Sarah MacLean brings together the proverbial beauty and the beast in her latest Regency novel, A Scot in the Dark.

Lillian Hargrove is drop-dead gorgeous, but her beauty offers no help for her tainted social status. Orphaned at a young age and under the guardianship of a series of Warnick Dukes, the 23-year-old falls prey to an unfortunate situation when she poses nude for the famous artist Derek Hawkins, who has promised that the painting is for his eyes only and that he intends to wed her. But Lillian learns that the supposed private painting will not only soon be displayed for the world to see, but that Derek has no intention of marrying her.

Alec Stuart, the newest and reluctant Duke of Warnick, enters the scene surprised to find that Lillian is a ward of his estate. Upon realizing her involvement with the scandal, the over-six-foot Scottish brute takes charge of Lillian’s shameful societal status by attempting to find a man for her to marry before the painting’s unveiling. In an unlikely turn of events, Alec and Lillian fall for each other. Although their romance is riddled with clashes, secrets and uncertainty, one thing for certain is that destroying Derek’s painting will alter Lillian’s position. Yet locating it before that fateful reveal will be nothing less than a miracle.

MacLean’s latest novel includes a host of feisty, colorful characters that surround and support the pair of underdogs. Scenes are replete with engaging and snarky dialogue, plenty of romantic tension, gossip and narrative twists and turns. A Scot in the Dark, the second book in MacLean’s Scandal & Scoundrel series, is a captivating mix of scandal and sensuality with a Scottish flare.

Dorothy Garlock’s Sunday Kind of Love begins as an old-fashioned love story. It's 1956, girl has already met boy, and they’re en route to Buckton, Indiana, to meet her parents. Gwen hopes she’s found a partner in her boyfriend, Kent—a man to stand beside her, not tower above her.

Gwen is a small-town girl who, unlike most of her friends, attended college and then left Podunk Buckton for the glamour of Chicago. She’s fallen for the dazzling Kent Brookings—an attorney par excellence and a young man on his way up.

However, Gwen soon realizes that the entitled young lawyer sees her as more of a beautiful trinket than the intelligent young woman she truly is. When the two travel to Buckton to visit Gwen’s family, Kent announces their engagement to her parents—before he’s even asked Gwen to marry him. Gwen is infuriated.

Garlock’s mastery of momentum paired with captivating characters ensures a satisfying read.

After Kent’s surprise announcement, Gwen storms off into the night to re-examine the relationship. Gwen is torn. Kent doesn't support her dream of becoming a writer, and if he doesn’t take her seriously, how can she become his wife? However, she knows Kent is everything her parents want for her: an educated, thoughtful and wealthy young man.

As she ponders her dilemma in the darkness, she drops her prized writing journal in a swollen river and, while attempting to retrieve it, is swept away by the current. As fate would have it, local bad boy, Hank Ellis, hears her calls for help and risks his life to rescue Gwen. Despite this act of heroism, Gwen’s father shuns Hank when he brings her home, asking him to get out.

To Gwen’s family and the entire town of Buckton, Hank is a pariah. He was responsible for the fiery car wreck that killed his much-loved younger brother. However, it seems that everyone in Buckton has a secret, and Hank, devastated by his brother’s death and his father’s alcoholism, is no exception. Yet despite his painful past, Gwen finds herself developing feelings for this rough, misunderstood giant of a man who saved her. 

The latest of Dorothy Garlock’s romances underscores why the author is a nearly permanent resident of the New York Times bestseller list. Garlock’s mastery of momentum paired with captivating characters ensures a satisfying read.

Kelly Bowen returns to her Season for Scandal series with A Duke to Remember, in which a woman, who seems to be a magnet for drama, tracks down a man who is desperate to stay out of the limelight of London society. 

Elise deVries loves to play a character both on and off the stage. By night, she graces the stage as one of London’s most talented actresses—but her day job is far more interesting. Hired by Chegarre & Associates, an agency that makes scandals disappear overnight, Elise works undercover, using her fondness for playing roles and knack for creating disguises to help collect information for the company’s clients. 

Elise first appears in disguise as a doctor—a male doctor—as she investigates the claim that the Duchess of Ashland is being unfairly detained at the Bethlem Royal Hospital, also known as Bedlam. The duchess insists that her son—Noah Ellery, the Duke of Ashland, who has long been missing and is presumed dead—is still alive, but the assertion only makes the claim of her insanity even more plausible. However, Elise knows that something isn’t right, and she sets off to find the missing Duke.

