#1 New York Times bestselling author Stephanie Laurens returns to romantic Scotland to usher in a new generation of Cynsters in an enchanting tale of mistletoe, magic, and love. It’s December 1837, and the young adults of the Cynster clan have succeeded in having the family Christmas celebration held at snow-bound Casphairn Manor, Richard and Catriona Cynster’s home. Led by Sebastian, Marquess of Earith, and by Lucilla, future Lady of the Vale, and her twin brother, Marcus, the upcoming generation has their own plans for the holiday season. Yet where Cynsters gather, love is never far behind—the festive occasion brings together Daniel Crosbie, tutor to Lucifer Cynster’s sons, and Claire Meadows, widow and governess to Gabriel Cynster’s daughter. Daniel and Claire have met before and the embers of an unexpected passion smolder between them, but once bitten, twice shy, Claire believes a second marriage is not in her stars. Daniel, however, is determined to press his suit. He’s seen the love the Cynsters share, and Claire is the lady with whom he dreams of sharing his life. Assisted by a bevy of Cynsters—innate matchmakers every one—Daniel strives to persuade Claire that trusting him with her hand and her heart is her right path to happiness. Meanwhile, out riding on Christmas Eve, the young adults of the Cynster clan respond to a plea for help. Summoned to a humble dwelling in ruggedly forested mountains, Lucilla is called on to help with the difficult birth of a child, while the others rise to the challenge of helping her. With a violent storm closing in and severely limited options, the next generation of Cynsters face their first collective test—can they save this mother and child? And themselves, too? Back at the manor, Claire is increasingly drawn to Daniel and despite her misgivings, against the backdrop of the ongoing festivities their relationship deepens. Yet she remains torn—until catastrophe strikes, and by winter’s light, she learns that love—true love—is worth any risk, any price. A tale brimming with all the magical delights of a Scottish festive season.

#1 New York Times bestselling author Stephanie Laurens returns to Scotland, where destiny and passion intertwine... Thomas Carrick is determined to make his own life in the bustling port city of Glasgow, far from the demands of the Carrick clan, eventually with an appropriate wife on his arm. But disturbing events on his family's estate force Thomas to return to the Scottish countryside—where he is forced to ask for help from the last woman he wants to face. Thomas has never forgotten Lucilla Cynster and the connection that seethes between them, but to marry Lucilla would mean embracing a life he's adamant is not for him. Strong-willed and passionate, Lucilla knows Thomas is hers—her fated lover, husband, protector, mate. He is the only man for her, just as she is his one true love. How can he ignore a bond stronger than reason and choose a different path? She's determined to fight for their future, and while she cannot command him, she has enticements of her own to wield when it comes to tempting Thomas Carrick.

#1 New York Times bestselling author Stephanie Laurens unveils a dramatic new tale of desire and devotion in her beloved Cynster series. Marcus Cynster is waiting for Fate to come calling. He knows his destiny lies near his home in Scotland, but what will it be? Who is his fated bride? One fact seems certain: His future won’t lie with Niniver Carrick, a young lady who attracts him mightily and whom he feels compelled to protect—even from himself. Fate, he’s sure, will never be so kind as to decree that Niniver should be his. Delicate and ethereal, Niniver has vowed to return her clan to prosperity. Having accepted that she can never marry and risk a controlling husband, she needs help fending off unwelcome suitors. Powerful and dangerous, Marcus is perfect for the task. Suppressing her wariness over tangling with a gentleman who so excites her passions, she appeals to him for aid. Marcus quickly discovers his fated role is to stand by Niniver’s side and, ultimately, claim her hand. Yet in order to convince her to be his bride, they must plunge headlong into a journey full of challenges, unforeseen dangers, passion, and yearning, until Niniver grasps the essential truth—that she is indeed a match for Marcus Cynster.

