Best Period Romance Novels

"Take off your ring." His command settled deep in my bones. I shouldn’t be doing this. And yet… I slid the ring off my finger. He stood on the other side of the room, his face hidden in shadows, but I felt him—his presence wrapping around me like a dark temptation. "Take off your clothes." I obeyed, my fingers hesitating at the waistband of my underwear. "I didn’t tell you to touch that." So I stood there—shoes on, pants still clinging to my hips—while my engagement party continued just down the hall. His gaze burned through me, drinking me in. "God, Butterfly." His voice was a tortured whisper, and I ached to comfort him. "Crawl to me." The words settled over me like silk and steel. Slowly, on all fours, I obeyed… --- Alessandra has always been the family push over even when her father forces her into a marriage. She plays the role of the perfect fiancée—obedient, loyal, untouchable. Until she meets him. Jeremy’s best friend. A man just as powerful, just as dangerous—but with eyes that see right through her. A man who tempts her to break every rule, risk every consequence. They hate each other on sight. But hate is just another kind of heat, and the fire between them threatens to burn everything to the ground. Loving him could cost her everything. Resisting him might destroy her. Either way, she’s already ruined. ~~~~~ Trigger warning : Dark Romance, obsession, Forbidden Romance, Male lead is a bit mentally checked out...

My best friend and I caught the eye of the celestial princes and were brought into the heavenly palace as their consorts. She became the caged golden canary of the Crown Prince, Rudolf Frost, while I became the stand-in for the lost love of the Second Prince, Mose Frost. As fate would have it, their lost loves were one and the same person. Everyone in the Celestial Realm envied us, two mortal women chosen by celestial princes to live a life of luxury among the gods. But this blissful existence lasted no more than three years before their true love returned, and our good fortune came to an abrupt end. "I'll fake my death first, and then you'll pretend to fall ill and do the same!" whispered my friend, Gabriela Simon. I nodded, and together we staged our deaths to escape back to the mortal realm. When their lost love, Anna Rivera, brought people to expose our deception, the usually calm and collected Rudolf unexpectedly pulled Gabriela into his embrace. Meanwhile, the ruthless Mose imprisoned me in his palace, staying by my side day and night. Little did they know, this performance was one we had been planning for three years.

When Iris was sent off at the age of sixteen to train with one of the most skilled Alpha's around, she believed surviving the training was going to be the most gruelling part, but it is when she returned home, the real trouble began. Soon to be Alpha Alban, was Iris's brother's best friend and someone Iris thought she could trust, until one day for seemingly no reason, he changed. He became sick and twisted towards her, beating anyone that came too close to Iris, hounding her with the most vicious insults which left her to sit alone wondering what could have happened. So, when the training had concluded and Iris was sent home, she was prepared to face off with the now Alpha, with the specialist training under her belt she was ready to take him on and show everyone she wasn't the same girl she was when she left. But that was all until she realised, this cruel Alpha was actually her mate. Hurt, angry and confused, she fights against Alban, who was more than surprised with Iris's change but possessively determined to keep her around. With past friends causing the deepest of jealousy, deadly secrets being revealed and a vigilante started by none other than the Alpha's brother, can Iris survive life with her new mate, or sink like a stone. Read on to find out.

He is my protector, my guardian, my best friend, but what Nathan does not know is that he is also my crush, the love of my life. I have lived in the shadow of my older best friend for so long, the handsome, and ruthless playboy, king of the streets. I have watched him break several women's hearts, using them and dumping them like they don't matter. He calls me his sweet Angel, the only pure thing in his dark world. He does not believe he is capable of loving me the way I deserve to be loved, but I would show Nathan that deep down, he still has a beating heart. Would I find the courage to show him my heart already beats for him? I am VERA.

The story of Allison is a compelling tale of love, betrayal, and resilience. Allison's life takes an unexpected turn when her sister, Evelyn, runs away a few days before her wedding with her long-time boyfriend. She is forced to marry Adrian Russet Adrian Russette, a powerful and successful billionaire known for achieving everything he sets his mind to. He is also known for his controlling and arrogant behaviour instead of her sister to save her father’s business which was on the brink of bankruptcy. Allison initially refuses to marry Adrian, a man she knows nothing about and has only heard rumours about him, but she soon finds she has no choice but to marry him. However, Adrian is a man who doesn't believe in love and thinks every lady is a gold-digger but has an on-and-off relationship with his long-time girlfriend Zoey. Nonetheless, Adrian marries Allison due to the pressure from his family to settle down. Allison is unhappy with the arrangement, disliking Adrian's arrogance and cavalier attitude towards women. Adrian mistreats Allison and doesn't respect her. After a difficult time, she finds comfort in the company of Delvin, Adrian's estranged stepbrother and the family's black sheep. Will Allison find peace in her marriage? Will Allison have to pick between brothers? Will Allison and Adrian's marriage survive these secrets, and will Adrian commit to their relationship?

