Related to: 'Mr Impossible'

Our picks for 2012

Perfect Gift Books

Take the stress out of trying to find the perfect gift book this Christmas with our ready-made list of recommendations. Find out why we love these books and are sure you will too!

Piatkus

Lord Perfect

Loretta Chase

Tall, dark, and handsome, the heir to the Earl of Hargate, Benedict Carsington, is known for his impeccable manners and good breeding. Benedict knows all the rules and has no trouble following them - until Bathsheba Wingate enters his life. Bathsheba Wingate belongs to the rotten branch of the DeLucey family: a notorious bunch of liars, frauds and swindlers. Small wonder her husband's high-born family disowned him. Now widowed, Bathsheba is determined to give her young daughter a proper upbringing. Nothing and no one will disrupt her plans. Then Bathseba's hoyden daughter lures Benedict's precocious nephew into a quest for a legendary treasure. To recover the would-be knights errant, Benedict and Bathsheba must embark on a rescue mission that puts them in dangerous, intimate proximity. Fortunately, Benedict is in perfect control - despite his mad desire to break all the rules. Perfect control. Really.

Piatkus

Miss Wonderful

Loretta Chase

Alistair Carsington really, really wishes he didn't love women quite so much. To escape his worst impulses, he sets out for a place far from civilisation: Derbyshire- in winter, where he hopes to kill two birds with one stone: avoid all temptation, and repay the friend who saved his life on the battlefields of Waterloo. But this noble aim drops him straight into opposition with Miss Mirabel Oldridge, a woman every bit as intelligent, obstinate, and devious as he - and maddeningly irresistible. Mirabel Oldridge already has her hands full keeping her brilliant and aggravatingly eccentric father out of trouble. The last thing she needs is a stunningly attractive, oversensitive and overbright aristocrat reminding her she has a heart - not to mention a body he claims is so unstylishly clothed that undressing her is practically a civic duty. Could the situation be any worse? And why does something that seems so wrong feel so very wonderful?

Piatkus

Not Quite A Lady

Loretta Chase

Darius Carrington is a spectacularly handsome rake with a rare intelligence and no heart. A man of science, he divides his time between bedding loose-moralled women and writing scholarly papers about livestock breeding. He finds the eligible ladies of the ton thoroughly dull. That is until he meets Lady Charlotte Hayward...Lady Charlotte is so beautiful, charming, and gracious that no one has noticed what an expert she is at Not Getting Married. Early on, she learned a hard and painful lesson about trust... and temptation. In the years since, she's built impentrable defences that no man has overcome. She's devoted to life to being everything she ought to be- and she's not about to let a man like Carsington entice her to anything she shouldn't.But the rules of attraction can easily overpower the rules of manners and morals, and sometimes even the best behaved girl has to follow her instincts, even if it does mean risking everything.

Piatkus

Slightly Tempted

Mary Balogh
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The Secret Mistress

Mary Balogh
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Slightly Dangerous

Mary Balogh

All of London is abuzz over the imminent arrival of Wulfric Bedwyn, the reclusive, cold-as-ice Duke of Bewcastle, at the most glittering social event of the season. Some whisper of a tragic love affair. Others say he is so aloof and passionless that not even the greatest beauty could capture his attention. But on this dazzling afternoon, one woman does catch the duke's eye - and she is the only female in the room who isn't even trying. Christine Derrick is intrigued by the handsome duke...all the more so when he invites her to become his mistress. But Christine has very definite views on men, morals, and marriage and confounds Wulfric at every turn. Yet even as the lone wolf of the Bedwyn clan vows to seduce her any way he can, something strange and wonderful is happening. Now for a man who thought he'd never lose his heart, nothing less than love will do.

Piatkus

Slightly Wicked

Mary Balogh

Lord Rannulf Bedwyn is a hard man to resist. To Judith Law, Rannulf is simply a dream come true, a heroic stranger with whom she will allow herself one night of reckless passion before she must settle for the dreary life of companion to her wealthy aunt. However, a shock is in store for her when that same stranger arrives at Harewood Grange to woo her cousin. Judith holds firm against Rannulf's advances, both honourable and otherwise. But then scandal rocks the household and threatens her name and her very liberty, and it is Rannulf who rides to her rescue. But can true love grow out of something ever so slightly wicked?

