In 1835 London, companion Vivian Bradish daringly pursues her dream of being a writer by researching and notating her ailing employer’s new book–A Guide to London for Fearless Women. Posing as a mark, Viv boldly enters a street known for pickpockets. When she’s attacked, she accidentally shoots the handsome gentleman who aids her. She brings the wounded stranger to her employer’s home for medical aid, but they are caught in a compromising situation, threatening Viv’s position and dreams.Her would-be rescuer, Lark, was once a Lost Boy, part of a gang of street urchins and pickpockets rescued by the Duke of Wenlocke. Reformed, he’s now Edward Larkin, posing as a gentleman and searching for clues to his past. Meeting Viv is unexpected, and to save her position in the household, he proposes a fake betrothal.To “court her,” Lark promises to guide her through the streets of the London she’s never seen so she can finish the book, never dreaming his impulse to help Viv will lead him to his lost family.

He hides his body. She hides her past. Neither expects the other to look closer.The new Earl of Hartfield needs an heir and wants no entanglements. The dowager's companion needs safety and wants no husband. So Colin Knightsbridge offers Lady Abigail Wilson terms too tempting to refuse: his name and fortune, a house of her own, and the possibility of freedom once she provides an heir.A marriage of convenience. Nothing more.Except Colin has spent his life hiding a body he's certain no woman could want, learning to button his coat over a spine that curves where it shouldn't. Abigail has spent five years hiding what her first marriage taught her about wanting anything at all. Two people who've made an art of not being seen, now sharing one roof, one name, and a growing list of nights neither of them sleeps.He keeps the lamps low and won't let her touch his back. She has never told a living soul what her first husband did to her.Someone, meanwhile, would prefer the Earl of Hartfield dead.He swore he'd never ask her for more than she could give. She swore she'd never let a man close again. They're both about to break their word.Steamy, slow-burn marriage of convenience with a wounded hero, a guarded heroine, and the dangerous business of being seen. Book One of the Forged Alliances series.Core tropesMarriage of convenienceBeauty-and-the-beast dynamic Wounded hero / hero with a hidden physical conditionHealing arcForced proximityHe falls firstHigh heat / spicyAlso featuresWorking partners to lovers (she runs the estate beside him)Mutual pining (each certain the other can't want them)Touch-her-and-die protective heroWidow heroineClass-adjacent / employer's householdRomantic suspense (someone wants the earl dead)Aristocrat hero / Victorian EnglandFound-family series with interconnected couples

An illegitimate earl's daughter disguised as a stableboy… A duke with his future already mapped out… A passion that upends every well-intentioned plan… Odds on the Rake is sweeping Regency historical romance set against England's racing world, with class-crossing heat and a heroine who refuses to be her mother's story.She needed his stable. He needed a duchess. Neither of them planned for what happened next.Gemma Cassidy is the daughter of an earl — on the wrong side of the blanket. To escape her abusive father and make her own way in the world, she'll have to get her hands dirty. Masquerading as a stableboy, she finds herself not only spying on the finest horse racing stable in England, but in dangerously close proximity to the most controlled man she's ever met.The Duke of Rakesley has everything arranged to his satisfaction — including the search for a duchess who will fit neatly into his well-ordered life. Then Gemma arrives and plays havoc with every careful plan. He can't stop wanting to get closer to all of her beautiful chaos.Working together reveals a passion neither of them can deny. Rake wants more than a temporary arrangement. But Gemma watched her mother live half a life as the earl's mistress, and she will not settle for the same. The future isn't as clear — or as cold — as either of them had envisioned.Odds on the Rake is a sweeping Regency historical romance set against the high stakes of England's racing world — sensual, emotionally rich, and built around a heroine who refuses to surrender anything less than everything. Book 1 in the All's Fair in Love and Racing series.Perfect for readers who love:Lush and sensual with high emotional stakesA duke undone by beautiful chaosA stableboy disguise and passion no one plannedSweeping Regency historical romance with horse racing heart

Bookish Arabella Bromley never gave a fig for society’s rules—until her sister ran off with a man below her station. Now Arabella is desperate to restore her family’s ruined reputation to favor amongst the ton. She’ll have to marry quickly and well. But in order to carry off her plan, Arabella needs a duke… and she has just the rakish fellow in mind.The Duke of Whittsley has an ungentlemanly tendency to disregard the rules. Unfortunately, a sense of mischief doesn’t excuse a high-ranking noble from family duty—especially where it concerns producing a son. And that’s where he can’t quite resist Arabella’s distinctly outrageous plan: if he saves her family, she’ll give him an heir.Now the deal’s been struck. They have one year to achieve their goals and ten iron-clad rules to keep them on track. Like long, scorching kisses and ensuring they’re both exquisitely satisfied. And the only thing that could ruin their plan is the one thing they never planned on: love.

