Although I enjoy writing open-door romance, not every plot lends itself well to spicy scenes. My Beau Monde Secrets series, published by Dragonblade, is a quartet of closed-door Regency romances, each containing a mystery subplot. You can find the content warnings for all books here.
Book One: Secrets at Selwyn Castle
The first Beau Monde Secrets book is a novella about a holiday house party that doesn’t quite go as planned.
Available now in paperback and KU!
Blurb
Richard Selwyn has a simple plan: throw a holiday house party to help his younger brother find a wife. Richard, having no desire to disturb his comfortable bachelor life, isn’t looking for his own match. But he didn’t expect a castle full of secrets, a jewel thief, and a kiss under the mistletoe that might very well change the course of his life.
Ivy Burnley was raised in luxury by her noble uncle and aunt, but her own parentage is so scandalous that she believes herself unfit to marry a gentleman. She arrives at Selwyn Castle intending only to help chaperone her debutante cousin during the house party. As Christmas draws nearer, winter walks, evening waltzes, and a handsome earl challenge Ivy’s resolution to stay single.
When an unknown thief steals one of Ivy’s most priceless possessions, she’ll need Richard’s help to move past the shame of her background and uncover all the secrets at Selwyn Castle.
Book Two: Discovery at Dogwood Cottage
The second Beau Monde Secrets book is a closed-door marriage-of-convenience plot featuring an autistic female lead and a male lead with ADHD. Available now in digital or paperback!
Blurb: When George Kirkland’s wealthy uncle decides to give away his country home, he offers both the house and a small fortune to whichever one of his nephews marries first. Enter Arabella Canning, Geroge’s longtime family friend, whom he convinces marriage could be beneficial to them both. But can the hidden treasures of Dogwood Cottage give them more than either of them expected?
Arabella Canning longs for a home and family of her own, but she’s never mastered the complicated rules of flirtation and courtship. After three failed seasons, her family has given up on finding her a match. Then her childhood friend George Kirkland, proposes an arrangement that Arabella can’t refuse. But with George’s intricacies and secretive nature, it may be more than she bargained for…
George and Arabella’s attempt to turn a longtime friendship into a successful marriage is complicated by differing neurodivergences, keeping secrets, and an unknown adversary who repeatedly breaks into their new home. Someone’s going to great lengths to find the gold and precious jewels rumored to be hidden in the centuries-old house.
As they discover new details about the house’s history, George and Arabella wonder if the treasure of Dogwood Cottage might be more than a legend.
Book Three: The Incident At Ingleton
Read a teaser for The Incident at Ingleton at The Teatime Tattler, a scandal rag run by the Bluestocking Belles. Available now in Kindle or paperback!
Blurb: A lady in possession of a bad reputation must be in want of a reputable husband…
After a heartbreaking public scandal, Lady Hester Bracknell flees London and the ton to live with her brother in the country. In rural Ingleton, she meets two very different young men: dashing Neville Butler, a curate with an interest in philanthropy, and serious, bespectacled Walter Haworth, scion of a wealthy merchant family. Hester needs to avoid all romance, lest she further damage her reputation, but sometimes love has other plans…
Walter Haworth is hot on the trail of the criminal who embezzled money from his families’ holdings. His search unwittingly leads him to his cousins’ country estate where an unexpected gathering may hold the answers – and criminal – he seeks. He can’t afford any distractions, but Lady Hester Bracknell may derail his mission in the best of ways…
Coming from different social classes and driven by different interests, Hester and Walter seem to have nothing in common. But as the social gatherings of a little country town continually bring them together, they might find love, if they can move past unfavorable first impressions.
Book Four: The Case at Castle Rock Cove
Available now on Kindle or in paperback.
Chance brings them together – but will a life threatening mystery tear them apart?
When Benjamin Radcliffe finds the bottle on the beach near his grandfather’s estate, he is quite intrigued as nothing captures his interests more than found treasures along the coastline. Despite his normally solitary nature, he writes back to the stranger, “ W.S” seeing no problems with making a friend with a like-minded gentleman and making plans to meet. But he gets quite the surprise when he comes to find the “W.S”, is not only a woman, but a beautiful lady at that!
Travelling to a cousin’s house who lives by the sea seems like the perfect respite for Wilhelmina Selwyn and her family to recover from a bout of sickness – though Willa is less than excited as she fears the ocean and finds herself longing for a friend. Then an idea strikes! Sending out a message in a bottle seems like the perfect answer to her woes – especially if it delivers her a friend along the way. But when she meets her correspondent, though unexpected, she is no less determined to make friends with the young, thoughtful gentleman.
As their unusual friendship starts to become something more, propriety and Ben’s onset of repeated illnesses threatens their seedling romance. What’s more, is that other members of Ben’s family are also stricken with similar maladies, and Ben starts to suspect that something foul could be afoot.
Can Ben and Willa find out who or what is threatening his family – and their blossoming relationship – before it’s too late?
Anne Rollins Romance 