December 2nd, 2023
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THE TWELVE BOOKS OF CHRISTMAS
THE TWELVE BOOKS OF CHRISTMAS

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December's Must-Reads: Top Books to Close Out the Year with a Bang

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Reporter Emma Cross confronts high society and murder at a 1900s Newport yacht gathering.


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Unraveling a secret aboard the missing Goliath, where history collides with present danger.


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Undercover agents at a holiday party face unexpected danger and a budding romance.


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Lord Julian unravels a dangerous mystery to reveal a child's heritage as well as his own birthright.


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Uncovering the truth: A determined mother, a torn DA, and a dark mystery.


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A Ukrainian medic and a Marine sniper's perilous mission ignites unexpected passion amid danger.


Excerpt of What A Duke Dares by Anna Campbell

Purchase


Sons of Sins #3
Forever
September 2014
On Sale: August 26, 2014
Featuring: Miss Penelope Thorne; Camden Rothermere
432 pages
ISBN: 1455557900
EAN: 9781455557905
Kindle: B00H25FL64
Paperback / e-Book
Add to Wish List

Romance Contemporary

Also by Anna Campbell:

Seven Nights in a Rogue's Bed, July 2022
Mass Market Paperback / e-Book
Three Times Tempted, February 2022
e-Book
Two Secret Sins, September 2021
e-Book
One Wicked Wish, July 2021
e-Book
Catching Captain Nash, July 2017
e-Book
Charming Sir Charles, March 2017
e-Book
Pursuing Lord Pascal, October 2016
e-Book
Winning Lord West, May 2016
e-Book
Tempting Mr. Townsend, March 2016
e-Book
A Grosvenor Square Christmas, October 2015
e-Book
The Seduction of Lord Stone, September 2015
e-Book
A Scoundrel by Moonlight, May 2015
Paperback / e-Book
Her Christmas Earl:, November 2014
e-Book
What A Duke Dares, September 2014
Paperback / e-Book
A Rake's Midnight Kiss, September 2013
Paperback
Days of Rakes and Roses, July 2013
e-Book
These Haunted Hearts: A Regency Ghost Romance, March 2013
e-Book
The Winter Wife: A Christmas Novella, December 2012
e-Book
Seven Nights In A Rogue's Bed, October 2012
Paperback / e-Book
Midnight's Wild Passion, May 2011
Paperback
My Reckless Surrender, June 2010
Mass Market Paperback
Captive of Sin, November 2009
Mass Market Paperback
Tempt The Devil, January 2009
Paperback
Untouched, December 2007
Paperback
Claiming the Courtesan, April 2007
Paperback

Excerpt of What A Duke Dares by Anna Campbell

Houghton Park, Lincolnshire, May 1819

Every young lady dreamed of a proposal from the heir to a dukedom. Especially when the heir was rich, feted, in possession of his wits, and still young enough to have all his teeth.

Every young lady except, apparently, Penelope Thorne.

From the center of her father’s library, Camden Rothermere, Marquess of Pembridge, eyed the girl he’d known from the cradle and wondered where the hell he’d slipped up. He straightened and summoned a smile, struggling to bridge the awkward silence extending between them.

Damn it. He never felt awkward with Pen Thorne. Until now. Until he’d spoken the fatal words.

Until, instead of radiating delight at the prospect of marrying him, Pen’s black eyes sparked with the rebellious light that always boded trouble.

“Why?” It wasn’t the first time this afternoon that she’d asked him the question.

Stupidly he couldn’t summon an adequate answer. He’d blundered into this halfcocked. It was his own fault. Knowing Pen as he did, he should have prepared a comprehensive list of reasons for their marriage before broaching the subject.

Right now, he wished he’d never broached the subject at all. But it was too late to retreat, or too late if he hoped to salvage a shred of self-respect from this dashed uncomfortable encounter.

“Devil take you, Pen, I like you,” he said impatiently. Despite her inexplicable and irritating behavior today, it was true. There wasn’t a girl alive that he liked so much as the chit currently regarding him as if he’d crawled out of a hole in the ground.

He knew her better than any other girl too, even his sister Lydia. Through their childhood, he’d rescued Pen from a thousand scrapes. She’d been a hellion, riding the wildest horses in her father’s stables, climbing the tallest trees in the park, throwing herself into brawls to defend a friend or mistreated animal. Cam had long admired her spirit, loyalty, and courage.

Those were qualities he wanted in his duchess. And if she needed some guidance in deportment, he was perfectly prepared to teach her proper behavior. She was a Thorne and Thornes weren’t renowned for their prudence, but while Pen might be impulsive, she was intelligent. Once she’d become the Duchess of Sedgemoor, he was sure she’d settle down.

Or he had been, until her unenthusiastic response to his proposal.

“I like you too,” she said steadily, regarding him with unwavering attention.

Cam wondered why her admission didn’t reassure. Inhaling deeply, he strove for forbearance. “Well, there you have it, then.”

That bitter note in her laugh was unfamiliar. He could hardly believe it, but the possibility of failure hovered. Pen was clever, determined, headstrong—he’d get that out of her soon enough—and stubbornly inclined to take a positive view of events. Or at least so he’d believed until today.

He’d also believed that she’d leap at the chance to marry him.

Clearly he’d been wrong.

He wasn’t used to being wrong. Confound her, he didn’t like it.

Her voice remained curiously flat. “I’m sorry, Cam. ‘There you have it, then’ won’t pass muster. You’ll need to do better than that.”

Excerpt from What A Duke Dares by Anna Campbell
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