Recommended Romantic Fiction for 2009
Discover the best romantic fiction books of 2009 with our curated list of top recommendations. Fall in love with heartwarming stories, passionate tales, and unforgettable characters.

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Bone Crossed
by Patricia Briggs
An auto mechanic in eastern Washington by day, Mercy Thompson, a shape-shifter with some highly unusual abilities, puts her talents to work maintaining the precarious balance between the human and paranormal worlds, in the sequel to Iron Kissed.

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Not Quite a Husband
by Sherry Thomas
Sherry Thomas is one of the hottest new voices in historical romance, garnering the highest praise from today’s bestselling writers (“Entrancing.” —Mary Balogh; “Ravishingly sinful, intelligent and addictive.” —Eloisa James). Now Sherry delivers this powerful story of a remarkable woman and the love she thought she’d never find—with the man she thought she’d lost forever.… Their marriage lasted only slightly longer than the honeymoon—to no one’s surprise, not even Bryony Asquith’s. A man as talented, handsome, and sought after by society as Leo Marsden couldn't possibly want to spend his entire life with a woman who rebelled against propriety by becoming a doctor. Why, then, three years after their annulment and half a world away, does he track her down at her clinic in the remotest corner of India? Leo has no reason to think Bryony could ever forgive him for the way he treated her, but he won’t rest until he’s delivered an urgent message from her sister—and fulfilled his duty by escorting her safely back to England. But as they risk their lives for each other on the journey home, will the biggest danger be the treacherous war around them—or their rekindling passion?

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Body Chemistry
by Dara Girard
New BSS member Brenda Everton has excelled in a man's world at the expense of her personal life. Now, pairing sexy black stockings with a sexy attitude, she's meeting with her ex-husband Dominic to find out whether passion can strike twice. Original.

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Scandal
by Carolyn Jewel
After the death of her husband, who broke her heart with all of his illicit affairs, Sophie Evans refuses to be seduced by the Earl of Banallt who, declaring his love, won't take no for an answer. Original.

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The Runaway McBride
by Elizabeth Thornton
James Burnett is a widower who’s given up hope of finding someone to share his life with. He did, however, once have a lover he later dubbed Faithless McBride. For eight years, he’d suppressed thoughts of Faith McBride’s abandonment with whiskey and women. That is, until visions of her imminent death started to haunt him. Only James can save her from a killer—but can Faith trust the one man who destroyed her faith in love?

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Road To Seduction
by Ann Christopher
Isabella has always known where she stands with Eric. The gorgeous millionaire is her best friend, her confidant ... and the one guy who's completely unaware of her as a woman. At least he was, until a road trip unleashes some serious sexual tension. Eric, similarly, can't believe he's lusting after Izzy. Their friendship is too strong to mess up and he just doesn't do long-term relationships. Still, surrendering to their smoldering attraction just once couldn't hurt ... right?

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Forbidden Games
by Deirdre Savoy
Officer Zaria Fuentes is unsure why her partner Drew Grissom has suddenly become overprotective, though he shields her from a potential perp's unwanted advances. But when guarding her body leads to passion under the covers, Zaria and Drew must confront their true feelings for each other. Original.

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Romancing The Runway
by Linda Hudson-Smith
Supermodels Kennedy and Xavier seem to have it all--hot careers and each other. But crazy schedules and unruly paparazzi threaten their fragile new relationship. Can their soul-deep connection be enough to guarantee a picture-perfect ending? Original.

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Dead and Gone
by Charlaine Harris
The ninth installment in the series that inspired the HBO original True Blood offers another exciting undead adventure, which opens with a vampire fashion show, showing just one of the fruits of the author's unique writing style. Original.

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The Thirteenth
by L. A. Banks
Banks delivers the final story in the cult favorite Vampire Huntress series. The nation is under martial law, and if things aren't bad enough, the Dark Realm breaks the sixth biblical seal, plunging the world into perpetual darkness--and irrevocably into the Armageddon.

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White Witch, Black Curse
by Kim Harrison
Rachel Morgan, kick-ass witch and bounty hunter, sets out to avenge the death of a loved one.

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This Duchess of Mine
by Eloisa James
No man can resist Jemma's sensuous allure . . . Except her own husband! Wedding bells celebrating the arranged marriage between the lovely Duchess of Beaumont and her staid, imperturbable duke had scarcely fallen silent when a shocking discovery sent Jemma running from the ducal mansion. For the next nine years she cavorted abroad, creating one delicious scandal after another (if one is to believe the rumors). Elijah, Duke of Beaumont, did believe those rumors. But the handsome duke needs an heir, so he summons his seductive wife home. Jemma laughs at Elijah's cool eyes and icy heart—but to her secret shock, she doesn't share his feelings. In fact, she wants the impossible: her husband's heart at her feet. But what manner of seduction will make a man fall desperately in love . . . with his own wife?

