Hearts & Flowers: Unusual Historicals for February 2026

It's only February and I feel like we're all already exhausted by 2026. On the bright side, we've had the Olympics to watch, I'm fully past whatever hellish plague I had last month, and as of February 15 we're in HALF PRICED CANDY MONTH! Seriously, February 15, November 1 and whatever Monday falls after Easter are my favorite times of year. Also, while it's the shortest month of the year, it's a bonanza for romance (despite the terrible "think pieces" we all must suffer through) and we have 15 (!) unusual historicals (OK, two reprints) to tempt us. And yes, I am front-loading this post with the Harlequin Historicals for reasons. Wendy's still Salty AF.

Forbidden to the Banished Laird by Marguerite Kaye

Alone with the laird

…and their forbidden passion!

For landscape gardener Jessica, accepting a post on a remote Scottish island means escape—from her broken dreams and tattered reputation. But meeting the brooding laird who hired her, disturbingly attractive Murdo, Jessica wonders if she’s made a dangerous miscalculation…

Murdo has only had the furious ghosts of his past for company, until Jessica’s sweetness and inner steel offers a way out of the darkness. As her employer, and with his heart destroyed, she is utterly forbidden. But with nowhere to hide from their simmering connection, will Murdo play by Society’s rules, or burn everything down?

A new stand alone from Kaye - she's a landscape gardener (!) with a reputation (my favorite kind of heroine!) and he's a broody Scottish Laird. Harlequin is marketing this as a Victorian Gothic and y'all I am here for it.

Wed in Haste to the Prince by Heba Helmy 

A hasty proposal

…leads to a fiery union!

Prince Adnan’s convenient new bride is everything he never wanted—reckless, vexing and distractingly beautiful! So he offers Lady Olive a deal: play the part of loving wife in front of his ailing mother, and he’ll help her find what she’s looking for in Egypt. Then they’ll part ways…

Olive, desperate to stay in Egypt and unearth her family secret, agrees. Except she uncovers another side to her supposedly stoic and unreachable husband. As she learns the burdens he carries, she’s tempted to share hers, but more shocking is her temptation to share his bed!

The second book (likely the last?) in Helmy's Princes of Egypt series, set in Egypt (duh) features a marriage of convenience (inconvenience?) and a couple who both have their own burdens. This is why I'm going to miss Harlequin Historical y'all. Here we get an Egyptian prince hero while in other historical romances it would be a British dude robbing tombs and stealing antiquities.

The Viking She Shouldn't Crave by Sarah Rodi

Their forbidden tryst…

Is treason!

Helena’s spent her life preparing to be the Byzantine Prince’s bride. But when his cruel disinterest turns her position perilous, she finds salvation in fierce warrior Viggo. As the Prince’s personal guard, he knows her betrothed like no other. Could Viggo help her win his affections?

Only, Helena swiftly discovers the man she craves is not her husband-to-be…but thrillingly rugged Viggo! To act on their desires would be committing treason. Getting caught could be fatal. And yet, resisting their illicit connection feels like a fate worse than death…

This is why I love Viking and medieval romances y'all - loyalty was everything and picking the wrong side could get you killed. Anyway, heroine who has spent her whole life "training" to marry a prince is in a bind when her groom-to-be ain't all that into her. She's desperate for help, and there's the hero - her betrothed's loyal guard like right there! Surely he can help her catch her soon-to-be husband's eye! I mean, what could possibly go wrong? 

Sweetest Taboo by Joan Vassar

Queens, New York, 1952–Detective Bruce Smith’s life is far darker than his loved ones can comprehend. Passing for a straight white man leaves him feeling empty. His sexuality, colored mother, and self-imposed loneliness lead him to make a mistake he can’t afford.

Scott Wilkins is an unmoored soul, who drifts across a segregated America, working as a porter. In a time when it’s illegal and dangerous to be his authentic self, Scott’s existence as a colored, homosexual man is nothing short of unapologetic.

When their paths cross, both men learn the meaning of unconditional love. Sweetest Taboo is an African American, M/M romance that celebrates black love without regret.

In the event you're new to this blog, let it be known that Wendy is an Angst Junkie, and this stand alone by Vassar sounds like Angst-A-Rama-Jama. You've got an in-the-closet, passing as white, cop in 1952 Queens who falls for a man drifting across the country working as a porter (!). I'll be honest, the porter thing is what hooked me hardcore here. Like boardinghouses, I can't quite get enough of trains in my historical romances (and yes, I'm aware - 1952, but I wasn't alive then so historical it is!)

Scandal Amidst the Stacks by Sandra Sookoo

Major Cornelius Montgomery is suffering from ennui since his days in the military are over. Just turned forty, he is searching for something meaningful to fill his life, for empty romantic liaisons and scandalous pursuits have lost their charm. One February evening, he peers into a bookshop for a glimpse of the only woman who’d managed to capture his heart, but she is off limits because she’s his best friend’s sister. Does it matter?

Lady Penelope Needham—the Marchioness of Weymouth—is searching for purpose. Her husband proved sterile, which thwarted her dream of being a mother, then he died in a hunting accident, leaving her widowed at the age of thirty. To keep busy, she happily works at a book shop because books are old friends and they never disappoint, yet when she happens to glance outside one cold night and spies an old crush—her brother’s best friend—life has the potential to change. Doesn’t it?

The moment Cornelius steps into the bookshop, he’s beset with familiar attraction. As for Penny, since she’s afforded more freedom in society as a widow, she’s keen on pursuing something with the rogue, even if it’s only a bit of wickedness amidst the stacks she never had in the past. When emotions between them are far too strong, and whispers of scandal bring her brother’s ire, they are both brought to a crossroads. If they wish to have a second chance at a romance, they’ll stop hiding behind excuses. Won’t they?

Book two in Sookoo's Dashing Rogues and Ruined Librarians (!) series gives us an older hero (40!) who is pining for his best friend's sister. Our heroine, said sister, is a 30-year-old widow who, turns out, has been pining for our hero. There's nothing for it - they'll have to carry on a torrid affair. 

A Most Peculiar Courtship by Mihwa Lee

Amelia Thornton never expected her wedding day to involve quite so many tears—her own. Married to the notorious Marquess of Hereford in a business arrangement that benefits everyone except her heart, she's determined to keep her distance from the insufferable rake. But Charles has an annoying habit of appearing when she least wants him. When her investigation into dangerous factory conditions leads her straight into the arms of a monster from her past, Amelia discovers that her scandalous husband might be the only man brave enough to help her seek justice—if she can resist falling for his unexpected kindness first.

