Rounding up of this week's Top 10 historical romance books:

1) Rainwater, Sandra Brown

The year is 1934. With the country in the stranglehold of drought and economic depression, Ella Barron runs her Texas boardinghouse with an efficiency that ensures her life will be kept in balance. Between chores of cooking and cleaning for her residents, she cares for her ten-year-old son, Solly, a sweet but challenging child whose misunderstood behavior finds Ella on the receiving end of pity, derision, and suspicion.

When David Rainwater arrives at the house looking for lodging, he comes recommended by a trusted friend as "a man of impeccable character." But Ella senses that admitting Mr. Rainwater will bring about unsettling changes.

However, times are hard, and in order to make ends meet, Ella's house must remain one hundred percent occupied. So Mr. Rainwater moves into her house...and impacts her life in ways Ella could never have foreseen.

The changes are echoed by the turbulence beyond the house walls. Friends and neighbors who've thus far maintained a tenuous grip on their meager livelihoods now face foreclosure and financial ruin. In an effort to save their families from homelessness and hunger, farmers and cattlemen are forced to make choices that come with heartrending consequences.

The climate of desperation creates a fertile atmosphere for racial tensions and social unrest. Conrad Ellis - privileged and spoiled and Ella's nemesis since childhood - steps into this arena of teeming hostility to exact his vengeance and demonstrate the extent of his blind hatred and unlimited cruelty. He and his gang of hoodlums come to embody the rule of law, and no one in Gilead, Texas, is safe. Particularly Ella and Solly.

In this hotbed of uncertainty, Ella finds Mr. Rainwater a calming presence. She is moved by the kindness he shows other boarders, Solly...and Ella herself. Slowly, she begins to rely on his soft-spokenness, his restraint, and the steely resolve of his convictions.

And on the hottest, most violent night of the summer, those principles will be put to the ultimate test.

From acclaimed bestselling author Sandra Brown comes a powerfully moving novel celebrating the largess and foresight of a great bygone generation. It tells a story that bears witness to a bittersweet truth: that love is worth whatever price one must pay for it.


2) A Creed Country Christmas, Linda Lael Miller

Celebrate the holidays with the Creed forefathers - Montana men who built the family homestead and established a legacy of love...

In the unforgiving Montana wilderness of 1910, widowed rancher Lincoln Creed is up against more than rustlers, wolves and the coming winter storms. His young daughter has needs beyond the beans and bacon he can barely cook. Lincoln must find little Gracie a governess, a lady who can teach and cook - yet won't set her sights on him. Disowned for her refusal to marry, twenty-five-year-old Juliana Mitchell shares the love in her heart with her young students at the underfunded Indian school. When she meets Lincoln and Gracie, her response to the handsome rancher makes her realize she's not against marriage after all.

She longs to help, yet the two orphaned brothers in her care need her. But in the season for miracles, Providence just might find a way to bring Juliana, the boys and the Creed family together for Christmas Eve...


3) To Desire a Devil, Elizabeth Hoyt (Book 4, The Legend of the Four Soldiers)

Reynaud St. Aubyn has spent the last seven years in hellish captivity. Now half mad with fever he bursts into his ancestral home and demands his due. Can this wild-looking man truly be the last earl's heir, thought murdered by Indians years ago?

Beatrice Corning, the niece of the present earl, is a proper English miss. But she has a secret: No real man has ever excited her more than the handsome youth in the portrait in her uncle's home. Suddenly, that very man is here, in the flesh - and luring her into his bed.

Only Beatrice can see past Reynaud's savagery to the noble man inside. For his part, Reynaud is drawn to this lovely lady, even as he is suspicious of her loyalty to her uncle. But can Beatrice's love tame a man who will stop at nothing to regain his title - even if it means sacrificing her innocence?


4) The Wicked Duke Takes a Wife, Jillian Hunter (Book 9, Boscastle Family)

From London’s ballrooms to its sizzling bedrooms, award-winning author Jillian Hunter spins a seductive dance of desire and breathtaking romance.

Lord Griffin Boscastle has no intention of ending his glorious career as a rakehell now that he has inherited a dukedom. Still, there are responsibilities he must discharge before his pleasures resume, including finding a bride, and depositing his incorrigible niece at a relative’s academy outside London. It is at this so-very-proper finishing school that flame-haired instructress Harriet Gardner awakens in Griffin emotions so dangerously intoxicating that he must avoid her at all cost. Yet when Harriet finds work in the townhouse where Griffin resides, her presence tempts him at every turn.

Harriet has survived London’s streets far too long to let an arrogant duke woo a bride he doesn’t want when she desires him for herself, and she has seen too much of life not to recognize a man ripe for redemption. But just as Harriet finds the perfect cure for His Lordship’s devilish ways, a vindictive enemy intervenes, and the duke whom Harriet has plotted to save suddenly becomes her devoted protector.


5) Captive of Sin, Anna Campbell

He pledged his honor to keep her safe . . .

