Historical Romance books

It is a truth universally acknowledged that a widowed Earl must be in want of a wife—or so Marcus Stanthorpe’s grandmother believes. Marcus had done what was necessary to ensure an heir, but now has no patience for his grandmother’s matchmaking. Spending the holidays with his friends, his son, and his valet, William Haworth, brings him enough contentment.

But when a family emergency calls Haworth to London, Marcus’s contentment reveals itself to be fickle. Suddenly he realizes how much William has come to mean to him. But William has never indicated he shares Marcus’s preferences. Can the comforts of the holiday season bring two lonely men joy?

Read more...

Lord protector of whores, thieves, sorcerers, and deviants.

Owning a parcel of land the railroad needs to cross means Edward gets to run the border town around the station as he sees fit. What starts as a place to indulge his varied appetites becomes a haven to society’s castoffs, and if Edward encourages legends about its founder to flourish, well, he’s not so much a liar as a man who wants to protect all the cultures living in peace. Being mayor means folks might ignore his vices, but they also expect him to fix what goes wrong.

When a crushing heat wave and drought threaten not only the town’s diverse holiday celebrations but its very existence, Edward must turn to the one man he’d rather french kiss a timber rattler than face—the icily elegant Cantonese mage Edward walked out on but never stopped loving.

A story from the Dreamspinner Press 2018 Advent Calendar "Warmest Wishes."

Read more...

While most pirates sail in search of riches, Captain Devon Hall, the infamous Phantom of the Caribbean, is driven by vengeance. Devon has sworn to put an end to the corrupt governor of Jamaica and break the ruthless man’s stranglehold in the Caribbean.

When Devon is wounded and stranded on land, an unlikely rescuer comes to his aid. Brett Campbell is nothing like his uncle, the governor, and his goals are not so different from Devon’s. Brett longs for freedom, but his obligations to protect those under his uncle’s control keep him from fleeing. Throwing in with Devon might increase both their chances of success—and survival.

When the governor’s attempts to destroy Devon escalate and place Brett in danger and in the hands of the ruthless and depraved pirate Captain Blackburn, Devon must risk everything to save the man he loves and repay his enemies.

All Devon’s ever wanted is his ship, his freedom, friends who stand by his side through thick and thin, and someone to love. But facing dangers at sea and on land, Devon wonders if they will live to enjoy it all.

Read more...

Benjamin Lector imagines himself a smuggler, a gunrunner, and an all-around scoundrel. A preacher’s son turned criminal, first and foremost he is a survivor.

When Benjamin is shipwrecked on Dread Island, fortune sends an unlikely savior—a blond savage who is everything Benjamin didn’t know he needed. Falling in love with Sun is easy. But pirates have come looking for the remains of Benjamin’s cargo, and they find their former slave Sun instead.

Held captive by the pirates, Benjamin learns the depths of Sun’s past and the horrors he endured and was forced to perpetrate. Together, they must not only escape, but prevent a shipment of weapons from making its way to rebellious colonists. Benjamin is determined to save the man he loves and ensure that a peaceful future together is never threatened again. To succeed might require the unthinkable—an altruistic sacrifice.

Read more...

In Victorian London, during a prolonged and pernicious fog, fantasy and reality are about to collide—at least in one man’s troubled mind.

A childhood fever left Arthur Middleton, Viscount Campden, seeing and hearing things no one else does, afraid of the world outside, and unable to function as a true peer of the realm. To protect him from himself—and to protect others from him—he spends his days heavily medicated and locked in his rooms, and his nights in darkness and solitude, tormented by visions, until a stranger appears.

This apparition is different. Fox says he’s a thief and not an entirely good sort of man, yet he returns night after night to ease Arthur’s loneliness without asking for anything in return. Fox might be the key that sets Arthur free, or he might deliver the final blow to Arthur’s tenuous grasp on sanity. Either way, real or imaginary, Arthur needs him too much to care.

Fox is only one of the many secrets and specters haunting Campden House, and Arthur will have to face them all in order to live the life of his dreams.

Read more...

In the small mountain town of Amorea, it’s stretching toward autumn of 1954. The memories of a world at war are fading in the face of a prosperous future. Doors are left unlocked at night, and neighbors are always there to give each other a helping hand.

