Escape With A Scoundrel

An impossible situation drives Samantha Delafield to commit a desperate act and forces the orphaned beauty to flee her world of privilege. But her fate takes a shocking turn when she is arrested for petty thievery and shackled to a dangerous criminal. Nicholas Brogan is a man tormented by his past as England's most notorious pirate. Now a blackmailer's threats have drawn him out of seclusion--and into the hands of the British magistrates. Manacles bind him to a beautiful young hellion who enflames Nicholas with passions he has struggled to suppress--tempting him to care, to want, to feel. And now Nicholas and Samantha must escape together, for their destinies are linked by chains far stronger than the iron that holds them captive ... and only love can set their imprisoned hearts free.

Their secret, sizzling partnership was supposed to be strictly business... In London's most glittering salons, she is lovely young widow Lady Elizabeth Barnes-Finchley. But by night, she rides as highwayman Blackerby Swift, seeking vengeance against the man who took from her all she once loved. Then a pistol shot on a moonlit heath brings her face-to-face with a rival highwayman: Marcus Worthington, darkly handsome, lethally dangerous-and determined to stop her. A fallen-from-grace earl with a nefarious reputation, Marcus wants vengeance against the man responsible for his father's death and his family's ruin. Elizabeth is a clever, daring, enchanting obstacle in his path. The two outlaws reluctantly agree to join forces against their mutual enemy, but the odds are against both of them surviving the dangerous partnership-and falling in love was never part of the plan. An RWA RITA Award Finalist: Best Historical Romance of the Year "Shelly Thacker has a unique and dazzling talent!" -New York Times bestselling author Lisa Kleypas "This enthralling tale will keep you spellbound from beginning to end." -Rendezvous "A wild and wonderful ride through dark woods and moonlit roads. Midnight Raider is irresistible to readers who want their love stories laced liberally with adventure, passion and intrigue." -RT Book Reviews A full-length novel of 100,000 words Adult content: steamy love scenes Setting: England, 1742 An earlier edition of this novel was originally published by Avon Books. This Author's Preferred Edition e-book has been extensively revised from first page to last and includes new scenes never before published. The Escape with a Scoundrel Series These sexy bad boys are on the wrong side of the law-and willing to risk everything to claim a love more priceless than any gem they've ever stolen. Each book in the Escape with a Scoundrel Series is a stand-alone novel, so you can enjoy them in any order: Book 1: RUN WILD (Nicholas and Samantha) Book 2: MIDNIGHT RAIDER (Marcus and Elizabeth) Also by Shelly Thacker If you love alpha male heroes, romance edged with danger, and scorching love scenes, you won't want to miss any of Shelly's emotion-packed historical romance novels! AFTER SUNDOWN FOREVER HIS HIS FORBIDDEN TOUCH HIS CAPTIVE BRIDE

A CBC Books Work of Canadian Nonfiction to Watch For in Spring 2022 An Amazon Best Book of the Month: Biographies and Memoirs A Los Angeles Times Book to Add to Your Reading List in February A Seattle Times Most Anticipated Book of 2022 A Vanity Fair New Book to Read this Month A Publishers Weekly’s Top Spring 2022 History Title A Literary Hub Most Anticipated Book of 2022 A The Millions Most Anticipated Book of 2022 A Town & Country Must-Read Book of Winter 2022 A Bustle Most Anticipated Book of February 2022 A The Lineup True Crime Book to Be Excited About in 2022 A Bookpage Most Anticipated Nonfiction A Bookriot 22 Great Books to Read in 2022 A CrimeReads Most Anticipated Crime Fiction of 2022 A true-crime masterpiece, this is a story of wrongful exoneration about killer Edgar Smith and the prominent crusaders who fell prey to his charm. Having spent almost half his lifetime in California's state penitentiary system, convicted killer Edgar Smith died in obscurity in 2017 at the age of eighty-three—a miracle, really, as he was meant to be executed nearly six decades earlier. Tried and convicted in the state of New Jersey for the 1957 murder of fifteen-year-old Victoria Zielinski, Smith was once the most famous convict in America. Scoundrel tells the true, almost-too-bizarre story of a man saved from Death Row by way of an unlikely friendship—developed in nearly 2000 pages of prison correspondence—with National Review founder William F. Buckley, Jr., one of the most famous figures in the neo-conservative movement. Buckley wrote articles, fundraised and hired lawyers to fight for a new trial, eventually enlisting the help of Sophie Wilkins, a book editor with whom Smith would have a torrid epistolary affair. As a result of these friends' advocacy, Smith not only gained his freedom, he vaulted to the highest intellectual echelons as a bestselling author, an expert on prison reform, and a minor celebrity—only to fall, spectacularly, back to earth, when his murderous impulses once more prevailed. Weinman's Scoundrel is a gripping investigation into a case where crime and culture intersect, where recent memory begins to slide into history and where the darkest of violent impulses meet literary ambition, human ego and hunger for fame.