A marquess in need of the right bride. An earl’s daughter in search of a purpose. A betrayal that ends in murder and balloons into a threat to the realm. Sebastian Cynster knows time is running out. If he doesn’t choose a wife soon, his female relatives will line up to assist him. Yet the current debutantes do not appeal. Where is he to find the right lady to be his marchioness? Then Drake Varisey, eldest son of the Duke of Wolverstone, asks for Sebastian’s aid. Having assumed his father’s mantle in protecting queen and country, Drake must go to Ireland in pursuit of a dangerous plot. But he’s received an urgent missive from Lord Ennis, an Irish peer—Ennis has heard something Drake needs to know. Ennis insists Drake attends an upcoming house party at Ennis’s Kent estate so Ennis can reveal his information face-to-face. Sebastian has assisted Drake before and, long ago, had a liaison with Lady Ennis. Drake insists Sebastian is just the man to be Drake’s surrogate at the house party—the guests will imagine all manner of possibilities and be blind to Sebastian’s true purpose. Unsurprisingly, Sebastian is reluctant, but Drake’s need is real. With only more debutantes on his horizon, Sebastian allows himself to be persuaded. His first task is to inveigle Antonia Rawlings, a lady he has known all her life, to include him as her escort to the house party. Although he’s seen little of Antonia in recent years, Sebastian is confident of gaining her support. Eldest daughter of the Earl of Chillingworth, Antonia has abandoned the search for a husband and plans to use the week of the house party to decide what to do with her life. There has to be some purpose, some role, she can claim for her own. Consequently, on hearing Sebastian’s request and an explanation of what lies behind it, she seizes on the call to action. Suppressing her senses’ idiotic reaction to Sebastian’s nearness, she agrees to be his partner-in-intrigue. But while joining the house party proves easy, the gathering is thrown into chaos when Lord Ennis is murdered—just before he was to speak with Sebastian. Worse, Ennis’s last words, gasped to Sebastian, are: Gunpowder. Here. Gunpowder? And here, where? With a killer continuing to stalk the halls, side by side, Sebastian and Antonia search for answers and, all the while, the childhood connection that had always existed between them strengthens and blooms…into something so much more. First volume in a trilogy. A historical romance with gothic overtones layered over a continuing intrigue. A full length novel of 99,000 words.

A duke’s second son with no responsibilities and a lady starved of the excitement her soul craves join forces to unravel a deadly, potentially catastrophic threat to the realm - that only continues to grow. With his older brother’s betrothal announced, Lord Michael Cynster is freed from the pressure of familial expectations. However, the allure of his previous hedonistic pursuits has paled. Then he learns of the mission his brother, Sebastian, and Lady Antonia Rawlings have been assisting with and volunteers to assist by hunting down the hoard of gunpowder now secreted somewhere in London. Michael sets out to trace the carters who transported the gunpowder from Kent to London. His quest leads him to the Hendon Shipping Company, where he discovers his sole source of information is the only daughter of Jack and Kit Hendon, Miss Cleome Hendon, who although a fetchingly attractive lady, firmly holds the reins of the office in her small hands. Cleo has fought to achieve her position in the company. Initially, managing the office was a challenge, but she now conquers all in just a few hours a week. With her three brothers all adventuring in America, she’s been driven to the realization that she craves adventure, too. When Michael Cynster walks in and asks about carters, Cleo’s instincts leap. She wrings from him the full tale of his mission—and offers him a bargain. She will lead him to the carters he seeks if he agrees to include her as an equal partner in the mission. Horrified, Michael attempts to resist, but ultimately finds himself agreeing—a sequence of events he quickly learns is common around Cleo. Then she delivers on her part of the bargain, and he finds there are benefits to allowing her to continue to investigate beside him—not least being that if she’s there, then he knows she’s safe. But the further they go in tracing the gunpowder, the more deaths they uncover. And when they finally locate the barrels, they find themselves tangled in a fight to the death—one that forces them to face what has grown between them, to seize and defend what they both see as their path to the greatest adventure of all. A shared life. A shared future. A shared love.

