This HaBO comes from Ashley, who wants to find this historical romance:
I have scoured the internet and triple checked my reading history, but have not been able to find this book or the series it belongs to. This is my last ditch effort before I give up and write the book myself because it must not exist outside of my head.
The book in question is a historical romance where the nobleman (can’t remember if he was titled or not) runs across a wife sale where the woman being sold is someone he knows and used to love (I think). She’s very shy and sweet and doesn’t expect much except that it will be better than her current marriage. I think she has some self worth/image issues. I want to say she’s given pearls or some sort of jewelry and told to behave in very specific way while the male lead teaches her how to serve him. Then there’s a dinner where a friend and fellow former spy (I think) of the new man comes to meet her and tells her that new man loves her.
There’s another book in the series about a former spy trying to get revenge on a woman who tricked him in his work a while ago. He accidentally abducts that woman’s twin(?) sister instead and tries to break her through seduction. The abducted woman was tricked by her “evil” sister to take her place. The “good” sister also has had a baby from an American soldier that’s dead now (maybe). The “evil” sister might be keeping the baby hostage but then ends up dropping it off at the house of the spy. At the end of the story, the “good” sister tried to take revenge on the spy by doing the same thing to him that he did to her, but it just turns into a love story ending where they find out she’s pregnant again with spy man’s baby.
I hope someone from the Smart Bitches, Trashy Books community can help me out!
We must HaBO!
It might be The Bride Sale by Candice Hern. The back cover copy:
A Cornish woman auctioned off to pay her husband’s debts soon finds herself at the manor of an enigmatic widower in this gripping Regency romance.
A Bartered Lady
Lord James Harkness is shocked to discover a “bride sale” taking place in his small English village—and surprised by the depth of his feelings for the unfortunate gentlewoman being auctioned off by a disreputable husband. But is it honor and nobility that compel James to outbid the townfolk for the proud, beautiful lady—or is it something more akin to . . . desire?
A Mysterious Lord
Verity Osborne is not sure whether good fortune or ill brought her to this dark, brooding man and his lonely manor house on the moors. Local talk brands James Harkness as evil—but Verity senses a gentleness underneath. She dearly longs for her liberty, but his sensuous touch causes her to stay. However, James must first trust Verity with his secrets if they are ever to share love’s rapturous freedom. And will the promised passion she sees flaming in his eyes warm Verity’s heart . . . or burn her?
I think @KatyKingston is right. I knew as soon as I read the HABO that I had read it, but couldn’t remember who wrote it. It was that long ago. No idea on the second one. It doesn’t look The Bride Sale was part of a series according to Hern’s website.
Could this be the Duke Buys a Bride by Sophie Jordan? It’s part of the Rogue Files series although the plot of the other book doesn’t seem to match the others that I have read…
And also…
The Twice-Bought Bride, by Elinor Larkin
This doesn’t help…but I can’t believe there are at least three books that fit this description! Historical romance just makes me go “yikes” sometimes.
(There is some interesting economic work on the thinking behind wife sales. https://www.peterleeson.com/Wife_Sales.pdf)
Weirdly, the second book sounds like Someone to Watch Over Me by Lisa Kleypas?