Books like 'Joss and The Countess'
Readers who enjoyed Joss and The Countess by S.M. LaViolette & Minerva Spencer also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
historical romance historical-fiction steamy bodyguard age-gap suspense sad angst industrial-era
-
Dare to Be Wild by Emma V. Leech
Rated: 4.60 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsTheir mothers dared all for love.Just imagine what their daughters will do...A serious dilemma...Miss Elspeth Cadogan is a cuckoo in a very lively nest. Her parents, Jerome and Bonnie Cadogan, are notorious for their wild parties and practical jokes. Elspeth is sensible, bookish, and just wants a quiet life... -
Lady Saves The Duke by Annabelle Anders
Rated: 4.63 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsMiss Abigail Wright, disillusioned spinster, hides her secret pain behind encouraging smiles and optimistic laughter. Self-pity, she believes, is for the truly wretched. So when her mother insists she attend a house party—uninvited—she determines to simply make the best of it…until an unfortunate wardrobe malfunction...Categorized as:
regency victorian industrial-era historical-fiction steamy female-mc forced-proximity historical -
The Mystery of Mr Daventry by Adele Clee
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsHow long can one keep up a charade?A gentleman who hides many secrets.Society thinks it has the measure of Lucius Daventry, illegitimate son of the Duke of Melverley, but they know nothing of the dangerous man who lies beneath the constructed façade. As a member of a secret group known as the Order of Themis, he works to right injustices, to make wicked men pay... -
The Devereaux Affair by Adele Clee
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsTwo lonely children form a bond.As the daughter of a famed courtesan, Julianna de Lacy had seen more than her share of heartbreak. As a child, her own heart was broken the night her mother dragged her from the Marquess Devereaux’s mansion and forced her into a stranger’s carriage...Categorized as:
age-gap female-mc historical-fiction industrial-era literary-fiction regency steamy suspense -
-
Once Upon a Devastatingly Sweet Kiss by Bree Wolf
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsIn this opposites-attract Regency romance by USA Today bestselling and HOLT Medallion winning author BREE WOLF, an untamed lady and a proper duke are put to the test when they fall in love against all odds.An untamed lady.A proper duke.And a love that goes against all the rules.England 1803: LADY HARRIET BEAUMONT, daughter to the Earl of Whickerton, is a free spirit, always has been...Categorized as:
female-mc historical-fiction industrial-era literary-fiction regency suspense victorian adult -
The Best Part of Love by Amy D'Orazio
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsElizabeth Bennet may capture Mr. Darcy’s heart, but what is the truth of her past? When Fitzwilliam Darcy meets Miss Elizabeth Bennet, a simple country girl from a humble estate, he has no idea that she—and indeed, the entire town of Meryton—harbors a secret. Before she meets Darcy, Elizabeth has spent two years hiding from the men who killed her beloved first husband...Categorized as:
forced-proximity historical-fiction industrial-era literary-fiction regency sad victorian adult -
Wicked Exile by K.J. Jackson
Rated: 4.48 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsShe can't afford to love anyone. He will never marry. They can never have a future...or can they?A fallen lady with a heart of gold and a spine of steel.Long ago, Madame Juliet Thomson was exiled from her family. A fallen lady, she's worked in one of London's most famous gaming hells for the last six years... -
A Bargain with the Rake by Sadie Bosque
Rated: 4.42 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsA duchess determined to love...Evie Montgomery, the Duchess of Somerset, has promised her grandfather she will marry for love, and she is determined to keep said promise. Only, the man she loves is the most notorious rake in the country. And he hasn't spared her a glance in the seven years since she's known him... -
Your Scarred Heart by Adele Clee
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsAn enquiry agent hiding from her past.When Miss Honora Wild meets her first client, she fears there has been a dreadful mistake. Having escaped from a domineering father, she shouldn’t have to work for a man suspected of murder, one whose mood matches his frightening facial scar. She shouldn’t have to venture to his clifftop castle to prove the devil is innocent of the crime... -
The Dance of Love by Meara Platt
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsShe was ballrooms and glitter. He was grit and brawn. They should have been wrong for each other, but they weren’t. This blazing hot Brayden cousin has no idea what the beautiful, obviously refined young woman is doing in his office, but he has no intention of ever letting her go...Categorized as:
