1021. To Seduce a Bride (Nicole Jordan)

Synopsis:
Spirited beauty Lilian Loring believes that love is too risky a venture and that marriage is best avoided entirely–even if her unwanted suitor comes as deliciously packaged as Heath Griffin, the Marquess of Claybourne. The charismatic rogue has never met a woman who can discourage his advances, and after a show of resolve Lily too melts under Heath’s sensuous kisses. Perhaps that is why she decides to hide out in the last place a gentleman would look for a lady: a house of scandalous repute.

In bold pursuit, Heath discovers his enchanting spitfire cheerfully instructing the demimonde in the art of deportment. Now the thrill of the chase is exceeded only by his powerful need to possess Lily as his bride. For Heath, victory in their game of passion means nothing less than winning Lily’s elusive heart ....

My rating: 2 stars

231. The Passion (Nicole Jordan)

Synopsis from Amazon:
When her bookish and noble fiance and lifelong friend, Geoffrey, Earl of March, is lost at sea, Lady Aurora Demming, daughter of the powerful duke of Eversley, believes she has lost her only chance to be free of her abusive father -- a fear intensified by his having arranged a marriage for her with a controlling man twice her age. An opportunity for freedom arises when Nicholas Sabine, an American about to be hanged for murder and piracy, asks her to marry him for just one day -- and one tempestuous night. His money will give her independence, while her title will enable her to guarantee that Nicholas's raven-haired half-sister -- a love child born out of wedlock -- will be accepted by British high society. Aurora's new life as a London widow and the guardian of her new ward is shattered when Nicholas appears at a masquerade ball, explaining how he escaped death and desiring to claim her publicly as his wife. Although she is desperately attracted to him, Aurora fears marriage to a man so passionate -- about danger, life and love -- will trap her as completely as did life with her father.

My rating: 2 stars

230. Desire (Nicole Jordan)

Synopsis from Amazon:
When English spymaster Lucian Tremayne, the Earl of Wycliff, comes across Brynn Caldwell as she's emerging from the ocean after a swim, he finds himself irresistibly drawn to her and offers for her hand in marriage. Brynn refuses, informing him of her family's curse the women in her family are doomed to lure the men who love them to their death. Unafraid of a mere curse, Lucian convinces Brynn to marry him by offering to help her family out of debt. In a plot twist familiar to Regency fans, Brynn and Lucian each struggle to keep their emotions separate from their desire for one another but, inevitably, love blossoms between the two.

My rating: 3 stars