THE IMPOSSIBLE MR. GOWER

    Lady Rachel Palmer was quite used to men falling helplessly in love with her. Every gentleman in aristocratic society, including her devoted fiancé, Lord Algernon Rivers, fell a willing victim to Rachel's dazzling beauty and bewitching charm.

    Every gentleman, that is, except Lord Rivers' closest friend, the studiously unfashionable and splendidly handsome Mr. David Gower.

    Mr. Gower made it clear that the ravishing Rache represented everything he scorned, and that he was the very last man in the world she could ever ensnare. It was a challenge Rachel could not ignore-from a man she could not resist…

******************************

FIRE AND ICE

    Rachel had never been held thus, against the full, warm length of a man's body. And she had never been kissed thus, with lips that moved over hers, parting and persuading hers to do the same. But she knew this was right. This was the way it must be.

    Then she felt David's hold loosen.

    "I have given into a temptation I thought I had under control," he said. "I had determined never to touch another woman this way until she had consented to be my wife."

    "I can marry you," Rachel said eagerly.

    He shook his head. "No, Lady Rachel, we can never marry."

    Rachel's face was becoming stormy. "Give me one reason why I may not marry you."

    "Because I am not asking you," he coldly replied.

    Signet, North American Library, Signet

    Copright 1989

    And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:

    And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.

    Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?

    -Matthew 6: 28-30

Beloved New York Times bestselling author Mary Balogh has written her most beguiling novel yet, in which the black sheep of the scandalous Huxtable family finally meets his match - in a woman of even more wicked reputation.

'The Devil was about to be tamed.' Her name is Hannah Reid. Born a commoner, she has been Duchess of Dunbarton ever since she was nineteen years old, the wife of an elderly duke to whom she has been rumored to be consistently and flagrantly unfaithful. Now the old duke is dead and, more womanly and beautiful than ever at thirty, Hannah has her freedom at last.

And she knows just what she wants to do with it. To the shock of a conventional friend, she announces her intention to take a lover - and not just any lover, but the most dangerous and delicious man in all of upper-class England: Constantine Huxtable.

Constantine's illegitimacy has denied him the title of Earl, so now he denies himself nothing . . . or so the ton would have it. Rumored to be living the free and easy life of a sensualist in his country estate, he always chooses recent widows for his short-lived affairs. Hannah will fit the bill nicely.

But once these two passionate and scandalous figures find each other, they discover that it isn't so easy to extricate oneself from the fires of desire - without getting singed. For the duchess and the dark lord each have startling secrets to reveal, and when all is said and done, neither will be able to say which one fell in love first, who tamed whom, and who has emerged from this game of hearts with the stronger hand.

Kit Butler is cool, dangerous, one of London’s mostinfamous bachelors—marriage is the last thing on his mind. But Kit’s family has other plans. Desperate to thwart his father’s matchmaking, Kit needs a bride...fast. Enter Miss Lauren Edgeworth.

A year after being abandoned at the altar, Lauren has determined that marriage is not for her. When these two fiercely independent souls meet, sparks fly—and a deal is hatched. Lauren will masquerade as Kit’s intended if he agrees to provide a passionate, adventurous, unforgettable summer. When summer ends, she will break off the engagement, rendering herself unmarriageable and leaving them both free. Everything is going perfectly—until Kit does the unthinkable: He begins to fall in love. A summer to remember is not enough for him. But how can he convince Lauren to be his...for better, for worse, for the rest of their lives?

Step into a world of scandal, intrigue, and enthralling passion as New York Times bestselling author Mary Balogh sweeps us into the lives of an extraordinary family: the Huxtables. Margaret, the eldest, embarks on the most risqué adventure of her life and agrees to marry the most notorious man in London..

