Men of the Squadron Series by Andrea K. Stein

What if two people determined to marry anyone but each other end up falling in love? A hatpin-wielding, parasol-armed poet with a maddening Royal Navy officer in tow races against time to attract the marital attentions of the perfect “gentleman of the ton.” Sophia Brancellli, the orphaned, illegitimate child of a duke’s daughter and an Italian poet, is on a mission... moreWhat if two people determined to marry anyone but each other end up falling in love? A hatpin-wielding, parasol-armed poet with a maddening Royal Navy officer in tow races against time to attract the marital attentions of the perfect “gentleman of the ton.” Sophia Brancellli, the orphaned, illegitimate child of a duke’s daughter and an Italian poet, is on a mission. She must ensure her marriage to a “suitable gentleman of the ton” before her twenty-first birthday or she’ll be destitute, per the terms of her ducal grandmother’s will. Close to having her own poems published, Sophia has her hopes dashed each time by someone revealing her secrets. That same someone so desperately wants her to fail the terms of the will, they’re willing to commit violent acts to ruin her reputation. Captain Arnaud Bellingham has ascended the ranks of the Royal Navy in spite of his half-French heritage by proving himself at the Battle of Algiers and with the West African Squadron. He seeks a simple marriage of convenience to a mature woman, a widow who has been his sometime mistress the last several years. The very thing he does not want, an exotic Italian innocent, literally falls into his life when he rescues her from kidnappers, although she disputes she needed saving. And now, honor and duty dictate he has to waste the rest of his leave guarding her through the mad whirl of the Season. less

Willa Morton leads a life fraught with secrets. She’s lived the last ten years of her life as “Wills,” physician’s assistant to her Royal Navy surgeon father. Their subterfuge works well until he collapses and dies from a heart attack. Her days as a woman living free as a man are numbered.When his father’s political clout lands him on a ship of the line, Dr. Cullen MacCloud resents his latest posting, away from his friends on the African Squadron and the dangerous work they do... moreWilla Morton leads a life fraught with secrets. She’s lived the last ten years of her life as “Wills,” physician’s assistant to her Royal Navy surgeon father. Their subterfuge works well until he collapses and dies from a heart attack. Her days as a woman living free as a man are numbered.When his father’s political clout lands him on a ship of the line, Dr. Cullen MacCloud resents his latest posting, away from his friends on the African Squadron and the dangerous work they do. Will, the deceased surgeon’s son, is a sullen sprout, but Cullen’s stuck with him. Since the posting is temporary, what could go wrong?What if these two have more in common than they think? Will a thin blanket hung across the middle of a tiny cabin be enough to protect against the desire smoldering between them? less

Valor in battle is nothing compared to the courage required to face up to love.Harriet, Dowager Countess of Worthen, rusticates in the countryside outside Falmouth with her grandmother, a former beauty and Covent Garden actress. Although the elderly duchess’s days as the toast of society ended with marriage to the late Duke of Sidmouth, her aged mind has turned back to her earlier calling. Two mastiffs and Harriet’s naughty six-year-old son complete the havey-cavey household... moreValor in battle is nothing compared to the courage required to face up to love.Harriet, Dowager Countess of Worthen, rusticates in the countryside outside Falmouth with her grandmother, a former beauty and Covent Garden actress. Although the elderly duchess’s days as the toast of society ended with marriage to the late Duke of Sidmouth, her aged mind has turned back to her earlier calling. Two mastiffs and Harriet’s naughty six-year-old son complete the havey-cavey household.While combing Falmouth’s harbor-front bars for crew for the Black Condor, Royal Marine Lieutenant Richard Bourne has to rescue an elderly lady from drunken hecklers whilst she’s playing the witches’ scene from “Macbeth.” Seeing her safely home turns out to be complicated. Who knew she was a former duchess? Who knew her widowed granddaughter would have deep green eyes a man could drown in?How can Harriet rusticate with an Irishman underfoot who looks that good in a Royal Marine uniform? How can Richard walk away after one good deed without falling into those deep green eyes? less

