Showing results by narrator "Jessica Bright" in All Categories

Other young ladies might occupy their spare time with drawing or needlework, but Sophia Monmouth spends hers scaling rooftops and shadowing suspicious characters. Her objective: to gain information that will free a friend wrongly accused of murder. She hasn't bargained on being spotted and followed back to the Clifford School by a mysterious earl who holds almost as many secrets as she does. Tristan Stratford, Lord Gray, earned the nickname the Ghost of Bow Street because no man has ever escaped him.

Going undercover as a governess is a first for Cecilia Gilchrist. But once she's installed in Darlington Castle, discovering whether the mysterious marquess murdered his wife proves more daunting than she imagined. Dashing widower Gideon Rhys, marquess of Darlington, is clearly harboring secrets - but is it possible a cold-blooded killer lurks behind his devastating gaze? Trailing his every move only brings her closer to him. But if her heart misleads her, she could pay with her life....

Lady Janet Fraser didn't earn her reputation as Scotland's most notorious sinner by following the rules. A former mistress of King James IV, she's content to live her life from pleasure to pleasure. Even if those pleasures - and people - are forbidden.

Lady Greer Fairchild's only hope of avoiding marriage to the first bidder lies in journeying into the untamed Welsh countryside in search of an inheritance she's not sure even exists—one reportedly controlled by Rhodrick Glendower, Earl of Radnor, also known as the Prince of Powys. Rumor has it that the prince is rough, ruthless—even a murderer. But Greer never imagined that the brute would refuse to let her leave his remote castle until she has proven her identity.

When a governess of great talents is required, there is only one place the nobility of England go: the Governess Bureau. It was why Miss Meredith Hubert had worked so hard to gain her place there. Finishing with the Earl of Marnmouth's children, she is about to be given her next assignment—a Duke called Alfred Carmichael with a reputation to maintain and a half-brother who needs controlling. But Meredith has a secret to hide, and she's not the only one. Maids sent away in secret, items missing from the house—there is more than one mystery at Rochdale Abbey.

When a beautiful stranger ducks into his bookshop during a rainstorm, Cale Cameron, well-known rake, is instantly attracted to her. Elizabeth, Lady Thornhill, is restless and hungers for something she cannot name. Society would never accept a countess and a mere bookseller, so they agree to a one week affair to indulge their desire. As their passion ignites and their connection grows, Elizabeth threatens the one thing Cale has protected above all else—his heart.

Archer Tierney has devoted his life to becoming one of the most powerful men in London. He's cutthroat and merciless to anyone who crosses him and ruthless in his determination to always maintain the upper hand over friends and foes alike. There's no situation he can't control, no battle he can't win. Until one fierce woman enters his carefully guarded world, leaving danger and desire in her wake and bringing Archer to his knees.

Lily Sutton has been running wild for years beneath her siblings’ noses. Born and raised in the rookeries, she is not afraid of anything or anyone. And she is most certainly not cowed by arrogant scoundrels like the owner of London’s most prestigious shop, Bellingham and Co. She is determined to right the wrongs of her world, even if it means resorting to devious methods, such as absconding with some overpriced fripperies and baubles.

In the vein of Roxane Gay’s Bad Feminist, but wholly its own, Girl is a provocative, heartbreaking and frequently hilarious collection of original essays on what it means to be Black, a woman, a mother and a global citizen in today’s ever-changing world. Black women have never been more visible or more publicly celebrated. But for every new milestone, every magazine cover, every box office record smashed, the reality of everyday life remains a complex, nuanced, contradiction-laden experience.

Lady Philippa Shaw had it all - a husband who was madly in love with her, a sweet baby daughter, and a house in the most exclusive square in London - until a shocking discovery revealed that her happy life was a lie. After her husband's death, his past crimes return to haunt her, bringing danger, devastation, and the one man she’s spent the past few years despising.

The young ladies of the Fairchild family have just learned that their stepfather has absconded with their late mother's fortune. Ava, the eldest, decides to take matters into her own hands and hunts down the notoriously wealthy rakehell Jared Broderick, the Marquis of Middleton and heir to a dukedom. Much to her shock and delight, the marquis sweeps her into a whirlwind romance and proposes marriage. But after their passionate wedding night, Ava discovers Jared has ulterior motives of his own.

