Showing results by narrator "Gabrielle Baker" in All Categories

One should never judge a duke by his cover. As far as London society knows, Giles Drew, the Duke of Basingstoke, is everything a proper aristocrat ought to be. But when a notorious scandal sheet publishes details of Giles's questionable bedroom antics, only one bride can salvage his reputation. Prim and penniless, Francesca Stanhope has resigned herself to a season full of the ton's snickering—until the Duke of Basingstoke's dizzying courtship transforms her fate. Yet wedded bliss quickly turns into a clash of wills as Franny realizes her handsome duke is a devil in disguise.

Rewriting the Rules is a friendly guide through the complicated—and often contradictory—advice that's given about sex and gender, monogamy and conflict, break-up and commitment. It asks questions about the rules of love, such as which to choose from all the rules on offer? Do we stick to the old rules we learnt growing up, or do we try something new and risk being out on our own? And what about the times when the rules we love by seem to make things worse?

London 1884. When a thief robs Fleet Street reporter Penny Green, she finds herself caught up in a horrifying murder. Someone is terrorizing the residents of St Giles Rookery, and Scotland Yard sends Inspector James Blakely to investigate. When the serial killer claims a victim outside the slums, Victorian London is sent into panic. Can Penny's friendship with the people of St Giles uncover the culprit? She and James must overcome their complicated relationship to work together, but each new murder threatens to derail their work for good.

Ana Gardner is determined to lose her virginity before her thirtieth birthday. She's no stranger to fake identities, having posed as a chaperone since the scandal that destroyed her family. So she dons a mask and attends the city's most elite brothel, the Silver Chalice. Oliver Bedford, the imposing Earl of Drake, is only at the Silver Chalice to appease his friends—until he spots Lady Scarlet. She's refreshing and a complete mystery. Certain she's a lady in disguise, Oliver is determined to learn her identity.

In A Very Proper Monster, Josephine Shaw spends long nights filling the pages of her Gothic stories with the fantastic and the macabre, unaware that the suitor her father has arranged is one of the dark creatures she's always dreamed. For Tom Dargin, courting an ailing spinster was only one duty in a long life of service to his sire. But after he meets the curious Miss Shaw, will Tom become the seducer or the seduced? Can a love fated to end in tragedy survive a looming grave?

London 1885. Something's not right at Shoreditch Workhouse and reporter Penny Green is struggling to convince someone to listen. After spending time there undercover, she knows that more can be done for the deserving poor beneath its roof. But does anyone else care? When two workhouse inmates die in a fight, the police and the coroner accept the simplest explanation. Penny undertakes her own investigation with Inspector James Blakely's help and it's not long before they make themselves unpopular.

It's one thing to wake up outside in the middle of the night with a decapitated man for company. It's another to have no memory of how you got there—or who you are. She might not know her own name but she knows that several people are out to get her. It could be because she has strange magical powers seemingly at her fingertips and is some kind of fabulous hero. But then why does she appear to inspire fear in so many? And who on earth is the sexy, green-eyed barman who apparently despises her? So many questions . . . and so few answers.

With her betrothal imminent, the beautiful Princess Ava has gone missing. Where has she fled to? Why has she gone? And why is the dragon stirring? Enter our hero. Gwen has been hunting wanted criminals for years, collecting bounties to provide for her mother and brother since the death of their father. The promise of an armful of gold for bringing the princess home is too good to ignore. But bringing her home doesn't solve anyone's problems. Gwen still has family to support, and Ava still has a miserable marriage to look forward to.

Rescued by ruin, American heiress Daisy Vanreid is desperate to avoid marriage to the aging aristocrat her abusive father chose for her. She'll do anything, even entrap the notorious Duke of Trent into marriage, to escape her fate. Losing her heart to her handsome husband after the wedding isn't part of the plan. Nothing is as it seems.

Emmeline Lockhart is in an extraordinary position for a woman of her station. However, she has no desire to marry a duke who is old enough to be her grandfather. But what other options does she have? The only way out is to find someone who is willing to marry her...and quickly.

