Showing results by author "Jess Michaels" in All Categories

From Dickens's A Christmas Carol to the ghost stories of M.R. James, the tradition of a haunted tale at Christmas has flourished across the centuries. The twelve stories of The Winter Spirits are all centred around Christmas or Advent, boldly and playfully re-imagining a beloved tradition for a modern audience. Taking you from a haunted Tuscan villa to a remote Scottish island with a dark secret, and drawing inspiration from festive traditions from all around the globe, these vibrant haunted stories are your ultimate companion for frosty nights.

Lysandra Keates is running out of options. Her father is dead, her mother is ill, and her efforts to find respectable employment have ended in failure. With her small savings bleeding away, she swallows her pride - and her terror - and turns to Vivien Manning, an infamous courtesan, to match her with a wealthy protector. For years, Viscount Andrew Callis has lived a monastic existence at his country estate, hardening his body against the snobbish, lazy young man he once was...

Winter, with its unsettling blend of the cosy and the sinister, has long been a popular time for gathering by the bright flame of a candle, or the warm crackling of a fire, and swapping stories of ghosts and strange happenings. Now eight best-selling, award-winning authors, master storytellers of the sinister and the macabre bring this time-honoured tradition to vivid life in a spellbinding collection of new and original haunted tales.

Although Celeste Montgomery was forced into a marriage a year ago, her husband is more often gone than home, and she is living a quiet life. Until Investigator Owen Gregory shows up at her home to tell her some outrageous news: Her husband has been murdered...and he was also a bigamist, making her the third of three wives.

The wild and charismatic Duke of Abernathe is the kind of friend anyone would wish to have. He even formed the 1797 Club, consisting of 10 men who would all be dukes. But he has full-throatedly declared he will never marry and no one understands why. But Miss Emma Liston doesn't care why. A longtime wallflower with an absentee father who is a scandal waiting to happen, she needs to marry. Now. She decides to take a wild chance and ask the help of her friend Meg's brother James.

Jude Samson has worked for the Woodley family for such a long time that he is seen as a brother. But he has very unbrotherly feelings toward the youngest of the clan, Lady Audrey. When they find themselves off at the family's country estate, long simmering desires will come to the forefront and Jude won't be able to stop himself from taking that one, oh-so-forbidden taste.

Simon Greene, Duke of Crestwood has been obsessed with Margaret Rylon for years. There is only one thing standing between them: her fiancé, who also happens to be his best friend. He is desperate not to destroy everything in his life by giving in to his desires, but when Meg and Simon are trapped alone together overnight during a storm, the resulting scandal not only breaks Meg's existing engagement, but forces Simon to offer for her instead.

There is something peculiar about the hour after midnight. It is the time when darkness reigns. And strange things roam the earth. In this dazzling collection of new and original haunted tales, thirteen bestselling and much-loved authors bring this hour to vivid, spine-tingling life. So curl up, light a candle, and wait for the clocks to strike . . .

Adelaide Longford is London’s most overlooked bluestocking wallflower and that is fine by her. Being ignored gives her the perfect opportunity to sneak out and secretly take on the persona of the most celebrated actress of the day, Lydia Ford. The thrill of walking the boards and hearing the applause of those who watch her is the most exciting experience of her life. Until Graham Everly, Duke of Northfield comes into her life. He is broken after the humiliating loss of his longtime fiancé to his supposed best friend and they enter into a lusty affair which sets her body on fire. Graham has no idea why he’s so attracted to both the bespectacled, prickly Adelaide and the passionate Lydia, but soon he is caught in a dance with them both and torn between which future he wants to pursue. When Graham finds out Adelaide’s secret identity will he be able to accept both parts of her? And will he be able to save her from a lurking danger that neither of them could have ever foreseen?

