8 Jude Deveraux Books to Knock Your Socks Off

Houston Chandler is a good girl, raised from birth to be the ideal wife and mother for whomever she became betrothed to. She's happy to be the fiancé of Dr. Lee Westfield, a kind and supportive man who seems like the perfect husband-to-be. 

But then there's Kane Taggart, a former stable boy who is now the wealthiest man in the state of Colorado. He's offered his own proposal, and after discovering her fiancé slept with her sister Blair, she accepts. 

Kane has his reasons for wanting to marry Houston, none of which are particularly honorable, but as he discovers the fiery passions beneath Houston's cool exterior, he wonders if this marriage could be one of true love in the end.

If Houston Chandler is quiet and cool, her sister Blair is red-hot and wild tempered. She wants to carve out a life for herself, free from the shackles of marriage, so she is training to be a doctor. The last thing she expects is to fall in love with her sister's fiancé, himself a kind doctor who cares more about others than himself. 

She shouldn't fall for him, but their connection is impossible to deny, and soon Blair cannot stop herself from wanting everything that Lee has to offer her, and so much more.

Christiana Mathison an heiress to the Del Mathison fortune. An only child with a taste for adventure, she ran away from home to become a reporter, much to the chagrin of her father. He sends two men out to follow her and bring her back home, whether she likes it or not. 

This includes Tynan Dysan, a criminal who needs money and has no qualms about a little kidnapping plot, and Asher, to whom Chris's father has promised her hand in marriage. But when Tynan lays eyes on Chris, his priorities change. She won't go home so easily, and soon the three of them are on a wild chase through the rain forests of the Washington Territory.

England's most valiant knights paid court to wealthy Liana Neville, hoping to capture, if not her heart, her vast family estate. Liana is not in the market for a husband, but her stepmother is tired of her running the estate on her own and tells her to marry. 

Rogan Peregrine, a brutish warrior who takes a new woman to bed every week, has made no secret of his desire for Liana. And she cannot deny the thrall he has over her. Much to the surprise of everyone, she agrees to marry Rogan. Their passion helps to crack his tough exterior, but he is a man obsessed with vengeance, stuck in a long-brewing and intensely bitter feud with his lifelong enemy. He's a man of war. Can Rogan become a figure of love for Liana?

Morgan Wakefield was born in New Mexico but raised in Kentucky by her mother. At 18, with both her parents dead, she discovers that her beloved childhood home, Trahern House, no longer belongs to her. According to her estranged father's will, she cannot inherit the home or his fortune unless she has lived in New Mexico for one whole year by the time she's 25. 

Her money-hungry uncle has schemed to keep her away from home, but she is far more determined than he. So, Morgan proposes a marriage of convenience to a man she just met—a handsome rancher named Seth Colter. Seth is hot-headed and doesn't have time for romance, but he needs the money Morgan offers, so they wed. Animosity soon turns to passion, but devastating challenges and betrayal conspire against these lovers. Their future together will depend on so much more than a business arrangement.

Temperance O'Neil is a women's rights activist in New York City at the turn of the 20th century. At the age of 29, she is considered an old maid, but she's far more concerned with helping the less fortunate women of her community than finding a husband. 

When her widowed mother shows up with her new husband, Angus McCairn, everything changes. Angus has control over the O'Neil money and uses it to force Temperance to move to Scotland, where he's determined to make a "proper" lady of her. She's tasked with making Angus's nephew James find a wife. If she can pull it off in six months, she can have her money and house back. 

James, for his part, has no desire to marry, and his new housekeeper Temperance is a pest who keeps tidying his house without his permission. But there's something special about her that he can't deny. She feels the same way about him too, but then the perfect candidate for his wife comes forward, and Temperance must decide if love is worth compromising her dreams for.

Ariel and Sara are cousins who live very different lives. While Ariel is a classic Southern belle with her heart set on a man who doesn't know she exists, Sara is a working-class girl who wants more from life than hard work and little reward. 

After years of sharing their secrets to one another via letter, the lifelong pen pals and near-identical cousins decide to switch places. It's all meant to be a bit of fun, but dark secrets lurk on the margins and the women's deepest fears and desires threaten to be exposed.

Judith Revedoune is the daughter of an Earl who has been hidden away from the outside world by her cruel father. After the deaths of her elder brothers, Judith is forced into marriage with Gavin Montgomery, a man she has never laid eyes upon until she sees him at the altar. 

For his troubles, Gavin is dealing with a broken heart and had resolved never to love another woman again. But then he saw Judith and sparks flew. She has rejected his love but quietly yearns for Gavin to be a true husband to her, while Gavin's former lover, a manipulative social climber named Alice, lurks in the shadows hoping to get her revenge. Destiny has much planned for these star crossed lovers.