March 10
I read a book about eight years ago is a Harlequin Historical/Regency - it was about a son of a duke/earl - who's father had married the woman he thought he was in love with.. (think the H's name was Kit/Chris) - the woman his father married was an artist and is at the beginning of the book she's drawing or painting in a garden .. she is also aware that the H thinks he's in love with her - he introduced her to his father (at no point was she involved with the son, they had just met) ..and it is at this moment that his father also realises that his son thinks he's in love with her.. The H rescues/meets a widow who has suffered years of abuse from her husband - he locked her up in the dungeons and everything.. I don't think at the beginning the H was aware she had been abused. I think the H and h marry in the book as he loves her and wants to protect her but am not sure - he is very kind to her as she gets used to him, although at the initial meeting he may have not been so nice. I do remember that the first husband was forced on her by her family and was a lot older than her. Because the H's father and his stepmother don't believe her abuse or think that this will cause the H hassle - they try to discourage his involvement with her.. but later come to like her after spending time with her. Ps. This book is not Honor's Bride - by Gayle Wilson or Earl's Season by Emma Lange - although there are similarities

This is LADY CLAIRVAL'S MARRIAGE by Paula Marshall.

May#1
the romance took place at a Fencing tournament. it really was detailed in describing the matches. I think the title may have some play on words concerning the theme. the heroine had brown hair pulled back in bun. and the back cover showed her in costume for a match. I would really like to re-read this one so your help would be appreciated. thanks.

This might be THE RIGHT TOUCH by Eileen Nauman, Harlequin Temptation #101. Devorah Hunter was a competing fencer

May#2
Please help...I am looking for a book that had to be published in the 70's. The two main characters in the book were referred to as "Hard Harry and Wild Rose". He rode a black stallion. I believe the horses name was Nightwind. The story took place in England somewhere. If memory serves me correct he robbed from the rich. At one point in time I thought the name of the book was "The Wild Rose" but, every search I have done has come up with nothing. Just one of those books I read as a young girl and feel in love with it but, I lent it to a co-worker and never got it back.

This might be RAPTURE by Rosamond Royal. The heroine's name is Wild Rose.

May24
The second one takes place in England and Australia. The man, Nicholas, was shipped off to Australia on a prison ship and runs a sheep farm. The lady of the story is named Summer, I believe. Nicholas is an aristocrat and Summer is a servant who flees England. (Something to do with a scandal and her employer). She shows up on his doorstep and he wants nothing to do with her, but of course, they end up falling in love. I also remember a rather elderly ranch hand named Frank.

This is DREAM FEVER by Katherine Sutcliffe.

October #4
I read this book a long time ago and I can't remember the name or author. It was about this girl that gets trapped in a snowstorm with a stranger for a weekend or a couple days and, of course, they fall in love. She goes home intending to leave her husband and when she gets back finds out that he's in the hospital. She writes the stranger a note explaining why she'll be late and gives it to her mother to mail. Her mother switches out the note for a very formal thank you note and sends that out instead which, of course, makes the stranger think that she's not coming. I can't remember if he was supposed to respond and doesn't or they're supposed to meet and he doesn't show up, but however it happens the girl thinks that the guy is no longer interested in her. Then, sometime later (no idea how long), he shows up and kidnaps her and takes her to his cabin in the middle of the woods and keeps her there ( can't remember if it was for revenge or to make her fall in love with him or what). Of course they fall in love etc etc. I know that it was winter when he kidnaps her.

Try THE STEELE HEART by Jocelyn Day.

October #24
Okay here goes, first of all i dont have alot of info since i read this story a long time ago when i was in highschool maybe even younger. I mostly remember the cover of the book. I know this book is not a historical romance. On the cover is a man sitting on what looks like maybe museum steps. He is dressed in black (I think) the heroin is sitting between his legs with her head up towards him and he is looking down at her. I thought maybe the hero's name was Drake but i could be wrong. I think he is a dress designer and she is his secretary/assistant. I remember one blurb of her standing on a pedestal while he is taloring a dress and she almost faints because she hasnt eaten. That is about all I remember.

A reader tells us this is DESIGNED TO LOVE by Tracy Sinclair.

December #1
Thank you for such a helpful site. This book has been published before 1990 as we only receive your books about 6 years later. Author or title unknown but I do have some info and hope readers in the USA may have read it. The white girl fell in love with an Indian. His white name was Adam. They got married in his tradition and when her father found out about this he send Adam away. She then realizes that she is pregnant and after the baby son was born her father and midwife told her that he was stillborn. Neither she nor Adam ever forgot each other and a few years later they met up again and then married in her tradition. They had two more sons. Her father then told her that he lied to her and that the baby son was taken to an orphanage. She and Adam started to search for him and found him working in the mines. What I can clearly recall was that when they found him, now in his early 20's, she said that "he was the spitting image of Adam when he was that age." It is not SILKEN SAVAGE by Catherine Hart.

