Books like 'The Start of Something Wicked'
Readers who enjoyed The Start of Something Wicked by Kathleen Ayers also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
historical forbidden love insta-love class difference
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The Songbook of Benny Lament by Amy Harmon
Rated: 4.48 of 5 stars · 23 ratingsFrom the bestselling author of What the Wind Knows and From Sand and Ash comes a powerful love story about a musical duo who put everything on the line to be together. New York, 1960: For Benny Lament, music is his entire life. With his father’s deep ties to the mob, the Bronx piano man has learned that love and family can get you in trouble... -
![A Motherland's Daughter, A Fatherland's Son by Ellie Midwood]()
A Motherland's Daughter, A Fatherland's Son by Ellie Midwood
Rated: 4.52 of 5 stars · 17 ratingsPoland, 1939. A country, torn by the occupation of two unlikely allies - Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union.On the border of this newly divided territory, a young Wehrmacht Unteroffizier, Werner and a Soviet Military Interpreter, Kira meet and fall in love against all odds. Both forced into the military against their will, they wish for one thing only - a peaceful life together... -
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![Petteril's Folly by Mary Lancaster]()
Petteril's Folly by Mary Lancaster
Rated: 4.65 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsTime to confront reality – and a worrying mystery.Lord Petteril and his new viscountess return to England to face the consequences of their unequal marriage, only to discover that Petteril’s valet, the enigmatic Stewart, has been arrested for theft... -
![The Governess Diaries by Chasity Bowlin]()
The Governess Diaries by Chasity Bowlin
Love lost and found… As a girl, Euphemia Darrow had fallen desperately in love with the younger son of the Duke of Clarenden, Nicholas Montford. But he broke her heart with a cold dismissal before he left to join the army. Rather than pine for him, Effie found another purpose for her life... -
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![The Secret Heart by Mary Lancaster]()
The Secret Heart by Mary Lancaster
Betrayal, temptation and an impossible love.The final book in the Unmarriageable series...Some suspect that Lily Villin is the true heart of the Hart Inn, a lucky house where love always seems to blossom, whatever the obstacles. But Lily has another secret. She is in love with an enigmatic nobleman, and no luck in the world can make such a marriage possible... -
![Petteril's Wife by Mary Lancaster]()
Petteril's Wife by Mary Lancaster
Rated: 4.57 of 5 stars · 13 ratingsIncognito in Portugal…Lord Petteril’s cousin, the newly commissioned Major Bertie Withan, has gone missing somewhere between landing in Lisbon and joining his regiment on the front line of the Peninsular War... -
![Petteril's Christmas by Mary Lancaster]()
Petteril's Christmas by Mary Lancaster
Rated: 4.63 of 5 stars · 11 ratingsA merry Christmas for the Petterils?Piers wants to make their first Christmas together special, and so it proves to be - just not quite in the way he planned.His eccentric Great Aunt Prudence summons him to London with the news that she is dying and that one of her servants is stealing from her. Only one of these claims turns out to be true, though both require investigating... -
![Petteril's Corpse by Mary Lancaster]()
Petteril's Corpse by Mary Lancaster
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsA murdered stranger in his home wood…The discovery of a naked corpse upsets the new Viscount Petteril’s return to his ancestral acres. The local magistrate, Robert Lindon, has no idea how to proceed with so heinous a crime... -
![Petteril's Thief by Mary Lancaster]()
Petteril's Thief by Mary Lancaster
Rated: 4.52 of 5 stars · 13 ratingsA missing family heirloom – and one of the family stole it.In the spring of 1812, Piers Withan is dragged from his beloved Oxford to be the new Viscount Petteril. Burdened by responsibilities he doesn’t want and the remnants of a family who don’t want him, he is saved from an irredeemable mistake by Ape, the small thief burgling his house... -
![Petteril's Ladybird by Mary Lancaster]()
Petteril's Ladybird by Mary Lancaster
Rated: 4.52 of 5 stars · 13 ratingsAn earl’s son, shot in the home of his mistress…Lord Petteril, with his redoubtable assistant April, is called back to London to help prove the innocence of his friend, Percy Austen, who is suspected of murder.Percy was once the lover of the victim’s mistress, and his pistol was found at the scene of the crime... -
