Wendy's Unusual Historical Picks for July 2020

Since the folding of Heroes & Heartbreakers in (time flies) 2017 my monthly Unusual Historicals post has been cross-posted over at Love In Panels. Suzanne and Company are currently on hiatus to regroup, reassess, and hopefully rediscover their joy amid burn-out. I've been blogging a long time (since 2003) and have a lot of feelings about Romancelandia of late - most of them Old Man Yelling at Clouds.  Since I don't want to hijack this month's cornucopia I'll just leave you with this Romancelandia: Tired of wading through troll-ish garbage on social media to get to "book stuff?"  Want to support the "supporters" of the genre?  Start following and reading blogs again.  Also, Google Reader has been gone for 7 years now. Get over it and find an alternative that you can tolerate.  Now - on to the books!

 Trouble & Strife by Lara Kinsey (Kindle Unlimited)
Novella

Elizabeth Percival is sweet. Professionally. She left behind a life of stifling luxury to work in Cadwell’s chocolate shop. After over a decade, she’s itching to take over. She’s not about to let some broad-shouldered brawler mess it up. Even if he does have shoulders to die for.

Sidney Chance isn’t an enforcer…anymore. After a decade of smacking heads together in the name of the Chance Brothers, he’s lieutenant to the city’s most powerful family, but he’s not sure what to do with himself. Sid’s made some bad choices, but maybe the worst is mooning over a girl who keeps making good choices for him. Suddenly he has clean socks and wooly sweaters, and he’s not sure he minds, exactly, but it’s not doing his fearsome reputation any favors. But one taste of sweetness isn’t enough.

Can Sid convince Elizabeth he’s worth the trouble?

I just finished the first novella in this series and was intrigued by Sidney, who is described as in recovery and a bit haunted.  So much so that it's his younger brother acting as "CEO" of the family business.

Winner Takes All by Anna Harrington
Novella

Four years ago, Jackson Shaw left the employment of Viscount Darlington to strike out on his own as a horse trainer—and escape the temptation posed by the viscount’s beautiful daughter, Francesca, a woman he could never have. But success as a trainer has proved elusive, and the only hope for saving his indebted farm is to win the famous Epsom Derby.

Francesca Darlington is desperate to win the Derby for her own reasons. She’s managed to cajole her father into an agreement: if her colt wins the Derby, then she’ll earn the freedom to marry whomever she wants. But if she loses, she’ll marry the man her father has chosen for her—a man she will never love.

When an accident at the track brings Frankie back into Shaw’s arms, old desires return, and Frankie realizes that Shaw is the only man she wants to marry. But only one of them can win the Derby and seize their dream for the future, while the other is racing for a fall.

A working class hero and a romantic couple who both need to win the same horse race for different reasons.  Oh, and all those old complicated feelings getting in the way.  

Rhapsody for Two by Theresa Romain (originally published in How to Ruin a Duke anthology)
Novella

Simon Thorn is on the run from his past. A onetime metalworker who’s transformed himself into a Renaissance man, he’s worked as an actor, a tutor, and a musician. Blessed with a glib tongue, he’s never met a stranger—but he fears seeing a familiar face.

Rowena Fairweather is facing a difficult future. She’s the last in a line of brilliant luthiers—builders of stringed instruments—and her illustrious family legacy is about to fall prey to debt.

When the scandalous novel How to Ruin a Duke brings Simon and Rowena together, the solution to her problems just might lie in his mysterious past. These unlikely allies soon become lovers…but will Simon surrender his heart to Rowena, or take to his feet again?

This was previously published in a duology with Grace Burrowes so check your TBR before one-clicking.  There's so much "unusual"  here it's hard to know what I'm more intriguing by! The Renaissance man hero? The heroine who makes stringed instruments? Unlikely allies turned lovers? Gimme!
 
The Care and Feeding of Waspish Widows by Olivia Waite

When Agatha Griffin finds a colony of bees in her warehouse, it’s the not-so-perfect ending to a not-so-perfect week. Busy trying to keep her printing business afloat amidst rising taxes and the suppression of radical printers like her son, the last thing the widow wants is to be the victim of a thousand bees. But when a beautiful beekeeper arrives to take care of the pests, Agatha may be in danger of being stung by something far more dangerous…

Penelope Flood exists between two worlds in her small seaside town, the society of rich landowners and the tradesfolk.  Soon, tensions boil over when the formerly exiled Queen arrives on England’s shores—and when Penelope’s long-absent husband returns to Melliton, she once again finds herself torn, between her burgeoning love for Agatha and her loyalty to the man who once gave her refuge.