A nobleman devoted to defending queen and country and a noblewoman wild enough to match his every step race to disrupt the plans of a malignant intelligence intent on shaking England to its very foundations. Lord Drake Varisey, Marquess of Winchelsea, eldest son and heir of the Duke of Wolverstone, must foil a plot that threatens to shake the foundations of the realm, but the very last lady—nay, noblewoman—he needs assisting him is Lady Louisa Cynster, known throughout the ton as Lady Wild. For the past nine years, Louisa has suspected that Drake might well be the ideal husband for her, even though he’s assiduous in avoiding her. But she’s now twenty-seven and enough is enough. She believes propinquity will reveal exactly what it is that lies between them, and what better opportunity to work closely with Drake than this latest mission with which he patently needs her help? Unable to deny Louisa’s abilities or the value of her assistance and powerless to curb her willfulness, Drake is forced to grit his teeth and acquiesce to her sticking by his side if only to ensure her safety. But all too soon, his true feelings for her surface sufficiently for her, perspicacious as she is, to see through his denials, which she then interprets as a challenge. Even while they gather information, tease out clues, increasingly desperately search for the missing gunpowder, and doggedly pursue the killer responsible for an ever-escalating tally of dead men, thrown together through the hours, he and she learn to trust and appreciate each other. And fed by constant exposure—and blatantly encouraged by her—their desires and hungers swell and grow… As the barriers between them crumble, the attraction he has for so long restrained burgeons and balloons, until goaded by her near-death, it erupts, and he seizes her—only to be seized in return. Linked irrevocably and with their wills melded and merged by passion’s fire, with time running out and the evil mastermind’s deadline looming, together, they focus their considerable talents and make one last push to learn the critical truths—to find the gunpowder and unmask the villain behind this far-reaching plot. Only to discover that they have significantly less time than they’d thought, that the villain’s target is even more crucially fundamental to the realm than they’d imagined, and it’s going to take all that Drake is—as well as all that Louisa as Lady Wild can bring to bear—to defuse the threat, capture the villain, and make all safe and right again. As they race to the ultimate confrontation, the future of all England rests on their shoulders. Third volume in a trilogy. A historical romance with gothic overtones layered over an intrigue. A full length novel of 129,000 words.

#1 New York Times bestselling author Stephanie Laurens returns to the Cynsters’ next generation to bring you a thrilling tale of love, intrigue, and fabulous horses. A notorious rakehell with a stable of fabulous Thoroughbreds and a lady on a quest to locate such horses must negotiate personal minefields to forge a greatly desired alliance—one someone is prepared to murder to prevent. Prudence Cynster has turned her back on husband hunting in favor of horse hunting. As the head of the breeding program underpinning the success of the Cynster racing stables, she’s on a quest to acquire the necessary horses to refresh the stable’s breeding stock. On his estranged father’s death, Deaglan Fitzgerald, now Earl of Glengarah, left London and the hedonistic life of a wealthy, wellborn rake and returned to Glengarah Castle determined to rectify the harm caused by his father’s neglect. Driven by guilt that he hadn’t been there to protect his people during the Great Famine, Deaglan holds against the lure of his father’s extensive collection of horses and, leaving the stable to the care of his brother, Felix, devotes himself to returning the estate to prosperity. Deaglan had fallen out with his father and been exiled from Glengarah over his drive to have the horses pay their way. Knowing Deaglan’s wishes and that restoration of the estate is almost complete, Felix writes to the premier Thoroughbred breeding program in the British Isles to test their interest in the Glengarah horses. On receiving a letter describing exactly the type of horses she’s seeking, Pru overrides her family’s reluctance and sets out for Ireland’s west coast to visit the now-reclusive wicked Earl of Glengarah. Yet her only interest is in his horses, which she cannot wait to see. When Felix tells Deaglan that a P. H. Cynster is about to arrive to assess the horses with a view to a breeding arrangement, Deaglan can only be grateful. But then P. H. Cynster turns out to be a lady, one utterly unlike any other he’s ever met. Yet they are who they are, and both understand their world. They battle their instincts and attempt to keep their interactions businesslike, but the sparks are incandescent and inevitably ignite a sexual blaze that consumes them both—and opens their eyes. But before they can find their way to their now-desired goal, first one accident, then another distracts them. Someone, it seems, doesn’t want them to strike a deal. Who? Why? They need to find out before whoever it is resorts to the ultimate sanction. A historical romance with neo-Gothic overtones, set in the west of Ireland. A Cynster Next Generation novel—a full-length historical romance of 125,000 words.

