Back to School: Unusual Historicals for September 2026

Here we are at the end of September and my reading output this year is on pace to hit an all-time low since I joined the Romancelandia community back in 1999. I'm not sure what the answer is to correct this - probably some combination of waking up independently wealthy and removing myself from all social media so I stop doom-scrolling. For now I keep on keeping on, browse and collect books, and hope that one day I can kick my flagging mojo into gear. Which brings us to this month's crop of Unusual Historicals. As they say, hope springs eternal.

By Any Means by E.M. Caro

New York City, 1905.

Investigative journalist (and fierce anti-capitalist) Laurie Tulley is no stranger to the sins rich men commit in the name of profit. He’s made a front-page career out of unearthing the injustices of industry.

But when his editor turns his sights onto wealthy glass industrialist Charles "Chary" Wright, Laurie sees neither injustice nor sensationalism. All the openly queer and once-disowned Fifth Avenue businessman seems to have is a dead brother, a bizarre inheritance of a blueberry farm, and a lotta trauma.

Chary has his secrets, however: the big, life-ending kind. When Laurie comes snooping, he’s determined the reporter won’t find them out, no matter how handsome he is.

Then a worker from the glass factory is murdered. Chary himself is brutally attacked. As Laurie uncovers murder after past murder, he realizes there’s a story to be written after all… so long as he can keep a professional distance.

And when Chary finds himself in the arms of the very man meant to be his ruin, he must confront exactly how far he’ll go for love—and just which ghosts he’s willing to bring forth from the past.

Early 20th century New York, a muckraker hero and a wealthy industrialist. The Smut Report recently reviewed this and it sounds like the history is a bit more forward-facing than the romance, but that history sounds positively fascinating. 

Heartbreak for the Irish Midwife by Seána Tinley

Can their love survive a community at war?

When World War Two is declared, Maisie Canavan is working as a newly-qualified midwife in Belfast's Royal Maternity Hospital, helping women and babies across community divides. In a city already torn apart, Maisie now faces the terrifying prospect of helping new life enter the world under the blitz of a bombing raid.

Teaming up with Dr Alex Lowe to plan for the worst, Maisie starts to fall for his kind grey eyes and gentle heart. Despite being from opposite sides of the political divide, Maisie and Alex find themselves drawn together - but the world around them isn't ready to accept love between a Catholic and a Protestant. With the war worsening tensions between neighbours, they have no choice but to keep their feelings a secret...

As bombs begin to rain on Belfast, and she sees Alex risking his life to care for the whole community, Maisie can't help but wonder why two people in love should be kept apart.

Tinley, who has written for Harlequin Historical under the name Catherine Tinley, brings readers the third book in her Irish Midwives series.  1939 Belfast. World War II. Catholic heroine. Protestant hero. I mean, none of this sounds complicated at all....

Changing Times at Calico House by Maisie Thomas

Manchester, 1920. As a mannequin in an exclusive fashion salon, Kate Hunter lives for the moments she can step into a beautiful gown and leave her worries behind.

But when Kate is cheated out of her home and then suffers a terrible accident, she suddenly loses everything: her job, her independence and her future.

Miss Hawes, the well-to-do owner of Calico House, provides her with a chance beyond her wildest dreams. Could Kate use her eye for fashion to secure her future?

Meanwhile, ambitious young furniture dealer Finn Mercer is determined to expand his business – he and Kate could be a wonderful partnership. Maybe even more than that…

However, Miss Hawes’s aggrieved godson will not just stand by and let them triumph.

Can Kate, along with friends old and new, fight for the happiness – and love – she dreams of?

A mannequin / fashion model heroine loses everything but has a shot at a second chance thanks to a benefactor and an ambitious furniture dealer who thinks a partnership will make all their dreams come true. Standing in their way? A villain, of course. This is the first book in a new series for Thomas.

The Cowboy's Marriage of Convenience by Elizabeth Jane Adams

JD Morrison has one plan: survive the winter, then ride on. He’s spent years drifting toward a dream—his own ranch, his own name on something permanent. But the struggling homestead on the Leon River comes with an unexpected complication: a fiercely independent woman hiding a secret that could get them both killed.

Andie Meadows has already lost her father. She refuses to lose his land. Hiring a stranger feels like desperation. Falling for one feels like betrayal. But with ruthless neighbors tightening their grip, and a lie about to shatter everything, the quiet cowboy who showed up at her gate may be her last hope and her greatest risk.

What begins as a practical arrangement slowly becomes the one thing neither of them bargained for.

In 1873 Texas, survival is hard. Trust is harder. And love? Love sneaks up on you like a West Texas sunrise—soft, unstoppable, and impossible to ignore.

OMG A WESTERN!!!!!! A HISTORICAL WESTERN!!!!!! Someone bring me my smelling salts. Better still, it's a debut and the first book in a projected four book series.

The Jack of Hearts by Maddison Michaels

London, November 1893

A woman is found sawn in half in a narrow alley—her body laid inside a magician’s coffin, hands folded in prayer, a white rose in her palms. Between her fingers: a playing card. The Jack of Hearts. Inked with a chilling message… The first of six.

Inspector Tobias Flint of Scotland Yard has spent fifteen years hunting killers—but nothing like this. The murder is no random act of violence. It is precise. Theatrical. A macabre recreation of an illusion devised by the long-dead stage magician, the Magnificent Maguire. And the killer—already christened by the press as The Coffin Conjurer—has promised this is only the opening act.

But Maguire’s legacy was never buried. For fifteen years, Jaqueline “Jack” Maguire has lived as a ghost. Presumed dead after the fire that killed her father, she has built a new life in the shadows—using the very skills he taught her: sleight of hand, misdirection, and the art of disguise. Now, as the secret force behind one of London’s most formidable private investigation agencies, she protects the women society overlooks… and keeps her past locked firmly away. After all, magic took everything she loved. She has no intention of letting it take anything more.

But when the Coffin Conjurer begins using her father’s illusions as a blueprint for murder and sends her a Jack of Hearts—the nickname her father gave her— playing card, Jack knows her past has finally caught up with her. After Inspector Flint catches her searching his office for clues to the killer’s identity the morning after the first murder, he refuses to let the rare woman to pull one over on him disappear again. Together, they may just have a chance of stopping him. She knows the world of magic and illusions. He knows how to catch a killer. But in London’s most murderous magic show, the Coffin Conjurer has always been ten steps ahead—and has already chosen the star of the final act… Jack Maguire.

This is being marketed as a mystery, but there's enough in the blurb to get our hopes up for the romance. A heroine who works as a private investigator joins forces with a Scotland Yard detective when a serial killer is discovered to be using her dead father's illusions as a calling card for his crimes.  Also, looks like this is the first in a new series.