Charles Bartholomew Hereford has perfected the art of living down to society's expectations, but his sharp-tongued wife sees right through his carefully constructed façade. The brilliant writer who compared his moral compass to a weathervane is driving him to distraction with her stubborn refusal to accept his protection. Between her mysterious late-night disappearances, her talent for attracting dangerous enemies, and the way she makes his pulse race during their fencing lessons, Charles finds himself fighting battles on multiple fronts. When Amelia's crusade for workers' rights puts her in mortal danger, he'll have to choose between maintaining his reputation as London's most notorious rake and becoming the hero she never knew she needed.

The third book in Lee's Daring Damsels features a marriage of convenience (inconvenience?) that gives birth to an enemies to lovers romance. She's a crusader leading the charge against dangerous factory conditions, and he's the notorious wastrel rake who, turns out, actually might be able to help her. 

Felicity's Eloquent Earl by Maeve Greyson

She gave him a meal; he offered her poetry—and both hungered for more.

Lady Felicity has mastered the fine art of disappearing. The sixth of eight siblings, she’s long been labeled the “cull of the litter” by Society’s sharpest tongues. Shy, curvaceous, and far more comfortable in a kitchen than a ballroom, she slips away from every soiree her matchmaking brother forces her to attend—preferably toward the comforting scent of butter and warm bread just pulled from the oven. Food, after all, is her love language.

But the night she finds a ravenous stranger prowling a host’s kitchen, her quiet world tilts. The handsome, silver-tongued intruder devours the food she prepares with poetic praise that leaves her cheeks—and her heart—unexpectedly warm.

Drake Pemberton, newly minted seventh Earl of Wakefield, didn’t plan on falling for the charming “kitchen angel” who saved him from starvation. Nor did he expect her to be a duke’s sister—with a dowry that could rescue him from the debt and danger left by his not-so-dead uncle, the sixth Earl of Wakefield. But Felicity is determined to marry for love, not money, and Drake knows the truth about his circumstances could send her running.

As a delicious attraction simmers into something deeper, lies of omission, malicious gossip, and dangerous creditors threaten to scorch their budding romance. Only trust—and a love worth every risk—can save them before it all boils over.

The fifth book in Greyson's Seven Unsuitable Sisters series features a wallflower more comfortable in kitchens than ballrooms and a mysterious stranger, who she feeds, and then offers her poetry in return. I love the sound of everything about this back cover blurb, please Lord, be good.

The Lyon's Pretty Pugilist by Nicki Pascarella

Female pugilist Josephine Martin dreams of opening a gymnasium to teach woman how to defend themselves. But first, she needs the blunt. The best way to get it would be to become the next champion of the prestigious Duke’s and Dame’s Mill, but first she needs to convince the duke to sponsor her. If only the fretful heir of a destitute earl didn't stick his nose in her business. Now, thanks to him and the mysterious Mrs. Dove-Lyon, she must win an absurd, and implausible bet before she can garner the duke’s attention and make her dreams come true. Except the duke is not the peer she wishes she could win.

Nicolas Wentworth, the heir to the cursed Shiredale Earldom, is given one last chance to settle his father’s gambling debts and save his family from ruin. All he has to do is fulfill the terms of Mrs. Dove-Lyon's deal: turn the beautiful pugilist from a side-show guttersnipe into a lady acceptable to ton standards and present her to his rakish ducal friend at the event of the season. If only the lady he's helped to create for the duke wasn't the lady of his heart.

Part of the never-ending (100+ books!) Lyon's Den world, Pascarella introduces her "Scandalous Ladies of the Silk Knuckles Saloon," a series featuring a group of women pugilists (there's covers for an upcoming trilogy listed on her website!). Our heroine wants to open her own gym to teach self-defense to women, but for that she needs money. However, she needs a sponsor, which lands her in a Pygmalion trope. As it would - I mean, naturally!

Where Highland Thistles Bloom by Paula Quinn

In the wild Highlands of Lochaber, Constantine Cameron reigns as Lochiel, warrior, leader, and legend. Merciless in battle and moody in spirit, he is a force few dare challenge. When a mysterious young woman, disguised as a lad, stumbles onto his land, he saves her. But he doesn’t know that she carries secrets darker than the Highland nights. Secrets that can start another war.

Ismay MacPherson has spent her life running from cruelty, from chains, and from the truth that could destroy her. Yet under Constantine’s watchful eyes, she finds a sanctuary that feels impossibly safe, even as she weeps into her supper, her pain unspoken but not unnoticed. Can she dare to trust the Cameron Lochiel with the secret she has carried all her life? And will her past finally catch her in its merciless grip?

In a land where loyalty and vengeance collide, Constantine and Ismay must navigate the treacherous path between love and survival, where the greatest danger may be opening one’s heart.

A 17th century Scottish historical and the first book in Quinn's new Where Heaven and Earth Collide series.  He's a legend, she's a Chick In Pants with a dark secret. Reviews on this one indicate it's a closed door, fade to black romance featuring a couple working through trauma. 

When He Was a Rogue by Tess Thompson

He's determined to restore his family's honor. She's desperate to secure her sister's future. Neither expected to find a love that would change everything.

James Ashford has survived disgrace, war, and years on the edges of society. Now he is determined to reclaim his family’s honor by restoring Ashford Manor, the crumbling estate that once defined his family’s legacy. To see it rise again, he turns to Georgiana Hartwell—a widowed lady bold enough to continue her late husband’s architectural practice.

For Georgiana, the commission is more than a livelihood. It is her chance to prove her worth in a world that would rather dismiss her, while earning the dowry her younger sister needs to secure a good match. Yet even as her passion for the project grows, so too does the pull she feels toward the roguish man who defies every rule of society.

But their budding partnership faces powerful enemies: Georgiana’s manipulative mother, determined to control her future, and a predatory figure from her past who refuses to let her go. With scandal circling and danger drawing near, James and Georgiana must decide if they will risk reputations, safety, and the carefully built walls around their hearts—for a love strong enough to redeem them both.

Book 2 in The Duke's Legacy series features a wounded hero looking to save his crumbling estate and a widowed heroine bold enough to have carried on with her dead husband's architectural business. She needs the money and wants to prove herself and he's a rogue who thumbs his nose at society. Looks like we can also expect a heaping dose of external conflict here.  

Mistress for Wyndview by Jane Charles

At the age of eight and twenty, Sterling Wynd, Earl of Wyndham, left England.

