Raine Balkera - Romance Author

A lot to cover today. WORK My extended Sub assignment ended on Tuesday, so after five weeks teaching First Grade, I took the last three days off 😜 Wasn't able to sleep IN any of those days, but I did make a few attempts to stay up later than normal, which just worked to make me very sleepy during the day. It was a fun assignment, the kids were adorable (for the most part), and it is the first elementary school in this district where I can honestly say I'd love to go back again some day! Not to go into a long dissertation on Public Schools and Everything that is Wrong with Them, but I know for a fact that the reason I enjoyed the work so much was because of the Principal, the staff, and the simple fact that everyone who works there is on board with the rules and guidelines set forth by the administrators. Instead of showing me to the classroom and then walking away, leaving me to feel alone, desperate, and tossed overboard without a life line, this school worke...

Pages -  447 Publisher -  WordWorx Publishing Originally Published -  2003 Publication Date -  May 21, 2012 Genre -   Supernatural, Psychics, Mystery, Thriller & Suspense Series -   (The Annie Szabo Mystery Series 1) Sexual Content -  2/5 Language -  Mild Amazon Buy -   Link SYNOPSIS GYPSIES ARE FOREVER. AND SO HELPFUL IN A FAMILY MURDER! Once you marry into a gypsy clan, just try to get out! Annie Szabo loved her husband, but after his death, she was only too happy to leave his outrageous clan behind, especially her pushy mother-in-law, Madame Mina. But Mina wasn't just any pushy relative. As the heart of the close-knit Szabo family, she was also powerful, stubborn, and devoutly to be avoided. Well, too bad for Annie! When her oldest friend, Jerry, turns up dead, she’s plunged back into the family she tried to leave behind. She knows Jerry was murdered, but how is she supposed to prove it? Easy, if you’ve g...

Pages -  193 pages Publisher -  Tule Publishing Published -  October 9, 2015 Kindle -   link Genre -  Contemporary, Romance, Cowboys Series -  The Canadays of Montana series #2 Language -  tame Sexual Content -  3:5 SYNOPSIS The Copper Mountain Rodeo has returned to Marietta and cowboy reputations aren’t the only thing at stake… Marietta Kindergarten teacher, Kate Canaday, is doing perfectly well without the ex-love of her life mucking up her intention to stay gloriously uncommitted. So what if she’s become—according to her sisters—a serial dater? If pro-bullrider Finn Scott's untimely defection six years ago taught her anything, it was that men come with an expiration date. And she’s more than happy to oblige them. Trouble is, the sexier-than-ever Finn, now a devoted single father, has just moved to Marietta with his adorable five-year-old twins. He’s in an unexpected custody battle with his ex and too proud to ask Kate fo...

Pages -  400 pages Originally Published -  2003 Publisher -  HarperCollins e-books Publication Date -  October 13, 2009 Kindle -   link Genre -  Regency Romance Series -  Bow Street Runners #3 Language -  mild Sexual Content -  4:5 SYNOPSIS Nick Gentry, the most seductive and dangerous man in England, has been sent to find Charlotte Howard, a runaway bride who has disappeared without a trace. But when he finds her, Nick is stunned by the intensity of his attraction to the elusive young woman whose adventurous spirit matches his own. Determined to escape a forced marriage to a man who will destroy her, Charlotte agrees to an audacious bargain . . . she will become Nick Gentry's bride. But soon she discovers that Nick has secrets of his own, and it will take all her wits and stubborn will to tame his tormented soul. In the desperate quest to protect Charlotte from the diabolical aristocrat who threatens her, one thing...

Pages -  384 pages Original -  Avon, 2002 Publisher -  HarperCollins e-books Published -  October 13, 2009 Kindle -   link Genre -  Regency Romance Series -  Book 2, Bow Street Runners Language -  mild Sexual Content -  4:5 SYNOPSIS Lady Sophia Sydney would do anything to ensnare the unattainable Sir Ross Cannon. Her goal: to ruin his reputation and cause a scandal that would be the talk of all London. So she insinuates herself into his life by gaining his trust and living in his house. Every morning, her lush presence tempts him beyond all reason...the way she bends over the table to serve him the meals she has prepared...the way her hands oh, so gently—yet sensuously—brush against him. Every night, she promises with her eyes—and her body— that the hours before dawn could be spent in unbridled passion instead of restless sleep—if only he'd let her share his bed. She knows he is falling more in love with her ea...

Pages -  384 pages Publisher -  Avon Published -  May 1, 1999 Kindle -   link Genre -  Regency Romance Series -  Bow Street Runners 1 of 3 Language -  mild Sexual Content -  4:5 SYNOPSIS She couldn't remember who she was... A temptingly beautiful woman awakens in a stranger's bed, rescued from the icy waters of the Thames, her memory gone. Told that she is Vivien Rose Duvall, one of London's most scandalous beauties, she finds herself under the protection of enigmatic, charming Grant Morgan. Her life is in his hands. Deep in her heart, she knows he has mistaken her for someone else... He was the only man she could trust. As one of London's most eligible and unattainable catches, Grant Morgan is a man who has known every kind of woman. And the one in his arms now seems so innocent, so vulnerable, that he can't help but be enchanted. And as his love for this mysterious beauty grows, he's determined to unravel the secrets of ...