Only desperation could bring Duncan Pennethorne, the infamous Earl of Sheringford, back home after the spectacular scandal that had shocked even the jaded ton. Forced to wed in fifteen days or be cut off without a penny, Duncan chooses the one woman in London in frantic need of a husband. A lie to an old flame forces Margaret Huxtable to accept the irresistible stranger's offer. But once she discovers who he really is, it's too late - she's already betrothed to the wickedly sensual rakehell. Quickly she issues an ultimatum: If Duncan wants her, he must woo her. And as passion slowly ignites, two people marrying for all the wrong reasons are discovering the joys of seduction - and awaiting the exquisite pleasure of what comes after..

Dentro de la antología `It Happened One Night` (Sucedió una noche) que contiene relatos de Stephanie Laurens, Mary Balogh, Jacquie D’alessandro y Candice Hern.

Sucedió una noche… ¡Y nada volvió a ser igual desde entonces!

Érase una vez que a cuatro Cuentacuentos increíbles…

Stephanie Laurens, Mary Balogh, Jacquie D’Alessandro y Candice Hern, se les ocurrió una deliciosa idea. ¿Y si cada una escribía una historia sobre una joven decente que se queda atrapada en una posada lejos de las restricciones de la sociedad? ¿Qué sucedería? ¿Y cuánto tardaría en sucumbir al deseo?

En estos cuatro asombrosos relatos, cuatro heroínas se enfrentarán con el hombre del que huyen… y descubren que, en lugar de ira, continúa habiendo una apasionada conexión que no pueden negar. Y aunque la vida de cada una es muy diferente y sus pasados son absolutamente únicos, realizarán un descubrimiento común: que una noche puede cambiarlo todo… para siempre.

Four romance novellas put a paranormal gloss on elements from Austen's work. Bestseller Balogh (A Precious Jewel) turns in the plodding "Almost Persuaded," wherein Jane Everett and Capt. Robert Mitford realize they're reincarnated soul mates. Gleason makes reference to her Gardella Vampire series with "Northanger Castle," in which pert Caroline Merrill, lover of vampire novels, suspects handsome Mr. Blanchard of being a bloodsucker. Krinard (Bride of the Wolf) sets "Blood and Prejudice" in New York where bookstore staffer Elizabeth Bennet encounters pharmaceutical CEO Charles Bingley and an unusual variety of vampires. Mullany (Jane and the Damned) gives us a witchy Emma Woodhouse running a dating service for Washington D.C.'s supernaturals in "Little to Hex Her." Though none show Austen's gift with character, humor, or irony, all but Balogh's are lively, and Mullany's sparkles with genuine wit. 

What if Austen had believed in reincarnation and vampires? Join four bestselling romance authors as they channel the wit and wisdom of Jane Austen.

Almost Persuaded

In this Regency tale of Robert and Jane, New York Times bestselling author Mary Balogh brings together former lovers who have seen beyond the veil of forgetfulness to their past mistakes, and are determined to be together in this life, and forever.

Northanger Castle

Caroline's obsession with Gothic novels winds up being good training for a lifetime of destroying the undead with her newfound beau, in this Regency by Colleen Gleason.

Blood and Prejudice

Set in the business world of contemporary New York City, Liz Bennett joins Mr. Darcy in his hunt for a vampire cure in New York Times bestselling author Susan Krinard's version of the classic story.

Little to Hex Her

Present-day Washington, D.C., is full of curious creatures in Janet Mullany's story, wherein Emma is a witch with a wizard boyfriend and a paranormal dating service to run.

His Vengeance Was Sweet

Judith Easton knew that even the spirit of Christmas wouldn't stop the Marquess of Denbigh from settling the score with her. For the beautiful young widow had injured Denbigh's rigid pride years ago by jilting him for another man.

Now that Judith was free from her nightmare marriage to that other man, the bold and handsome Marquess made no secret that he had her in his sights and wanted her in his arms.

But how could she trust the tender words on his lips when she could sense the hardness of his heart? And after she had made so grievous a mistake in love once, how could she ever trust her own heart's desire again?

