In 1750 Scotland, just four years after Bonnie Prince Charlie's Rising of the Clans, it's hard to know who's loyal to the English and who is faithful to the Stuarts. And it's beautiful seventeen-year-old Iona's perilous mission to ascertain whether the Duke of Arkrae, head of Scotland's most powerful clan, is a traitor - or is he in cahoots with the English. The plan is for Iona to gain the trust of the Duke and his clan by claiming to be the sister he thought to have died as a child. As all around her doubt her claim and call her a 'pretender', Iona struggles to hold her nerve. Her native wit and steel nerves do not fail her - but almost instantly, on meeting the imperious Duke, it's her heart that lets her down. She's fallen deeply, hopelessly in love Traitor or not, surely the Duke could never love the Little Pretender who was sent only to ensnare him?

Destitute after the death of her beloved Papa, Carmela is miserable working as Nanny to the brattish children of the local vicar. So when her closest friend Felicity asks her to take her place in the home of her guardian, the dictatorial Earl of Galeston, she nervously agrees. The subterfuge is necessary to ensure Felicity can marry the love of her life - and possible firstly because none of Felicity's feuding family have set eyes on her since she was a child... And secondly because both young women are blue-eyed, blonde and beautiful. The Earl's ancestral home is awe-inspiring - but it is the Earl himself who makes the greatest impression on Carmela. Growing to appreciate the profound kindness behind his steely facade, she falls deeply, utterly in love... But can true love live when it's based on a lie? The Earl finds the answer in his heart when Carmela's life - and any hope of love - is at stake...

The dashing Marquis of Oakenshaw is asked by the Foreign Secretary to visit Siam to reassure the King who has been upset by Britain and France quarrelling over the frontiers. Wealthy, handsome and a confirmed bachelor, the Marquis asks several friends to accompany him on his yacht to stave off the boredom of the long journey, including the latest Social Beauty - the recently widowed Lady Bradwell. At the last moment, Lady Bradwell, having accepted excitedly, finds herself without a lady's maid. Her cousin Tarina, also very beautiful but extremely poor, agrees to come with her under a disguised name. How Tarina learns for the first time of the intrigues and temptations of Society but how she also lifts her eyes to the stars is told in this romance novel by Barbara Cartland.

Anthea Forthingdale and her sisters Thais, Chloe and Phebe have all been named after famous poems. All very beautiful, after their father's death at Waterloo the girls and their lovely mother, Christobel, are alone and isolated, living in poverty in a small Yorkshire village. Struggling for money and appropriate suitors for her daughter, In May 1819 Lady Forthingdale writes to an old friend, the Countess of Sheldon in London and asks if she will have her Godchild Anthea to stay for the rest of the London Season. The Countess is delighted to have Anthea as her guest because otherwise her husband wishes her to leave for the country. How Anthea meets the handsome Duke of Axminster in her Godmother's house, how he appears bored and contemptuous with her when they dance at Almack's, how Anthea caricatures the Duke with far-reaching and dramatic results and how she learns never to laugh at love, is told in this 182nd book by Barbara Cartland. Published 1976

Connie has always distrusted nice guys. In her experience, they’re just waiting to reveal some horrible secret. And then she meets big, adorable, Henry Samuel Beckett―editor extraordinaire, lover of bow ties, sweet and so cheery she struggles to believe he’s real.

Until Henry Samuel Beckett―or Beck, as he’s known to most―tells her the secret underneath his sunny surface: He’s been single all his life. But in a moment of panic, he’s told everyone at his publishing house that he’s married. And when Connie, an aspiring writer herself, can’t help defending him, she ends up being the fake wife he doesn’t actually have.

When they head off on a writing retreat, surrounded by people convinced this must be a ruse, both of them can't help but agree. Until they share their first kiss, their first touch, their first time in only one bed. Side by side, every night, as the simmering tension builds…Connie starts to wonder if this might be real after all.