The people here know certain things as fact:

Amorea is the best little town there is.

The only good Commie is a dead Commie.

The Women’s Club of Amorea runs the town with an immaculately gloved fist.

And bookstore owner Mike Frazier loves that boy down at the diner, Sean Mellgard. Why they haven’t gotten their acts together is anybody’s guess. It may be the world’s longest courtship, but no one can deny the way they look at each other.

Slow and steady wins the race, or so they say.

But something’s wrong with Mike. He hears voices in his house late at night. There are shadows crawling along the walls and great clouds of birds overhead that only he can see.

Something’s happening in Amorea. And Mike will do whatever he can to keep the man he loves.

Read more...

At the turn of the 19th century, two sailors will do anything to keep their love. The attraction that David Archer feels for his fellow midshipman William Marshall seems impossible, until desperate circumstances force their emotions to light, in Ransom. After a year spent hiding their feelings, in Winds of Change & Eye of the Storm, traitors and war with France threatens to destroy everything they’ve worked so hard for. In Home Is the Sailor, a different kind of battle awaits them when David’s eldest brother dies under mysterious circumstances. And finally, in Sail Away, explore the missing moments of David and William’s romance, as well as the lives of friends and family, in a series of short stories, including a special nit-picking vignette from Charlie Cochrane.

See excerpt for individual blurbs.

Read more...

Lord Thomas Pendleton, second son of the Duke of Branmoor, needs to discharge a debt to his friend Andrew Nash. In doing so, he must return to the family estate he fled six years earlier after refusing to marry the woman his father had chosen. To Thomas’s dismay, Branmoor Hall is no longer the joyful home he remembers from his childhood, and his four-year-old niece has no idea what Christmas is.

Determined to bring some seasonal cheer back to the gloomy estate, Thomas must confront his tyrannical father, salvage a brother lost in his own misery, and attempt to fight off his father’s machinations.

As Christmas Day draws near, Thomas and his friend Andrew begin to realize they are more than merely close friends… and those feelings are not only a threat to their social positions, but, in Victorian England, to their lives as well.

2nd Edition
First Edition published by Dreamspinner Press, 2010.

Read more...

All for Love: Book Three

“Are you surprised that strength is drawn to strength?”

For the last six years, the gypsy healer Raúl has lived a life he never dreamed possible. Gerrard Hawkins has stood at his side, his love a source of silent strength like nothing Raúl has ever known.

When a letter from Gerrard’s estranged father forces them in separate directions—Gerrard back to England to make peace with his family and Raúl to Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer for his annual pilgrimage—Raúl expects to suffer for their parting, but he holds on to their plans to meet again in France when Gerrard has satisfied his father’s demands.

Gerrard left England never expecting to return, especially after he pledged his life and love to Raúl. Yet he cannot dismiss his father’s offer of peace without some acknowledgment. When he arrives in England to find tragedy, his sense of duty toward his family’s tenants wars with his promises to Raúl.

As tensions mount and illness spreads in France, Raúl stands as a bastion of hope, but his strength is not limitless. Gerrard is the rock he leans on, and without that strength, Gerrard’s arrival in France may come too late.

Read more...

Harmony Ink Press is delighted and honored to showcase the short fiction of some of the best up-and-coming authors working in the LGBT genre. The stories in this third volume of Harmonious Hearts represent the winners of our Young Author Challenge—a group of talented writers between the ages of fourteen and twenty-one. 

The stories in this anthology are as diverse as their creators and range from the speculative to snapshots of everyday life for people growing up in a society in flux. They confront many issues facing young adults, and they celebrate the joys of this sometimes rocky period of transition: friendship, loyalty, first love, and learning to feel comfortable in one’s own skin. These experiences are universal, and thanks to the courage and talent of authors such as these, young people of all gender identities, expressions, and orientations are starting to see themselves included. Everyone deserves a story that speaks to them, and in these pages, they’ll find that story.

Dani Anderson—To Lauren

Nick Anthony—Scrapyard Sunsets

Hilda Friday—A Progression of Love

Arbour Ames—You Saw Blue

Chloe Smith—Plenty of Fish

Caleb Andrews—I Am Logan

Sarah Caulfield—Make Mad the Guilty

Xoe Juliani—Loving You Through the Years

Irene Grant—Jordan and A.J.