The marquess slowed his pace, and Judith followed suit. She turned to him and fixed her eyes on the top button of his greatcoat as his gloved hands cupped her face. She lifted her hands and rested her palms against his chest. And she lifted her eyes to his and then closed them as his mouth came down to cover hers.

He was the man she had feared for so long. She tried to remember the impression she had had of his face until now-harsh, the eyes steel-gray, the lips thin. It was he who was kissing her, she told herself.

Was this the face of love? The face of hate? And did she, in this moment of abandoned ecstasy, any longer care?

Cuando Elliott Wallace, el Vizconde Lyngate, llega a Throckbridge, la pequeña villa está alborotada por la llegada del baile del día de San Valentín. Las damas de la ciudad están ocupadas acicalándose para el baile y chismorreando acerca de la misteriosa llegada del vizconde, pero Elliot tiene asuntos más urgentes de qué ocuparse. Su regreso tiene como objeto ver a su pupilo, el conde de Merton, en tanto que la promesa que ha hecho de buscarse una esposa para Navidad tiene un gran peso en su mente.

Cuando Elliot conoce al reciente joven conde, Stephen Huxtable, y a sus tres hermanas, la desagradable Margaret, la alegre Katherine y la sencilla y viuda Vanessa, se queda absorto en la vida de la familia. Ante las quejas por parte del conde que alega que sus hermanas le vuelven loco con tantas exigencias, Elliot decide que le propondrá matrimonio a la hermana mayor.

Desesperada por rescatar a su hermana de un matrimonio sin amor, Vanessa Dew se ofrece en su lugar. Elliot acepta tan sorprendente proposición, al tiempo que se ocupa de su misión. Pero durante la noche de bodas suceden cosas de lo más extrañas: estos desconocidos sin nada en común parecen no ser capaces de quitarse las manos de encima. Ahora, mientras la intriga gira en torno a un secreto del pasado, que guarda una increíble relación con los Huxtable, Elliot y Vanessa descubren los gloriosos placeres del tálamo nupcial… y también, que cuando se trata de la dicha conyugal, el amor está muy presente.

When Elliot Wallace, Viscount Lyngate, arrives in Throckbridge, the small village is buzzing with excitement over the upcoming Valentine's Day dance. The ladies of the town are busy gussying up for the ball and gossiping about the viscount's mysterious arrival, but Elliot has more urgent matters to attend to. His arrival marks a mission to retrieve the rightful Earl of Merton, while his promise he has made to find a wife by Christmas weighs heavily on his mind.

When Elliot meets the new young earl, Stephen Huxtable, and his three sisters, the disagreeable Margaret, the cheery Katherine, and the plain, widowed Vanessa, he becomes absorbed in the family's life. Could it be possible that with the Huxtables he's found both an Earl and wife? If Elliot thinks he's hit two birds with one stone, to which sister will he cast his throw...and will she catch the bait before she discovers his ulterior motives?

Opowiadanie o miłości, która spełnia się w święta Bożego Narodzenia. Po licznych nieporozumieniach, konfliktach i przeszkodach, zdawałoby się, nie do pokonania, odnajdują szczęście, odkrywając, że kochają i są kochani, zdolni ofiarować siebie i swoje uczucie drugiemu człowiekowi.

    It should have been the perfect marriage for beautiful young Georgiana Burton. The husband her parents bad Picked for her, Lord Ralph Chartleigh, was wealthy, handsome, noble, and kind.

    Unfortunately, he did not measure up to Georgian's notions of what a man should be. He was uninterested in society, impervious to fashions, had the worst of tailors, knew little of women - and was wary of the little he knew.

    Clearly Georgiana had to teach him a great deal about life and even more about love… forgetting until it was almost too late how much she had to learn herself…

Isabella jest gwiazdą londyńskich scen; Jack Frazer – znanym uwodzicielem, który musi porzucić hulaszczy tryb życia, by starać się o rękę panny, wybranej przez jego babkę-arystokratkę. Isabella i Jack byli kiedyś kochankami, bez szans na trwalszy związek – ona jako początkująca aktorka z trudem zarabiała wtedy na życie. Teraz, po latach, spotykają się. Cóż może z tego wyniknąć, zwłaszcza że kiedyś rozstali się w gniewie?

