Liz Carlyle pens an entrancing Victorian-era story filled with passion and danger in The Bride Wore Scarlet. The St. James Society is a secret circle whose members have pledged to guard those with extraordinary mental powers from misuse by others. It’s a global organization comprised only of men until Anaïs de Rohan arrives at the group’s London headquarters, trained for fighting, educated in their ways and asking to be initiated into their ranks. While Lord Geoffrey Bessett immediately refuses her membership, he is willing to partner with her on a mission—during which she’ll pose as his wife. Sparks fly between the fiery young lady and the controlled lord, but they must learn to deal with the heat to save a prescient child from falling into the wrong hands. Soon the pair are mixing business and pleasure, although Anaïs believes she’s destined to wed a Tuscan man. While Geoff makes her second-guess the prophecy foretold by her great-grandmother, there is evil at work that may mean the end—not only of their burgeoning love, but of their lives. Carlyle delivers a fast-paced pleasure.

Two fascinating characters meet their match in A Beginner’s Guide to Rakes by Suzanne Enoch. After being widowed in Vienna, Diane Benchley returns to London and stuns society by opening an exclusive gentleman’s club. No one is more surprised than Oliver Warren, the Marquis of Haybury. Two years before, he and the young widow had a torrid affair, and he ran from her and his feelings. Now that she’s back, he vows to avoid her . . . but it proves impossible when the beauty finds a way to have him act as her advisor. Once again in close quarters, their passion ignites, though each is determined to battle against it. Diane wants her venture to succeed and refuses to rely on love or a man again—besides, Oliver never saw himself as a one-woman man, and he isn’t about to start now. But through witty repartee and stolen kisses, the two grow close. When Diane’s establishment is threatened by outside forces, she must trust Oliver to help vanquish the new foe. The lovers war with each other passionately—but the results are fiery and just plain fun.

Seasoned romance author Jane Ashford’s stellar writing is on full display in Brave New Earl. This first book in her new series, The Way to a Lord’s Heart, introduces the delightful premise of a British earl who is determined to nudge, scheme and settle his four younger male acquaintances into happy domestic bliss. Not that the four would have agreed, had they known about the older gentleman’s plans. Nevertheless, the matchmaker moves calmly forward with his objective.

The Earl’s first target is his nephew Benjamin Romilly. After losing his wife in childbirth five years earlier, Benjamin’s broken heart has refused to heal and his son is growing up with scant supervision or attention from his grieving father. When Miss Jean Saunders, a distant cousin of Benjamin’s late wife, learns of the little boy’s lack of parental care, she vows to intercede. A survivor of a cruel and abusive childhood herself, Jean cannot bear to abandon the child to an uncaring parent.

Arriving uninvited at Benjamin’s estate, Jean is surprised to discover that the Earl is handsome and charming, but plagued by reclusive habits and stubborn grief. Five-year-old Geoffrey is even more of a shock as he’s wildly undisciplined, but imaginative and intellectually brilliant. Ashford’s vivid descriptions of the little boy and his outrageous antics, alongside with his often heartbreaking reactions to adult interaction, add a deeper emotional layer to the novel. Jean’s original plan to swoop in, collect Geoffrey and convey him to his grandparents’ care in London is clearly not going to succeed. Ever adaptable, Jean settles in for a long visit, vowing to solve the family complications.

For Benjamin, it’s as if Jean’s arrival wakes him from a long twilight, and he gradually becomes aware of the impact his protracted grieving has had on his son. He has a lot of work to do to regain lost ground with Geoffrey, not to mention deciding how to cope with the astonishing appeal of Miss Saunders. But just because Benjamin is finally ready to engage with the world, Jean is not ready to become involved on a romantic level with Benjamin. Though their attraction is both mutual and powerful, Jean is terrified of intimacy. Her own difficult childhood has left scars, just as Benjamin’s grief has marked him. If these two can reach a happy future together, it will not be an easy journey. Readers will be charmed by Ashford’s writing and will thoroughly enjoy observing these two honorable, wonderful people as they struggle to reach the happiness they both clearly deserve.

Lois Dyer writes from her home in Port Orchard, Washington.

This romance may be set in 1860s England, a time of Victorian propriety, but scandal sits just below its surface—and military-hero-turned-spy Adam Drummond is determined to uncover it. Positioned undercover by the War Office in the home of the late Duke of Marsley, Adam uses his role as majordomo to search the house for proof that the duke betrayed the British troops under his command during a campaign in India. But Adam’s single-minded focus on his mission starts to shift as he finds himself captivated by Suzanne Whitcomb, the duke’s beautiful, broken-hearted widow. She lives in a state of deep, relentless mourning, not for the duke, but for their young son who died at the same time. Nothing has moved her in the time since her loss, until Adam is thrown very dramatically in her path.