As Penelope finally discovers her true place, Agatha must learn to accept the changing world in front of her. But will these longing hearts settle for a safe but stale existence or will they learn to fight for the future they most desire?

The first book in this series was one of my favorites of 2019 so I've really been looking forward to this one (although why Avon can't seem to find someone who is halfway competent in Photoshop is beyond me...). A printer heroine on the brink of bankruptcy and a beekeeper heroine. When was the last time any of us read something like that? Like, never!

 
The Rebel Heiress and the Knight by Melissa Oliver

She must marry the knight

By order of the king!

Widow Eleanor of Tallany Castle knows her people are broken by the taxes demanded by King John. So when she’s ordered to marry Hugh de Villiers, a knight loyal to the king, she’s furious—even if he is handsome! As gallant Hugh begins to heal the scars of Eleanor’s abusive first marriage, she’s even more determined to keep her secret: she is the outlaw the king wants to send to the gallows!

Melissa Oliver is the latest in a string of authors who have benefited from Harlequin's So You Think You Can Write initiative - and this debut novel is the first in a two book contract.  Is there a better medieval villain that King John?  Go ahead, I'll wait.  Plus this one has a sprinkling of Enemies To Lovers and a big dash of a Heroine With a Big Secret!


 
The Flapper's Baby Scandal by Lauri Robinson

Her undercover life…

Her secret child

Dancing in speakeasies at night is dutiful heiress Betty Dryer’s only escape from her father’s tyrannical control and marriage plans. There she meets mysterious FBI agent Henry Randall. Drawn into his investigation—and to emotionally scarred, lone-wolf Henry himself—Betty gives in to her desire, believing this could be her only chance at love before she’s forced to wed. Until she discovers she’s pregnant with Henry’s baby!

Book two in Robinson's Sisters of the Roaring Twenties series, our heroine is dancing the night away throwing back Gin Rickeys (OK, that might be poetic license on my part....) when she falls into the arms of an FBI agent and whoopsie-doodle ends up pregnant. Well that will certainly put an end to the party - but alas, true love will certainly be on the horizon.


Conveniently Wed to the Viking by Michelle Styles

Strangers on the run

Now they must wed!

Sandulf, youngest of the famed Sigurdsson brothers, is on the trail of the assassin who murdered his family. On his way, he meets Scottish runaway Lady Ceanna, a prickly, wary woman trying to escape a forced marriage. Her beauty and courage make Sandulf realize there may be more at stake than his revenge… As the threat of her family follows them, there’s only one way to keep her safe—marriage!

Styles' latest is the third book in the multi-author Sons of Sigurd series featuring a bevy of hunky Vikings. A hero bent on revenge finds himself inconveniently wed to a runaway bride with a less-than-stellar family hot on her heels.  Ooooh, road romance!

A lot to choose from this month to fill out Ye Olde Shopping list.  Hopefully there's something here to pique your interest.  Take care of yourselves Romancelandia, be good to each other, find some tiny moments of joy - and Lord above, keep wearing your face masks and washing your hands like Lady Macbeth.

Mini-Review: Hammer & Tongs

If you've been reading this blog for any stretch of time you'll know that historical romances not set in overpopulated Dukeville, Regency England are my jam.  So when I was offered an ARC of Hammer & Tongs by Lara Kinsey, set in 1920s Birmingham with its whiff of a Peaky Blinders vibe, I was all in.

This novella is the first entry in the author's series featuring the Chance Brothers and their various enterprises - including but not limited to a horse racing track.  Years prior our hero, CEO (as it were) of the family business, Isaiah Chance was a jockey in a race when his horse went down.  Brighid Bell, picking pockets in the stands, rushes to his aid and picks his pocket. As you do. Now years later, dressed in men's clothing, she comes to Isaiah's race track looking for a job as a farrier.  She recognizes Isaiah as "her jockey" from years earlier and is dangerously attracted to him.  For his part, Isaiah, who has never been attracted to men before suddenly finds himself getting feelings in his pants for this impossibly beautiful "young man."

This wasn't entirely successful for me but there was enough on the page to intrigue me.  The biggest issue I had was definitely with the writing and the decision to go with a novella. I found the writing and chapter transitions disjointed at times and feel like it would have been a bit better to follow a more linear, fluid timeline, add a few more chapters, and beef up the word count to perhaps short historical length (250+ pages).  There's chemistry between the two leads, but happy-ever-after, blissful in love - it never quite got there for me.

