AustLit

'Julian Winter has had his heart broken a time or two. And he’s tired of his well-meaning family trying to set him up with yet another vapid debutante. His attitude to attending a winter house party is frosty indeed until he meets fellow guest Caroline, a widow with a young son.'

Source : publisher's blurb

'Free-spirited Opal Jones and straight-laced Peter Ravenshaw are childhood friends growing up in India, away from the structured mores of English society. But all good things must come to an end. The friends are sent to England and go their separate ways.

'Years pass but not Opal’s love for Peter. Opal is determined to get her man, but she will need the help of Lady Dove-Lyon, the most notorious matchmaker in London.

'The Lyon’s Den will host a most unusual game: He who can stay awake the longest, wins the hand of the fair Miss Opal Jones. Peter is horrified that his beautiful, headstrong friend would give herself away on a game of chance, not realizing that Opal already holds all the cards.'

Source : publisher's blurb

'David Manston has left his smuggling days behind. He is happy with his smallholding by the sea and his burgeoning romance with Alexandra Gedding, the daughter of impoverished gentry.

'Alexandra, however, is not averse to going out to help her twin brother Phillip smuggle in goods to help the townsfolk. She is even known to be quite handy with a rapier.

'However, Phillip has fallen in with a seriously bad crowd which has graduated from ‘honest’ smuggling to the murderous evil of wrecking.

'Alexandra talks to David, unsure what to do. If she involves the authorities, the townsfolk will see it as a betrayal and she also risks seeing her brother hanged.

'David tries to find out more about the wreckers from his old confederates including Nathaniel ‘Nate’ Payne, whom he hasn’t seen in years. Alexandra, meanwhile, has decided the best way to keep an eye on her twin is by involving herself even more in his plans.

'Nathaniel agrees to help and introduces Adam Hardacre as a fellow smuggler to David and Alexandra. Between the four of them, they must try to save Phillip from himself and stop the wreckers for good.'

Source : publisher's blurb

'1629 A.D. -Gabriel Hardacre is one of three orphan brothers with a talent for acrobatics and performing.

'It’s how they make their living… mostly. If a few jewels and trinkets make it into their hands from time to time… well, a man has to eat after all. Their haunt is the Wharf Street Tavern at the docks in Barnstaple.

'Perspicacity Glenwood, known as Cassie to her friends, is a forthright and determined young woman. She runs a small school that teaches the children of the docks – as well as some of the adults – who want to learn to read and write.

'One of her older students is the handsome Gabriel, but a burgeoning romance between them is thwarted when Cassie receives word that an ailing aunt in Ireland needs her care.

'The voyage across the Irish Sea is a short one and ought to be without peril, but the evil Dutch pirate Jan Janszoon controls Lundy Island just outside the Bristol Channel, picking off ships for their bounty of goods – and people to sell as slaves in North Africa.

'Gabriel learns from a mysterious man, who simply calls himself de Wolfe, that Cassie’s ship has been taken. The man’s wife is also among the captives and he’s putting together ‘a wolf pack’ to destroy Janszoon’s base of operations for good.

'The mission will be hazardous, it will be deadly – and it has to be done within the next two weeks before Cassie and the other captives are taken out of reach forever.

'Can Gabriel save the woman he’s fallen in love with?'

Source : publisher's blurb

'Long believing himself an orphan, Privateer Captain Kit Hardacre is persuaded by his wife to learn more about his family. At the same time, Naval veteran and retired spy Adam Hardacre learns he has an adult son he never knew existed.

'Thrown together one Christmas, by circumstances beyond their control, father and son must find mutual ground on which to come to terms with the past. Life is too short to hold on to regret, and a greater regret awaits if the two men cannot work together to save a life. Love comes in many forms… and none more strongly than the love from father to son.'

Source : publisher's blurb

'Cornwall, 1805

'Rescued from the French prison in which he’s been held captive, Nathaniel Payne returns to the life of a smuggler in Cornwall, bringing with him boatload of brandy. However, he is startled to find his usual contraband hideaway, The Queen’s Head Inn, has a new owner.

'As much as Nate has a past to hide, it seems young widow Susannah Linwood has even more reason to cover up her own background. She is distant and cautious. Her only companion is her maid Peggy and the woman is highly protective of her mistress. What’s more, Susannah does not approve of smugglers and threatens to call the revenuers unless Nate removes the contraband.

'Even so, he is intrigued as well as attracted to Susannah who begins to warm to him. However, his on-again, off again married lover, Lillian, is jealous of his interest in the new inn owner and sets out to find out what she’s hiding, certain it is a great scandal. And complicating matters is that Susannah has also attracted the jealousy of the local magistrate’s wife.

'In the brewing storm, Nate thinks nothing at first of the arrival of a lodger at the inn called Hardacre. He claims to be a bird watcher and painter, but is, in reality, more interested in something else Nate brought back from France – intelligence about troop movements.

'Meanwhile, Susannah is preparing to act on her growing feelings towards Nate. Then a mysterious man appears who claims to know all about her past and threatens blackmail over the circumstances of her husband’s death.

