Small But Mighty: Unusual Historicals for July 2022

As I whined about mentioned in last month's Unusual Historical post, June and July are busiest months for me at The Day Job.  Here's the good news: I closed out the books on fiscal year 2021/2022 and managed to get the incoming budget for fiscal year 2022/2023 allocated!  The bad news? Staffing shortages and being spread too thin = Wendy is a hot mess. Which means all y'all are seeing the Unusual Historicals post for July releases during the last week of the month. Yo, it is what it is. Which can also be applied to the number of titles. Kind of slim this month, but here are the ones that caught my eye!

The Return of the Duke by Lorraine Heath 

When his father, the Duke of Wolfford, is hanged for an assassination attempt on Queen Victoria, Marcus Stanwick is stripped of everything. Vowing to return honor to his family, he seeks to expose the others involved in the treasonous plot and bring them to justice. His search forces him to turn to a woman he despises for her unforgiveable betrayal—a woman known as the heartless harlot. 

Harboring secrets, Esme Lancaster has her own reasons for wanting to discover who’s behind the conspiracy that’s still afoot. She doesn’t trust Marcus but can’t deny the handsome devil makes her wonder if she does indeed possess a heart, one he could very easily steal. 

 As their hunt for the truth leads them into danger, Marcus finds Esme isn’t cold and calculating as he’d assumed but fire and brimstone, with courage and determination to match his own. Soon, they’re unable to deny their growing desire for each other. But giving into temptation comes at a cost, and they must decide if love is worth the risk of losing their one chance for redemption.

So, general rule - I tend to skip over 99% of all historical romances with Duke in the title but every once in a while one comes along that's just different enough for me to take notice. The hero's reputation is in ruins because Dear Old Dad was hanged after an assassination attempt of Queen Victoria! And to restore honor to the family name? Yeah, he has to team up with Dear Old Dad's mistress, who because this is a romance novel, turns out to be...um, complicated.  This is the third book in a trilogy, generally what readers have come to expect to be "The Payoff Book" and this may be where I hop on the series train.  Because, you know, the hero's father tried to assassinate the Queen!!!

The Defiant Maiden's Knight by Melissa Oliver 

A tense, dramatic medieval love story. 

A knight’s protection… 

That she doesn’t want…or need? 

Joan Lovent may be losing her sight but she refuses to lose her independence too. So when Sir Warin de Talmont tells her it’s too perilous to be out alone in the city, she doesn’t pay him any heed. But with threats surrounding them, she begins to value his protection and helps with his dangerous work in return. If only the powerful connection between them wasn’t so impossible to ignore!

This book kicks off Oliver's new Protectors of the Crown series, which is set in the early days of Henry III's reign and follows a trio of knights protecting the Crown from a mysterious group bent on treason, destruction and all-around shenanigans. A heroine losing her sight, determined to maintain her independence, finds herself leaning on the hero for protection. The back cover blurb offers hints of a "team work" storyline and I love me stories that feature hero and heroine working together towards some larger goal.

The Shopgirl's Forbidden Love by Jenni Fletcher 

From forbidden love 

To forever? 

Belles Biscuit Shop is more like a home than a place of work for Nancy MacQueen. The shared attraction between her and James Redbourne, the handsome owner of a nearby store, has been simmering for years, but she’s refused to trust his feelings for her. After all, they’re not remotely in the same social class. Until one day Nancy can no longer deny her love—only to find he’s become engaged to someone else!

Every month I search for Unusual Historicals and I still have a tendency to miss titles. Case in point, this is the fourth and final (!) book in Fletcher's Regency Belles of Bath series and the third one to feature a shopgirl heroine! Oof!  Anyway, this is the final book in the series, hence another "Payoff Book."  According to the author's website, this romance spans an eight year period starting with events prior to the first book in the series, and picking up where book three left off.  Which means just as the heroine is waking up to smell the coffee? It might already be too late.  Another series discovered, another series to catch up on.

What Unusual Historicals are you looking forward to reading?

#TBRChallenge 2022: Beyond Innocence

The Book: Beyond Innocence by Emma Holly

The Particulars: Historical romance, First book in duet, Berkley, 2001, Out of print, available in digital

Why Was It In Wendy's TBR?: A billion years ago when I was reviewing for The Romance Reader, I was randomly assigned the second book in this duet, Beyond Seduction - which totally blew up my skirt. Emma Holly became an autobuy after that.

The Review: History lesson time. What we now classify as "erotic romance" was launched in 1999 when legendary editor Kate Duffy ushered in the Kensington Brava line. That line's success and reader demand for steamier romance books lead to other publishers scrambling to find authors that wrote "hot" - and in the case of Berkley they knocked on Emma Holly's door.  

Holly started her career writing erotica for Black Lace, an imprint of Virgin Publishing. While marketed as erotica her stories tended to have a strong romance flavor. Still, this was a departure for her, being that it was (I'm fairly certain...) her first stab at a historical romance.

So why did I take so long to read this book if I enjoyed the second book?  Two words: Virgin. Heroine. Look, y'all gotta understand. Back in 2001 virgin heroines were still the default and not to put too fine a point on it - I don't read Emma Holly for virgin heroines. So this one languished in my TBR until Holly's untimely death last month and this month's Vintage prompt seemed as good as any to finally stop neglecting it.