A love between them is impossible, of course. It’s not just the chasm between their stations, though that would be reason enough. There’s also the deception he used to enter her life in the first place, and the fact that succeeding in his mission would mean dragging her deceased husband’s name through the mud. There’s some strong, deep-seated anger in the mix, too. Adam served in India under the duke’s command and he was one of only a handful to survive. His wife, who was stationed there with him, perished. The host of obstacles Ranney places in Adam and Suzanne’s path results in a rich emotional struggle as they find themselves drawn together in spite of it all.

To Love a Duchess is Ranney’s first book in a new trilogy entitled All for Love, and her writing beautifully shows how love can triumph over pain, fear, anger and blame. The physical attraction between the characters is strong, but the emotional connection is just as powerful as they both work through their grief and help each other heal. It’s empowering as a reader to see Suzanne come out of her shell and start living again, instead of just existing.

The author takes time for social commentary as well, highlighting the terrible treatment of girls in the working class when they, willingly or not, became pregnant outside of marriage. Ranney paints a heartbreaking image of the struggles they faced, but it feels a touch removed as none of the women in that situation have dialogue in To Love a Duchess. Their stories are told for them, while they don’t speak at all. Perhaps that will change in the next book in the series, and Ranney will highlight the ways that love and understanding can heal those wounds too.

Dangerous is the first in Minerva Spencer’s new Outcasts series of Regency romances, and it has such deliciously juicy backstories for its charming protagonists that it’s impossible to imagine anything topping it. The devilishly delectable hero—Adam de Courtney, Lord Exley—is known as the Murderous Marquess due to the mysterious deaths of both of his former wives, and the heroine has spent nearly two decades in a sultan’s harem! Though English born and bred, Lady Euphemia “Mia” Marlington was abducted by corsairs while sailing through the Mediterranean when she was just 14. She survived 17 years of cutthroat palace intrigue before she was rescued and returned to England, to the shock and embarrassment of her extremely stuffy father, the Duke of Carlisle. The duke is, in fact, so very eager to marry her off and get his scandalous daughter out of his house that he’ll even push her towards the widely-shunned Lord Exley, who has three daughters from his previous marriages but lacks a son and heir.

It’s a match made somewhere very far from heaven, and yet, despite a bumpy beginning, a strong relationship quickly falls into place. Mia’s spent too much time being judged by society to give credence to the rumors about Adam, who is so frustrated by society’s fakery that he relishes his wife’s uninhibited boldness. Not only is Mia stubborn and outspoken, she’s also sensual and passionate, with none of the bashfulness or uncertainty about her body sometimes seen in Regency heroines. While the intimacy between the characters quickly steams up the pages, it is actually remarkably sweet to see how his wife’s open, easy affection softens Adam’s long-frozen heart. The tenderness that develops between them makes it all the more dramatic when the secret Mia has kept—the one that has driven all her decisions, down to her choice to marry Adam—rises up and threatens to tear their marriage apart.

With so much going on, and such high stakes, it’s perhaps inevitable that some elements feel rather unfinished. Characters who seem important in early scenes disappear entirely in the book’s second half. Some plot elements are mentioned once and then never brought up again. But with a story this giddy and exciting, it’s hard to blame the author for getting a little carried away. Spencer certainly succeeds in sweeping the reader up in the same dizzying whirl! Sexy and wildly entertaining, Dangerous is a promising romance debut.

Katharine Ashe transports readers to Edinburgh, Scotland, for The Prince, the fourth entry in her Devil’s Duke series. There is much to enjoy in this wonderful novel, including the beautiful city of Edinburgh, the intriguing historical details and all the twists and turns of a murder mystery steeped in danger. But the shining stars of this romance novel are its unique main characters.

Elizabeth Shaw is the brilliant daughter of a respected physician in Edinburgh. Determined to become a member of the city’s Royal College of Surgeons, she’s stymied at every turn, as the medical school will only accept men. When her father accepts a year-long appointment in London, leaving Elizabeth to stay in Scotland with friends, she embraces the opportunity to launch a plan. Dressed as a male, she attends a public surgical dissection. None of the other students seated with her in the theater balcony see through her disguise. One observer in the general audience, however, recognizes her immediately. Gifted portraitist Ziyaeddin met Libby Shaw only once, two years earlier, but he has never forgotten her. In fact, he’s still fascinated by the shape of her lips—and everything else about her. The artist in him instantly sees the woman beneath her disguise of male clothing and glued-on facial whiskers.