Returning home to Cornwall after an unspeakable tragedy, Sir Gideon Trevithick comes upon a defiant beauty in danger and vows to protect her whatever the cost. He's dismayed to discover that she's none other than Lady Charis Weston, England's wealthiest heiress — and that the only way to save her from the violent stepbrothers determined to steal her fortune is to wed her himself! Now Gideon must hide the dark secrets of his life from the bride he desires more with every heartbeat.

She promised to show him how to love — and desire — again . . .

Charis has heard all about Gideon, the dangerously handsome hero with the mysterious past. She's grateful for his help but utterly unwilling to endure a marriage of convenience — especially to a man whose touch leaves her breathless. Desperate to drive him mad with passion, she would do anything to make Gideon lose control — and fall captive to irresistible, undeniable sin.


6) What the Duke Desires, Jenna Petersen

The duke always gets exactly what he wants...

As the new Duke of Billingham, Simon Crathorne has one main duty to fulfill: find a proper wife and continue his family's exalted name. But of all the eligible women who have come to his country party, he desires only one. And she may be the most unsuitable bride of all.

Lillian Mayhew is desperate to expose a devastating secret about Simon's distinguished late father so she can salvage her family's reputation. Yet from the moment she meets her rakishly handsome host, she begins to question if she can destroy his world so callously. She once wanted nothing more than to destroy his good name — and now she wants nothing more than his kiss.

Caught between vengeance and ecstasy, Simon and Lillian begin a passionate affair. But betrayal lurks behind every stolen touch — and the duke's shocking past may be his ultimate undoing...


7) Midnight Pleasures with a Scoundrel, Lorraine Heath (Book 4, Scoundrels of St. James)

She Sought Revenge But Discovered Desire...

On a quest to avenge her sister's death, Eleanor Watkins never expected to fall for the man following her through pleasure gardens and into ballrooms. But soon nothing can keep her from the arms of the sinfully attractive scoundrel, not even the dangerous secrets she keeps. Strong, compassionate, and utterly irresistible, James is all she desires. But can she trust him enough to let herself succumb to all the pleasures that midnight allows?

James Swindler has worked hard to atone for his unsavory past. He is now as at home in London's glittering salons as he is in the roughest streets. But when the inspector is tasked with keeping watch on a mysterious lady suspected of nefarious deeds, he is determined to use his skills at seduction to lure Eleanor into revealing her plans. Instead, he is the one seduced, turning away from everything he holds dear in order to protect her — no matter the cost to his heart.


8) How to Tempt a Duke, Kasey Michaels (Book 1, Daughtry Family)

Returning from war, Rafael Daughtry battled a force more terrifying than Napoleon's army: his family. Thankfully, childhood friend Charlotte Seavers agreed to chaperone his unruly twin sisters - while Rafe would provide her with the home she'd lost. By refusing to be tempted at all! But who would chaperone Rafe? For the feisty young girl he remembered had blossomed into a sensual woman whose haunting beauty and deeply kept secrets drew him like no other. Though Charlotte had good reason to mistrust men, Rafe's irresistible seduction might yet convince her to give in to temptation...


9) A Regency Christmas, Lyn Stone, Carla Kelly, and Gail Ranstrom (Anthology)

Scarlet Ribbons by Lyn Stone

Captain Alexander Napier is battle scarred - from war and from life. For him, yuletide is just a reminder of all that he's lost. Can enchanting Amalie Harlowe restore light into the festive season...and reignite the passion in his heart?

Christmas Promise by Carla Kelly

Now that peace has broken out, Captain Jeremiah Faulk is at odds over what to do this Christmas, let alone with his life. Until a simple act of charity reunites him with his lost love - Ianthe Mears.

A Little Christmas by Gail Ranstrom

Tending to a houseful of grieving relatives isn't Viscount Selwick's idea of a merry Christmas. But one stolen kiss under the mistletoe with spirited Sophia Pettibone is about to change everything!


10) Seduced by a Stranger, Eve Silver

The vast, dense forest and murky lake that surround Cairncroft Abbey aren't the only menacing elements that envelop the estate. For a dark history lies behind its walls - where secrets and evil still linger...

Catherine Weston arrives at Cairncroft Abbey to visit her childhood friend Madeline St. Aubyn whose health seems to deteriorate with each passing day. Even stranger, Madeline appears to grow more nervous whenever she is in the presence of her cousin, Gabriel. But Gabriel has quite a different effect on Catherine - stirring a longing deep within her...

Gabriel St. Aubyn is haunted by the curse that has plagued his family for decades. Living with the constant torment that he too will succumb to it one day, he has resigned himself to a solitary existence.Yet when he meets Catherine, he cannot resist her company - or his growing desire for her. But when a young woman is found dead, Catherine cannot ignore the link between this horrific crime and Gabriel. Is he the tender, charismatic man she loves - or a sinister stranger waiting to make her his next victim?


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