December books on my radar
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Series: Greycourt #2
Author: Elizabeth Hoyt
December 1st 2020 by Piatkus
The second novel in New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Elizabeth Hoyt's Greycourt Series features an enemies-to-lovers romance with her signature blend of captivating characters and sensual romance.
Ambitious, sly, and lethally intelligent, Gideon Hawthorne has spent his life clawing his way up from the gutter. For the last ten years, he's acted as the Duke of Windemere's fixer, performing the most dangerous tasks without question. Now Gideon's ready to quit the duke's service and work solely for himself. But Windermere wants Gideon to complete one last task, and his reward is impossible to resist: Messalina Greycourt's hand in marriage.
Witty, vivacious Messalina Greycourt has her pick of suitors. When Windermere summons Messalina to inform his niece that she must marry Mr. Hawthorne, she is appalled. But she's surprised when Gideon offers her a compromise: as long as she plays the complacent wife, he promises to leave her alone until she asks for his touch. Since Messalina is confident that she'll never ask Gideon for anything, she readily agrees. However, the more time she spends with Gideon, the harder it is to stay away.
Goodreads
Series: Daughters of the Dynasty #1
Author: Diana Ma
December 1st 2020 by Amulet Books
The first book in an epic and romantic YA series following the fictionalized descendants of the only officially recognized empress regent of China.
Gemma Huang is a recent transplant to Los Angeles from Illinois, having abandoned plans for college to pursue a career in acting, much to the dismay of her parents. Now she’s living with three roommates in a two-bedroom hovel, auditioning for bit roles that hardly cover rent. Gemma’s big break comes when she’s asked to play a lead role in an update of M. Butterfly filming for the summer in Beijing. When she arrives, she’s stopped by paparazzi at the airport. She quickly realizes she may as well be the twin of one of the most notorious young socialites in Beijing. Thus kicks off a summer of revelations, in which Gemma uncovers a legacy her parents have spent their lives protecting her from—one her mother would conceal from her daughter at any cost.
Goodreads
Series: She's With Me #2
Author: Jessica Cunsolo
December 1st 2020 by Wattpad Books
Love has never been more dangerous.
In the sequel to her riveting debut, She’s With Me, Wattpad superstar Jessica Cunsolo brings us the dramatic continuation of a romance that always defies the odds...
Amelia Collins finally finds happiness in the arms of Aiden Parker, who accepts her for who she is―even when their pasts become hopelessly entangled in their present and threaten to completely unravel their futures. As Aiden’s accused of a crime he didn’t commit and struggles to keep his family together, Amelia fights a battle of her own: how to tell Aiden she needs to leave.
Determined to put real life on hold for just a little bit longer, Amelia and her friends leave the chaos of King City behind for a beach house and holiday celebrations. Still, it’s only a matter of time before close quarters reveal their secrets and Aiden fully understands the awful truth about the man pursuing Amelia.
Amelia knows she can’t outrun the painful memories of the past and killer’s obsession with her. Her beloved friends are in danger, and she will not let them be harmed. Overwhelmed by love but haunted by fear, Amelia must decide if staying with the person she loves is worth risking his life.
Goodreads
Series: Difficult Dukes #2
Author: Loretta Chase
December 1st 2020 by Avon
USA Today bestselling author Loretta Chase continues her Difficult Dukes series with this delightful spin on Shakespeare's classic, The Taming of the Shrew.
This time, who’s taming whom…
Cassandra Pomfret holds strong opinions she isn’t shy about voicing. But her extremely plain speaking has caused an uproar, and her exasperated father, hoping a husband will rein her in, has ruled that her beloved sister can’t marry until Cassandra does.
Now, thanks to a certain wild-living nobleman, the last shreds of Cassandra’s reputation are about to disintegrate, taking her sister’s future and her family’s good name along with them.
The Duke of Ashmont’s looks make women swoon. His character flaws are beyond counting. He’s lost a perfectly good bride through his own carelessness. He nearly killed one of his two best friends. Still, troublemaker that he is, he knows that damaging a lady’s good name isn’t sporting.
The only way to right the wrong is to marry her…and hope she doesn’t smother him in his sleep on their wedding night.
Goodreads
Series: The Husband Dilemma #1
Author: Mary Lancaster & Violetta Rand
December 3rd 2020 by Dragonblade Publishing, Inc.
