Jude Deveraux portrays the power of a woman set on a bold course for true love -- and the glory of fulfilling a magnificent promise.
River Lady
Handsome plantation owner Wesley Stanford would barely recall the poverty-stricken young girl named Leah Simmons who adored him from afar years ago. Now, in an unexpected twist of fate -- a chance encounter on the Virginia riverfront -- he will become Leah's reluctant husband. Determined to forge a new life in untamed Kentucky, Wesley discovers that the bride he hopes to abandon is passionate, proud, and brave -- and may be the woman he cannot live without.
Beloved New York Times bestselling author Jude Deveraux captures love's magic in this heartwarming novel about desires that are unexpectedly fulfilled.Jace Montgomery was a stranger in Chandler, Colorado. Tall, proud, and rugged, he would make any woman's heart beat faster—even shy, sweet Nellie Grayson's. Nellie, who has always been pleasantly plump, worked tirelessly to help her beautiful younger sister, Terel, to become the belle of the town. But it is Nellie who catches Jace's eye. For the first time, she is the center of a man's attention. And with their first kiss, Nellie finds herself falling helplessly, unexpectedly in love.But with her newfound joy comes the certainty that Jace will, sooner or later, be won over by Terel's charms. With the help of an enchanting new friend, Nellie discovers that her flirtatious sister might not be the woman for handsome Jace Montgomery after all...
Happily betrothed to Dr. Lee Westfield, Houston is every bit the good girl she was raised to be. So when faced with Kane Taggert's brash marriage proposal, Houston is outwardly shocked. But beneath her gracious demeanor lies a woman of hidden longings -- and her defenses begin to melt the second this rugged stranger touches his hungry lips to hers.
Meet Houston's impetuous identical twin sister, Blair Chandler, in Jude Deveraux's Twin of Fire.
With the blazing spirit of a true Montgomery, heiress Christiana Montgomery Mathison bravely defies the two men who abduct her. Forced into the primitive rain forests of the Washington Territory, she is swept into a thrilling adventure. Amid schemes of greed and intrigue, the bold beauty resists the wooing of one captor, and uses all her wiles to entice the other, the mysterious Tynan
For beautiful Morgan Wakefield, that land lay west of the bluegrass splendor of her Kentucky home...and within the powerful embrace of Seth Colter--the handsome rancher with whom she had struck a bargain that would change her life. Beneath the star-studded New Mexico skies Colter awakened in Morgan a womans passion, stoking the sensuous fires of a bold tempestuous romance. Though fate would make them enemies, theirs was a love that would endure, never to be forsaken.
A contemporary novel of romance and renewal from perennial bestseller Jude Deveraux, First Impressions is an emotionally charged story of one woman's bid to start over.
Eden Palmer knows how to make it on her own. The forty-something single mother has worked hard to raise her beloved daughter, but sooner or later a woman must come into her own, and that's what Eden tries to do when she moves to Arundel, North Carolina, to take ownership of Farrington Manor. Arriving in the South's prettiest small town, Eden quickly learns that looks can be deceiving when her move is met with delight in some quarters and jealousy in others. Pursued by two eligible bachelors -- the rugged Jared McBride and Braddon Granville, small-town lawyer and town catch -- Eden is flattered and more than a little suspicious. Juggling the attentions of two men is hard enough, but soon Eden's bid to start over plunges her in the middle of a mystery that threatens not just her reputation, but her very life. Can she use one man to save her from the other?
Deveraux's Latest Temptation
Hidden secrets, high passion, and a healthy dose of humor are Deveraux hallmarks, and Temptation is one of her best. The tempting bestseller features a fish-out-of-water heroine, a hidden family treasure, and a Scottish laird who would rather die than be married.
Temperance O'Neil is a women's rights activist in New York City at the turn of the 20th century. At the age of 29, she had given little thought, time, or attention to her love life and thrown all of her energy into helping the city's poor and downtrodden women. But when Temperance's widowed mother shows up with her new husband, Angus McCairn, everything changes. Angus has control over the O'Neil money and uses it to force Temperance to move to Scotland, where he's determined to make a "proper" lady of her. This results in a brief but amusing battle of wills that culminates in a blackmail deal: If Temperance can make Angus's nephew, James, take a wife within the next six months, then she can have her money and her house back.