'Nate is persuaded to return to France to help rescue stranded English agents, but there may be a more pressing rescue mission at home.

'Betrayal is closer than either Nate or Susannah imagine.'

Source : publisher's blurb

'Young Richard Whiting comes from a poor family but he’s given a golden opportunity – to move to London to further his education. On the way there, he is befriended by Lord Ambrose and his young daughter, Catherine ‘Cat’ Swanston, and Richard and Catherine become sweethearts.

'In order to make his fortune, Richard is pulled into a different life but the young couple vow beneath the tolling bells of the churches of London to always be there for one another.

'Years later, now an up-and-coming barrister, Richard learns that Catherine needs help. Her father is missing, and His Lordship’s business partner refuses to provide any information. It will take Catherine’s bravery and Richard’s legal cunning for there to be a happily ever after…'

Source : publisher's blurb

'England, 1804

'Refused his rightful promotion, Adam Hardacre quits the Royal Navy in disgust and is quickly approached with an intriguing proposition to serve his country undercover.

'His first assignment takes him home to Cornwall to expose traitors plotting a French invasion of England. There, he meets newly unemployed governess, Olivia Collins, who has stumbled upon a hidden secret from Adam’s past – his youthful summer love affair with the local squire’s daughter. It is a tragic history that brings Adam and Olivia closer than is wise.

'However, with the attraction deepening to something more, neither realize that Olivia unwittingly holds the key to his mission.

'As Adam infiltrates the plot, Olivia finds out the shocking truth behind his lost love’s death many years ago, and both their lives are in danger. But their growing relationship is clouded by suspicion. Who can and cannot be trusted – anyone or no one?

'Or even each other?'

Source : publisher's blurb

'Pennsylvania, 1791

'After her husband’s death, Pennsylvania widow Ann Sellars forges a business partnership with Toby Jackson that quickly becomes a close friendship.

'But when Toby proposes marriage on the eve of leaving for England, the pain of her husband’s passing is still too raw and Ann refuses.

'Eighteen months later, Toby is returning. Can Ann bid goodbye to the past and love again?'

Source : publisher's blurb

'The Past Casts a Shadow Over a Second Chance For Love….

'Palermo, 1810

'Morwena Gambino is struggling to keep her family’s business going against mounting troubles. Her widowed father, once shrewd, is now increasingly forgetful, letting debts mount and disavowing his sons. Morwena runs the shop behind his back, forced to hide her enterprise not only from her father but also her bitter older brother.

'In Tunisia, Tewodros “Jonathan” Afua is struggling to stay alive. Once an Ethiopian prince, he is a captive of the corsairs who slaughtered his wife and children. When a US naval bombardment provides an opening for escape, Jonathan falls in with a seemingly deranged English pirate. Aboard Kit Hardacre’s rundown ship with its ragtag crew, Jonathan learns the real reason he was taken by slavers.

'Reluctantly joining Hardacre’s crew, he meets Morwena in Palermo. The fiery young Sicilian woman is the opposite of his quiet reserve, but he is attracted to her despite mourning for his late wife. As he and Morwena grow closer, it emerges that they have something in common – secret betrayal by those close to them – and they must count what they’re willing to risk for a future together.

Source : publisher's blurb

'Heav’n has no Rage like Love to Hatred turn’d, 
'Nor Hell a Fury like a Mother scorn’d.

'Rescued after two years as a concubine in an Ottoman harem, former debutante Laura Cappleman faces a difficult journey back to normal life. As she travels to Palermo aboard Kit Hardacre’s ship, the Calliope, she is deeply traumatized – and pregnant by her kidnapper.

'Laura rejects the emotional support of her long-time admirer, Calliope First Officer Elias Nash, and her cousin, Sophia, Kit’s wife. She withdraws into herself and her art. Finally, after giving birth, she decides to return to London, hoping to erase tormented memories.

'Emir Selim Omar died on the day of Laura’s rescue, but his wickedness lives on in his third wife, Rabia, in whose household Laura was held. The ruthless widow may yet hold on to the power she wielded as mother to the Emir’s only male heir. However, as opportunists begin to pick his empire apart, her child dies.

'When Rabia learns Laura has given birth to a boy, the solution is obvious – the concubine is stolen property and so is the child sired by her late husband.

'She will take the boy and kill anyone in the way.

'As Rabia’s assassins close in, Elias – both embraced and rejected by the damaged woman he loves, uncertain she will ever return, and alone in Palermo with the child he has given his name – must take the battle to the enemy.

'Otherwise, there may be nothing for Laura to come home to.'

Source : publisher's blurb

'Can love survive a dark heart?

'Rome, 235 A.D.

'A series of ritual murders of young boys recalls memories of Rome’s most wicked emperor. Magistrate Marcus Cornelius Drusus has discovered the cult extends to the very heart of Roman society.

'Despite his personal wealth and authority, Marcus is a slave to his past – conflicted by his status as an adopted son, bitterly betrayed by his wife and forced to give up his child.