Duty weighed heavily on him, and solemnity filled his soul. However, before he turned thirty, chose a suitable wife and went about begetting heirs, he wanted to do something for himself—see the world. Or at least the part that had made his family wealthy.

Caroline Sutcliffe had once loved deeply. She’d married quickly and her husband soon went off to war. But after receiving word of his death, and finding herself alone, she returned to her father and the Cape Good Hope to carve out a new life for herself and her daughter.

She had not expected to meet a handsome English Lord filled with duty and in possession of so little humor. Further, she could not understand why she was drawn to him. Yet, Caroline knew that she could love Sterling deeply and passionately, but she feared he was not capable of either.

Will Sterling find a way to open his heart and let go of his control or will he lose the one woman who could fill the emptiness within?

First book in a new series, a fairly typical sounding romance between a wounded hero and a widowed, single mother heroine who falls in love with him (against her better judgement).  Nothing terribly unusual here other than it's set in Cape Good Hope, South Africa!

Taciturn in the Ton by Emily Royal

A marriage of necessity…with a man who shuns her.

Despite being a duke’s sister, Olivia Whitcombe is shunned by Society due to one insurmountable flaw: her illegitimacy. Taunted by debutantes and rejected by suitors, her debut Season couldn’t get any worse—until she’s caught in a compromising position with a taciturn stranger.

To save the Whitcombe name, Olivia yields to her brother’s demands and finds herself transported to a neglected manor and forced to marry a silent, brooding earl with pain and anger in his eyes, who shuns her at every turn.

Charles Devereaux hasn’t spoken a word since witnessing his mother’s violent death as a child. On inheriting the earldom and a mountain of debts, he returns to Penham Park, his hated childhood home, and reluctantly enters the Marriage Mart. When a debutante of doubtful birth falls—literally—into his arms, Charles curses himself for being snared so easily.

But dark secrets and the specter of Death linger within the walls of Penham Park, and when Charles’s heart begins to soften toward his bride, it may be too late.

Book 9 (!) in the Misfits of the Ton series, features an illegitimate heroine "compromised" by a hero who suffers from selective mutism.  He's broody with the requisite neglected manor who thinks she orchestrated the whole thing, and used to being shunned she's trying to carry on. Then, naturally, the past comes roaring back to haunt them.

The Duke's Somerset Sins by Anne Knight, Colleen Kelly and Kay K Denner

This is your invitation to the Bastards’ Ball.

All of London knows the sixth Duke of Somerset for his sprawling wealth, stern demeanor, and the antics of his five (mostly) illegitimate children, known in ballrooms and gossip rags as the Somerset Sins.

But each of the Sins is soon in for a surprise. The duke is dying, and he has one demand for his children: marriage. If they can’t secure a spouse that meets his approval, he’ll find one for them with a glittering ball on Valentine’s Day.

Christened the Bastards’ Ball, the beaumonde will turn out in droves to watch one of the most powerful men in England play matchmaker for his unruly brood.

Except, much like their father, the Sins have their own schemes.

William - the duty-bound heir finds himself locked in a room with a beautiful, free-spirited woman he shouldn’t want but desperately does.

Alex - the charming rake hatches the perfect plan to wed the lovely flowerseller, and annul the marriage later.

Addy - the hellion likes all the things a duke’s daughter shouldn’t: gambling, wearing waistcoats, and a certain lovely proprietress of a gaming hell.

Sebastien - the independent industrialist will do anything to further his financial interests, even marry an intriguing older woman in exchange for a share in her family’s business.

Sophie - the darling of the family decides to break free and find her own adventure, alongside a gruff, working man with the eyes of a poet traveling the same direction.

Discover each Sin’s story in this steamy anthology of interconnected novellas. One family, five stories, a thousand ways to start a scandal.

Hey, so remember anthologies?! We have a new one, featuring six illegitimate children of a dying Duke determined to see his by-blows make good matches. The fly in the ointment? I mean, other than being the product of various affairs? They're all unspeakably unconventional in their own ways. 

The Halifax Hellions by Alexandra Vasti (Reprint)

From the day of their debut, when Matilda smoked a cheroot and Margo tied a cherry stem in a knot with her tongue, the Halifax twins have flouted convention at every turn. But when Matilda runs off with the dangerous Marquess of Ashford—who has every reason to hate her—she may have gone a bit too far.

Determined to stop Matilda’s inexplicable elopement, her sister Margo turns to her oldest friend for help: because if anyone can get her to Scotland in time, it’s starchy solicitor Henry Mortimer. But the road to Scotland is paved with secrets. Beneath his buttoned-up exterior, Henry is ardently, wildly, miserably in love with Margo. And Matilda and Ashford’s relationship too may not be quite what it seems.

Between salacious engravings, secret identities, and demanding feral cats, nothing about the journey goes as planned. With the Halifax Hellions at the reins, a week in a carriage is exactly enough time to turn the world upside down . . . and, perhaps, find the love stories they never expected.

Originally published in digital and audio as separate novellas, Vasti's Halifax Hellions are now together in a print edition with an newly added epilogue. One twin running off to marry a man who should hate her and another twin who gives chase with a "starchy solicitor." Vasti leans into romantic comedy and this sounds fun. 

To Sin With a Viking by Michelle Willingham (Reprint)

She holds him prisoner. But he’s about to claim her heart…

Caragh O’Brannon never expected to survive a Viking raid—let alone capture a warrior. Fierce, bound, and utterly dangerous, Styr Hardrata should be her enemy. Instead, he awakens forbidden desires she cannot deny.

Styr came to Ireland seeking trade, not a battle. But the fiery Irish maiden who holds him captive stirs a hunger more powerful than freedom itself. Though honor binds him to another, Styr harbors a secret that could change everything.

Caught between loyalty and longing, Caragh and Styr must choose—betray their hearts or surrender to a passion strong enough to defy fate.

Originally published by Harlequin Historical in 2013, this self-published reprint, first in a duet, features an already-married (!) hero whose arranged marriage is in the final death throes when he's taken captive by the literally-starving heroine. Oh, and Viking hero, story set in Ireland. God bless having 20+ years worth of blog archives, I read and reviewed this back in the day. The subject matter is very tricky, but Willingham does a great job with it, and the hero's wife gets her own romance in the second book, which is being reprinted in March.

Whew! And here we are, at the end. Seriously, I won't tell you how long it took me to draft this post. The least you could do to show your appreciation? Go forth, read a historical romance. Then tell all your friends about it.