#1 New York Times bestselling author Stephanie Laurens returns to the Cynsters' next generation with a rollicking tale of smugglers, counterfeit banknotes, and two people falling in love. A gentleman hoping to avoid falling in love and a lady who believes love has passed her by are flung together in a race to unravel a plot to undermine the realm. Christopher Cynster has finally accepted that to have the life he wants, he needs a wife, but before he can even think of searching for the right lady, he's drawn into an investigation into the distribution of counterfeit banknotes. London born and bred, Ellen Martingale is battling to preserve the fiction that her much-loved uncle, Christopher's neighbor, still has his wits about him, but Christopher's questions regarding nearby Goffard Hall trigger her suspicions. As her younger brother attends card parties at the Hall, she feels compelled to investigate. While Ellen appears to be the sort of frippery female Christopher abhors, he quickly learns that, in her case, appearances are deceiving. And through the twists and turns in an investigation that grows ever more serious and urgent, he discovers how easy it is to fall in love, while Ellen learns that love hasn't, after all, passed her by. But then the villain steps from the shadows, and love's strengths and vulnerabilities are put to the test—just as Christopher has always feared. Will he pass muster? Can they triumph? Or will they lose all they've so recently found? A historical romance with a dash of intrigue, set in rural Kent. A Cynster Next Generation novel—a full-length historical romance of 124,000 words.

#1 New York Times bestselling author Stephanie Laurens returns to the Cynsters’ next generation with an evocative tale of two people striving to overcome unusual hurdles in order to claim true love. A nobleman wedded to the lady he loves strives to overwrite five years of masterful pretence and open his wife’s eyes to the fact that he loves her as much as she loves him. Lord Devlin Cader, Earl of Alverton, married Therese Cynster five years ago. What he didn’t tell her then and has assiduously hidden ever since—for what seemed excellent reasons at the time—is that he loves her every bit as much as she loves him. For her own misguided reasons, Therese had decided that the adage that Cynsters always marry for love did not necessarily mean said Cynsters were loved in return. She accepted that was usually so, but being universally viewed by gentlemen as too managing, bossy, and opinionated, she believed she would never be loved for herself. Consequently, after falling irrevocably in love with Devlin, when he made it plain he didn’t love her yet wanted her to wife, she accepted the half love-match he offered, and once they were wed, set about organizing to make their marriage the very best it could be. Now, five years later, they are an established couple within the haut ton, have three young children, and Devlin is making a name for himself in business and political circles. There’s only one problem. Having attended numerous Cynster weddings and family gatherings and spent time with Therese’s increasingly married cousins, who with their spouses all embrace the Cynster ideal of marriage based on mutually acknowledged love, Devlin is no longer content with the half love-match he himself engineered. No fool, he sees and comprehends what the craven act of denying his love is costing both him and Therese and feels compelled to rectify his fault. He wants for them what all Therese’s married cousins enjoy—the rich and myriad benefits of marriages based on acknowledged mutual love. Love, he’s discovered, is too powerful a force to deny, leaving him wrestling with the conundrum of finding a way to convincingly reveal to Therese that he loves her without wrecking everything—especially the mutual trust—they’ve built over the past five years. A classic historical romance set amid the glittering world of the London haut ton. A Cynster Next Generation novel—a full-length historical romance of 110,000 words.

#1 New York Times bestselling author Stephanie Laurens returns to the world of the Cynsters’ next generation with the tale of an unconventional nobleman and an equally unconventional noblewoman learning to love and trust again. A jilted noblewoman forced into a dual existence, half in and half out of the ton, is unexpectedly confronted by the nobleman who left her behind ten years ago, but before either can catch their breaths, they trip over a murder and into a race to capture a killer. Lord Grayson Child is horrified to discover that The London Crier, a popular gossip rag, is proposing to expose his extraordinary wealth to the ton’s matchmakers, not to mention London’s shysters and Captain Sharps. He hies to London and corners The Crier’s proprietor—only to discover the paper’s owner is the last person he’d expected to see. Izzy—Lady Isadora Descartes—is flabbergasted when Gray appears in her printing works’ office. He’s the very last person she wants to meet while in her role as owner of The Crier, but there he is, as large as life, and she has to deal with him without giving herself away! She manages—just—and seizes on the late hour to put him off, so she can work out what to do. But before leaving the printing works, she and he stumble across a murder, and all hell breaks loose. Izzy can only be grateful for Gray’s support as, to free them both of suspicion, they embark on a joint campaign to find the killer. Yet, working side by side opens their eyes to who they each are now—both quite different to the youthful would-be lovers of ten years before. Mutual respect, affection, and appreciation grow, and amid the chaos of hunting a ruthless killer, they find themselves facing the question of whether what they’d deemed wrecked ten years before can be resurrected. Then the killer’s motive proves to be a treasonous plot, and with others, Gray and Izzy race to prevent a catastrophe, a task that ultimately falls to them alone in a situation in which the only way out is through selfless togetherness—only by relying on each other will they survive. A classic historical romance laced with crime and intrigue. A Cynster Next Generation-connected novel—a full-length historical romance of 115,000 words.