The Case of the Curate by Mary Lancaster

Once allies in mischief, a new partnership is forming…

When a housemaid is murdered during Lord Chadbon’s country house party, it is his most convenient assessment that the curate did it. Rupert Grande is new to the neighborhood, clearly disreputable, and he discovered the body in suspicious circumstances.

Moreover, the curate’s discreet arrest ensures no scandal touches Chadbon or his important guests.

Only Kate, young wife of an ambitious politician, knows that Rupert is innocent—at least of murder—and refuses to let the accusation stand. But then, no one else knows his true identity or grew up as his best friend.

The ton always treated the ordination of amiable rakehell Lord Rupert Grande as a huge joke. So did Rupert. So why has he turned up incognito as an apparently dutiful rural curate? And what was the murdered maid to him?

Hampered by childhood loyalties and her host’s insistence on discretion, Kate must discover the real culprit and free her old friend. Along the way, she learns some unpleasant truths about those she has regarded as decent men.

Worse, being thrown together with Rupert again stirs up old and new emotions—an improper attraction that must never be spoken.

The prolific Lancaster is back with the first book in a new romantic mystery series which finds our curate hero accused of murdering a housemaid specifically because he is "new to town." The only one who thinks he's innocent? His former best friend, our heroine, who knows very well the curate isn't who he says he is, but a murderer? Nope, she's not buying. 

Betrothal Between Enemies by Bronwyn Scott

If their ruse fails…

They must marry!

On a mission in Naples to deliver a letter to his father’s oldest friend, Alistair never expects to discover he’s inheriting the man’s business—and is betrothed to his daughter, Ismay! Once his childhood nemesis, Ismay’s grown into a great beauty, but she’s just as infuriating as ever!

Reeling from a recent heartbreak, Ismay cannot walk down the aisle with devilish rakehell Alistair. So, they come up with a plan: prove to everyone just how unsuitably matched they are! But when their recklessness stokes a blazing attraction, can they resist temptation and stay true to their ruse?

Your father asks you to deliver a letter, only to find out upon your arrival that you're inheriting that man's business and are expected to marry his daughter, your former childhood sparring partner! Neither of you are keen on the idea, so you agree on a mutual plan of sabotage, which of course doesn't go according to plan. Oh will these romantic couples never learn? This is the second book in Scott's Regency Tour in Italy series.

Maid for the Duke by Laura Martin

A fateful summer…

A forbidden attraction!

With maid Amelie’s father languishing in debtors’ prison, her employer’s offer to be housekeeper of his summer cottage is the perfect opportunity to support her family. But now in close quarters with the dashing duke, she soon finds herself getting to know William on more intimate terms…

After promising his dying sister to set aside his responsibilities and chase happiness, William has taken the summer to write. But he soon finds even greater joy—with Amelie! Yet, as the season wears on and a suitable marriage beckons, will he be able to surrender his forbidden true love? 

With her father in debtors' prison, a job at your employer's summer cottage is the miracle she needs to help support your family. Falling in love with her boss, a Duke no less, well, that's complicated.  I'm expecting a lot of Cinderella vibes in this new stand alone from Martin. 

The Marchioness Makes a Bargain by Kirsten S. Blacketer

An unlikely romance rises when the marchioness makes a deal with the devil.

Victoria Smythe, Dowager Marchioness of Winstead, had always longed to start her own bakery. During her short marriage to a man twice her age, she discovered her love of creating complex pastries and cakes. When her husband passed without an heir, Victoria continued to indulge in her secret passion. Until the perfect opportunity arose from an unlikely ally.

Declan Harrow uses his wits and fists in service to the Lord of Devil’s Acre. As the crime lord’s right-hand man, he takes on many unsavory tasks—like protecting his employer’s investments. But his priorities shift when he meets the lovely Marchioness of Winstead. His protective nature drives him, but he cannot allow it to consume his sense or he’ll fall completely for the delectable widow.

When a mysterious threat appears to have taken aim at the marchioness’s new bakery, Declan decides his services are better served in protecting her instead of his lord’s investment. But being in such close quarters ignites a burning desire that neither can deny. Will their unconventional romance bring her ultimate ruin?

The third book in Blacketer's Society of Wanton Widows series features a Dowager Marchioness with a passion for baking (and her own bakery) who catches the eye of a crime lord's hired goon, our hero. He soon becomes her protector, which puts him at odds with his boss, and well that's complicated. I need to find my reading mojo and start this series already, it sounds totally up my alley. 

Secrets for a Seductress by Laura Linn (novella)

An uncompromising man

Samuel Evans, Principal Officer for Bow Street, carves order from anarchy in London’s violent slums. He has neither the time nor inclination for self-indulgent drivel, and he certainly will not yield to the lust that dogs him every time he sets eyes on Anna Briggs. The madam of the city’s most infamous brothel, she is the very personification of sin—a drop hemlock in every spoonful of honey. She barters secrets as readily as she does her body, and it’s those secrets alone that draw him to her door.

A notorious courtesan

Anna refuses to apologize for who or what she is. She hasn’t reached these insurmountable heights by following the rules, and there’s no reason to start now. Besides, the men who preach morality rarely practice it, and those who do are too busy congratulating themselves to notice the futility of their modest contributions. Worse still, their decency is laced with judgment. Nevertheless, Anna cannot help teasing the strait-laced Bow Street runner who repeatedly comes sniffing at her door, delighting in the tension that gathers through his broad shoulders whenever she steps too close.

A seductive entanglement

When a regular at The Silken Lotus turns up dead, desperation and opportunity collide, bringing the unlikely pair together. What begins as a tenuous alliance soon becomes something far more dangerous, as the lies they each rely upon to carry them through the day begin to unravel in the shadows of the night. Caught between moral certainty and necessary deception, two people on opposite sides of order discover that the truth is seldom simple and often perilous.

He's a Bow Street Runner, she's a notorious courtesan who is now a madam of an infamous brothel. He's trying to keep his lust in check and she loves to tweak his nose every chance she gets. Then a regular turns up dead in her establishment. This is the fourth book in the multi-author A Society of Scandal series, most of which are novellas. This one runs a little longer, being listed at 192 pages.

A Divorcee and her Captain by Steffy Smith (novella)

Edith Whitmore, Countess of Kipton is drowning in her loveless marriage. Her husband is a cruel cold philanderer. Accepting he will never change and even more importantly that she will never forgive him she seeks a divorce-an uncommon occurrence for a female of her rank and her family refuse to support her. Edith is an emotional wreck, desperate and daring she needs to escape. Her last outburst resulted in her husband uttering the idle threat of Hanwell Asylum.

Captain Charles Barton grew up next door to Edith Whitmore, then the only daughter of a duke. They shared a privileged upbringing, Edie being prepared for prestigious marriage and Charles, a second son, a distinguished career in the navy. Charles never dared reveal his true feelings for her, knowing their union was impossible and harboured his burning flame from afar, oceans apart helping to dull the ache of disappointment she would never be his.