A Duke to Remember has everything you want in a romance.

Noah Ellery is enjoying his life of quiet solitude in hiding in the English countryside. He’s all too happy to give up the title of Duke of Ashland if it means leaving high society and its gossip behind. But when Elise turns up, explaining that his mother has been sent away to an asylum and his awful cousin is claiming the title of duke, Noah knows he can’t escape his responsibilities any longer.

Noah is hopelessly sweet, and while he longs to help his mother, the bad blood between him and his family is pretty extensive. A quiet child who stumbled over his sentences, a boy who seemed unworthy of a title, Noah was a disappointment in his father’s eyes. So he was hidden away by his family. The fear and wariness Noah feels at claiming his title of Duke of Ashland is heartbreaking, but he can’t seem to resist the pull of Elise’s gentle patience and earnest plea for his return.

With a lovely balance of playful moments and moments of reflection and confessions, A Duke to Remember has everything you want in a romance: a confident heroine, an earnest and loving beta hero and a truly satisfying happily every after that will leave you misty-eyed. 

Duke of Sin, the tenth book in Elizabeth Hoyt’s Maiden Lane series, follows the romance between a profligate Duke and his indomitable housekeeper as they  investigate extortion and shady dealings.

Bridget Crumb is not your typical housekeeper. Keeping her identity under wraps, Bridget is secretly gathering incriminating evidence against her employer, Valentine Napier, the infamous Duke of Montgomery. Her aristocratic mother is one of many on Val's blackmailing list, and Bridget is determined to bring him down.

Val doesn't trust anyone, and that includes Bridget. Although he has plenty of evidence to fire Bridget, Val keeps her employed, as he is absolutely enamored with the strong-willed and outspoken housekeeper. Dark secrets lurk behind the Duke's extortions, but against all odds, love slowly blooms between Val and Bridget, especially when they discover that they have more in common than expected.

Hoyt has created two dynamic characters within the realm of harsh aristocratic power ploys in Regency-era London. Duke of Sin is filled with awkward, flirtatious and quirky dialogue that masterfully captures the lovers’ playful clashes—often to hilarious effect. Of course, romance stories are not without their intimate moments, and Hoyt includes a delicious collection of hot and steamy scenes. A wonderful balance of comedy and pathos, Hoyt's latest is a deeply satisfying read. 

New York Times bestselling author Madeline Hunter concludes her Wicked trilogy with a bang in The Wicked Duke. Lancelot Hemingford did not expect to become the Duke of Aylesbury. And he certainly didn’t anticipate rumors that he murdered his brother for the title to follow him everywhere he goes. So these days, he’s traded his old life as a London hell-raiser for the quiet anonymity of the country. He is almost content—until a social-climbing justice of the peace blackmails him into courting the man’s niece.

Marianne Radley was happy in the little cottage in Wiltshire she shared with her mother and cousin before her uncle decreed they return posthaste to Trenfield Park. Once there, she has barely settled in before finding herself engaged to the Duke of Aylesbury. Gratitude for an arranged marriage above her station be hanged; this is the last thing she wants.

Marianne has income from a clandestine job as Mr. Elijah Tewkberry, news correspondent for the Times of London, which can provide her with a perfectly adequate, independent living. Her uncle, however, will not abide her rejecting the Duke’s offer. He threatens to commit her adored cousin to Bedlam if Marianne continues to oppose him.

Hunter pens a complex novel chock full of multifaceted characters and intriguing situations as she leads the reader through the development of a relationship between a man and woman who have no reason to make a success of the marriage forced on them. The Wicked Duke has it all: It is at once sly and sexy, intense and suspenseful.

Alissa Johnson transports readers to 1872 in the first book in her Thief-takers series, A Talent For Trickery. Eight years earlier, Scotland Yard detective Owen Renderwell recruited Charlotte Walker’s father to assist him in solving crimes. Walker was an infamous thief, and Charlotte inherited much of his brilliance. Her father’s four-year association with Owen resulted in Charlotte falling in love with the handsome, keenly intelligent Detective Renderwell. But when her father was killed during a particularly high-profile case, Charlotte blamed Owen. Feeling betrayed and angry, she assumed a new identity, packed up her siblings and abruptly retired to the countryside with the intent of building a respectable life.