forced-proximity historical-fiction industrial-era regency victorian adult book fiction -
No Life for a Lady by Adele Clee
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsAfter almost a year spent playing chaperone to Mr Daventry’s female enquiry agents, Miss Trimble knows she must find a new position. All his agents are married, and so what other reason could he have for calling her to his office late at night? Except her employer is a master matchmaker, a man who has discovered her true identity, knows her real name and her darkest secret...Categorized as:
female-mc historical-fiction industrial-era literary-fiction regency steamy suspense victorian -
Duke of Decadence: Regency Romance by Tammy Andresen
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsThe Duke of Decadence has a secret...Well, to be honest, Bash has several. His father, the Demon Duke, might have been the cruelest man in all of England. Bash hates his own title, the very one he inherited, and all the trappings that come with it. And most secret of all, he hopes never to marry and carry on that family legacy. Which is downright scandalous for a duke to even think... -
A Wager too Wicked by Alyssa Clarke
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsLove becomes the ultimate gamble when a wager turns into a passionate affair.Lady Victoria Knightly is determined to prevent her cousin from being trapped in a loveless marriage. To achieve this, she decides to spy on Ethan Darlington, the formidable Earl of Townsend, hoping to uncover secrets to thwart his courtship intentions...Categorized as:
industrial-era regency victorian steamy historical-fiction romance historical fiction -
The Steel Rogue by K.J. Jackson
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsA scarred lady, living in the outskirts of society. A hardened rogue brought up from the worst of humanity. One seeks revenge. One seeks redemption. Neither is prepared for a love that will defy all odds.A scarred lady, living in the fringes. Lady Alton knows she doesn't fit into polite society. Her scars determined that long ago, and marrying a viscount never helped the matter...Categorized as:
angst female-mc historical-fiction industrial-era literary-fiction regency sad steamy -
-
The Duke of Ruin by Darcy Burke
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsWith her betrothal to a duke in tatters and scandal imminent, Diana Kingman has two choices: live in certain ignominy or flee into obscurity. Diana wants solitude. She never wished to wed in the first place. However, her father will stop at nothing to betroth her to one of the finest titles in the realm...no matter how loathsome the bearer...Categorized as:
angst forced-proximity historical-fiction industrial-era regency victorian adult audiobook -
The Blood of a Baron by K.J. Jackson
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsA deal with the devil never goes according to plan in this newest novel from USA Today Bestseller K.J. Jackson.Her last hope.With her brother dead and destitution looming, spinster Lady Elania has only one hope left—finding the mysterious box her brother had left her and trading it for the modest fortune that would last her the rest of her days...Categorized as:
female-mc historical-fiction industrial-era literary-fiction regency steamy suspense victorian -
Mine at Midnight by Adele Clee
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsWhen Miss Eliza Dutton discovers her first case for the Order involves helping a lord who has a gambling habit, her instinct is to refuse. The fact her father lost his fortune and his life at a gaming hell is the reason she despises Lord Roxburgh. But Eliza is given an ultimatum: help the handsome rogue or find work elsewhere... -
The Wayward One by Danelle Harmon
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsThe bluest of blood; the boldest of hearts; the de Montfortes will take your breath away." Irish Captain Ruaidri O' Devir has no love for the English. Taken from his family and pressed into the Royal Navy at a young age, he is now a commander for the fledgling American Continental Navy, hand-picked by John Adams himself to steal a potent new explosive from the British... -
The Duke Identity by Grace Callaway
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsWelcome to the Game of Dukes , a world that draws from London's finest drawing rooms and its darkest rookeries. Some dukes are peers of the realm, others lords of London's underworld, but all are relentless in their pursuit of justice, power, and passion. These commanding men will meet their match—in the strong, feisty women who capture their hearts...Categorized as:
bodyguard female-mc forced-proximity historical-fiction industrial-era regency steamy suspense -
The Miracle of Love by Meara Platt