Prince Nicolo of Vienz is irritated by his family and his Prime Minister continually begging him to be married for the sake of his country and to prevent it being taken over by a neighbour. He finally agrees to meet Princess Marziale, the daughter of the ruler of Bassanz. However when she arrives, the Prince learns by accident that she is very much in love with the Comte who had been sent to escort her to Vienz. Because the Prince has no wish to marry anyone, least of all someone who is in love with another man, he runs away to Venice without anyone, except his valet, Texxo, knowing that he is leaving the Palace. He orders Texxo to look after the horses at a hotel, while he hires a gondola to explore Venice. On his way down one of the canals the Prince is suddenly aware that a young girl is leaning out of the window of a grand house. Then he sees to his surprise that she is deliberately letting herself down by a rope into the canal. Thinking quickly he moves his gondola so that she falls into it and she begs him to take her away before anyone sees what has happened. How the Prince then finds that the girl he has rescued is incredibly beautiful and extremely intelligent. And how they set off on a thrilling adventure, knowing only each others' Christian names and how they eventually fall in love is all told in this unusal romantic story by BARBARA CARTLAND.

"I cannot let you die for my sake." The beautiful Zena prayed fervently that the Comte de Graumont would survive the duel with the Marquis de Sade early in the morning in the Bois de Boulogne in Paris. Would he ever forgive her for embroiling him in such a dreadful situation. It would break her heart in two, but after this wonderful week in Paris they would never meet again. Zena is really Princess Marie-Therese of Wiedenstein, a small independent Principality between France and Germany. Her brother, Kendric, is the heir to the Throne. Together they had eluded their escorts to escape Court rigour and to spend seven carefree days in Paris under assumed names before Zena becomes engaged to an English Duke. In the glittering whirl of gaiety that marked the Second Empire, Zena pretends to be her brother's mistress, only to find, because of her beauty, that this brings many unexpected problems, not least when she falls madly in love with a debonair French Comte. Zena would count the world well lost for the Comte's impassioned kisses, but could true love triumph over a Royal decree and her father's anger?

After her father's heroic death through the treachery of a Russian femme fatale, young Solita found herself in the care of her 'Aunt' Mildred in Italy - the cousin of her father's comrade in arms Hugo Leigh. On Aunt Mildred's death, a destitute, angry and hurt Solita travels to England to confront her errant Guardian, now Duke of Calverleigh, who had vowed to care for her but apparently neglected his duty for ten long years. It is true, he had forgotten her - largely thanks to his all-consuming infatuation with a beautiful Russian Princess. The chastened Duke determines to take Solita under his protective wing - and, as his charm and kindness dissolve her resentment, Solita's acute intuition and talent for language soon expose the wicked Princess's plot to overthrow the British Raj in India. In this well woven tale of intrigue, Solita and her Guardian are both in mortal danger - and when she saves the Duke's life, not once but twice, he sees this innocent young beauty in a Heavenly new light.

Two kids meet in a hospital gaming room in 1987. One is visiting her sister, the other is recovering from a car crash. The days and months are long there. Their love of video games becomes a shared world -- of joy, escape and fierce competition. But all too soon that time is over.

When the pair spot each other eight years later in a crowded train station, they are catapulted back to that moment. The spark is immediate, and together they get to work on what they love - making games to delight, challenge and immerse players, finding an intimacy in digital worlds that eludes them in their real lives. Their collaborations make them superstars.

This is the story of the perfect worlds Sadie and Sam build, the imperfect world they live in, and of everything that comes after success: Money. Fame. Duplicity. Tragedy.

Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow takes us on a dazzling imaginative quest as it examines the nature of identity, creativity, disability, failure, the redemptive possibilities in play and, above all, our need to connect: to be loved and to love.

Bereaved of her beloved father at sixteen, and now her mother, Belinda Wyncombe's only comfort is that she still has the family's home. Until she finds her irresponsible stepfather, Captain D?Arcy Rowland, has squandered their money and fraudulently mortgaged the house. This means he faces jail while Belinda faces penury, unless she complies with her stepfather's shameful scheme to gain and ruthlessly exploit the trust of the famed adventurer ?Lucky? Logan, who has made a fortune with his legendary ability to find diamonds, gold and other precious metals wherever he travels. Every fibre of Belinda's being recoils from such deceit ? more so when she finds that Marcus ?Lucky? Logan is not the greedy fortune hunter of her imagining but a generous, handsome and heroic man. When murderous thugs come for Marcus in the dead of night, it is Belinda who raises the alarm and saves his life. And when he kisses her, Belinda is suddenly, utterly, in love ? but surely her love is doomed by her deceit?