#TBRChallenge 2026: The Pirate and His Lady

The Book: The Pirate and His Lady by Margaret St. George

The Particulars: Contemporary romance, Harlequin American Romance #462, 1992, Out of print - including digital, reprinted 2002 as part of Harlequin's defunct Dreamscapes line - also out of print, including digital. If you want this book y'all, you're buying a used print copy.

What Was It In Wendy's TBR?: So for you young'uns running across this post, once upon a time there was an author named Maggie Osborne who wrote some dynamite historical westerns. Well, she also wrote category romance under the name Margaret St. George. I didn't make the same concerted effort to hunt down the St. George books as I did the Osborne titles, but I tend to pick them up when I stumble across them at library used book sales or charity shops. I'm not sure how long I've had this one though since it appears I failed to catalog it (yes, I have my print TBR cataloged - don't hate the player, hate the game). 

The Review: Back in 1992 there weren't monster romances featuring heroes with tentacles, nor Kindle Unlimited for that matter, to give readers their WTFBBQ fix, there was just category romance. Now this may seem like a sad and long ago bygone era, but let me assure you, Harlequin got a lot of mileage out of throwing wacky at the wall and sometimes you'd stumble across stories with plots you could only compare to a fever dream. Ladies and gents, I present to you The Pirate and His Lady - a time travel romance featuring an 18th century privateer who washes up on the shore of Key West and is rescued by a modern, 20th century heroine. Published in the Harlequin American Romance line. Dear God, what a time it was to be alive!

Elizabeth Rawley and her Uncle Cappy (seriously) run a salvage / treasure hunting business in Key West, Florida. Her and the guy she's about to break up with are getting ready to attend Cappy's annual "Pirate's Ball" costume party when she spies a ship battle from the beach and she knows it's a "reenactment" of the battle between The Black Cutter and the Madre Louisa. Elizabeth knows this because she and Cappy have been hoping to find the Madre Louisa, which sank shortly after she defeated the Black Cutter in battle so they can claim the riches that were on board. The problem? Instead of catching a clue where on the vast ocean floor the Madre Louisa is located, all Elizabeth has accomplished is an unhealthy obsession with Richard Colter, Captain of the Black Cutter.  She's deeply moved by the reenactment which is happening on the 200th anniversary of the battle - except there's one minor detail.  Her boyfriend that she's about to break up with? Doesn't see a thing. Did Elizabeth hallucinate the reenactment?

After returning from the party, and breaking it off with the dud, she heads down to the beach only to stumble across a man. That man? None other than Captain Richard Colter, wounded and likely suffering a concussion.  He suspects nothing is amiss other than having just lost his ship and crew, what with Elizabeth rescuing him while wearing period colonial clothing. However once he's inside her house? Well, witchcraft comes to mind.

What follows is the comedy of errors one would expect in a time travel romance with some icky gender expectations tossed in for good measure. Richard talks like a pirate and has definite notions on a woman's place in the world - so single Elizabeth living alone, unchaperoned, never married, I mean she's probably a whore right? And he's flabbergasted to discover she's in her late 20s and not 18. Then there's of course modern day small appliances like the coffee maker and toaster - never mind the bathroom. Honestly I've never been the ideal audience for time travel because I find these requisite scenes rather tedious, but I got some chuckles when, needing to distract him, Elizabeth turns on the television. Needless to say she slips out of the house unnoticed and when she returns? He's right there on the couch where she left him and he's amazed that "King Larry" will be interviewing "the Madonna" later that evening. I couldn't help it, I laughed.

I'll hand it to St. George, she really threw herself into the question "What would happen if you threw a man with 18th century sensibilities into the 20th century?" Unfortunately, it's icky. All I could think of is that certain segment of Romancelandia who decries historical romance heroes who happen to have one enlightened idea about a woman's place in the world wringing their hands and crying anachronism! Anachronism!!!!!! Seriously, they'd love this book. To put it bluntly, Richard is a bit of a Neanderthal. Not the most offensive of this ilk I've read over the years, but Alan Alda this guy ain't. (And if you get that reference, congratulations - you're officially old)

For a good portion of this book Richard is the sort of romance hero who bemoans that Elizabeth won't simply do as she's told and then is flabbergasted that he can't do much about it. "So it's true. 'E can't discipline a woman, even if she needs a strong hand." My hero 🤮

Unfortunately Elizabeth didn't pick up the slack for me. She dumps the guy she's seeing at the start of the book because the next step would be them taking the relationship to the next level (yes, sex) and while she has every indication he'd be a gentle and considerate lover, sometimes a woman just needs to be "taken." And yet, once Richard is in her life? She struggles with the push-pull factor to their relationship.

There was the rub. Elizabeth would fight like a tiger to be the dominant partner in any relationship. But in her heart, she couldn't respect a man who would let her dominate him. And she sure as hell didn't intend to allow any man to dominate her.

Why is Elizabeth like this? Daddy issues. It was the 1990s folks, you shouldn't need to ask.

These gender roles, how masculinity and femininity are defined, make up the bulk of the conflict in this book and, likely not seeing anyway around this, St. George then moves the conflict to Richard potentially returning to his own time, will Elizabeth go with him, Cappy needing to close the business because they're broke, and the potential possible discovery of Richard's sunken ship which was carrying a boatload of gold - not the Madre Louisa. Unfortunately even as she moves off of it, it's still there. Lurking between the lines, bleeding into the margins. 

Where does that leave us? Well, even taking into account this was published in 1992, I found the gender dynamics and "expectations" pretty gross for most of this story. On the other hand? St. George slathers on the angst in the last third and how the time travel aspect is resolved and the discovery of Richard's sunken ship made those chapters sail (ha!) by for me. 

Would I recommend this? I mean, maybe if you were interested in gender and power dynamics in early 1990s romance, but trust me - you'd be better served to pick up a Maggie Osborne western if you're looking for unconventional, strong yet vulnerable heroines and the men who lose their hearts to them. If there's a Grossness Scale to be applied to vintage romance, this is 1990s Gross as opposed to Bodice Ripper Era Gross - but all of it's not great, we're just talking varying degrees. Very much a product of it's time.

Final Grade = C-

Reminder: #TBRChallenge Day is February 18

It's now February and I'm still not reading, although I seem to have fallen into a re-listening groove with audiobooks, so maybe that's a step in the right direction?  Well I better get it together because our next TBR Challenge is set for February 18. This month's optional theme is Vintage.