Temperance travels to James's home in the Highlands, only to discover a huge, filthy, ramshackle house and a style of living that is far from the city ways she is used to. Showing up under the guise of being the new housekeeper, Temperance sets about tidying up the place and finding James the perfect woman. While trying to sneak a humorous parade of inappropriate candidates past James's watchful eye, Temperance finds herself falling in love with the man. But just as she comes to this realization, the perfect match for James shows up: his childhood sweetheart, who is now a widow. Torn between the work she once did, her passion for the people in her new life, and her love for James, Temperance makes a hard decision that forces her to risk everything she holds dear.
Deveraux makes good use of historical detail and creates characters who are charmingly and believably flawed. There's a fun mystery to solve regarding a hidden family treasure and the reason behind Angus's determination to see his nephew married off, and plenty of obstacles to overcome. All of it is seasoned with Deveraux's trademark humor and passion, a recipe that never fails to satisfy.
--Beth Amos
Bestselling romance writer Hayden Lane has found her soul mate - or rather, created him: he's her latest fictional hero. And she's totally obsessed with him. Barely noticing when her real-life fiance breaks their engagement, she visits a psychic to learn more about him - and is told that in a past life Hayden was Lady de Grey, a promiscuous woman of Edwardian England. Hayden can't resist submitting to a hypnotist's magic. But the trick goes wrong, and instead of merely remembering her past as Lady de Grey, Hayden is living it. Now she will discover quite a different story about a woman history considered a trollop, a spectacular, brooding man, and the rapturous love that would be hers if she dared open her heart to the most mysterious adventure of all.
In the three novellas collected here, bestselling romancer Deveraux explores some of the limits of the genre she knows so well, indicating she may be as spunky as her heroines.
The first story, The Invitation, is set in 1934. Jackie O'Neill returns to her hometown of Chandler, Colo., an accomplished pilot and a lonely widow. Developing her air transport business can keep her happy as a pilot, and her new partner, William Montgomery, promises to make very cozy company--until Jackie realizes he is the same little Billy she babysat for many years ago.
In the second story, Matchmakers, Kane Taggert, who reluctantly agrees to guide four New York City women on a Colorado trail ride, may be enchanted by Ruth Edwards, a calculatingly charming widow, if only he can make it through the two-week trip without throttling Ruth's friend, bestselling author Cale Anderson.
The last story, A Perfect Arrangement, finds Dorie Latham enlisting Cole Hunter, "an aging gunslinger with no visible means of support and the beginnings of a paunch," to play husband and help her elude her sister's matchmaking scheme.
What if you learned that your fiancé was not who he claimed to be?
Engaged to the charming and seductive Greg Anders, Sara Shaw is happily anticipating her wedding in Edilean, Virginia. The date has been set, the flowers ordered, even her heirloom dress is ready. But just three weeks before the wedding, Greg gets a telephone call during the night and leaves without explanation. Two days later, a man climbs up through a trapdoor in the floor of Sara’s apartment, claiming that he is the brother of her best friend and that he’s moving in. While Mike Newland is indeed telling the truth about his identity, his reason for being there reaches far deeper. He’s an undercover detective, and his assignment is to use Sara to track down a woman who is one of the most notorious criminals in the United States—and also happens to be the mother of the man Sara plans to marry.
Mike thinks the job will be easy—if he can figure out how to make a “good” girl like Sara trust him, that is. But Mike has no idea what this mission has in store for him. He’s worked hard to keep private his connections to Edilean, which date back to his grandmother’s time there in 1941. But as Mike and Sara get to know each other, he can’t help but share secrets about himself that he’s told no one else. And in return, Sara opens up to Mike about things she could never reveal to Greg. As the pair work together to solve two mysteries, their growing love begins to heal each of them in ways they never could have imagined.