Much to her annoyance, Owen, now a private detective and a viscount, walks back into her life. He needs her help to solve the murder of a woman who was a friend of Charlotte’s father in London. Charlotte decides she must help catch the killer, even though doing so means she is forced to endure Owen’s presence in her home. Unbeknownst to Charlotte, Owen has never stopped thinking of her and is determined to prove they belong together. He plans to use every opportunity to win her love, as well as solve the case.

Using her talent for deciphering codes, Charlotte and Owen team up to search her father’s many journals for the key to the encrypted note left at the murder scene. Their work is interrupted when attempts are made on her life and the lives of her younger brother and sister. Now Owen and his two best friends must keep them safe, catch the villain threatening them and solve the woman’s murder. But who wants the Walker siblings dead and why? Did their father’s criminal past leave a legacy of vengeance that will destroy them all?

In a plot that twists, turns and surprises, Johnson has woven a compelling romance between two stubborn, endearing people. If you love smart heroines, intelligent heroes, witty dialogue and clever mystery plots, this gem of a historical romance might steal your heart.

Lois Dyer writes from her home in Port Orchard, Washington

Daniel's True Desire, the second book in Grace Burrowes’ True Gentleman series, is a charming Regency romance about a vicar with a troubled past who falls in love with a woman who has resigned herself to spinsterhood due to her own past heartbreaks.

Daniel Banks is the son of a vicar and a vicar himself. He grew up, as he puts it, "only nominally a gentleman." Upon becoming vicar for the village of Haddondale, he promptly falls in love with Lady Kirsten Haddonfield. Lady Kirsten is the sister of an Earl, but she is far more comfortable supervising the cleaning and repairing of the vicarage than she is pouring tea. As she says, "Perhaps I am only nominally a lady." The sharp-tongued but extremely practical Lady Kirsten and the gentle Daniel fall very much in love, but Daniel has a tie from his past that could keep them apart.

Burrowes deftly mixes angst (both Daniel and Kirsten have tragedy in their past lives) and humor (Daniel is tasked with running a boys' school and the mischievous students provide constant comic relief) in this novel. Watching Daniel and Kirsten work as a team is deeply satisfying—they have fabulous chemistry and engage in witty banter and honest conversations while co-running the vicarage and school.

The use of language in Daniel's True Desire is lovely, the characters are fun and interesting, and the setting bucolic. It's a lovely book to escape into, in which problems are overwhelming and yet all are satisfyingly solved—perhaps a bit too miraculously—through the combined forces of romantic love, friendship, family and the machinations of several small boys and their collection of runaway toads. 

Forever Your Earl, the first in the Wicked Quills of London series, is a delightful Regency romance from Eva Leigh, who also writes science fiction, steampunk and fantasy romance under the name Zoë Archer. Forever Your Earl has a classic Regency premise—a woman from the working class falls in love with an Earl—but Leigh shakes up the formula by giving us a heroine in her 30s who is financially independent and experienced in the ways of the world. The book is filled with an abundance of witty banter and dry humor, along with high emotional and sexual chemistry between the two leads, who are on equal footing despite their class differences.

Eleanor Hawke owns and runs a printing press that publishes a scandal sheet called The Hawk's Eye, which reports on the secret lives of London’s elite. Daniel Balfour, the infamous Lord Ashford—one of Hawke’s most gabbed about subjects—invites Eleanor to shadow him on some of his more rakish adventures for reasons of his own. In order to pull this off, Eleanor must dress as a man (and on one occasion, like a woman of "questionable reputation"). Through Hawke’s journalistic endeavors, readers are treated to a glimpse of life at a Regency-era chophouse, a masquerade ball, Vauxhall Gardens, a gambling hell and many more fascinating London locales. Daniel is under pressure to marry a noblewoman and produce an heir, but he finds the headstrong Eleanor quite intriguing. However, even as the pair is drawn closer together, Daniel is desperate to keep one important secret from the very disarming Eleanor.

This book has two standout pleasures. First, for Regency fans, Eleanor’s guided tour through a rake's life is great fun, and second, the sharp, funny—but often heartfelt—banter between the characters is a delight. These two characters start off on a footing of mutual interest that rapidly becomes mutual respect. Both Eleanor and Ashford are clear communicators, and although they both have secrets, they avoid easily preventable understandings. Theirs is an adult romance in the sense that the sex is explicit and hot, and it's adult in the sense that the characters are flawed but emotionally mature. Forever Your Earl is a light read with enough emotional substance to keep the stakes high.

Read Eva Leigh's guest post about Forever Your Earl.