Latitude Brown—Equinox

Anika Olivo—Melodimensional

Frisk Gillespie—Ten Words

See excerpt for individual blurbs.

Read more...

April 1594. William Moodie thinks he’s in love with celebrated actor Richard Brasyer. When Brasyer’s playing company, Goldfox’s Men, comes to town, William is only too willing to leave his country life for the opportunities of the theater and a life in London. Determined to become Richard’s apprentice, William seeks to impress his mentor with his acting—and please him in bed.

Meanwhile, Richard struggles to escape his past as a spy and disentangle himself from the manipulations of his former master and ex-lover, Bennett Goldfox. Swearing off a relationship with his new apprentice proves difficult for Richard, as William uses all his youthful charms to seduce him. When Bennett’s life is threatened, Richard is lured back into the game for one final mission, and he and William travel to Cambridge to hunt down a list of traitors to the Crown.

In the midst of danger and deception, Richard and William come to truly see each other, faults and all, and realize their feelings run deeper than either expected.

Read more...

Durant  l’hiver glacial de 1891, alors que la nation est encore sous le choc de la crise bancaire de Baring, l’inspecteur Philemon Raft revient d’un congé sabbatique involontaire, et se retrouve chargé de résoudre l’enlèvement de Miriam Dewberry, une jeune fille de bonne famille. Projeté dans un milieu sordide où les classes supérieures se livrent à des investissements honteux, de l’autre côté de l’océan, pour engraisser leur compte en banque, Raft se retrouve perdu sans son compagnon, le constable Freddie Crook. Loin d’offrir son aide, l’élite cherche à tout prix à empêcher Raft de découvrir la vérité au sujet de la malheureuse victime de cet enlèvement, Miriam Dewberry… qui n’existe peut-être même pas.

Bientôt, Raft découvre que son vieil ennemi, le maître de l’hospice, John Gallant, est de retour à Londres. Gallant n’a pas avoué ses ambitions, mais il en sait assez pour ruiner la carrière de Raft, et peut-être même sa vie. Raft tente de résoudre cette affaire grâce à sa perspicacité habituelle et étrange, mais d’autres forces plus sombres sont à l’œuvre. Londres est encore terrifiée : c’est le Londres de Whitechapel, de Jack l’Éventreur, le Londres de la pauvreté, de la saleté et du désespoir, où s’engager dans la mauvaise allée pourrait envoyer Raft tout droit à la morgue.

Read more...

All for Love: Book Two

Aristide, Léandre, and Perrin pledge only three loyalties in life: their king, their captain, and their passion for each other. So when the musketeers discover a plan to accuse M. de Tréville of treason, the initial impulse to kill the messenger, Benoît, is tempered by their need to unmask the plotter. But their first two suspects, the English ambassador and Cardinal Richelieu, prove to be innocent, forcing the musketeers to delve deeper into the inner machinations of the French court.

Meanwhile, Aristide finds himself falling in love with the ill-fated messenger, a blacksmith without a home who rouses all of his protective, possessive instincts. Benoît, however, has no interest in any man. Torn between desire and duty, Aristide must find a way to protect the king and clear his captain’s name—all while heeding the demands of his heart.

2nd Edition
First Edition published by Dreamspinner Press, 2010.

Read more...

Im mittelalterlichen England steht die Pflicht über allem. Die Ehre eines Mannes ist wichtiger als sein Leben und Homosexualität wird weder von der Kirche noch von der Gesellschaft geduldet.

Sir Christian Brandon wuchs in einer Familie auf, die ihn für seine ungewöhnliche Schönheit und seine Abstammung hasste. Kleiner als seine sechs rücksichtslosen Halbbrüder musste er mithilfe seines Verstandes und seines Talents für Listen überleben, was ihm den Spitznamen Krähe einbrachte.

Sir William Corbet, ein als „der Löwe“ bekannter stattlicher Ritter, hat seine unnatürlichen Neigungen ein Leben lang unterdrückt. Er ist fest entschlossen, das Ideal des edlen Ritters zu verkörpern. Als er sich eines Tages auf den Weg macht, um seine Schwester zu retten, nachdem er von ihrer Misshandlung durch ihren adeligen Ehemann gehört hat, zwingen ihn die Umstände, Sir Christians Hilfe anzunehmen. Diese Partnerschaft stellt all seine Moralvorstellungen auf die Probe und letztendlich gar sein Verständnis von Pflicht, Ehre und Liebe.

