Coming Summer 2017!
What if your favorite superheros had Regency-era doppelgangers? And what if a group of them were recruited by the Duke of Wellington to gather intelligence for him during the Napoleonic Wars while they protected their own parts of the realm?
You'd get The Heart of a Hero series.
Nine authors are bringing nine full-length novels to you this summer, each telling the story of a man or woman who is a hero in all senses of the word.
No Rest for the Wicked by Cora Lee
Releases July 6
Michael Devlin is a man of great learning but little means, living in one of the poorest sections of Dublin. By day, he practices law at the Four Courts and gives reading lessons to the local children. By night he’s the man in the mask, prowling the streets of The Liberties defending the people—his people—from those who would prey upon them. But when his estranged wife appears on his doorstep with a summons from Sir Arthur Wellesley, both of Michael’s worlds are turned upside down. What will happen to The Liberties if he obeys Sir Arthur’s command to meet in Cork? Can he even trust the woman who married then left him five years ago?
As a spy for Sir Arthur Wellesley, Joanna Pearson Devlin has executed this same mission flawlessly many times before: locate the subject, transport him safely, and present him to her employer. When Sir Arthur sends her out one more time to bring in her estranged husband, Joanna knows this mission will be anything except flawless. But Napoleon’s agents are everywhere, and Michael is an important part of the team Sir Arthur is assembling to stop them. For the sake of her country, Joanna heads to Dublin even as her discomfort grows. Will she be able to put aside her uncertainties and convince her husband to join the fight? Can they learn to work together again if he agrees?
Only a Hero Will Do by Alanna Lucas
Releases July 13
Captain Grant Alexander is an enigma in London society. Dashing and handsome, he coldly eschews marriage. But the ton knows nothing of his role in the Legion: to bring Typhon, the traitor who seeks to destroy the British monarchy, to justice.
When Grant is thrown together with fellow Legion member Elizabeth Atwell, he’s instantly beguiled yet exasperated by this beautiful viscount’s daughter. She has little interest in combing the marriage mart for a well-bred, well-heeled husband, but is adept at code-breaking and handling a bow and arrow. She also refuses to do as she is told, insisting she accompany Grant on his mission.
As Typhon continues to evade capture and dark forces are at work, Grant realizes he must act, not only to protect the realm but Elizabeth too…not to mention his heart, which is in danger of thawing every time she comes close…
Once Bitten by Aileen Fish
Releases July 20
Believing she’s found the only man who can appreciate her passion for the stage, Mary Jane eagerly accepts Lord Adam’s request to help him expose Boiselle. At first, the young lord appears shy and unassuming, but the more time they spend together, the more he seems to be falling in love. A younger son of a duke would never be allowed to marry an actress, but Mary Jane has never spent much time worrying about what Polite Society says. Unable to hide her feelings any longer, she pushes him to declare his attachment to her.
Once he realizes the game has changed, can Lord Adam elude this beautiful distraction, or will their pretend romance trap Lord Adam in the silky web of love?
Lightning Strikes Twice by Jillian Chantal
Releases July 27
Laurence Fortescue is not all he seems. On the surface, he’s a lecturer at Oxford with a scientific mind. Hetty’s father admires his work and allows Laurence to use his personal laboratory for experiments. Laurence tolerates the girl hanging around but rarely notices her as he’s wrapped up in his tests.
When she’s struck by lightning recreating Ben Franklin’s experiment and a gentleman she hates is allowed to court her, she turns to Laurence for assistance. Assistance he’s willing to give as that gentleman is someone he suspects is a spy. For France.
No Hiding for the Guilty by Vanessa Riley
Releases August 1
The military leaders of the fraught Almeida Seige are dying, but not fast enough for a chef with a grudge to bear and axes to sharpen. Using her position as cook to the famed inventor, Lord Hartland, Isadel Armijo learns that one of the butchers responsible for slaughtering her family will sup at Hartland Abbey at month's end. The chef is determined to serve the guilty man his last meal, one with a cake possessing a controlled detonation so she can watch him die. Only one person can teach her how to whip eggs with black powder, Wellington's hulking explosives expert, Hugh Bannerman. Can she convince the recluse to return to society to help avenge her family with a dessert to-die-for?
