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Whether you are looking for romantic stories of southern bells longing for lost lives or steamy, hot romance stories, PublicBookshelf has free online romance novels to meet your romance reading needs.

Today's romance novels are not your mother's romance novels. While some titles still center on lonely women longing for lost loves, today's authors are more likely to include career driven heroines or vampires searching for love in all the wrong places.

There are many types of romance novels - historical, erotic, paranormal, multicultural, inspirational, suspense, and contemporary romance. Each type typically follows the format of traditional romantic stories, but writers today can add their own personal twist and put the hero and heroine in any situation at any place and time.

While the core of any good romantic book is the budding relationship between two characters, don't be surprised if you find some awesome action sequences or side-splitting humor subplots. It is through these attention-grabbing scenes that the characters are allowed to grow and learn more about each other. After all, real life is more than romance, and books typically mirror real life in the most important aspects.

 Total "210" Results - Sort by:

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Rating Title/Author

The Senator's Vote
Christina L Nelson

Rating: 2.9/5
(83 votes cast)

The Senator's Vote
by Christina L Nelson

A sequel to the Anthrax Scare. It is the night before Amanda and Keith's wedding, but when a threat to kidnap a Senator comes in can they prevent it and still make it to their wedding in time?

Categories: Romance, Contemporary Romance

A Dangerous Love
Linda Louise Rigsbee

Rating: 3.5/5
(296 votes cast)

A Dangerous Love
by Linda Louise Rigsbee

After the death of her family in an auto/train accident, Lisa returns to the wild mountains of her youth. There she meets a man who employs her as a companion for his mother - which includes babysitting his daughter. At his secluded home, nothing is as it first appeared. The young man's volatile moods are nothing compared to her suspicions about the source of his wealth. She is determined to solve the mystery - if she lives long enough!

Categories: Romance, Contemporary Romance

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The Rainbow
D. H. Lawrence

Rating: 2.3/5
(66 votes cast)

The Rainbow
by D. H. Lawrence

The prequel to Women in Love, The Rainbow follows three generations of one family, the Brangwens, and the sexual dynamics and relationships of the family members. Though considered tame today, The Rainbow was banned in Britain for its frank look at sensual desires.

Categories: Romance, Historical Romance

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Vanity Fair
William Makepeace Thackeray

Rating: 2.9/5
(51 votes cast)

Vanity Fair
by William Makepeace Thackeray

Quick-witted but poor Becky Sharp, and simple-minded but rich Amelia Sedley leave the shelter of school and find themselves embroiled in mismatched marriages, secret loves, and relentless social climbing in 19th-century England. Becky in particular will stop at nothing to secure her future.

Categories: Romance, Historical Romance

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The Fortunes and Misfortunes of the Famous Moll Flanders
Daniel Defoe

Rating: 3.0/5
(44 votes cast)

The Fortunes and Misfortunes of the Famous Moll Flanders
by Daniel Defoe

The exploits of the character Moll Flanders are pure legend. Here Daniel Defoe describes the English woman in America, following her many marriages, her prostitution, and her thievery. Her raunchy romps lead to repentance and the possibility of reuniting with her soul mate.

Categories: Romance, Historical Romance

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French and Oriental Love in a Harem
Mario Uchard

Rating: 2.5/5
(67 votes cast)

French and Oriental Love in a Harem
by Mario Uchard

Exploring the secrets of passion in a Turkish harem is endlessly exciting, but can it also be the path to true love? This romantic, erotic story makes the impossible seem both exotic and inevitable in a setting of incredible Oriental splendor.

Categories: Romance, Historical Romance

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Great Expectations
Charles Dickens

Rating: 3.2/5
(56 votes cast)

Great Expectations
by Charles Dickens

Romance, mystery, and morality play equal parts in this classic. Young Pip overcomes hardships with the help of a mysterious benefactor, but nobody can save him from the torment of loving the beautiful Estella. Reared by the bitter Miss Havisham, Estella learns not to trust love, even true love.

Categories: Romance, Historical Romance

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North and South
Elizabeth Gaskell

Rating: 3.4/5
(61 votes cast)

North and South
by Elizabeth Gaskell

Margaret Hale, a southern socialite, clashes with mill owner John Thornton when she moves to industrial northern England. In spite of her sympathy for the workers, Thornton is smitten with Margaret, who rejects his marriage proposal. Only when he withdraws his affections does Margaret reconsider.

