Barbara Samuel / Barbara O’Neal / Ruth Wind Books In Order

Beautiful Stranger

Fourth in the ‘Last Roundup’ series, this is the story of teacher Marissa Pearce and her twin, Victoria. Marissa’s concern for the niece of Robert, an American Indian, brings her close to him, but she has to overcome her insecurity about her weight, compared with her thin sister.

The Black Angel

A Taste Of HeavenArdor once foolishly led Lady Adriana St. Ives into the arms of a rake, an affair that cost her everything she held dear. Though that was five years ago, this golden English beauty still vows that no man will ever again ignite the sensual passion hidden deep in her soul not even her new husband, Tynan Spenser, Earl of Glencove, a darkly handsome and rich Irish rogue. Known as ‘The Black Angel‘ for his wild and lascivious ways, Tynan is as determined to melt his icy bride as she is to resist his seductive charms. Vowing that she will be his in just one hundred kisses, Tynan sets out to win her with a kiss each day a challenge Riana is sure she can withstand. But the willful beauty has no idea of the power of a single kiss…

Night of Fire

Lady Cassandra St. Ives had sworn off marriage ever since becoming a happy widow, but lately her affections have been engaged by a mysterious, long distance correspondent. Cassandra has shared her soul with her far off admirer, and whe he invites her to visit his home she accepts the invitation gladly. Expecting a kindly of gentleman, Cassandra is stunned to find that Count Basilio Montevarchi is a virile man in his prime who knows her heart’s most intimate desires and is only too willng to fulfill every one…
The moment Basilio sets eyes on the vibrant beauty he recognizes a soul mate he will never be able to claim as his own. A long standing betrothal and the honor of his family dictate that Basilio must deny himself Cassandra’s love. Still they cannot deny the force of their passion until the confines of responsibility finally force them apart. Now Basilio must find a way to keep his heart’s desire before he loses her forever.

Juliet’s Law

Single father Joshua Mad Calf wasn’t a romantic guy but like his precious four year old daughter, he was enchanted by the princesslike Juliet Rousseau. Still, his focus needed to be healing his daughter’s emotional wounds, not the fire ignited by a beauty with demons of her own…
. Visiting Colorado to help her sister through a bitter divorce, Juliet had never anticipated the fierce attraction she felt in the rugged tribal cop’s arms. Then her brother in law was found murdered and her sister was arrested for the crime. Suddenly more than Juliet’s heart was in danger. Could she trust Josh to help her prove her sister’s innocence in time?

Miranda’s Revenge

With a murder trial looming, Miranda Rousseau had one chance to clear her sister’s name. But tall, sexy James Marquez was quickly becoming much more than a private investigator. Miranda had hired him for the case, but every time she felt his dark eyes on her, she wanted him on her. James was consumed with the passionate redhead, yet he had no place in her big city life. He had a murder to solve and secrets to keep secrets Miranda would never forgive. With so much at stake, could he let himself be seduced by a future he could never have?

Lucien’s Fall

Hiding his unhappy past in the outward behaviors of a seducing rake, Lord Lucien Harrow is drawn into the world of Madeline, whose efforts to save her ancestral home prevent her from taking the time for romance.

Heart of a Knight

In 1351, Lady Elizabeth D’Auvers returns from exile to her ancestral English castle and finds it managed by a knight errant whose courage and looks attract her but whose secrets make her tremble.’

In the Midnight Rain (As: Ruth Wind)

Looking For The Past…
Ellie Connor is a biographer with a special talent for piecing together fragments of the past. Her latest project, though, promises to be her most challenging and personal. Not only is she researching the life of a blues singer who disappeared mysteriously forty years ago, but Ellie is also trying to find the truth about the parents she never knew. The love child of a restless woman who died young and an anonymous father, Ellie has little to go on but a faded postcard her mother sent from a small East Texas town the hometown of her latest subject. Could Mean Finding Her FutureIt is there that Ellie meets Blue Reynard, a man with deep roots and wide connections who may help her find answers. With a piercing gaze and cool grin, Blue is as sultry and seductive as the Southern night air. Beneath his charming surface, however, lies a soul damaged by loss. Despite her better judgment, Ellie finds herself irresistibly drawn to Blue’s passion and his pain. But Ellie’s been lured by sweet talk and hot kisses before. How can she possibly stay with blue when every instinct tells her to run?

