Mother’s Choice by Elizabeth Mansfield

Cassandra Beringer would never allow her daughter Cicely to repeat her mistake and marry a man twenty years her senior–even if he is the handsome Viscount Ingelsby, considered by her sister to be the catch of the season.

The memory of her own disastrous marriage to an older man still haunts her, despite being widowed for many years. However, fate and a wet marble staircase interrupt her plans to keep Jeremy Ingelsby away from her only child. How will she stop them when she can’t even remember her own name?

Elizabeth Mansfield fan?  Check her author page for more of her delightful novels.

Anything can happen under a Christmas Moon. Even a miracle that the Three Kings would have appreciated.

Pregnant, unwed and down on her luck, history teacher Emma Carlyle is facing the worst Christmas of her life. Needing some research for her master’s thesis on legendary Wyoming lawman J.D. McNulty, she makes a Christmas Eve drive to South Pass City, where J.D. was buried. But…

Heading home, she loses her way in a storm. After her car vanishes, she ends up in 1870, half-frozen and in labor, on the doorstep of a remote mountain cabin. When J.D. himself opens the door with a pistol in one hand and a bottle of whiskey in the other…well, let’s just say that sparks start flying. These two lost souls are clearly meant for each other. But there’s one problem. Emma has studied everything about J.D.–and she knows he has only a few weeks to live.

Maybe, until then Emma didn’t believe in miracles. But this is the time of the Christmas Moon , and, as we said, anything can happen.

Author Elizabeth Lane has penned a sensual time travel romance with an inspiring message that will send chills down your spine. Christmas Moon is an E-Reads original, never before published. For other Elizabeth Lane novels visit her author page.
RC

After an absence of far too long we’re delighted to reintroduce the romantic historical Novels of Elizabeth Mansfield, starting with these two delights.
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Miscalculations

In Miscalculations, Viscount Luke Kettering was a Corinthian: self-confident, elegant, with a talent for all the manly arts, and a penchant for taking risks. He was admired by his peers, yet his constant requests for funds to settle his gambling debts caused his mother deep concern. He eagerly accepted her challenge to give him control of his inheritance if he could prove to be financially responsible. All he had to do was act prudently for one month. He did not factor in one detail–that Lady Martha’s financial advisor would be overseeing his accounting for the month–and that he was–a she!

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The Girl With the Persian Shawl

“The Girl With Persian Shawl” was a strangely bewitching masterpiece that had hung in the Rendell household for generations. Kate Rendell graciously let the dashing Lord Ainsworth view the work, and was outraged when he dared to insinuate that the painting came into the family by nefarious means. She was unfazed that Lord Ainsworth left her estate believing she was little more than an arrogant spinster. But everything changed when she discovered that her beloved but flighty younger cousin was to be betrothed to–a rake!

Keep an eye out for more delicious Elizabeth Mansfields on the E-Reads website.

A holy war is sweeping France, razing cities and destroying the peaceful lives of those considered heretics.

Sybille d’Astarac, born to pampered luxury, is a gifted female troubador. But her poems grow dark as the Catholic crusade seeks to eradicate her sect. In the face of massacre, can Sybille survive the Inquisition? Will her love songs?

A work of stunning historical fiction, Sybille displays Marion Meade’s pitch-perfect understanding of strong women facing the harsh realities of life in medieval times. As Robin Morgan, author of The Anatomy of Freedom, writes, this book is “an inspiration for women and an illumination for all readers.”

“Are you going to rape me?”

That’s not the kind of opening line calculated to make a reader shut a novel and put it back on the shelf. Nor is the rest of the exchange:

“Are you going to rape me?” Sarah asked in English, trying hard to keep her fear from showing in her voice.

Kalid Shah devoured her with the intense dark eyes she remembered from their previous meeting. The eunuchs on either side of her, their oiled black skins gleaming, held her in place with grips of iron.

“If I chose to do so, there would be no one here to stop me,” Kalid replied flatly in the same language, with a British accent. He made a slight dismissive gesture and the eunuchs released her, stepping back. He said another short word abruptly and they left the room, bowing their way out.

That’s how Doreen Owens Malek starts her gripping and deeply romantic historical novel The Panther and the Pearl. Sarah Woolcott, spirited and independent, always yearned to escape the Victorian mores and monotony of 19th century Boston. Now, she finds herself trapped in the harem of a Turkish prince, unable to escape back to America or even the relative safety of Constantinople.