Worried at first that Ziyaeddin will expose her charade, Libby soon conceives a plan that requires his cooperation. Ziyaeddin is stunned when she arrives on his doorstep and declares she will agree to sit for a portrait if he will allow her to live in his home and pose as a male student. He refuses at first, for the plan is wildly outrageous. But after some consideration, he accepts. He has never met a woman with Libby’s fierce determination, blunt honesty and brilliant mind. She clearly must be a surgeon, and, just as clearly, he must aid her. Ziyaeddin is well aware that he’s breaking society’s rules. He doesn’t care.

Thus begins a deeply emotional and fascinating journey for these two amazing individuals. Ashe delves into the complicated lives of both Libby and Ziyaeddin. Libby has OCD and struggles to balance her compulsions with her commitment to medicine. Ziyaeddin was born a prince of the (fictional) Middle Eastern country Tabir, but was ripped away from his birthright as a child. Saved by a benefactor, he was trained by a gifted artist, only to be later enslaved and scarred by the amputation of a foot. Rescue by a duke brought him to Edinburgh, where his portraits have brought him both fame and fortune. When Ziyaeddin and Libby begin to live in the same house, sharing daily life, the sexual tension between them is strong and grows more powerful by the week. Ashe amplifies the slow burn of attraction between them, focusing on how their genuine respect for each other rises with every interaction.

Added to the suspense of the ever-present possibility that Libby’s disguise may be uncovered is a very real threat to her life when she realizes someone in the college is selling cadavers for profit and possibly committing murder to satisfy demand. Ziyaeddin is terrified Libby will be harmed by the threats that surround her but knows that perhaps it is he, himself, who poses the greatest threat to her happiness. The steady, careful character development Ashe devoted herself to earlier in the novel pays off in spades, as readers will find themselves desperately anxious that these two amazing people find their way to happily ever after.

Lois Dyer writes from her home in Port Orchard, Washington.

Mary Balogh returns to her lush Westcott Family series with Someone to Care, an immersive story of a disgraced former countess searching for her new normal.

Two years after the death of her husband, the Earl of Riverdale—and the very public revelation of some very scandalous family secrets—Viola Kingsley finds herself stuck in place, unable to move on the way her children and loved ones have. She panics and runs from the embrace of her family to an obscure country inn, where an accident strands her and she finds herself captivated once more by the ardent gaze of Marcel Lamarr, the Marquess of Dorchester.

The marquess also finds himself caught in the memory of his brief flirtation with Viola 14 years prior, which ended when she became one of the only women in his long history of dalliances to turn him down. At the inn, he takes a risky step away from his pride, she takes a chance and meets him halfway, and the two of them unconsciously begin to heal the hurts of their past and grow together.

Someone to Care is a truly unique offering from an already accomplished author. With this latest novel, Balogh brings insight, innovation and maturity to a genre that can often feel repetitive. Much of what makes this story so fresh is its mature leading couple. Romance novels often focus on young, bright-eyed heroines or dashing, boyish rogues, but Someone to Care dares to delve into what the world looks like after decades of chasing empty dreams, and the insecurities that come with rebuilding after life has done its worst.

The narrative shows sensitivity and refinement, but for all her elegance of language, Balogh nonetheless gives her love story a delectably sexy streak, crafting pictures of intimacy that leave the reader longing for just one or two more gorgeous details. This element, plus all the aristocratic scandal and intrigue to be desired in historical romance, makes this latest Westcott novel a master class in romance.

Someone to Care is fresh, uplifting and absorbing. Don’t miss this perfect addition to any summer romance reading list.

In her latest installment in the Penhallow Dynasty series, The Bride Takes a Groom, Lisa Berne takes all the classic elements of a Regency romance and turns them upside down. The most charming surprise is the hero himself, Hugo Penhallow, who stands out from the legion of Regency leading men before him by being kind, pleasant and affable. Hugo is not a cad or a rake, nor is he the relentlessly proper image of decorum. He’s not cold and bitter from a broken heart, nor sarcastic and snide from a chilly upbringing. Instead, Hugo is a genuinely sunny soul, reared by a delightfully quirky family he adores. While he is marvelously well connected through his influential family name and strikingly handsome (in a gentle jab at the usual tropes, nearly everyone he meets compares him to a Greek god while he politely refrains from rolling his eyes), Hugo is so impoverished after his military service that he must marry well or see his family become destitute. Despite this, Hugo never seems gloomy or desperate. He genuinely believes he can live happily ever after, and hopes to build that happiness with heiress Katherine Brooke.

As the daughter of absurdly wealthy and deeply shallow parents (a clever bit of set dressing has their library filled with handsome leather volumes, with weighty and important titles stamped on the spine, and pages that are entirely blank), Katherine’s sole responsibility is to be a dazzling social success. So of course, her greatest wish is simply to be left alone. When she’s forced to socialize, she plays at taking on the personas of the heroines she admires from the novels she sneaks in under her mother’s nose. After all, being herself has never worked out well.

