The Astley Chronicles Series by Courtney McCaskill

The only one who can help her is the man who broke her heart. Four years ago, Lady Caroline Astley took one look at Henry Greville, Viscount Thetford, and fell horribly in love, in that particular way you can only fall in love at the age of fifteen.He didn’t just reject her.He humiliated her.But now, in a stroke of rotten luck, he’s the only one who can help her.It turns out that the “paste” pendant she borrowed from her sister, Anne, was no fake... moreThe only one who can help her is the man who broke her heart. Four years ago, Lady Caroline Astley took one look at Henry Greville, Viscount Thetford, and fell horribly in love, in that particular way you can only fall in love at the age of fifteen.He didn’t just reject her.He humiliated her.But now, in a stroke of rotten luck, he’s the only one who can help her.It turns out that the “paste” pendant she borrowed from her sister, Anne, was no fake. It’s actually an ancient Egyptian amulet, and now Anne wants to auction it off to save hundreds of widows and orphans. What Caro can’t bear to tell her sister is that the necklace was stolen from right around her neck.Caro has a few clues, but she doesn’t know an amulet from an obelisk, and the trail has gone cold. Guess who grew up in a house stuffed with Egyptian artifacts? Caro may despise Henry, but she needs him if she’s going to track down the thieves. Which begs the question of which is worse: letting down the orphans or risking her heart all over again.If you like sizzling Regency romance that makes you laugh and makes you swoon, give How to Train Your Viscount a try!Note: How to Train Your Viscount falls on the comedic end of the Regency spectrum; you might call it a Regency rom-com. The love scenes are red hot. Our hero’s mother wishes to regretfully forewarn the reader that her son utters several shocking obscenities during the course of the novel. less

Sixteen years ago, lady’s maid Fanny Price believed in love at first sight. But that was before she met handsome horse trainer Nick Cradduck at a village fair. Nick swept her off her feet, then shattered her heart the very next day. Fanny crossed all of England, finding a new post with the Astley family, just so she would never have to see that filthy blackguard again. But Nick isn’t going down without a fight... moreSixteen years ago, lady’s maid Fanny Price believed in love at first sight. But that was before she met handsome horse trainer Nick Cradduck at a village fair. Nick swept her off her feet, then shattered her heart the very next day. Fanny crossed all of England, finding a new post with the Astley family, just so she would never have to see that filthy blackguard again. But Nick isn’t going down without a fight. He tracks Fanny down at the Cooper’s Hill Cheese Rolling and Wake, of all places, on a bright, sunny spring morning not so different from the day they met. Now Fanny must decide if she’ll send Nick packing… or take a second chance on the only man who’s ever felt like her match. My Favorite Mistake is a steamy novella that is part of the Astley Chronicles series. It features Fanny Price, Lady Caroline Astley’s intrepid lady’s maid, and can be read at any point after Book 1. less

He lost her once. He can’t bear to lose her again.Michael Cranfield, the Earl of Morsley, has been hopelessly in love with the girl next door, Lady Anne Astley, ever since they were fourteen years old.This made it particularly jarring when she went and married someone else when his father sent him on a secret mission for the Crown in the wilds of Canada.Now Anne is a widow, and Michael has a second chance to be with the woman he loves... moreHe lost her once. He can’t bear to lose her again.Michael Cranfield, the Earl of Morsley, has been hopelessly in love with the girl next door, Lady Anne Astley, ever since they were fourteen years old.This made it particularly jarring when she went and married someone else when his father sent him on a secret mission for the Crown in the wilds of Canada.Now Anne is a widow, and Michael has a second chance to be with the woman he loves. He’s determined to marry Anne, take her back to Canada (where’s he’s spent the past four years training to be Governor General,) and wrap her up in cotton gauze so he'll never have to be parted from her.Anne still cringes when she recalls the day she learned with absolute certainty that Michael only saw her as a friend. But she isn’t the biddable girl Michael remembers, not any more. She’s found that being a widow, answering to no one, and running her London charity precisely as she sees fit suits her just fine. She is on the hunt for a husband, however, to give her the children she’s always longed for.And, as much as she’d like that husband to be her best friend, if Michael Cranfield thinks she’s going to give up her charity, or let him boss her around, then he’d better think again!What price will Michael be willing to pay to be with the woman he loves? What’s an Earl Gotta Do?Please note that the heat level is red hot! less

Sometimes there’s a fine line between assessing the competition and consorting with the enemy…Thanks to an imprudent wager made by his younger brother, Edward Astley has to win a classical translation contest being hosted by Oxford University. This means he’ll have to beat the latest star on the literary scene, the anonymous translator whose rendition of On the Sublime is taking Britain by storm. He’s supposed to be studying, but all he can seem to think about is Elissa St... moreSometimes there’s a fine line between assessing the competition and consorting with the enemy…Thanks to an imprudent wager made by his younger brother, Edward Astley has to win a classical translation contest being hosted by Oxford University. This means he’ll have to beat the latest star on the literary scene, the anonymous translator whose rendition of On the Sublime is taking Britain by storm. He’s supposed to be studying, but all he can seem to think about is Elissa St. Cyr, the redheaded daughter of his former tutor, who’s every bit as brainy as she is delectable.Elissa has problems of her own. With her father’s health failing, she’ll soon need to support her mother and sisters through her translation work. And that means she needs to win the Oxford contest, so she can secure the one thing she has never had the opportunity to earn: an academic credential.To make matters worse, she managed to get stuck in the middle of a pond during a thunderstorm, and the person who happened along to rescue her, witnessing her in the most humiliating moment of her remarkably humiliating life, was her ultimate beau idéal, the brilliant Edward Astley. Now Elissa keeps bumping into Edward everywhere she goes. Which would normally be wonderful …… except she’s worried he’s going to figure out that she is the anonymous translator everyone is talking about.Please note that the heat level is red hot! less

