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My Cynical Marquess ~ Lords of Reluctance Book 1 by KristinaWalsh
KristinaWalsh
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Now Available on Amazon or read for free with Kindle Unlimited. If you can I would really appreciate a review to make it easier for others to read. Thank you. Amidst the opulence of Regency-era England, "My Cynical Marquess" weaves a tale of unexpected connection. Miss Grace Preston, an orphan brimming with intelligence and an unyielding spirit, yearns to escape stifling societal norms. Her refuge becomes the home of the Marquess of Rutherford, a man of commanding presence and frosty demeanor. Thrown together by circumstance, Grace and the Marquess clash as he suspects her intentions towards his elderly mother. As misunderstandings entwine them, they form an unlikely alliance against the strictures of society. Grace challenges gender conventions, while the Marquess wrestles with emotions he thought long suppressed. Yet peril looms. Grace's scheming uncle plots a marriage that threatens her independence, while the Marquess is entangled with a high-society lady desperate to secure her future. In a race against time, they must navigate treacherous waters to rescue each other. "My Cynical Marquess" is a captivating story of defying expectations, embracing desire, and unearthing the strength of the human spirit. Will societal pressures break their spirits, or will their connection lead to a love that defies the odds? As danger and passion intertwine, Grace and the Marquess must decide whether to yield to society or fight for a future where love reigns triumphant.
An Unpracticed Heart by QuenbyOlson
QuenbyOlson
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Charlotte Claridge lives a life dictated by her stepmother's whims. Sent to live with one family member after another, she finally arrives in Scotland, on the doorstep of a crumbling estate abandoned by its owner. With her aunt, she spends her days mending curtains and peeling potatoes, a quiet existence that changes with the appearance of a carriage bearing a coat of arms. From out of the carriage falls Lord Hartley Cowden, Baron Aldburgh. Drunk, unconscious, and bleeding, Charlotte and her aunt carry him into his ancestral home. As he recovers in Charlotte's care, Hartley confesses to a crime that nearly sent him spiralling towards his grave. But can she entrust him with her own secrets while coaxing him back from the dead?
The Plague Doctor's Daughter by rskovach
rskovach
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[2021 WATTYS Winner] Giovanna joins a handsome nobleman to save a friend from an arranged marriage, but they discover a plot that may have victims of Venice's Black Death rising from their graves. * * * As a child, Giovanna Visconti learned the arts of bloodletting and elixir brewing from her father with an intent to simply support his work, not take it over. But when he falls ill from the pestilence that's been ravaging Venice for months, she reluctantly dons the beaked mask of the plague doctor. Vowing to protect her father however she can, Giovanna hides him away and sees her first patient--the handsome, but alarmingly feverish Matteo Barozzi. Although she successfully treats this son of a high-ranking official, in a careless moment Giovanna fails to properly conceal her identity. The only reason she isn't tossed into a dank jail cell is thanks to the young man's honor and feelings of indebtedness. The association between the charming aristocrat and the clever commoner should end there, but when Giovanna's dearest friend goes missing right after her betrothal to the Doge's son and amid strange reports of nighttime attacks, violent commotions, and inexplicable behaviors in the community, the only person Giovanna can turn to for help is Matteo. Together, they must carefully navigate Venice's increasingly deadly canals to uncover a sect peddling false cures and a smuggling plot involving the highest levels of government or risk the entire Republic falling victim to something even worse than the plague: the risen dead. Historical Fiction with Fantasy Elements THE BORGIAS X FOREST OF HANDS AND TEETH * * * WATTYS 2021 winner for Historical Fiction and special HQ prize for "Catchiest Hook" AMBYS 2022 winner for Best Zombie story Content Warning for adult situations including assault and death.
