Cirrus@Austlit

'A secret admirer, a Yuletide ball, and a desperate situation

'Violet Hambleton, parson’s daughter, botanical artist, and self-professed wallflower, wants a marriage based on love. A secret admirer who keeps sending her verse will reveal his identity this Christmas. It can’t be the man she loves. . . Sebastian, Viscount Stanworth—he’s heir to an Earl and seven years her junior.

'Sebastian is an heir without a spare. The pressure from his family to wed soon is intense. If he doesn’t act fast this Christmas, he’ll end up betrothed to a bride of his mother’s choosing, not to the woman he loves. . . Violet.

'Time is running out for Sebastian to disclose his secret. It must be revealed at the Yuletide Ball, but will Violet reject him? Is Sebastian destined to surrender to a loveless marriage? Or will verse deliver new hope this Christmas?'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Pressured to marry Mr Wrong, can she wed Mr Right by Christmas?

'Orphaned heiress and debutant, Lauren Edwards, yearns for a loving husband, a home, and a family, but she’s in love with her guardian, who acts like a fond uncle. When Lauren discovers the earl to whom she is engaged will never relinquish his mistress, it’s time to take her future into her own hands.

'Sir Oliver Masterton, Lauren's guardian, wants to avoid the mistake his father made, of marrying a debutant, but he’s secretly in love with his ward.

'Time is running out. Can Lauren convince Oliver to set aside all his pre-conceptions about marriage, outrun her pursuing relatives, and be happily married by Christmas?'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Racing into the future brings back an unresolved past.

'Tom Greenaway wants to forget the grief of losing so many friends in the war. He resumes his motor car racing career, only to find reminders of the past are closer than he could have imagined when a mystery driver challenges him. Can he resolve the past and create a better future?'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'He's fighting bankruptcy. She's avoiding marriage. Can love save them both?

'Northern Australia, 1879. Reclusive bachelor Walter Jamieson has spent years trying to make his struggling cattle station viable. His isolated life is disrupted by the arrival of Elizabeth Chesterfield, a young woman determined to escape a marriage arranged by her brother. Walter gives her sanctuary while his property is cut-off from the outside world during the wet season. They find love while Elizabeth's guardian and her 'fiancé' camp on the other side of the flooded river. What will happen when the waters recede?'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Her choice: love or duty?

'Australia, 1873: Edith is duty-bound to care for her widowed father and her siblings. Following her brother's rescue from a London opium den, her father tasks Edith with accompanying Harry to an isolated pastoral property in Australia and to keep him drug-free. She longs for a husband and family, but instead must fulfil her duty.

'His choice: wealth and power or love?

'Wealthy pastoralist and member of parliament, Robert Dysart, migrated to Australia to make his fortune. He craves is his estranged father's respect and believes he can earn it only through financial success and power…until he meets Edith Glendinning.

'Soon after arriving in Australia, Edith's life is saved by the charming and attractive Robert and she dreams of a future with him; until she learns of his ruthless ambition to own her brother's property. For their love to bloom, they must overcome their addictions—Robert must prove he cares more for Edith than for wealth and power, while Edith must choose Robert over her duty to her family.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'New Zealand, 1914-19

'Separated by half a world, Viola waits for her fiancé Alec to return from service in the ‘Great War’ in Europe. And while the war grinds on, they correspond… until Alec is listed as missing in action. With Alec presumed dead, can Viola create a life without him, or should she keep hoping for his miraculous return?'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Can they turn their mismatch into a perfect match?

'If you love Victorian romance, then try this sweet story set in colonial Australia.

'Only a Christmas miracle could fix this mess.
'Miss Amelia Fortescue, the only child of profligate gambler, Baron Fortescue, wants to marry for love, but her parents won’t wait for that. They need her as bait to land a wealthy son-in-law to pay off their debts.

'Wealthy banker and former soldier, Major Adam Wellworth, fell in love with Amelia from afar. Before he could gain an introduction, Bonaparte escaped and Adam was forced to rejoin the army. Back in England months later, with an injury that’s proving hard to shake off, his love for Amelia hasn’t diminished. He seeks the Fortescue’s permission to court her, but it comes with conditions.

'Adam invites the Fortescues to his estate for the Christmas week, so Amelia can get to know him. However, his plan goes horribly awry before they arrive, when Amelia’s parents tell her she’ll be married on Christmas Day.

