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Melinda Hammond

Goodreads Author

Website

http://www.sarahmallory.com

Member Since

June 2012

URL

https://www.goodreads.com/lindahooper

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I write under the names of Melinda Hammond and Sarah Mallory.

I have been telling stories for as long as I can remember - many of them born of frustration when I was stuck in a classroom longing to be rescued! I love anything romantic, whether it is a grand opera or a beautiful painting. It doesn't necessarily have to be happy, as long as it is inspiring.

I was born in Bristol and grew up on Barton Hill, an area of small terraced houses built in the nineteenth century between the mills and the railway. I think my love of adventure stories is due to the fact that I grew up with three older brothers and lived in a street full of boys! My love of history and the English language was fostered at grammar school, where I soon discovered the deligh I write under the names of Melinda Hammond and Sarah Mallory.

I have been telling stories for as long as I can remember - many of them born of frustration when I was stuck in a classroom longing to be rescued! I love anything romantic, whether it is a grand opera or a beautiful painting. It doesn't necessarily have to be happy, as long as it is inspiring.

I was born in Bristol and grew up on Barton Hill, an area of small terraced houses built in the nineteenth century between the mills and the railway. I think my love of adventure stories is due to the fact that I grew up with three older brothers and lived in a street full of boys! My love of history and the English language was fostered at grammar school, where I soon discovered the delights of Georgian and Regency fiction, first of all with the works of Jane Austen and then Georgette Heyer.

I left school at sixteen to work in companies as varied as stockbrokers, marine engineers, biscuit manufacturers and even a quarrying company, but I never lost my love of history, and when I wasn't reading and researching the Georgian and Regency period I was writing stories about it.

When I was at home with my first child, I decided to try my hand at writing seriously, and my first historical novel, Fortune's Lady, was published by Robert Hale in 1980. I have now published more than twenty novels, over a dozen of them as Melinda Hammond, winning the Reviewers Choice award in 2005 from Singletitles.com for Dance for a Diamond and the Historical Novel Society's Editors Choice in 2006 for Gentlemen in Question. Writing as Sarah Mallory for Harlequin Mills & Boon, The Earl's Runaway Bride won a coveted CataNetwork Reviewers Choice award for 2010 and the RNA's RoNA Rose Award in 2012 and 2013.

For many years I lived in an old farmhouse on the edge of the Pennines in West Yorkshire, literally a stone's throw from open moorland. Now I live by the sea in the wild Highlands of Scotland. I love walking to think up my latest plot, or just to clear my head ready for another session of writing. ...more

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Melinda Hammond’s books

Average rating: 4.05 · 1,960 ratings · 295 reviews · 105 distinct works • Similar authors

	A Lady at Midnight 3.81 avg rating — 63 ratings — published 2005 — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Dance for a Diamond 3.76 avg rating — 49 ratings — published 2005 — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Autumn Bride 3.66 avg rating — 41 ratings — published 1983 — 5 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Duke's Christmas Bride 3.92 avg rating — 36 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Winter Inheritance 3.56 avg rating — 39 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Summer Charade 3.46 avg rating — 37 ratings — published 1982 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Dream Chasers 3.80 avg rating — 30 ratings — published 2003 — 7 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Four Regency Seasons 3.93 avg rating — 29 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Lucasta 4.57 avg rating — 23 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Wayward Miss Wyckenham 4.11 avg rating — 19 ratings — published 2007 — 7 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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Series by Melinda Hammond

Lagallan Brothers (2 books)
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Melinda Hammond (Goodreads Author)

3.72 avg rating — 71 ratings

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The Happiest Ever After

by Milly Johnson (Goodreads Author)

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Sep 11, 2025 11:06PM

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A Ghost in Shining Armour

by Therese Beharrie (Goodreads Author)

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Jan 28, 2023 09:09AM

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Melinda Hammond liked Janet's review of A Kiss to Stop a Wedding (Harlequin Historical): "Great story! This is a charming read with wonderful characters. "
Jul 15, 2025 01:19AM · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of A Kiss to Stop a Wedding by Sarah Mallory. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — A Kiss to Stop a Wedding by Sarah Mallory <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Melinda Hammond and 3 other people liked Frankie's review of A Kiss To Stop A Wedding: A Regency romance perfect for fans of high society and forbidden love in 2026!: "Austen-esque flirtatious fun! I am thrilled to little biddy bits that Matt Talacre has his own story, the moment I ‘met’ him in The Earl’s Marriage Dilemma, I knew he had to have his own story, and here it is. Though at first I wasn’t 100% won over, I" Read more of this review »
Jul 15, 2025 01:10AM · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of A Kiss To Stop A Wedding by Sarah Mallory. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — A Kiss To Stop A Wedding by Sarah Mallory <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Melinda Hammond rated a book it was amazing Ordinary Girl in a Tiara by Jessica Hart (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
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Melinda Hammond rated a book it was amazing Murder at the Crooked Horse: A gripping whodunnit set in the English countryside (A Libby Sarjeant Murder Mystery Series Book 26) by Lesley Cookman	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
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Melinda Hammond rated a book it was amazing Maybe One Day by Debbie Johnson	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Jun 14, 2024 07:17AM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Maybe One Day by Debbie Johnson. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Maybe One Day by Debbie Johnson <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Melinda Hammond and 1 other person liked Jaffareadstoo's review of The Major and the Scandalous Widow: "When I was a teenager I became fascinated by the Regency romances of Georgette Heyer and Barbara Cartland and this love for them has survived. It's still my favourite pastime on a rainy afternoon to escape to Georgian England and go back to a bygone " Read more of this review »
Jun 04, 2024 09:57AM · see review
Melinda Hammond and 1 other person liked Anne's review of The Major and the Scandalous Widow: "When Lord Tony Allyngham is fatally injured on the battlefield at Waterloo, he entrusts a locket and his ring to his comrade-in-arms Major Jack Clifton, asking him to return them to his young wife Eloise. A year or so later, he finally has the opport" Read more of this review »
Jun 04, 2024 09:56AM · see review
Melinda Hammond rated a book it was amazing The Secret Shore by Liz Fenwick (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
May 25, 2024 11:19AM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Secret Shore by Liz Fenwick. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Secret Shore by Liz Fenwick <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Melinda Hammond rated a book really liked it A Secret Garden Affair by Erica James (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
May 15, 2024 02:49PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of A Secret Garden Affair by Erica James. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — A Secret Garden Affair by Erica James <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Melinda Hammond is currently reading The Happiest Ever After by Milly Johnson (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Apr 18, 2024 06:41AM · like