No Place Like Home

Sometimes a wrong turn is the only way home…
. No Place Like Home tells the unforgettable story of a family bound together by tradition and the emotional journey of an estranged daughter risking everything for a second chance at life and love. Twenty one years ago Jewel Sabatino left her childhood behind and never looked back. After a magical taste of fame, she found herself alone with a son to raise and not much else. She survived with the help of Michael, her one true friend. But now Michael is too sick to care for himself, and Jewel has run out of options. She leaves New York for the hills of Colorado, unsure if the family she ran from will welcome her back. For Jewel, coming home is falling back into a world that smells of Italian restaurants and home baked pies. It is the laughter of sisters preparing for a summer wedding, and the peaceful haven for a treasured soul mate’s last days. It also means facing the unforgiving eyes of a father betrayed by his favorite child and letting go of a son who is ready to become a man. But most of all, it is the love she discovers in her own wary heart when Michael s brother Malachi unexpectedly arrives on her doorstep. Told with breathtaking insight and deep emotion, No Place Like Home is a joyful feast for all the senses, a vibrant bounty of love, and a tender life lesson to be savored long after the last page is turned.

A Piece of Heaven

With her acclaimed hardcover debut, No Place Like Home, readers enthusiastically welcomed Barbara Samuel into the ranks of bestselling women’s fiction, applauding her stirring novel of loss and redemption. In A Piece of Heaven, she shares another poignant tale rich in atmosphere and insight that explores the complexity of relationships, the importance of family, and the healing power of love. In the sun baked hills of New Mexico, Luna McGraw has lived a lifetime of regrets, struggling to conquer the demons that destroyed her marriage and caused her to lose custody of her beloved daughter. But as Luna fights to rebuild a relationship with the troubled teenager, she remains haunted by images of her own childhood and the father she barely knew. Strong and resilient as the houses he builds, Thomas Coyote comes into Luna s life one extraordinary night when his grandmother nearly dies while conjuring a fiery brew of spiritual enchantment. Luna does not need a man especially one with a needy ex wife to complicate her fragile dreams of the future. Their attraction pushes them both beyond reason into a place where there is only possibility. Yet it will take more than passion to recover the tattered pieces of Luna s soul, more than time to forgive the sins of an offending husband, and more than promises to mend the broken heart of a child. A Piece of Heaven is an irresistible novel full of colorful characters and lush settings spiced with the magical flavors of the Southwest, a brilliant tapestry of romance and realism by a master storyteller.

The Goddesses of Kitchen Avenue

Trudy Marino never expected her life to turn out perfectly. But at forty six, she was content with what she did have: her caring husband Rick…
twenty plus happy years raising three accomplished kids…
and a lovely house in the artistic, vibrantly diverse town of Pueblo, New Mexico. But a heartbreaking discovery and a suddenly shattered marriage now has Trudy looking back on the choices she didn t make and where she might go from here. Struggling to pick up the pieces, Trudy finds support from a quirky, eclectic group of friends and neighbors her goddesses of Kitchen Avenue all of whom are trying in their own unique ways to navigate life’s little surprises. There s Jade, a fiery social worker who s finding unexpected strength to deal with her player ex husband, thanks to a most unorthodox passion; Jade s grandmother, Roberta, who has just lost her husband of sixty two years and through memory and piercing grief wonders what to do with the rest of her life; Shannelle, Trudy s young neighbor and an aspiring writer, determined to realize her talent despite formidable obstacles…
including the husband who s afraid her success will be his loss; and Angel, a young, quietly knowing photographer who makes Trudy uncover a sensuality she never knew even as he tries to get over the one love he can never really forget. As Trudy faces her future, she discovers that figuring out what to let go and what to keep is just as difficult as moving on. As she weighs what she and Rick still share against new possibilities, she ll surprise everyone including herself as she tries to reconcile the best of both. From an acclaimed voice in fiction, this is a wry, beguiling, heartfelt, and warmly wise novel about second chances, unexpected choices, and the dreams that we all hunger to fulfill.

