Kincaid’s scorching kisses set fire to her blood, she is determined to resist him ... until one rapturous moment quells their clash of wills, and something far more dangerous than desire threatens to conquer her senses ...

Flowers from the Storm by Laura Kinsale
$1.99 on Amazon

About the book:

565 pages, 354 reviews (Average customer rating: 4.4 stars)

The Duke of Jervaulx was brilliant and dangerous. Considered dissolute, reckless, and extravagant, he was transparently referred to as the ′D of J′ in scandal sheets, where he and his various exploits featured with frequency. But sometimes the most womanising rake can be irresistible, and even his most casual attentions fascinated the sheltered Maddy Timms, quiet daughter of a simple mathematician.

Book Review: Never Trust a Pirate by Anne Stuart

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In the second book of Anne Stuart's Scandal in the House of Russell series, she features two characters who aren't who they claim to be: Mary Greaves, is really Madeline Russell, the second of three daughters of the disgraced shipping magnate, Eustace Russell, who died while being investigated for embezzling his own company. And Thomas Morgan isn't really an English privateer-turned-shipping magnate, but Luca, a Gypsy, with a less-than-pristine background.

Following the same theme of cat-and-mouse, Maddy enters Thomas's house as Mary, a maid-of-all-work, hoping she could find some evidence to exonerate her father. Maddy doesn't count on being attracted to Thomas, and it proves to complicate her already-complicated situation: she's the help, and he's her employer; and, he's also supposed to be her enemy.

Unlike Bryony, Maddy is beautiful and still has prospects, fending off (but also considering) the proposal of an aging lord, but she is more determined to clear her family's name and restore a bit of her family's status in society. To say that life in service came as a culture shock to Madeline is an understatement -- and I got the sense that Stuart reveled in going into detail just how far down the Russells had fallen. Madeline continues to reminisce about the luxuries of her past life as she scrubbed and cleaned Thomas's house. In many instances, she looks at her hands and bemoans their current condition, knowing she could never have them be smooth and flawless ever again.

There was a part of me that felt that the author dwelt too much on this detail of Maddy's life -- but there was also another part of me that felt it was necessary for Maddy to go through this trial by fire. And I have to admire her for her tenacity -- a lesser person would have given up after an hour with the dust and the bats, but Maddy remained. A lesser person would have quit after being asked to work to the point of exhaustion, and then given very little to eat and very little time to rest. But Maddy was fighting for something greater than herself -- and I'm glad to see that our heroine isn't just a self-absorbed heiress intending to regain her life of comfort. What Maddy was fighting for was for her and her sisters to regain their father as they had known him: a man who worked hard, and provided well -- and it is tragic that their last memory of him is that of a man on the brink of a breakdown, suspicious of everything and everyone.

I liked seeing Thomas and Maddy dance around each other -- they both know they're there under false pretenses. Thomas is trying to marry a lady who would cement his position in society, but the part of him that is Gypsy, Luca, is suffocating under all the politeness and manners, and yearns to break free and sail away. Thomas knows Maddy/Mary isn't who she claims to be, and he is just waiting for her to make a slip. There's a clear attraction between the two, but I don't see a development in the relationship -- there's definitely admiration and respect, but I don't see love nor do I see how it could've developed in such difficult and limited circumstances.

But I have to admire that neither one compromises on their principles because of lust -- Maddy is focused on her goal to find evidence, and Thomas wants her to admit her real identity first. The author maintains a tense dynamic between our hero and heroine -- then she introduces a silent, unseen villain who is intent to do bodily harm to Maddy. This is the other weakness of the story -- the villain isn't clearly established, and I was initially confused about who he was in the story. As the story gained momentum, though, it because clearer who he was and his connection to the downfall of Maddy's father.

I felt that the author was considering two endings for our heroine: one involved the ship named after her, which Thomas had been wanting to acquire. It was clever for the author to put Maddy in this interesting position: neither Maddy nor her sisters knew that Maddy still owned something of monetary value. They had believed that all of their possessions had been seized. Thomas wanted to buy the ship, but needed to locate the owner to sign it over. I would've wanted to see how this particular plot thread would have played out: it would restore something to Maddy and her sisters, and put them in a less-desperate situation. But the author decided to resolve this in the conventional way: with Thomas and Maddy falling in love with each other.

Anne Stuart sets the stage very well for the third, and final book in the series: the list of suspects has been narrowed down to one, but, even the sisters agree that he is the most unlikely of villains. It will be very interesting to see how the author plans to resolve this mystery.

Never Trust a Pirate is Book 2 in the Scandal in the House of Russell series by Anne Stuart. To find out more about Anne Stuart and her books, click below:
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