He suspects his duchess is not an innocent...She wishes her duke were a little more worldly...The former Jane Lemon’s overnight transformation into a duchess, thanks to her father’s deathbed maneuverings, has been something of a shock. She’s spent most of her life in London, where her mother’s free-spirited salons brought her into contact with a world of discreet, privileged sensuality. Now she has to deal with a stuffy duke who accuses her of being a tarnished woman... moreHe suspects his duchess is not an innocent...She wishes her duke were a little more worldly...The former Jane Lemon’s overnight transformation into a duchess, thanks to her father’s deathbed maneuverings, has been something of a shock. She’s spent most of her life in London, where her mother’s free-spirited salons brought her into contact with a world of discreet, privileged sensuality. Now she has to deal with a stuffy duke who accuses her of being a tarnished woman. He wants a duchess who will make love in the dark of night, without any imaginative embellishments, for the sole purpose of producing an heir. If only he were willing to bend a little her way…Cornelius, Duke of Sidmouth, has his limits. He assumed his arranged marriage to a Cornwall heiress would go as smoothly as his well-run estate, Bocollyn. A man expects decorum and modesty in his bride, not unbridled sensuality and wantonness. He can’t believe she left him on their honeymoon. When he returns home, she’s already there, in charge of his stables and living in his retired groomsman’s cottage. Now he has to start all over and woo his duchess.Will she give him a second chance? Will he be able to suspend his pride a little to give her what she needs? less

Miss Rachel Berry, the adopted daughter of Freetown missionaries, wants to re-connect with her African mother’s family. She does not trust the Royal Navy, or Captain Hotham of the African Squadron. Her lying English father was a former naval seaman who jumped ship to join the lucrative African slave trade.Capt... moreMiss Rachel Berry, the adopted daughter of Freetown missionaries, wants to re-connect with her African mother’s family. She does not trust the Royal Navy, or Captain Hotham of the African Squadron. Her lying English father was a former naval seaman who jumped ship to join the lucrative African slave trade.Capt. Christopher Hotham, 3rd son of a baron, transports a group of slaves he rescued to the missionary school in Freetown before attending the prize court to see if the judge will rule in favor of him and his crew so they can get on with the work of patrolling for slavers. The last thing he needs is to get involved with a beautiful mission teacher who seems hell-bent on putting herself in harm’s way with the illegal slave traders swarming at the fringes of Freetown.Can they escape the destiny Society assigns them, or will they create their own? less

A Diamond of London's Glittering BallroomsMust Travel to the Ends of the Earth to Find Love...It's 1825, and Lady Lydia Howick has accepted that the love of her life, Royal Marine Captain George Neville, has been killed in action with the Men of the Squadron in fierce fighting on West African Sherbro Island... moreA Diamond of London's Glittering BallroomsMust Travel to the Ends of the Earth to Find Love...It's 1825, and Lady Lydia Howick has accepted that the love of her life, Royal Marine Captain George Neville, has been killed in action with the Men of the Squadron in fierce fighting on West African Sherbro Island. She's moved on with her life until one day while at a Royal Academy exhibition of art from the Holy Land, she sees her supposedly dead lover in a group of figures painted in a desert caravan scene.She can't rest until she's sure he's not suffering as a slave in the Middle East.George Neville no longer considers himself worthy of the title of Royal Marine ever since being taken captive during an action against slavers. Once his captors realized his strength and abilities in battle, they forced him to be one of them, promising his eventual freedom if he helped enslave others. They held the threat of punishment of child slaves over his head if he did not obey orders.After four horrific years in the slave trade, he's certain he's unworthy of anyone's love, let alone that of Lady Lydia. He refuses to sully her with the weight of his sins.How can she forgive him? More importantly, how can he forgive himself? less

