Showing results by author "Eloisa James" in All Categories

Gina was forced into marriage with the Duke of Girton at an age when she'd have been better off in a schoolroom than a ballroom. Directly after the ceremony, her handsome spouse promptly fled to the continent, leaving the marriage unconsummated and Gina quite indignant. Now, she is one of the most well-known ladies in London... living on the edge of scandal - desired by many men, but resisting giving herself to any one. Finally, Camden, the Duke of Girton, has returned home, to discover that his naÏve bride has blossomed into the toast of the town.

The handsome, rakish heir to a dukedom, Lord Roland Northbridge Wilde - known to his friends as North - left England two years ago, after being jilted by Miss Diana Belgrave. He returns from war to find that he’s notorious: polite society has ruled him “too wild to wed”. Diana never meant to tarnish North’s reputation or his heart, but in her rush to save a helpless child, there was no time to consider the consequences of working as a governess in Lindow Castle. Now everyone has drawn the worst conclusions about the child’s father, and Diana is left with bittersweet regret.

Gabrielle Jerningham cherishes the portrait of her betrothed, the perfect Peter Dewland... until she meets his commanding older brother Quill. But it is Peter to whom she has been promised. And how can she possibly transform her voluptuous, outspoken self into the poised gentlewoman Peter requires?

Having made a fortune, Thorn Dautry, the powerful bastard son of a duke, decides that he needs a wife. But to marry a lady, Thorn must acquire a gleaming, civilized facade, the specialty of Lady Xenobia India. Exquisite, headstrong, and independent, India vows to make Thorn marriageable in just three weeks. But neither Thorn nor India anticipate the forbidden passion that explodes between them. Thorn will stop at nothing to make India his. Failure is not an option.

The rules of marriage according to Miss Annabel Essex. A husband must be rich, English, and amiable. Good-looking and intelligent would be nice, but not necessary.... She's found just the man! And her chosen spouse is nothing like the Scottish Earl of Ardmore, who has nothing but his gorgeous eyes and his brain - and his kisses. So what cruel twist of fate put her in a carriage on her way to Scotland with just that impoverished earl and all the world thinking they're man and wife?

Fueled by the knowledge that notoriety is better than failure, witty, unconventional Josie does what no proper young lady should - she challenges fate. She discards her corset and flirts outrageously. She attends the horse races and allows an arrogant rakehell to whisk her behind the stables for a surreptitious kiss . . . and is caught!

Witty and elusive Eugenia Snowe has all society begging for one of her premiere governesses - except the powerful Edward Reeve, who bursts into her office with his arrogant demands. No question that Eugenia enjoys crossing wits with the brilliant inventor, but Ward wants far more than a governess. He wants Eugenia, and he'll stop at nothing to have her - including kidnapping. Will Eugenia lose her heart in the most reckless gamble of her life, or will she discover the sweetest pleasure she's ever known? All it will take is seven minutes.

Hugo Wilde, the duke of Lindow, has a drafty castle, eight naughty children - and no wife. Ophelia, Lady Astley, has a fine house, one well-behaved daughter - and no husband. Hugo takes one look at Ophelia and loses his heart, but she doesn’t want more children or a castle. She takes one look at him and heads for her carriage. Desperate to find a duchess, Hugo identifies an appropriate lady to woo. Yet when he meets Ophelia again, the duke realizes that he will marry her, or no one.

Hugh Dunne, the Earl of Briarly, needs a wife, so his sister hands him a list of delectable damsels and promises to invite them and a few other gentlemen to her country house for what is sure to be the event of the season.

Lord Alaric Wilde, son of the Duke of Lindow, is the most celebrated man in England, revered for his dangerous adventures and rakish good looks. Arriving home from years abroad, he has no idea of his own celebrity until his boat is met by mobs of screaming ladies. Alaric escapes to his father's castle, but just as he grasps that he's not only famous but notorious, he encounters the very private, very witty Miss Willa Fynche.

A duke must choose wisely.... Leopold Dautry, the notorious Duke of Villiers, must wed quickly and nobly - and his choices, alas, are few. The Duke of Montague's daughter, Eleanor, is exquisitely beautiful and fiercely intelligent. Villiers betroths himself to her without further ado. After all, no other woman really qualifies. Lisette, the outspoken daughter of the Duke of Gilner, cares nothing for clothing or decorum. She's engaged to another man, and doesn't give a fig for status or title.