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The first book in Sally MacKenzie's Spinster House series, What to Do with a Duke, is a masterful mélange of Regency romance pleasures. The small English town setting of Loves Bridge vibrates with heritable curses, tension between social castes and the insatiable longings of its beguiling inhabitants.

Isabelle Catherine “Cat” Hutting is the loving, harried eldest child in a vicar’s family of 10 and an aspiring writer who knows exactly what she wants: a life of intellectual independence and virginal solitude. When a rare vacancy presents itself at the town’s application-only Spinster House—a small and stately home traditionally occupied by an old maid until her death—Cat is delighted by the chance to escape the bustle of her father’s household and avoid the unappealing subordination of a marriage.

Marcus the Duke of Hart is a handsome would-be Lothario of London whose charmed existence is marred by a 200-year-old curse. When his ancestor and namesake abandoned a Loves Bridge maiden with child, the jilted local swore that his descendants would die between the conception and birth of their firstborn heirs. This dark pronouncement has held true for five generations of dukes, and it dissuades Marcus from marriage. But as he rounds the age of 30, Marcus finds that even London’s priciest prostitutes cannot slake his immense loneliness.

When Marcus arrives in Loves Bridge to fulfill the obligations of his dukedom and choose a new resident for the Spinster House, Cat crosses his path and catches his eye. Cat, too, is stirred in ways she’d never imagined. But how can Cat reconcile her innate willfulness with these sudden and sensual stirrings? How can Marcus court this singular beauty without falling afoul of both her desire for freedom and his own cursed fate?

These answers are not easy to come by for either heroine or hero, and by the novel’s end, each of the lovers are transfigured: by revelation, yes, but most profoundly by the recognition that a loss incurred for love is more sacrament than sacrifice.

The Highlander’s Bride, the first in Amanda Forester’s Highland Trouble series, has all the trappings of an old-fashioned romance with some delightfully feminist twists thrown in. The heroine is a sheltered noblewoman, and the hero is a Scots warrior who offends her tender sensibilities with his strong legs and his disregard for her possessions. However, the Lady is no delicate flower, and the Scotsman is no domineering alpha.

Highland warrior Gavin Patrick is given the job of escorting Lady Marie Colette from her home in France to the home of her husband-to-be in Scotland. Along the way, he must protect her from the English, bandits and a storm at sea. However, the greatest danger they face lies in their attraction to each other, since Collette has to marry the man of her father's choosing, as he has promised to send her father badly needed soldiers in exchange. If she fails to marry, it affects her people, not just her own social standing.

Forester has brought together an exciting setting and period in history, fabulous clothing and hairstyles, and an action-filled plot, but the greatest joy of The Highlander’s Bride lies in the relationship between the two lead characters. They are both honest and forthright, and they cut through potential misunderstandings like true adults. Colette is not an action heroine, but she's intelligent and resourceful, and Gavin never attempts to dominate her.

The addition of some orphaned children is perhaps a bit too adorable, but if you are willing to go along with it, you will be treated to some wildly entertaining scenes and happy endings all around. This is not a terribly serious book, but Forester is able to embrace sillier elements and ground them in a very realistic relationship between Colette and Gavin in a way that is sexy, funny and emotionally touching.

If He's Noble, the latest in Hannah Howell’s Wherlocke series, is a historical romance with a kind and honorable hero, a feisty but sweet heroine and an over-the-top evil villainess bent on destruction. The story weaves in paranormal elements, and Howell is able to make several comments on the ridiculous double standards of Regency society, all while developing a fine romance. Although the writing style is sometimes a bit awkward, the story contains many elements that are sure to be irresistible to fans of Regency romance.

When Sir Bened Vaughn comes across Lady Primrose in the woods, he realizes that she is in trouble. While Primrose is no helpless damsel, she is certainly in distress—she's searching for her missing brother and is on the run from her aunt, who is trying to force her into marriage. Bened insists on helping Primrose, and they discover that Primrose's aunt may be a murderer many times over. They also discover that they are quite attracted to each other. With no reputation to lose (thanks to her solo travels in search of her brother), Primrose must decide whether to trust Bened with her body and her heart, and Bened must decide if he is worthy of Primrose, who is socially far above him.

This book has highly relatable, likeable characters and includes a large supporting cast of relatives. The characters are not particularly well-rounded—the bad guys are especially one-dimensional—however, the book’s cast is an entertaining group to spend time with. The book is filled with dry humor, with an especially funny scene involving Primrose’s puppy.

