Cover of To Swoon and to Spar

Affiliate links — we may earn a small commission, at no extra cost to you. Learn more

To Swoon and to Spar

Martha Waters · The Regency Vows #4

325 pagesregency romance
(8k)Warm

A sharp-tongued ward fakes a haunting to drive her cold new husband away — but he refuses to leave.

Description

Viscount Penvale has been working for years to buy back his ancestral home, Trethwick Abbey, from his estranged uncle. And so he’s thrilled when his uncle announces that he is ready to sell but with one major caveat—Penvale must marry his uncle’s ward, Jane Spencer.When the two meet in London, neither is terribly impressed. Penvale finds Jane headstrong and sharp-tongued. Jane finds him cold and aloof. Nevertheless, they agree to a marriage in name only and return to the estate. There, Jane enlists her housekeeper for a scheme: to stage a haunting so that Penvale will return to London, leaving her to do as she pleases at Trethwick Abbey. But Penvale is not as easily scared as his uncle and as their time together increases, Jane realizes that she might not mind her husband’s company all that much.With her trademark “arch sense of humor and a marvelously witty voice” (Entertainment Weekly), Martha Waters crafts another delightful romp for all historical romance fans.

The Regency Vows series

Books like this

Cover of The Duke and I (Bridgertons, #1)

The Duke and I (Bridgertons, #1)

Julia Quinn · Bridgerton #1

422 pagesregency romance
(711k)Steamy

A fake courtship between a too-honest lady and a duke determined never to marry turns scandalously real.

7 tropes in common

Cover of Emma

Emma

Jane Austen

514 pagesregency romance
(995k)Clean

A clever, meddling matchmaker meddles her way into missing the love right in front of her.

7 tropes in common

Cover of The Duke Who Hates Christmas

The Duke Who Hates Christmas

Bianca Blythe · Holidays for Spinsters #1

195 pagesregency romance
(1k)Warm

A Christmas-hating duke and a runaway bride forced to share a crumbling castle for the holidays.

9 tropes in common

Cover of All Duke and Bothered

All Duke and Bothered

Mariah Stone · Dukes and Secrets #1

261 pagesregency romance
(4k)Warm

A duke forces his enemy's daughter into marriage for revenge — then loses his heart to her sunshine.

7 tropes in common

Cover of Much Ado About You (Essex Sisters, #1)

Much Ado About You (Essex Sisters, #1)

Eloisa James · Essex Sisters #1

391 pagesregency romance
(12k)Steamy

A dutiful eldest sister reluctantly agrees to marry London's most infamous rake — and promptly falls for him.

8 tropes in common

Cover of Grace

Grace

Beverley Watts · The Shackleford Sisters #1

184 pagesregency romance
(20k)Warm

A chaotic, unruly clergyman's daughter is unexpectedly offered marriage by a brooding, battle-scarred duke.

7 tropes in common

Cover of The Perfect Rake (The Merridew Sisters, #1)

The Perfect Rake (The Merridew Sisters, #1)

Anne Gracie · The Merridew Sisters #1

360 pagesregency romance
(13k)Warm

A plain but witty eldest sister cons a notorious rake into a fake engagement to free her beautiful sisters.

8 tropes in common

Cover of The Duke's Inconvenient Bride

The Duke's Inconvenient Bride

Jayne Rivers · Unconventional Brides #1

318 pagesregency romance
(5k)Warm

When her sister jilts a duke, shy Lady Emma must marry him instead — but he wants nothing to do with her.

6 tropes in common

Cover of Promised

Promised

Leah Garriott

368 pagesregency romance
(4k)Mild

A woman who vowed never to love again is promised in marriage to the one man who drives her absolutely mad.

9 tropes in common

Cover of A Lady's Guide to Fortune-Hunting

A Lady's Guide to Fortune-Hunting

Sophie Irwin · A Lady's Guide #1

325 pagesregency romance
(51k)Warm

A broke, scheming heroine hunts for a rich husband in the London Season — until the one man who sees through her gets in

8 tropes in common

Cover of The Convenient Marriage

The Convenient Marriage

Georgette Heyer

290 pagesregency romance
(18k)Mild

A spirited youngest sister talks an earl into marrying her to save her sister's secret love affair.

7 tropes in common

Cover of The Unknown Ajax

The Unknown Ajax

Georgette Heyer

592 pagesregency romance
(11k)Mild

A Yorkshire major plays the uncouth yokel to tease the snobbish family he's been ordered to marry into.

8 tropes in common

Cover of Because of Miss Bridgerton (Rokesbys, #1)

Because of Miss Bridgerton (Rokesbys, #1)

Julia Quinn · Rokesbys #1

347 pagesregency romance
(85k)Warm

Lifelong adversaries Billie and George discover the one person they can't stand is the one they can't live without.

8 tropes in common

Cover of The Autumn Bride

The Autumn Bride

Anne Gracie · Chance Sisters #1

310 pagesregency romance
(6k)Warm

A desperate governess poses as a lord's niece — until the arrogant lord himself comes home.

7 tropes in common

Cover of All's Fair in Love and War

All's Fair in Love and War

Virginia Heath · Miss Prentice's Protegees #1

375 pagesregency romance
(3k)Warm

A rule-obsessed naval captain hires a joy-first governess — and she upends his ordered world completely.

7 tropes in common

Cover of Black Sheep

Black Sheep

Georgette Heyer

256 pagesregency romance
(13k)Mild

A capable spinster in Bath loses her heart to the roguish black sheep she's determined to disapprove of.

8 tropes in common

Cover of Bath Tangle

Bath Tangle

Georgette Heyer

320 pagesregency romance
(10k)Mild

A fiery heiress is left under the guardianship of the very man she once jilted — and he has plans of his own.

8 tropes in common

Cover of A Civil Contract

A Civil Contract

Georgette Heyer

388 pagesregency romance
(10k)Mild

A ruined viscount marries plain, quiet Jenny for money — and slowly discovers she's everything he never knew he needed.

6 tropes in common

Cover of Friday's Child

Friday's Child

Georgette Heyer

388 pagesregency romance
(12k)Mild

A naïve girl marries a rakish lord for escape — but navigating London society may undo them both.

7 tropes in common

Cover of My Darling Duke

My Darling Duke

Stacy Reid · Sinful Wallflowers #1

377 pagesregency romance
(15k)Steamy

A desperate wallflower invents a fake engagement to a reclusive duke — then he shows up furious and demanding retributio

7 tropes in common

A work in progress, built for my wife with love. Suggestions welcome