A perennial favorite that consistently shows up in annual theme poll responses, vintage can mean anything from Old School to a genre classic you might have buried in your TBR.  Or maybe it can just mean a main character who likes vintage clothing - creativity with the monthly suggested themes is highly encouraged.

However if the idea of sticking to a theme is more than you can deal with right now (and really, can't blame you), remember that these themes are always optional.  The goal of the TBR Challenge has always been read something, anything, that has been languishing in your pile of unread books.

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.

Little Miss Crabby Pants Pours One Out: RIP Harlequin Historical

Y'all it's a dire timeline we currently find ourselves in and it's spilling over into Romancelandia. Word got out this week that Harlequin is killing the Harlequin Historical line. I follow longtime HH writers Terri Brisbin and Amanda McCabe on Facebook and they both posted the news - so that's good enough for me when it comes verify your sources.   Terri's post has the most thorough information so I'll embed that below: 

There have been rumors that Harlequin was going to kill the Historical for over a decade now, with things ramping up to a fever pitch when Harlequin was acquired by Harpercollins in 2014. Surely with the juggernaut that was Avon, Harpercollins would jettison Harlequin Historical. I mean why put up with red-headed stepchild HH when you got Julia Quinn, Lisa Kleypas and Eloisa James?  Fast forward to 2026 and Avon has thrown all their weight behind contemporary romance with cartoon covers and the only historical on my radar is the upcoming Julie Anne Long, coming in June 2026 (with an illustrated cover, natch). Harlequin Historical hung on a lot longer than I think anyone gave them credit for, even as Harlequin bungled their way through the marketing of that line (legit, there was a stretch where they stopped distributing HH to physical retail spaces - like, you could not find an HH in a bookstore!)

I've been out in these Harlequin streets a long time but it's getting hard to love them. Look, I understand the economics of the situation. Inflation and rising costs - not to mention the economics of big box stores and our Evil Overlords at Amazon - have killed the mass market paperback format. Then you look at the fact that romance readers were the first to truly embrace digital reading, in droves, which I think also helped hasten the demise of mass market but also caught the industry by "surprise" and, having learned nothing from the music industry, they bungled their way through the transition to digital - which, honestly, they're still bungling. Digital gave rise to self-publishing, which gave rise to "cheaper books," which larger conglomerate publishers just cannot compete with because of overhead costs. A romance reader buying retail (and reading 100+ books every year) was going to take a flier on a 99 cent book, even if that traditional publisher priced their digital formats at a reasonable price point (and many of them didn't - how many times have we seen ebook editions that are more expensive than the print?).  Compounding this? Publishers dug in their heels with libraries when it came to digital lending. Early on this wasn't an issue with Harlequin, who were REALLY friendly with library digital buying and borrowing until they were sold to Harpercollins (hello, metered access), but it's another reason why we're in the boat we're in folks. 

All of these economic factors, plus shifting reader tastes, has led to Harlequin jettisoning several lines. I'm still pissed about SuperRomance y'all. However, it was when they killed the Desire and Love Inspired Historical lines that I knew things were about to get real - and here we are. In a genre chasing TikTok popularity, the days of going into a bookstore and walking to the register to buy a category romance, a historical, an erotic romance, a contemporary romcom, and a gritty paranormal romance are fading fast. If it's not a romantasy or a women's fiction novel masquerading as a contemporary romance publishers just have no frickin' clue what to do with it. The days of being able to read a back cover blurb and look at the cover art to determine what you were actually buying or reading are long gone. All the packaging looks the same now to the point you could stack the books face out against a wall and basically get something resembling a wallpaper pattern. 

Am I old and cranky? Yes. But it's my blog and I can crank all I want.

It's hard to stress what Harlequin Historical brought to Romancelandia but I've been single-handedly trying to remind y'all for years now. When Regency England wallpaper took over, you could still find some variety and history with Harlequin. They were the last historical publisher to abandon westerns (albeit they too eventually did), you could routinely find medievals there along with Vikings.  Oh sure, they had Regencies, but they also had Victorians that read like actual Victorian era settings and not Regency 2.0: The Revenge. And then they'd slip in some off-the-beaten path gems, like Jeannie Lin's Tang Dynasty books or Michelle Styles' stories set in Ancient Rome. 

I realize we have many more books to come until the line shuts down in 2027, and the backlist will live on for a long time (although backlist also has a shelf life...) but I'm vacillating between sadness and pure rage that this moment has come. I'm mad publishers keep fumbling their business so poorly. I'm mad at the state of the world we live in where nobody can or even wants to read a book anymore. I'm mad at the state of my chosen profession for continuing to stress that Libraries Are More Than Books while the world burns down all around us because NOBODY IS READING BOOKS ANYMORE AND WHY AREN'T WE ADDRESSING THAT AS A PROFESSION?! I'm mad at everyone who felt abandoned by historical romance and stopped reading it even though I understand why you feel that way.  In general I'm just cranky and mad about all of it right now, even as my TBR can be seen from space.

So, what to do in the meantime? I need to spend more time focusing on my own Harlequin Historical pile and sharing that love. I also hope that you all go out and pick up an HH title that tickles your fancy - then talk it up to where ever it is you may talk books. 

When I was a wee baby romance reader I remember how frustrated I would get with Old Lady Romance Readers lamenting the demise of the genre because of erotic romance, and now, as they say, the shoe just may be on the other foot.  For I am lamenting the demise of the genre thanks to TikTok, publishers not knowing what the hell they're doing, and a world that has rendered most of us incapable of doing much outside of trudging through our daily existence hoping to keep our heads above water even as we all feel like slipping under.  Books can be a life preserver in a lot of ways, but the market is narrowing and shrinking, at least in traditional publishing spaces, and it doesn't instill much hope. Can self-publishing save us? With so much of it grossly dependent on Amazon? Doubts, I have them. 

Edited to add: Many thanks to Eurohackie for providing the link to the official Harlequin announcement. Also, they're reducing the number of Presents they publish every month which HOLY SH*T YOU GUYS!

New Year, New Unusual Historicals for January 2026

Welcome January 2026 - I guess. Besides the current news cycle, which is all bad all the time, I'm still sick. Am I getting better? I mean, sort of? I'm back to sleeping in bed (and not sitting up on the couch) and the cough is better (I guess?) although it's still here. At this point there's nothing for it, I have to go back to work this week and figure out how to string words together to tell y'all about this month's crop of Unusual Historicals (be gentle). I don't hold out much hope for my ability to do that right now, but if nothing else new historical romances are something we can hold on to - a small glowing light burning in what is currently the very dark cave we find ourselves in. Be good to each other Romancelandia and romance will be good to you.