Docked in London and visiting his parents, the last thing he could ever imagine was Edie bounding through the shared door, desolate and frantic to escape her marriage. Charles hated to leave her in this state but he had a duty to the Royal Navy, how could he explain this? And he had no solution for her. Her mere utterance of the word divorce would set off a scandalous chain of events her family and husband would never allow. But Charles knew he had to think of something, he would never forgive himself if he turned his back on her. Before Charles even has a chance to consider how he could help, Edie takes their destiny into her own hands and leaves him no choice.

This would be the fifth story in the above mentioned A Society of Scandal multi-author series and this one is a shorter novella, listed at 94 pages.  She wants a divorce from her cruel husband, and he's a Navy man, a second son and frankly, not good enough for her. How's this going to work? And in 94 pages? I'll admit it, I'm curious.

The Trick of It by Ava Devlin

Rhys Caradoc has built his life on misdirection, sleight of hand, and the firm belief that Persephone Boswell exists solely to ruin his fun.

This pickpocket-turned-illusionist is perhaps the least respectable of Brighton's Starling prodigies, and that's just the way he likes it. Rhys delights in trickery, mystery, abstraction, and irreverence. When a mysterious invitation arrives in three languages, sealed with a dead woman's handwriting and addressed to both Rhys … and to his avowed nemesis, he has to make a choice. If he wants to untangle the puzzle, he'll have to face the only person on Earth who gets under his skin.

Persephone "Seph" Boswell built her shop, her composure, and her carefully fixed life from scratch.

Brighton's premiere illusionist and proprietress of its most peculiar curiosity cabinet, Seph has spent years putting down roots and sticking to them, even when her Traveller family moved on without her. She's managed every inconvenience life has thrown at her with steady hands and a determined disposition, and that includes the particular inconvenience of Rhys Caradoc, thank you very much.

They were friends once. Partners. They built the Changeling: a legendary act of illusion and folklore that made audiences believe in something real. And then it all went wrong.

Forced together by a dying illusionist's final wish, Rhys and Seph must rebuild what they destroyed: their act, their history, and the truth about the night everything fell apart. The old man wants to believe in magic one last time before he goes. He's chosen the right two people. He's also chosen the worst possible moment.

Some tricks only work when the performers stop pretending.

He's a pickpocket turned illusionist and she's a rival illusionist with her own shop. Even though they drive each other crazy, they're soon joining forces to grant a dying old man one last wish. To do so they'll need to reconcile their shared past, which sounds thorny. This is the third book in The Starling Legacy series. 

The Scholar's Spy by Ava Bond

She seeks recognition.

He seeks a criminal.

She’s his main suspect, and he’ll go to any lengths to catch her in the act.

Clever, stubborn, and studious Abigail dreams of finding a discovery that will win her fame, recognition, and enough fortune to be independent. The trouble is no one in her family or society thinks a woman is capable of being a geologist. That is, until a handsome Irish gentleman comes to town.

Robert seems too good to be true: an ordinary fellow more than willing to believe and help Abigail. Together, they explore the coves, rocks, and beaches of the Dorset coastline. As their unlikely friendship grows, so does their unusual attraction.

Soon they find an ancient artifact that could make Abigail's future, but on the brink of leaving for London, Abigail discovers that Robert may have ulterior motives for wanting to get to know her. Is he who is claims to be? And will they be able to trust each other again after such revelations?

She's a geologist desperate to prove herself and he's a man with an ulterior motive - and that's how we know he's a romance hero 😂. This is the first book in a new series, the Lyme Ladies.

Sir Durham's Disarming Asset by Cerise Deland

When Rafe Durham rescued a young lady from prison, he planned to nurse her back to health. Not discover she is the very air he breathes.

Sir Raphael Durham is a man on a mission. He not only catches spies and consults his Government about policy, but also he has, over the years, rescued women. From family, vices, opportunistic men—and even from themselves. Most have survived. A few have questioned his wisdom. Some have refused his help.

But one young woman whom he spirits away from the bowels of a Paris prison does more than that.

Near death and savagely abused, Zephora Butler accepts all Rafe does for her and fights to recover her senses and her health. She is an American with guts and gusto. His ‘Lady of the Winds’ as he calls her, whisks away the storms of his past and infuses fresh air to his ordered life. She is undoubtedly the most courageous, obstinate woman Rafe has ever known.

And when she makes it clear to him that she loves him, how can he deny he adores her?

But when he does, what does he expect her to do?

Walk away?

He's a spy with a White Knight Complex, having rescued women over the years from various unsavory circumstances. When he rescues our heroine from prison he didn't expect to fall in love, which is, of course, exactly what happens. This is the seventh book in the Scarlett Affairs series.

A Chance of a Lifetime by Emily EK Murdoch

Michael Chance, future Viscount Pernrith, is immigrating. Secretly.

It isn’t that he doesn’t love his family, but he certainly doesn’t love the expectations put upon him, or the boredom of Society, or the dull existence stretching out before him. He craves adventure, excitement—anything but another card party! So, immigrating it is.

Without telling his family. He can’t face the tears.

Unfortunately, his plans for adventure go awry because no ships in London are leaving for anywhere exciting for at least two weeks. And he certainly doesn’t expect to quite literally collide with a sea captain with a bosom to die for and a mouth that could curse better than his own.

Captain Phylis Seaton has known nothing but the sea. Raised by her father on the Dreamer before inheriting the ship, she lives a life on the move, going where the wind—and the work—takes her.

An unlikely friendship. A passion neither of them can deny.

But there’s just one problem: Michael is still determined to immigrate, and Phylis is just as determined to prove to him that the noble landlubber is not prepared for a life at sea.

And if someone were accidentally to get their heart broken in this debate, would it be the nobleman struggling to face his future or the wild woman of the sea struggling to out sail her past?

Neither Michael nor Phylis are prepared for this chance of a lifetime…

A future Viscount seeking adventure plans to chuck away a life of privilege and immigrate, uh to somewhere. Anywhere. So long as it's exciting. And he plans to slink off without telling his family because why be a Viscount when you can be a Prince AMIRITE?! Anyway, she's a sea captain trying to convince him that he's ill-equipped for a life at sea.  This is the fourteenth (!) book in the The Chances series.

Lyon of Least Resistance by Emily Royal

To marry him…would be to destroy him.

Sold into prostitution by her uncle, Cordelia Flowers endured a life of torment before securing employment at the Lyon’s Den as a courtesan. Hiding behind a mask and a pseudonym, she earns enough to amass a fortune, but there’s one thing she can never afford—love. When she falls for the shy lord who paid her to introduce him to pleasure, she knows it’s time to leave, and Mrs. Dove-Lyon offers to find her a husband.

Impoverished viscount James Bedford has no taste for London’s debutantes, with their brittle beauty and avaricious hearts. If only they were like the masked doxy who has given him companionship and, lately, the most exquisite pleasure. But they both know that a viscount could never marry a prostitute.

