Cynical and broken-hearted, Leticia banishes dreams of marriage. When her childhood friend, Tristan, wagers he can find her the perfect husband, she hopes the challenge will coax him to forgo his devil-may-care lifestyle. Meanwhile, Leticia throws herself into forming her charity school but meets opposition—even from the people she’s helping. Guilt-ridden that his past mistakes robbed Leticia of true love, Tristan vows to set it right, but match-making has its pitfalls for a repentant scoundrel. When he finds two ‘perfect’ gentlemen to court her, he discovers his own deep feelings for the lady. Though Tristan seems to reform, Leticia doesn’t dare risk heartbreak with a notorious rake. When opposition for the school takes a deadly turn, can Tristan protect her from a madman bent on destroying their dreams and their lives?
The "orphan train" seemed like small-town spinster Adelaide Crum's last chance to know the simple joys of family life. So many lost children, every one of them dreaming only of a caring home—the home she longed to offer. And yet the narrow-minded town elders refused to entrust even the most desperate child to a woman alone…. Newspaperman Charles Graves believed his heart was closed forever, but he swore to stand by this lovely, lonely woman who was fighting for the right to take some motherless child into her heart. And her gentle soul and unwavering faith made him wonder if even he could overcome the bitter lessons of the past, and somehow find the courage to love….
The news spread like brush fire through the whole county when widower Ancil Drayton announced his intention to start courting Miss Hattie Colfax. She was certainly spirited and delightfully sweet natured, and she'd managed to run her family farm almost single-handedly. But wasn't a twenty-nine-year-old lady farmer too old to catch a husband? An Irresistable Suitor. All his life handsome, black-haired Reed Tyler had worked Miss Hattie's farm--and dreamed of one day settling down on his own piece of land with the pretty young woman he'd sworn to marry. Hattie was someone he could tell his hopes and troubles to--someone he looked on as a sister. So he thought, until the idea of Ancil Drayton calling on her made him seethe. Until the night a brotherly peck became a scorching kiss... and Reed knew nothing would bank the blaze--and that his best friend was the only woman he would ever love.
When charming rake Tristan Barrett sweeps Lady Elizabeth off her feet, stealing both her heart and a kiss in a secluded garden, her brother challenges Tristan to a duel. The only way to save her brother and Tristan from harm—not to mention preserve her reputation—is to get married. But her father, the Duke of Pemberton, refuses to allow his daughter to marry anyone but a titled lord. The duke demands that Elizabeth marry Tristan’s older brother, Richard, the Earl of Averston. Now Elizabeth must give up Tristan to marry a man who despises her, a man who loves another, a man she’ll never love. Richard fears Elizabeth is as untrustworthy as his mother, who ran off with another man. However, to protect his brother from a duel and their family name from further scandal, he agrees to the wedding, certain his new bride will betray him. Yet when Elizabeth turns his house upside down and worms her way into his reluctant heart, Richard suspects he can’t live without his new countess. Will she stay with him or is it too little, too late?
Welcome to Calatini, an enchanting Regency-inspired kingdom filled with faegifts, witches, and heartwarming romance. Miss Selena Midor is lonely, close to destitute, and trapped far away from home with her cruel uncle. She's grown accustomed to outwitting him to keep herself safe, but when she overhears her uncle's evil scheme with a witch, Selena must make a choice no lady of quality should have to make. She must find a man to deflower her, and quickly. Aragon, eldest son of the Duke of Childes, is caught in the rain without even a spelled cloak to protect him. So he stumbles into a brothel... and finds Selena. Though tempted, Aragon is too honorable to accept Selena's desperate overtures. He can't take from her what she should give to the gentleman she loves. Selena is astonished when Aragon instead offers to bring her home for his family to present at court. She accepts his rescue but longs to be more than his charity case. Yet Aragon refuses to act on their attraction, and soon he isn't the only eligible bachelor spellbound by Selena. Should she wait for Aragon or choose another? Fans of Juliet Marillier, Naomi Novik's Uprooted, and Julia Quinn's Bridgerton series will be enthralled by the Calatini Tales series of Regency-inspired historical fantasy romance novels. The enchanting Calatini Tales begins with... The Spellbinding Courtship (Book 0.5) The Enchanted Bird (Book 1) The Nightmara Affair (Book 2)