Categories: Romance, Historical Romance

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Mansfield Park
Jane Austen

Rating: 3.6/5
(92 votes cast)

Mansfield Park
by Jane Austen

In an act of charity, Mrs. Norris offers to take in her niece, Fanny Price, a fragile young girl. When she arrives at Mansfield Park, the unsophisticated Fanny clashes with her wealthy, upper class relatives. Her cousin Edmund, however, understands her and captures her heart.

Categories: Romance, Regency Romance

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The Lady and the Pirate
Emerson Hough

Rating: 2.8/5
(70 votes cast)

The Lady and the Pirate
by Emerson Hough

Sometimes a gentleman has to dramatically change course to win the woman of his dreams. That is the case for this gentleman-turned-pirate when his captive turns out to be the very lady he loves. This humorous romance includes adventures, treasures, shipwrecks, and rescues.

Categories: Romance, Romantic Suspense

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The Sheik
Edith Maude Hull

Rating: 3.6/5
(237 votes cast)

The Sheik
by Edith Maude Hull

Self-sufficient, adventurous Diana holds a dance in an Algerian hotel to launch her month-long trip into the desert. She sets off with no-one but her Arab guides, and is swiftly kidnapped by Ahmed ben Hassen, a sheik whose brutality and passion bring on great changes for Diana.

Categories: Romance, Romantic Suspense

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The Ghost: A Modern Fantasy
Arnold Bennett

Rating: 3.3/5
(54 votes cast)

The Ghost: A Modern Fantasy
by Arnold Bennett

The London opera is the magical place where young doctor Carl Foster meets and falls for the beautiful Rosetta Rosa. Her glamour enchants him, but their relationship carries unexpected and mysterious consequences. When Carl realizes that former lovers of Rosa are dying, he wonders if he is next.

Categories: Romance, SciFi & Horror, Fantasy & Paranormal Romance

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Princess Zara
Ross Beeckman

Rating: 3.3/5
(44 votes cast)

Princess Zara
by Ross Beeckman

Czarist Russia is a grim place for Princess Zara de Echeveria. She has little hope in her heart until she finds herself falling for a professional spy. Dan Derrington and the Princess Zara must travel the stormy seas between New York to St. Petersburg to meet as fate intends.

Categories: Romance, Historical Romance

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Jewel Weed
Alice Ames Winter

Rating: 2.9/5
(33 votes cast)

Jewel Weed
by Alice Ames Winter

Described as shimmering, iridescent and ethereal, Lena Quincy is a beautiful young woman with romantic dreams of becoming a writer. She looks to an older man, Richard Percival, to help her achieve her dreams, but real life marriage parts ways with her childish fantasies.

Categories: Romance, Historical Romance

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The Heart's Kingdom
Maria Thompson Daviess

Rating: 2.8/5
(40 votes cast)

The Heart's Kingdom
by Maria Thompson Daviess

Nickols Powers is desperate for the beautiful Charlotte to marry him. Independent Charlotte, however, is reluctant to accept his religious views as it seems a wife must. She may yet be convinced, however, by the charismatic preacher building a new church in her own backyard.

Categories: Romance, Inspirational Romance

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Sanine
Mikhail Petrovich Artsybashev

Rating: 2.5/5
(39 votes cast)

Sanine
by Mikhail Petrovich Artsybashev

A smart, powerful, attractive man, Sanine indulges his every lust and longing, regardless of the consequences. The young Russian man is not concerned with morality, but with enjoying every pleasure available during the last years of the oppressive Romanov regime.

Categories: Romance, Historical Romance

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Sylvia's Lovers
Elizabeth Gaskell

Rating: 2.7/5
(35 votes cast)

Sylvia's Lovers
by Elizabeth Gaskell

Sylvia Robson lives in a small English seaside town and expects little more from life than the expected marriage to her cousin Philip. But when whaling harpooner Charley Kinraid captures her heart, then disappears mysteriously, Sylvia's world suddenly becomes a lot larger.

Category: Romance

Love Like This
Sylvia Hubbard

Rating: 3.9/5
(492 votes cast)

Love Like This
by Sylvia Hubbard

Angered that his wife would sleep with his brother, Ethan swore revenge. To his surprise, he becomes involved with the one person his wife never wanted him to get close to...her daughter, Nicole. Once Ethan leaves his wife penniless and then breaks Nicole's heart his revenge will be complete.

Categories: Romance, Contemporary Romance

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The Girl from Montana
Grace Livingston Hill

Rating: 2.9/5
(77 votes cast)

The Girl from Montana
by Grace Livingston Hill

Alone in the Montana mountains, Elizabeth hides from the man who has threatened her life. She rides East, seeking shelter with grandparents she has never met. Her journey takes many twists and turns, and she always remembers the kind man who rides with her for part of her journey.

