Books like 'The Secret Mistress'
Readers who enjoyed The Secret Mistress by Mary Balogh also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
historical funny regency virgin heroine independent heroine grumpy sunshine slow burn cheerful heroine sassy heroine strong heroine
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Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
When Elizabeth Bennet first meets eligible bachelor Fitzwilliam Darcy, she thinks him arrogant and conceited, while he struggles to remain indifferent to her good looks and lively mind. When she later discovers that Darcy has involved himself in the troubled relationship between his friend Bingley and her beloved sister Jane, she is determined to dislike him more than ever... -
The Secret by Julie Garwood
Judith Hampton was as beautiful as she was proud, as purposeful as she was loyal. The dear Scottish friend of her childhood was about to give birth, and Judith had promised to be at her side. But there was another, private reason for the journey from her bleak English home to the Highlands to meet the father she had never known, the Laird Maclean... -
Chasing Cassandra by Lisa Kleypas
Everything has a price... Railway magnate Tom Severin is wealthy and powerful enough to satisfy any desire as soon as it arises. Anything—or anyone—is his for the asking. It should be simple to find the perfect wife—and from his first glimpse of Lady Cassandra Ravenel, he’s determined to have her... -
Frederica by Georgette Heyer
LONDON IN "THE SEASON" Frederica Merriville and her three siblings have come to London for the glittering social season, in order to give young and beautiful Charis a chance to make a good marriage. Frederica herself, a witty charmer, believes herself happily beyond marriageable age -- she is twenty-four, after all... -
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Slightly Dangerous by Mary Balogh
All of London is abuzz over the imminent arrival of Wulfric Bedwyn, the reclusive, cold-as-ice Duke of Bewcastle, at the most glittering social event of the season. Some whisper of a tragic love affair. Others say he is so aloof and passionless that not even the greatest beauty could capture his attention... -
The Suffragette Scandal by Courtney Milan
An idealistic suffragette... Miss Frederica "Free" Marshall has put her heart and soul into her newspaper, known for its outspoken support of women's rights. Naturally, her enemies are intent on destroying her business and silencing her for good. Free refuses to be at the end of her rope...but she needs more rope, and she needs it now. ...a jaded scoundrel.. -
In Which Margo Halifax Earns Her Shocking Reputation by Alexandra Vasti
The Halifax Hellions are the most scandalous, outrageous, ungovernable ladies in London. From the day of their debut—in which Matilda smoked a cheroot and Margo tied a cherry stem in a knot with her tongue—they’ve turned the ton upside down. But when Matilda elopes with a dangerous aristocrat, Margo must stop her twin before this new misadventure becomes a permanent marriage...Categorized as:
rich heroine independent heroine strong heroine regency cheerful heroine sweet-hero m-f historical -
Aurora by D.G. Rampton
Rated: 4.56 of 5 stars · 10 ratings70,000+ readers have already discovered the Regency Goddesses Series. The books, which can be read in any order, are regularly in the U.S. top 20 for Historical Romance and Humor & Satire... -
Brazen and the Beast by Sarah MacLean
The Lady’s Plan When Lady Henrietta Sedley declares her twenty-ninth year her own, she has plans to inherit her father’s business, to make her own fortune, and to live her own life. But first, she intends to experience a taste of the pleasure she’ll forgo as a confirmed spinster...Categorized as:
regency virgin heroine strong heroine sassy heroine rich heroine cold hero m-f historical -
Truce: The Historic Neighbor from Hell by R.L. Mathewson
This is the story before everything... Elizabeth knows what’s expected of her, perfection. She’s the daughter of an Earl and expected to marry well, say and do the right things with a smile on her face when inside she’s dying for a chance to escape. Thanks to an inheritance her godmother left her years ago, her chance will come with her next birthday...Categorized as:
regency strong heroine virgin heroine sassy heroine independent heroine rich heroine cold hero m-f -
Emma by Jane Austen
'I never have been in love; it is not my way, or my nature; and I do not think I ever shall.' Beautiful, clever, rich - and single - Emma Woodhouse is perfectly content with her life and sees no need for either love or marriage. Nothing, however, delights her more than interfering in the romantic lives of others...Categorized as:
slow burn sassy heroine strong heroine independent heroine rich heroine m-f sweet-hero georgian -
What Happens in London by Julia Quinn
RUMORS AND GOSSIP ... THE LIFEBLOOD OF LONDON When Olivia Bevelstoke is told that her new neighbor may have killed his fiancee, she doesn't believe it for a second, but, still, how can she help spying on him, just to be sure? So she stakes out a spot near her bedroom window, cleverly concealed by curtains, watches, and waits ..Categorized as:
regency virgin heroine grumpy sunshine cheerful heroine sweet-hero m-f historical friends to lovers -
Miss Fleming Falls in Love: A Witty Historical Regency Romance by Emma Melbourne
Rated: 4.37 of 5 stars · 13 ratingsA Girl. An Earl. A Battle of Wits . . .Miss Amelia Fleming has a very good reason to hate the Earl of Langley. A year ago, her father drowned in the Thames after losing a fortune to Langley at cards. Now her family is broke, her fiancé has broken their engagement, and the debt still hasn't been paid...Categorized as:
regency strong heroine sassy heroine historical victorian humor plain heroine from hate to love -
Every Duke Has a Silver Lining by Tamara Gill
Rated: 4.57 of 5 stars · 7 ratingsHe can’t deny her anything…except maybe his heart…Ashley Woodville didn’t mean any harm when she broke into Grady Kolten’s office. It was only a dare from her friends. She wasn’t supposed to get caught. And she certainly wasn’t supposed to talk the notorious gaming hell owner (and disturbingly sexy rogue) into showing her London’s wilder side. Falling for him? Also not part of the dare... -
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The Chemistry of Familiar Objects by Alexandra Vasti
57 Gresham Street is the most incendiary building in London. Upstairs, unconventional chemist Emmeline Starling uses combustion to solve scientific mysteries. Downstairs, buttoned-up children’s book printer Robert Vane tries very hard not to panic when the ceiling catches on fire. And when these two opposing forces are contained within one small building? Explosions are just the beginning...Categorized as:
regency independent heroine strong heroine rich heroine cold hero sweet-hero historical virgin hero -
With Love in Sight by Christina Britton
Rated: 4.36 of 5 stars · 11 ratingsFrom RWA's 2017 Golden Heart Winner comes a story of passion that is much more than meets the eye.An aging spinster at 26, all Imogen Duncan sees ahead of her is a life of servitude to her overbearing mother. Her London Season has passed and her desperate shyness and reserved demeanor has destroyed any chance for a match...Categorized as:
regency virgin heroine slow burn historical friends to lovers humor shy heroine sunny hero -
Do You Want to Start a Scandal by Tessa Dare
On the night of the Parkhurst ball, someone had a scandalous tryst in the library. •Was it Lord Canby, with the maid, on the divan? •Or Miss Fairchild, with a rake, against the wall? •Perhaps the butler did it. All Charlotte Highwood knows is this: it wasn’t her. But rumors to the contrary are buzzing... -
Her Wicked Marquess by Stacy Reid
Miss Maryann FitzWilliam is too witty and bookish for her own good. No gentleman of the ton will marry her, so her parents arrange for her to wed a man old enough to be her father. But Maryann is ready to use those wits to turn herself into a sinful wallflower.When the scandal sheet reports a sighting of Nicolas Ives climbing out the chamber windows of a house party, Maryann does the unthinkable... -
The Grand Sophy by Georgette Heyer
When the redoubtable Sir Horace Stanton-Lacy is ordered to South America on Diplomatic Business he parks his only daughter Sophy with his sister's family, the Ombersleys, in Berkeley Square. Upon her arrival, Sophy is bemused to see to see her cousins are in a sad tangle... -
Sylvester by Georgette Heyer