In this dazzling, original tale, Carrie Lofty imagines a new chapter in the well-loved Robin Hood fable. Meet Robin's rakish nephew, Will Scarlet, a man whose talents with the sword and the ladies are legendary--until his desire for one woman changes everything. . . A Passionate Lover. . . A swordsman for the Sheriff of Nottingham, Will Scarlet has finally emerged from his famous uncle's shadow. But when he's unwittingly drawn into a bloody battle between the Sheriff and a nobleman, it's impossible to tell friend from foe. A woman's screams lead Will straight into the carnage to save her--but the ravishing young lady is not the helpless maid she appears to be. . . An Amorous Lady. . . Meg of Keyworth lost her sight to illness years ago, but that hasn't stopped her mission to save her imprisoned sister, who's been arrested by none other than Will Scarlet. Meg wants to hate Will for betraying her family, but he sparks heated desire in her heart--a desire that only he can satisfy. Meg is lovely and loving, and bedding her is sensual bliss. To please her in every way is what he wants most. . .for Will knows he will cherish her forever. . ..

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • You are cordially invited to the wedding of Princess Leia Organa and Han Solo. The Death Star is destroyed. Darth Vader is dead. The Empire is desolate. But on the forest moon of Endor, among the chaos of a changing galaxy, time stands still for a princess and her scoundrel. After being frozen in carbonite, then risking everything for the Rebellion, Han is eager to stop living his life for other people. He and Leia have earned their future together, a thousand times over. And when he proposes to Leia, it’s the first time in a long time he’s had a good feeling about this. For Leia, a lifetime of fighting doesn’t seem truly over. There is work still to do, penance to pay for the dark secret that she now knows runs through her veins. Her brother, Luke, is offering her that chance—one that comes with family and the promise of the Force. But when Han asks her to marry him, Leia finds her answer immediately on her lips . . . Yes. Yet happily ever after doesn’t come easily. As soon as Han and Leia depart their idyllic ceremony for their honeymoon, they find themselves on the grandest and most glamorous stage of all: the Halcyon, a luxury vessel on a very public journey to the most wondrous worlds in the galaxy. Their marriage, and the peace and prosperity it represents, are a lightning rod for all—including Imperial remnants still clinging to power. Facing their most desperate hour, the soldiers of the Empire have dispersed across the galaxy, retrenching on isolated planets vulnerable to their influence. As the Halcyon travels from world to world, one thing becomes abundantly clear: The war is not over. But as danger draws closer, Han and Leia find that they fight their best battles not alone, but as husband and wife.

Lady Sophie’s Society Splash When Sophie, the least interesting of the Talbot sisters, lands her philandering brother-in-law backside-first in a goldfish pond in front of all society, she becomes the target of very public aristocratic scorn. Her only choice is to flee London, vowing to start a new life far from the aristocracy. Unfortunately, the carriage in which she stows away isn’t saving her from ruin . . . it’s filled with it. Rogue’s Reign of Ravishment! Kingscote, “King,” the Marquess of Eversley, has never met a woman he couldn’t charm, resulting in a reputation far worse than the truth, a general sense that he’s more pretty face than proper gentleman, and an irate summons home to the Scottish border. When King discovers stowaway Sophie, however, the journey becomes anything but boring. War? Or More? He thinks she’s trying to trick him into marriage. She wouldn’t have him if he were the last man on earth. But carriages bring close quarters, dark secrets, and unbearable temptation, making opposites altogether too attractive . . .

Bostonian Paul Shanahan is many things: part-time marine surveyor, smuggler, gunrunner, suspected CIA agent . . . and a full-time scoundrel with ties to nothing and no one except an ex-lover who died years before in a hail of bullets. Now he’s agreed to transport $5 million in gold across the ocean by sailboat, money earmarked by the Irish Republican Army for the purchase of fifty-three Stinger missiles. Shanahan’s instincts are telling him there’s more to this deal below the surface and that he’s not meant to survive after delivery. But if he can elude British Intelligence, several terrorist organizations, and their most efficient killers—and with only his life left to lose—$5 million might just be enough to get a desperate rogue out of the game for good.

On New Year's Eve, she tumbles 700 years back in time--and into the bed of a darkly dangerous knight. Sir Gaston de Varennes wanted a docile bride who would fit into his plans for vengeance and justice, but a trick of time finds him married to a thoroughly modern American lady who turns his castle, his life, and his heart upside down. Will her desperate secret tear them apart after only a few bittersweet weeks of stolen passion-or will they conquer mistrust, treachery, and time itself to discover a love that spans the centuries? Winner of the National Readers Choice Award: Best Historical Romance of the Year "Irresistible, right down to the surprise at the end ... One of the best romances of the year." -The Detroit Free Press "A Desert Isle Keeper. Touching, ingenious ... I love this book. I've read it time after time, and even if I haven't waited quite long enough between readings to forget all the details, I always get drawn back into the story so intensely that I can't put it down. Grade: A (highest rating)." -Ellen Hestand, All About Romance "Moving, riveting, magical. Forever His is destined to become an all-time favorite in medieval and time-travel romances." -The Mediaeval Chronicle A full-length novel of 125,000 words Adult content: explicit love scenes Originally published by Avon Books The Stolen Brides Series: One falls through time and finds herself married to a dark stranger ... one may never reach her royal wedding if she can't resist her rugged protector ... one is abducted by a mysterious swordsman and swept away to a secret island paradise. Three regal brides are about to discover that falling in love with a warrior is the most dangerous adventure of all.