Piatkus

Her Secret Fantasy

Gaelen Foley
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First Comes Marriage

Mary Balogh

The arrival of Elliott Wallace, the irresistibly eligible Viscount Lyngate, has thrown the sleepy village of Throckbridge into a tizzy. It soon becomes clear that Elliot seeks a convenient marriage to a suitable bride, and desperate to rescue her eldest sister Margaret from a loveless union, Vanessa Huxtable - a proud and daring, a young widow - offers herself up instead.In need of a wife, Elliott takes the audacious widow up on her unconventional proposal while he pursues an urgent mission of his own. But then a strange thing happens: as the wedding night approaches they become inexplicably drawn to one another. And, as intrigue swirls around a past secret - one with a striking connection to the Huxtables - Elliott and Vanessa are uncovering the glorious pleasures of the marriage bed and discovering that when it comes to wedded bliss, love can't be far behind.

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At Last Comes Love

Mary Balogh
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The Reckless Bride

Stephanie Laurens
Forever

Too Wicked To Wed

Cara Elliott

Outspoken and independent, Lady Alexa Bingham enjoys the heady freedom of making all her own decisions, even though the challenges of overseeing her family's country estate are daunting. But when a chance encounter with London's most notorious rake awakens a secret longing for adventure, she accepts her aunt's invitation for a Season in Town . . . only to find that breaking the rules of the ton has serious consequences.The Earl of Killingworth uses his rakehell reputation to hide the fact that poverty has forced him to work for a living. As the owner of a gambling den and brothel, Connor has no time for glittering ballrooms or innocent young ladies. But after a reckless wager leaves him with a new business partner, he is forced to take a risky gamble . . . Will the cards fall in their favor? Alexa and Connor begin to play a dangerous game of intrigue and deception as they seek to outwit a cunning adversary who wants to put them permanently out of business. But if they are not careful, it is the flames of their own fiery attraction that may destroy them.

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The Proposal

Mary Balogh
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Three Little Secrets

Liz Carlyle
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No Man's Mistress

Mary Balogh
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The Apothecary's Daughter

Charlotte Betts
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Slightly Scandalous

Mary Balogh
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The Arrangement

Mary Balogh

A mesmerising story of passionate awakening and redemption, Mary Balogh's new novel unites a war hero consigned to darkness with a remarkable woman who finds her own salvation by showing him the light of love.Blinded by a cannon blast on the Napoleonic battlefields, Vincent Hunt, Lord Darleigh, needs time away from the well-meaning meddling - and matchmaking - of his family. But anonymity proves impossible, and soon another marital trap is sprung. Luckily, he is saved in time by a stranger with a captivating voice that stirs something deep inside. And when Miss Sophia Fry's intervention on his behalf finds her unceremoniously booted from her guardian's home, Vincent can see a solution to both their problems: marriage. At first, quiet, unassuming Sophia rejects Vincent's proposal. But when such a gloriously handsome and heartbreakingly vulnerable man persuades her that he needs a wife of his own choosing as much as she needs protection from destitution, she agrees. Dare they believe a bargain born of desperation might lead them both to a love destined to be?

Piatkus

Slightly Married

Mary Balogh
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Slightly Sinful

Mary Balogh

On a Flemish battlefield Lord Alleyne Bedwyn is thrown from his horse and left for dead, only to awaken in the bedchamber of a Brussels brothel. The dark, handsome diplomat has no memory of who he is or how he got there - yet of one thing he is certain: he owes his life to the angel of undoubtedly dubious virtue who is nursing him back to health. But like him, Rachel York is not who she seems. The havoc of war has forced Rachel to seek refuge with the 'ladies' of the house whilst devising a plan to restore her fortunes. The dashing soldier she rescued from near-death could be her saviour in disguise. In order to inherit, Rachel needs to be married and here is a man with no memory - and thus no ties - willing to do anything to help her. However on returning to England, their marriage charade draws them both into danger, scandal and a blossoming relationship that is ever so slightly sinful...