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Confessions of a Little Black Gown
by Elizabeth Boyle
She spied him in the shadows . . . And in an instant, Thalia Langley knew the man before her was no saint. He might claim to be the Duke of Hollindrake's unassuming country cousin, but no man that handsome, that arresting, could be anything but . . . well, he simply must be an unrepentant rogue. His cat-like grace and power leave Tally shivering in her slippers at the notion of all the wicked, forbidden things he might be capable of doing . . . to her. Indeed, Lord Larken is no bumbling vicar, but a master spy there in his majesty's service to find—and murder—a notorious pirate freed in a daring prison escape. Devoted to the Crown, Larken's not about to let an interfering (and not entirely innocent) Mayfair miss disrupt his ruthless plans. Yet how can he be anything but tempted by this lady in a little black gown . . . a dress tantalizing enough to lead even Larken astray.

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A Duke of Her Own
by Eloisa James
A duke must choose wisely . . . Leopold Dautry, the notorious Duke of Villiers, must wed quickly and nobly—and his choices, alas, are few. The Duke of Montague's daughter, Eleanor, is exquisitely beautiful and fiercely intelligent. Villiers betroths himself to her without further ado. After all, no other woman really qualifies. Lisette, the outspoken daughter of the Duke of Gilner, cares nothing for clothing or decorum. She's engaged to another man, and doesn't give a fig for status or title. Half the ton believes Lisette mad—and Villiers is inclined to agree. Torn between logic and passion, between intelligence and imagination, Villiers finds himself drawn to the very edge of impropriety. But it is not until he's in a duel to the death, fighting for the reputation of the woman he loves, that Villiers finally realizes that the greatest risk may not be in the dueling field . . . But in the bedroom. And the heart.

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Written on Your Skin
by Meredith Duran
THE SOCIETY BEAUTY WHO SAVED HIS LIFE... Beauty, charm, wealthy admirers: Mina Masters enjoys every luxury but freedom. To save herself from an unwanted marriage, she turns her wiles on a darkly handsome stranger. But Mina’s wouldbe hero is playing his own deceptive game. A British spy, Phin Granville has no interest in emotional entanglements...until the night Mina saves his life by gambling her own. THE JADED SPY WHO VOWED TO FORGET HER... Four years later, Phin inherits a title that frees him from the bloody game of espionage. But memories of the woman who saved him won't let Phin go. When he learns that Mina needs his aid, honor forces him back into the world of his nightmares. IN LIVES BUILT ON LIES, LOVE IS THE DARKEST SECRET OF ALL... Deception has ruled Mina’s life just as it has Phin’s. But as the beauty and the spy match wits in a dangerous dance, their practiced masks begin to slip, revealing a perilous attraction. And the greatest threat they face may not be traitors or murderous conspiracies, but their own dark desires....

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Bound by Your Touch
by Meredith Duran
From the exciting new historical author Meredith Duran comes two back-to-back dark and sexy Regency historical novels that follow her thrilling debut The Duke of Shadows. Lydia Boyce, heroine of Bound by Your Touch, is a spinster with sophisticated interests, for she knows that an unblemished reputation is the only protection in a judgmental world. But when a mysterious forgery threatens to sully her family and her father’s legacy, she finds her only hope for salvation in a man who has no use for the rules of good society—or those who follow them. The Viscount Sanburne is a society darling, but a dark past has left him aimless and uninterested in anything but self-destructive amusement. He has no interest in a bluestocking bent on justice—until she flashes a dimple, and he realizes that corrupting her might prove as pleasurable as scandalizing her does.

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Goddess of the Hunt
by Tessa Dare
In this lush and seductive novel, exciting new author Tessa Dare takes desire to brazen heights. Ever the bold adventuress, Lucy Waltham has decided to go hunting for a husband. But first she needs some target practice. So she turns to her brother’ s best friend, Jeremy Trescott, the Earl of Kendall, to hone her seductive wiles on him before setting her sights on another man. But her practice kisses spark a smoldering passion–one that could send all her plans up in smoke. Jeremy has an influential title, a vast fortune, and a painful past full of long-buried secrets. He keeps a safe distance from his own emotions, but to distract Lucy from her reckless scheming, he must give his passions free rein. Their sensual battle of wills is as maddening as it is delicious, but the longer he succeeds in managing the headstrong temptress, the closer Jeremy comes to losing control. When scandal breaks, can he bring himself to abandon Lucy to her ruin? Or will he risk his heart and claim her for his own?