Lady Eliza Whitmoreland just wants to be left alone. A season and a husband are the last things she needs or wants. But when the ton's biggest rake tries to charm her, instead of rolling her eyes, she sees her chance. She challenges the blowhard to a game of chess. The prize? If she wins, he has to pretend to be her fiance for the rest of the season to get her mother off her back.

The only thing Georgiana Harley despises more than chaos is bad behavior. So when the duchess of Kenilworth pleads for help to escape her witty, charming, handsome, heartless monster of a husband, she's come to the right place. Calm and logical, with nerves of steel, Georgiana is uniquely qualified to safely disappear the duchess, along with her young son. Her greatest challenge is Her Grace's brother, Lord Haslemere. An arrogant scoundrel, he keeps interfering with Georgiana's methodical plans.

In London's brothels and bawdy houses, sin and scandal run rampant. Yet as Emma Downing knows, worse perils lurk within the lavish homes of high society. Emma has been tasked with uncovering secrets at the Lymington family's country estate - the scene of a rash of mysterious disappearances. Samuel Fitzroy, Marquess of Lymington, is no easy mark, and Emma fears he may see through both her disguise and her feigned indifference to his seductive charm....

When Veronica said "I do" to Sebastian Sinclair, Duke of Edgefield, she thought all her dreams had come true. He was dashing and doting, and she absolutely adored him—until he betrayed her trust, shattering their marriage, and her heart, into a million tiny bits. She hasn't seen her husband in the two years since, and she'd just as soon make it twenty. But when she learns that her beloved grandfather's dying wish is for her and Sebastian to attend the family's Christmastide celebration, she swallows her pride and asks him a favor: to pretend they're the happy couple they once were.

Anne Middleton never plays by the rules. She is willful when she should be obedient and unabashed when she should be decorous. Worse still, she can never resist a good wager . . . or a very naughty book. And Confessions of a Courtesan is about as risqué as a book can be. Michael Grey—Earl of Thornhill—had once courted Anne's sweet and modest sister. But whilst Anne is certainly no lady of decorum, her bold impulsiveness slips through his armor, and propriety is forgotten. Now he too is immersed in the book of forbidden delights, where each page is an invitation to sin.

When a governess of great talents is required, there is only one place the nobility of England go: The Governess Bureau. And one of the most trusted? Miss Anne Gilbert. She's known for keeping her employer's secrets, and when she is selected by the Earl of Clarcton, that is precisely why. Because the Earl, Timothy Lexington, has secrets. Secrets he has worked hard to keep from the world. While scandal waits in the wings, Clarcton Castle has entire wings that are shut off and the Countess is nowhere to be found.

When you wake up with no memories from the last ten years, what do you do? For Miss Rachel Herriot, she has only one option—to be sent to a quiet manor house with one charge, Violet, to care for. A little governessing and recuperation, that's all she needs. Unfortunately, that's not what she'll get. Waiting for her at Quintrell Hall is not the idyllic quiet country life she was promised, but a gentleman called Timothy Astor. Mysterious, frequently absent from his home, and kissing her passionately in corridors with no introduction, Mr. Astor is not what Rachel expected.

Hampshire, 1818. To her family, Olivia Middleton is a problem of the most vexing sort. With her older two sisters married off, Olivia is now the target of her mother's matrimonial scheming. Shy and somewhat plain, Olivia prefers the thrill of a gothic novel to the hunt for a husband. And as far as her family is concerned, something must be done. But Olivia has no interest in the men paraded before her—except, perhaps, the sought-after bachelor William Cross. But she's not about to inflate his already oversized ego by telling him so.

When Fiona Hay offers Angus Gordon her virtue in exchange for a dowry for her sisters, she so intrigues the rogue that he demands a higher payment: She will be his mistress. Thus begins a battle of wills and sensual delights. Destiny soon draws the ardent lovers into the turbulent court of King James. But soon the king's political schemes force Fiona away from the man she loves...and into the arms of a wild and passionate highlander, The MacDonald of Nairn. Will this coldhearted and callous betrayal forever destroy Fiona's chance at happiness?