{WATTY'S 2020 WINNER & EDITOR'S PICK.} Hopeless romantic and aspiring writer Mare Atwood has fallen madly in love with her childhood correspondent. There's only one catch-she doesn't know who he is. When the beaus of Star's Crossing return from boarding school to begin the courting season, Mare is determined to uncover the identity of her writer, flout her family's intentions of orchestrating an advantageous marriage, and procure the life of writing and romance she's always sought. But as in the tales she so adores, it won't be easy. Galas, masquerades, picnics, and hunts-alongside an old friend, a former teacher, and an unlikely ally, Mare delves into an investigation that leaves her torn between three clever, deceptive, and wealthy young bachelors. If Mare can confirm which is her writer and claim his hand before the courting season ends, she'll have her wish: the love of her life, a valuable marriage, and a future of writing romance. But with the eyes of Star's Crossing upon her, a business plot forcing invisible hands, and the unwillingness of her writer to come forward-Mare's future may not end in triumph, but tragedy. Set against the gilded Victorian backdrop of coastal Connecticut and lush with pre-war luxury, fans of Jane Austen, Margaret Mitchell, and Louisa May Alcott are sure to enjoy this lighthearted, lyrical novel of young love, independence, and identity. #1 Literary #1 YA Romance #1 Victorian #1 Lyrical #8 General Fiction

Ever since people could remember only men were allowed to enter the House of Beardsley, but for the first time four young girls with nothing in common have been hired to work in the mansion as live-in housekeepers. Shuyan, a Chinese orphan living in Victorian England, has always had a hard time finding a job, so she applies without much thought to the infamous House of Beardsley. Her co-workers, Bethany, Clo, and Rhiannon, on the other hand, seem to have no desire to work. Although they have been warned to keep their contact with the seven men of Beardsley as minimal as possible, Shuyan comes close to overstepping the boundaries when she makes contact with the crippled and gentle master Eugene. When she finds out the girls are hired for a much more sinister reason from the cold and mysterious Tobias, will she choose to stay in the House of Beardsley? More importantly, with each secret she unearths and relation she makes will she be able to leave...? #1 in Victorian-era (1/31/20) #1 in Asiansinlit (2/13/20) #1 in nobility (2/25/20) #1 in Edwardian (3/31/20) #1 in earl (4/22/20) #1 in Asian (8/9/20) #1 in gothicromance (1/4/21) #2 in debutante (4/18/20) #2 in regencyromance (10/3/20) #3 in Victorian (2/20/20) #1 in gothic (9/7/24)

When the arrogant stranger Bess is forced to marry unexpectedly becomes a duke, she'll find herself at odds with her growing feelings as he hunts for a killer. ***** Sharp-tongued Elizabeth 'Bess' Jones is perfectly content living on her lonesome in a tiny village south of Derbyshire. She works as a nurse, owns a small home, and finds the label of 'spinster' an agreeable trade for her independence. But when her entire life is uprooted in an instant, she only has one person to blame: her new husband, Emmett Wilde, who was caught in a compromising situation with her. And now, despite his promise to fake a death certificate after their wedding--to free her of any duty to him or their marriage bed--he sends for her in the dead of night with startling news: his father has been murdered, and he is now the Duke of Ascot with a wife he can no longer deny... [[Word Count: 60,000-70,000 words]] [[Cover designed by Ren Tachibana]]