Will Lady Lilianne HowickBe able to enjoy freedomAlong the banks of the River WeyDespite society’s prison of duty?And...Will a tattered bear andA moonlight Valentine’s skateBe enough to turn friends into lovers? It's 1820, and Lady Lilianne Howick hides away from the judgment of the ton on her family's country estate in Surrey. She escaped the Dey's harem four years earlier and was rescued after Lord Admiral Exmouth's bombardment of Algiers... moreWill Lady Lilianne HowickBe able to enjoy freedomAlong the banks of the River WeyDespite society’s prison of duty?And...Will a tattered bear andA moonlight Valentine’s skateBe enough to turn friends into lovers? It's 1820, and Lady Lilianne Howick hides away from the judgment of the ton on her family's country estate in Surrey. She escaped the Dey's harem four years earlier and was rescued after Lord Admiral Exmouth's bombardment of Algiers. Although the gossip sheets speculated about her supposed lurid experiences, no one outside her family knows the truth.The man she once loved, her neighbor, Squire Frederick Meredith, doesn’t care. He’s endured heartache of his own and has tried for years to break through her self-imposed exile. Will one small girl and a tattered stuffed bear be enough to create the magic necessary to bring these two back together? less

Will two stubborn Highlanders ignore what their senses already know?Will he sense the love in front of him despite the loss of his sight?Will she overcome her wariness of men to embrace the man he’s become?1st Lieutenant Simon Demarest, late of the Royal Navy, is no longer the man he used to be. The man he used to be led boarding parties with little more than an ax and a blood-curdling cry sure to stop a slaver's crew in their tracks... moreWill two stubborn Highlanders ignore what their senses already know?Will he sense the love in front of him despite the loss of his sight?Will she overcome her wariness of men to embrace the man he’s become?1st Lieutenant Simon Demarest, late of the Royal Navy, is no longer the man he used to be. The man he used to be led boarding parties with little more than an ax and a blood-curdling cry sure to stop a slaver's crew in their tracks. The man he used to be could dance all night with the prettiest girl in the room.The man he is now cannot even read a book for himself. Instead, he must sit like an invalid - well, he is an invalid - and listen while some dried-up spinster reads to him. Still, there's something odd about the spinster - her scent. Her aura lingers long after the times she reads to him. And Miss MacKenzie's scent is one he used to know so well, that of a warm, aroused woman. He can barely make sense of her words for her overwhelming essence. She gives off the pheromones of someone who's slept all night cradled in nothing more than a field of lavender...whilst pleasuring herself.Aileen MacKenzie has had quite enough of men, thank you very much, from her father who decided she should assume her dead mother's duties as chatelaine, cook, housekeeper and everything else in his cavernous, drafty manse out on the moor near Inverness, to her dratted, interfering eight brothers.She’s her own woman now, owner of the subscription library in the heart of Inverness, thanks to an elderly aunt's bequest. She really doesn't need the money Dr. MacCloud offers her to read to his blind patient. But there’s something about this stubborn invalid, something she can't resist. And what kind of Christian woman would she be to turn her back on a fellow Highlander in need? less

12 Days of Christmas, 4 well-intentioned matchmakers, & a chorus of ghostly catsWidowed headmistress Grace Phippen seeks a mature husband for her niece Lucy to tone down the young woman’s obsession with volatile science experiments.Lucy can’t stop concocting dangerous chemistry in her tiny closet laboratory, but she’ll do whatever it takes to help her aunt keep their London young ladies’ academy afloat... more12 Days of Christmas, 4 well-intentioned matchmakers, & a chorus of ghostly catsWidowed headmistress Grace Phippen seeks a mature husband for her niece Lucy to tone down the young woman’s obsession with volatile science experiments.Lucy can’t stop concocting dangerous chemistry in her tiny closet laboratory, but she’ll do whatever it takes to help her aunt keep their London young ladies’ academy afloat.Cupid’s arrow may run afoul of an excess of mistletoe, but true love strikes wherever it may…An earl mourns the woman who walked away on the arm of his best friend and forsakes his gambling hell to come home and rebuild his family estate.A broken Royal Engineer struggles to regain his hearing, and his wits, after a career of blowing things up and vows to do whatever it takes to repay the earl for his kindness.Generations of lively (or not) 6-toed ship’s cats round out the cast.Will it take a Christmas miracle to convince these two couples where their hearts actually lie?Will these lonely, misguided matchmakers find their true loves beneath the mistletoe before the clock strikes midnight at the Twelfth Night Ball? Reserve your copy today to find out! less