Award-winning author Alecia Simmonds uncovers a hidden history of love and heartbreak in the archives of law Until well into the twentieth century, heartbroken men and women in Australia had a legal redress for their suffering: jilted lovers could claim compensation for ‘breach of promise to marry’. Hundreds of people, mostly from the working classes, came before the courts, and their stories give us a tantalising insight into the romantic landscape of the past – where couples met, how they courted, and what happened when flirtations turned sour. In packed courtrooms and breathless newspaper reports, love letters were read as contracts and private gifts and gossip scrutinised as evidence. In Courting, Alecia Simmonds brings these stories vividly to life, revealing the entangled histories of love and the law. Over the long arc of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, pre-industrial romantic customs gave way to middle-class respectability, women used the courts to assert their rights, and the law eventually retreated from people's romantic lives – with women, Simmonds argues, losing out in the process. Challenging our preconceptions about how previous generations loved and lost, and prompting fascinating questions about the ethics of love today, Courting is a transcontinental journey into the most intimate corners of the past. ‘Enthralling and compelling’ — Anne Summers ‘A beautifully written account of the trials and tribulations of romantic love across the centuries. Delightful and engrossing, Courting is filled with stories of infatuation, deception and heartbreak, as well as the legal, moral and gendered regulation of betrothal and marriage. This is history richly told.’ — Anna Clark, author of Making Australian History ‘Original and provocative, witty and wise, Alecia Simmonds' Courting is an example of the new Australian history at its finest. Diving deep into legal records, this illuminating book explores the changing relationships between men and women, love and law, as enacted in courtship and courtrooms over two centuries ... Women are the key actors in these entangled stories as they seek legal avenues for redress and compensation for material harm and lacerated feelings. In a powerful conclusion, Simmonds ponders on what has been lost in legal reform and the ambiguities of feminist progress.’ — Marilyn Lake ‘In this marvellously engaging history, Alecia Simmonds takes us through a sparkling collection of stories in which the path of true love – or what was sometimes mistaken for it – led not to the altar but to the courtroom.’ —Frank Bongiorno ‘Simmonds is mistress of the well-turned phrase and the arresting observation. She is also a fine historian.’ —Marian Quartly, Inside Story
The seductive and stunning #1 New York Times bestselling sequel to Sarah J. Maas's spellbinding A Court of Thorns and Roses. Feyre has undergone more trials than one human woman can carry in her heart. Though she's now been granted the powers and lifespan of the High Fae, she is haunted by her time Under the Mountain and the terrible deeds she performed to save the lives of Tamlin and his people. As her marriage to Tamlin approaches, Feyre's hollowness and nightmares consume her. She finds herself split into two different people: one who upholds her bargain with Rhysand, High Lord of the feared Night Court, and one who lives out her life in the Spring Court with Tamlin. While Feyre navigates a dark web of politics, passion, and dazzling power, a greater evil looms. She might just be the key to stopping it, but only if she can harness her harrowing gifts, heal her fractured soul, and decide how she wishes to shape her future-and the future of a world in turmoil. Bestselling author Sarah J. Maas's masterful storytelling brings this second book in her dazzling, sexy, action-packed series to new heights.
The power of faith and love Wilderness Courtship Thorne Blackwell is in the midst of a crisis. To save his brother’s wife and son from hired guns, he must make a grueling journey through the wild Oregon Territory. And he needs Charity Beal’s help. Through roiling rivers and lush mountain passes, Charity’s kindness and faith awakens Thorne to a strength he never knew. But before he can win her love, he has to save their party from the sharpshooter stalking their every step. Courting Miss Adelaide The “orphan train” seemed like spinster Adelaide Crum’s last chance to know the joys of family life. So many lost children were in need of the caring home she longed to offer. And yet the narrow-minded town elders refused to entrust any child to a woman alone. Only newspaperman Charles Graves supported Adelaide. Her gentle soul and unwavering faith made him wonder if even he could overcome the bitter lessons of the past…
Nicoll's History, which tells the story of English drama from the reopening of the theatres at the time of the Restoration right through to the end of the Victorian period, was viewed by Notes and Queries (1952) as 'a great work of exploration, a detailed guide to the untrodden acres of our dramatic history, hitherto largely ignored as barren and devoid of interest'.