Różni ich wszystko. Christine Derrick i Wulfrick Bedwyn to dwa przeciwieństwa: ona żywiołowa i bezpośrednia, on chłodny i wyniosły. Lecz oboje czują, że nieodparta namiętność pcha ich ku sobie. Rozkwitające uczucie może jednak zniszczyć niegodna propozycja złożona przez Wulfricka. Co będzie musiał uczynić, żeby odzyskać utraconą miłość?

Piękny majowy poranek w posiadłości hrabiego Kilbourne. Młody lord oczekuje swej narzeczonej u stóp ołtarza. Nagle w kościele pojawia się nędznie odziana dziewczyna. A hrabia rozpoznaje w niej kobietę, którą kiedyś pokochał, poślubił i stracił, jak sądził, na zawsze. Teraz piękna Lily wraca. Lecz między nimi leży przepaść uprzedzeń i konwenansów. Pokonać ją może tylko miłość…

    THE EARL OF RAYMORE WANTED NOTHING TO DO WITH LADIES

    Once he had adored an angelic creature who had turned out to be a devilish minx in disguise. After that, the only females he cared to know were women who catered to his body without laying claim to his heart.

    MISS ROSALIND DACEY WANTED NOTHING TO DO WITH GENTLEMEN

    Unlike her best friend, the beauteous and biddable Lady Sylvia Marsh, Rosalind found flirtations a fearful ordeal and the game of love one that she could only lose. Better to be happy with herself than suffer a man who would only use her and mock her dreams.

    Clearly Raymore and Rosalind were in perfect harmony in assiduously avoiding each other-until the night the unthinkable happened, and the impossible had to be faced…

    Theirs should have been the perfect marriage. Sarah was as wildly in love with the Duke of Cranwell as he was with her…until, on their wedding night, Sarah was forced to reveal the secret of her past. And that, midst great public scandal, ended their marriage almost before it began.

    Then in fashionable Bath their paths crossed again. The stunningly beautiful Sarah knew it was folly to think this dashing and sought-after lord would ever get over her shocking betrayal. His fury made it painfully clear that they should separate again, this time forever.

    Sarah could find a thousand arguments against the wisdom -or likelihood- of so miserable an edict. For one, the duke's ridiculous masculine pride was no match for the sensuous power of her affection for him…as she counted on love to melt the last shred of his resistance to her passionate surrender…

A multiple New York Times hardcover bestselling author with nearly seven million copies of her books sold, Mary Balogh confirms her position as 'a veritable treasure, a matchless storyteller who makes our hearts melt with delight' (Romantic Times). In Seducing An Angel, she continues the adventures begun with First Comes Marriage, Then Comes Seduction, and At Last Comes Love.

Banished, destitute, and labeled a murderess, Cassandra, Lady Paget, arrives in Regency London determined to overcome the reputation that has preceded her and to find a wealthy gentleman who can restore her to the extravagant life to which she's grown accustomed. She sets her sights on Stephen, Earl of Merton - an angelic-looking man of means who surely cannot resist her.

Intrigued by Cassandra's charm, Stephen agrees to make her his mistress. But despite his looks and easy charm, Stephen is no angel, and Cassandra soon realizes that there is a price to be paid for trying to tempt one.

Desterrada, en la indigencia, y tildada de asesina, Cassandra Belmont, lady Paget, llega a Londres en plena regencia, decidida a superar la reptación que la había precedido a fin de encontrar un rico caballero que pueda devolverla a la extravagante vida a la que estaba acostumbrada. Pone los ojos en Stephen Huxtable, conde de Merton, un hombre con posibilidades y de aspecto angelical, que no podría resistirse a ella.