However the setting is certainly interesting and Kinsey has crafted an interesting world with interesting characters. The horses and race track aren't merely window dressing, the reader gets the impression that the author spent some time researching this aspect of the story - without losing the reader in a bunch of research weeds. Brighid presents as male but identifies as she/her.  She's got an elderly father she's looking after.  Sex work is portrayed in a positive manner, and both Isaiah and Brighid are into kink.  I wouldn't go so far as to label this an erotic romance (it firmly skirts the edge IMHO), but it's definitely hot and there's some sizzle.

My final impression?  Needs more polish.  But there's enough on the page here, and I'm intrigued enough by Isaiah's older brother, Sidney, to want to pick up the next novella in the series.

Final Grade = C+

Note: At the time of this posting, this book was exclusive to Kindle Unlimited/Amazon

#TBRChallenge: The Cowboy's Rebellious Bride

The Book: The Cowboy's Rebellious Bride by Laurie LeClair

The Particulars: Contemporary romance, Tule Publishing, 2017, 1st book in The McCall Brothers series, in print and available in digital

Why Was It In Wendy's TBR: At RWA 2017 (Orlando) I kept running into this man at the various publisher signings. Turns out he was Laurie LeClair's husband, we chatted (as you do while standing in lines at conferences) and being a good husband, was his wife's biggest fan. He was hitting the signings to get her books while she was attending various workshops.  Anyway, I told him I'd swing by his wife's table at the big Literacy Signing to buy a book - because I'd never read her before and when I attend signings I try to buy at least one book by a new-to-me author.

The Review: Ever know almost immediately, like within the first chapter, that a book ain't for you? Yeah, that was my experience here.  It's Small Town Southern-Fried Hell. It reminded me a bit of the the only Carolyn Brown romance I've ever attempted, albeit LeClair wasn't as heavy-handed with her comic-relief secondary characters.  So why did I keep reading?  This month's TBR Challenge snuck up on me, this is basically a category romance (my print copy is 238 pages), and while this book is totally not my thing, I can see how it could be "their thing" for other readers.

Cody McCall was on the rodeo circuit until his grandmother takes ill and he's called home.  Gran has  now passed, his Gramps a shadow of his former self, and the family ranch is mortgaged up to their eyeballs (Gran's medical bills...). Cody breezes back into town after riding the range, hits the local bar (named The Giddy Up - because sure, why not) and kicks the party into high gear. Cody is Mr. Life of the Party. Mr. Never Settle Down - especially not after he learned the ugly truth about his almost-wife about a year ago. It's at the bar he runs into his BFF, Hannah Prescott, also not one for settling down.  Hannah is living hand to mouth, trying to get one of her bulls on one of the top rodeo circuits, living in a rented room with two spinster busy-bodies, and trying to reconcile that she has "more than friends" feelings for Cody.  But those feelings scare the hell out of her - namely because "they're friends" and her parents' marriage didn't make her a big believer in true love.

This is where it gets stupid. So Hannah ties one on, but has to sneak back into her rented room because of the spinster busy body landlords.  I just - is this 2017 or 1817?  Anyway, the spinsters wake up, Hannah's fearful that this will be the final straw and they'll kick her out. She literally can't afford anything else. So Cody blurts out that they're engaged. Well this is small town Texas, so word gets around fast and behold! His Gramps is like his old self again! There's a twinkle in his eye!  So these two knuckleheads decide to keep the charade going for a little longer.  Of course extracting themselves out of this fake engagement is thought through about as well as this plot set-up.

That's pretty much it for conflict. Cody doesn't want to settle down and neither does Hannah. And the spinsters are there to provide 1817-style comic relief in the form of being "chaperones."  Seriously.  And once they start doing that, suddenly Cody and Hannah are finding all sorts of ways to escape their watchful eyes to spend time alone together.  I just - am I reading about adults or am I reading about 13-year-olds?

It smooths out a bit once the spinsters are dispatched, and the wedding (OK sorry, minor spoiler there) takes place several chapters prior before the ending.  The sexy times are closed door, the conflict light, the humor about as subtle as a sledgehammer and then we get the grand gesture at the end - which Hannah's the one to fall on this sword.  It's actually not bad - in theory.  Except why she thought Cody would be mad at her after boggles my mind. Also, there's something about the heroine making a Sacrificing Grand Gesture for the hero that just doesn't work as well for me.  Sorry folks, it just doesn't.  Cody is clueless, it's not like he twists Hannah's arm, she acts independently - but it just...bothers me OK?  Hannah takes a bullet for the McCall family and the author sells it like Hannah wants to make this choice but - it just bothers me OK?  I recognize that mileage will vary on this though. 

