Showing results by author "Jess Michaels" in All Categories

From Dickens's A Christmas Carol to the ghost stories of M.R. James, the tradition of a haunted tale at Christmas has flourished across the centuries. The twelve stories of The Winter Spirits are all centred around Christmas or Advent, boldly and playfully re-imagining a beloved tradition for a modern audience. Taking you from a haunted Tuscan villa to a remote Scottish island with a dark secret, and drawing inspiration from festive traditions from all around the globe, these vibrant haunted stories are your ultimate companion for frosty nights.

Lysandra Keates is running out of options. Her father is dead, her mother is ill, and her efforts to find respectable employment have ended in failure. With her small savings bleeding away, she swallows her pride - and her terror - and turns to Vivien Manning, an infamous courtesan, to match her with a wealthy protector. For years, Viscount Andrew Callis has lived a monastic existence at his country estate, hardening his body against the snobbish, lazy young man he once was...

The wild and charismatic Duke of Abernathe is the kind of friend anyone would wish to have. He even formed the 1797 Club, consisting of 10 men who would all be dukes. But he has full-throatedly declared he will never marry and no one understands why. But Miss Emma Liston doesn't care why. A longtime wallflower with an absentee father who is a scandal waiting to happen, she needs to marry. Now. She decides to take a wild chance and ask the help of her friend Meg's brother James.

There is something peculiar about the hour after midnight. It is the time when darkness reigns. And strange things roam the earth. In this dazzling collection of new and original haunted tales, thirteen bestselling and much-loved authors bring this hour to vivid, spine-tingling life. So curl up, light a candle, and wait for the clocks to strike . . .

Winter, with its unsettling blend of the cosy and the sinister, has long been a popular time for gathering by the bright flame of a candle, or the warm crackling of a fire, and swapping stories of ghosts and strange happenings. Now eight best-selling, award-winning authors, master storytellers of the sinister and the macabre bring this time-honoured tradition to vivid life in a spellbinding collection of new and original haunted tales.

Simon Greene, Duke of Crestwood has been obsessed with Margaret Rylon for years. There is only one thing standing between them: her fiancé, who also happens to be his best friend. He is desperate not to destroy everything in his life by giving in to his desires, but when Meg and Simon are trapped alone together overnight during a storm, the resulting scandal not only breaks Meg's existing engagement, but forces Simon to offer for her instead.

When the Jasper Kincaid, the Earl of Harcourt, offered to marry one of the infamous Shelley triplets, he was doing it for the dowry to refill his depleted coffers, not for anything so silly as love. But when he realizes it is Thomasina Shelley masquerading as his fiancée at their final engagement ball, not his true intended, a desire for her that he has been ignoring sparks. And when it becomes clear her sister has run away with another, an opportunity arises for a marriage with a much deeper connection.

Jude Samson has worked for the Woodley family for such a long time that he is seen as a brother. But he has very unbrotherly feelings toward the youngest of the clan, Lady Audrey. When they find themselves off at the family's country estate, long simmering desires will come to the forefront and Jude won't be able to stop himself from taking that one, oh-so-forbidden taste.

After her abusive husband’s death, the Duchess of Gooding has been relegated to Kent’s Row, a place where widows are put out to pasture. Valaria isn’t upset by this. She’s running from her past and happy to be independent and away from prying eyes. And she knows she won’t be lonely after she meets and befriends two other young dowager duchesses who are also residing in the Row. Oh yes, life could be perfect…as long as no one ever finds out her secret.

Although Celeste Montgomery was forced into a marriage a year ago, her husband is more often gone than home, and she is living a quiet life. Until Investigator Owen Gregory shows up at her home to tell her some outrageous news: Her husband has been murdered...and he was also a bigamist, making her the third of three wives.

Recently widowed Charlotte may be the proper Countess of Portsmith to society, but when she is around Ewan, she still feels like the enraptured little girl who met him decades before when her brother was best friends with him and his cousin. A planned trip to spend Christmas with their families at Duke of Donburrow Ewan’s estate reunites the old friends. But when a storm keeps the others from arriving on time, Charlotte decides to stop living in fear and pursue the man she has desired and loved her entire life.

