Mercy Howard's childhood was sheltered, and her job as housekeeper to sexy Italian businessman Andreo Pascali makes her realize that she needs a makeover! A new haircut and some clothes later, Andreo discovers his housekeeper is no longer a mouse — but a fox! He wants to add mistress to Mercy's list of duties, but she's not going to settle for a no-strings affair.…

Andreo runs an advertising firm and Mercy works as a housekeeper at his mansion. Although Mercy is falling for Andreo’s charms, she does her best to hide her feelings and do her job. One day, Andreo makes an astonishing request. He wants Mercy to appear in one of his commercials! Mercy isn’t sure if someone as unglamorous as she can really be part of a fancy commercial, but on the other hand, she can’t help but feel a faint glimmer of hope. That hope fades quickly, though, when she sees the script on the day of the filming.

Andreo runs an advertising firm and Mercy works as a housekeeper at his mansion. Although Mercy is falling for Andreo’s charms, she does her best to hide her feelings and do her job. One day, Andreo makes an astonishing request. He wants Mercy to appear in one of his commercials! Mercy isn’t sure if someone as unglamorous as she can really be part of a fancy commercial, but on the other hand, she can’t help but feel a faint glimmer of hope. That hope fades quickly, though, when she sees the script on the day of the filming.

Opal Clemenger's facing bankruptcy, and the only man who can rescue her is ruthless tycoon Domenic Silvagni. Domenic's filthy rich, and he thinks money can purchase him anything--including a wife. So he agrees to help Opal, but only if she consents to his marriage ultimatum. Opal has no choice but to marry Domenic, but then he makes another demand: she must provide him with an heir. But Domenic quickly realizes that there's one thing he can't buy--his wife's love....

When Paolo Rainero's niece and nephew are orphaned, he arranges to marry Caroline Leighton, the twins' American aunt, to protect them. But first he must show Callie that he's changed since their affair nine years ago. As their convenient marriage becomes real, and old desires are rekindled, Paolo can't help feeling that Caroline's hiding something. A secret involving him....

As the first encyclopedia solely devoted to the popular romance fiction genre, this resource provides a wealth of information on all aspects of the subject. Romance fiction accounts for a large share of book sales each year, and contrary to popular belief, not all of its readers are women: roughly 16 percent are men. This enormously popular genre continues to captivate people reading for pleasure, and it also commands a growing amount of academic interest. Included are alphabetically arranged reference entries on significant authors along with works, themes, and other topics. The articles are written by scholars, librarians, and industry professionals with a deep knowledge of the genre and so provide a thorough understanding of the subject. An index provides easy access to information within the entries, and bibliographies at the end of each entry, a general bibliography, and a suggested romance reading list allow for further study of the genre.

This book is a study of female virginity loss and its representations in popular Anglophone literatures. It explores dominant cultural narratives around what makes a “good” female virginity loss experience by examining two key forms of popular literature: autobiographical virginity loss stories and popular romance fiction. In particular, this book focuses on how female sexual desire and romantic love have become entangled in the contemporary cultural imagination, leading to the emergence of a dominant paradigm which dictates that for women, sexual desire and love are and should be intrinsically linked together: something which has greatly affected cultural scripts for virginity loss. This book examines the ways in which this paradigm has been negotiated, upheld, subverted, and resisted in depictions of virginity loss in popular literatures, unpacking the romanticisation of the idea of “the right one” and “the right time”.