Still unwed at twenty-one, an unconventional high-spirited woman finds her affections sought by a handsome, devilishly charming Earl, who is nicknamed "The Ideal" by the ton--for his combination of wealth and looks. Though at first she fights his advances, slowly she forms a heated alliance with him. But sparring with words soon turns into a succumbing passion...

Annalise Avery would rather run away than marry the despicable man her stepfather has chosen for her. All he wants is her fortune anyway. Escaping with two servants, Annalise takes employment at Lord Gardiner's town house, disguised as a housekeeper. No one suspects that the new housekeeper for his wild lordship's London pied-à-tierre is a diamond of the first water and a famous horsewoman. But as Annalise becomes familiar with Gardiner's tomcatting, she vows to thwart the despicable man and his lascivious ways. Sleeping powders in the wine and fleas in the bed do just the trick!In the meanwhile, his lordship has grown quite preoccupied by the very mysterious Lady in Green who rides through the park atop a magnificent steed, spurring hearts young and old--including his own!

From an award-winning star of Signet Regency Romances comes a delightfully comedic tale of two lovers at odds with each other in every way… IT WAS PROVING QUITE HARD TO SEDUCE A WOMAN WITH HER MOTHER NEARBY, MUCH LESS A COOK AND NANNY! Though barely out of the schoolroom, Melody Ashton was determined to save her family from scandal. Her poor Mama was suspected of pilfering contributions sent for several “orphans”—actually the illegitimate children of the town—placed in her care. To make matters worse, the infuriatingly handsome Lord Coe had accused them all of blackmailing his sister, whose child resided with them. After such rudeness, his offer to make Melody his mistress was the outside of enough. Ignoring all lessons learned in Mingleforth's Rules of Polite Decorum, she told the rake exactly what he was: a reckless reprobate, debauched womanizer, self-righteous sapskull and bullying buffle-headed bounder. Lord Coe was quite confused. Never had a conquest proved so difficult. And never had he feared he was falling so helplessly in love... Minor Indiscretions previously appeared in Lady In Green and Minor Indiscretions.

SHE WAS A MOST UNUSUAL MISS, TO BE SURE! Lovely Lisanne Neville had always found solace in the verdant beauty of Sevrin Woods. But now the woods were about to be destroyed in order to pay off the gambling debts of the Duke of St. Sevrin. Clearly, drastic measures were called for. So Lisanne proposed marriage to the duke. The deal: her fortune for his woods. The Duke of St. Sevrin put aside his bottle long enough to consider this mad bargain, recognizing he had nothing to offer this sprite of a girl save his crumbling home, hellish reputation, and mountain of bills. He accepted. It was not the beginning of a fairy-tale marriage--but never underestimate the power of love . . . and a little bit of magic!

A perfect summer romance! Louisa is left at the altar on her wedding day with no job, no home and an awful honeymoon on her own. Back home, she takes up living in her family’s dilapidated summer cottage in the Hamptons with a rescued dog and a bad sunburn, awful neighbors and a handyman who is anything but helpful. The last thing Dante Rivera needs is another woman (he’s already burdened with an aging aunt, a needy cousin and an ex-wife) and this one has more issues than Sports Illustrated. The only problem is, he just can’t walk away from his intensifying attraction. Then a hurricane threatens the village and the pair find themselves in the dark…and everything will change.

Viscount Aubrey "Stony" Wellstone is at the end of his rope—and the end of his family's once-great fortune. Desperate, he tries his luck at the gaming tables, where an offer to exchange his debts for a gentlemanly favor leads to a profitable new profession...as an "honorable escort" accompanying the cream of the ton. The fiercely independent, flame-tressed Miss Ellianne Kane would normally have no use for an upper-class attendant—even one as striking as Stony—but she needs Aubrey's help. Will Aubrey prove to her that there is far more to him than want of money?

Fantasy is a genre in motion, gradually expanding its reach and historical sources to embrace a global identity Historical Dictionary of Fantasy Literature, Second Edition is a snapshot of the genre in this moment, identifying new themes and sources that are emerging to inspire, enhance and invigorate the published works of fantasy writers.

When his betrothed leaves him stranded at the altar, Lord Galen Woodbridge is more embarrassed than broken-hearted. Desperate to deflect attention from his humiliating plight, he decides to stir up a bit of a scandal -- by wedding London's most eligible and elusive songstress, the magnificently sensuous Margot Montclaire. After Galen proposes, Margot confides that her sexy demeanor is merely an act. A baron's daughter, she took to the stage to escape the clutches of a diabolical uncle -- and reluctantly left her fragile young brother behind in his care. To win Margot's hand, Galen agrees to save her sickly sibling -- but in this marriage of mutual convenience, he never planned on losing his heart....

The last valentine: Audrina is desperate to ensure that Lord Blanford not only notices her beautiful cousin but marries her as well. However, Max's head is beset by larger worries than matrimony--though he is curiously diverted by the antics of the flame-haired matchmaking minx.

Once upon a time all literature was fantasy, set in a mythical past when magic existed, animals talked, and the gods took an active hand in earthly affairs. As the mythical past was displaced in Western estimation by the historical past and novelists became increasingly preoccupied with the present, fantasy was temporarily marginalized until the late 20th century, when it enjoyed a spectacular resurgence in every stratum of the literary marketplace. Stableford provides an invaluable guide to this sequence of events and to the current state of the field. The chronology tracks the evolution of fantasy from the origins of literature to the 21st century. The introduction explains the nature of the impulses creating and shaping fantasy literature, the problems of its definition and the reasons for its changing historical fortunes. The dictionary includes cross-referenced entries on more than 700 authors, ranging across the entire historical spectrum, while more than 200 other entries describe the fantasy subgenres, key images in fantasy literature, technical terms used in fantasy criticism, and the intimately convoluted relationship between literary fantasies, scholarly fantasies, and lifestyle fantasies. The book concludes with an extensive bibliography that ranges from general textbooks and specialized accounts of the history and scholarship of fantasy literature, through bibliographies and accounts of the fantasy literature of different nations, to individual author studies and useful websites.