Categories: Romance, Western, Western Romance

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The Gentleman from Indiana
Booth Tarkington

Rating: 3.2/5
(39 votes cast)

The Gentleman from Indiana
by Booth Tarkington

A fresh young face in the newspaper business, John Harkless believes in printing the truth. His policy is dangerous in a town terrorized by bandits who attack the journalist and leave him for dead. It is up to his girlfriend Helen to run the paper and find out what really happened to John.

Categories: Romance, Western, Western Romance

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The Midnight Queen
May Agnes Fleming

Rating: 2.9/5
(73 votes cast)

The Midnight Queen
by May Agnes Fleming

It is the time of the plague in London, a time of horror for everyday people. Yet, for some, there is a dark magic in the air. Lords and ladies are influenced by an otherworldly enchantment that empowers them to challenge death and seek life and love.

Categories: Mystery & Suspense, Romance, Romantic Suspense

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Kenilworth
Sir Walter Scott

Rating: 3.0/5
(30 votes cast)

Kenilworth
by Sir Walter Scott

The secret marriage of the Earl of Leicester has tragic consequences in this historical romance. The ambitious Earl loves his wife Amy, but hides his marriage from Queen Elizabeth I in hopes of gaining political power. When the truth is revealed, it may be too late for the young couple.

Categories: Romance, Historical Romance

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Hearts and Masks
Harold MacGrath

Rating: 3.0/5
(42 votes cast)

Hearts and Masks
by Harold MacGrath

Twenty-year-old Alice takes on a new identity to fight her boredom while living at the country estate of her uncle. Along comes a famous author, also hiding his true identity. When the two meet at a masquerade ball, who will be the first to raise the mask and reveal the truth?

Categories: Romance, Historical Romance

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Lavender and Old Lace
Myrtle Reed

Rating: 2.9/5
(38 votes cast)

Lavender and Old Lace
by Myrtle Reed

Wedding bells from the past peal in the present when Ruth Thorne discovers a mysterious letter that leads her to a family history of elopements and secret weddings. Helping her to unravel her past and his own is journalist Carl Winfield, with whom she is quickly falling in love.

Categories: Romance, Romantic Suspense

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Man and Maid
Elinor Glyn

Rating: 3.1/5
(53 votes cast)

Man and Maid
by Elinor Glyn

Written with the intimacy of a journal, Man and Maid follows the passionate, tragic, and often amusing love affair of secretary Alathea and her boss, Sir Nicholas Thormonde. Each denies attraction to the other until another woman enters the picture, forcing them to play their cards.

Categories: Romance, Historical Romance

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In Search of the Unknown
Robert W. Chambers

Rating: 2.8/5
(34 votes cast)

In Search of the Unknown
by Robert W. Chambers

Looking for lost species leads an adventurer to discover strange animals from men with gills to invisible predators. Stranger still may be the passions exchanged between the people who pursue these unknown creatures of the past.

Categories: Romance, Fantasy & Paranormal Romance

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The Place of Honeymoons
Harold MacGrath

Rating: 3.0/5
(42 votes cast)

The Place of Honeymoons
by Harold MacGrath

Opera star Nora Harrigan is a success on the stage, and enjoys the attentions of many suitors, including Edward Courtlandt and Herr Rosen. Things turn dark when Nora is abducted and accuses one of them of arranging the deed. Or is Nora's rival in song and love, Flora Desimone, somehow responsible?

Categories: Mystery & Suspense, Romance, Romantic Suspense

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The Voice in the Fog
Harold MacGrath

Rating: 3.0/5
(41 votes cast)

The Voice in the Fog
by Harold MacGrath

The London fog can hide a lot of things, including the thief who has stolen a sapphire necklace from Kitty Killigrew. She has heard parts of a conversation in the mist, however, that might simplify solving the case but complicate her new romantic interest.

Categories: Mystery & Suspense, Romance, Romantic Suspense

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The Tysons (Mr. and Mrs. Nevill Tyson)
May Sinclair

Rating: 3.3/5
(34 votes cast)

The Tysons (Mr. and Mrs. Nevill Tyson)
by May Sinclair

The humble Nevill Tyson inherits the position of country gentleman and doesn't quite know how to fill the role. His marriage to Mollie Wilcox only complicates matters, especially when a friend of Nevill falls in love with the new Mrs. Tyson.