'Amelia’s not going to be forced to marry anyone, especially someone she’s never met, and who she believes is maimed and elderly. Instead, helped by a handsome gentleman, she becomes the Runaway Christmas Bride.

'Can Adam escort Amelia to her great-aunt for Christmas without her discovering his identity? And how does he reveal his name afterwards without earning her loathing? It would take a Christmas miracle to fix this mess.'

Source : publisher's blurb

'Is what a widow needs, really what she wants?
'Widow Selena Hartnell is in deep in debt and faced with prison. Her managing friend, Barbara, Baroness De Ritz decrees Selena needs a wealthy husband – fast!
'Guy, Viscount Rushcroft needs a wife to manage his six motherless children who are running wild.
'Barbara decides Selena and the Viscount are perfectly suited, and launches into matchmaking mode. The outcome of her scheming surprises them all.'

Source : publisher's blurb

'Can three gentlemanly heroes save the women they love?
'Gentleman to the Rescue: Clarissa Lanstone has been dragged to the altar by her cousin to marry old Squire Barns. Will Captain Tom Whittlesea, the love of her life, arrive in time to save her?
 
'An Officer and a Gentleman: Marianne Chaseley receives the worst news a mother can hear. Can Major Oliver Hurst convince her to let him help her one last time?
 
'A True Gentleman : Lady Emma Blanche is trapped in a situation no woman should endure. Her husband’s valet, John Wright, knows he must help her, but can they escape Sir Henry Blanche?'

Source : publisher's blurb

'“In a nation divided, two enemies are united.”

'Widowed by the death of her Roundhead husband in the Battle of Worcester, Puritan woman, Charity Goodwyn, dares to dream of an independent life, living with her aunt, unbeholden to men. Sir Edward Lovelace, a Royalist, gravely wounded in the same battle, wants to live to serve his king again. To reach her goal, Charity takes the wounded cavalier with her, disguised as her husband, helping him escape the Parliamentarian forces. What happens when Sir Edward unexpectedly recovers, surprises them both.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Can a carriage accident and a blizzard create a Christmas miracle?
'After the death of his brother, Robert not only becomes Viscount Landers, but also gives up his army career and agrees to marry his brother’s beautiful fiancé to ensure the succession. When he’s snowed in for Christmas with his shrewish betrothed and her attractive, practical cousin, Eleanor Carlisle, Robert realises he’s engaged to the wrong woman.
'Eleanor, the impoverished daughter of a disgraced army captain, has loved her cousin’s handsome and dashing fiancé from afar, until all three are stranded together.
'As the temperature plunges, the heat is on Viscount Landers to untangle the ties of duty and the wishes of the heart.'

Source : publisher's blurb

'He made her his thrall, but she enthralled him.

'The newly-widowed Lady Eadlin yearns for an independent life in control of her own destiny, but King Edward of Wessex has other plans. When he commands her to marry again to forge another political alliance, she flees to a convent in Kent. During a Viking raid, Eadlin is captured and taken to the English Danelaw where she is out of the king’s reach, but her life is again controlled by a powerful man.
 
'After one last Viking raid, Jarl Thorolf plans to put down his sword and farm his lands, which he realizes is the only way to achieve long-term peace in England. However, the young defiant novice whom he enslaves is King Edward's runaway goddaughter and worth a large ransom.
 
'If Eadlin escapes her captor, she risks falling into King Edward’s hands. If she stays, she risks falling in love with the enemy. Captivated by Lady Eadlin, Thorolf must decide whether to protect her or return her to King Edward and prevent war with the Anglo-Saxons. Will he choose peace or love?'

Source : publisher's blurb

'Coming home can be harder than leaving.

'Outback Australia, 1924: Matron Marion Henderson of Idavale Private Hospital wants romance in her life and promises she’ll go out with the first man who asks. That man is Bill Carter, ex-pastoralist, ex-soldier, wanderer, whose guilt about leaving home for war has kept him from returning ever since. Marion wants someone reliable with whom to share her life, but Bill’s behaviour rekindles Marion’s memories of her war-damaged first husband.

'Can they face their ghosts and create a future together?'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Three Regency-era widows seek new partners in unconventional ways. '