An inconvenient proposal. Ian MacKay, Laird of Graenfrae, has no use for love or marriage. However, his stepfather’’s will mandates that marriage is what he must have…to an Englishwoman. A sensible man, Ian develops a list of requirements in a wife: Plain, moderately dowered, older and practical. He thinks he has found the perfect candidate in Lady Annabelle. Labeled The Ordinary her first season, Annabelle longs for a man who will see her as beautiful and love her as her father loved her mother. When she meets Ian, she thinks she has at last found that man. Until his proposal, in which he has the audacity to list his “requirements.” She refuses his proposal. He informs her that she will marry him at the end of the season. The battle of wills is on.

Love is in the air this Christmas with two heartwarming holiday stories Christmas Bells for Dry Creek by Janet Tronstad The holiday season brings quite a surprise for Virginia Parker. Her former boss, Colter Wells, is back in Dry Creek—with a newly discovered daughter who needs some female guidance. But can one motherless little girl—and the two adults bonded to her and to each other—make up a perfect family? The Christmas Secret by Sara Mitchell Clara Penrose's bluestocking ways have branded her a spinster among Virginia's elite. Yet a reunion with Dr. Ethan Harcourt rekindles feelings Clara thought long lost. Her second chance finally here, Clara needs only to catch the good doctor under the mistletoe!

The power of faith and love Wilderness Courtship Thorne Blackwell is in the midst of a crisis. To save his brother’s wife and son from hired guns, he must make a grueling journey through the wild Oregon Territory. And he needs Charity Beal’s help. Through roiling rivers and lush mountain passes, Charity’s kindness and faith awakens Thorne to a strength he never knew. But before he can win her love, he has to save their party from the sharpshooter stalking their every step. Courting Miss Adelaide The “orphan train” seemed like spinster Adelaide Crum’s last chance to know the joys of family life. So many lost children were in need of the caring home she longed to offer. And yet the narrow-minded town elders refused to entrust any child to a woman alone. Only newspaperman Charles Graves supported Adelaide. Her gentle soul and unwavering faith made him wonder if even he could overcome the bitter lessons of the past…

Quicksand A Family Foundation begins a family saga in the early 1800's that stretches across France, England, Wales, and eventually America. Deceit, lies, secrets, and character flaws weave their way into the lives of each family member and corrupt the quest for a solid foundation. Joseph and Emma experience love at first sight. He awakens in her dormant lust and unquenchable desire, but their love story is besieged by powerful circumstances beyond her control and his dedication to England and the British Royal Navy. What starts as a romantic journey ends in tragedy. Fate deals the couple a disastrous blow and the irony that follows is so twisted that the next generations suffer the consequences.

Natalie Harper has just married the man of her dreams. All of her life, she has wanted a husband who would be kind, gentle, and handsome. She wanted a companion she could share her life with. Mark Larson fulfills all of those dreams. And she couldn't be happier. However, Mark is also wealthy. The money doesn't mean anything to Natalie. She's just happy to be loved by him, but she soon discovers that his wealth comes with some unexpected problems. She grew up on a farm with very little to her name. No one cared about how people drank tea, how well they danced, or how much education they had. They didn't judge people based on any of those things. In Mark's world, though, she's expected to follow certain etiquette rules she didn't even know existed. And the women in her new social circle aren't the least bit shy about letting her know she doesn't meet up to their standards. Yes, she married Mark because she loved him, but she's quickly learning there's more to marriage than love. A lot more. And she's not sure she has what it takes to make it work.

This book analyses the cultural and theatrical intersections of early modern temporal concepts and gendered identities. Through close readings of the works of Shakespeare, Middleton, Dekker, Heywood and others, across the genres of domestic comedy, city comedy and revenge tragedy, Sarah Lewis shows how temporal tropes are used to delineate masculinity and femininity on the early modern stage, and vice versa. She sets out the ways in which the temporal constructs of patience, prodigality and revenge, as well as the dramatic identities that are built from those constructs, and the experience of playgoing itself, negotiate a fraught opposition between action in the moment and delay in the duration. This book argues that looking at time through the lens of gender, and gender through the lens of time, is crucial if we are to develop our understanding of the early modern cultural construction of both.

Gray Delacroix has dedicated his life to building his very successful global spice empire, but it has come at a cost. Resolved to salvage his family before it spirals out of control, he returns to his ancestral home to save his brother and sister before it's too late. As a junior botanist for the Smithsonian, Annabelle Larkin has been charged with the impossible task of gaining access to the notoriously private Delacroix plant collection. If she fails, she will be out of a job and the family farm in Kansas will go under. She has no idea that in gaining entrance to the Delacroix world, she will unwittingly step into a web of dangerous political intrigue far beyond her experience. Unable to deny her attraction to the reclusive business tycoon, Annabelle will be forced to choose between her heart and loyalty to her country. Can Gray and Annabelle find a way through the storm of scandal without destroying the family Gray is fighting to save?