Lady Luck’s Map of Vegas

A successful Web designer, forty year old India has a fabulously hip life in Denver and a sexy Irish lover in New York who jets out to see her on bi weekly visits. The long distance romance suits India just fine: Though Jack is the only man who has ever made India feel truly alive, she doesn t want things to get too serious. But then her father pas*ses away, and India must honor the promise she made to him: to look after her mother when he’s gone.

Suddenly India finds herself back in Colorado Springs with the woman who both intrigues and infuriates her. Eldora is sixty something and exquisitely gorgeous, but her larger than life personality can suck the air out of a room. True to form, Eldora throws India a curveball, insisting that they hit the road to look for India s twin, Gypsy, a brilliant artist who lives a vagabond s existence in the remote mountain towns of New Mexico. It looks like India can t avoid her mother s intensity any longer, especially after she discovers stunning secrets from Eldora s past.

Thirty years ago, Eldora regaled her twin girls with glamorous stories about her days as a Las Vegas showgirl stories of martinis and music at the Sahara, back when Frank and Sammy ruled the town. But the story of how she really ended up in Sin City, and the unsavory life she d run from with her daughters in tow, is full of details she s never seen fit to share until now.

As mother and daughter sail down Route 66, the very road Eldora drove those many years ago, looking for Gypsy, while passing motels, diners, and souvenir shops, Eldora must relive a lifetime of memories that have tormented her before she can put them to rest once and for all…
.

Award winning author Barbara Samuel brings us a heartfelt story of second chances and unexpected detours. As two women come to terms with themselves and each other, the past unravels and the future spreads out before them like the open road.

From the Hardcover edition.

Madame Mirabou’s School of Love / The Scent of Hours

Sometimes real passion means living the life you ve always wanted. Nicole Bridges still can t believe she’s taken up residence in a Colorado apartment complex nicknamed Splitsville. She s still reeling from her husband s affair, a divorce she never saw coming, and having to leave the upscale, comfortable world she helped make for her ex and their teenage daughter. With little money, even less work experience, and no idea what to do next, she takes tentative steps if only to keep her head above water. Along the way, Nikki unexpectedly finds herself falling in with eccentric new neighbors and being seduced out of her funk by a charming, elusive ex Londoner. And through her delight in the sensual elements of perfume, she will discover the courage to form bonds she never imagined. When a discarded flyer printed with the name Madame Mirabou provides the spark of inspiration, Nikki dares to blend the fragments of her life into a fragrance that s uniquely and passionately her own.

The Lost Recipe for Happiness (As: Barbara O’Neal)

In this sumptuous new novel, Barbara O Neal offers readers a celebration of food, family, and love as a woman searches for the elusive ingredient we re all hoping to find . It’s the opportunity Elena Alvarez has been waiting for the challenge of running her own kitchen in a world class restaurant. Haunted by an accident of which she was the lone survivor, Elena knows better than anyone how to survive the odds. With her faithful dog, Alvin, and her grandmother s recipes, Elena arrives in Colorado to find a restaurant in as desperate need of a fresh start as she is and a man whose passionate approach to food and life rivals her own. Owner Julian Liswood is a name many people know but a man few do. He s come to Aspen with a troubled teenage daughter and a dream of the kind of stability and love only a family can provide. But for Elena, old ghosts don t die quietly, yet a chance to find happiness at last is worth the risk.