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsHe was only assigned to protect her for the week, but his heart wanted to protect her forever.Enjoy this next installment in the humorous and heartwarming, bestselling Regency romance Book of Love series.Deklan Quinton is a blazing hot hero who has more than earned his reputation as the Crown’s top agent... -
Writing the Rake by Ellie St. Clair
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsShe knew a rake would never do. But her heart never received the message.Alice Cunningham loves two things—writing and romance. A magazine picks up her serial, on the premise that she bases her stories on relationships amongst the ton. The only problem? She has never known passion of her own, except for one kiss with a man she knows will only ever leave her a broken heart... -
Tempted: A Pride and Prejudice Variation by Nicole Clarkston, Janet Taylor
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsRunning from her past, Stumbling into the unknown, and Drawn to a future she cannot have. Elizabeth Bennet left all she loved behind when she accepted Colonel Fitzwilliam's hand. Dragging her sister Jane, her cousin Billy Collins, and a horrible secret along with her, she leaves her home and family in the United States and sets sail for England... and safety...Categorized as:
female-mc historical-fiction industrial-era literary-fiction regency victorian adult billionaire -
The Redemption of the Puzzling Governess: A Clean & Sweet Regency Historical Romance by Fanny Finch
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsHe is her last chance. And she will protect him at any cost... Tormented by his guilt over the past, Mark Collingridge, the Earl of Dulshire, is blind to the danger that circles him closer and closer. Only one person can see the imminent threat: Delia Caulfield, his daughter’s new governess, who has confused him so much with the unexpected feelings she has awoken inside him...Categorized as:
regency victorian industrial-era historical-fiction female-mc literary-fiction christian historical -
Because the Earl Loved Me by Ellie St. Clair
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsDesire for drama... Known by all as a beauty with a haunting, hypnotic voice, Anne Finchley has always longed for more than marriage to a nobleman. She dreams of gracing the stage as an actress, an occupation unheard of for the daughter of a duke. But a chance meeting at a country theatre changes her fate forever. Perfectly planned..Categorized as:
regency victorian historical-fiction industrial-era female-mc literary-fiction romance historical -
-
Dare to Risk It All by Emma V. Leech
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsA Magnet for Trouble... When Greer Cadogan goes to her sister’s Christmas House party, she is all agog to meet the wicked Raphe Coote, Baron de Ligne. Raphe is her brother-in-law, the Viscount Roxborough’s best friend. The sinfully handsome baron is rusticating in the countryside at Rowsley Hall after sinking into a pit of vice so deep he nearly didn’t climb out again... -
The Secret of the Dashing Detective by Ellie St. Clair
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsLady Juliana knows she is in danger. But does she really need a bodyguard?One abduction and suddenly her brother, the Duke, begins treating her like a damsel in distress. Lady Juliana, however, is anything but – she is a woman who knows her own mind, and is determined to make a difference... -
Dare to Be Brazen by Emma V. Leech
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsTheir mothers dared all for love.Just imagine what their daughters will do...Dare to be BrazenThe perfect lady…Lady Elizabeth Adolphus, eldest daughter of the Duke and Duchess of Bedwin is the most sought-after young lady of the ton. Seen as the perfect debutante, beautiful, sweet-natured, and demure, she is besieged by offers from eligible gentlemen. And she doesn’t want any of them... -
Sophia and the Duke by Stacy Reid, AuthorsDesigns
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsAnother witty, sensual, and smart romance in the Forever Yours series!After losing the family she loved, Miss SophiaKnightly lives a carefree and unrestricted life; her tomorrows are promised tono one. The last thing she expected was William Astor, the Duke of Wycliffe, tocreate the scandal of the Season by chasing after her at a ball... -
When Scandal Came to Town by Adele Clee
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsRead the next thrilling adventure in the Scandalous Sons series. Can a past betrayal ever be forgiven? A shocking surprise awaits him at the Serpentine. When Benedict Cavanagh, the illegitimate son of the Earl of Tregarth, discovers the lady he was once destined to marry lying half-naked and ruined in Hyde Park at dawn, his conscience demands he does something to save her...Categorized as:
age-gap female-mc historical-fiction industrial-era literary-fiction regency victorian adult -
Kiss Me, If You Dare by Alyssa Clarke
