Hollywood Enigma: Hollywood Name Game Book 5

by Alexa Aston

  A spy with a guilty conscience. A war widow who works for the government. Both united to bring down a ring of traitors . . .

  To prevent her father from marrying her off to an elderly suitor, Lady Gemma Barton begs her childhood friend to marry her, devising a way for them to be found in a compromising position. Gemma weds Rob, who then departs to serve on Wellesley’s staff in the war against Bonaparte.

  Gemma’s new father-in-law soon has her working for the British government, deciphering enemy codes.

  Burke Nicholson serves in the Peninsular War as a soldier and spy, using his charisma and charm to gather intelligence. After he’s rescued from being captured and tortured, Burke lives with survivor’s guilt, believing he did something to compromise his latest mission which got his partner killed. He returns to London to continue his spy work, where he is partnered with Gemma and tasked to find a group of traitors within the War Office. The trouble is that Gemma is the widow of Burke’s former partner. Not only did he get her husband killed, but Burke fears their dangerous assignment might also end Gemma’s life.

  The pair fight their growing attraction to one another as they draw closer to finding the rebels trying to topple the British government.

  Will Gemma ever be able to forgive Burke for his role in her husband’s death, and will Burke ever be able to forgive himself?

  To Trust a Duke (Soldiers & Soulmates Book 3)

  A soldier returning from war. A war widow who’s created a new life for herself. An attraction that brings them together . . .

  Forced to marry a stranger after one chaste kiss, Lady Ashlyn Dunwood spends a single night with her new husband before his regiment ships off to war. She gives birth to a son and loses the boy four years later in a tragic accident, only to learn she’s also a war widow. Ashlyn invests her settlement and what’s left of her shattered heart in Dunwood Academy, a school for troubled boys. When a devastatingly handsome duke begs her to take on his wayward half-brothers as pupils, Ashlyn is up for the challenge—but finds herself fighting her attraction to the arrogant nobleman.

  Colonel Reid Baker arrives home from the Peninsular War and finds himself the Duke of Gilford, assuming his new responsibilities and placing his rebellious half-brothers at a local academy. Knowing he’ll need an heir, he sets his sights on the headstrong, confident Lady Dunwood, who claims she’ll never wed again. Convincing the dowager countess to marry him becomes Reid’s mission, as he jumps every hurdle Ashlyn places in his way—and along that way, the cool-headed former army officer loses his heart to the intelligent beauty.

  Will Reid break through the walls Ashlyn has erected around her and teach her to live—and love?

  To Save a Love (Soldiers & Soulmates Book 4)

  Both wronged by their fathers . . . two damaged souls longing for love and salvation . . .

  Childhood sweethearts Desmond Bretton and Anna Browning defy their powerful fathers and elope to Gretna Green when Anna is told she will marry a viscount old enough to be her grandfather. Caught before they cross the Scottish border, Dez is shipped off to the army, where he learns of Anna’s suicide. Though a dozen years pass, Dez still loves the girl who always held his heart.

  Though everyone is told Anna died, her father places his daughter in a madhouse to punish her for her rebellious behavior. Anna retreats inside herself to a world of her own making in order to cling to her sanity. Dez, her lost love, is a huge part of that perfect world.

  When Dez becomes the Earl of Torrington, he discovers Anna is still alive and with her cousin’s help, they free her from Gollingham Asylum. Dez knows the girl he loves still lingers within Anna and is determined to liberate her, as well as other women imprisoned at the madhouse.

  Can Dez save the sanity of the woman he loves—or will Anna be lost to him forever?

  To Win a Window (Soldiers & Soulmates Book 5)

  A widowed duchess at loose ends, longing for love. A colonel with no family who unexpectedly becomes an earl. Two stubborn individuals who are drawn together by passion—and also find friendship . . .

  Dalinda Bretton wed the Duke of Gilford after one brief meeting, escaping a cruel, unloving father before he can betroth her to a stranger. The much older duke gives her confidence, stability, and two sons before he dies of a heart attack a dozen years into their marriage. With her young boys away at school, Dalinda is at loose ends and visits her brother, where she meets a sinfully handsome stranger.

  Rhys Armistead toils as a working-class groom when he is plucked from obscurity by the Earl of Sheffington, whose sickly son might never live to succeed him. Rhys’ mother is a distant cousin to the earl and Rhys is next in line to become Lord Sheffington if the heir apparent passes. Treating Rhys as a second son, the earl purchases a commission in the army for Rhys, who spends a dozen years fighting on the continent until he receives word that he has inherited the earldom.

  Turning to Dez, his closest friend from the war who recently returned to England when he unexpectedly became an earl, Rhys visits the new Lord Torrington—and is taken with Dez’s twin sister, Dalinda, a vivacious widow. The couple spends one magical night together but Rhys realizes the duchess is far superior to him socially and offers her friendship instead of marriage.

  Can Dalinda convince Rhys that they are a perfect match—or will his stubbornness keep them apart forever?

  Devoted to the Duke (The St. Clairs Book 1)

  After returning to London from his Grand Tour, serious-minded Jeremy St. Clair, the Marquess of Sather, attends a ball and meets a luminescent beauty who draws him out of his shell. They share a searing kiss—her first—and though he never planned to wed, Jeremy desires to make this young woman his. His life takes an unexpected turn when he leaves her that night. With his father’s death, Jeremy becomes the new Duke of Everton, and learns the former duke has left the St. Clair family almost penniless. Jeremy spends five years restoring the family fortunes, yearning for the auburn-haired beauty who understood him like no other before.