❦ Rosalind ❦ “Come here.” “Me?” “Yes. You,” he growled, his pupils glinting in the dark like some kind of fallen, battle-worn angel. I approached him slowly, the slit of my dress creeping higher, and I felt his heated gaze lick the exposed skin. He pushed a metal tray into my arms. “Take the bullets out.” ***** ❄︎ Viktor ❄︎ My toes curled in my shoes as she licked, sucked, and d**pthroated my c*ck like she had something to prove. “You can’t kill me with a bl*wjob, gattina.” I hissed through my teeth, nearing my tipping point. “I have a very strong heart.” She bobbed harder, f**king me with her throat, mouth frothing with spit. I was in f**king heaven. I staggered, and for a second, I genuinely wondered if she could in fact induce a heart attack like this. My phone vibrated. Of course it did, right before gunfire lit up the night. ***** Rosalind Marlow returns to New York to settle her father’s affairs, once one of the city’s most feared mafia bosses, only to find he died beside his greatest rival… and left behind a contract binding her to the rival’s son. Viktor Marino is cold, calculating, and infuriatingly magnetic. Rosa has no intention of becoming anyone’s pawn, not in grief, not in business, and definitely not in bed. But Viktor plays a long game, and with every stare, every challenge, he pulls her deeper into a world of secrets, power, and heat. She was raised to be untouchable. He was born to conquer. And in the space between vengeance and desire, who is going to lose control first? (Contains mature and dark content)

Dr. Alessia Russo's life is spiraling out of control. Drowning in debt and desperate to help her imprisoned brother, the brilliant ER physician makes a decision that will change her life forever. One moonlit rendezvous in a shadowy alley catapults her into the dangerous world of the Bratva, where loyalty is everything and one wrong move could be her last. Enter Nikolai Zhukov, the enigmatic and ruthless boss of the Russian mafia. With eyes that pierce her soul and a touch that sets her skin ablaze, Nikolai offers Alessia an irresistible proposition: become his personal doctor, no questions asked, in exchange for more money than she ever dreamed possible. As Alessia navigates the treacherous waters of the criminal underworld, she finds herself drawn deeper into Nikolai's web. By day, she saves lives in the ER. By night, she tends to bullet wounds and knife fights, all while trying to keep her moral compass intact. But Nikolai is no ordinary crime lord. Behind his cold exterior and calculated moves lies a man with hidden depths and unexpected vulnerabilities. As the heat between them intensifies, Alessia realizes she's not just risking her career and freedom – she's in danger of losing her heart to the very man she should fear most. With enemies closing in and loyalties tested, Alessia must choose between the safe life she's always known and the exhilarating, perilous future Nikolai offers. In a world where passion and danger collide, can their forbidden love survive? Or will the price of entering Nikolai's world prove too high for the good doctor to pay? "Code Black: A Bratva Billionaire Romance" – a heart-pounding tale of love, loyalty, and the thin line between right and wrong.

"Custom demanded that Prince Urban get a love mark tattooed to the side of his left eye as an infant, just like the rest of his people, but to him, the stupid things have only brought on the scorn of his father, the misery of his siblings, and caused his entire kingdom to go broke from fighting so many wars over the irritating ink stains. When Urban’s sister must travel to Donnelly, the kingdom within the sand, for her arranged marriage to align two realms, he goes with her. But he no sooner steps foot inside their castle than his mark starts itching like a son of a bitch, telling him his one true love is near. It just figures, though, that the woman meant for him is completely forbidden. Now he must decide if he should ignore the persistent mark, telling him she's the one, in order to avoid a possible war between kingdoms, or if he should discover whether she's worth risking everything for so they can be together. Either way, his life gets sucked into chaos with threats of beheadings, dark magic lurking, castle traitors scheming, and sword fights eminent. Who knew one little tattoo could cause so much trouble? (ONE TRUE LOVE is the author’s first attempt at a fantasy romance. Please forgive her; she might’ve read an overabundance of Cassandra Gannon, Sarah J. Maas, and Eve Langlais books, then gone off to watch too many episodes of Supernatural, Game of Thrones, and Outlander, because this was the outcome.)"

“Since you are going to offer me to your demons, then why don't I take liberty of you before then…make me the devil's Luna,” Jenna said with her voice a bit shaky and she watched as the man's cold face darkened. “What? Are you seriously selling your soul to the devil?” the man asked and Jenna chuckled. “I am someone that I have tasted death..devil? That sounds more interesting,” Jenna says. “Do you want to know what is more interesting? Your lips…I want to rip it off!” he rasped, crashing his feathered lips on hers. Jenna Rodrigo a young lady who was betrayed by her husband and his bestfriend. Despite not being marked by her husband she still cherished him only to meet him having sex with his so called bestfriend. Feeling shattered and heartbroken by everything, she left the scene not in her right senses. She got involved in an accident which took her life but was granted a second chance by the moon goddess to take her revenge. In the course of her return, she met an Alpha who's titled The Devil Alpha and he happens to be her mate. At what cost did Jenna offer herself to him? Would it end up well for her? Would she able to take her revenge? Find all of this out in this intriguing story....

Meet Madison Lane, a passionate sports journalist with a heart as resilient as the toughest hockey puck. When she's assigned to cover the upcoming championship series, Madison never expected that her professional life would collide with the rugged world of the Coldridge Icebreakers. The very man she cannot stand for his man whorish ways is to be the centerpiece of her coverage, when she has to cover him 24/7 AND move in with him. Alex Stone the man whore of the hockey scene has no time for a sports journalist living in his back pocket, especially not one that he can't take his eyes off and control himself with. She is everything he doesn't want in his life besides, she is becoming his biggest distraction. But when a fake dating scheme orchestrated by the team's public relations team throws Madison and Alex into a whirlwind of media attention, their worlds collide. They're forced to show the world they are a couple. Will their fake relationship become blurred around the edges and become the real thing?