Young women in need of second chances find sympathy and assistance with the enigmatic Lady Whitmore in her seaside castle and village. The ultimate goal: to find husbands for these rejected ladies of the ton. Yet, not every young woman is motivated by the same emotions, for some of these ladies possess rakish hearts that can only be tamed by true love.
Her voice is pure, her motives wicked.
Lady Sarah Merrington will never forget being spurned by the duke she was supposed to marry. After all, that is the very reason she finds herself as a personal guest to the enigmatic Lady Whitmore in her village on the coast, a place of sanctuary where a lady might learn new accomplishments and, perhaps, the necessary skills to charm the elites of society. And Sarah is determined to reinvent herself so she can seek satisfaction, if not a bit of feminine revenge against the Duke of Vexen.
Leonard Blackmore, the Duke of Vexen, is invited to host a charitable event in a place he's never heard of before and by a lady he's never met. Pleased by the opportunity, he accepts the invitation only to find his gracious hostess, Lady Whitmore, is not only a fellow patron to the arts but provides second chances to young ladies who simply need a helping hand. Unexpectedly, the duke meets a beautiful woman who sings like an angel. He swears he's seen her before but can't quite remember where or when. It doesn't matter, for she's captured his deep interest, and he always gets what he wants.
Sarah can't believe her duke has arrived, giving her the chance to fulfill her dream for revenge. But the more she's around him, the more she admires and likes him. And it's only a matter of time before he realizes who she is.
Will Sarah take advantage of the perfect opportunity to fool her duke, or will she forgive and forget in order to give love a second chance?
Goodreads
Series: The Townsbridges #5
Author: Sophie Barnes
December 8th 2020 by Sophie Barnes
No other woman compares...
Six years ago, Athena Townsbridge broke up a wedding. This worked out well for her brother and the lady he loved, but Athena has never forgiven herself for what it did to Robert Carlisle. No one has seen him since he fled the church in humiliation, so when she learns of his estate's proximity to the property she is staying at during a family visit, she sets out, determined to make amends.
When Robert, Marquess of Darlington, is reunited with Athena, she's no longer the troublesome girl he remembers, but rather a fully grown woman. Trapped with her when a blizzard sets in, he rediscovers her playful side, the laughter and joy she can bring to his life. But it is her willful nature that tempts him, both with the need to tame her and with the dream of making her his.
Goodreads
Series: Goode Girls Romance #2
Author: Kerrigan Byrne
December 8th 2020 by Gnarly Wool Publishing
A brand-new deliciously wicked romance series from USA Today Bestselling Author Kerrigan Byrne. The Goode Girls are aren't simply good, they're stunning.
Doctor Titus Conleith emerged from his time as a battlefield surgeon with a mysterious fortune, a lethal secret, and a demon on his back. Ruthlessly intelligent, he was able to lift himself from his beginnings as coal-stained bastard through merciless discipline and inexhaustible skill. Alone by choice, he swore never to open his heart to another. Not after Honoria Goode. The heiress who shattered his hopes and then tread upon the shards of his heart with her bejeweled slippers. The beauty with whom he shared his first taste of passion, before she gave her hand to another.
The woman whose life he just saved from bleeding out on his table...
Honoria's life as a Viscountess has been nothing but a misery she'd brought upon herself with her own cowardice. Trapped for years in a loveless marriage to a cruel rake, she has been widowed by the consequences of his villainy. Now, she must face the man with the blazing golden eyes of the boy she once worshiped, and the dark past they both share.
As their passion reignites with the same fervor of their youth, Honoria can't help but begin to wonder...
Will he allow her the second chance she doesn't deserve?
Goodreads
Series: The Dukes' Pact #3
Author: Kate Archer
December 8th 2020 by Dragonblade Publishing, Inc.
A Steely Lady and a High Stakes Lord
Book 3 in The Dukes' Pact Series—six dukes take dire steps to force their heirs to marry, while those heirs fight just as hard to remain bachelors. A sweet regency romance.
Lily Farnsworth is a resourceful lady. As well she should be, her father has spent years dragging the family’s estate from the edge of ruin and she’s always had to make do with little. A proper season and the gowns to go with it seem entirely out of reach. That is, until Lily discovers she has a particular skill at piquet. Pound by pound, she gathers the funds to pay her own way. Her aunt is delighted to play host in her modest London house and squire her niece to parties. Everybody is certain that one season will be enough to see Lily married well and with the means to help her sisters.
