The year is 1860. Iain MacEnroy and four of his seven brothers are traveling through the Arkansas Ozarks when Iain smells smoke. Their investigations lead not only to the brutal murders of a young couple, but also to two escapees—Emily Stanton, a well-bred English woman, and her young nephew, Neddy. While transporting her and Neddy to the MacEnroy residence to tend to her wounds, Iain finds himself falling for her, and Emily feels likewise. Although Iain and Emily have more in common than they think, there is also more to Emily than Iain is aware of. When the men who killed her sister and brother-in-law discover where she and Neddy are staying, she must decide whether to trust her rescuer with her secrets.

Set in the ruggedly beautiful but essentially lawless American frontier, The Scotsman Who Saved Me is a fascinating new take on the highlander romance. Howell introduces a whole set of memorable characters with Iain, the oldest of the MacEnroy brothers, and Emily at the forefront. Iain and Emily may come from two different worlds—English gentry and Scottish commoner—but Howell makes sure that both her protagonists are more than class stereotypes. Howell also gives her audience plenty of time to get to know the rest of the cast by slowly and steadily ratcheting up the action.

If the upcoming books share The Scotsman Who Saved Me’s assured mix of character development and suspense, Howell fans have much to look forward to in this new series.

Three Weeks with a Princess is an adorable and fun return to Vanessa Kelly’s Improper Princesses historical romance series. When an illegitimate duke’s daughter grows up as the childhood friend to a rather respectable, duty-bound boy, things can only get more scandalous from there. Packed with humor and a well-balanced cast of characters, this is a lovely addition to a series that just keeps getting better.

Lia Kincaid is no stranger to gossip. Not only is she an illegitimate child, but the woman who raised her—her grandmother—was a notorious mistress. The fact that her actress mother had an affair with a duke dashes any hopes Lia ever had of being respectable. At a young age, she finds a friend in Jack Easton, a man destined for the title of marquess. While they may be friends, Lia knows nothing can come of her crush on Jack. Because of her background, she’s destined to become a rich man’s mistress.

Jack is protective and loyal to Lia, and watching him take care of her as much as propriety allows—and then some—is enough to make any reader swoon. He knows he must revive his crumbling estate by making a sensible (and wealthy) marriage match. But even though he has a lot on his plate, Jack can’t resist Lia’s plea for help. She trusts him, and he’s her only hope when it comes to meeting a titled man in need of a mistress. What Jack doesn’t count on are the torturous, detailed questions Lia asks about how to seduce such a man.

Fans of a friends-to-lovers romance will find Three Weeks with a Princess to be utterly charming. There are uptight relatives, bawdy bits of family history and tender moments between Lia and Jack. But deeper than that, this is a romance about two people who want to veer from the course set out for them. Lia wants to eschew the infamous Kincaid name and does not want to be a kept woman like her mother and grandmother before her. Meanwhile, Jack lacks the desire to be a marquess and sees his title as more of a burden than any sort of honor.

Kelly’s pacing is brilliant, and there are snappy bits of dialogue and sticky situations galore as Jack dashes through London after Lia, clearly distressed by the idea of helping her become some man’s mistress. The pair complement each other so well: Jack with his endearing practicality and care, and Lia with her brash self-confidence. Jack truly is a knight in shining armor when it comes to her—the way they feel for each other is obvious to everyone but them.

It’s a “Just kiss already!” type of book.

The late Jo Beverley, a New York Times bestselling author, has left us a parting gift—her final Regency historical, Merely a Marriage. The year is 1817, and Lady Ariana Boxstall has grown increasingly anxious since the Regent’s only child, Princess Charlotte, died in childbirth. If death can claim a woman so young, Ariana fears for her brother Norris, the Earl of Langston, given all the risks he takes in his Corinthian lifestyle. She feels it’s imperative Norris take a wife and quickly present an heir to secure the succession. Should it pass to their drunken, gambling-mad uncle, their mother’s life will be left in shambles. Norris, however, has no desire to marry at this time and shows no sign of changing his mind—until he determines that if she is married by the end of the year, he will follow suit by the end of January.

Putting herself in the ton’s sights is the last thing Ariana wants to do. She is inordinately tall, and her debut when she was 16 was a disaster. Yet, reluctantly, she agrees. Her mother accompanies her to London where their hostess Lady Cawle will usher Ariana through the unofficial marriage mart. The first thing Lady Cawle hands Ariana is a written list of possible husbands she has arranged for Ariana to meet, including the Earl of Kynaston, who broke Ariana’s heart eight years ago.

When Titus Frederick Delacorte, the Earl of Kynaston, met Ariana years ago, he was the toast of the town. Then life introduced him to heartbreak and taught him in the worst way possible that no one’s life is forever golden. He has sworn off love, but being thrown together with Ariana makes staying steadfast to his avowed oath increasingly difficult.

With trademark authority and vivid characterization, Jo Beverley paints a stunning picture of aristocratic Regency London life as Ariana and Kynaston’s inability to stay away from each other courts scandal during a countrywide mourning period.