Intrigado por el encanto de Cassandra, Stephen acepta convertirla en su amante. Pero a pesar de su aspecto y su encanto, Stephen no es ningún ángel, y Cassandra no tarda en darse cuenta de que hay que pagar un precio por intentar tentar a uno.

Alto, moreno y exquisitamente sensual, él es la personificación de la perfección masculina. No es que Claudia Martin esté buscando un amante. Ni un esposo. Como propietaria y directora de la academia de la señorita Martin en Bath, hace mucho que se resignó a vivir sin amor. Hasta que Joseph, marqués de Attingsborough, llega sin previo aviso y la tienta a arrojar por la borda toda una vida de decencia por una aventura que sólo puede conducirle a la ruina.

Joseph tiene sus propias razones para buscar a Claudia. Inmediata e irresistiblemente atraído por la delicada profesora, se embarca en un plan de seducción que los llevará a ambos a anhelar algo más. Pero, como heredero de un prestigioso ducado, se espera que Joseph continúe con el legado de la familia. Y Claudia sabe que no hay lugar para ella en su mundo.

Ahora, dicho mundo está a punto de verse sacudido por el escándalo. Un matrimonio concertado, un secreto que conmocionará a la sociedad y un hombre proveniente del pasado de Claudia, conspiran para separar a los amantes. Pero Joseph está decidido a hacer suya a Claudia a toda costa. Aunque ello signifique desafiar toda convención y romper toda regla por un amor que representa todo cuanto siempre ha deseado; un amor que es perfecto tal como es…

With his laughing eyes and wild, rakish good looks, Lord Rannulf Bedwyn is a hard man to resist. To Judith Law, a woman in need of rescue when the stagecoach in which she is traveling overturns, Rannulf is simply her savior, her dream come true, an heroic stranger with whom she will allow herself one night of reckless passion before she must settle to the dreary life of companion to her wealthy aunt. However, a shock is in store for her when that same stranger turns out to be the eligible, wealthy son of a duke--and when he arrives at Harewood Grange to woo her cousin.

Judith holds firm against all Rannulf's advances, both honorable and otherwise. But then scandal rocks the household and threatens her name and her very liberty, and it is Rannulf who rides to her rescue--bringing all the considerable power and influence of the Bedwyns to her defense.

But can a relationship begun in passion and culminating in gratitude offer them a future together? Can true love grow out of something very slightly wicked...

Miss Rebecca Shaw had lost her heart once in her young life — lost it and had it broken.

At last it had mended — mended enough for her to say yes when the handsome, high-minded young Reverend Philip Everett asked her to be his wife and share a life of the purest propriety and best of good works.

But now Christopher Sinclair had returned. He was free now of the marriage that had given him fabulous wealth at the price of leaving Rebecca behind and betrayed. He was free now to turn Rebecca's head again…away from the man who soon would be her lawfully wedded husband. And Rebecca was also free to change her mind- but was she foolish enough to turn toward a love that had proven faithless once and now could be utterly ruinous…?

The Earl of Rutherford was handsome, rich and as adept at giving pleasure as he was avid in pursuing it. He was certain his conquest of Jessica Moore--a mere governess--would be swift and satisfying. But what he did not know was that Jessica planned to teach him a lesson in manners.

HOW COULD SHE LOVE A MAN WHOM SHE COULD ONLY DESPISE?

How could Lady Helen Wade possibly love a gentleman like William Mainwaring handsome and wealthy as he might be?

How could she love this object of her two older sisters matrimonial designs?

How could she love this cad who was shockingly involved with another man's wife?

How could she love this rogue who shamelessly employed his seductive skills on an innocent young country miss he came upon in the woods…especially when he was so successful in planting Eros's arrows and when his willing victim was Helen herself…?