Reclaiming His Viking Queen by Lucy Morris

He will have his queen… 

For better or worse! 

Viking Agnar has had many names: Usurper. Warlord. Wolf Slayer. Still, there’s one role he’s hell-bent on claiming—Skadi Friggsdottir’s husband! Rejected by Skadi years ago, he’ll be denied no longer. Storming her hall is easy. Taming his warrior queen will be much harder…

Young Skadi chose survival by marrying another over honoring her promise to Agnar. Now, believing Agnar has killed her husband, she’ll surrender her hand but never submit! Yet behind Agnar’s fury lies a man deeply wronged…one she can’t help but want. Is her enemy husband her doom, or her greatest desire?

 A new stand-alone Viking romance from Morris featuring a hero ready to claim the heroine who threw him over for another years before. I'm hoping for lots of sizzling Enemies to Lovers tension in this one, which is already locked and loaded on my Kindle.

How to Get Away With Scandal by Caroline Linden

Don’t fall in love with me . . .

Evangeline, Lady Courtenay, has flirted with scandal her entire life, and paid a steep price for it, with two unhappy marriages and a tarnished reputation. She’s vowed never to get entangled with another man—until a dashing explorer, just passing through London, smiles at her and sends her heart leaping. Just one night, she tells herself; that’s all she wants from him or any man.

Sir Richard Campion is entranced by Evangeline the moment they meet, even before she takes him home with her for a night of pleasure, only to be gone when he wakes. When he encounters her again years later, he is just as fascinated—and elated to find that she still feels the attraction, too. But this time, he intends to persuade her that he’s worth getting entangled with . . . forever.

 I can't say no to a scandalous heroine and Linden's latest features a twice-married heroine who sounds like she's earned every bit of her reputation. She's vowed to stay away from men, but then meets the "dashing explorer" hero and really, what's one night?  Turns out enough to ensnare them both.

When the Earl Was Wicked by Jess Michaels

Popular courtesan Evelina Comerford thought she had her life in order. She had been with her protector, a powerful duke, for years and believed they would be together forever, even if he was forced to marry and produce legitimate heirs. And then he broke her heart by walking out of her with no feeling to be with someone else’s wife.

Vaughn is the Earl of Blackburn and he is enduring a scandal to end all scandals. His wife of three years has not only begun a public affair with a duke he once called friend, but she’s demanding a divorce. He’s angry and hurt and he wants a little revenge, which is how he finds himself on Evelina’s door, asking her to pretend to enter an affair with him to make both of their former loves jealous.

But a fake affair swiftly turns to something more powerfully passionate. And spying and trying to undermine their former partners begins to lose its shine. But can they both overcome loves that were never meant to be and recognize the true love that is looking right at them? Or will it all be too late when they finally figure it out?

The second book in Michaels' Comerford Courtesans series features a heroine dumped by her protector Duke and a hero whose wife wants a divorce because she's in love with his friend, that same Duke. So naturally hero and heroine decide to enter into a fake affair in the name of revenge - only to get more than they bargained for.

Hollywood Glitz and Glamour by Ariella Talix

It's 1939, the Golden Age of Hollywood, and the major movie studios make all the rules.

Only a very lucky few receive the coveted contracts from Hollywood producers—but they come with heavy strings attached. Actors and actresses are beautiful, talented, and treated like pawns on a chessboard. It's all about image, income, and hedonism.

Troy Kingsley is a handsome, gifted actor who explodes onto the Hollywood scene, gathering fans from all walks of life. Little does anyone know that Troy is a lawbreaker and morally corrupt by society's standards.

When the studio determines it's time for Troy to marry, he’s not at all happy about it and gives the studio his own ultimatum.

Rosalie Channing came to Hollywood to pursue her lifelong dream of becoming an actress. She doesn’t know anything about Troy other than he’s a terrific movie star who’s captured her attention in the past couple of years, and now she’s ordered to marry this stranger if they both want to keep their jobs.

She doesn’t know that Troy is a package deal.

If you're going to write a MMF historical, there may not be a better setting than 1930s Hollywood. Studios ran everything, spun stories out of whole cloth, and for the price of fame and fortune many an actor found themselves in one closet or another. Which is what we have in Talix's latest. I'm intrigued by this one for sure.

Waves of Desire by Lauren Everly

Two enemies bound by danger—and undone by desire.

Savannah socialite Samantha Warstein has finally been given the chance to earn her place within her family’s secret pirating legacy. Her first obstacle as a captain? An ambitious—and annoyingly handsome—navy lieutenant tasked with destroying the pirate trade. And she’s not sure which challenge appeals more: proving her worth or putting him in his place.

Having lost his parents to pirates, Lieutenant Christian Thompson takes his assignment seriously, determined to spend his life married only to the sea. But when a mysterious, red-headed beauty bests him in battle, the mission becomes personal. He’ll see her brought to justice, no matter how her laughter haunts him... or how her courage stirs something he thought long buried.

When a notorious pirate kidnaps Samantha, her uncle hires Christian to track her down. Little does he know, the woman he’s chasing and the woman he’s rescuing are one and the same. Bound together by danger and deception, they must work together to take down the most ruthless man on the seas. But as treacherous waters and buried secrets close in, their greatest peril may be the desire neither can resist.

This is Everly's debut and according to the bio listed on her web site she "first discovered her love for historical romance at the age of twelve, when she stumbled upon a hidden box of Johanna Lindsey novels in her mom’s closet..." I mean, I've never been less surprised by anything in my life after reading this blurb which is pure, unadulterated throwback featuring a pirate heroine and the hero determined to run her to ground, only to fall in love with her not realizing her true identity. The only thing missing is the heroine rocking blue eyeshadow on the cover 😂

Wife Wanted by Wren St. Claire

He advertised for a wife and found his soulmate.

Renowned antiquities scholar, Deodonatus (Deo) Kinninmounth Earl of Pendrell, needs a secretary to help him with a new project, but the lonely, socially awkward, bespectacled giant, also wants a wife. He decides to advertise for a lady to fill both roles.

Miss Emily Grenfell is a closet antiquities enthusiast, heiress, and social disaster. Escaping from her draconian mother and a suitor she doesn’t want, Emily arrives a day late for the job interview and is shocked to discover she has applied for a post working for a man.

However, when the enormous, hawkish-featured man with red hair and freckles, proposes a marriage of convenience, Emily is happy to accept, rather than return to a home where she is mistreated and misunderstood.