Mrs. Dove Lyon tempts James into one of her infamous matchmaking schemes, and when he discovers his bride’s true identity, James is both furious and devastated, believing that Cordelia tricked him into marriage for his title.

But Cordelia has more to lose than James’s love. If her past is exposed, it will ruin the Bedford name, and destroy the man she would sacrifice everything to protect.

Part of the long-running Lyon's Den continuity series, a sex-trafficked heroine who has risen up the ranks to sought after courtesan makes the mistake of falling in love with a man (our hero, natch) who paid her to introduce him to the ways of....well, you know. She decides it's time to get out of the life and he ends up falling for one of the proprietress' notorious matchmaking schemes. Fireworks erupt when he learns the identity of his new bride.

I won't tell you how long it took me to put this post together. Short answer is too long - my blogging mojo apparently occupying the same vast wasteland as my reading mojo. Do better, be better Wendy. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed browsing this month's offerings and I hope you found something to pique your interest. What Unusual Historicals are you looking forward to?

#TBRChallenge 2026: Never After

The Book: Never After by Alexis Hall

The Particulars: Historical Fiction / Romance (more on this in a bit...), Amazon Montlake, 2026, stand alone, In Print

Why Was It In Wendy's TBR?: In terms of my TBR, this is a more recent addition. I've had the ARC for more than a hot minute but it's an April 2026 release that happened to fit this month's Lush Life theme to a T. Also, in case you're new here, I am an Angst Junkie with a capital A and J. 

Trigger Warnings: Suicide, drug addiction

The Review: I have zero patience for folks who tar and feather genre fiction as not "serious." In that same vein, folks who label all romance as unserious smut read by bored women looking to get their rocks off. Hall's done some interesting things with this book. I'm not sure they always work, but it's interesting and likely one I'm going to churn up in my brain for a few days. Meaning, this would be a dynamite book club discussion assuming your book group isn't a bunch of assholes. 

Reverend Thomas Mandeville is a third son (actually a twin, born second) which means he was destined for the church - his father being nothing if not unimaginative. His older by seconds twin went to the military, barely survived Crimea and is now the heir - their oldest brother Edward having died in a "hunting accident." It's that accident that haunts Thomas, a secret he's keeping at his mercurial father's request. So our guy has plenty of his own baggage when he discovers a opium-addicted whore lying in a gutter. 

Michael "Micha" Dashword became a whore after arriving in London, having been spurned by a lover. He continues to be a whore to feed his opium addiction, which Hall doesn't mince words on. This guy is a mess y'all. This would be a chicken or the egg scenario - has Micha fallen ill because of his addiction or is his addiction making his illness worse. Doesn't really matter, he's passed out in a gutter when Thomas finds him, and taking that whole "help / love thy neighbor" thing to heart, Thomas hauls him back to the family's home (currently vacant) in London to nurse him back to health. Just to reiterate, Thomas doesn't know Micha from Adam but can't leave a man dying in the gutter without doing something - so yes, he's that brand of Christian. 

This is very much a slow build book. The author spends the first part of the story setting up backstory, interspersing the narrative with first person accounts (displayed in italics) for both Micha and Thomas - but mostly for Micha, which gives us more information on how unsettling his life is. Sex isn't always about caring or love and if you believe it is, maybe don't read this book and have your illusions shattered. Micha's work is often upsetting to read about, as is his addiction. You're watching a man destroy himself on page and, in turn, taking other folks down with him. Micha is an addict, Micha has problems, doesn't mean I didn't, at times, think Micha was an asshole. He is. 

This isn't an inspirational book but given that Thomas is a man of the cloth expect a lot of religion talk and Thomas wrestling (somewhat) with his faith and occupation. But not much, because he reconciles his faith and his feelings for Micha in short order with the belief that "God cannot hate love..."  I'm not saying Thomas is wrong (I actually agree with him - coming from a God Is Love school of religious thought...) but it feels too pat, too easy. Also, naïve. Thomas doesn't spend any time dithering about actions and consequences which, come on man. Do you spend any time paying attention to the world you live in? The answer is - not so much. His fascination and feelings for Micha also come on fast, at first struck by Micha's beauty - which c'mon. He's an opium addict you found lying in a gutter. I don't care how beautiful the man is, I'm thinking he looked rough.

The story carries the reader through London and back to Thomas' country parish, which is where the relationship work of the story really cooks. Hall populates the story with well-rounded secondary characters (Mrs. Clark the housekeeper steals this book) and our couple falls in love, thereby creating more complications because hello, two gay men in love in Victorian England. I think it's important to note that while there is a romance and Hall does end it happily per se, this is a very melancholy read. It has to be. Queer people have always existed and Victorian England was not safe for them. Hell, today isn't safe for them. Certainly better, but not safe. Hall is navigating this story through the realities of that time frame. It ends on the note that Thomas and Micha love each other and end up together, but not in the way a modern 21st century reader might want. It's not unicorn farting rainbows happy. It's more pragmatic, compromise with the time you're living in happy. This book is very much romantic, but a romance as we define and look at the genre today? That's stickier. Also possibly why a lot of the tags I'm seeing on this book at retail sites lean towards "historical fiction." 

With all the talk of faith and religion, the prose runs a little flowery for my tastes, Thomas runs naïve and Micha runs towards asshole on more than one occasion. But you understand as the reader why all this is. I wasn't in love with this book, but it's angsty, meaty and there's a lot to chew on here. I might not be clutching it to my breast and sighing dramatically, but I'm also going to end up thinking about it for a few days after. For all those reasons, don't be shocked if this ends up on my Best Of list at the end of the year.

Final Grade = B-

Reminder: #TBRChallenge Day is September 16

Brace yourself kids, we only have four months left in the 2026 TBR Challenge. I know! I can't quite believe it either. I'll be on the road when this post goes live, having traveled across the country to attend a family wedding. Will I have gotten my book read before my trip? Will I have read it on the airplane? Will I get my post up in time? Your guess is as good as mine at this point!

This month's challenge is set for September 16 and the optional theme is Lush Life.  Don't blame me, blame the person who suggested it in my annual theme poll (OK, maybe blame me, I was intrigued and picked it out of the pile!). This is a theme that you can run with in any direction you think makes sense. Some definitions of "lush" include: luxuriant, thriving, prosperous, savory, drunkard, curvaceous. 

That said, I can totally understand not having the bandwidth to wrap your head around this particular theme. If you just want to pick a random book out of your pile and call it good? That's OK! The goal of the Challenge is to read something, anything, that has been languishing.

It's never too late to sign up for the Challenge.  You can learn more about it, and see a list of who is participating, over at the #TBRChallenge 2026 information page.