The first book of a new contemporary romance series set in the mountains of Virginia in a town with full of family legends, romance, and secrets from New York Times bestselling author of the Nantucket Brides trilogy.
Sparks fly as fiery Casey Reddick and brooding Hollywood actor Tate Landers clash in the Virginia summer heat. A chef who puts her career first and her love life second, Casey doesn’t see what every girl in town is swooning over. She made up her mind the moment she met Tate—he’s gorgeous, but stuck-up, nothing like his ex-brother-in-law, Devlin who’s playing the Wickham to Tate’s Darcy in a local production of Pride & Prejudice. Casey makes the perfect Elizabeth Bennett—how could she be star-struck when she’s heard Devlin’s damning stories about Tate? As they rehearse together, however, Casey finds herself attracted to Tate—he’s much more down-to-earth than she expected and any physical contact between the two of them literally gives her a tingling, electric shock. As opening night draws near, Casey has some difficult decisions to make. Whom should she believe? The seemingly sincere, slighted Devlin or Tate, whose rough, arrogant exterior may only be skin deep. She’s come to love that jolt she gets when they touch—but will she get burned?
Linnet plunged into the Kentucky wilderness, leaving behind the remnants of her life in London. But a savage Indian attack on the wagon train wiped out her fellow travelers, and left her alone in a harsh land...at the mercy of a fierce Shawnee tribe. When handsome young brave claimed her, in perfect English, as his own, Linnet knew she was safe. Until the jealousy of his powerful chief forced them to flee on a hazardous journey, fraught with peril and treachery...a journey that threatened both their lives, and their very special love!
She had a perfect life. Then she got a real life.... For nearly twenty years, quiet, unassuming Lillian Manville has devoted herself to her self-made billionaire husband -- and enjoyed a luxurious life of splendid homes, trips, jewels, and clothes. But when James Manville dies in a plane crash, Lillian's grief is compounded by a shocking mystery: all that Jimmie has left to her is an old farmhouse in tiny Calburn, Virginia. Now, Lillian's unexpected circumstances are leading her to a made-over life in Calburn, an exciting businessŠand a sweet new love with a handsome local man. But will she have the courage to unveil the truth surrounding a past scandal and the loss of her husband? The answers may be as close as the mulberry tree in her yard -- and Lillian must dig deep within herself to Wght the secrets and lies that threaten to uproot the past she cherished and the future she treasures....This lush bestseller shines with the passion, intrigue, and warmth that is Jude Deveraux at her best.
It was her father's dying wish that Samantha Elliot search for her grandmother, who'd disappeared from Louisville when she was a baby. So here she was, in big, dirty New York City...her parents were dead, her divorce was final, and she was all alone.... Michael Taggert was Samantha's landlord, and he was easily the most beautiful man she'd ever seen. He was charming, too -- his zest for life was so contagious that in his presence Sam bloomed like a flower after the rain. Yet Mike could only get so far with her -- when he tried to get closer, it was like running into a brick wall.
But Mike wouldn't give up. As they probed her grandmother's past, he was slowly uncovering the joy and affection Samantha had buried long ago -- and leading them closer to the dangerous truth about a bloody spring night in 1928, and a seductive blues singer named Maxie....
With her shining gift for "exquisite and enchanting" (BookPage) storytelling, Jude Deveraux sweeps readers away in a breathtaking follow-up to her beloved New York Times bestseller, The Summerhouse where a marvelous new adventure awaits.
Magic most definitely resides in the Maine summerhouse where the mysterious Madame Zoya has granted the innermost wishes of its visitors. Now, three women have come to this special place with one thing in common: a painful past they would each like to rewrite. Amy, who hides a heartbreaking loss behind her seemingly perfect marriage and family...Faith, a widow in her thirties whose deepest grief is for a man from years ago...and Zoë, an artist shunned by her hometown for reasons she doesn't know, after a traumatic night erased her memory. With their mystical powers, Madame Zoya and her sister Primrose are about to transport the trio to eighteenth-century England to alter Amy's ancestry. But although surprises await each of them, will stepping back in time bring the women the happy endings they seek?