Endowed with rank, wealth and elegance, Sylvester, Duke of Salford, posts into Wiltshire to discover if the Honorable Phoebe Marlow will meet his exacting requirements for a bride. If he does not expect to meet a tongue-tied stripling wanting both manners and conduct, then he is intrigued indeed when his visit causes Phoebe to flee her home... -
Her Ruthless Duke by Scarlett Scott
From USA Today and Amazon Top 100 bestselling author Scarlett Scott comes a new, deliciously wicked Regency romance featuring scorching heat between a jaded guardian and his bluestocking ward, plus a delightful dash of mystery.Conscienceless seducer, cunning spy, confident scoundrel. Trevor Hunt, the Duke of Ridgely, has been called many things, most of which are true... -
Paradise Valley by Robyn Carr
Marine corporal Rick Sudder is home early from Iraq--his tour ended abruptly on the battlefield. The carefree boy is gone, replaced by a man who believes his future is as bleak as his mirror image... -
The Art of Victory by Martha Keyes
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsDiana Donovan was raised aboard a naval ship on a steady diet of war strategy, so when her orphaned friend, Lucy, is denied a perfectly respectable love match by her controlling guardian, Diana sees an opportunity to put her battle knowledge to use in service of a deserving friend.But Marmaduke Russell is not the middle-aged curmudgeon Diana is expecting... -
A Confirmed Rake by Martha Keyes
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsWhen Rebecca Russell’s brother marries, she finally has the opportunity she has been dreaming of: to leave the seclusion of her reclusive grandfather’s home and enter into Society. But when her inexperience has her making blunders and courting embarrassment, help comes from an unexpected source: the brooding, irritable brother of her chaperone... -
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Fool Me Twice by Meredith Duran
Sensible and lonely, Olivia Mather survives by her wits—and her strict policy of avoiding trouble. But when she realizes that the Duke of Marwick might hold the secrets of her family’s past, she does the unthinkable, infiltrating his household as a maid. She’ll clean his study and rifle through his papers looking for information. Alastair de Grey has a single reason to live: vengeance...Categorized as:
regency strong heroine virgin heroine sassy heroine cold hero grumpy sunshine m-f historical -
The Player by Stella Riley
Tragedy drove him into unwilling exile. Death demands his reluctant return. In the decade between, he has answered to many names and amassed a variety of secrets...Categorized as:
regency slow burn virgin heroine sassy heroine cheerful heroine strong heroine historical georgian -
Dare To Be Scandalous by Tamara Gill
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsAfter inheriting a small fortune, Willow Perry has everything she’s ever wanted. Except a husband, that is. But not just any husband will do. She’s looking for a grand love—someone who will challenge and excite her. It’s just her folly that the one man who interests her is a notorious rake. He’s as wild and passionate as Willow is sheltered and staid... -
An Infamous Betrayal by Lynn Messina
Rated: 4.18 of 5 stars · 17 ratingsHaving solved the two murders that somehow fell in her path, Beatrice Hyde-Clare is on the lookout for a third. Through a absurd quirk of stupid fate, the shy spinster has fallen in love with the thoroughly unattainable Duke of Kesgrave and is desperate for something, anything, to occupy her mind. A dead body would do nicely... -
No Earls Allowed by Shana Galen
It is a truth universally acknowledgedthat a lady can do anything a man can do:backwards and in high-heeled dancing slippers. Lady Juliana, daughter of the Earl of St. Maur, needs all the help she can get. She's running a ramshackle orphanage, London's worst slumlord has illicit designs on her, and her father has suddenly become determined to marry her off...Categorized as:
regency strong heroine virgin heroine m-f humor historical virgin hero tortured hero -
Wilde Child by Eloisa James
Eloisa James returns to the Wildes of Lindow Castle series with the next Wilde child who runs and joins a theatre troupe—and the duke who tries to save her reputation... -
Matchless Margaret by Christina Dudley