Embarking on a project to dig up a Celtic burial site on the Duke of Troubridge’s estate, Deo and Emily discover they have more in common than a shared passion for antiquities. As desire sparks between them, Deo struggles to come to terms with physical and emotional intimacy, and Emily falls for her adorably nerdish and irresistibly attractive husband. And when Emily’s rejected suitor tries to cause trouble for the pair, Emily must learn to understand the harsh childhood that has robbed Deo of normal emotional responses and help him discover what his heart is for.

A red-headed hero (with freckles! I love this guy already!) proposes a marriage of convenience to a heroine who will fill his need for a secretary and a wife. Our heroine, a social disaster, accepts in order to escape a family and suitor determined to keep her under their collective thumbs.  This is the final book in the author's All for Love trilogy.

The Explorer Returns by Ramona Elmes

Love hadn’t been enough years ago; would it be now?

Lisbeth, the widowed Duchess of Lusby, travels to Syria to deliver an ancient map that will allow her antiquities club in London to find important artifacts. She expects to deliver them to her colleague, but instead comes face to face with the man whose heart she broke years ago. Gone is the quiet man she once loved, and in his place is a brash, famous explorer. She is unimpressed.

Thomas Easton is astounded when Lisbeth appears in the Syrian café where he is spending time with friends. He never planned to see her again after she ended their betrothal with a letter. Gone is the daring young woman he once knew, and in her place is a regal duchess. This different Lisbeth annoys him. Shocking them both, Thomas goads her into staying for one more adventure. He insists to himself it isn’t because of any lingering feelings.

As they hunt for artifacts, feelings and temptations start to grow between them. Could they have another chance at love? Perhaps, but secrets and dangers both in Syria and England have a way of derailing even the most certain happily-ever-afters.

Want more antiquities? January seems to be the month for it, with this third book in Elmes' Brazen Curators trilogy.  She's a widowed Duchess come to Syria to deliver an ancient map and he's the explorer whose heart she broke years before. They agree to one last adventure and complications, naturally, ensue. 

Envy Unchecked by Alyson Chase

London’s first gentlewoman’s club — Tea, On Dit, and …. Murder.

London, 1820. Lady Mary Cavindish has scandalized society by opening her Minerva Club, a place where women can escape the constraints of propriety. But when a prominent member is found strangled inside its elegant walls, the club’s future teeters on the brink of ruin.

Already under siege by a moral crusade decrying her establishment as a den of vice, Lady Mary knows this murder could spell its doom. Refusing to let her creation perish, Lady Mary launches her own inquiry, probing the dark secrets of her members and the ton’s elite.

Frustrating her efforts is the arrival of a Bow Street Runner, a by-the-book investigator whose moral code doesn’t want the involvement of an eccentric widow in his case. Complicating the matter, as the investigation deepens, so do his feelings for the daughter of one of the prime suspects, a liaison that blurs the lines between duty and desire.

As they search for answers, Lady Mary and her fellow sleuths uncover a tapestry of betrayal, envy, and revenge. When scandal surrounds her, Lady Mary is forced to decide just where her allegiances lie.

The first in the Lady Mary Mysteries series, the publisher is marketing this as a mystery - but this blurb teases readers with plenty of romance-related shenanigans. She needs to find a killer in order to keep her club open and he's a "by the book" Bow Street Runner. One suspects that this romance may end up playing out over future entries. 

Once Upon a Wicked Wager by Cassandra Samuels

If love is a gamble, this is one wager they cannot afford to lose.

Notorious widow and social pariah, Lisbeth Carslake, Countess of Blackhurst, was acquitted of her husband's murder, but no one believes in her innocence. Known as the Black Raven, bringer of bad luck and death, she is the topic of gossip and wagers. She knows the only way to prove her innocence beyond doubt is to return to society and find her husband's killer.

Oliver Whitely, Earl of Bellamy, is well and truly in dun territory and drunkenly takes on The Black Raven Wager and ends up agreeing to a business proposal at the end of a fire poker, to escort Lisbeth back into the viper's pit known as the ton. Together, they must find her husband's killer before the killer finds them. That is, if her schedule allows and they don't kill each other first.

If antiquities aren't your thing, this month's Unusual Historicals also give you murder as an second option 😂.  She's a social pariah thanks to everyone thinking she murdered her husband and the only way to get her life back is to find the real killer. For that she's going to need help, which shows up in the form of our hero, who foolishly accepted a wager only to end up on the wrong side of a fire poker. A heroine with spirit - I like that. 

The Earl's Indifferent Daughter by Elizabeth Heights

Lady Esme de Neville has found true love… or has she?

Among the flatterers and fortune-hunters lining up for her hand, one man alone has captured her heart - and she will do whatever it takes to convince him of her affections. But after surrendering her virtue, Esme finds herself unceremoniously abandoned and forced to await her lover’s return at the country home of her sister, Frida, and brother-in-law, Callum.

Adam is a seasoned warrior, tasked with bringing Callum home to the highlands to his father’s deathbed. Upon arriving at Ember Hall, he unwillingly accepts a new assignment; to guard Lady Esme – whose youth and beauty threaten to topple the high barricades that have protected his heart for many years.

For Esme, the long days of waiting pass slowly, with her brooding bodyguard providing her only source of distraction. Despite his best efforts, Adam is unable to resist her overtures of friendship. Opposites attract and soon the sparks of romance begin to fly.

But fate has an extra surprise in store. Just as Esme recognises the depths of her feelings for Adam, a figure from the past threatens the future she longs to embrace. Her happiness – and Adam’s too – depends on two things: de Neville family loyalty and the power of true love.

Heights wraps up her Sisters of Ember Hall medieval trilogy with a heroine who fancies herself in love and only managed to ruin herself in the process. Now she's moldering away at her sister's country home being guarded by the hero, not the man she fancies herself in love with but the the one who ultimately ends up capturing her heart. 

Hopefully by the time I start thinking about February's Unusual Historicals post I'll be past whatever plague I managed to catch and we'll all have had some measure of good news to hold on to. In the meantime, share what Unusual Historicals you're looking forward to in the comments section. 

Review: Such a Clever Girl

Half the fun of a Darby Kane thriller is getting to the point where the vile antagonist gets exactly what's coming to them. I think that was my issue with Such a Clever Girl, there's not an antagonist per se. I mean, there kind of is, but while she's definitely leans hard into sociopathic behavior, her main goal in this book is get everyone else to finally tell the truth. 