  Lady Catherine Crawford has been inundated with offers of marriage and hasn’t cared for any of her suitors. She longs for love, seeing how devoted her parents are to one another. When she meets Lord Sather, she believes they are meant to be together. Yet her world collapses that night in a horrific carriage accident, killing her mother and seriously injuring both Catherine and her father. She retreats to their country estate and once healed, cares her father and mothers her younger sister, Leah.

  When Jeremy and Catherine meet years later, the sparks are still present—though Catherine has recently learned a dark secret about her past, making it impossible to wed Jeremy without ruining his reputation. Through a misunderstanding, the ton believes them to be engaged and she goes along with the engagement, hoping to find a way to break it.

  Will Catherine’s secret be revealed—and will Jeremy accept her if it becomes public knowledge?

  Midnight with the Marquess (The St. Clairs Book 2)

  Can love heal a wounded army officer who doesn’t believe it exists?

  Lady Rachel St. Clair has witnessed how powerful love can be, thanks to the example her brother and wife set, and she won’t settle for anything less. At a house party, Rachel meets an officer returning from the Peninsular War and believes she may have found love, thanks to their clandestine midnight lessons in kissing.

  Major Evan Drake, Marquess of Merrick, witnessed his father murder his mother and believes love doesn’t exist. He’s returned from combat wounded in both body and soul. When he meets Rachel he changes his mind about love, drawn to the raven-haired beauty’s spirit. Yet Rachel devastates him by rejecting him before he can declare his feelings for her, sending Evan into a downward spiral that almost ends in death.

  Nursing her broken heart, Rachel continues her search for love the next Season, though her thoughts linger on those midnights with her marquess.

  Will Evan be able to regain Rachel’s trust—and open his heart to love?

  Embracing the Earl (The St. Clairs B
ook 3)

  Luke St. Clair, Earl of Mayfield, has tired of his empty, carefree life and seeks to find a spouse he can love and cherish, much as his brother and sister have done. Ridding himself of his mistress and lover, he commits to entering the upcoming Season with an open mind. Before the Season can even begin, though, Luke meets an independent beauty who does more than interest him.

  After Lady Caroline Andrews loses her beloved sister, she decides she needs a change of scenery and travels to Boston to visit her aunt, only to be stranded for three years when England and America go to war. Once the peace accords are signed, Caroline returns to London. Finding her father has died deeply in debt, leaving his daughter nothing, Caroline uses an inheritance from her aunt to open her own bookstore and tearoom. Needing to support herself, Caroline declares she will never marry. Falling in love with Luke St. Clair wasn’t in her plans and only complicates her life.

  Luke is convinced the spirited, independent Caroline is the one for him. Will the rogue with a heart for children persuade the stubborn bookseller that fate demands they wed?

  Defending the Duke (The St. Clairs Book 4)

  Can love grow between a reluctant duke and an illegitimate shop girl?

  Anthony Godwin, trusted staff officer to the Duke of Wellington, returns from the Napoleonic Wars to learn both his father and brother are dead and he is the new Duke of Linfield. His anger and bitterness have grown through the years and he despises the Linfield name—because his father gave Anthony away when he was eight years old. Now he finds himself a part of the ton, with men seeking his advice and women vying to become his new duchess, all because of a title he now holds and never wanted.

  Laurel Wright grew up in poverty. When her mother dies, Laurel learns she and her twin brother are the illegitimate offspring of the deceased Duke of Everton. Penniless and starving, she turns to the new Duke of Everton in desperation. Suddenly, Laurel is swept into a glittering, unfamiliar world as she is launched into the Season. Navigating her way proves daunting and when she is discovered in a compromising position with a man she’s only met, it leads to a quick marriage in which both partners agree that love will never be a part of their relationship.

  Anthony never wanted a wife and is abruptly saddled with one. He tries to keep his distance from the raven-haired beauty who is now his duchess, but Laurel proves to be irresistible. Passion erupts between them and he finds himself longing for a child, though he fights growing closer to this new wife.

  Will Laurel and Anthony be able to put the past behind them—and let love rule their future?

  Suddenly a St. Clair (The St. Clairs Book 5)

  Will a marriage of convenience blossom into one filled with love?

  At age eighteen, Hudson St. Clair learns he’s the Duke of Everton’s bastard. Though never claimed by his father, the new duke, Hudson’s half-brother, accepts Hudson into the family, gifting him with a university education and teaching him about the myriad of businesses controlled by the St. Clair family. His grandmother, Cor, guides Hudson in how to become a gentleman and molds his character, making him a man to be reckoned with. Upon Cor’s death, her wealth and estate will go to him—provided Hudson weds within sixty days after the reading of her will.

  Lady Mia Sloane is an inventor, caring for her feeble-minded father on their crumbling country estate. Upon his death, Mia is swept away to London by her pushy but loving aunt, who tries to turn Mia into a woman she’s not. Attending society events at night, Mia spends her days working on her devices, especially the new steam engine she’s sold to Hudson St. Clair and his family.

  When Mr. St. Clair proposes a marriage of convenience in order to allow Mia to continue working on her prototypes, she leaps at the offer, despite never having desired a husband or children. The only thing troubling her is her new husband tells her she’s not expected to share his bed—the very thing Mia has become most interested in doing since their experiments in kissing have awakened something within her that only Hudson St. Clair can fill.

  Can two misfits rejected by society come together and grow stronger through the lasting bond of love?