![Jim and Katherine by Traci Hunter Abramson]()
Jim and Katherine by Traci Hunter Abramson
Rated: 4.51 of 5 stars · 13 ratingsJim Whitmore has lofty dreams of a bright political career. So when a well-connected friend invites him home for the weekend, the promise of rubbing shoulders with her congressman father and his professional associates is thrilling. What he doesn’t anticipate is meeting his friend’s sister, Katherine, an intriguing woman who immediately steals his heart... -
![Sutton's Scoundrel by Scarlett Scott]()
Sutton's Scoundrel by Scarlett Scott
Rated: 4.51 of 5 stars · 13 ratingsIn this deliciously steamy Regency romance from USA Today bestselling author Scarlett Scott, a lady determined to restore her reputation meets her match in a seductive East End rogue she can't deny.Dubbed Lady Scandal thanks to her gossip-stirring past, Portia Fairhaven, the widowed Countess of Blakewell, is no stranger to rumors and innuendos... -
![Entranced by the Earl by Jillian Eaton]()
Entranced by the Earl by Jillian Eaton
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsSometimes love is hiding in the unlikeliest of earls . . . Evelyn Thorncroft wants to marry a duke, but she'll settle for an earl. The Earl of Hawkridge, to be precise. The only problem? Weston cannot stand the sight of her. At least, that's what he says. Their passionate kisses, however, tell a very different story . . -
![Seven Nights with the Duke by Alyssa Clarke]()
Seven Nights with the Duke by Alyssa Clarke
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsMiss Elizabeth ‘Lizzy’ Fairbanks cannot forget a few abandoned moments with Rannulf Headley, the Duke of Ravenswood. Their romance had begun by accident until it ended when she discovered they were worlds apart.Now that her brother is the new Earl of Celdon, the very bad Fairbanks have been trying to behave themselves and fit into London society... -
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![Winds of the Storm by Beverly Jenkins]()
Winds of the Storm by Beverly Jenkins
Archer Le Veq owes his life to the woman who rescued him from certain death at the height of the Civil War...a woman known only as "the Butterfly." Now, in the dark, waning days of Reconstruction, he needs the courageous and beautiful former spy...in more ways than before! Zahra Lafayette thinks her days of intrigue are far behind her, until she is asked to go on one more mission... -
![A Dangerous Passion by Chasity Bowlin]()
A Dangerous Passion by Chasity Bowlin
He felt as if he’d been born to want the woman before him, as if desiring her was simply his destiny.On a whim, the Hound of Whitehall saved widowed reformer, Honoria Blaylock, from a terrible fate… and in so doing, sealed his own...Categorized as:
insta-love forbidden love historical victorian length-medium m-f open-door secret-relationship -
![Petteril's Portrait by Mary Lancaster]()
Petteril's Portrait by Mary Lancaster
Rated: 4.49 of 5 stars · 11 ratingsA defaced portrait and the death of an artist – but is anything quite what it seems?To the furious disapproval of his assistant, April, Lord Petteril insists on calling in on Lady Haggard’s country house party – only to discover his hostess and her guests in uproar over a portrait of the late Sir Weston Haggard which has been deliberately damaged... -
![One Wedding and an Earl by Tracy Sumner]()
One Wedding and an Earl by Tracy Sumner
Rated: 4.36 of 5 stars · 15 ratingsIn this sizzling Regency romance by USA Today bestselling author Tracy Sumner, a notorious earl and an infamous hellion need to face an unforgettable passion.A scarred earl with a big heart—and a big problem.Since his return from war, the Earl of Stanford’s life has been anything but simple... -
![Leap of Faith by Elizabeth Johns]()
Leap of Faith by Elizabeth Johns
A managing beauty. A determined bachelor. A delightful romp!When their elderly guardian dies, Faith Whitford is determined to set up house in Bath and look for respectable country gentlemen for her four sisters. She has no ambitions for mingling with the ton... -
![One Night to Remember by Erica Ridley]()
One Night to Remember by Erica Ridley
Rated: 4.56 of 5 stars · 9 ratingsMeet the unforgettable men of London's most notorious tavern, The Wicked Duke... -
![Duke in All But Name by Caroline Warfield]()
Duke in All But Name by Caroline Warfield
Rated: 4.56 of 5 stars · 9 ratingsSecrets and lies threaten to pull them under, but a forced marriage may be their salvation. Gideon Kendrick grew up as the despised bastard son of the Duke of Glenmoor. Exiled to the mines by his father, he has not only survived but thrived and prospered. He lives apart, wanting nothing to do with the duke, the estate—or anything in his past, except his younger brother Phillip, the new duke... -