With her two older sisters married, managing family affairs has fallen to capable Miss Margaret Hapgood, leaving little time for thoughts of marriage. But a trip to Bath to find her uncle a wealthy bride throws her in the path of a handsome recuperating soldier, who is equally determined to keep his mother’s fortune out of grasping hands... -
More or Less a Countess by Anna Bradley
Finding a worthy husband should be simple for three beautiful debutantes in Regency London. But the Somerset sisters have a way of making it delightfully complicated... Violet Somerset has always preferred a library to a ballroom, but to please her grandmother she agreed to one London season. With nothing to show for it but heartbreak, she's reconciled to spinsterhood... -
The Duke's Wicked Wife by Elizabeth Bright
Sebastian Sinclair, the Duke of Wessex, is not in love with Eliza Benton—nor anyone else, for that matter. But he must marry and produce an heir, and love is not required for either. His future duchess must be of high birth and good nature, a lady unlikely to snipe at him over breakfast. In short, the complete opposite of Eliza... -
The Seamstress by Mary Kingswood
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars · 5 ratingsA traditional Regency romance, drawing room rather than bedroom. Miss Fanny Winterton has only one wish in her romantic heart — to surrender to overwhelming love. She will accept nothing less than to be struck by the thunderbolt of everlasting passion... -
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Epiphany by Jessie Lewis
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars · 5 ratings“Somehow, his hapless sister had begun a rumour that he was romantically attached to the penniless young woman, from an unheard-of and vulgar family, with whom duty and good sense forbade him from ever considering an alliance…but whose extraordinary wit and captivating eyes he had been entirely unable to banish from his thoughts... -
Kiss or Dare by Charlie Lane
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars · 5 ratingsThis enemies-to-lovers Regency romance by Charlie Lane, shows what happens when sparks fly between a flirty second son of a duke and an inventor’s daughter. She’s risen like a Cinderella.He’s more charming than any prince.They shouldn’t be together, but fate can’t resist.A new year and a new Season means a new Lillian Clarke. She’s transformed herself from wallflower to incomparable... -
Fair Stands the Wind: A Pride and Prejudice Variation by Catherine Lodge
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsWe all know that, in Jane Austen’s "Pride and Prejudice," Mr. Darcy is proud and prejudiced because he is a wealthy landowner who believes himself above his company and that Elizabeth Bennet can afford to be proud and prejudiced because she believes she has the freedom to make choices for herself. But what if Mr... -
Duke the Halls by Felicity Niven
A ray of sunshine gives the perfect Christmas present to a disagreeable duke. The Duke of Kittredge is that rarest of men—a wealthy, tall, and still-unmarried duke at the age of thirty-one. As such, he’s perennially at the top of the “Most Eligible Bachelor” list of the ton. And yet, he’s never gotten close to landing a wife. Young ladies don’t seem to like him. Scratch that. They revile him... -
The Rest is History: An Opposites-Attract, Teacher Romance by Sara Madderson
Rated: 4.22 of 5 stars · 9 ratingsWhen Elodie Peach joins our school's History department, her clear green eyes, joyous ways and swan-like neck enchant me as much as Anne Boleyn’s charms captivated Henry VIII five hundred years ago.Monday to Friday, I’m grumpy Mr Vaughan, Head of History. Zero personality, except when I’m teaching. So passionate about my field that my pupils bought me a highly inappropriate t-shirt last year...Categorized as:
grumpy sunshine cheerful heroine cold hero sweet-hero contemporary beta-hero humor historical -
Ne'er Duke Well by Alexandra Vasti
In this steamy Regency romp, Lady Selina is determined to find the Duke of Stanhope the perfect wife―the only problem is she's starting to think that might be her. Peter Kent―newly inherited Duke of Stanhope and recently of New Orleans, Louisiana―must become respectable... -
The Wicked Cousin by Stella Riley
