Grace-by-the-Sea Books in Order

Grace-by-the-Sea is Regina Scott’s answer to the question, what if a Regency village could be both soothing and a little dangerous? On the surface, Grace-by-the-Sea is a spa village in Dorset, the kind of place people visit for the waters, the sea air, the shops, and the assemblies. Under that polished surface run smugglers, spies, old grudges, and enough secrets to keep the horizon interesting.

The first book, The Matchmaker's Rogue, introduces Jesslyn Chance, admired hostess and determined matchmaker, along with Larkin Denby, the man from her past who returns on a mission tied to smuggling and treason. The later books widen the village circle. The Heiress's Convenient Husband brings a hidden heiress into conflict with the local magistrate. The Artist's Healer pairs an outspoken painter with a doctor carrying his own history. The Governess's Earl, The Lady's Second-Chance Suitor, and The Siren's Captain keep pulling the village into larger trouble while still returning to the same shops, families, and sea-washed paths.

The setting really does most of the heavy lifting.

Grace-by-the-Sea is small enough that everyone’s choices matter, but open enough to the wider world that danger can arrive by road or by sea. A castle on the headland, a village spa, assembly rooms, and the constant possibility of smuggling give Scott plenty of ways to mix romance with suspense. Characters can promenade one minute and uncover a plot the next.

That makes the tone a little different from her softer domestic Regencies. These books still have warmth and clean romance, but they move with more urgency. The heroes and heroines are often protecting not just each other but the village itself, whether from a corrupt earl, French intrigue, or criminal schemes moving quietly through respectable circles.

Readers who like connected casts will have fun here. Families, friendships, and earlier couples keep reappearing, so the series grows richer as it goes. Grace-by-the-Sea is one of Scott’s most welcoming fictional places, but it is welcoming in the way real seaside towns can be, lovely to look at, full of history, and just dangerous enough to be memorable.