With his soul in torture for the lives his actions have decimated, the hulking Hugh Bannerman is convinced his sins have manifested into leprosy. As the surviving member of his family, how can he take his place in society knowing his uncontrollable anger increases the spots discoloring his skin and puts others at risk? No, he’ll remain in hiding until the Almeida Killer finds him or the incorrigible chef Isadel causes too much trouble, concocting a deadlier course, one part hope, a sprinkle of crazy, and a maddening sauce of desire.
Can two very different people find the recipe to right the wrongs of the past or forever remain prisoners to guilt?
The Marquis of Thunder by Susan Gee Heino
Releases August 10
Miss Seraphina Janesley has her hands full. There's war on the continent and a Luddite uprising in the village. The river has flooded, Papa is ailing, and her roof has blown off. Now their landlord--the scandalous Marquis of Thunder--plans to host an orgy in their crumbling home! What on earth is she going to do? She'll make a bargain with the Marquis, of course. A bargain that might cost her dearly.
...what she needs is a Hero.
Lord Thorston--called the Marquis of Thunder by those who know his reputation--is not simply here for a wild party. He's come to unmask a spy. As part of a secret organization, Thorston is working to protect the Crown from those who conspire against it. Is Miss Janesley one of these foes? He'll have to get close to her to find out. In the end, though, will he be able to betray her, or will the gathering storm in his heart prove too much even for him?
The Good, the Bad and the Scandalous by Cora Lee
Releases August 17
Sarah discovers the bookshop her mother owns is failing and they will have nothing to live on when the month is out. So when the Earl of Hartland offers for her, she agrees to the marriage. But marrying Hart throws Sarah from the frying pan of imminent poverty into the fire of a world filled with science and peril she never knew existed.
How will Sarah cope with the knowledge that someone wants her dead? Can Hart keep her safe from a person hell bent on her destruction?
The Archer's Paradox by Ally Broadfield
Releases August 24
Colin Hoskins is widely known as the most accomplished marksman in England. As a spy for Lord Wellington, he has been tasked with guarding the western coast of Kent against French invaders. All is quiet at first, until the night he spots activity on the beach and is introduced to his questionable new neighbor.
Miss Arabella Pottinger, the daughter of his closest neighbor, arouses his suspicion immediately. When he learns she recently left Madame Delacroix’s School for Girls where she taught French, he fears she may be a spy and traitor to England. His irritating attraction to her does nothing to help the situation, but everything changes when she receives word that her former headmistress has been murdered.
Intent on completing his mission and proving that Arabella is innocent of any wrongdoing, Colin agrees to accompany her to investigate the murder despite the fact that he’s still not certain whose side she’s on.
The Missing Duke by Heather King
Releases August 31
Miss Lucy Mercier is also seeking answers. Her father, a tailor, had been used to make hot air balloons for various noble patrons, including Lord Adam’s sire. Believing the deceased Duke of Wardley had been involved in her papa’s failure to return from the Continent, she takes employment in Lord Adam’s household in order to discover the truth. Then she accompanies him on an important commission for the Allied Army, and finds herself having to guard against a growing attraction for a man she knows she can never have.
Are the two disappearances connected and will two heads prove better than one in the pursuit of answers? Will Adam and Lucy find true happiness together or will the past – and their different stations – rise to keep them apart?
The Mercenary Pirate by Katherine Bone
Releases September 7
Selina’s wedding day did not go as planned. Instead, she was kidnapped by pirates and ransomed for an exorbitant sum. Her diabolical captors didn’t hold up their end of the bargain, however, and kept her imprisoned even after their demands were met. More clever than her kidnappers expected, she managed to escape and disguised herself as a boy. Forced to lie, cheat, and steal in order to stay alive, she loses hope of ever returning to the man she intended to marry. Desperate, she agrees to become a handsome and compassionate sea captain’s cabin boy to gain passage back to Cornwall, but the captain endangers the one thing she cannot afford to lose—her heart.