![It's Raining Rakes in April by Annabelle Anders]()
It's Raining Rakes in April by Annabelle Anders
Rated: 4.56 of 5 stars · 9 ratingsAn undercover duke and a clumsy, but ambitious, debutanteEveryone knows debutantes will do anything to marry a duke, which is precisely why this season, the Duke of Ridgefield is going undercover as yet another notorious rake—the mysterious Mr. Pope. As the eldest of seven sisters, Miss Julia Rigsby has one task in life—marry well. The trouble is, she’s clueless when it comes to flirting... -
![Once Upon an Aggravatingly Heroic Kiss by Bree Wolf]()
Once Upon an Aggravatingly Heroic Kiss by Bree Wolf
Rated: 4.56 of 5 stars · 9 ratingsA meddlesome lady.An honor-bound lord.And quite a few misunderstandings. England 1749: LADY EDITH WESTON, daughter to the EARL OF SWANSBOROUGH, is determined to see her friend wed to a man she loves. Unfortunately, Lady Adele, however, has been promised since birth and refuses to break her father’s heart by going against his wishes... -
![A Woman of Substance by Barbara Taylor Bradford]()
A Woman of Substance by Barbara Taylor Bradford
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 42 ratingsIn celebration of its thirtieth anniversary, here is the novel that started it all: New York Times bestselling author Barbara Taylor Bradford’s dazzling saga of a woman who dared to dream—and to triumph against all odds. . . . On the brooding moors above a humble Yorkshire village stood Fairley Hall. There, Emma Harte, its oppressed but resourceful servant girl, acquired a shrewd determination... -
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![Mr. Darcy's Bookshop: A Pride and Prejudice Variation by Summer Hanford]()
Mr. Darcy's Bookshop: A Pride and Prejudice Variation by Summer Hanford
Rated: 4.34 of 5 stars · 13 ratingsCut off from his family’s fortune because he refuses to marry the woman his father has selected for him, Fitzwilliam Darcy takes up the only employment he deems tolerable, that of bookseller. Darcy is determined to support himself and to marry for love, but his powerful relations use their clout to keep customers and fashionable young ladies away... -
![Radiance by Sydney Jane Baily]()
Radiance by Sydney Jane Baily
Rated: 4.57 of 5 stars · 7 ratingsIn this sparkling early Victorian romance by USA Today bestselling author Sydney Jane Baily, a fiery-haired Diamond daughter sets her cap at this man of science... and he doesn’t stand a chance!She’s a gifted artisan with sparkle to spare, and he’s a preoccupied man of science.At Prince Albert’s Great Exhibition, Lady Radiance Diamond falls in love.. -
![Always the Matchmaker by Emily E K Murdoch]()
Always the Matchmaker by Emily E K Murdoch
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsAlways the matchmaker and never the bride - even when she's found her perfect partner…Miss Theodosia Ashbrooke does not believe there is anything greater than matching the perfect pair - and she's become rather expert in it. Never mind that she's never found the missing half to her own soul and body. Perhaps that's not her lot in life, even at the age of eight and twenty... -
![Captured by Mary Lancaster]()
Captured by Mary Lancaster
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsAwakening life and love… On the sudden death of her oppressive father in a duel, the cool and distant Lady Hera Severne finds herself floundering in her new freedom, and instantly attracted to sardonic doctor, Justin Rivers. Determined to change her life, she travels incognito to Lincolnshire, to take up a post as companion to Lady Astley and learn about life.But nothing is as she imagined it... -
![Irish Eyes by Hope C. Tarr]()
Irish Eyes by Hope C. Tarr
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsAran Islands 1898.Eighteen-year-old Rose O’Neill leaves her beloved Ireland and boards a steamer bound for New York City. She’s starting a new life with Adam, the American soldier who’s sworn to marry her.But when she arrives at New York Harbour Rose finds herself abandoned, pregnant and alone... -
![Indecent by Darcy Burke]()
Indecent by Darcy Burke
Rated: 4.44 of 5 stars · 9 ratingsSociety’s most exclusive invitation...Welcome to the Phoenix Club, where London’s most audacious, disreputable, and intriguing ladies and gentlemen find scandal, redemption, and second chances.If Bennet St... -
![Moonstone Angel by Meara Platt]()
Moonstone Angel by Meara Platt
He thought she was a thief, but the only thing she ever stole was his heart... -