Katherine and Hugo marry quickly, but a true union takes longer to form. The forthright Hugo struggles to connect with a Katherine, who has always known who she was supposed to be but hasn’t the faintest idea who she truly is. It’s her journey to selfhood that makes Katherine so frustrating and fascinating—especially when she starts to move from being the leading lady of a melodrama to being a heroine in her own life. Does she really want to be a belle dame sans merci, or can she let herself choose to be kind? The answer, once she discovers it, is as sweet as the chocolates she also used to sneak behind her mother’s back and that she comes to share with the husband she eventually allows herself to adore.

Meredith Duran delivers an emotional love story of reconciliation and healing in her return to the Rules for the Reckless series.

The Sins of Lord Lockwood begins with a whirlwind romance between the charming William “Liam” Devaliant and Anna Wallace, a confident and courageous Scottish heiress. Though their marriage is one of convenience, their attraction is palpable, and it’s easy to see that their arrangement would lead to something more, if not for a dreadful tragedy.

Following their wedding, Liam goes missing, and Anna’s heart breaks at the thought that her new husband has abandoned her and that she’s misinterpreted their chemistry all along. In reality, he was kidnapped, imprisoned and sent to a penal colony. It takes nearly four years for the pair to be reunited, and even then, their marriage is fraught with dark and dangerous feelings.

Liam is out for revenge, consumed with his desire to unmask the men responsible for his disappearance. He also suffers from severe PTSD, and trying to rebuild a life with the wife he left behind is a huge uphill battle. Duran doesn’t go into the gritty details of Liam’s imprisonment, instead hinting at the traumas and abuse he endured in well-deployed pricks of memory. Anna has had to live with her feelings of neglect and abandonment for years, as well as the knowledge that she’s been a source for all kinds of gossip. And even after Liam returns, she realizes the man she married may still be lost to her.

Duran is incredibly adept at piecing together each part of Liam and Anna’s relationship, flashing back to pivotal moments throughout The Sins of Lord Lockwood. We see their courtship and flirtation, the pain their separation causes both of them, and how much their time apart has changed them. Liam worries he has no room in his heart for love when he’s so fueled by anger. He’s very much a wounded animal, so unlike the charismatic lord Anna married. Tears will be shed over how desperately Anna wants to convey to Liam that she’s there for him, despite how much his shame makes him push her away.

The romance is hard won but worth it. Seeing Liam and Anna fight tooth and nail for one another is exactly what makes a happily ever after so satisfying. It’s raw. It’s real. And honestly, it’s easy to feel jealous of Liam. Anyone would be lucky to have Anna and her perseverance for the people she loves most.

The Sins of Lord Lockwood is a book that readers will adore, even as their hearts are being put through the wringer. Trust me, it hurts so good.

A Devil in Scotland is the satisfying conclusion to Suzanne Enoch’s No Ordinary Hero series. Once upon a time in 19th-century Scotland, in a drunken rage, Callum MacCreath destroyed his relationships with his brother, Ian, and his best friend, Rebecca. Upon discovering they were about to become engaged, Callum demanded she marry him instead and ranted about the dangers of the partnership Ian was about to enter with Rebecca’s father. Rebecca firmly refused him, and his beloved brother ordered Callum to leave and never come back.

Callum spent the past 10 years growing up and building a business in America. But when he learns that his brother has drowned under mysterious circumstances, he ends his exile. Callum realizes now that Ian was justified in banishing him, but he also knows he wasn’t wrong about everything he spewed the last time he saw his brother. He returns to Scotland with a heart bent on revenge. And if those old feelings for Becca are still there, well, he’ll work around them.

Marrying Ian was the smart and practical thing to do, but in Becca’s weaker moments, she still remembers the feelings she once harbored for his younger brother. She has just begun to emerge from mourning not only Ian’s death but also her father’s. Then Callum, whom she believed to have died during the past decade, appears on her doorstep to take his rightful place as the new Lord Geiry. He’s steadier—and stronger—than the wild and reckless boy she remembers. Yet he still inspires the same sneaky fire in her heart that he did as an 18-year-old. But can he give up his thirst for revenge?

Enoch always displays a deft touch with family relationships, and A Devil in Scotland is no exception. The details of how Rebecca’s properties and inheritance are handled are particularly insightful. Enoch’s characters leap from the page, especially Callum, who evolves from a man willing to die for justice to a true hero who seeks a solution that won’t leave mayhem in his wake.

Callum and Rebecca grab the reader’s heart in this rich, sexy and nuanced tale of love and intrigue.