Review: The Jills

I promise that one day I'll get back to reading romance, but my slump continues it's hold on me with a vice grip, which means any book that can hold my attention right now, regardless of the genre, I'm counting as a win. Since my baseball team is officially circling the drain on what's left of the season, it's now time for me to turn my attention to being disappointed in my football team, the Buffalo Bills. Which brings us to Karen Parkman's debut suspense novel, The Jills. For those who don't know or follow the NFL, like many NFL teams, Buffalo had professional cheerleaders up until 2014, when a lawsuit by former cheerleaders blew the lid off all manner of grossness that was going on - everything from outright wage theft to telling the women how often they should be changing their tampons. Parkman's debut takes place somewhere in the window of 2010-2012, which we know since she name drops then head coach Chan Gailey and quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick. 

Virginia is a Jill - a job she takes very seriously and loves with her whole heart. Since she was a young girl, dancing has been her obsessive first love. So much so that she puts up with a lot of nonsense for the privilege of dancing before thousands of fans at Sunday home games. Her BFF on the squad is Jeanine and one Sunday Jeanine just doesn't show up for a game. This is a major infraction, a huge no-no, and Virginia is worried. She had been out with Jeanine on Friday night and here comes Sunday and she's nowhere around. She's also not answering any of her texts, which is really odd. Jeanine, for any other faults she may have, always answers Virginia's texts right away. But Virginia's the only one who is really worried - everybody else figures it's Jeanine just being Jeanine - until she continues to stay gone...

I'm not sure if it's my luck lately or if this is "a trend" I'm just now picking up on, but The Jills is one part suspense novel and one part book club fiction - and honestly, it's a marriage that doesn't always work for me. The librarian in my head objectively can tell you that this would make a dynamite book club selection, Parkman gives readers a lot to chew on, but as a reader it feels, at times, overly long. 

The world building is top notch. Parkman nails Buffalo, "a drinking town with a football problem." Virginia has Dead Daddy Issues, a former accountant for a local mob boss (who then took on the role of surrogate father), a complicated relationship with her mother, and a very strained relationship with her recovering addict sister, Laura. Virginia, bless her heart, has a White Knight Complex. You know the type. She has abandonment issues that manifest into her wanting to rescue people, essentially saving themselves from their own poor choices. Honestly, she's borderline manic in this behavior and, not gonna lie, she's an exhausting character. Since she carries this book you're trapped in her head the entire time.  I spent the entire book wanting to shake her senseless and tell her to cut these people loose, but of course she's tenacious like a terrier. She gets there, eventually, but the author spends a lot of time on diving into the characters, setting everything up, it takes a long time to really dive into the suspense thread (which, and this can't be overstated, is why I picked up this book in the first place).

That said, as manic and exhausting as Virginia is as a character, I got sucked in. Have I mentioned the world building? Have I mentioned I lived in Buffalo for nearly 6 years? And the more emotional scenes with her sister Laura? Tears leaked out. Maybe my soul isn't a dried up charred, smoking husk?

The ending to this book would normally be one that would annoy me in most suspense novels, but Virginia gets her answers, learns some hard truths, and does grow as a person over the course of this story - so it's a win in that respect. Part of me wonders what this story could have been had Parkman decided to subvert the cheerleader stereotype and created Virginia as competent and savvy - but maybe that would have made for a less interesting read for some. Or maybe, and more likely, I spent too much of my impressionable teen years reading mysteries featuring competent female sleuths. Honestly, my money is on the latter. 

Final Grade = B-

Dog Days: Unusual Historicals for August 2026

I don't know about you all, but I'm about ready for summer to be over. It's felt like one extreme weather event after another across the entire US and where I am has been unbearably hot. I also have a couple more months of this nonsense since "crisp autumn" weather where I live usually means triple digits and everything trying to burn down. On the bright side, while work has been kicking my butt (y'all we are so busy right now....) I've had a tiny bit more reading mojo than usual. I'm afraid to declare my slump dead, but I'm feeling slightly more hopeful thanks to audiobooks and keeping on top of my own TBR Challenge. On that subject, I'd love to get back into reading some historical romance and what better way to get those juices flowing that looking at new ones publishing in August. We have 14 titles this month! So sit back, relax and enjoy the browsing.

A Novel Affair by Zijari Singh

London, 1815.

Leela Choudhury refuses to be silent.

From a hidden alley in Nightingale Court, she runs The Nightingale, an underground bookshop that trades in forbidden texts, political pamphlets, and stories society insists women should never read. When a scandalous serialized romance known as The Pirate’s Promise ignites demand across Mayfield, Leela suspects its anonymous female author is not who she claims to be.

She’s right.

Viscount Sebastian Toussaint—wealthy aristocrat, favorite of the Crown, and the last man Leela ever expected to trust—is the mind behind the novel that has women whispering, dreaming, and daring to want more. Bound together by secrecy and a shared love of literature, Leela helps Sebastian discreetly distribute his work chapter by chapter, even as the Crown and a powerful bookseller close in.

As censorship tightens and reputations unravel, Leela and Sebastian must decide whether stories can truly change the world, and whether love can survive when everything else is at risk.

In a society determined to control women’s voices, one book may prove impossible to silence.

She runs an underground bookshop, he's the anonymous author behind a scandalous pirate romance that is warping the delicate minds of female readers. As they fall in love, a censorship battle closes in. From what I can gather, this is Singh's debut. 

Their Convenient Tuscan Marriage by Bronwyn Scott

Sparks that burn…

Hotter than a Tuscan summer!

After a haunting loss, restless Colonel Hayes Winterton accepts his father’s mission to secure a vineyard in Tuscany. Except his plans are thwarted by widow Evelisse Banfield—his stubborn, captivating competition!

Evelisse is shocked when the stoically handsome Hayes proposes a drastic solution to share the vineyard—a convenient marriage! Rather than relinquish her claim on the property, she accepts, but he will be her husband in name only. Until Evelisse realizes their business arrangement could have pleasurable benefits, as long as real feelings don’t blur the boundaries…!

Scott kicks off what is quite likely her final series for Harlequin Historical with a military hero looking to purchase a vineyard in Tuscany only to butt heads with another prospective buyer, the heroine. Then this man has the audacity to suggest they enter into a marriage of convenience so they can share the vineyard and why is she even considering this proposal?

Duke's One-Night Heir by Sarah Rodi

A secret son…

demands a wedding!

About to inherit a dukedom, Edward Harrington’s search for a suitable bride ends abruptly when a baby is thrust into his arms! His eyes meet Beatrice Puddifoot, the enchanting serving maid he shared an all-consuming connection with. They both knew their bond could never last beyond that one perfect night. But his heir changes everything…

Beatrice is used to relying only on herself. So, she’s stunned when Edward demands her hand in marriage! Her station means she’s hardly duchess material, and their union will be tarnished by scandal. Yet, while Beatrice might not belong in Edward’s world, his arms feel inexplicably like home…

Rodi's latest leans hard into the Cinderella trope. He's a future Duke looking for an acceptable bride, only to be confronted by the maid he shared one perfect night with and the consequence, a baby! She's desperate and is hoping he'll take the child in. Instead he proposes that they marry! 