Hayes Summersby, Viscount Ashworth and heir to the Duke of Dembly, may be in line to inherit a great estate, but that estate has recently tottered on the brink of collapse. He’s only rescued it through his skill at a card table. He’s a renowned gambler and he’s got firm opinions about it—the foremost being that women do not have the steady nerves for large bets. That is, until Miss Farnsworth challenges him in Lady Blakeley’s drawing room.
An uneasy acquaintance is born and neither party would much mind never again setting eyes on the other. Hayes may be drawn to Lily’s looks, but he has no intention of marrying just yet, which suits his friends in the dukes’ pact. Lily may be struck by Lord Ashworth’s person, but she does not aim as high as a dukedom, and even if she did, the lord is far too arrogant.
Despite their mutual dislike, it will not be so easy to escape one another. As Lady Montague connives, and a certain Mr. Shine schemes, Lily and Hayes will find that their acquaintance has turned from uncomfortable to deadly.
Neither of them knows who will win the final hand.
Goodreads
Series: Wallflowers vs. Rogues #1
Author: Lenora Bell
December 10th 2020 by Piatkus
Once upon a time in Mayfair, a group of wallflowers formed a secret society with goals that had absolutely nothing to do with matrimony. Their most troublesome obstacle? Rogues!
They call her Beastly Beatrice.
Wallflower Lady Beatrice Bentley longs to remain in the wilds of Cornwall to complete her etymological dictionary. Too bad her brother's Gothic mansion is under renovation. How can she work with an annoyingly arrogant and too-handsome rogue swinging a hammer nearby?
Rogue. Scoundrel. Call him anything you like as long as you pay him.
Navy man Stamford Wright is leaving England soon, and renovating Thornhill House is just a job. It's not about the duke's bookish sister or her fiery copper hair. Or the etymology lessons the prim-yet-alluring lady insists on giving him. Or the forbidden things he'd love to teach her.
They say never mix business with pleasure. But when Beatrice and Ford aren't arguing, they're kissing.
Sometimes, temptation proves too strong to resist…even if the cost is a heart.
Goodreads
Series: The Notorious Virtues #1
Author: Alwyn Hamilton
December 18th 2020 by Faber & Faber
A glamorous media darling, a surprise heiress, and the magical competition of a lifetime.
At sixteen, Honora “Nora” Holtzfall is the daughter of the most powerful heiress in all of Walstad. Her family controls all the money–and all the magic–in the entire country. But despite being the center of attention, Nora has always felt like an outsider. When her mother is found dead in an alley, the family throne and fortune are suddenly up for grabs, and Nora will be pitted against her cousins in the Veritaz, the ultimate magical competition for power that determines the one family heir.
But there’s a surprise contestant this time: Lotte, the illegitimate daughter of Nora’s aunt. When Lotte’s absent mother retrieves her from the rural convent she’d abandoned her to, Lotte goes from being an orphan to surrounded by family. Unfortunately, most of them want her dead.
And soon, Nora discovers that her mother’s death wasn’t random–it was murder. And the only person she can trust to uncover the truth of what happened is a rakish young reporter who despises everything Nora and her family stand for.
With everyone against her, Lotte’s last hope is hunting for the identity of her father. But the dangerous competition–and her feelings for Theo, one of the Holtzfalls’ sworn protectors–turns her world upside down.
Incredible tests, impossible choices and deadly odds await both girls. But there can only be one winner.
Goodreads
Series: Sinful Wallflowers #2
Author: Stacy Reid
December 29th 2020 by Entangled: Amara
Miss Maryann FitzWilliam is too witty and bookish for her own good. No gentleman of the ton will marry her, so her parents arrange for her to wed a man old enough to be her father. But Maryann is ready to use those wits to turn herself into a sinful wallflower.
When the scandal sheet reports a sighting of Nicolas Ives climbing out the chamber windows of a house party, Maryann does the unthinkable. She anonymously claims that the bedchamber belonged to none other than Miss FitzWilliam, tarnishing her own reputation—and chances of the dastardly union her family secured for her. Now she just needs to convince the marquess to keep his silence.