Secrets, Lies, and a LockEver since her father’s unexpected death, Cecilia Chenoweth has felt like the heroine of a bad Gothic novel. In addition to leaving her alone and destitute, her father made a deathbed confession that it was no mere fever that took her mother’s life some twenty years ago. Then he pressed a sinister key into her hands, bidding her to go forth and uncover the truth... moreSecrets, Lies, and a LockEver since her father’s unexpected death, Cecilia Chenoweth has felt like the heroine of a bad Gothic novel. In addition to leaving her alone and destitute, her father made a deathbed confession that it was no mere fever that took her mother’s life some twenty years ago. Then he pressed a sinister key into her hands, bidding her to go forth and uncover the truth. If only she knew where to find the lock that will open to the mysterious key…Cold, Bold, and Dangerous to KnowThere is one man who recognizes the black key bearing the emblem of a Marcus Latimer, the newly minted Duke of Trevissick. Now that his abusive father is rotting in hell where he belongs, Marcus is eager for his life to stop resembling a bad Gothic novel. No one would ever have thought to pair the dangerously handsome duke with the meek little rector’s daughter. But as he helps Cecilia on her quest, Marcus discovers a well of passion hiding behind her sloe eyes that may just be a match for his own.Two Hearts on a Perilous PathBut Cecilia’s search for the truth about her mother’s death unearths dark secrets from Marcus’s past, secrets that will destroy the new life he has built for his beloved sister and condemn one of the few people he cares about to death. What will he do when he is forced to choose between loyalty… and love? less

Being ruined is the least of Isabella Astley’s problems.Visiting the Dark Walks of Vauxhall seemed like a harmless adventure at the time. But ever since Lady Isabella overheard men plotting treason, someone has been trying to kill her!Her only hope is Archibald Nettlethorpe-Ogilvy, a rich industrialist and engineering savant. Archibald fell hopelessly in love with Isabella the moment he clapped eyes on her... moreBeing ruined is the least of Isabella Astley’s problems.Visiting the Dark Walks of Vauxhall seemed like a harmless adventure at the time. But ever since Lady Isabella overheard men plotting treason, someone has been trying to kill her!Her only hope is Archibald Nettlethorpe-Ogilvy, a rich industrialist and engineering savant. Archibald fell hopelessly in love with Isabella the moment he clapped eyes on her. He has been scorned by so many women for being in trade that he knows such an ethereal beauty could never come to care for the likes of him. But now her life is in danger, and he happens to be one of the few men with enough wealth and power to protect her. Seizing his chance, he proposes marriage, an offer Isabella has no choice but to accept. Passion flares between these unexpected lovers. For Archibald, putting his life on the line to keep Isabella safe is the easy part. But showing the woman who could crush him with a word his heart, and his true self? That is more terrifying than facing a thousand hired assassins…Please note that the heat level is red hot! less

She’s the one woman Harrington Astley can never have.Lady Diana Latimer might be everything Harrington Astley has ever wanted. But her older brother, the Duke of Trevissick, despises him, and would never give his approval for them to wed. The beautiful girl who makes him feel like he’s more than just cannon fodder is as unattainable as a star in the sky.Diana Latimer has had it with fops and fortune hunters.Making her London debut seemed like a lark three years ago... moreShe’s the one woman Harrington Astley can never have.Lady Diana Latimer might be everything Harrington Astley has ever wanted. But her older brother, the Duke of Trevissick, despises him, and would never give his approval for them to wed. The beautiful girl who makes him feel like he’s more than just cannon fodder is as unattainable as a star in the sky.Diana Latimer has had it with fops and fortune hunters.Making her London debut seemed like a lark three years ago. But after her brother saddled her with an absurdly large dowry, Diana has found herself besieged by fortune hunters. There’s only been one man she’s truly liked—Harrington Astley, a handsome army lieutenant with an irreverent sense of humor. Now Harrington is back in London, but thanks to her brother’s meddling, he’s convinced that nothing can ever come of the attraction flaring between them.When the Foreign Office asks Harrington to attend a house party to try to ferret information out of a Swedish prince he befriended during his last deployment, Diana sees her chance. Harrington doesn’t speak a word of Swedish. But Diana does. Of course, a young, unmarried lady cannot attend a house party without a chaperone… which is why she informs Harrington that they need to marry. For King and country.Sometimes you have to fake it ‘til you make it!Harrington promises Diana’s brother that they will annul their fake marriage just as soon as their mission for the Crown is complete. But Diana never agreed to that plan, and she’s not giving Harrington up without a fight. She’s going to do everything within her power to seduce her husband and turn their fake marriage into a love that lasts a lifetime.Please note that the heat level is red hot! less