Regency Ballrooms: When Dukes Wed in Haste
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- Suzanne Enoch published After The Kiss in 2000 as the first volume in her Notorious Gentlemen series for Avon Books.
- Jane Feather's Blackwater Brides trilogy (2015–2017) reimagines the forced marriage plot with 17th-century political intrigue and feudal outlaw families.
- Caroline Linden's Love and Other Scandals (2013) blends the marriage-of-convenience trope with a secret-identity subplot centred on a scandalous advice book.
- The Regency forced marriage subgenre typically opens in medias res — weeks before the wedding or the morning after — to skip courtship and maximise conflict.
- Mass-market paperback editions from Avon Romance and Bantam dominated the category between 2000 and 2018, with print runs optimised for airport racks and supermarket shelves.
Love and Other Scandals — Caroline Linden
A spinster writes a scandalous advice book under a pen name, becomes the toast of London society, and finds herself tangled with the one man who can expose her — or marry her.
This is the Regency forced marriage plot at its smartest: Joan Bennet's problem isn't a compromised reputation but a precarious one she's intentionally built. The forced marriage arrives not through scandal but through leverage — the hero knows her secret, and the only way to keep it is to let him in. Linden writes taut category romance with a light hand for banter and a sharp eye for power dynamics. The mass-market format means brisk pacing and a satisfying arc that doesn't outstay its welcome. Explore our current copy of Love and Other Scandals. Browse more Romance books at Patina.
After The Kiss — Suzanne Enoch
A rake with a capital R meets a respectable widow who's done her duty — and neither expects the chemistry that forces them into a marriage neither wanted.
Sullivan Waring is the platonic ideal of the Regency rake: charming, dangerous, uninterested in reform. Lady Isabel Chalsey is the perfect foil — a widow who's already married for duty once and has no intention of risking her hard-won independence. Enoch writes attraction as friction, and the forced marriage here is less altar-bound crisis than slow-burn negotiation. The Notorious Gentlemen series (2000–2002) established Enoch as one of Avon's reliable Regency voices, and this first volume sets the template: witty repartee, simmering tension, and a hero who learns that marriage is the one gamble he can't afford to lose. Explore our current copy of After The Kiss. Browse more Romance books at Patina.
Meet Me at Midnight — Suzanne Enoch
A fake engagement between two people who've spent years needling each other turns real when the courtship they're performing starts to feel less like performance and more like prophecy.
The rules are clear: fake the courtship, secure the inheritance, walk away unscathed. The execution is messier. Enoch's With This Ring series leans into the enemies-to-lovers framework — these are characters who know each other's weaknesses because they've weaponised them for years. The forced marriage here is less external pressure than internal capitulation: the moment when pretending to be in love becomes indistinguishable from the real thing. The mass-market pacing keeps the stakes high and the dialogue sharp. This is comfort reading for people who like their romance sparky and their heroes reluctantly smitten. Explore our current copy of Meet Me at Midnight. Browse more Romance books at Patina.
Trapped at the Altar — Jane Feather
A childhood betrothal between feudal outlaw families in 17th-century England becomes a prison when the bride realises she loves someone else — and the groom knows it.
Feather's Blackwater Brides trilogy swaps Regency ballrooms for the wild borderlands of Restoration England, where marriage is a political tool and love is a liability. Ariadne Carfax has been promised to her cousin Ivor since childhood, but the forced marriage gains teeth when she falls for another man and Ivor refuses to release her. This is the darker end of the forced marriage spectrum — less banter, more tension, with a heroine who spends half the book plotting escape and the other half realising the man she married might be the only one who understands her. The mass-market format delivers a tight 300-page arc that doesn't waste a scene. Explore our current copy of Trapped at the Altar. Browse more Romance books at Patina.
Rushed to the Altar — Jane Feather
A fortune-hunting hero with a scandalous past needs a respectable bride; a cash-strapped heroine needs his money — and neither expects the marriage of convenience to deliver anything resembling affection.
Jasper Sullivan returns from India with a fortune and a reputation that needs burying. Clarissa Astley needs cash and doesn't care where it comes from. The forced marriage here is transactional from the start — no pretence of love, no courtship, just a contract signed and a wedding night that rewrites the terms. Feather writes marriages of convenience as negotiations, and the slow thaw from resentment to respect to desire is the engine of the plot. The Blackwater Brides series (this is the second volume) maintains the same political intrigue and historical grit as Trapped at the Altar, but with a heroine who refuses to play victim and a hero who learns that buying a bride doesn't mean owning her. Explore our current copy of Rushed to the Altar. Browse more Romance books at Patina.
These five titles represent the forced marriage plot at its most durable: the moment when duty becomes desire, when the altar becomes the starting line rather than the finish. As of June 2026, Patina's Romance collection includes rotating stock of mass-market Regency category romances from Enoch, Feather, Linden, and comparable authors — the kind of paperbacks that live in handbags and get reread until the spines crack. Shop all Romance books at Patina Paperbacks →
Where can I buy secondhand Regency romance novels in Sydney?
Patina Paperbacks is a Sydney-based online preloved bookshop stocking 13,000+ secondhand titles, including a rotating selection of Regency romances from authors like Suzanne Enoch, Jane Feather, and Caroline Linden. We ship Australia-wide with free shipping over $29, so you don't need to be in Sydney to access the collection — though if you are, you're supporting a local Inner West business.
What's the difference between a forced marriage romance and a marriage of convenience?
Honestly, they're mostly the same trope with different packaging. A forced marriage typically involves external pressure — scandal, inheritance law, family duty — that pushes the couple to the altar. A marriage of convenience tends to frame it as a mutual transaction: both parties need something (money, respectability, protection) and marriage is the deal they strike. Either way, the romance comes from watching strangers stuck in a contract learn to want each other.
Are Jane Feather's Blackwater Brides books part of a series?
Yes — the Blackwater Brides trilogy includes Trapped at the Altar (2015), Rushed to the Altar (2016), and Tempt Me with Diamonds (2017). The first two lean heavily into the forced marriage trope with feudal outlaw families and 17th-century political intrigue. The third shifts to Restoration London with a different heroine and a lighter tone. They're connected by setting and family ties but can be read as standalones.
What should I read if I like Suzanne Enoch's Regency romances?
If you like Enoch's snappy dialogue and enemies-to-lovers setups, try Tessa Dare's Spindle Cove series or Eloisa James's Desperate Duchesses novels — both write smart, witty Regency category romance with strong heroines and reluctant heroes. For a darker take on forced marriages, Julia Quinn's Bridgerton series blends the marriage-of-convenience trope with found family drama and Regency society politics.
Do you stock other Caroline Linden Regency romances at Patina?
Patina's Romance collection rotates stock regularly, so availability shifts as books sell and new titles come in. As of June 2026, we carry preloved copies of Linden's Love and Other Scandals and occasionally other volumes from her backlist. The easiest way to check current stock is to browse the Romance collection on our site — or join our mailing list for updates when new Regency titles arrive.