Viscountess Felicity Barbridge escaped a violent marriage with her life because she was willing to make desperate choices. Now those choices are back to haunt her, as is the object of her girlhood obsession, Asher Seyton. Asher was never anything more than a servant's son, but he's elevated himself through an education and is now a respected solicitor. He only returns to his childhood home to help with a financial issue, but when he realizes Felicity is being threatened, he's driven to stay and help.

Josie Westfall spent a lifetime feeling alone and bullied and an unfortunate incident involving her best friend's brother, Evan, only made things worse. Still, when she and her mother are invited to the wedding he will be attending, they can't exactly refuse. She hopes to avoid him, but instead they are thrown together and she is shocked to find that she actually begins to like the man she's thought of as an enemy for years.

When the Jasper Kincaid, the Earl of Harcourt, offered to marry one of the infamous Shelley triplets, he was doing it for the dowry to refill his depleted coffers, not for anything so silly as love. But when he realizes it is Thomasina Shelley masquerading as his fiancée at their final engagement ball, not his true intended, a desire for her that he has been ignoring sparks. And when it becomes clear her sister has run away with another, an opportunity arises for a marriage with a much deeper connection.

After losing everything in a series of bad decisions, Roarke Desmond is dependent on his horrible cousins for an allowance. When they ask him to do something horrible: spy on their stepmother, the Duchess of Sidmouth, he doesn’t want to. But what he could provide to his terribly ill mother with what they’ll pay him is hard to avoid. So he agrees, hating himself all the way. But when he sees the duchess, the beautiful Flora, everything is turned upside down.

Recently widowed Charlotte may be the proper Countess of Portsmith to society, but when she is around Ewan, she still feels like the enraptured little girl who met him decades before when her brother was best friends with him and his cousin. A planned trip to spend Christmas with their families at Duke of Donburrow Ewan’s estate reunites the old friends. But when a storm keeps the others from arriving on time, Charlotte decides to stop living in fear and pursue the man she has desired and loved her entire life.

Matthew Cornwallis, Duke of Tyndale, once loved a woman, but she died in a tragic accident he felt responsible for. Since then, he’s been playing pretend that he isn’t broken inside, even as he’s seen as London’s most sought after bachelor. He decides to drown his sorrows at the notorious Donville Masquerade where he encounters an alluring stranger who he spends the night with.

When Christopher “Kit” Collins’ father dies, he is devastated, but he must swiftly take on the title of Duke of Kingsacre and all the responsibility that comes with it. Including the care of his very young, illegitimate half-sister, who is now his ward. He is very upset when he discovers the governess his father hired for the child just before his death is Sarah Carlton. Sarah is equally disturbed by the arrival of her new employer, as she and Kit once had an unpleasant encounter when she was at her lowest point.

Crispin Flynn has been on a downward spiral ever since he lost the woman he loved and watched his brother forced into a life he never would have chosen. His response has been drinking and gambling his way to utter ruin. One night, deep in his cups, he places a dangerous bet that results in him being forced to marry Gemma, the widow of the Earl of Laurelcross.

Annabelle Flynn is the sister of London's two biggest libertines, and her reaction has been to become the picture of purity. But the sensual nature of her family has not been lost on her, and she is troubled by urges she dare not follow. She ignores the demands of her body and instead throws herself into two different activities. One is pursuing a proper marriage in society and the other is trying to save her broken brother by following him into the shocking Donville Masquerade, part of a hell run by the mysterious Marcus Rivers.

The youngest son of the Woodley clan, Gabriel has been obsessed with bringing his missing twin sister home since she disappeared over two years ago. His drive has forced him to block out all else, including any feelings he may have for the beautiful Juliet Gray. But when she is brought to London by Gabriel's mother, avoiding the desire she inspires becomes impossible.

Baldwin Undercross, Duke of Sheffield, has a secret he’s keeping from almost everyone he knows and loves. He is destitute, thanks to gambling by his late father and his own bad decisions. There is only one option now: marry for money, and do it soon. An opportunity presents itself when a rich American woman arrives in Society hunting for a title in trade for a huge dowry.