A gentleman searching for a purpose in life sets out to claim his legacy, only to discover that instead of the country residence he'd expected, he's inherited an eccentric community whose enterprises are overseen by a decidedly determined young lady who is disinclined to hand over the reins. Gregory Cynster arrives at the property willed to him by his great-aunt with the intention of converting Bellamy Hall into a quiet, comfortable, gentleman's country residence, only to discover the Hall overrun by an eclectic collection of residents engaged in a host of business endeavors under the stewardship of a lady far too young to be managing such reins. With the other residents of the estate, Caitlin Fergusson has been planning just how to deal with the new owner, but coming face to face with Gregory Cynster throws her and everyone else off their stride. They'd anticipated a bored and disinterested gentleman who, once they'd revealed the income generated by the Hall's community, would be content to leave them undisturbed. Instead, while Gregory appears the epitome of the London rake they'd expected him to be, they quickly learn he's determined to embrace Bellamy Hall and all its works and claim ownership of the estate. While the other residents adjust their thinking, the burden of dealing daily with Gregory falls primarily on Caitlin's slender shoulders. Yet as he doggedly carves out a place for himself, Caitlin's position as chatelaine-cum-steward seems set to grow redundant. But Caitlin has her own reasons for clinging to the refuge her position at Bellamy Hall represents. What follows is a dance of revelations, both of others and also of themselves, for Gregory, Caitlin, and the residents of Bellamy Hall. Yet even as they work out what their collective future might hold, a shadowy villain threatens to steal away everything they've created.

#1 New York Times bestselling author Stephanie Laurens explores what happens when a gentleman intent on acquiring a business meets the unconventional lady-owner, only to discover that she is not the biggest or the most lethal hurdle they and the business face. Martin Cynster arrives at Carmichael Steelworks set on acquiring the business as the jewel in his industrialist’s crown, only to discover that the lady owner is not at all what he expected. Miss Sophia Carmichael learned about steelmaking at her father’s knee and, having inherited the major shareholding, sees no reason not to continue exactly as she is—running the steelworks and steadily becoming an expert in steel alloys. When Martin Cynster tracks her down, she has no option but to listen to his offer—until impending disaster on the steelworks floor interrupts. Consequently, she tries to dismiss Martin, but he’s persistent, and as he has now saved her life, gratitude compels her to hear him out. And day by day, as his understanding of her and the works grows, what he offers grows increasingly tempting, until a merger, both business-wise and personal, is very much on their cards. But a series of ever-escalating incidents makes it clear someone else has an eye on the steelworks. The quest to learn who and why leads Martin and Sophy into ever greater danger as, layer by layer, they uncover a diabolical scheme that, ultimately, will drain the lifeblood not just from the steelworks but from the city of Sheffield as well. A classic historical romance, incorporating adventure and intrigue, set in Sheffield. A Cynster Next Generation novel. A full-length historical romance of 100,000 words.

