Showing results by author "Christi Caldwell" in All Categories

Destitute and determined to finally be free of any man's shackles, Lily Benedict sets out to salvage her honor. With no choice but to commit a crime that will save her from her past, she enters the home of the recluse Derek Winters, the new Duke of Blackthorne. But entering the "Beast of Blackthorne's" lair proves more threatening than she ever imagined.

I don’t want visitors. But when the butler says the caller is a she, I spring to attention. The night just got a lot more interesting. Turns out the recently orphaned Helia Wallace has come to see my mother, her godmother, for help with a dastardly, dowry-chasing cousin. A likely story. But there’s a snowstorm brewing, and she begs me to let her stay the night. I reluctantly agree. It’s her reputation at stake, not mine.

A family scandal has left artist Claire Poplar without friends, suitors, or means. Art is her only joy and respite, despite her talent being mocked by famed artist Caleb Gray. On an impulse, knowing there is no way back to the life she had before, Claire decides on her own path. A path that will see her wed, and no longer a financial burden and spinster poor relation. The wedding may be a business arrangement, but it will give Claire freedom and stability away from the prying eyes and censure of society.

Lady Imogen Moore hasn't had an easy time of it since she made her coming out three seasons ago. With her betrothed, a powerful duke, breaking it off to wed her sister, she's become the tons favorite piece of gossip. Never again wanting to experience the pain of a broken heart, she's resolved to make a match with a polite, respectable gentleman. The last thing she wants is another reckless rogue.

Regina (Reggie) Spark has loved Broderick Killoran, the resourceful and protective proprietor of the Devil’s Den, ever since he saved her from the streets and made her his right hand at the notorious gaming hell. For just as long, Reggie has never admitted her true feelings for him. Nor has she revealed her spirited ambitions - to buck convention and expectations and open a music hall. While Broderick built his gaming empire with ruthless cunning, his loyalty to his employees is boundless.

Gertrude, the eldest Killoran sister, has spent a lifetime being underestimated - especially by her own family. She may seem as vulnerable as a kitten, but given the chance, she can be as fierce as a tiger. Her adopted brother, Stephen, has just been snatched back by his true father, and she’ll be damned if she relinquishes the boy to the man reviled throughout London as the Mad Marquess.

At the notorious Hell and Sin Club nestled in London's dark streets, Niall Marksman relishes taking the fortunes of the very same society that once disregarded his existence. Oh yes, Niall has sold his soul to the devil and paid dearly. It's only when Lady Diana Verney appears at the gaming club looking for help that Niall knows that the devil has finally come to collect...by forcing him to protect the duke's pampered daughter.

Cailin Audley doesn’t fit in with Polite Society. A life spent among the working class taught her to value her independence in a way no newfound fortune or glittering ballroom could ever erase. When a major misstep sees the new heiress whisked away to the English countryside, Cailin soon realizes the vexing lengths her family will go to see her settled. But having risked her heart once before, Cailin has no interest in the men of the ton—especially not the frustratingly charming duke of St. James.

A widow with a past...The last thing Victoria Barrett, the Viscountess Waters, has any interest in is romance. When the only man she's ever loved was killed, she endured an arranged marriage to a cruel man in order to survive. Now widowed, her only focus is on clearing her son's name from the charge of murder. That is until the love of her life returns from the grave. A leader of a once great agency...Nathaniel Archer, the Earl of Exeter head of the Crown's elite organization, The Brethren, is back on British soil.

Christian Villiers, the Marquess of St. Cyr, despises the role he's been cast into as fortune hunter but requires the funds to keep his marquisate solvent. Yet, the sins of his past cloud his future, preventing him from seeing beyond his fateful actions at the Battle of Toulouse. For he knows inevitably it will catch up with him, and everyone will remember his actions on the battlefield that cost so many so much - particularly his best friend.

Polite Society doesn't take Lady Anne Adamson seriously. However, Anne isn't just another pretty young miss. When she discovers her father betrayed her mother's love and her family descended into poverty, Anne comes up with a plan to marry a respectable, powerful, and honorable gentleman - a man nothing like her philandering father.

A wounded soldier:

When Captain Lucas Rayne returned from fighting Boney's forces, he was a shell of a man. A recluse who doesn't leave his family's estate, he's content to shut himself away. Until he meets Eve...

A woman alone in the world:

Eve Ormond spent most of her life following the drum alongside her late father. When his shameful actions bring death and pain to English soldiers, Eve is forced back to England an outcast.

Alexandra Bradbury and Dallin McQuoid are neighbors who couldn’t be more different. She’s prim, mindful, and skittish of social improprieties. Dallin is slightly scandalous, boisterously charming, and unbothered by gossip. On an unexpected night of magic forged under the stars, they discover what they do have in common. Could theirs be a rare love match that might last forever? But everything changes in a heartbeat: a death in the Bradbury family, financial ruin, and Alexandra’s betrothal to a wickedly wealthy marquess.

Lady Patrina Tidemore gave up on the ridiculous notion of true love after having her heart shattered and her trust destroyed by a black-hearted cad. Used as a pawn in a game of revenge against her brother, Patrina returns to London from a failed elopement with a tattered reputation and little hope for a respectable match. The only peace she finds is in her solitude on the cold winter days at Hyde Park.

Annalee Spencer and Wayland Smith were uninhibited young lovers until the Peterloo Massacre set them on two different paths. Raised to the title of Baron of Darlington in recognition of his courage, Wayland is now a model of propriety and heroism. As for Annalee, the trauma of that tragic day in Manchester is ever present. To dull the pain, she lives only for pleasure. And she derives immense pleasure from co-leading the Mismatch Society, a league of scandalously independent women. Perhaps too scandalous....

Be prepared to smile, swoon, and sigh in Christi Caldwell's latest Heart of a Scandal installment where a matchmaker firmly on the shelf is about to fall head over heels for her best friend's younger brother. She lived by a strict set of rules.... Meredith Durant believes those who won’t marry, matchmake, and she’s made a notable career for herself helping young women find the perfect mate. Having suffered a broken heart years before, she’s quite content in her work and determined to never fall prey to love again.

Years ago, when Nick Tallings, the recent Duke of Huntly, watched his family destroyed at the hands of a merciless nobleman, he vowed revenge. But his efforts had been futile, as his enemy, Lord Rutland is without weakness. With his rival finally happily married, Nick is able to set his ruthless scheme into motion. His plot hinges upon Lord Rutland's innocent, empty-headed sister-in-law, Justina Barrett. Nick will ruin her, marry her, and then leave her brokenhearted.

Lady Beatrice Dennington has become the most courted lady of the ton—not bad for a duke’s sister. Only problem being is that the courting has never ended with an offer of marriage. Every single gentleman who has courted her has found his true love, and it hasn’t been Beatrice.

Ruthless, wicked, and dark, the Marquess of Rutland rouses terror in the breasts of ladies and noblemen alike. All Edmund wants in life is power. After he was publically humiliated by his one love, Lady Margaret, he vowed vengeance, using Margaret's niece as his pawn. Except he's thwarted by another more enticing target: Miss Phoebe Barrett.

Marcus, the Viscount Wessex has carefully crafted the image of rogue and charmer for polite society. Under that façade, however, dwells a man whose dreams were shattered almost eight years earlier by a young lady who captured his heart, pledged her love, and then left him, with nothing more than a curt note. Eight years earlier, faced with no other choice, Mrs. Eleanor Collins fled London and the only man she ever loved, Marcus, Viscount Wessex. he has now returned to serve as a companion for her elderly aunt, with a daughter in tow.