Categories: Romance, Historical Romance

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The Circular Staircase
Mary Roberts Rinehart

Rating: 2.9/5
(57 votes cast)

The Circular Staircase
by Mary Roberts Rinehart

At a spooky, sprawling summer home in New England, wealthy spinster Miss Inness finds herself at the center of a murder mystery. Her nephew and a friend are the main suspects. When her nephew disappears and her niece falls for the disreputable friend, Miss Innes must unravel many mysteries.

Categories: Mystery & Suspense, Romance, Romantic Suspense

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The Marble Faun Volume 2
Nathaniel Hawthorne

Rating: 3.0/5
(31 votes cast)

The Marble Faun Volume 2
by Nathaniel Hawthorne

Volume 2 of The Marble Faun continues in the fantasy-filled world of Miriam, Hilda, Kenyon and Donatello as they unravel mythical mysteries and romantic rivalries in 19th century Italy.

Categories: Romance, Fantasy & Paranormal Romance

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The Marble Faun Volume 1
Nathaniel Hawthorne

Rating: 2.9/5
(31 votes cast)

The Marble Faun Volume 1
by Nathaniel Hawthorne

Enter a fantasy world with characters of mythic proportions. Miriam is an otherworldly beauty and a painter. Donatello, the Count of Monti Beni, may be only half human. Along with sculptor Kenyon and copyist Hilda, the quartet takes us on a romantic trip through 19th century Italy.

Categories: Romance, Fantasy & Paranormal Romance

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When a Man Marries
Mary Roberts Rinehart

Rating: 3.2/5
(50 votes cast)

When a Man Marries
by Mary Roberts Rinehart

Newly divorced from his wife of just a year, Jim is expecting a visit from his wealthy aunt, who knows nothing of his failed marriage. He goes to great, often comic, lengths to hide any hints of scandal from his aunt, who might withdraw the financial support on which the young artist depends.

Categories: Humor, Romance, Historical Romance

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The Grey Cloak
Harold MacGrath

Rating: 3.0/5
(44 votes cast)

The Grey Cloak
by Harold MacGrath

The masked man in the grey cloak is a mystery ... is he the man who killed the Comte? Or is he among the gentlemen courting the beautiful new widow? Either way he faces dramatic challenges at swordpoint in this swashbuckling romantic adventure.

Categories: Mystery & Suspense, Romance, Romantic Suspense

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The House of the Seven Gables
Nathaniel Hawthorne

Rating: 3.2/5
(46 votes cast)

The House of the Seven Gables
by Nathaniel Hawthorne

Pyncheon House, a 19th-century New England mansion, is beset with problems. Accusations of witchcraft are in the air, and a relative is soon to return from prison. But here comes the country cousin Phoebe, to raise their spirits and embark on a romance with the mysterious lodger Holgrave.

Categories: Romance, Other Fiction, Historical Romance

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The Scarlet Letter
Nathaniel Hawthorne

Rating: 3.3/5
(63 votes cast)

The Scarlet Letter
by Nathaniel Hawthorne

Hester Prynn carries with her a mark signifying adultery, a true sin in 17th century Puritan Boston. The red letter A on her clothing brings public shame, but she will not name the father of her daughter, Pearl, no matter the threat to her own reputation and her life.

Categories: Romance, Other Fiction, Historical Romance

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The Pagan Madonna
Harold MacGrath

Rating: 2.7/5
(35 votes cast)

The Pagan Madonna
by Harold MacGrath

Jane Norman, a Red Cross nurse from America, comes to Shanghai by chance, under the spell of fate. In China and on the sea, Jane wears beautiful beads with a mysterious past that captures the attention of romantic rivals and plotting pirates alike, taking Jane on the adventure of her life.

Categories: Mystery & Suspense, Romance, Romantic Suspense

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The Breaking Point
Mary Roberts Rinehart

Rating: 3.3/5
(59 votes cast)

The Breaking Point
by Mary Roberts Rinehart

Elizabeth Wheeler is a small-town, church-going girl who dreams of a man who will whisk her away from her mundane life. What she gets is an endless adventure of passion, betrayal, and murder, and just maybe the wedding of her dreams.

Categories: Mystery & Suspense, Romance, Romantic Suspense

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The Lighted Match
Charles Neville Buck

Rating: 2.7/5
(35 votes cast)

The Lighted Match
by Charles Neville Buck

Traveling in disguise, a beautiful princess travels through the United States and finds herself falling in love with an American man. Though bound to another across the water, she struggles to free herself to be with her true love in America.

Categories: Romance, Western, Western Romance

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K
Mary Roberts Rinehart

Rating: 2.9/5
(45 votes cast)

K
by Mary Roberts Rinehart

For unknown reasons, famous surgeon K. LeMoyne drops out of the medical scene to live in seclusion in a small town. His quiet moments are few, for he boards with the beautiful Sidney Page, a nurse-in-training, who tries to uncover his mysterious past.