Expert reader Amber, who answers a lot of our questions, suggests CAPTIVE ECSTASY by Elaine Barbieri, HEART'S SURRENDERby Rosanne Bittner or THE TOUCHSTONE by Lynn Erickson.

December #3
I'm looking for a romance book where the setting is 16th century England. The hero comes back home after an exile (I think) and finds his son being taken care of by his childhood friend, the daughter of his father's mistress. Although both mother and daughter had been freed from their serfdom by the dead father, the hero does not recognize it and insists she is still his serf because she gives him a feeling of peace and he doesn't want to lose that, so he keeps her against her will. She had always been in love with him and has ambivalent feelings about his forcing her to stay by his side. The heroine has a distinctive attribute : she has a heavenly voice and at one point, he makes her sing before his guests and the woman he intends to marry. They are both in love with each other but recognize the vast difference between their stations and know they can't marry so she's resigned to seeing him marry someone of his class. At the end of the story, he searches her out and finds her in a small apartment next to the school where his son was enrolled. If you know the title and author of this excellently-written book, I'd be very grateful.

This is probably BY POSSESSION, by Madeline Hunter.

December #4
I am looking for a historical. It might have been a marriage of convenience. The H had three mistresses prior to the marriage and was not able to "end" things before the marriage. Therefore, after the wedding he meets up with the three (individually) to give them their "parting gift." Unfortunately for him, the h "catches" him each time and thinks that he is still seeing the women and is very hurt. If I remember correctly, he took one of his ex's to the opera and his wife was there also. Any ideas?

A reader thinks this is TO CATCH A COUNTESS by Patricia Grasso. Another reader suggests BLUESTOCKING BRIDE by Elizabeth Thornton.

December #5
The I am looking for the title of a romance novel probably published in the 1970s. The lead character was named Tessa Thursday, and she was an orphan girl who grew up to mingle with royalty in France. The time period may have been the early 1800s.

Try THE FAR OFF RHAPSODY by Anne Marie Sheridan.

December #6
I am trying to find a book that may or may not be a story from an anthology. It is a contemporary romance. The heroine reluctantly agrees to meet her sister and some friends for a weekend of skiing. Her sister is anxious for her to meet her new boyfriend - "the one" she is going to marry. I think the heroine travels to the mountains by herself and is caught in a snowstorm. A man rescues her and they spend the night trapped in his car. There is an instant attraction and to keep warm, they make love. The next day they are rescued and each go their separate ways. The heroine arrives at the cabin and soon discovers that the man she slept with is her sister's boyfriend. Trouble ensues when the heroine discovers that she is pregnant. Other things I remember is that the romance between her sister and the hero was all in the sister's head - he only saw her as a friend. I could be wrong, but I think the book is blue and may have the word snow in the title - but, I'm not sure whether that is the title of the story or the anthology. I appreciate your help.

Try SNOW BABY by Brenda Novak, HS 939.

December #8
I'm searching for a Harlequin Romance that I read in before 1988 and it was so powerful that it haunts me still. It's set in Wales. The main characters are the daughter of a coal mine owner (not sure about the coal part but definitely mine) and the foreigner (English/Irish maybe?) who has "bought the mine out from under her father's feet". She's engaged to another guy with a rather lukewarm relationship and believes she can run the mine after her father retires though he thinks the miners will not follow her. He's quite happy with the buyer and has in fact orchestrated the whole thing despite his daughter thinking it's a hostile takeover. She's too adamant for him to chance correcting her, though he tries in small ways. The guy falls for her at first sight and tries to point out how little passion there is between her and the fiance. He commits social faux pais such as giving her a spoon (?) that is considered a Welsh engagement gift (the equivalent of a ring) and she thinks he doesn't know what he's doing, but he clearly does. Oh, and when he finally does kiss her, toes curl. I'm pretty sure it was one of the white covers with a picture in the middle (maybe of craggs but I'm not sure).

Try WILD AND WONDERFUL by Janet Dailey.

December #11
Hi, for a couple years I've been looking for this book, but I don't know the title or the author, all I remember is that the hero and heroine (Sophie and Edward are the names that spring up) were married yet somehow separated then brought back together (she thinks he left her but he left because of...???). After they make love, she sees a bunch of paintings in a room and all of them are of her (he's an artist apparently), pregnant, old, etc., and they end up together. It's set in regency era (1800's or so) but that's all I can remember. Oh, I think he imagined her covered in flower petals at one point (if that helps)Please help me find this book. Please. I'm desperate.