Sebastian Audley has spent years setting every city in Europe by the ears and keeping the scandal-sheets in profit. Word that he is finally returning to London becomes the hottest topic of the Season and casts numerous young ladies – many of whom have never seen him - into a fever of anticipation.Cassandra Delahaye is not one of them... -
Enchanting the Heiress by Kristi Ann Hunter
Harriet Hancock likes to make the lives of those around her better whether they like it or not. So, she is surprised when her friend Sophia Whitworth has ideas of her own on how to make Harriet happier--by throwing her together with Sophia's brother, stable hand Jonas Fitzroy. When Harriet discovers his natural way with words, she hatches a plan that would benefit them both...Categorized as:
regency cheerful heroine independent heroine suspense historical christian humor age difference -
The Earl and the Spinster by Collette Cameron
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsFormerly titled Brooke: Wagers Gone Awry An angry earl. A desperate spinster. A reckless wager. For five years, Brooke Culpepper has focused her energy on two things: keeping the struggling dairy farm that’s her home operating and preventing her younger sister and cousins from starving... -
A Secret Love by Stephanie Laurens
All of Regency London knows that no Cynster male would ever walk away from a lady in distress...but their protection can come at a tantalizingly high price. And now, Stephanie Laurens has created her boldest Cynster yet--Gabriel--a man who has known the pleasure of many women, but who has given his heart to no one. She was desperate for his help.. -
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The Parfit Knight by Stella Riley
The Marquis of Amberley is rich, assured and thirty-four years old, with the reputation of being a law unto himself and a degree of charm which even his friends consider disastrous. When his coach is waylaid by highwaymen and his coachman shot, he is forced to take shelter at the first house he finds and is subsequently trapped there for a week by a severe snow storm... -
The Wallflower Wager by Tessa Dare
They call him the Duke of Ruin.To an undaunted wallflower, he's just the beast next door. Wealthy and ruthless, Gabriel Duke clawed his way from the lowliest slums to the pinnacle of high society—and now he wants to get even. Loyal and passionate, Lady Penelope Campion never met a lost or wounded creature she wouldn’t take into her home and her heart... -
The Duke Heist by Erica Ridley
A NYT bestselling author kicks off a new Regency series of "irresistible romance and a family of delightful scoundrels" as a woman looking to recover a stolen painting accidentally kidnaps a duke instead. (Eloisa James) Chloe Wynchester is completely forgettable—a curse that gives her the ability to blend into any crowd... -
Once Upon a Townsbridge Story: The Townsbridge Prequel (The Townsbridges) by Sophie Barnes
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 5 ratingsA love that will endure...Margaret Townsbridge has no intention of letting her parents pair her off with Mr. George Townsbridge. As one of England's most notorious rakes, he's bound to make a terrible husband. But in her attempt to dissuade George's suit, Margaret gets to know him, and slowly begins to realize that she may not only have misjudged him, but that he might be the man of her dreams...Categorized as:
regency cheerful heroine historical humor forced proximity arranged marriage competent heroine -
Her Noble Captive by Emily Windsor
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsHER… Miss Rosalind Trewent. A past that’s inescapable. NOBLE… Major Lucas Mainwaring. A man scarred in mind and body. CAPTIVE… Can they lay aside their demons to find a love that began many years before? Convinced no woman would ever want him, Lucas Mainwaring, the new Earl of Helmdon, now devotes his life to medicine, his work bringing him peace... -
A Warriner to Rescue Her by Virginia Heath
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsTempted by the damsel in distress! Captain James Warriner is startled to find a curvaceous beauty caught up a tree in his orchard! Despite his shattered leg, he rescues Miss Cassandra Reeves, then is determined to have nothing more to do with the enticing vicar's daughter. Except when Cassie seeks Jamie out to apologize, they find themselves persuaded to work together on her storybook...
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