The Viscount's Dollar Princess by Carol Arens

Her money...

For his title?

Lilleth Younger never imagined marrying a British nobleman she’d never met, but that’s exactly what the American heiress must do to satisfy her father’s dying wish. After rural Connecticut, arriving in riotous New York to take her vows is a shock—as is her new husband, the brooding Viscount Abberly! He’s seriously opposed to romance, but soon begins to open up under her sunny charm. Lilleth is irresistibly drawn to the compassionate man beneath the reserved facade. But having discovered all he has sacrificed to wed her, dare she hope that their marriage could ever be more than convenient?

She's an heiress used to life in rural Connecticut, he's a British Viscount who makes sacrifices to wed her (I'm guessing her money probably helps....). Arens' latest stand-alone is set against the Gilded Age backdrop of New York City and London.  

The Marquess's Wagered Wife by Emily EK Murdoch

A marriage gamble…

Worth the risk?

When irritatingly handsome Montague Donovan, Marquess of Laidley, challenges Calliope Oliver to a painting contest, the stakes are high. If he wins, Calliope must marry him, and if Calliope wins, then she will gain the artistic recognition she’s always craved—and knock the arrogant smirk off his face!

Having unexpectedly become guardian to his orphaned nephew, Montague finds himself in need of a convenient wife—fast. As their competition reaches fever pitch, and he and silver-tongued Calliope bicker their way to attraction, it’s more than the wager he stands to lose—but his heart too!

Enemies to Lovers over...painting? He needs a convenient wife, she's looking to knock him down a peg and finally receive some recognition for her artistic abilities.  This is the second book in The Unconventional Oliver Sisters trilogy.

The Viscount's Silent Pugilist by Nicki Pascarella

When the world silences her, he gives her the courage to strike back.

When Viscount Jonathan Davenport discovers a mystery woman fighting off a group of bandits with only her fists and wits, he immediately knows she belongs at The Silk Knuckles Saloon. If only he could convince her to speak, or learn to read the notes she pens to him; only then they might come to know one another.

Lady Genevieve is on the run from her abusive father when a handsome stranger inserts himself into her life, offering her a fresh start. As much as she wants to talk to him, her throat refuses to work. Still, he seems to understand her, offering her everything she has ever dreamed of.

When Genevieve’s highly publicized fight leads a dangerous individual to their door, Jonathan and Gen must work together to save her from her haunting past.

The second book in The Silk Knuckles Saloon series, features a heroine with selective mutism on the run from an abusive father. He's a Viscount who meets her while she's fighting off a group of bandits and offers her a fresh start.

A Scandal in White by Amber Night (novella)

Lady Lydia Cavendish did not expect her recently departed father to leave her everything. Yet what seems a miracle, offering freedom from her controlling brother Rupert’s whims, soon turns into a stranglehold. Because there’s one condition: she must get married first, with Rupert’s consent. And quickly, if Thornleigh Hall is to outlast its debts. As heiress, the responsibility for the estate rests heavy on her shoulders.

Assistant to the groundskeeper, Thomas Brooks, keeps to himself. More tolerated than accepted by the other staff, a life of tending flowers has been enough since his beloved sister departed for a brighter future in London. When he stumbles across an injured, distraught Lydia in the twilit forest, his only impulse is to help.

What begins as a chance meeting soon blooms into a delicate connection. As Lydia repays Thomas’s kindness by reading him his sister’s letters, something quiet grows in the stolen hours. But her impending nuptials to Rupert’s best friend loom large. Soon, both of them are caught inside a tangled and conflicted net. Between duty and attraction, safety and freedom, which will win out?

And is it truly worth risking it all for love?

She is looking down the barrel of marriage to her controlling brother's BFF and he's an assistant to a groundskeeper when they meet and fall in love. This is the first novella in the multi-author A Society of Scandal series that is "aiming to highlight the joy of reading historical romance and escaping to the past in this wondrous genre whilst cherishing openness, inclusivity, and equality."

Hers By  Summer's End by Kat Sterling (novella)

A boxer no proper lady should ever root for…

Drew Sutton has built his reputation with quick fists, quicker smiles, and enough knockouts to keep all of Seattle talking. But while society dismisses him as a rough-edged pugilist, Drew’s true talent lies far from the ring—in cultivating prize-winning blooms. His foremost contender? A loud-mouthed spinster with wild curls and a grin that never fails to send his pulse racing. Their rivalry has always been good sport—until he unthinkingly transforms their private feud into the scandal of the summer. Now it’s war over dahlias, but Drew can’t shake the feeling that the only thing worth winning has nothing to do with horticulture.

A spinster determined to leave him flat on the canvas…

Cecelia Townsend has cultivated her competition with Drew Sutton as carefully as her prize dahlias. There’s something delicious about the man who tends fragile shoots with bruised knuckles, and she’s long enjoyed their harmless flirtation. But when their rivalry becomes the city’s favorite spectator sport—complete with public sparring and brazen wagers—the stakes turn dangerously real. Then there’s the kiss. One reckless, soul-shaking kiss that changes everything. Now Cecelia is consumed by a far more perilous Victory—and the Fighting Florist himself—will be hers by summer’s end.

And oh look, here's the second novella dropping in the same month! He's a boxer with a passion for gardening and she's his competition. What starts out as a rivalry soon turns into a delicious scandal. Oh, and it takes place in Seattle!

The Spy in Disguise by Sheridan Jeane

She sees patterns in everything. Except the trap closing around her.

Charlotte Sinclair has spent her days in the quiet of her father's study, where secrets live in ink and paper rather than in the eyes of men who would kill to keep them. When the Crown requires a codebreaker inside the Black Rose Society, she is the only one who can unravel the cipher that threatens Parliament itself. But infiltrating a treasonous network demands more than a brilliant mind. It demands a man of experience, nerve, and dangerous capability to keep them both alive.

Major Adrian Blackwood is precisely that man — spy, gentleman, and keeper of secrets he has never dared speak aloud. He needs her gift for ciphers. She needs his cover. Together, they will pose as sympathizers within the Society's inner circle, navigating masked balls, forged documents, and midnight rendezvous along the fog-laden Thames.

What neither anticipated was a traitor within the Society determined to see them hanged for theft — or a blackmailer who knows precisely which ghosts will bring Adrian to his knees.

As they race to unmask a catastrophic plot against Parliament, their careful professional partnership begins to feel perilously like something more. With assassins on their trail, their reputations in ruins, and the Black Rose closing in from all sides, Charlotte and Adrian must expose the real villain before Westminster falls — and before the web of deception they have built together destroys everything they have come to hold dear.

In a world of shadows and shifting allegiances, the most dangerous secret is not the one their enemies carry. It is the one they are keeping from each other.