![Discouraging the Duke by Alexa Aston]()
Discouraging the Duke by Alexa Aston
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 17 ratingsWelcome to the new world from Alexa Aston—Dukes Done Wrong.Accused of something they never did. Five boys banished from their homes in disgrace, to the place where they find the brothers of their heart—and build new family ties that will last a lifetime.A lonely army captain who suddenly finds himself a duke. A gentleman’s daughter running an estate because her father no longer can... -
![A Bride of Convenience by Jody Hedlund]()
A Bride of Convenience by Jody Hedlund
Rated: 4.22 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsUnemployed mill worker Zoe Hart jumps at the opportunity to emigrate to British Columbia in 1863 to find a better life and be reunited with her brother, who fled from home after being accused of a crime... -
![A Sanctuary for Soulden by J.A. Rock, Lisa Henry]()
A Sanctuary for Soulden by J.A. Rock, Lisa Henry
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsHe wasn't meant for a quiet life.Philip Winthrop, Viscount Soulden, is a fop. An idle popinjay with nothing more on his mind than how to best knot his cravat. He definitely doesn’t spy against the French. Or arrange hasty weddings. Or occasionally commandeer the navy. And he certainly doesn’t seek out mortal danger in order to combat his pervasive ennui... -
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![With You Always by Jody Hedlund]()
With You Always by Jody Hedlund
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 11 ratingsA Riveting Look at the Orphan Train from Historical Novelist Jody Hedlund When a financial crisis in 1850s New York leaves three orphaned sisters nearly destitute, the oldest, Elise Neumann, knows she must take action. She's had experience as a seamstress, and the New York Children's Aid Society has established a special service: placing out seamstresses and trade girls... -
![The Hero and the Hellion by Ava Devlin]()
The Hero and the Hellion by Ava Devlin
Rated: 4.31 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsOne Last Scandal, for Old Time's Sake ... A Hero's HomecomingLieutenant Callum Laughlin has spent four long years at war. Finally, he has enough status and fortune to return to Yorkshire and reclaim the woman of his dreams - a girl he could never have wed when he was a mere stable boy. What awaits him at Somerton is far from the warm welcome he imagined... -
![The Broken Heart by Mary Lancaster]()
The Broken Heart by Mary Lancaster
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 9 ratingsDanger, loyalty and loving the enemy… Book 4 in The Unmarriageable Series is now available! Read for Free with Kindle Unlimited! Shunned by society and even by her own family after the treachery of her late husband, Isabelle de Renarde has long given up any thought of love or remarriage...Categorized as:
insta-love forbidden love regency historical victorian military strong heroine fighters -
![The Love of a Libertine by Jess Michaels]()
The Love of a Libertine by Jess Michaels
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 9 ratingsWhen Morgan Banfield wakes up in Newgate after a night of debauchery, the last thing he wants to see is his estranged brother. But in exchange for his help, Morgan must agree to take on responsibility and try to get his life together by taking on the job of Man of Affairs for a friend.The last thing Lizzie Margolis wants is some rogue coming onto her brother's staff... -
![Stealing the Heiress by Samantha Holt]()
Stealing the Heiress by Samantha Holt
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsShe was looking for adventure...Lady Rosamunde Stanley just never expected in the form of a kidnapping.Well, an almost-kidnapping. The dastardly man only went and took the wrong woman!But she soon discovers the dark, handsome man is not quite the terrible rogue she thinks him to be and she decides to put his experience to use... -
![His Family Objects by Lucy Marin]()
His Family Objects by Lucy Marin
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsYou will find me here, patiently awaiting you.AFTER THEIR UNEXPECTED MEETING AT PEMBERLEY, Elizabeth Bennet believes that she and Mr Fitzwilliam Darcy have been afforded a second chance at love. Even with the news of Lydia Bennet’s elopement with George Wickham could surely only delay their happily ever after... -
![Christmas in Cumbria by Tammy Andresen, Collette Cameron]()
Christmas in Cumbria by Tammy Andresen, Collette Cameron