Categories: Mystery & Suspense, Romance, Romantic Suspense

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The Heart of Rachael - A Book Sample
Kathleen Norris

Rating: 2.8/5
(58 votes cast)

The Heart of Rachael - A Book Sample
by Kathleen Norris

Warren Gregory discovers too late that he is in love with the beautiful Rachael. Ten years after their first meeting, he finds her married to a man she doesn't love. Rachael must search her soul to find where she truly belongs.

Categories: Romance, Contemporary Romance

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Second Chance Romance
Asrai Devin

Rating: 3.8/5
(312 votes cast)

Second Chance Romance
by Asrai Devin

Two years ago Kip Turner let the girl of his dreams go to pursue his dream of playing hockey.

Categories: Romance, Contemporary Romance

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The House of a Thousand Candles
Meredith Nicholson

Rating: 2.9/5
(54 votes cast)

The House of a Thousand Candles
by Meredith Nicholson

John Glenarm has to fulfill some odd requirements to gain his inheritance. For reasons known only to his grandfather, John must spend a year in an isolated house, and is forbidden to marry Marian Devereux, a woman he has never met. Uncovering the reasons why may bring the biggest treasure.

Categories: Mystery & Suspense, Romance, Romantic Suspense

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The Heart
Mary Eleanor Wilkins

Rating: 2.9/5
(35 votes cast)

The Heart
by Mary Eleanor Wilkins

Master Wingfield, a tutor, is besotted with the young, feisty Mistress Mary Cavendish in this 17th century romance. He has been entranced by her charm and beauty since he was a lad of fourteen, and years later he is also taken with her courage in defending the family tobacco farm.

Categories: Romance, Historical Romance

Riders of the Purple Sage
Zane Grey

Rating: 2.8/5
(50 votes cast)

Riders of the Purple Sage
by Zane Grey

Jane Withersteen, Mormon-born Utah native, goes against her church when she befriends a young Gentile rider, Venters. He is trailing the mysterious Masked Rider through the Old West. Both Venters and a notorious gunman named Lassiter bring adventure, intrigue, and romance to the Withersteen ranch.

Categories: Romance, Western, Western Romance

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The Forest Lovers
Maurice Henry Hewlett

Rating: 2.9/5
(40 votes cast)

The Forest Lovers
by Maurice Henry Hewlett

A romance of medieval times told through the lens of the dreamworld, The Forest Lovers is the story of an overwhelming love. Isoult, an innocent young woman living in the faery world, tries in vain to hide her love for the worldly Prosper.

Categories: Romance, Fantasy & Paranormal Romance

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Behind a Mask
A M Barnard

Rating: 2.5/5
(49 votes cast)

Behind a Mask
by A M Barnard

A fast-paced thriller, Behind a Mask is the story the demure governess Jean Muir and her adventures in the home of the seemingly tranquil Coventry family, where she has come as a tutor. Mystery, love, and betrayal follow Miss Muir into the home and stir up suspicions, deceptions, and passions.

Categories: Mystery & Suspense, Romance, Romantic Suspense

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Free Air
Sinclair Lewis

Rating: 2.8/5
(45 votes cast)

Free Air
by Sinclair Lewis

Perhaps the original American road trip novel, Free Air follows Claire Boltwood as she travels from New York City to the Pacific Northwest in the early 20th century. If Claire can leave behind her upper-class background, she may find herself gaining the love of a down-to-earth man in her new home.

Categories: Romance, Other Fiction, Inspirational Romance

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Indian Summer
William Dean Howells

Rating: 2.4/5
(30 votes cast)

Indian Summer
by William Dean Howells

Theodore Colville returns to Florence, the city of his heartbreak twenty years earlier. Now a middle-aged man, he encounters former flame Lina Bowen, her daughter Effie and their friend, the young and beautiful Imogene Graham, who develops a crush on him. Which way will he turn?

Categories: Romance, Historical Romance

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Ishmael, or In The Depths
Mrs. Emma Dorothy Eliza Nevitte Southworth

Rating: 2.5/5
(34 votes cast)

Ishmael, or In The Depths
by Mrs. Emma Dorothy Eliza Nevitte Southworth

Originally a serialized novel, Ishmael follows a man born poor, presumed illegitimate, yet possessed of great inner strengths. In this 19th century rags-to-riches story, Ishmael has many adventures and romances on his rise to the top.

Categories: Romance, Historical Romance

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