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsNever accept a wager to kiss a rogue. There is the danger of winning.Miss Frederica Williams accepted a dare to kiss Percy Devereaux Marquess of Wolverton, her guardian. That he is a disreputable rake, and she is hopelessly falling in love with him makes the situation far, far worse... -
An Offer from the Marquess by Sadie Bosque
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsIt was the worst day of her life... Her wedding dayMiss Isabel Lewis is down on her luck. Previously a perfect hostess and a proper lady, lately she’s been running into one trouble after another. Literally. One such unfortunate event costs her the respectability she worked so hard to earn. Now she has a choice, either marry a man she loathes or spend her life a ruined lady... -
The Mystery of the Debonair Duke by Ellie St. Clair
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsThere was one man Lady Emma vowed she would never marry.The rakish Duke of Warwick — brother to her very best friend.But one chance encounter on a balcony has Lady Emma questioning all she ever believed about the duke. When her friend — and the duke’s sister — is abducted, they must work together to find her, and determine who has been threatening the Remington family...Categorized as:
female-mc historical-fiction industrial-era literary-fiction regency victorian adult book -
Adam by Sydney Jane Baily
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsIn this sizzling early Victorian romance by USA Today bestselling author Sydney Jane Baily the heir to an earldom must take a suitable wife... unless he falls for a middle-class governess with a shadowy past.Lord Diamond leads a charmed life. The only brother amongst four sisters, he is touted as the best thing since frothy syllabub. Every young lady in London wants his leg shackled to hers...Categorized as:
industrial-era victorian regency historical-fiction steamy literary-fiction female-mc romance -
A Governess Should Never... Tempt a Prizefighter by Emily Windsor
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 12 ratings“So tell me, Miss Griffin, why should I employ you as governess?”A question to rouse fear within the breast of any prospective governess but for Matilda, a lady without references, appropriate brown clothing or any experience with children whatsoever, doubly so... -
-
The Earl’s Enticement: 2nd Edition: A Scottish Regency Historical Romance by Collette Cameron
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsShe won’t be tamed. A fiery, unconventional Scot, Adaira Ferguson wears breeches, swears, and has no more desire to marry than she does to follow society’s dictates of appropriate behavior. She trusts no man with the secret she desperately protects. He can’t forget...Categorized as:
female-mc historical-fiction industrial-era literary-fiction regency victorian adult book -
Dauntless by Adele Clee
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsNoah Ashwood has suffered his fair share of injustices. It’s why he joined the Gentlemen of the Order, why he solves crimes committed against the vulnerable and needy. To his friends he’s known as Dauntless—a fearless fighter, a man with steely determination. And yet his strength is tested when he forms an infatuation for his new client...Categorized as:
female-mc historical-fiction industrial-era literary-fiction regency suspense victorian adult -
Wagers Gone Awry by Collette Cameron
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsBrooke Culpepper resigned herself to spinsterhood when she turned down the only marriage proposal she’d likely ever receive to care for her family. After her father dies, a distant cousin inherits the estate and becomes their guardian but permits Brooke to act in his stead...Categorized as:
female-mc historical-fiction industrial-era literary-fiction regency victorian adult book -
The Governess Diaries by Chasity Bowlin
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsLove 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...Categorized as:
historical-fiction industrial-era regency suspense steamy victorian romance historical -
The Happiest Couple in the World: A Sequel to Pride & Prejudice by Amy D'Orazio
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsIt is settled between us already, that we are to be the happiest couple in the world.When Elizabeth Bennett married Fitzwilliam Darcy in autumn of 1812, she believed that all unhappiness and strife between them had been laid to rest. Their misunderstandings resolved, she wished for nothing more than to enjoy their happily ever after.Alas married life brings with it a new set of challenges...Categorized as:
historical-fiction industrial-era literary-fiction regency sad adult anthologies fiction -
The Study of a Rake by Kathleen Ayers
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsThe widowed Duke of Averell is trying to be a better man...But when he spies a young woman, reading "The Iliad" beneath a tree, no less, Marcus forgets all his good intentions. Miss Weatherly is outspoken, intelligent and enamored of the ancient Greeks. When she brazenly offers to show him the constellations later that night, Marcus readily agrees... -
