Mrs. Lydia Lewis has given up on broken promises. Marrying her soul mate only to be attacked during his heartbreaking absence, she finds refuge as an incognito ducal housekeeper. Captain Jacob Lewis is angry and hurt. Returning from military service to discover his spouse has vanished into thin air, he begins an almost hopeless search to bring her home. Can this star-crossed pair reclaim newlywed bliss?

Sophia McPherson has always dreamed of wedding for love, but her time to find it has run out. Her father is dying, and her cousin is trying to force her into marriage in order to obtain her inheritance. Desperate, she seeks out the Duke of Westhaven, a widower who gossip says needs a wealthy wife immediately to save his family from ruin. She offers him a bargain: his name and protection for her money, with an assurance that she has no interest in the emotionally skittish rake’s affection. And it’s the truth.

London, 1818. Dinah Honeyfield can’t wait any longer. In love with her family’s long-term houseguest, she’s determined to get him to reveal his affections before her rich industrialist father marries her off.

After a disastrous wedding night followed by eighteen months of isolation at her husband's country estate, the Duchess of Southwick has grown tired of being lonely. There's only so many books a person can read, and Mara has read most of them twice. So she's made a decision. For the first time since her wedding, she's traveling to London. And while she's there, this meek, shy mouse of a wallflower who has never met a shade of beige she didn't like will do the unthinkable.

Crispin Ashforth returns from battle the newly inherited Duke of Whitley with two sisters under his charge. Publicly lauded as a hero, he is haunted by the bitter mission that nearly saw him killed and cost the life of his best friend. He’s desperate to drown out the demons tormenting him by any means, regardless of how depraved. All he needs to do is find a proper governess for his hellion sisters so he can drink and wench himself into oblivion. Enter Miss Jacinda Turnbow, who is as lovely as she is prickly.

Meet Randi Burnett—she’s brilliant, she’s beautiful, and she works for the bride. Missing groom? Intoxicated in-laws? Crying ring-bearer? You name it, she wrangles it. Too bad her personal life isn’t thriving like her side gig as a bridesmaid for hire. Recently dumped, Randi throws herself into her biggest challenge yet when she’s hired as a maid of honor and pretend best friend for an ice queen bride. There’s just one problem—the best man is infuriating, overprotective, and anti-marriage.

Lowen Ashleigh is a struggling writer on the brink of financial ruin when she accepts the job offer of a lifetime. Jeremy Crawford, husband of best-selling author Verity Crawford, has hired Lowen to complete the remaining books in a successful series his injured wife is unable to finish. Lowen arrives at the Crawford home, ready to sort through years of Verity's notes and outlines, hoping to find enough material to get her started. What Lowen doesn't expect to uncover in the chaotic office is an unfinished autobiography Verity never intended for anyone to read.

Ryder, Garrett, Kenzo, and Diesel - The Vipers. Their deals are as sordid as their business, and their reputation is enough to bring a grown man to his knees, forcing him to beg for mercy. They are not people you mess with, yet my dad did. The old man ran up a debt with them and then sold me to cover his losses. Yes, sold me. They own me now. I’m theirs in every sense of the word. But I’ve never been meek and compliant.

Beckett: If you’re reading this, well, you know the last-letter drill. You made it. I didn’t. Get off the guilt train, because I know if there was any chance you could have saved me, you would have. I need one thing from you: get out of the army and get to Telluride. My little sister Ella’s raising the twins alone. She’s too independent and won’t accept help easily, but she has lost our grandmother, our parents, and now me. It’s too much for anyone to endure. And here’s the kicker: there’s something else you don’t know that’s tearing her family apart.

I'm addicted to my stalker. He watches me at night, sneaking in through my living room window and making my blood turn to ice. I feel him all around me as chills snake down my spine. Each night he becomes bolder, getting closer and welcoming himself into my bedroom, feeding his addiction.

Mrs. Lydia Lewis has given up on broken promises. Marrying her soul mate only to be attacked during his heartbreaking absence, she finds refuge as an incognito ducal housekeeper. Captain Jacob Lewis is angry and hurt. Returning from military service to discover his spouse has vanished into thin air, he begins an almost hopeless search to bring her home. Can this star-crossed pair reclaim newlywed bliss?

Florence Ellsworth reluctantly lives in the shadow of her family’s notoriety. Mortified that her widower father is on the hunt for his fourth wife, she accepts an engagement to a staid clergyman in the desperate hope for propriety. But she’s unprepared when her sire’s newly hired attorney proves to be young, sincere, and handsome.

Lady Ludmilla Windmere is mortified. The spinster extraordinaire has fallen in love with her best friend, and that cannot be. The problem? She hasn't met him. Not once. For they have only ever corresponded by letter. When she sets out to uncover his identity, her world shatters. For Addy turns out to be none other but London's worst rake. Adrian St. Addington is perturbed. The rakehell extraordinaire is developing a marked tendre for a spinster, and that cannot be. The problem? She might be mistaking him for someone he is not. Or, what is worse, know precisely who he is.

William Yorke faces a tall order: convince people he is worthy of the Dukedom of Rockwood that has unexpectedly fallen to him. Returning from London to his enormous estate, he breaks his journey at an inn and finds himself witness to a drunkard selling his wife to the highest bidder. William outbids the coarse competition and offers the woman a position as housemaid at his estate, uncomfortably aware that his impulsive chivalry will lead to talk—something he abhors.

Theodor Fontane's best-known novel is published in simple language for the first time. Theodor Fontane's best-known novel is published in simple language for the first time. It largely complies with the ISO 24495-1:2023 plain language standard. We have also largely adapted it for plain language. The content is also typographically designed to be particularly reader-friendly. The book is suitable for readers with limited reading ability, English as a second language or with cognitive impairments.