Read more...

Nell’Inghilterra  medievale il dovere è tutto, l’onore personale vale più della vita stessa e l’omosessualità non è tollerata né da Dio né dalla società.

Sir Christian Brandon è cresciuto in una famiglia che lo ha sempre odiato per la sua insolita bellezza e per le sue origini. Essendo il più piccolo di sei rozzi fratellastri, ha imparato a sopravvivere usando l’astuzia e le sue doti da stratega, guadagnandosi il soprannome di Corvo.

Sir William Corbett, un imponente e feroce guerriero conosciuto come il Leone, sopprime i suoi desideri contro natura da tutta la vita. È determinato a incarnare il proprio ideale di cavaliere valoroso. Quando decide di mettersi in viaggio per salvare la sorella dal marito violento, è costretto ad affidarsi all’aiuto di Sir Christian. Il loro accordo metterà alla prova ogni briciola della sua fibra morale e, alla fine, la sua concezione di cosa significhino dovere, onore e amore.

Read more...

All for Love: Book One

When sword-for-hire Teodoro Ciéza de Vivar accepts a commission to “rescue” Lord Christian Blackwood from unsuitable influences, he has no idea he’s landed himself in the middle of a plot to assassinate King Philip IV of Spain and blame the English ambassador for the deed. Nor does he expect the spoiled child he’s sent to retrieve to be a handsome, engaging young man.

As Teodoro and Christian face down enemies at every turn, they fall more and more in love, an emotion they can’t safely indulge with the threat of the Inquisition looming over them. It will take all their combined guile and influence to outmaneuver the powerful men who would see them separated… or even killed.

2nd Edition
First Edition published by Dreamspinner Press, 2009.

Read more...

Enjoy J.S. Cook’s best mysteries, with a side of lust and romance, in this collection. In But Not for Me, gangster boss Nino Moretti rescues beautiful mob accountant Stanley Zadwadzki from a rival, but the consequences may cost them any chance at a relationship. In A Little Night Murder, insurance investigator Frank Boyle may have escaped from danger once with help from detective Sam Lipinski, but a new investigation is turning up trouble once again. In Come to Dust, Inspector Philemon Raft is set adrift among the deceitful ton of turn-of-the-century London, trying to locate the kidnapped Miriam Dewberry. In The Lovely Beast, Jacob van Willingen is on a mission to exterminate the evil Caleb Donnithorn, but things aren’t quite what they seem to be at this Romanian castle. In Skid Row Serenade, novelist and war hero Tony Leonard visits his estranged wife only to find her beaten to death. On the run, he decides to fake his own death, with a little help from private investigator Edwin Malloy.

See excerpt for individual blurbs.

But Not for Me previously published by Dreamspinner Press, March 2013 Cover Art by Aaron Anderson aaronbydesign55@gmail.com A Little Night Murder previously published by Dreamspinner Press, September 2013 Cover Art by Catt Ford Come to Dust previously published by Dreamspinner Press, November 2013 Cover Art by Maria Fanning The Lovely Beast previously published by Dreamspinner Press, July 2014 Cover Art by L.C. Chase http://www.lcchase.com Skid Row Serenade previously published by Dreamspinner Press, August 2015 Cover Art by Aaron Anderson aaronbydesign55@gmail.com

Read more...

Nate Pederowski is about as far down as he can go when he’s tipped to a job as a singer in a speakeasy. Dishonorably discharged for being queer, broke and homeless during the Great Depression, Nate is embittered and lonely. The club’s handsome owner, Rick Bellevue, and his sister Corinna are wowed by Nate’s voice and offer him the job.

But the Starlight Lounge is much more than an ordinary supper club, and Rick and his sister much more than just the owners. It’s not ’til Nate gets caught up in a gangster’s plot that he discovers just what secrets they’re hiding. Nate’s life is going to change in ways he can scarcely imagine, let alone believe.

2nd Edition
First Edition published by Dreamspinner Press, 2010, in the Myths and Magic: Legends of Love anthology.

Read more...