The second in The Shadow of the Black Rose series is being marketed as a mystery, but it sounds like there's plenty of romance in the back cover blurb. She's a codebreaker who is teamed up with a military man, a spy, gentleman and all around keeper of secrets. To ferret out the plot, they most pose as sympathetic traitors and a couple.

The Earl's Forbidden Temptation by Stacy Reid

Desperate to save her sisters, Miss Darcy Whitley travels to London seeking Sebastian, the Earl of Raine, whose connection to them could secure their futures. Yet his cold indifference suggests he could cast them aside at any moment.

Unwilling to trust their future to his mercy, Darcy accepts a secret commission within London’s most scandalous pleasure palace. Behind a mask and under the name Red, she paints intimate scenes of desire meant to tempt and ensnare all who dare to look.

She never expected to find him there.

In society, Sebastian is controlled, aloof, and untouchable. Within Aphrodite, he is wickedly indulgent, dangerously charming, and irresistibly sensual.

Darcy should fear and avoid him. Instead, his allure draws her in, tempting her to forget every caution she holds dear. Because if Sebastian ever unmasks Red, the cost of her deception may be more than she can bear.

This is the fifth book in the Sins & Sensibilities series. She's looking for protection and security to save her sisters but doesn't entirely trust the hero, so she accepts a job painting scandalous portraits  at a notorious pleasure palace - so what is he doing there?!  Oh honey, he's an Earl, this is a historical romance, of course he's there....

A Lady's Guide to Love and Pirates by Jennifer Moore

Annabelle Bradford was born on the sea and, as an infant, was claimed by pirate captain Reid Courtney as part of the spoils of seizure. Though she lives in London, she spends every summer aboard her godfather’s ship, exploring the ocean and embracing the freedom the horizon offers.

But when her godfather is kidnapped by a rival captain who is hunting for lost Spanish treasure, Annabelle must set sail on the most dangerous mission of her life—but first she’ll have to break a pirate out of prison.

Captain Hawke has vowed to never return to the cursed Isla de Plata, not even if the lovely but arrogant Lady Bradford practically demands it of him in exchange for his freedom. When she also promises him a ship of his own once Captain Courtney is rescued, Hawke reluctantly agrees to sail with her and her crew.

Though Annabelle and Hawke initially clash over who will captain the ship, as they travel through storms and dangers toward the mysterious Devil’s Triangle, the lady’s heart begins to soften toward the charismatic pirate captain. But what if he doesn’t love her back? What if when they are done, he simply sails over the horizon without her?

Annabelle knows how to navigate both the ballrooms of London and the waves of the ocean, but finding her way to true love may prove to be the most difficult journey of all.

She's off to save her kidnapped godfather, but for that she first needs to break a pirate out of prison - which would be our hero. One small fly in the ointment, even though she can get him his freedom, he's not all that keen to return to the island where her godfather is being held captive. 

Obstinate Headache Girl by Jade Hendren

Happily ever after isn’t for the working class.

Though Clara Fletcher’s life was recently upended, following her best friend all the way to Scotland was hardly any trouble. What troubled her, beyond her constant headaches, was wondering whether Harry would come with them.

Harry Stanton, the staid, always proper butler, had been the rock upon which Clara stood since the moment she’d arrived to take up her position in her friend and employer’s household. By day, they ran the house side by side. Each night, they slept the same way. Clara had never been good at that—sleeping. Something about the past that lingered like her headaches wouldn’t allow it, unless she was lying next to him. It was a daring impropriety, but the only one they could allow, as domestics in the same household could never marry and keep the positions they so cherished. Acting on their long-held but still-silent feelings wouldn’t be worth the risk.

Moving to Kinloss would be a new beginning for all of them, but the roads they traveled to get there were eerily familiar to Clara. Scotland was her home. Or at least, it had been. Edinburgh was where she’d buried her secrets, and nearly from the minute they’d arrived, the mail coach had carried those secrets right to their little village.

Clara was an author. An accomplished one, though the impact of her work was previously unknown, even to her. In the bright eyes of a villager’s daughter, Clara begins to see the revolutionary difference her inexpensive pamphlets of whimsical, educational stories for children are making. But the name on the papers grasped in her tiny hands isn’t Clara’s own.

Now, she has a choice to make. She can either give up control of her own life’s work or do the thing she’s quite possibly the worst at: asking for help. More importantly, whichever path she treads—will Harry follow?

A below stairs romance featuring a heroine with a secret writing past and a butler. Oh, and it sounds like our heroine suffers from migraines. Seriously, this back cover blurb is kind of a mess but there's enough here for me to check out a sample.

Miss Wylde and the Wynd by Jane Charles

Lord Damian Wynd had control of his world and his life. As the second born, it was his responsibility to manage the family import business, Trade Wynd. His days were spent on the docks overseeing the unloading of ships or in his offices not far away, which left Damian with little else in his life. An emptiness gnawed at him, but he had no time to determine the cause, let alone fill it. Nor was it as important as keeping order of all he supervised. However, his carefully balanced world is soon overturned when he spies a young woman sneaking away from one of their newly arrived ships.

Miss Georgiana Wylde had always had an adventurous soul, though limited in what she could pursue, grounded, intelligent, and knew what was expected of her. However, when her sister disappears in pursuit of an English rogue, Georgie must go after her before all is ruined, although she fears that it may be too late.

Damian’s first intention is to send Georgie back from whence she came, but her determination and fear for her sister pulls at something deep in his chest that might very well be his heart.

Georgiana had not expected that the most difficult and pragmatic gentleman in all of England would come to her aid. Further, she does not even like him, nor does he care for her. Yet, as their search takes them from the docks in Southampton throughout England and beyond, she finds herself coming to care, even love, the one gentleman who should be completely wrong for her.

The second book in The Wynd Brothers series, he's the second born managing the family's import business and she's looking for her impetuous sister before the family reputation is ruined beyond repair. 

Read to Me Lyon by Ramona Elmes

She has a secret that requires a husband.

Kitty Larson is in a predicament. She and her sisters have recently inherited their parents’ successful bookshop and printing press, along with its secrets. Unfortunately, her uncle is trying to obtain steal their wealth by becoming their guardian. Desperate to prevent this, Kitty reaches out to the proprietor of the Lyon’s Den in hopes of arranging a marriage. Marrying with the right stipulations will put an end to her uncle's schemes.

He needs a wife to avoid scandal.

Oliver's father, the Marquess of Everly, has died and Oliver returns to England after enduring the war on the Continent. Now he's the new marquess, and the responsibility of the family falls on him. So when he discovers his family is broke, there is no time to be upset. He must replenish the family coffers whatever the cost, even if that means marrying a stranger for her wealth, though he'd always expected to marry for love. He approaches Mrs. Dove-Lyon, known for handling situations discreetly and quickly. His family is one of the most respected families of the ton, but if their financial situation is discovered, their name and their legacy would be destroyed.

