He married her to win the vote. Now, he has to win her heart.
In the cutthroat world of Roman politics, family is everything. Aelius, a freedman turned ambitious politician, knows winning his next election will require a marriage alliance with a powerful patrician clan. But finding a woman of status who will entertain courtship from a freedman is near impossible.
Enter Crispina: the daughter of one of Rome's oldest families, now disgraced and divorced after failing to give her husband a child. Prickly one moment and icy the next, all she wants is the freedom to pursue her true passion: a secret venture to educate the children of Rome's poorest.
She wants freedom. He wants her name. Their marriage of convenience is supposed to be transactional—until Aelius undertakes a campaign to win not just the city's vote, but his wife's guarded heart.
But Crispina has an agenda of her own, and when a political rival leaks her unconventional activities, it sparks a scandal that could cost Aelius the election. Distancing himself from his wayward wife should be easy, but as the election looms, Aelius must choose: protect his rising career, or fight for the woman who’s become far more than a political pawn.
Tropes: marriage of convenience, prickly heroine/charming hero, infertility rep, class difference, "my wife," found family. 3+ open door steamy scenes
Genre: Historical Romance
In the cutthroat world of Roman politics, family is everything. Aelius, a freedman turned ambitious politician, knows winning his next election will require a marriage alliance with a powerful patrician clan. But finding a woman of status who will entertain courtship from a freedman is near impossible.
Enter Crispina: the daughter of one of Rome's oldest families, now disgraced and divorced after failing to give her husband a child. Prickly one moment and icy the next, all she wants is the freedom to pursue her true passion: a secret venture to educate the children of Rome's poorest.
She wants freedom. He wants her name. Their marriage of convenience is supposed to be transactional—until Aelius undertakes a campaign to win not just the city's vote, but his wife's guarded heart.
But Crispina has an agenda of her own, and when a political rival leaks her unconventional activities, it sparks a scandal that could cost Aelius the election. Distancing himself from his wayward wife should be easy, but as the election looms, Aelius must choose: protect his rising career, or fight for the woman who’s become far more than a political pawn.
Tropes: marriage of convenience, prickly heroine/charming hero, infertility rep, class difference, "my wife," found family. 3+ open door steamy scenes
Genre: Historical Romance
Used availability for Jenna Bigelow's The Tribune Temptation