Sleepy Hollow, New York, a small town steeped in ghost stories and legends, was the scene of the Tanner family disappearance fifteen years ago. Historian, Patrick, his wife, Victoria, and their two kids - Aubrey and Noah. No bodies, no word, simply vanished. A blood stain on the floor of the entryway in their home and a fire at the bookstore they owned the only clues. 

Xavier Tanner, Patrick's father, has finally died. A man no one will mourn, but his death means the reading of his will, and that brings together three women who know more about the disappearance of the Tanner family than they are letting on. There's Stella, a local psychologist and Xavier's great-niece. Her marriage imploded after the Tanners vanished, she's a single mother to a toddler daughter, and dealing with her grasping mother. Marni is a local elementary school teacher who was Victoria's best friend and then there is a Hanna, owner of a local café and single mother to Jeremy, now in college. All three of these women were at the Tanner home the day the family disappeared. All three of them have secrets they want to stay buried - and then Aubrey Tanner, prodigal daughter who has been missing along with her family for the past 15 years walks through the doors of the courthouse.

This story started slow for me. Probably the first 30% is Stella, Marni and Hanna unspooling when Aubrey reappears, and then in waltzes a guy who claims he's writing a book on the Tanner family disappearance and wants to interview them. Kane then spends some time introducing a few more secondary characters, including Stella's ex, her exhausting mother, Hanna's son Jeremy, etc. etc. 

This one didn't really sink it's claws into me until Hanna begins to emerge as the character you want to root for. Her life has not been easy, raising Jeremy on her own, building and running her own business. She's the queen of the side hustle, which is how she comes into the orbit of the Tanner family - she does some work as Patrick's research assistant. Aubrey's reappearance sends her into a spiral and when the past threatens her son she goes into full blown mama bear protector mode. Hanna taking charge is what gets this story to cook.

The story is told in alternating points of view between Hanna, Marni and Stella as the author starts laying out the puzzle pieces and getting everything to fit together. Aubrey is definitely playing the long game here - and as the reader you waffle between wondering if she's the villain or the wronged party.

This story was a slower build than some of Kane's other books, so while I enjoyed it once the plot started to simmer, it's probably not the book I'll recommend to folks who want to start reading her work. Still, it was entertaining and I'm nothing if not a sucker for small town secrets - of which Kane's Sleepy Hollow has plenty.

Final Grade = B

#TBRChallenge 2026: Her Naughty Holiday

The Book: Her Naughty Holiday by Tiffany Reisz

The Particulars: Contemporary romance, Harlequin Blaze #916, Book 2 in Men at Work trilogy, out of print, available digitally, repackaged and reprinted as Harlequin Special Release 2024

Why Was It In Wendy's TBR?: I actually downloaded this as an ARC from Netgalley back in 2016 mainly thanks to the fake dating trope. Then, it happened. Romancelandia went wild for this entire trilogy to the point where some reviewers (you know who you are) were practically crowning Reisz as the savior of category romance and that was enough to raise my hackles and here we are. I have an unreasonable amount of baggage when it comes to certain corners of Romancelandia side-eyeing category romance, then suddenly discovering one they like and giving us all "not like other girls" reviews for category romance. Look, I've never claimed to be reasonable - I'm a reader, therefore I am a nutjob. 

The Review: When this review posts I will be going into day six of being very sick. Like the sickest I've been in a long time. So bad that after my long weekend off work (thank you Dr. King), I called out the rest of the week. I popped very negative for Covid on Day 2 of this hellscape, but I had a fever, still a terrible cough, and a headache that was so bad I wanted to cry. RSV? The flu? Punishment from the gods? All of it's possible. Which is to say I'm miserable and cranky but I still think I would have disliked this book anyway. Y'all it's got all the heft of wet tissue paper.

Clover Greene has just received two very divergent and distressing emails. A corporate buyer has just offered her $5 million for her nursery (greenhouse - like plants and stuff) business in Mount Hood, Oregon and her family has dropped the bomb that she's hosting Thanksgiving. She's still wrestling with whether or not to accept the offer on her business - no, it's the family news that's got her all spun up.  To be blunt, her family is a bunch of assholes. Her academic parents constantly reminding her she's their "little drop-out" and when is she going to get married and squirt out more grandbabies for them? SHE'S 30 FOR GOD'S SAKE! And her brother and sister are no help at all. Snide, backhanded "compliments" from them as well - just different ones. It's all bad. She just can't face another holiday dealing with them and that's when her teenage employee gives her the brilliant idea of a fake boyfriend - and oh, her Dad would be perfect for the job.

Original Blaze Cover

Erick Field has his own contracting business (cedar siding, decks, that kind of thing) and is raising his teenage daughter, a would-be eco-warrior named Ruthie, nearly full-time, since his ex lives in Los Angeles. He's been attracted to Clover from the jump, when he practically begged her to give his daughter a job so she could pay back court-ordered damages because eco-warrior. Anyway, he's been strictly hands off with her because Clover has been a positive female influence, Ruthie needs that, and Erick loves his daughter. Then, Ruthie, that sly minx, pushes them together just as she's walking out the door to visit her Mom. 

They have roughly a week before the Greene family descends on Mount Hood, so what do they do for the first 80% of this book? Talk endlessly and have sex. Seriously, these two never shut-up. Not even when they're having sex. Yes, ladies and gents, we're regaled with dirty talk (which I tend to hate with a burning passion in romance novels because it's nigh to impossible IMHO to write it well - go ahead and fight me). I can't even begin to tell you how much of this book I skimmed. Like giant, cavernous chunks of it. In fact the only reason I didn't DNF this is because I was waiting for it - the big confrontation scene with Clover's family that I knew was coming. A big confrontation scene over Thanksgiving dinner.  And y'all - it was GLORIOUS!

Which I guess means I cared a modicum about Clover? Although I think I cared more about those assholes getting the dressing down of a lifetime. Seriously, for my money just skip the first 80% of this book, get to the point where the Greene family shows up and start reading. You're getting the best part. 

Am I not being fair to this book? Maybe. I'm sick, I had a bad attitude going into it because as a general rule I have a bad attitude about most books people seem to gush over (look, I'm contrary OK - but it's my blog I'm allowed). But that Thanksgiving dinner scene? Worth the price of admission. Finally, after years of reading about romance heroines who let their families walk all over them, we get one that erupts like Mount Vesuvius. But of course her Mom calls after and they agree to work on their relationship and of course Clover is a virgin when she starts climbing Erick like a jungle gym in the first 20% of the story. I mean, it doesn't tread that much new ground.

Final Grade = C-