Nicholas Cynster rides up to Aisby Grange determined to secure the stallion known as The Barbarian for his family’s Thoroughbred breeding stable, only to be turned away by the owner’s daughter. Nicholas retreats, but is not about to be denied by any lady, no matter how startlingly beautiful and distracting. Lady Adriana Sommerville knows Nicholas will be back and resigns herself to having to manage his interaction with her aging father. She successfully negotiates that potential quagmire only, at the very last moment, to discover the horse is missing. Stunned, Addie insists on setting out in pursuit and is not so silly as to refuse Nicholas’s support. But as they follow on the heels of The Barbarian, their adventures and encounters open both their eyes to the prospect of a more enduring partnership. Yet before they can follow that trail farther and before they can lay hands on the horse, through shock after shock, their pursuit uncovers a complicated plot that strips away masks and rescripts everything Addie and her siblings thought they knew about the Sommerville family. A classic historical romance of adventure, discovery, and reconciliation set in the English countryside. A Cynster Next Generation novel. A full-length historical romance of 103,000 words.

A gentleman seeking a suitable wife is forced by Fate and unhelpful circumstance to become engaged to a lady who had no idea that in selflessly assisting him she was auditioning for that part. In the leadup to her tenth Season, Meg Cynster—known to the ton’s eligible bachelors as Miss Prim—takes to the country to ponder the question: If not marriage, then what? She has yet to find an answer when she comes upon a supremely elegant curricle, drawn by a pair of high-spirited horses presided over by an unconscious gentleman. Others present know where he’s staying, but can’t manage the horses. With no real choice, Meg accepts the responsibility and drives the gentleman home. Unfortunately, he’s too inebriated to just leave, so she rouses him enough to help him inside. But then others arrive, and Meg learns the gentleman is none other than Drago Helmsford, the notorious Duke of Wylde—and in order to protect her reputation, she and Drago are forced to declare that they are engaged. Although a shocking surprise for everyone, by all measures, the match is highly desirable. Meg and Drago have no option but to allow the engagement to stand until the end of the Season, when they can quietly call it off. Consequently, they have to keep the fact that their engagement is a sham an absolute secret from everyone, including all members of their families. Through the ensuing whirl of the Season, with all eyes focused avidly on them, they duly pretend to be an affiancéd couple—roles that, to their surprise, come to them remarkably easily. With every member of their families and all the powerful in society being unrelentingly encouraging, both Meg and Drago, with eyes wide open, start to consider the possibility that marrying the other might just be the answer they’d each been seeking when they’d first met. Then accidents start happening and quickly escalate to attacks, and it becomes clear that someone is intent on preventing Meg from marrying Drago. Why is unclear, but with the threat hanging over them, the Cynsters and Helmsfords rally around to ensure Meg makes it to the altar. But even after the wedding, when Drago and Meg retreat to his estate, the attacks continue until, with their hearts and future on the line, Drago and Meg risk all in a gamble to expose the faceless villain and bring the ever-present danger to an end.

#1 New York Times bestselling author Stephanie Laurens returns to the quintessential question of what family means to a Cynster in this tale of the last unmarried member of the Cynster Next Generation and the final mission that opens his eyes. Toby Cynster is not amused when informed that his new mission is to be his last in the shadowy service of Drake, Marquess of Winchelsea. Courtesy of Toby being the last unmarried Cynster of his generation and the consequent martial obsession of his female relatives, he will be given no more excuses to avoid society and, instead, expected to devote himself to finding a suitable bride. But Toby sees no point in marrying—thanks to his siblings, he has plenty of nephews and nieces with whom to play favorite uncle, and he has no thoughts of establishing a family of his own. But then the mission takes an unexpected turn, leaving Toby to escort the irritatingly fascinating Diana Locke plus the three young children of a dying Englishman from Vienna to England. Diana is no more enthused about their journey than Toby, but needs must, and forever practical, she bows to events and makes the best of things for her godchildren’s sakes. She’s determined to see them to safety in England and does her best to ignore her nonsensical and annoying awareness of Toby. But then their journey becomes a flight from deadly pursuit, and their most effective disguise is to pass themselves off as a family—the sort of family Toby had been certain he would never want. Through a succession of fraught adventures, Toby, Diana, and the children lean on each other and grow and mature while furthering their ultimate aim of reaching England safely, and along the way, Toby and Diana both learn what having a family actually means to them, individually and together, and each discovers the until-then-missing foundation stone of their future lives. A classic historical adventure romance that sprawls across Europe to end in the leafy depths of the English countryside. A Cynster Next Generation novel. A full-length historical romance of 108,000 words.