So yeah, not my thing.  The spinster landlords, the low level hijinks, the various small town-isms.  But I did zip through it in a couple of hours.  If broad humor and small town ranching meets friends to lovers is your jam - maybe this will work better for you than it did for me.

Final Grade = D+

Reminder: #TBRChallenge Day is July 15!

A reminder that #TBRChallenge day is Wednesday, July 15.  This month's (always optional) theme is Family Ties.

Another one of the new, more open-ended themes for this year's challenge - although this one should be pretty easy!  This month is all about family. And how many romances feature family, either idyllic or downright nasty?  Um, a lot.  So dive into that TBR and see what you unearth!

However, if you're not in the mood, can't be bothered, whatever your reasons may be....no problem!  Remember, the themes are always optional.

You can learn more about the Challenge and see the list of participating folks on the Information Page.

Review: Redemption of the Maverick Millionaire

She was such an idiot. He saw her as an obligation, nothing more - a problem he'd needed to fix. While she was as big a fool as ever where he was concerned. He hadn't shunned other women because nobody else could live up to her memory. He'd been punishing himself.

 I love reunion stories. Especially reunion stories where the hero has done the heroine dirty and has to crawl over broken glass to win her back. If your tastes run towards the blood-thirsty as mine do, then Redemption of the Maverick Millionaire by Michelle Douglas has you covered. Whoa doggie, did this hero have his work cut out for him!

Four years ago Damon Macy betrayed Eve Clark and she walked out of his life leaving scorched Earth behind.  Damon was in love with her, even though he firmly believed she was way too good for him. Now he's gotten wind that a developer has his claws in Mirror Glass Bay, the small Australian coastal village where Eve has built a new life revitalizing the local motel.  The developer plans to build a big splashy resort, one Damon fears will drive Eve's motel into the ground, so he pulls some strings and buys the developer out.  It's the least he could do for her after his betrayal.

There's a small fly in the ointment however - Eve wanted the development project to happen!  The truth is that Mirror Glass Bay's economy needs a shot in the arm, young people are leaving the town, and if something doesn't happen soon the school will close, the medical clinic - and then where will that leave Mirror Glass Bay?  As a ghost town.  Now here comes Damon, swooping back into her life like a bull in a china shop ruining any hope for the town's future.  Or has he?  Suitably humbled by his grandstanding, Damon vows to her that he'll make it right and now he's staying in her motel for at least a fortnight and dammit all the hell, she's still painfully attracted to him even as she fights the urge to throat punch him.

This is a reunion story where the heroine has every right to want to throat punch the hero and he's racked with guilt from the first chapter.  His guilt, knowing full well what he threw away, this is a Harlequin hero who has been celibate for the four years since the heroine walked out of his life.  A rarity to be sure, and it gives reader an imperfect hero in pursuit.  I questioned for a good chunk of this story if he truly still loved her or if he was just assuaging his guilt - and while that sounds dreadful, it actually makes for a tension-filled read.

Eve was devastated by Damon's betrayal and sure, she ran away from Sydney - but she ran to what turned out to be a better life for her.  Fixing up the motel, making a new home for her and her grandmother, being a successful local businesswoman with the pulse on her community.  She didn't fail in Sydney - she got the rug pulled out from under her.

A couple of things I really liked about this story was that it's a small town romance with some realism.  Oh sure, there's still a healthy polish on the veneer, but the lack of economic opportunity in such towns is rarely (hell, if ever!) addressed in small town romances - so polish or not it was nice to see a little realism for a change.  The fear of the residents is that if "something" doesn't happen soon, the closure of the public school and small medical clinic won't be far behind.  Also, consent is actually discussed - although not in so many words. Damon wants to win back Eve but there's more than one instance here were boundaries are discussed.  She tells him to back-off on more than one occasion, and he does. So much of the push-pull in the romance tango here comes into play because Eve, against her more rational instincts, makes the first move and gets spooked.

What didn't work so well?  Some pacing issues. It's a little slow to start and sags in a couple of places.  Also, Eve's grandmother is made out to be kind of a Big Deal (Eve moved to Mirror Glass Bay so her grandmother could still live an independent life) but there's only two really small scenes in the book where she makes an appearance and it's not until halfway through the book when she shows up. She's only one of 2 people outside of Eve who knows what he did to break her heart, you'd think A Spry Romancelandia Granny would have made her presence felt a heck of a lot more given the circumstances.

Pacing issues aside, it's still an engaging small town romance featuring a hero who has to spend a good chunk of the story groveling.  And I'm just blood-thirsty enough that I'm always going to want more of that.  Yeah, he did her wrong, but I finished the last page fully believing that he'd spend the rest of his life making it up to her.

Final Grade = B