Pampered and tightly controlled, Sarah knows she will never submit willingly to this world of courtesans and servants. Yet, Kalid Shah, the startlingly handsome man who has purchased her, carries an indescribable assuredness about him. He longs to possess this blue-eyed American woman–not simply her body but her heart as well.

As fate pulls these two together, violence and the traditions of this foreign land threaten to tear them apart. Will passions overrun them? Can they overcome the divide between their worlds? Will Sarah and Kalid’s mutual longings be able to set each other free?

E-Reads is putting Doreen Owens Malek books back in print as fast as we can, so keep your eye peeled on her author page.

Before rescuing Susanna from a fire consuming Ammonville’s Fallen Angel brothel, Aaron Court takes this intoxicating beauty, mistaking her for one of the professionals plying their trade. Now he is in a heap of trouble. How much trouble? Well, it happens that she was not only an innocent maiden, but the young sister of the establishment’s owner.

Now that he’s rescued her he has to rescue her reputation as well, which is about as easy as restoring a girl’s virginity. As if that’s not difficult enough, the memory of her yearning body fills him with an irresistible desire to be with her again. A case of out of the fire and into the frying pan.

Read Elizabeth Chadwick’s Wanton Angel to learn if the lovers will be able to squeeze through the horns of this dilemma.

Elizabeth Chadwick is a penname for romantic mystery novelist Nancy Herndon. E-Reads carries novels under both names.

- Richard Curtis

Sorry, m'dear. After removing your corset I'm exhausted

Guys who fantasize themselves heroes of steamy Victorian romances had better bone up on the protocol for removing their mistress’s garments.  By the time you strip her to the buff she will have fallen asleep and your stallion lust will have flagged to the consistency of a biscuit dipped in tepid tea. The afternoon quickie, known as a nooning in those days, must in truth have been a painful slowie, unfolding from afternoon to tea time before all was in readiness for a frolic as milord fumbled with milady’s hooks, eyes, buttons and bows.

The truth is, a Victorian lady’s clothes and underwear were more complex than the equation for the Higgs Boson and no easier to solve.  How do we know this?  Romance novelist Deanne Gist acquired a collection of Victorian couture and donned it, then considered what it would take for a lover to remove it with as much alacrity as romance writers impute to the ardent male of the time.  Her conclusion made her rethink her own sex scenes and will certainly make her colleagues re-imagine theirs.

“At the recent Romance Writers of America’s annual convention in New York,” reports Daisy Dumas of the Daily Mail, “period novelists watched Ms Gist squeeze herself, with help, into 12 layers of imitation Victorian garments. Starting in nothing but her ‘unmentionables,’ Ms Gist’s aim was to illustrate just how historically inaccurate many period novels are. Taking an hour to dress, it would have taken the same amount of time to undress – and help in the form of a ladies’ maid would have been absolutely necessary.”

Geist’s experiment in seductive couture can be seen in this video. You’ll readily see that if you imagine being thrown back to the Victorian era for the opportunity to assault milady’s virtues, you’d best bring your Blackberry with you to follow the instructions for disrobing her. The corset alone is harder to pick than a brass padlock.

Romance novelist buys full set of Victorian undergarments to understand what makes a bodice-ripper

Richard Curtis

E-Reads has rereleased two of Laura Kinsale’s most beloved historical novels, For My Lady’s Heart and its sequel Shadowheart, and as if that’s not treat enough, we have a double helping of good news for Kinsale fans. When she decided to re-edit the books for this reissue, she thought her readers might enjoy having both the original and the new version in the same e-book volume. Voila! Done!  And here they are.  (Note that our print edition contains only the new version, not both.)

For My Lady’s Heart

In medieval Europe, vows and laws are as inflexible and confining as a suit of armor. For Ruck, a noble and honest knight, those rules provide an unwavering path. Even as his wife leaves him for the Church, taking his money and his steed, Ruck’s life is one of devotion and mission.

For the beautiful widow, Princess Melanthe, those same laws and traditions conspire to consume her land and her independence. Her husband’s death has left her kingdom an inviting target for neighboring territories. Where Ruck sees a clear path, Melanthe must navigate through twisting alleyways, using shrewd deceit and devious strategy.