Review "Damn that was fun! Like really fun!" -Milou Milou"THIS WAS SO CUTE OMG." -Meetcute Romance Books"Funny with the kind of witty banter that I've now come to expect from the author, this is a unique take on a marriage of convenience historical romance! Honestly it's not very often that I fall for the hero in the first chapter, but Silas had me wrapped around his finger before chapter 2 even started!" -Booked on Lattes"[A] delightful read; sweet, romantic, and heartwarming kind of story." -Between the Pages of a Book "Ten Rules for Marrying a Duke is another funny, feel good historical romance by Michelle McLean." -Horse Branch Jess"I adore Michelle McLean's writing style. She balances the humor and the romantic ideally. The plot moved evenly and quickly; it kept me turning the page. The characters are instantly lovable, and there is always a connection to them." -Reading Rebel"[I]t was like a 90 minute long romantic comedy. An adorable story full of fluff." -Herondare"Wonderful characters and a fun filled dialogue. It is a page turning story that will give you great joy in the things the couple gets up to." -Simatsu"This was a quick and fun read and I look forward to other titles from this author." -Eleven Thirteen PM"[A] lovely, low-angst read that was quick and perfect for a day when you just want to snuggle down with a good book." -Lady With A Quill"What a completely enchanting read! This book was an absolute delight to read, it was well-written and nicely paced, it had wonderful characters, witty banter, secrets, warm love scenes, great secondary characters, a little bit of angst, a dash of heartache, and finally, a HEA that was enhanced by a very sweet epilogue as well as a new set of "rules."-Flippin' Pages"This one was certainly fun. The first half had me laughing out loud a few times (as well as swooning) and the second half had me melting over the cuteness but also dying over the angst." -Lover of Romances"Ten Rules for Marrying a Duke by Michelle McLean, is an entertaining marriage of convenience that is absolutely delightful." -Lorelei's Lit Lair"Ten Rules for Marring a Duke by Michelle McLean was a delight to read. This is my first book by Michele and i have already downloaded two other books because I enjoyed her writing so well. The first half of the book had me chuckling out loud." -More Than A Review"This was such a fun read!" -Mina Reads"I adored this book, the main characters had so much chemistry, and there wasn't a shortage of spice, banter, and the constant inner turmoil of their feelings, because who would think that it could possibly be forbidden to fall in love with your partner?" -Bookish Brenda"Arabella and Silas have the most wonderful banter and their conversations are very entertaining. I had a wonderful time reading this book." -Books Reader and Coffee"I love when a book from a new-to-me author is as fun and enjoyable as I found this to be! I hadn't read any of McLean's works when the description for this title piqued my interest; I'm glad that happened because this really was a delightful romance." -The Bucolic Bookshelf "This book was such a fun, light hearted read with great banter." -Jay Between the Pages"After loving Hitched to the Gunslinger last year, Michelle Mclean has easily become an author I look forward to reading again and again. And Ten Rules did not disappoint! The banter was funny, the chemistry and friendships were on point, and you know I love a good marriage of convenience!!" -By Megan C Cregge"This is a fun, light read with wonderful characters." -TaSeitz About the Author Michelle McLean is a jeans and T-shirt kind of girl who is addicted to chocolate and Goldfish crackers and spent most of her formative years with her nose in a book. She has a BS in history, an MA in English, and loves her romances with a little heat, a lot of humor, and always a happily-ever-after.Michelle currently lives in Pennsylvania with her husband, their two amazing kids, the world's most spoiled dog, and two cats who absolutely rule the house. She also writes contemporary romance as Kira Archer.michellemcleanbooks.com

"What a superb novel!" - InD'Tale MagazineTheir love is destined to shatter the boundaries of time…Archaeology grad student Alexandra’s world is turned upside down when her mother shares her deepest, darkest secret—that she doesn’t know the true identity of Lex’s father. The revelation sparks a change within Lex, and her dreams become far too real. She sees things she shouldn’t be able to see…knows things she couldn’t possibly know.Terrifying things. Deadly things.To distract her from the surreal changes taking over her life, Lex leaps at the chance to join an Egyptian excavation run by Oxford’s enigmatic Professor Marcus Bahur. But the distraction might be more than she bargained for.While deciphering the secrets of a mysterious stone tablet, Lex falls headlong into a prophecy created by a dying god over four millennia ago. She must rely on her frightening new psychic powers to dig up the truth.And it doesn’t take long for her visions to convince her that both Professor Bahur and his excavation are much more than they seem…The past clashes with the present in this paranormal saga of ancient prophecies and warring gods. If you like Egyptian mythology, steamy romance, time-bending mysteries, and complex characters, then you’ll love this sprawling time travel adventure.************MORE BOOKS IN THE ECHO WORLD:ECHO TRILOGYEcho in TimeResonance (an Echo Trilogy novella)Time AnomalyDissonance (an Echo Trilogy novella)Ricochet Through TimeKAT DUBOIS CHRONICLESInk WitchOutcastUndergroundSoul EaterJudgementAfterlifeFATELESS TRILOGYSong of Scarabs and Fallen StarsDarkness Between the StarsUncross the Stars

Born to a farming family, James knows plowing the soil must not be his destiny. He feels the call to care for the people of his isolated mountain community. After graduating from medical school in 1890, he returns to his north Georgia valley, marries beautiful Mary Alice Campbell, and begins what he thinks will be the ordinary life of a country doctor. What he could not have foreseen are demands that he draw deeply from the well of courage to save his people from gross incompetence, exceptional evil, and a worldwide pandemic.In the tradition of Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, James is an ordinary man thrust into extraordinary circumstances. His calling to medicine is his greatest strength and his Achilles Heel. It is the driving force in his and Mary Alice’s lives, even when the consequences are bittersweet. How each of these very human people comes to terms with its impact is the heart of Gilead’s Physician.