The Reluctant Bride Collection #1 Pages -  256 pages Published -  June 12, 2012 Sold by -   Amazon Digital Services LLC Genre -  Historical, Regency Romance Language -  n/a Sexual Content -  3/5 Series -  The Reluctant Bride Collection, 1 of 4 Stand Alone -  yes SYNOPSIS Olivia Blakesley, self-proclaimed spinster extraordinaire, is quite happy with her life. She has her studies and her duties, what need does she have of a husband? With five sisters married she knows the reality does not live up to the promise, and does not need to personally experiment with the state to know she would be ill-suited to it. However, she finds herself envious of at least one aspect of marriage. But to experience the physical side of marriage, one doesn't need a husband, all one needs is the right man...  Nathaniel Jenkins knows his duty. Marry a young girl from a respectable family and father an heir, no matter how cold the endless par...

Marrying Winterborne Pages -  416 pages Publisher-  Avon Published -  May 31, 2016 Sold by -  HarperCollins Publishers Amazon -   Buy Link Genre -  Victorian, Romance Series -  The Ravenels #2 Sexual Content -  4/5 Language -  a few F-bombs SYNOPSIS A ruthless tycoon... Savage ambition has brought common-born Rhys Winterborne vast wealth and success. In business and beyond, Rhys gets exactly what he wants. And from the moment he meets the shy, aristocratic Lady Helen Ravenel, he is determined to possess her. If he must take her virtue to ensure she marries him, so much the better . . . A sheltered beauty... Helen has had little contact with the glittering, cynical world of London society. Yet Rhys’s determined seduction awakens an intense mutual passion. Helen’s gentle upbringing belies a stubborn conviction that only she can tame her unruly husband. As Rhys’s enemies conspire against them, Helen must trust him wit...

Cold-Hearted Rake Pages -  419 pages Published -  October 27, 2015 Publisher -  Avon Sold by -  HarperCollins Publishers Amazon -   Buy Link Series -  The Ravenels #1 Genre -  Historical Romance/Regency Language -  2 F-bombs Sexual Content -  4/5 SYNOPSIS A twist of fate . . . Devon Ravenel, London's most wickedly charming rake, has just inherited an earldom. But his powerful new rank in society comes with unwanted responsibilities . . . and more than a few surprises. His estate is saddled with debt, and the late earl's three innocent sisters are still occupying the house . . . along with Kathleen, Lady Trenear, a beautiful young widow whose sharp wit and determination are a match for Devon's own. A clash of wills . . . Kathleen knows better than to trust a ruthless scoundrel like Devon. But the fiery attraction between them is impossible to deny—and from the first moment Devon holds her in his arms, he vows ...

#3 Castle Brides Series Pages -  358 pages Publisher -  Soul Mate Publishing  Pub Date -  May 27, 2014 Sold by -   Amazon Digital Services LLC Genre -  Regency Romance Series -  Castle Brides, Book 3 Language -  N/A Sexual Content -  3/5 SYNOPSIS She won't be tamed A fiery, unconventional Scot, Adaira Ferguson wears breeches, swears, and has no more desire to marry than she does to follow society's dictates of appropriate behavior. She trusts no man with the secret she desperately protects. He can't forget Haunted by his past, Roark, The Earl of Clarendon, rigidly adheres to propriety, holding himself and those around him to the highest standards, no matter the cost. Betrayed once, he's guarded and leery of all women. Mistaking Roark for a known spy, Adaira imprisons him. Infuriated, he vows vengeance. Realizing her error, she's appalled and releases him, but he's not satisfied with his freedom. Roar...

Pages -  238 pages Device Use -  Unlimited Publisher -  Lachesis Publishing Inc Published -  September 8, 2013 Sold by -   Amazon Series -  Book 1 Gentlemen of Honor Genre -  Regency Sexual Content -  4/5 Language -  irrelevant POV -  3rd Omnis (mostly h) Synopsis She was known as The Spinster of Brightwood Manor, and that suited Lady Beatrice O’Brien just fine. She was happy being a spinster; happy running her father’s estates while amassing a fortune of her own; happy tending to the needs of her community; and most of all, she was happy not having a man around to tell her what to do. But when Beatrice accidentally shoots her new neighbor, the Earl of Drennan, her life turns upside-down. Suddenly, this very arrogant gentleman, who also happens to be charming and attractive, makes himself at home at Brightwood Manor, and proceeds to court her! Beatrice knows one thing for certain. Marriage will...