The beautiful Princess Ileana is virtually ruler of Zokala because her father the King, has been in a coma for over six months. Enjoying the freedom her fathers illness allows her, she is shaken when the Prime Minister informs her that a large number of brigands under the leadership of General Vladilas have entered the country uninvited and are camping in the mountains. To her horror the Princess discovers that the Zokalan Army and its aged Generals have no intelligence of this potential threat, and no strategy to protect their people. A fearless rider and experienced mountain climber, Ileana sets off to see if she can spy on the camp and find out what the brigands are doing. With only one mountain guide to protect her, she bravely determines to discover whether the peaceful land of Zokala is under threat. To her dismay her worst fears are confirmed when she finds that the valley is filled with the latest and most up-to-date guns and weapons of war. Convinced that the brigands intend to invade, she desperately tries to formulate a plan. But before she can alert anyone to raise the alarm she is captured and taken before the General. How the Princess is, for the first time, confronted with a man who is stronger than she is and how she finds herself a victim and captive of a formidable, and relentless enemy is told in this exciting, dramatic and passionate 350th book by Barbara Cartland.

NOW A NETFLIX ORIGINAL SERIES Frustrated at the path her life has taken, Alice decides to take control of her personal life using astrology as her guide in this quirky, steamy, and hilarious romantic comedy. Alice Bassi is (a little) over thirty, single (not by choice), and she can't help but feel that she is failing at this whole adulthood thing. She's stuck in a dead-end job, just found out her ex-boyfriend is engaged to his pregnant girlfriend, and Richard Gere hasn't shown up with flowers and a limo to save her from it all. On one particularly disastrous morning-when Alice would much rather have stayed home, curled up with her favorite rom-coms-she meets Davide Nardi. Handsome yet indecipherable, Davide would be the leading man of Alice's dreams-if only he weren't the "hatchet man" brought in to help streamline production and personnel at the small television network she works for. In the midst of all this, Alice runs into Tio-an actor and astrology expert who is convinced he can turn her life around with a little help from the stars. Skeptical but willing, Alice decides to take Tio's advice and only date men whose Zodiac signs are compatible with hers. Unfortunately, it turns out that astrological affinity doesn't always guarantee a perfect match, nor prevent a series of terrible dates, disappointments, and awkward surprises. It also doesn't keep Davide from becoming more attractive every day. Perfect for fans of Bridget Jones's Diary and Star-Crossed, An Astrological Guide for Broken Hearts is a witty, sexy, and relatable portrait of a modern woman's search for love and a dream job, only to discover that your destiny isn't always written in the stars.

The Honourable Richard Brooke, the younger son of the Earl of Grandbrooke becomes a close friend of Prince Ivan of Karlova. The Prince however does not use his title as he is incognito. He is therefore known as Ivan Sazon. As is usual in Aristocratic families, Richard, as the second son is ordained and is then appointed to a Parish in Oxford. Prince Ivan is often at his house and it was not long before he falls in love with Richard's sister Elizabeth, who is very beautiful. They marry and are very happy for six years and have one child, whom they christen Tarena. Unexpectedly Ivan is called back to Karlova because his father, the King, has died and he has to take his place. He also learns that he is expected to save Karlova and its adjacent country Dubnik from the Russians, who are determined to annex both countries. To do so he has to marry Princess Catrina of Dubnik. Shortly afterwards Elizabeth dies and Tarena goes to live with her Uncle Richard. Tarena is very happy with her uncle and takes her mother's place in tending the garden and helping in the Parish. Then King Ivan dies and it is a tremendous shock to Tarena to learn that she must go to Karlova, become Queen and marry Prince Igor of Dubnik. This will save Karlova from the Russians and she goes with Queen Victoria's blessing. Frightened but convinced that she must follow in her father's footsteps, Tarena travels to Karlova aboard a British Battleship accompanied by her uncle. How Tarena is taught the language of Karlova by the dashing Count Vladimir in charge of the Escort of Karlovan soldiers on board. And how she succeeds in astounding and defying the Russians, at the same time falling in love, is all told in this fast moving tale by BARBARA CARTLAND.