Nicholas Ives, Marquess of Rothbury has purposefully cultivated a reputation as the most ruthless, unprincipled libertine, all so he can slip beneath the guards of those whose vile actions caused him to lose the only girl he's ever loved. Despite his intrigue, Nicolas is determined to ignore the deceitful and enticing Miss FitzWilliam. However, his enemies are drawing close, and he soon discovers he must keep her closer to protect her. Nonetheless, she rouses a soul-burning passion within him, causing him to question who will protect her from his devilish wiles.
Goodreads
Series: Prince Charlie's Angels #2
Author: Eliza Knight
December 29th 2020 by Sourcebooks Casablanca
These Highland warriors are prepared to give up everything to fight for their country.
Annie MacPherson's world was torn apart when her family's castle was ravaged during the war. Determined to aid her countrymen, she braves the battlefield and finds Lieutenant Craig MacLean left for dead. Soon, her heart belongs to the fierce warrior.
As the English dragoons draw closer to Annie's makeshift hospital, Craig knows they have to escape together if they'll have any chance to survive. But when they come face-to-face with the enemy, and Craig is imprisoned, Annie will have to risk everything she has to save the man she can't live without.
History and adventure come to life in Eliza Knight's thrilling Scottish Highland romance. Annie is based loosely on Anne MacKay, Anne Leith and Lady Maxwell, who risked their lives to protect Jacobite soldiers by hiding them, healing their wounds, and aiding in their escape from enemy forces.
Goodreads
Series: Bow Street Bachelors #3
Author: Kate Bateman
December 29th 2020 by St. Martin's Paperbacks
A princess in disguise is forced to live with a rogue in order to protect her from danger in this fun, sexy regency romance.
Bow Street agent Sebastien Wolff, Earl of Mowbray, doesn't believe in love―until a passionate kiss with a beautiful stranger in a brothel forces him to reconsider. When the mysterious woman is linked to an intrigue involving a missing Russian princess, however, Seb realizes her air of innocence was too good to be true.
Princess Anastasia Denisova has been hiding in London as plain 'Anna Brown'. With a dangerous traitor hot on her trail, her best option is to accept Wolff's offer of protection―and accommodation―at his gambling hell. But living in such close quarters, and aiding Wolff in his Bow Street cases, fans the flames of their mutual attraction. If Anya's true identity is revealed, does their romance stand a chance? Could a princess ever marry a rogue?
Goodreads
Series: The Way to a Lord's Heart #5
Author: Jane Ashford
December 29th 2020 by Sourcebooks Casablanca
How to help a lonely Earl...
Arthur Shelton, Earl of Macklin, has helped four young noblemen recover from grief and find love, but he's learned to live his own life as a widower. Yet when he returns home after traveling, his estate feels too empty, and he quickly heads to London. There, he encounters Teresa Alvarez de Granada, a charming Spanish noblewoman and is immediately entranced.
There is no room for earls in the quiet, safe life Teresa has finally found for herself. The earl might be charming and handsome, but she knows firsthand how dangerous attraction can be. But the more determined Teresa is to discourage Arthur, the more entangled they get, and it's only a matter of time before her respect for him starts to feel a lot like love.
Goodreads
Series: Never the Bride #9
Author: Emily E.K. Murdoch
December 31st 2020 by Dragonblade Publishing, Inc.
Always the widow and never again the bride—her one chance of happiness lost...
Once Elizabeth Howard was widowed, that's all anyone saw her as—but it does come with some perks. She's well-respected, of course, and no one is surprised when a dark gentleman leaves the house in the middle of the night. But that's not all he's left, and now, the thirty-four year old widow has a secret to keep for nine months.
Jacob Beauvale thought nothing of his romantic entanglement with the widow Howard last year, but his return to town with a fiancée brings a shock in the shape of a small child with his grey eyes. Gossip starts to fly, as Jacob ignores his intended to pursue a woman with a child—and Elizabeth knows the facts can never be known. He's determined to have the truth. She's sworn all along that it was her late husband's child. Knowledge is in the balance, and neither will give up their ground.
Will the truth of that night be more dangerous if known—and can Elizabeth and Jacob talk long enough to keep their hands off each other?
Goodreads
What has caught your eye for December? Have you read any of these? Let me know :)
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