The Art of Stealing a Duke's Heart by Ellie St. Clair
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsIt was only supposed to be one night.Except that night of deceit leads to a mistaken identity and the duke finding his new governess. A governess who is out to steal his painting -- and perhaps his heart.Calliope Murphy was determined to prove to her family that she was as capable as the rest of them. That she could paint a copy of a priceless masterpiece and steal from a pompous, arrogant duke... -
The Rose and the Earl by Jillian Eaton
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsFour roses, pretty and fairAll with different color hairLenora, stern and strict and wiseBridget, quiet, bookish, and shyAnnabel who wants happily afterEloise who will bend to no masterIn their secret garden waitingFor a man to set their heart racing... Annabel has long dreamed of what her wedding day will be like... -
August Sunrise by Merry Farmer
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsIndustrial heiress Marigold Bellowes knows that marriage is just another business transaction. She would, seeing as she's been pursued by greedy men who only want her father's fortune for years. But she's determined to take her fate into her own hands and not to be a prize in a merger... -
Benedict's Commands by Golden Angel
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsLove? Marriage? Lady Christina Rowan, Dowager-Marchesse of Stanhope, doesn't think so. She avoids both heavy emotions and heavy commitments, and has ever since she discovered the truth behind her first husband's death. As a widow she's found freedom in having lovers without love...Categorized as:
historical-fiction steamy angst female-mc industrial-era victorian regency historical -
-
The Earl She Ruined by Jessie Clever
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsRansom Shepard, the Earl of Knighton, has never known love. When his father died tragically young, his mother refused to care for Ransom, leaving him in the care of the help as she descended into the grief of losing her husband. Abandoned by the one person who should have loved him unconditionally, Ransom chose a life as far from love as possible...Categorized as:
industrial-era regency historical-fiction steamy female-mc literary-fiction victorian historical -
The Earl and His Lady by G.L. Robinson
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsCan a country girl adapt to life as a Countess in London?When Sophy Hawthorne married the fifth Earl of Hale, she had no idea what she was letting herself in for. She is thrust into a society riddled with jealousies, infidelities and gossip. The Earl is used to it all, and assumes his wife will always know what to do. They both make mistakes... -
A Countess in Her Own Right by Fanny Finch
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsAn accident brought her into his life. He will do everything in his power to keep her. After a terrible fire leaves her an orphan – and the only peeress in her own right in all of England - Mary Hillington will suddenly have to learn how to be a countess. Even if she still bears deep wounds that cannot be hidden... Duncan Winstanley is not the person he pretends to be... -
Curse of the Wicked Scoundrel by Sadie Bosque
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsPeople call him Hades. He is like the dark prince himself: enigmatic, mysterious and dangerous. Nobody knows his real name. Nobody knows anything about him. Only that he's been cursed to lead his life in loneliness. Because everyone who's ever been close to him, very soon, died.Eloise has led a dull, practical life...Categorized as:
steamy historical-fiction suspense industrial-era regency victorian female-mc romance -
Kiss Me, My Duke by Fenna Edgewood
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsIn this simmering steamy Regency romance by USA Today bestselling author Fenna Edgewood, a handsome but arrogant duke and a prim young housekeeper join forces in a dangerous endeavour… only to find out that falling in love will be the greatest risk of all.Lost: One duke's sister. Found: The unexpected love of a lifetime... -
Io: The Shrew by Minerva Spencer, Minerva Spencer
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsThis is Lady Io Hale's story...What happens when you cross a feisty, independent, condom-distributing bluestocking with a bossy, proper, too-attractive-for-his-own-good tyrant?More heat and excitment than a box of fireworks crossed with a bonfire!Don't miss this super steamy, smart and sexy story of two strong people butting heads and falling in love.Guaranteed happily ever after..Categorized as:
forced-proximity bodyguard age-gap historical-fiction industrial-era victorian romance historical
Or - use our amazing romance book finder to get recommendations based on your favorite content tropes and themes. Mix and match at will.