Historical romance
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Desire of the Gladiator (Affairs of the Arena) by Lydia Pax
She may be above his class, but she’s not above wanting him for herself. Leda is better than the lowly place she finds herself in. Born a princess and now trapped as a slave serving gladiators, she fights every day just to keep her head above water. Her petitions for freedom and a return to her home country are tireless—but as a princess, she has to remain pure, and her body untainted, if she is to return at all The last thing she should do is fall for a gladiator. But that’s exactly what happens when arena warrior Conall saves her life from a would-be assassin. Conall is wrong for Leda in every way. He’s wild. He’s reckless. He’s utterly beneath her station. He’s also got a hard, ripped body forged by dozens of battles, a stare that makes her melt, and a love so fierce that it digs deep into the fibers of her soul. Their heat is undeniable, but Conall is dead-set on pursuing one too-dangerous fight after another. His passion will get him killed—but it’s also what draws Leda to him with her breaths hot and her undergarments totally soaked. When they join together, they risk everything. But if there’s one thing worth dying for, it’s the desire of a gladiator.
Love of the Gladiator (Affairs of the Arena) (Volume 2) by Lydia Pax
“She has to trust him to love him…but not to want him.
Gwenn’s life has been marked by fury and rebellion, and she has the scars to prove it. As a slave, each new owner she’s had has only made her fight more. But when she is bought by a gladiator training school, she finally finds something to fight for—glory in the arena, where everyday people are made immortal.
The gladiators at the school think her presence there is a joke. That includes her trainer, Lucius. This cocky arena veteran has a body molded from marble, and his arrogant persona lights her mind on fire. Every glance from him sends wet heat through her body. Their chemistry is instant, and soon both ache to join each other in a battle that would tear down any bedroom. But Lucius’s past places a series of obstacles in their way. None are more terrible than the bloody secret he holds that would destroy any hope he has for Gwenn’s affection.
As desperate as she is to be close to him, he only pushes her further away. And when the truth is spilled in a thrilling, violent climax, Gwenn must decide between her unstoppable attraction or her desire for victory.
Gwenn was born a warrior. But it’s only in the arena that she will know if she wants the love of a gladiator.”
Heart of the Gladiator (Affairs of the Arena) by Lydia Pax
“His love was rough, but it could not be tamed… or denied.
Aeliana hates gladiators. They’re crude, violent, arrogant, and will toss the skirts up of any available woman after a fight. It may be her job to treat their injuries, but she has no interest in being just another conquest.
So, when the former gladiator champion Caius arrives in her life, she is stricken by how immediately she falls for him. He’s a merciless killer in the arena, not at all her type. But he’s also damnably handsome, built like a god, and turns Aeliana on like nothing she’s felt before.
Being with a gladiator is always a bad idea. Even if they’re known the Empire over for the intensity of their bedchamber passions, they have a lifespan about as long as a sword. Aeliana’s convinced that there’s no way that someone who could have any woman in Rome would want to stay with her for long. But his affection, while rough, seems completely genuine. Caius’s return to the arena is shrouded in mystery, but the more Aeliana discovers, the more she falls in love. When his lifetime of violence catches up with them both, Aeliana must decide whether she can afford to bare her heart to a man so effortlessly dangerous. As it becomes obvious that their love shouldn’t be, Caius and Aeliana fight the odds like warriors in the arena.
Aeliana’s strength will be tested again and again, along with their love. But it is her strength that will win the heart of a gladiator.”
Promise & Honor by Kim Murphy
At the outbreak of the Civil War, Amanda Graham’s husband dies a hero’s death. Left with no source of income, she smuggles medical supplies for Lieutenant Colonel William Jackson and the Confederacy. Although a rogue, Wil is a man of courage and fiercely loyal to Amanda. Lieutenant Samuel Prescott, a soldier of honor and former comrade before the war, fights for the Union. As opposing forces move into Virginia, Sam clashes with Wil on more than the battlefield, when both men fall in love with Amanda. Torn by grief and loyalty, Amanda struggles with the harsh reality that her way of life has been altered forever by the growing storm.
Virtue and Vice by Kimberly Brody
Once on opposite sides during Cromwell’s civil war, Izzy Beaumont and Ramsay Maitland now find themselves betrothed strangers, a situation both are determined to change. But a chance meeting at a May Day festival ignites an instant passion between Izzy and Ram, which changes everything. When Ram discovers his mystery maiden is the one woman he swore never to desire, he becomes determined to master the girl who has stolen his heart. But can enemies become lovers when past secrets and court intrigue threaten to destroy their new-found love?
The Viscount’s Christmas Temptation by Erica Ridley
Certain individuals might consider Lady Amelia Pembroke a managing sort of female, but truly, most people would be lost without her help. Why, the latest on-dit is that rakish Viscount Sheffield is canceling the fête of the year because he hasn’t time for silly soirees. He doesn’t need time—he needs her!
