If you’re a fan of romance novels, there’s something uniquely captivating about second chance romances. The notion of rekindling lost love or overcoming past obstacles to find happiness again resonates deeply with many of us. Here’s a curated list of novels that offer the perfect blend of nostalgia, drama, and, of course, love!
Some rebels deserve a second chance. Not this one, though…
Miss Maisie Beaufort has no intention of running away ever again. She’s more than ready to return home after a decade in the midst of society and take charge of her life as a spinster businesswoman. Nothing will distract her. Especially not her first love, the rebel who destroyed her young heart…
Apollo Everly always knew Maisie was too good for small town life…and for a spare heir like him. He never stopped wanting her, though. Not that it matters. Even though he’s reformed and a viscount, his lingering reputation is still a threat to her. He should stay away. But fate—and Mother Nature—seem to have other ideas…
If Maisie and Apollo want to rebuild their village after a devastating flood, they’ll need to work together. The only question now is whether they can trust each other when it matters most. And if they can avoid heartbreak this time around…
After twelve years in the country, Hamish, Lord Dalton, heir to Earl Caplin, has been sent to London to find a rich and titled wife. That’s his story, and he’s sticking to it. But Hamish has his own plans: to create a scandal and embarrass his critical, condescending father.
If only he knew how.
Iris Abberton wasn’t always confined by expectation and obligation. As a young girl, she ran wild through the streets of London, causing chaos and playing tricks on the ton with her best friend, Hamish.
Now, as the secret accountant for her father’s company, she spends her days juggling ledgers and maintaining appearances. Her wild years are behind her. And she cannot afford a hint of scandal if she is to realise her dreams for the business.
But what harm could there be in one tiny adventure? Just one evening of fun with her mischievous—and incredibly handsome—old friend.
It’s not as if their friendship has turned into something more.
Iris’s heart does not tremble with unsaid things when Hamish is around.
And nothing will sway Hamish from his mission. Yes, Iris is now all grown up, with sensual curves, kissable lips, and the same twinkle in her eyes, but he does not think about her in that way.
They’re just friends. Understand? Friends.
Intent on solving a riddle, Cassandra and Devon must decide if they will accept their second chance…
Accepting the fact she will never find love again, Lady Cassandra is happy secretly drinking brandy and reading scandalous romance novels with her closest friends. Until one day she discovers a riddle she is intent on solving before her brother can stop her.
Devon Addison, Earl of Covington, finds his thrills in wagers and adventures proposed by the equally bored lords and second sons of his circle. Charming and daring, he has held out hope that one day, the love of his life will return to him. Little does he know his opportunity awaits in the clues of a riddle.
When Devon is asked to aid in the quest and look after Cassandra, will they find the answers they are searching for — or something completely unexpected?
He might have killed her brother, but this sinner is now the only man who can save her.
Lady Honoria Lindsay is the daughter of a duke and the sister of three-too-many dead brothers. She’s learned to armor herself against inconvenient emotions like grief with propriety and charity…until an altruistic favor to a bereaved old man offers her a way to absolve her guilt. The possible clue rests with Crowe MacLeod, the baseborn bastard who is currently in prison for murdering one of the aforementioned brothers.
He also happens to be the only man she’s ever loved.
So she does what any well-brought-up young lady who has reached the end of her patience would do; she acquires a gun, recruits a young pickpocket as a chaperone, and jaunts off to spring Crowe from jail. With a few caveats, of course.
After nine years in hell, he’s finally free… Thanks to the one woman he has cause to hate.
It’s galling enough to owe his freedom to the woman who landed him in prison in the first place, but to learn she’s kidnapping him at gunpoint? Crowe MacLeod cannot allow the memory of their forbidden passion to blind him to the certainty of how she betrayed him, no matter how tempting she may be.
His captor has plans for him, and if he wants his future returned to him, he has to help her solve the mystery of her dead brothers. But as danger closes in, and he gives in to the temptation of their shared desire, Crowe comes to suspect he has no future…without her.
She remembers everything, the love, the loss, the pain… He remembers nothing.
Can love find two separated souls a second time?