Official Town Business (Fox & Oakby Murder Mysteries | Book I) by kkolmakov
kkolmakov
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Imogen 'Mops' Fox is the personal assistant of the Mayor of the small rural town of Fleckney Woulds. According to all clichés, she's madly in love with her unaware workaholic of a boss - but that won't stop her from building her own little family, solving a murder, and saving the town from a financial scheme devised by a mysterious overseas corporation. ~ Fox & Oakby Murder Mysteries ~ Book I ~ Cosy Mystery, Romance & Humour ~ COMPLETE {The story continues in 'Fox & Oakby Book II: Paint the Town Red'}
When the Bus Stopped by shelleyinon
shelleyinon
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When Lucy Falkwell loses control of her house bus on a lonely alpine road in New Zealand, she finds herself in the midst of opera-singer Alessandro Magno's latest music video. She mistakenly believes she's stumbled upon a horrific crime scene. Lucy, a free-spirited eco-warrior, is ignorant of the world lying between the pages of those tabloid magazines. She doesn't recognize Alessandro, nor has she seen his smoldering publicity shots advertising the fact he's in town. Instead, she deduces that he's the main detective working the case. As the two fall into a strange friendship built upon a mistaken identity (all while attempting to rebuild other parts of their lives), the chemistry between them becomes obvious. But how do you learn to trust someone you never really knew in the first place? *** I like to class this kind of 'genre' as BohoLit. You will understand what I mean when you read it ;)
Worth by SeventyMurphy
SeventyMurphy
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* 4 Sample Chapters * When an eccentric old neighbour dies and names Violet March in his will, she is even more surprised than his estranged and spoiled family. To make matters stranger, she learns that all must attend a pretend murder-mystery weekend for any to claim a share of the inheritance. Being a good sport under constant scrutiny and suspicion becomes trickier when she finds herself torn between the romantic attentions of both the deceased's "favourite" grand-nephew and the charming black sheep of the family. Loyalty forces her to favour the former, but when it is the latter who inherits the bulk of the estate, a grave case of mistaken identities is revealed leaving Violet to determine whether pride and an unwillingness to be labelled a gold-digger may stand in the way of the love of a lifetime. *Cover from "Lake Louise, An Alpine Wonderland" by Norman Fraser, which is to the best of my research and knowledge in the Public Domain. *No part of this book may be reproduced or used in any manner without the express written permission of the author.
Sample: A Stolen Kiss (Book #1 in A Stolen Royals series) by KelseyKeating2
KelseyKeating2
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NOW AVAILABLE IN PAPERBACK AND E-BOOK This is a 10-chapter sample of a published novel. A stolen kiss. An unstable curse. One big mess in the making. Derric Harver never expected to amount to anything more than the palace stableboy, but when Princess Maria's curse keeps her from accepting a prince's proposal, she turns to him for help, and he doesn't dare refuse. With the help of a lady's maid and a prince, Derric and Maria embark on a dangerous adventure to find the sorceress who cast the curse. Along the way they battle monsters, make friends, and discover new truths about themselves--not to mention the undeniable chemistry between them. Reaching their destination won't be easy, but the true danger lies in the truths they've fought for years to hide. A Stolen Kiss is the first in the Stolen Royals Series--an adventure with magical creatures, dangerous lies, and being true to the power within.
... by SeventyMurphy
SeventyMurphy
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Confessions About Colton by colourlessness
colourlessness
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WATTPAD ORIGINAL EDITION Seven letters, seven confessions, seven clues. Elliot Parker has what he needs to find out who killed his best friend... But is he hunting down the killer? Or is the killer hunting him? ***** When Colton Crest returns, unharmed, to his small town after mysteriously disappearing for two months, his best friend Elliot Parker breathes a sigh of relief. But days later, on the night before graduation, Elliot finds Colton in the lake. Dead. And on the day of his funeral, Elliot finds a letter in his jacket pocket with four words that send him spiralling: I killed Colton Crest. There are six more letters to find, six more confessions about Colton, six more clues to uncover why he was murdered. Elliot has no choice but to play this sick scavenger hunt, and with each new revelation, he begins to question whether he really knew Colton - or anyone else in that little town of dark secrets. [[word count: 100,000-150,000 words]]
Bound By Honour (Book 1) by randomthoughts96
randomthoughts96
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Two lands, one much richer than the other. A betrothal is suggested. Wolfe and Raven are to be married, or at least that is what Sparrow believes when she arrives to wish her sister well. The betrothal is broken and Sparrow is bound by honour to find another solution to unite the two lands. An offer is given but she is too stubborn to accept. But she may have met her match. Wolfe will do anything to get his own way. Their story is only just beginning... 28/12/16 #2 highest rating (Book One of the Honour series)