When a flash of lightning destroys the venue for his family’s annual Christmas ball, Lord Benedict Sheffield intends to enjoy a relaxing holiday for once. But after twelve days of beguiling Lady Amelia’s guerrilla tactics, he’s up to his cravat with tinsel…and tumbling head over heels in love.
Seasons of Love and War the Saga by Brenda Ashworth Barry
SEASONS OF LOVE AND WAR, my historical romance, is an epic love story that will appeal to fans of Pearl Harbor and Nicholas Sparks’ Dear John. Childhood sweethearts Beth Ann Rose and Kaylob Shawn O’Brien just want to get married and pursue their dream careers, but the Vietnam War changes everything when Kaylob is drafted into the Army. They survive his first tour of duty, then Kaylob’s sense of honor makes him volunteer to go back and help his brothers in Bravo Company. Beth Ann is furious, but they work through it and make plans to get married as soon as Kaylob comes home. Then Kaylob is captured but listed as Killed in Action, Body Not Recovered after his bloody dog tags are found.
Beth Ann literally withdraws from life for months, but with the help of her friends and family, she manages to pull herself out of her despair and gradually get back to living. She gets a job with a touring musical production group and thinks maybe she can survive, then she starts having dreams and visions of Kaylob and a jungle, and she thinks she’s lost her sanity as well as the only man she’s ever loved. When another childhood friend named Blake Tanner comes back into her life, he does his best to help her deal with everything. He’s rich, successful and gorgeous, and Beth Ann is the envy of practically every single woman in America, so why can’t she stop thinking about and dreaming of Kaylob?
Meanwhile, Kaylob is tortured in one of the most hellish types of prison camps in Vietnam, and the only thing that keeps him going are the visions of his sweet Beth Ann and his determination to survive whatever the Cong does to him so he can get back home to her. His heart and his love are strong, but can his body hold out long enough to get back home when so many others are dying all around him?
The Dark Lady by Dawn Chandler
Trapped in a marriage she did not want Van’s mother sought to exact revenge against Van’s father. Stealing Van away she forced her to pretend to be a boy to escape detection. Van excelled. Disguised as a young man, she saves the life of the King’s Champion and is bestowed the honor of knighthood and enters a life she loves.
Three years of being a knight comes to a crashing halt with one dying wish. Van reluctantly agrees to marry. To keep those she cares for safe from her enemies, Van hides her past.
Expecting a docile bride Peter is unsure of how to handle the strong willed and stubborn woman who has become his wife.
Van and Peter struggle for control and Van’s secret past creates a rift between them. She struggles to give up her identity as the Knight and become the woman that society and Peter expect her to be.
Can Peter and Van find a happy life, or will lies and secrets rip apart their future and put their very lives in danger.
Speak Easy, Anne by Brandy D. Anderson
“Speak Easy, Anne” tells the story of a young woman who struggles with family, love, and loss in New York City. The U.S. prohibition has been underway for a year and Anne just had her heart broken by her longtime boyfriend, Chris, benevolent leader of the Manhattan bootlegging syndicate. She is surprised when Chris’ volatile friend, and Brooklyn bootlegging competitor, Dante, begins to pursue her. This causes a rift between the two friends and prompts Chris to question whether his dismissal of Anne was a mistake. Amid the romantic chaos, she must help her sister deal with an abusive husband. “Speak Easy, Anne” is about finding, and keeping, your heart and soul even when the world seems to challenge you at every turn.
Seven for a Secret by Rumer Haven
It’s the year 2000, and twenty-four-year-old Kate moves into a new apartment to find a new state of independence in a new millennium. Almost immediately, she starts crushing on a hot guy who lives in her building. Deciding to take a break from her boyfriend Dexter, Kate believes the only thing now separating her from the fresh object of her sexual fantasies is the thin wall between their neighboring apartments.
A former 1920s hotel, Camden Court has housed many lonely lives over the decades—and is where a number of them have come to die. They're not all resting in peace, however, including ninety-year-old Olive, who dropped dead in Kate’s apartment and continues to make her presence known.
For Olive has a secret she’s dying to tell. One linking her to the sex, scandal, and sacrifice of a young dreamer named Lon. As the past haunts the present, Kate’s romantic notion that the thrill-of-the-chase beats the reality-after-the-catch unexpectedly entwines her modern-day love life with Lon’s Jazz Age tragedy.
With a little supernatural and a lotta' razzle-dazzle, Seven for a Secret is where historical fiction meets contemporary rom-com—from the Roaring Twenties when the “New Woman” was born, to the modern Noughties when she really came of age.