Mina, Heathcliff, Morrie, and Quoth are tying the knot in an extravagant ceremony. But when someone sabotages the decorations and Heathcliff receives a threatening note, they realize that a saboteur in the village doesn't want them to have their happily-ever-after. Their wedding misadventures turn deadly when the wedding saboteur murders the celebrant. Add in a duck-napping, disastrous dance lessons, absent book reviewers, Mina's mother's newest business venture, and visits from old friends . . . and enemies, and Mina has a matrimonial catastrophe on her hands.

The Wraith Kings saga continues. The demonic horde that threatened to devour the world has been defeated, but at great cost. Plagued by guilt and nightmares, Serovek Pangion sets out to deliver the soulless body of the monk Megiddo to the heretical Jeden Order for safekeeping. Accompanying him is sha-Anhuset, the Kai woman he admires and desires most - a woman barely tolerant of him. But guilt and unwelcome attraction are the least of their problems. The demons thought vanquished are stirring again.

The Shakespeare Festival has come to the village, and all of Argleton has gone bard-crazy. Mina's excited about Nevermore being the festival's official bookstore, but a rival bookshop opens up across the green and completely cramps her style.

Alarmed by the sound of an intruder, Rose St. Claire fetches her pistol. She's shocked to discover that the trespasser is a handsome gentleman—one who states that the house, which Rose recently inherited from her late benefactor, was stolen from his father decades ago. He claims it is now his. And it is—but not entirely. As it turns out, Hammond Court has been left to them both—and neither can evict the other without forfeiting their right to the property.

Ivy Gover, a curmudgeonly middle-aged charwoman with some slightly witchy talents, inherits a rural cottage in Buckinghamshire and takes up residence near the tiny village of Little Warby. Having settled in with a rescued dog and a pet pigeon, she manages, despite her anti-social instincts, to have surprising effects on her new neighbors. But her biggest challenge will likely be the twelve-year-old runaway who shows up at her door.

Welcome to 1990s Norway. White picket fences run in neat rows, and Christian conservatism runs deep. But as the Artist considers her work, things start stirring themselves up. In a corner of Oslo, a coven of witches begin cooking up some curses. A time-traveling Edvard Munch arrives in town to join a death-metal band, closely pursued by the teenaged subject of his painting Puberty, who has murder on her mind. Meanwhile, out deep in the forest, a group of school girls get very lost and things get very strange. And awful things happen in aspic.

Lady Selina Bellamy is much more than a pretty face. And it's about time everyone realized it. Being the sweet, biddable, pretty sister isn't as easy as one might think. Selina knows this all too well. Love? That was never a possibility for her. Not when she was expected to marry a wealthy man and save her entire family from financial ruin.

Single since forever, Natalie Hill has all but given up on love. She's convinced herself and everyone else she wants a quiet life. But if a tall, dark and gorgeous stranger turned up on her doorstep, her plans might change...Enter Ellie Knap, who's jump-starting her life in the Cotswolds after bailing on her relationship and her career. Her plan? To open an ice cream shop and melt into the village. When the two meet it's far from love at first sight, but then slowly, they become friends. Then one night, on a moonlit bridge, everything changes...

Movie star Jessica Lambert is in danger of burning out. Returning to London for the premiere of her latest film, she's recognized everywhere she goes. When she runs away through the streets of London, she's taken in by the beautiful and more mature Anna. The two hide in the sanctuary of Anna's roof-top flat, a haven away from the crowds, but why has Anna removed herself from the world?

Seven years ago a woman with too many secrets and a man with too many lies fell in love. Then she left him. Isabel's quiet life as an assistant to one of London's famous apothecaries hides a deadly secret. A secret that could see her put on trial for witchcraft if the authorities uncover the truth. But when the authority figure who turns up at her shop is Sir Nicholas Merritt, she's at risk of losing more than her life. She could lose her heart and soul, and the man she loves.