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsLet the Spirit of Christmas sweep you away! Christmas in Cumbria features THIRTEEN STORIES of love and romance from your favorite authors…Let these glorious stories full of Christmas magic and true love—with more than a hint of steam— sweep you away to a time gone by. Indulge yourself free of guilt with this collection from USA Today and Amazon bestselling authors... -
![How to Tame a Dissolute Prince by Scarlett Scott]()
How to Tame a Dissolute Prince by Scarlett Scott
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsFrom USA Today bestselling author Scarlett Scott comes a scorching Regency romance between a rakish prince and a spinster who's been living a lie... Nando, the handsome, ne’er-do-well Prince of Varros, has grown bored with his aimless life of pleasure seeking and debauchery... -
![Secrets of a Duke by Martha Keyes]()
Secrets of a Duke by Martha Keyes
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsBy station, they’re worlds apart, but living under the same roof brings their hearts dangerously close. William Yorke faces a tall order: convince people he is worthy of the Dukedom of Rockwood that has unexpectedly fallen to him. Returning from London to his enormous estate, he breaks his journey at an inn and finds himself witness to a drunkard selling his wife to the highest bidder... -
![The Hunt for Mr. October by Tabetha Waite]()
The Hunt for Mr. October by Tabetha Waite
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsIt had been the moment Elwood Tyburne, the Earl of Belmont, had been dreading for months. Ever since that Brazen Belle and her dastardly, Rake Review had started wreaking havoc upon all of his friends and acquaintances—some of which were wrongly accused—he had been in a state of panic... -
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![Duchess of His Heart by Collette Cameron]()
Duchess of His Heart by Collette Cameron
Rated: 4.43 of 5 stars · 7 ratingsHe once loved her beyond all reason. Dare he risk heartbreak again? Leaving her first love behind was the hardest thing Regine, Duchess of Heartwaite, had ever done. Her marriage of convenience to another man saved her family, even as it laid waste to her heart. That was years ago, however. Now widowed, she’s ready to begin her life anew... -
![Playing with Fire by Jayne Davis]()
Playing with Fire by Jayne Davis
Rated: 4.43 of 5 stars · 7 ratingsFrance 1793Phoebe's future holds little more than the prospect of a tedious season of balls and routs, forever in the shadow of her glamorous cousin and under the critical eye of her shrewish aunt. She yearns for a useful life, and a love match like her parents', if such a thing could ever be possible for an unwanted, poor relation... -
![The Valet Experiment by Ellie St. Clair]()
The Valet Experiment by Ellie St. Clair
Rated: 4.43 of 5 stars · 7 ratingsHow does he ever protect a woman whose greatest danger is herself?Jemima St. Vincent may now live in one of the finest homes in London, but she hasn't let that change anything. She is still going to become a renowned chemist—even if she has to put out a few fires along the way... -
![The Brazen Belles Anthology by Tracy Sumner, Sadie Bosque]()
The Brazen Belles Anthology by Tracy Sumner, Sadie Bosque
Rated: 4.43 of 5 stars · 7 ratingsLooking for a blissful sleepless night? Need some dashing new book boyfriends to cuddle up with on a cozy winter afternoon? For lovers of historical romance, get ready to stay up late reading with this introductory collection of Georgian, Regency, and Victorian pieces by a group of highly acclaimed, award-winning authors! From gaming hells to ballroom belles, these standalone stories—including... -
![Nell and the Runaway Duke by Sofie Darling]()
Nell and the Runaway Duke by Sofie Darling
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsNell never dreamed she’d have a holiday romance…Miss Nell Tait is nobody’s fool—at least not now. In her youth, a man had taken advantage of her and changed her whole life. Now she’s left the East End behind and is a successful modiste to the ton—and will never fall for another man’s lies... -
![Never Have I Ever With a Duke by Darcy Burke]()
Never Have I Ever With a Duke by Darcy Burke
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsFrom the USA Today bestselling author of The Untouchables series comes your next Regency obsession: The Spitfire Society... Meet the smart, independent women who've decided they don't need Society's rules, their families' expectations, or, most importantly, a husband. But just because they don't need a man doesn't mean they might not want one..
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