This might be AFTER INNOCENCE by Brenda Joyce. Same character names, but it's the heroine who is the painter. Another reader thinks this is the story "The Only One for Me" by Karen Hawkins, in the anthology LADY WHISTLEDOWN STRIKES BACK.

December #13
Hi, I am searching for a historical romance that I read in the 1980s. It is about a white women who is captured by indians, in particular the sioux tribe. I think she is caught with other white women as part of a journey across America. I remember the other women died and that she is strung up in the hot sun, sun burnt and starved, tortured and raped over a few weeks or months - it was particularly brutal and stands out for that reason. It was also one of the most powerful love stories because he is a fierce and intense warrior who does everything to resist her, including hurting her, but ends up falling madly in love with her. I have read a lot of books with native american male lovers but this one stood out because he was sioux (considered particularly bad by other indians at the time). Time is getting along and I have never managed to find it and I am always on the look out for it. Can someone put me out of my misery please.

This might be SAVAGE ECSTASY by Janelle Taylor.

December #15
A bit garbled and confused but I'll try. Heroine is trying to cut down a tree and it falls on her. She's rescued by Hero who comes looking for her. Thanks for helping (if you can!)

A reader says, "Though it is a little different , this could be HEART OF THE WOLF, by Lindsay McKenna. The heroine, Sarah, is mining for saphires when a tree falls on her. The hero, Wolf, is a park ranger who finds her.

December #17
I would love some help with a book I read a few years ago cause I can't remember the name of the author or the book so here goes....historical romance set in England, there are 2 brothers whose mother has remarried, there father was killed protecting their land and their sister is presumed dead/missing. The mother remarried the English lord who was a neighbor/friend/land owner or something. So the hero is set to marry a quiet, timid, beautiful girl but ends up falling for a feistier one whom he meets on his ship, I think. There are some step children on the new husbands side and one of the sons has a bum leg or it's missing and he's nice to the girl his step brother is supposed to marry even though everyone thinks he's too quiet or angry because of his leg. The hero tries to tell the girl he falls for that he can't be in a relationship with her but she won't hear of it cause she loves him. Once the get to England the heroine finds out about the fiancee and is hurt. In the end the fiancee meets the heroine and is nice to her and then ends the engagement with no hard feelings. The hero and the heroine end up together. It felt like there would be sequels but I lost track of the book so I have no idea...any help would be greatly appreciated.

This is probably THE PRIZE by Brenda Joyce. The sequel is THE PERFECT BRIDE. You might also try THE STOLEN BRIDE, by the same author.

December #18
The heroine is beautiful, blonde, and the heiress to a hotel(?) fortune. She has a crummy fiance that seems to have disappeared during a trip to South or Central America. She takes off on her own to try to find the bum and lands in trouble with the hero. The hero is apparently a Very Bad Man with black hair and, I think, a mustache. He and a large group of other rough men are excavating an ancient city or pyramid of some kind in the rain forest without goverment sanction. The hero makes the heroine live with him in his tent as his "woman" and they end up falling in love. Some things I remember are that at one point the heroine escapes and is almost attacked by some large jungle cat and the hero has to rescue her. At another time they're away from the rest of the camp in, I think, a tomb, and they make love after splashing one another with wine. Bad guys come and the hero has to stand in front of them naked or half dressed with splotches of wine stains all over his skin.

This might be AMAZON LILY by Teresa Weir. Another reader suggests looking at Karen Robards' contemporary romance titles.

December #19
I am trying to find the name of a novel that is possibly written by Danielle Steel. It is about an older woman whose son is a police officer and is killed in a motorcycle accident. She becomes involved with a young friend of his. I think the friend's name was Greg. The woman owned or worked at a florist.

This is definitely FAMILY BLESSINGS by LaVyrle Spencer.

December #20
I am looking for a romance novel in which the heroine's name is Lysistrata. It is mostly set in India (I think), possibly in the early 1900's, where she lives or has gone to live with her father. She is slightly older than your average heroine, probably saddled with the title spinster at least once in the book. The main hero is a man who is half Indian, and so of course shunned by both societies. Typically, he is very suave and persuasive and she is resistant, but of course both attracted to each. I believe the story ends with him injured or sick and on a ship leaving India and her stowing away on the same ship in order to be with him. I do recall that it was a really good book and would love to read it again.

A number of readers say this is RANGOON by Christine Monson.

Readers, have a look at our Needle in a Haystack column, where we've posted the TOUGHEST of the tough questions! We'll leave these up for six months to give you ample time to wrack your brains.