For beautiful, witty Lavinia Gray, there’s only one thing worse than having to ask the appalling Parth Sterling to marry her: being turned down by him. Now the richest bachelor in England, Parth is not about to marry a woman as reckless and fashion-obsessed as Lavinia; he’s chosen a far more suitable bride. But when he learns of Lavinia's desperate circumstances, he offers to find her a husband. Even better, he’ll find her a prince. As usual, there’s no problem Parth can’t fix. But the more time he spends with the beguiling Lavinia, the more he finds himself wondering…

As an extremely wealthy laird, Gowan Stoughton, Duke of Kinross, can have any of the maidens at the ball he attends. The only problem is they are all English and Gowan is not so certain they are suitable. He is accustomed to the hard-working lasses from his Highlands, not these dainty noblewomen who spend their days drinking tea or some other such nonsense. But then he makes the acquaintance of Lady Edith Gilchrist. Utterly bewitched by the emerald-eyed beauty with lush golden locks, he knows he must have her.

Witty, orphaned Tess Essex faces her duty: marry well and marry quickly, so she can arrange matches for her three sisters. But just when she begins to think that all might end well, one of her sisters bolts with a horse-mad young lord, and her own fiancé just plain runs away. Which leaves Tess contemplating marriage to the sort of man she wishes to avoid - one of London's most infamous rakes. Tess consents to marry him, but it may be for the worst reason of all. Absurd as she knows it to be, she may have fallen utterly in love....

Already notorious for the golden hair that proves her mother’s infidelity, Lady Joan can’t seem to avoid scandals, but her latest escapade may finally ruin her: she’s determined to perform the title role of a prince - in breeches, naturally. She has the perfect model for an aristocratic male in mind: Thaddeus Erskine Shaw, Viscount Greywick, a man who scorned the very idea of marrying her. Not that Joan would want such a dubious honor, of course.

Welcome to a world of reckless sensuality and glittering sophistication, of dangerously handsome gentlemen and young ladies longing to gain a title, of games played for high stakes, including - on occasion - a lady's virtue. A marquess's sheltered only daughter, Lady Roberta St. Giles, falls in love with a man she glimpses across a crowded ballroom: a duke, a game player of consummate skill, a notorious rakehell who shows no interest in marriage, until he lays eyes on Roberta.

How can she dare to imagine he loves her... when all London calls her The Ugly Duchess? Theodora Saxby is the last woman anyone expects the gorgeous James Ryburn, heir to the Duchy of Ashbrook, to marry. But after a romantic proposal before the prince himself, even practical Theo finds herself convinced of her soon-to-be duke's passion. Still, the tabloids give the marriage six months. Theo would have given it a lifetime... until she discovers that James desired not her heart, and certainly not her countenance, but her dowry.

Miss Viola Astley is so painfully shy that she's horrified by the mere idea of dancing with a stranger; her upcoming London debut feels like a nightmare. So she's overjoyed to meet handsome, quiet vicar with no interest in polite society - but just when she catches his attention, her reputation is compromised by a duke. Devin Lucas Augustus Elstan, Duke of Wynter, will stop at nothing to marry Viola, including marrying a woman whom he believes to be in love with another man.

Married by proxy as a child, Lady Isidore has spent years fending off lecherous men in every European court while waiting to meet her husband. She's determined to accept him, no matter how unattractive the duke turns out to be. When she finally lures Simeon Jermyn back to London, his dark handsomeness puts Isidore's worst fears to rest - until disaster strikes. The duke demands an annulment. Forsaking his adventuresome past, Simeon has returned to London.

It is whispered behind the fans of London's dowagers and in the corners of fashionable ballrooms that scandal follows willfully wild Lady Beatrix Lennox wherever she goes. Three years before, the debutante created a sensation by being found in a distinctly compromising position. Now, the town has branded her as unmarriageable, her family has called her a vixen, and Beatrix sees no reason not to go after what - and who - she wishes. And she wants Stephen Fairfax-Lacy, the handsome Earl of Spade.