In Book Three of the Milford-Haven saga, protagonist Miranda Jones continues to succeed as an artist, and she has started a relationship with handsome, wealthy Zack Calvin. Yet she's increasingly uncomfortable that he's secretive about his life. Meanwhile Deputy Delmar Johnson has a breakthrough in the case of a missing journalist; Samantha Hugo finds it impossible to keep secret the son she gave up years earlier; restaurant owner Sally O'Mally faces the most difficult secret of her past, and finds love at last with the man she's always loved.

The handsome and eligible Prince Ivan of Rusitania urgently needs to find a bride who is very young, very pretty and very rich. His cousin, Prince Peter of neighbouring Voskia, is determined to prevent him marrying as he intends to inherit Rusitania. He needs revenge on Ivan. Peter invaded Rusitania hoping for a quick victory, instead he suffered a disastrous defeat. Danger follows Ivan from Rusitania to Paris and then to London, where he meets Lady Cecilia Beaumont, who undertakes to help him find a suitable bride. Almost-on-the-shelf, Cecilia is intelligent, stylish and very wealthy. Wary of suitors after her fortune, she has given up on marriage and devotes herself both to her father, the Earl of Yarlington and the clinic she has founded to help the poor of London. Soon Cecilia finds her life threatened and her heart captured. Then she meets Peter's and Ivan's ex-mistress, the voluptuous Countess Natasha. Neither is what they seem on first sight. What happens as Ivan and Cecilia fight for happiness and their lives is told in this absorbing romance by BARBARA CARTLAND.

"?Do you really think you could work as I had to work to keep your mother from starvation? My dear child, you have lived in the lap of luxury all your life. You could no more earn a penny piece than fly over the moon ? Kasia's father laughs scornfully. This is justification for his decision to marry her off to a man she does not love ? purely to save her from fortune hunters. So Kasia runs away to prove him wrong by working as Governess to the Duke of Dreghorne's unruly nephew. As Kasia gains the trust of the child, she earns first the respect and then the growing affection of the Lord. But when she and the boy are kidnapped the stakes are irrevocably raised and the Duke's reputation as a Dare-Devil will be tested one final time... Will Kasia's father forgive her? Will Fate finally unite the hearts of Kasia and the Dare-Devil Duke?"

When the Marquis of Sherwood declines her invitation to a Society occasion with the scathing comment that he has no wish to spend his time with d?butantes, whom he believes are ?half-witted, gauche, stupid and not well-educated?, Lady Katherine Wick is incensed. Even more so when she discovers that he apparently prefers the company of the Gaiety Girls, the femmes fatales of the theatrical set. So she resolves to teach him a lesson by enlisting dear friend Lavina Vernon and her most beautiful, talented and witty friends to pose as Gaiety Girls at an unchaperoned party at the Marquis? country mansion ? there to prove that Society girls are intelligent as well as glamorous. Kind, demure country parson's daughter Lavina is uncomfortable with this deceit ? all the more so as she comes to realise that her heart belongs utterly to the Marquis. The question, once the pretence has been exposed, is whether he will treasure it... Or break it.

Tasked by the Prime Minister himself with bringing to justice the smuggling gangs that are rife around the Kent and Sussex coast, esteemed Napoleonic war hero Lord Cheriton is surprised to find a beautiful young girl called Wivina living in his dead and deeply hated father's supposedly vacant mansion. She has no idea who he is - and when he hears his reputation as a cold-hearted Lord who would turn her out without a qualm, he tells her he is just a passing friend... Nevertheless Wivina seems terrified by his presence - but why? Realising the entire village is at the mercy of a cut-throat gang and Wivina's prey to its murderous leader, Lord Cheriton endeavours to save the young beauty who's stolen his heart while accomplishing his mission to stop the smugglers once and for all. For the first time, he is fighting not for his country but for the love of his life - and the life of his love.