'Kyna knows all about betrayal. Sold into slavery by her husband to pay a gambling debt, she found herself in Rome, far from her home in Britannia. Bought by a doctor, she is taught his trade and is about to gain her freedom when her mentor is murdered by the cult.

'When the same group makes an attempt on her life, Kyna is forced to give up her freedom and accept Marcus’ protection. With no one to trust but each other, mutual attraction ignites into passion. But how far will Marcus go for vengeance when he learns the cult’s next victim is his son?

'Can the woman who is free in her heart heal the man who is a slave in his?'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Bluestocking Sophia Green’s future is uncertain. Orphaned as a child and raised by the wealthy Cappleman family, she has become the companion to her attractive younger cousin, Laura, while harboring to her breast an unrequited love for Laura’s diffident brother.

'Sea captain Kit Hardacre’s past is a mystery – even to him. Kidnapped by Barbary Coast pirates at the age of 10, he does not remember his parents or even his real name. All he recalls are things he would rather forget.

'When Laura’s reputation is threatened by a scandal, Sophia suggests weathering the storm in Sicily with their elderly uncle, a prominent archaeologist.

'Their passage to Palermo is aboard Hardacre’s ship, but the Calliope, like its captain, is not all it seems. Both have only one mission – to rid the world of the evil pirate slaver Kaddouri or die in the attempt.

'Initially disdainful of the captain’s devil-may-care attitude, Sophia can’t deny a growing attraction. And Kit begins to see in her a woman who could help him forget the horrors of his past.

'Sophia allows herself to be drawn into the shallows of Kit’s world, but when the naive misjudgment of her cousins sees Laura abducted, Sophia is dragged into dangerous depths that could cost her life or her sanity in a living hell.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'In her first posting as governess, Ella Montgomery discovers beautiful Blackheath Manor hides family secrets and suppressed passions. Mysterious piano music in the darkness of night draws Ella to the talented Thomas Worsley, the brother of her employer, the Earl of Renthorpe. Grievously wounded in the Napoleonic Wars, Thomas is held prisoner at Blackheath by more than his blindness and scars. Driven by bitter jealousy, the Earl has ensured Thomas is only a memory, his name etched on a marble memorial in the Bedfordshire village graveyard. Drawn together by their love of music, Ella and Thomas begin a clandestine affair, but how far will the Earl go to keep his family’s secret? ' (Publication summary)

'December 1890. London, England.

'Some seriously clever sleight of hand is needed if aspiring lawyer Caro Addison is ever going to enjoy this Christmas. To avoid an unwanted marriage proposal, she needs a distraction as neat as the tricks used by The Phantom, the audacious diamond thief who has left Scotland Yard clueless.

'While her detective inspector uncle methodically hunts the villain, Caro decides to investigate a suspect of her own – the handsome Tobias Black, a magician extraordinaire, known as The Dark Duke. He’s the only one with the means, motive and opportunity but the art of illusion means not everything is as it seems, in both crime and affairs of the heart.

'As Christmas Day draws near, Caro must decide whether it is worth risking reputations and friendships in order to follow her desires.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Revolution in France, rebels in England, and one woman caught in the crossfire...

'For her unwitting participation in a plot to embezzle the Exchequer, Lady Abigail Houghall has spent the last two years exiled to the city of Bath. A card sharp, sometime mistress, and target of scandalous gossip by the London Beau Monde, Lady Abigail plots to escape her gilded cage as well as the prudish society that condemns her. But the times are not easy. France is in chaos. The king has been executed, and whispers of a similar revolution are stirring in England. And because of her participation in the robbery plot, the Spymaster of England is blackmailing her into passing him information about the members of London’s upper crust.

'When the dashing English spy Daniel Ridgeway takes a seat at her card table and threatens to expose her for cheating, she has no choice but to do as he demands: seduce the leader of the revolutionaries and learn what she can about their plot. As she’s drawn deeper into Daniel’s dangerous world, from the seedy backstreets of London to the claustrophobic catacombs of a war-torn Paris, she realizes an even more dangerous fact. She’s falling in love with her seductive partner. And the stakes of this game might just be too high, even for her. ' (Publication summary)

'"A shared secret from their past could destroy their future..."

'Northumbria, 1077. In the years following William the Conqueror's harrying of the North, Lady Alfreya of Tyrswick returns to her family home after seven years in exile. But instead of returning victorious as her dead father had promised, she returns defeated by Baron Sebastian de la Croix, the Norman who rules her lands.

'To save her gravely ill brother's life, Alfreya offers herself hostage to her enemy. As Alfreya gets to know her new husband, she finds he's not the monster she feared, and their marriage of convenience soon becomes a bond of passion. But Sebastian is a man with a secret–one that could destroy him.

'As a series of brutal murders haunt their nights, the man who betrayed Alfreya's father returns claiming to be her betrothed. He has learned Sebastian's secret and will use it to further his own ambition–using Sebastian's own family–which will destroy Sebastian and mark him a traitor, and plunge an unprepared England into war with the Scots...' (Publication summary)