Will this marriage of convenience become more or will scandal ruin everything?

The need to marry, a book, and a game bring Kitty and Oliver to the altar. But what starts as a marriage of convenience quickly becomes something altogether different. With every lingering touch and kiss, they both realize they are losing their hearts. Unfortunately, Kitty has a secret about the source of her wealth that could bring scandal to the Everly name much worse than the situation that caused Oliver to marry her. When he finds out, will their unexpected love match survive?

She needs a husband to protect her inherited bookshop and printing press from a dastardly uncle. He's a newly minted Marquess who needs to marry an heiress when he finds the family coffers bare, but he needs to do so discreetly because if word gets out about his financial situation, well it won't be good. Part of a long-running Lyon's Den continuity series, we have another messy back cover blurb, but intriguing enough to get me to check out a sample.

Whew! Another month full of possibilities for your TBR. Hopefully you've found something worth checking out. Happy shopping, and reading!

Review: I Dream of Falling

I Dreamed of Falling by Julia Dahl is a hard book for me to wrap my head around. Dahl can write, she excels at writing about insular communities with plenty of secrets they want to keep buried. It's what kept me going with this book, also the fact that it's a rather short audiobook (8 hours), and y'all, I have to listen to something on my commute. That said, I can't say I really enjoyed this experience.

Roman Grady is the sole reporter for a local newspaper in his small hometown in the Hudson Valley area of New York. A graduate of NYU, he's the type of reporter who once earned a fellowship at the Los Angeles Times, but now he's writing about the dedication of park benches and the hottest news in the area would be someone getting arrested for a DUI. He has a four-year-old son, Mason, with his longtime girlfriend, Ashley, and they live with his mother, Tara, and her fiancé, John, in his childhood home that is falling down around their ears. Then, Ashley goes missing.

Roman finds her at the bottom of a steep ravine at a former friend's house. Dead. There was a party at Bella's house. The three were once close, but as Roman and Ashley settled into a relationship, when Mason came along, Bella's increasingly messy life meant they were no longer truly friends. Roman had no clue Ashley was talking to Bella again, nor that Ashley was using. They find a packet of pills in her pocket and the assumption is she overdosed. It's 2023, they suspect the pills are laced with fentanyl. 

The problem with this story for a long time is that it's more domestic drama than thriller. Ashley's found dead in short order near the start of the book, but then the reader is trapped in an endless cycle reading about miserable people being miserable. Look, I get it. I understood why these characters were miserable, but it doesn't mean I wanted to be trapped in their heads reading about their misery either.

Ashley and Roman met in middle school and quickly formed a bond. As they got older it was clear they loved each other, but they had an open relationship (and still do - despite Mason coming along, these two are still hooking up with other people). It was all going great guns until Ashley ends up pregnant and Roman defers his fellowship to the LA Times. Then the pandemic hits, Ashley has to give birth to Mason alone in the hospital, nearly dies, and falls into postpartum depression. Tara steps in, determined to be Super Grandma because she was certainly no Mother of the Year when Roman was growing up. That creates a push-pull between Ashley and Tara over Mason's care and affection (the kid is four, plenty of love to go around yo) and meanwhile Roman is feeling increasingly trapped by his job and obligations but has zero momentum or drive to do something about it. Tara, of course, is the I Know Best Grandmother, her and Ashley clash over pandemic restrictions, and the house they live in is in desperate need of repair, which John is working on, but all this costs money and it's a lot. 

Finally, FINALLY, over halfway through the book, the What Happened To Ashley question finally starts to cook - and we get to the ending. Dahl does a good job of leading readers down various blind alleys but ultimately the question of who killed Ashley is completely wrapped up in all these miserable characters being miserable and not unpacking their trauma. And Roman? This guy y'all. I desperately wanted him to leave behind scorched Earth at the end. Lord knows the denouement warrants it. Instead I'm convinced he chooses the path he does because it's easier for him. It saves him from having to man up, find his stones, and take it all on himself like a frickin' grown up.

Dahl can write, but man I didn't like these people and wanted to punt them into the sun.

Final Grade = C- 

Review: The Ivory City

The Ivory City by Emily Bain Murphy turned out to be one of my more pleasant surprises in my reading year thus far for 2026.  A near perfect blend of historical mystery and romance, and it should satisfy fans for both genres.

Grace Covington was marked as a poor relation even before she was born because her mother had the temerity to marry for love - to a man well below her station. A fact that Grace's Aunt Clove never lets her forget. However, it's her uncle who is her mother's blood relation, and Grace has been allowed to spend time with her cousins, Lillie and Oliver, growing up - and the cousins adore each other. So when Lillie and Oliver want Grace to come to their home in St. Louis for the 1904 World's Fair, of course she goes. She's not about to miss out on the biggest event of her young life!

But alas, there are secrets a plenty. Oliver has fallen head over heels for an actress (a fact that will surely kill Aunt Clove) and only Grace knows about the relationship. Lillie is determined to do more with her life than be a pretty socialite, and is sneaking out of the house to work with a local doctor at a women's clinic (in case Aunt Clove survives Oliver's secret) - again, another fact that only Grace knows about. Another mark against Grace? Her troubled brother Walt, who fell down the rabbit hole of addiction and has not been seen by the family for the better part of a year. As if Grace's father owning a restaurant wasn't scandalous enough!  

These secrets and the added tension of class differences boil over when a member of their merry group of friends attending the Fair is murdered - and Oliver becomes Prime Suspect #1.  Grace knows deep in her bones that he's innocent and helping her in her sleuthing is wealthy Theodore Parker - a man she has an Enemies To Lovers vibe with ever since they had a disastrous run-in with each other at a Chicago soirée. 

This was a really pleasant and enjoyable story even if it does take a while to come to a boil. The author did not skimp on her research and it shows up tremendously with her world building. I truly felt like I was at the 1904 World's Fair and she spends the first 30% or so of the book really digging into her characters so that by the time the murder happens you actually give a damn. 

Speaking of the murder, there's plenty of twists and turns along the way and the author kept me guessing. On the romance front, the author does an amiable job playing with the adversarial Enemies to Lover trope by having Grace and Theodore rub each other in all the right and wrong ways. There's a moment in the final chapters where I thought the author might break the BIG cardinal rule of the romance genre, but rest assured for romance fans, it ends happily for Grace and Theodore. In fact it ends happily for most of the characters, other than the murder victim and, well, the murderer (duh). 

Finally, besides the world building, I really appreciated the time and care the author spent using class differences as part of the conflict. Americans just love to pretend like we're not classist pieces of crap like our British counterparts, but rest assured we were and still are. It was nice to read a historical mystery that didn't sweep this under the rug. 

This was a very enjoyable read and I'm glad I took a chance on it. Murphy has also written middle grade and young adult, and this is only her second adult novel. I'm hoping she has more historical mysteries with romantic elements up her sleeve.

Final Grade = B+