*******************************************************************

The Sinful Suitor

Miss Helen Wade had been driven to the limits of self-restraint. Mr. William Mainwaring simply would not abandon his pursuit of her-and his campaign to reconquer the heart he had so sinfully won and then so shamelessly abandoned was casting a dark shadow over Helen's glittering London Season. Now, when he informed her that she had been acting most unladylike toward him, her patience snapped.

"Mr. Mainwaring," she informed him, "when I refused to dance or converse with you at the marquess's ball, I believed, I had made it clear that I had no wish to renew our acquaintance. And when you came to me with your insulting offer of marriage, I thought I had made it abundantly obvious that I both hate and despise you. I had no wish to see you last night, I had no wish to drive with you this afternoon-and I should be happy never to see you again."

That, she told herself, should be that.

Except that it wasn't…

At four in the morning, the night of his twenty-fifth birthday, Baron Montford finds himself quite sauced with a large group of gentlemen in his library. Spurred on by revelry, pride, and drink, Montford takes on a wager he'll soon regret: to successfully seduce the virtuous Katherine Huxtable within the coming fortnight.

The Huxtables have recently fallen into a great deal of wealth and prominence, and Katherine Huxtable knows that she's been lucky in every way but one. Despite her great beauty and newfound life of leisure, Katherine believes she is not made for passion or romance. She has avoided any suitors and all men of the ton, Lord Montford most of all due to his notoriety of as a dangerous rakehell.

With a sour reputation, Baron Montford certainly has a steep hill to climb - will he lose his wager or perhaps even his heart?

Por fin la oveja negra de los Huxtable está a punto de encontrar una compañera a la altura de las circunstancias… una mujer con una reputación aún más escandalosa.

Su nombre es Hannah Reid. Nacida plebeya, se convirtió en la duquesa de Dunbarton desde que a los diecinueve años se casó con el anciano duque al que, según los rumores, le fue constantemente infiel. Y ahora que su marido ha muerto, Hannah, más femenina y bella que nunca a sus treinta años, ha obtenido la libertad que tanto deseaba y sabe muy bien lo primero que va a hacer con ella: buscarse un amante; no cualquier amante, sino el más peligroso y atractivo de toda la alta sociedad londinense, Constantine Huxtable.

Siendo un hijo ilegítimo, Constantine no ha podido acceder al título de conde, así que nunca se ha negado ningún placer que pudiera manchar su reputación. Se dice de él que lleva una vida de asueto y placer carnal en su villa del campo y que siempre elige como amantes a las viudas más recientes. Con lo que Hannah parece entrar dentro de sus expectativas.

Pero una vez que estos dos apasionados y escandalosos personajes cruzan sus vidas, se dan cuenta de que no es tan fácil liberar las llamas del deseo… sin salir chamuscado, y que ambos guardan secretos que, cuando sean revelados, nadie será capaz de decidir quién de los dos se enamorará primero, quién domará a quién y quien saldrá ganador de este juego de corazones.

An omnibus of novels

Old loves rekindled, new loves found, and family bonds strengthened are the themes of these stories from the beloved, multiple-award winning author Mary Balogh. The four classic stories included here are The Star of Bethlehem, The Best Gift, Playing House, and No Room at the Inn. The new story exclusive to this trade collection is A Family Christmas.

New York Times bestselling author Mary Balogh brilliantly captures the passionate conflict of a woman caught between two loves in this classic tale of friendship, devotion, intrigue—and a love that is the most seductive trap of all….

He'd served with her husband on the battlefield—and secretly desired her for years. Yet for Dominic, Lieutenant Lord Eden, Ellen Simpson has remained tantalizingly out of reach—until she is widowed by the war. Suddenly pursued by the dangerously handsome nobleman, Ellen is stunned by the depth of attraction he arouses in her. Soon their friendship flames into something deeper…and as scandal ignites, marriage seems the only solution. But Ellen has a secret—one she can share with no one—that prevents her from fully opening her heart to Dominic. Until he devises his own plan for the ultimate consummation of their passion—and the woman he is determined to possess at any cost…