"Which freedoms is a widow permitted in the year 1755? Might she write or even publish a somewhat scandalous romance? Or fall in love with a younger man?
Due to a misunderstanding, Mary publishes a novel, an action she considers highly improper. Behind a pseudonym, she frets over the undiscovered fact that she is an author. When she learns that her brother is forcing his daughter, Louisa, into an arranged marriage, she recognizes the opportunity as an escape for them both. Mary sweeps her niece off to Bath where she intends to stay away from the lure of her pen and to help Louisa find a match.
Once in Bath, Mary meets handsome, responsible, and well-heeled Daniel Fletcher, the embodiment of male perfection. She interferes to ensure he and Louisa form an attachment. As affection grows between Louisa and Daniel, she realizes her mistake. Mary wants Daniel for herself.
Chatter about Mary's book abounds in Bath. Some of its more inflammatory themes persuade a couple of young people to embark on an elopement. Daniel accompanies Mary in a quest to intercede. On the journey, Mary grapples with her identity as a well-behaved gentlewoman. Is she brave enough to choose love over propriety?"
"Disguised as a boy to guard herself from male attention during her voyage from England to America, Elizabeth Crane finds herself wishing that one man would see past breeches and shirtsleeves and recognize her as the woman she is.
Elizabeth was drawn to Malcolm Burns from the first moment she saw him loading cargo onto the ship that would take her to Boston. When she is made to share a room with him for the duration of their voyage, the breeches that protect her female identity do nothing to shield her heart against the growing attraction she feels for her handsome and mysterious cabin mate.
Malcolm Burns is running from a shady past. Determined to remain aloof from society, he keeps his secrets close but develops an unlikely friendship with Elijah Crane. Despite their camaraderie, Malcolm never discloses his dark history.
Once in Boston, Malcolm battles the delusion that his former partner is seeking revenge. Elizabeth, a trained healer, struggles against the superstition of a community that sorely needs her medical expertise. When Malcolm discovers Elijah is a woman, the deceit and secrecy between them threaten to destroy their relationship."
"Shortly after agreeing to marry her neighbor to save her farm, Sophia Worthington's childhood sweetheart returns, jeopardizing her heart and her home.
To thwart her uncle's efforts to take over the farm left to her by her father, Sophia accepts a convenient marriage proposal. Her triumph is brief. Philip Eliot, the man she has loved her whole life, appears on her doorstep after a long, silent absence.
Philip Eliot promised his beloved Sophia that they would marry as soon as he turned twenty-one and gained his independence. But his meddlesome mother conspired to end the affair by sending him to France and intercepting their correspondence. Now he is back and doing everything he can to remind Sophia of the love they once shared.
Sophia convinces herself that she and Philip are merely friends but is unable to ignore the longing within her. Will she refuse Philip in favor of the stable life she's committed to, or risk her farm, her livelihood, and all those who depend on her to be with the man she truly loves?"