Lady Margaret is a restless soul staving off love until she finds a purpose in life that can fulfill her in more ways than a husband can. She’s had love and lost it with her brother’s best friend who went missing after they shared a summer of passion. When he shows up unannounced on her doorstep three years later, she’s not convinced that giving him a second chance will have a different outcome.
Jonathan, the Duke of Somersby, has amnesia. When he wakes up remembering the name Chatsworth, it takes him to the one woman who holds the key to unlocking his deepest memories and possibly opening his hard heart.
But how can he convince the woman who wants to hide his secrets to finally share them?
Is it a summer of secrets, or a summer of love? A duke never tells…
Clara Allen has grown up in the West Indies due to her father’s political position.
She returns to London where her mad but loving aunt insists that she have a Season. Clara is all set to refuse – until she sees him again.
Sebastian Brier remembers Clara from when they were both younger and a hell of a lot more innocent. But he’s no longer the man Clara knew back then. And she doesn’t seem all that enamored of the arrogant duke he’s become.
Can Clara see through the mask to the man underneath? And can Sebastian convince her to give him a chance? A duke never tells.
Will scandalous secrets stand in the way of a second chance at love?
Miss Jane Quayle excels at invention. How else could the sheltered daughter of an English gentleman create lurid gothic novels so infamous someone wants their author silenced forever? Fortunately, Jane has taken steps to protect herself, first by assuming a pen name, and second, by taking up residence at remote Dunnock Castle, surrounded by rugged scenery that might have been ripped from the pages of one of her books. Her true identity remains a secret, until one dark and stormy night . . .
After years of spying for the British army, Thomas Sutherland doubts the Highlands will ever feel like home again. Nevertheless, thanks to a quirk of Scottish inheritance law, he’s now the Earl of Magnus, complete with a crumbling castle currently inhabited by a notorious novelist. When the writer turns out to be the woman Thomas once wooed, suspicions rise even as mutual sparks reignite. As danger closes in, can Jane and Thomas overcome their pasts to forge a future together?
To keep her safe, he’ll have to kill a man. To win her love, he’ll have to tell the truth.
The actions of the Sub-Rosa Order, a secretive operation bent on justice where legal hands are tied, is indeed considered lawless by some. There are those who still call spies unsavory mercenaries. But opinions don’t matter to the Earl of Richfield, not until his parting assignment involves a lovely red head who’d once stolen his heart. However broken and unworthy he may be, when he finds her disguised as a maid in his home, his only thought is of protecting her.
They shared a past; they were earned enemies.
Amelia Covington may have made the stupidest decision of her life when she was caught by her neighbor sunbathing in the creek that divided their properties. The love affair with the infamous Earl of Richfield was three years behind her now. But when her parents disappear, leaving her destitute and in danger of being found by an unsavory opium trader, with direct ties to the local jurisdiction, she runs to hide in the home of her enemy: the man she once loved.
He was once her truest love. She was once his soul’s desire. Even ruined rakes deserve a second chance.
In a battle between love and revenge, which side will she choose?
American Eva Westbrook has had enough of English aristocrats looking down their snooty noses at her. Among these elite nobles is her neighbor, Peter Hartigan, a notorious rake she believes played a part in her cousin’s humiliation a few years ago. Disguised as a mysterious masked woman and seeking reprisal, Eva sneaks into a masquerade ball that Peter is hosting.
As Eva spends more time with Peter, she realizes he may not be the heartless blackguard she thought he was. Despite her growing feelings, Eva remains torn between her hunger to exact revenge and teach him a lesson and her desire for love.
As they dance the midnight waltz, Eva and Peter engage in a dangerous game of deception and desire. Eva struggles to maintain her facade while battling her growing attraction to Peter. Meanwhile, Peter is captivated by the enigmatic woman in his arms and is determined to uncover her true identity.
With her blossoming feelings threatening her plan for vengeance, Eva must decide whether to follow through with her original scheme or take a chance on love. Will Eva’s thirst for vengeance consume her, or will she find the strength to forgive and let go of the past to embrace a future with Peter?
Lovers reunited & a dukedom reclaimed—the Regency meets the Odyssey
Lord Cheverley, son of the Duke of Ithwick, returns to England devastated physically and emotionally by seven years of war, a shipwreck, and six years in the captivity of a brutal pirate. The courts have declared him dead, and his wife is entertaining suitors. Should he demand his rightful place, disrupting his family’s lives, or should he return to sea, seeking vengeance against the pirate? He sets out to find the answer in disguise.