The Secret of Everything (As: Barbara O’Neal)

In this spectacular new novel, Barbara O Neal delivers a generous helping of the best in life family, food, and love in the story of a woman’s search for the one thing worth more than anything. At thirty seven, Tessa Harlow is still working her way down her list of goals to fall in love and have a family. A self described rolling stone, Tessa leads hiking tours for adventurous vacationers it s a job that s taken her around the world but never a step closer to home. Then a freak injury during a trip already marred by tragedy forces her to begin her greatest adventure of all. Located high in the New Mexico mountains, Las Ladronas has become a magnet for the very wealthy and very hip, but once upon a time it was the setting of a childhood trauma Tessa can only half remember. Now, as she rediscovers both her old hometown and her past, Tessa is drawn to search and rescue worker Vince Grasso. The handsome widower isn t her type. No more inclined to settle down than Tessa, Vince is the father of three, including an eight year old girl as lost as Tessa herself. But Tessa and Vince are both drawn to the town s most beloved eatery 100 Breakfasts and to each other. For Tessa, the restaurant is not only the key to the mystery that has haunted her life but a chance to find the home and the family she s never known.

How to Bake a Perfect Life

In a novel as warm and embracing as a family kitchen, Barbara O Neal explores the poignant, sometimes complex relationships between mothers and daughters and the healing magic of homemade bread. Professional baker Ramona Gallagher is a master of an art that has sustained her through the most turbulent times, including a baby at fifteen and an endless family feud. But now Ramona’s bakery threatens to crumble around her. Literally. She s one water heater disaster away from losing her grandmother s rambling Victorian and everything she s worked so hard to build. When Ramona s soldier son in law is wounded in Afghanistan, her daughter, Sophia, races overseas to be at his side, leaving Ramona as the only suitable guardian for Sophia s thirteen year old stepdaughter, Katie. Heartbroken, Katie feels that she s being dumped again this time on the doorstep of a woman out of practice with mothering. Ramona relies upon a special set of tools patience, persistence, and the reliability of a good recipe when rebellious Katie arrives. And as she relives her own history of difficult choices, Ramona shares her love of baking with the troubled girl. Slowly, Katie begins to find self acceptance and a place to call home. And when a man from her past returns to offer a second chance at love, Ramona discovers that even the best recipe tastes better when you add time, care, and a few secret ingredients of your own.

Faery Magic

From four of today’s finest talents comes an enchanting collection of romantic tales. Set in glamorous Georgian and Regency England, these four stories are filled with myth and mystery, and illustrate the magical, sensual and humorous events that can occur when the worlds of mortals and faeries collide. Full page, full color ‘Romantic Times’ ad.

A Mother’s Love

Insta MomWhen a car accident robs businesswoman Kyra Tierney of her best friend, she finds herself the proud or rather, bewildered mom of a newborn. She can hardly accept help from builder Dylan Jones, even though both she and the baby find him irresistible! ber Dedicated MomChrista Sullivan has been devoting herself to nursing her recently injured teenage daughter back to health and life. But when her daughter responds well to former rodeo cowboy Jace McCandless, how can she push him away even if he has lost his way?And a mom who’s getting hitched?For Leila Foster, most guys aren’t good enough including too hot detective Mark Duncan. And when her mother announces that she’s getting remarried, Leila is utterly horrified. Now Leila’s mom has a new lesson to teach her daughter about taking a risk on love and it could be the hardest yet!

Chalice of Roses

Romance and destiny intertwine in four all new novellas inspired by grail quests featuring two New York Times bestselling authors! From the bestselling and award winning authors of Dragon Lovers comes an anthology of fantasy, romance, and eternal love. In these four novellas, history and destiny spark passion, and everything depends on the fate of one mystical cup: the Holy Grail. A young woman must find her love to summon the Grail to bring peace to England; a Regency lady must keep it safe from Napoleon’s spies; a modern sorceress must keep the Grail from falling into Na*zi hands, and an American must put the chalice at risk to rescue her one true love. These are four passionate and enchanting stories of desire and destiny inspired by one of our most powerful legends.