Adelaide Longford is London’s most overlooked bluestocking wallflower and that is fine by her. Being ignored gives her the perfect opportunity to sneak out and secretly take on the persona of the most celebrated actress of the day, Lydia Ford. The thrill of walking the boards and hearing the applause of those who watch her is the most exciting experience of her life. Until Graham Everly, Duke of Northfield comes into her life. He is broken after the humiliating loss of his longtime fiancé to his supposed best friend and they enter into a lusty affair which sets her body on fire. Graham has no idea why he’s so attracted to both the bespectacled, prickly Adelaide and the passionate Lydia, but soon he is caught in a dance with them both and torn between which future he wants to pursue. When Graham finds out Adelaide’s secret identity will he be able to accept both parts of her? And will he be able to save her from a lurking danger that neither of them could have ever foreseen?

Lucas Vincent may be the Duke of Willowby but he’s never acted as such. He’s been too busy working for the war department as a spy. But years of dangerous work has finally caught up to him, and he was involved in a violent attack that nearly killed him. Diana Oakford was raised by a physician who served the King’s war department, and she knows better than most the dangers that job entails. She was also trained in healing, so when she’s asked to come and assist with Lucas’s recovery, she has a hard time refusing.

For years Serafina McPhee has been engaged to marry the heir to the duke of Hartholm; and for almost as long, she has been struggling to find a way out of that engagement. When he suddenly dies, she does not mourn but thrills at the idea that she will be free. Unfortunately, best-laid plans go awry when the next in line for the title, her intended's cousin, Raphael "Rafe" Flynn, is forced to take over the engagement. But Serafina knows Rafe's reputation as a libertine and wants nothing to do with him, either, even if he is devastatingly handsome.

Widow Rosalinde Wilde is on her way to her beloved sister's wedding when an unexpected storm waylays her at an overcrowded inn. There she meets a tempting stranger who sweeps her into a night of unforgettable passion. Grayson Danford never expected a night with the irresistible Mrs. Wilde, but she was a welcome distraction from the unpleasant duty of breaking up his brother's impending nuptials. He's shocked when he discovers his passionate lover is none other than the sister of his brother's intended.

The last of the Shelley triplets to remain unmarried, Juliana Shelley has never felt like she’s recognized as her own person. But now, scarred by a terrible attack, she’s never felt so alone. Or so tired of cleaning up every else’s mess. She longs for something just for herself. A taste of the desire that seems to make her sisters so very happy in their marriages. One desperate night, she goes to the wicked Donville Masquerade looking for trouble and finds a handsome, masked stranger more than willing to provide it.

A mistress should never be foolish enough to fall in love with her protector, nor trust him with her financial future. Mariah Desmond did both, and now her dearly departed protector has left her with nothing.Forced to seek another protector, she's determined that this time, she'll lead with her survival instinct-not her heart. But when she attends one of Vivien Manning's infamous parties, the familiar face of her late lover's best friend throws her for a loop.

Vivien Manning, the notorious Mistress Matchmaker, is tired. Tired of the parties, tired of the lovers, tired of being her. So she decides to leave London behind once and for all and start a whole new life. But before she goes, she must tie up some loose ends, and makes a list that includes a man she's never been fully able to let go - Benedict Greystone. Benedict was broken when Vivien broke off their affair years ago. When she comes back into his life - and his bed - he isn't certain of anything except the power of their desire.

Annabelle Flynn is the sister of London's two biggest libertines, and her reaction has been to become the picture of purity. But the sensual nature of her family has not been lost on her, and she is troubled by urges she dare not follow. She ignores the demands of her body and instead throws herself into two different activities. One is pursuing a proper marriage in society and the other is trying to save her broken brother by following him into the shocking Donville Masquerade, part of a hell run by the mysterious Marcus Rivers.

Pippa Montgomery never thought her life would go like this. When she found out her late husband was a bigamist and had been murdered, she thought nothing could ever be the same. When she met his brother Rhys, the earl of Leighton, she knew it.