Just seventeen, Lady Caroline Faye is already the toast of the Season and accustomed to the ways of genteel Society. So when notorious cad Sir Montagu Reversby offers to drive her in his phaeton from London to Sevenoaks, she innocently accepts - little knowing that he is planning to fake a broken axle so that she will be forced to spend the night alone with him at a remote country inn. But Lady Caroline of made of sterner stuff than the predatory Sir Montagu imagined. Escaping his lecherous clutches, she finds refuge in the imperious Brecon Castle only to discover that her new-found haven and its master, Lord Brecon, harbour dark and terrible secrets. A murderous plot is afoot and Caroline's innocent mistake will come back to haunt her as heartbreak and humiliation in the dark, foreboding castle turn to hope and then ardent, all-consuming passion.

Eighteen-year-old Mistral is an innocent abroad in the sophisticated Cote D'Azur, where princes and millionaires mingle in the casinos and sumptuous hotels while others plot to relieve them of their riches. Accompanied only by her embittered and domineering Aunt Emilie and kindly servant Jeanne, Mistral appears dressed all in grey like a ghost in the salons and ballrooms of Monte Carlo and sets Society's tongues wagging. It's not long before her waif-like beauty has men falling at the feet of Madamoiselle Fantome - gentlemen such as Sir Robert Stanford. But on her sister's bewildering but strict instructions, she must not converse with any but the Russian Prince Nikolai, who's also keen to woo her, as is an opulent Indian Rajah... Something about Mistral touches Sir Robert's heart - and he cannot understand why Mistral appears afraid to be with him. Yet both of them crave love. Only if Mistral's innocent eyes are finally opened to the truth - that Aunt Emilie's motives are borne not of concern for her niece but of pure evil and greed - will she find her heart's desire...

Having sailed with Sir Francis Drake, swashbuckling privateer Rodney Hawkhurst yearns for a galleon of his own with which to plunder the Spanish Main in the name of Queen Elizabeth. Seeking investment from Sir Harry Gillingham, he has a fleeting encounter with an elfin, tomboyish golden-red-haired beauty ? Sir Harry's youngest daughter Lizbeth ? and is bewitched by her limpid green eyes. Yet it is fair and golden-haired elder sister Phillida with whom he first falls in love... Granted his finances on the condition that Sir Harry's weak, possibly even traitorous son sails with him in the hope that the mission will make him a man, Rodney embarks on a voyage of blood, honour and glory in which he gains great riches but loses his heart, not once, but twice. The risks are great but so are the rewards: wealth beyond compare and, as Rodney finally discovers, a greater, deeper, more passionate love than he ever imagined possible.

Have you ever been so desperate that you would do literally anything for money? This is the tragic situation Giselda finds herself in, with no money for an operation her younger brother desperately needs to save his life, and no one to turn to. Ground down by poverty she plucks up her courage to offer the only thing she has of value - her purity. Choking back her pride and knowing that she is about to forfeit his respect, she approaches her wealthy employer, the handsome Earl of Lyndhurst, who is recovering from his injuries sustained in the Battle of Waterloo. Appalled that this frail and innocent young girl should be faced with such a terrible decision, he vows to find a way to help her without offending her dignity. He knows she would never accept his charity, and she refuses to confide in him the reasons for her family's poverty. Intrigued by the air of mystery about a girl of obvious quality reduced to the role of maidservant, the Earl decides to discover why a beautiful young woman of strong principles has been reduced to such extreme measures. Discovering her to have gentle hands and wonderful nursing skills he employs her as his private nurse and turns his sharp mind to uncovering her secrets - and learns his own lessons in love in the process.

Imperious, handsome and gallant in battle, the Duke of Kingswood has stolen the hearts of many society Belles - but he is 'a block of ice which nobody can melt', determined never to marry. To continue the family line, he is counting on his cousin and heir presumptive Richard to marry well and produce a son. To the Duke's horror, Richard's heart is bewitched by society siren and acclaimed beauty Lady Delyth Maulden - and disaster turns to tragedy when Richard finds his beloved in the arms of another, shoots him and turns his gun on himself. With Richard at death's door, the Duke is determined that he shall find a more suitable young beauty to mend his broken heart; to marry him and thwart Lady Delyth's scheming ways. Like manna from heaven, a beautiful young grey-eyed waif calls to him for help for her ailing father as he rides through his estate. Could this modest, unassuming beauty be the ideal bride he seeks for Richard?