Can these two help each other overcome the powers conspiring against them? Will the passion in their hearts escape the constraints of their station? Is devotion enough?

In For My Lady’s Heart, Laura Kinsale has crafted a rich, sensual portrait of life during the Middle Ages.
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Shadowheart

Elegant yet violent, breathtakingly handsome yet brutal, the assassin Allegreto has returned in this long-awaited sequel to For My Lady’s Heart. Shadowheart won a Rita for best long historical romance published in 2004.

14th-century Europe is a vicious place, awash with murky alliances and political maneuvering. As the bastard son of the Navona family, Allegreto seeks to claim his rightful place in the Italian principality of his birth. When his standard tools of deception and murder prove unable to complete the task, Allegretto must take a bride–the lovely and innocent Lady Elena, the princess of Monteverde–by force. Soon it becomes clear that Fate has brought these two close–but it is a dangerous passion that binds them together.

As Allegreto and Elena journey to Italy, will they be safe from her jealous fiancé? Or from their own dangerous desires? Filled with rich, historical language and period detail, Shadowheart lays out a tale of intense passion and shifting power that will leave its readers breathless.
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Now, for the first time, readers can choose between two versions of For My Lady’s Heart and two of Shadowheart. Both are included in this same ebook. The first version is the original published novel filled with authentic Middle English language in dialogue and deep period detail. The second (included only in ebook editions, not the E-Reads print on demand) presents a condensed version for readers who prefer a tighter read and more modern dialogue.

“Are you going to rape me?”

That’s not the kind of opening line calculated to make a reader shut a novel and put it back on the shelf. Nor is the rest of the exchange:

“Are you going to rape me?” Sarah asked in English, trying hard to keep her fear from showing in her voice.

Kalid Shah devoured her with the intense dark eyes she remembered from their previous meeting. The eunuchs on either side of her, their oiled black skins gleaming, held her in place with grips of iron.

“If I chose to do so, there would be no one here to stop me,” Kalid replied flatly in the same language, with a British accent. He made a slight dismissive gesture and the eunuchs released her, stepping back. He said another short word abruptly and they left the room, bowing their way out.

That’s how Doreen Owens Malek starts her gripping and deeply romantic historical novel The Panther and the Pearl.  Sarah Woolcott, spirited and independent, always yearned to escape the Victorian mores and monotony of 19th century Boston. Now, she finds herself trapped in the harem of a Turkish prince, unable to escape back to America or even the relative safety of Constantinople.

Pampered and tightly controlled, Sarah knows she will never submit willingly to this world of courtesans and servants. Yet, Kalid Shah, the startlingly handsome man who has purchased her, carries an indescribable assuredness about him. He longs to possess this blue-eyed American woman–not simply her body but her heart as well.

As fate pulls these two together, violence and the traditions of this foreign land threaten to tear them apart. Will passions overrun them? Can they overcome the divide between their worlds? Will Sarah and Kalid’s mutual longings be able to set each other free?

E-Reads is putting Doreen Owens Malek books back in print as fast as we can, so keep your eye peeled on her author page.

“They’ve taken Paris,” Laura said.
Everyone stared at her. She was interpreting for the family the excited German issuing from the radio in staccato bursts.
“Are you sure?” Alain demanded.
“He says the troops are marching down the Champs Elysees,” Laura answered.
“Oh, my God,” Brigitte moaned, turning away and putting her hands to her face.

That is the opening passage of Clash By Night, a love story by Doreen Owens Malek that throbs in counterpoint to the tramp of boots as war spreads across Europe.

The Germans have taken Paris, and those heavy bootsteps menace the small French village of Fain les Sources. Many flee, but a few brave souls stay to start up a Resistance. Their futures are unsure, but pride and desperation push them forward. For three women, one question tears at their hearts: Can love overcome the wages of war?

In this stunning work of romance, author Doreen Owens Malek paints a portrait of patriotism and passion struggling to survive as the countryside burns during WWII. From the earliest days of the Occupation to the promised freedom of liberation, Clash by Night will clutch your heart and never let go.

Clash by Night introduces E-Reads’ reissue program of Doreen Owens Malek’s romantic fiction. Keep an eye on her author page for more.