Penelope once believed in love, but then the man who swept her off her feet deserted her, leaving her and her unborn child utterly alone. She will do anything to protect her son, including enlisting the aid of a mysterious sea captain to uncover the true intentions of her devious suitors. But the captain soon awakens something in Penelope, and she begins to suspect he is no stranger. But, as they peel back the layers of a deadly plot, can this broken family heal their wounds in time to save what really matters?
She is but a shadow of her former self…
Ten years ago, Miss Tabitha Carter was ready to marry her love and hero, Christopher Remington. But that dream was shattered when her parents forced her to marry another—a violent man who broke the woman she once was. Now a scarred widow seeking to rebuild herself, Tabitha has learned that gambling debts have put her and her children’s lives at risk. Seeking out Christopher for help, she finds the gentleman she once loved gone, replaced by something far worse…
A man consumed by rage…
Christopher Remington withdrew from society after losing his estate and facing the scorn of the ton. To make matters worse, he also lost his one and only love, Tabitha, to another. Now a failed hero living his life as a boxer, Christopher’s heart is as hard as the fists he uses to destroy any who challenge him—inside the ring or out. But when Tabitha reappears in his life and he learns that her family is danger, he is helpless against the urge to protect the woman who broke him. So he reluctantly returns to her home to protect her.
Thrown together once more, both Tabitha and Christopher find themselves tortured by glimpses of the happily ever after that was stolen from them. Can they fight to reclaim the love they once shared, or will they admit defeat to the wounds that haunt them?
An Incorrigible Hellion
Independent, impulsive Lady Philippa Darlington guarantees her freedom by playing the role of wallflower for two miserable seasons in the ton. With the guidance of the most feared feminist enterprise in London—the Duchess Society—Pippa vows never to marry. But a madcap misadventure throws her plan off course and puts her face-to-face with the only man she’s ever wanted. A man who doesn’t want her.
A Rule-Breaking, Rookery Titan
Prince of the streets, Xander Macauley crawled from the slums to rule an empire. He has secrets—and fierce desires. One being that he’s smitten with his best friend’s little sister. Although reckless Little Darlington is the last woman in England he’d risk his heart over. When he has to rescue her from a masquerade ball gone awry, Xander finds he will go to lengths greater than he’d imagined to possess her.
The risks are undeniable.
But so is true, devastating love.
A match most unsuitable. A love that’s undeniable.
Catherine, the widowed Lady Rosemont, is considered a most unsuitable countess by polite society. Whispers about her checkered history follow her wherever she goes. Was she once a courtesan? Is her young son really the late Earl of Rosemont’s child or a by-blow? And worst of all, is she a murderess? Despite the scandalous rumors, Catherine navigates high society’s treacherous waters with her head held high. For the sake of her beloved son, Louis, she must never sink. But when she receives threatening letters and young Louis’s life is endangered, she desperately turns to a past paramour for help…the man who once left her heartbroken. The far-too-honorable Earl of Dalton.
Adam St Clair, Lord Dalton, has always been one to adhere to family duty no matter the cost. Five years ago, he set aside his all-consuming desire for his mistress, the beautiful and mysterious Catherine Delacourt, and took a conventional ton bride. Now, newly widowed, fate decrees he should cross paths with Catherine once again. When she shares a stunning secret and implores him for protection, Adam is torn. With danger lurking around every corner, keeping Catherine and her son safe is undoubtedly the right thing to do. Nevertheless, Adam must decide whether he’ll risk his reputation—and his family’s—for the only woman he’s never been able to forget… The one woman who might just steal his heart…
Why would a man abandon his bride following a single night of passion?
Five years after her heartbreak and humiliation, Sofia is determined to find out—and to claim her rightful place by his side, even if it means travelling to the wild mountains of Carpathia to make her home in a decrepit castle.
Cursed by his bloodline, Constantin was a fool to believe marriage to Sofia would save him.
Now, the one woman he has always loved is in danger, for Castle Roznov’s dark secrets are about to be revealed.
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