The major weakness in this novel is Howell’s insistence on telling as opposed to showing; reading about every thought and emotion of the characters becomes tedious. This being said, many readers will find the combination of humor, fun characters and the charming historical setting to compensate for any stylistic missteps. 

A Sword for His Lady is just as unabashedly silly, sensual and fun as its cover suggests. It has no pretensions of being deeply intellectual or literary—it's simply a sexy, entertaining romance unfolding in the exotic setting of early 12^th-century England. The first in Wine's Courtly Love series, it’s perfectly suited for a summer vacation read.

The hero, Ramon de Segrave, fought in the Crusades for many years before returning to England with Richard the Lionheart. Richard orders Ramon to marry the widow Isabel, who has been managing her estate alone since the death of her husband. The estate is on inhospitable swampland, but Isabel supports the estate by raising geese and selling their feathers. (They are a necessity in archery, and because the country is at war, this is big business). If Ramon marries Isabel, then he can protect her estate from brigands, and Richard will have stable access to an important resource.

Initially, Ramon isn’t keen on marrying, but he quickly comes to admire Isabel's appearance, business acumen and ethics. Isabel, who was married at a young age to an abusive husband and does not want to lose her autonomy, is adamant that she will never marry again. Most of the plot consists of Ramon attempting to convince Isabel to marry him. At its best, this book is a playful and provocative battle of wills between two intelligent, resourceful people.

The book suffers from an unnecessary subplot featuring a one-dimensional villain and his Persian lover, who is described in unfortunately stereotypical terms. The villain appears to exist entirely so that readers can enjoy some battle scenes. Historical accuracy takes a backseat to romance, allowing for a comfortable and at times lavishly fabulous setting. This book is pure fantasy, not in the sense of containing magic, but in the sense of forgoing any mundane context and diving into a world of enjoyment. A Sword for His Lady is light and fluffy in the best "beach read" way, and although the narrative emphasis is on sex, the characters have some deeply satisfying groundwork of mutual trust, respect and emotional intimacy. 

Elizabeth Hoyt is one of the hottest authors in romance today, and the eighth book in her Maiden Lane series captures every tender, charming reason for her popularity. Dearest Rogue is a sexy, sweet and emotionally satisfying historical read. 

Lady Phoebe Batten is exactly like other young society women, excepting one small difference—she’s blind. In her opinion, a lack of sight shouldn’t preclude an active social life, or even a romance, although she knows the latter is not very likely. Her brother, however, does not believe she can lead a normal life, and he worries about her physical safety. As a duke’s sister, and a wealthy one at that, she is a vulnerable target for all kinds of criminals. That’s precisely why her protective sibling has hired an armed escort to accompany her everywhere. And unfortunately for freedom-loving Phoebe, her bodyguard follows her brother’s strict orders to the letter. 

Once a respected officer with the King’s dragoons, Captain James Trevillion is far from the average bodyguard. But when a serious injury left lasting damage to his leg, Trevillion wasn’t fit for a soldier’s duties any longer. Protecting one young woman from danger is hardly the kind of challenge he once faced in service to the king, but Trevillion finds himself facing another kind of challenge with Phoebe—caring for her in ways that are not simply professional. 

There is a gently contentious dynamic between the two: Phoebe chafes at what she believes is Trevillion’s stodgy adherence to duty, and Trevillion, although enchanted with Phoebe’s spirit, is also uncomfortably aware of the difference in their stations. But everything changes when Phoebe is nearly kidnapped. Trevillion may not be the soldier he once was, but as he gallops away from the attackers with his charge nestled in front of him, he vows that Phoebe will come to no harm on his watch. And for Phoebe, held close in his strong arms, her escort suddenly becomes more than a stubborn obstacle to her freedom. 

Sight is a powerful metaphor in this romance; Trevillion is amazed by how deeply Phoebe can see into him, even blind, and Phoebe is amazed to find that there is more to her bodyguard than his job, and that true passion is hidden behind the solemn mask of duty. The real triumph here is independence, however, as both Phoebe and Trevillion find the courage to fight for their desires and map their future on their own terms. The fact that being together gives them the strength to find their individual voices is simply the icing on a very delightful cake. 

Dearest Rogue is everything the reader of a Regency historical wants; it’s funny, fast-paced and has plenty of historical flavor and a romance that develops as naturally as a flower opening in the sun. Fans of the Maiden Lane series will cheer for this couple.  

Amy Garvey is a freelance editor and the author of several romances and two novels for young adults.