Showing results by publisher "Lauren Smith" in Literature & Fiction

When the infamously cold-hearted Duke of Helston decides to catch a gang of jewel thieves stealing from London's elite circles, he never expects the thief to be a woman. She's not just any woman either she happens to be the bewitching creature he met in the darkened corridor during a musicale who changed his life forever.

Fleeing a cruel stepfather, Harriet Russell escapes into a stormy night, relying only on the mercy of servants to help her. Her coach overturns, leaving her and her driver injured. Seeking help from whoever lives nearby, she stumbles between a set of gates guarded by fierce demonic gargoyle statues. As she enters the shadowy, haunted lands belonging to the duke of Frostmore, she’s afraid of meeting with him, but she must in order to help her driver.

Have you ever wondered how the League of Rogues came to be? What events led to the adventure that started it all? This is your exclusive inside peek into the world of the beloved bad boys of the League shortly before their lives are changed forever.

When Trystan Cartwright, the Earl of Zennor, is bored, he makes wagers…dangerous ones. One night, in a grimy little tavern in Penzance, he and his friends stumble upon a wild, hellcat of a woman masquerading as an ill-tempered lad. Unable to resist the temptation of such a challenge, Trystan wagers he can turn the little hellion into a lady in less than one month. To win, he’ll have to present her at a ball in London and fool the beau monde. But he never imagines that his lady lessons will lead to love....

Always prim and proper, lady's maid Gillian Beaumont has never acted with wild abandon the way her young, headstrong mistress does. But deep down she dreams of a life filled with love and a husband who will give her his whole heart even though she knows it's impossible. With a list of chores from her mistress, Gillian is given the chance to live the life of a gentle lady, and she clings to it, knowing that soon it will be over.

Peregrine Ashby, the newly and unexpectedly titled Earl of Rutland, is muddling through the affairs of becoming a suddenly wealthy and titled man of means. After the disaster of his parents’ loveless marriage, he’s sworn off wife-hunting. But when he stumbles quite literally into a mysterious beauty wearing a mask at a ball who begs for his help, he can’t deny her. After the magic of the night is over and the mysterious beauty has vanished, he remains haunted by her and what might have been.

She's a servant masquerading as a lady... Gillian Beaumont never had a fairytale life: she was left penniless after her father’s death, forcing her into service as a lady’s maid. Luckily, her mistress is more adventurous than most ladies and soon Gillian is aiding her espionage. One such spy mission forces Gillian to masquerade as a high-born lady to infiltrate a Hellfire Club. But when she falls into the club’s trap, she’s rescued by gentleman rogue, the Earl of Pembroke. His heated kisses make her long for a different life, but she has a secret that could destroy everything…

Aiden Kincade hasn't had it easy. As the youngest of three Scottish brothers, he's watched his two older brothers fall head over heels in love. Unlike his brothers, he is destined to be alone. Due to an old family prophecy, he knows whoever he loves will suffer a tragic death too soon. So he hides in the woods of Scotland, sharing his solitude with his animals.

Brianna Holland has always been free. Her entire life she’s never known the bars of any cage until she’s captured in Port Royal trying to help a fellow pirate escape. Suddenly facing the hangman’s noose unless she betrays her father’s location to the Royal Navy, she clings to the hope that a new prisoner in her cell brings.

At 19, Christopher "Kit" Hollingsworth is spared the noose, but sentenced to serve seven years in Australia as a convict. The men who betrayed him have plans to make sure he never returns to England. But Kit's strong will and thirst for vengeance ensure his survival.

Rebecca Livingston has a problem: Her mother is desperate to marry her prettier, more talented, younger sister Lydia off to the handsome Duke of Wiltshire but when Rebecca and her family arrive at the grand ducal estate, it’s Rebecca who falls right into the handsome arms of the duke himself. Rebecca tries to avoid the seductive duke but neither she nor he can keep their hands off each other. Her mother is furious, her sister is thrilled for her – but can it be possible that the duke wants Rebecca as much as she discovers she wants him?

Gemma Haverford knows exactly who she will marry: James Randolph, the man she's had a secret understanding with for the last 11 years. With every letter written between them while he's been off at sea, their love has grown. Now they will be reunited with his return to England. There's just one problem. The man whose words she'd fallen in love with isn't James at all....

The world is on the brink of war when Elizabeth Mowbray breaks her engagement with a tea planter in India and returns home to the English countryside. Desperate to escape a stifling life under her parents’ roof, she moves to London seeking adventure and excitement.

Nathan Powell, the Duke of Hastings, broke the heart of the only woman he ever loved when he ended their engagement in order to save her family. He demanded one promise of her…that she marry another man and live a happy life. Now he’s desperate to avoid marriage to someone else at all costs. When his younger brother tricks him into attending a Christmas Ball, he discovers his beloved Thea will be there.

But, looking at him now and remembering all of the things she’d wanted him to do to her…her infatuation had been the worst idea in the history of ideas. He’s home for the summer after her first year of college, and the last thing she needs to do is let her childhood crush cause trouble…but that’s just what Russell Rawlings is—trouble.