Freddie Burbrooke has been caught in a compromising position with a footman. His older brother, Edward Burbrooke, the Earl, is determined to save him from ruin. He adores Freddie. He's been looking out for him and protecting him his whole life. This is a scandal of epic proportions. What he needs is to get Freddie settled. Freddie needs a wife. And luckily his father's former solicitor has a solution.

Miss Florence Fairleigh is the only child of a country vicar. Her father is now deceased and she's in dire straights. Daddy was loving and doting but terrible with money. So Florence decides to go to London and try to find a respectable man to marry. If that fails she'll end up having to hire herself out as a governess. She's not hoping for much - kindness, friendship, a chance to build a life. Really, that's it. And then providence smiles down on her and soon she's being woo'ed by Freddie Burbrooke, second son to an earl! Honestly, it's a better match than a country mouse like her could hope for.

The fly in the ointment? I mean other than Freddie being gay? Edward takes one look at Florence and is hopelessly smitten. Borderline obsessed. And yet he recognizes she's the perfect match for Freddie. With Florence on his arm Freddie would be protected.  And yet? Edward can't stay away from her and Florence is also drawn to him.  Then there's the small matter that everybody in the Burbrooke family (Freddie, Edward, their dear aged aunt who is sponsoring Florence's Season...) are all in the ruse.  Florence knows nothing about nothing. No clue Freddie is gay. No idea that she's the sacrificial lamb delivered from above to save him from scandal.  Yeah, let's just say it hits the fan when that Big Secret comes home to roost.

If I'm making this sound unsavory that's because it kind of is. In the hands of a lesser skilled writer I would have likely DNF'ed this in hot minute.  Edward is of the cold, stoic school of formidable romance heroes and is kind of an ass for a good portion of this story.  Florence is sheltered and rather naïve - honestly the sort of heroine that tends to set my teeth on edge even though I totally understood and "got" her as a character.  So, what makes this work?  Well, everything else.

Holly handles the Victorian time period amiably, although while I wouldn't say it's wallpaper it's also not terrible specific. She gets the tone and feel right though.  The story is also still downright revolutionary even 20+ years after it was first published. Let's count the ways:

Edward bangs his mistress, on page, in a very early chapter. SHOCKING!

When Edward and Florence start to succumb they do everything but Insert Tab A Into Slot B - because at this point he's still wanting to protect her virtue because dagnabit he's obsessed but Must. Protect. Freddie. Very spicy stuff for 2001 although some readers would likely label this merely "hot" now. 

But the most marvelous thing about this book? Freddie. How Freddie is portrayed and how the matter of him being gay is addressed. Edward doesn't shame Freddie. Freddie isn't berated or treated like an embarrassment. Edward's concern for Freddie is born out of his love for his brother, his desire to protect him - because Edward knows that Freddie being gay is going to make Freddie's life very difficult.  So yes, the desire to hush up a scandal and to protect him, but also this underlying acceptance that this IS Freddie.  For you younger folks - this portrayal of a gay character in 2001 was revolutionary! Freddie isn't written as a villain or a deviant. He's a fully realized, fully fleshed-out, lovely and sympathetic character who also gets a happy ending in the final chapters.  From personal experience, the idea of LGBTQ+ characters being protagonists in romance didn't enter my consciousness until around 2004 (that's when I started hearing chatter at writer's conferences) - so Holly writing this character in 2001 is just...wow. Like amazingly wow.

The pacing is a little slow in spots and honestly the whole thing has a Sword of Damocles feel to it with the Big Secret.  Florence is a bit of a mouse and almost written like a Disney princess (she's adored by cats and babies alike) and while she's not offensive per se, I just wasn't captivated by her like some of Holly's edgier female protagonists.  But, patience - because it does all pay off once Florence learns the truth and we get an epic descent into Hero Grovel Land for several chapters.  We also have to put up a bit with an Evil Other Woman (yes, the mistress...) but this aspect of the story didn't annoy me as much as other Evil Other Women that have come before her. 

It's not perfect. As mentioned it's a rather unsavory plot but Holly spins a good tale and it kept me invested. I'm glad I finally read it even if it doesn't land in my Emma Holly Top Five and it's definitely worth a read for those interested in the history of the romance genre. It's breath-taking in that respect.

Final Grade = B-

Library Loot Review: Seven Days in June

If there is anything that will make me not want to read a book more it's the celebrity book club endorsement. The minute someone tells me I "have" to read something is the minute I stop being remotely interested. Which I realize makes no sense given that I've been posting book reviews online for 23 years. So yes even though Reese said I should read Seven Days in June by Tia Williams, and I saw other romance bloggers talking about it - I didn't take the plunge and whip out my library card until I read Whiskey's review. And you know what? I had some issues (hello, me) but I got sucked into this like whoa!

Eva Mercy is a single mom and bestselling erotica author with a legion of fans obsessed with her fourteen book series about a dysfunctional relationship between a vampire and a witch. She also suffers from  debilitating migraines, a traumatic past she's been sweeping under the rug, and has a career crisis looming before her. She's a week away from her deadline on Book 15 in her Cursed series and...nothing. She's got nothing.  She's got a daughter to raise and food to put on the table, and while the film rights have been sold it's a question of will the movie even get made? So to drum up some buzz, her editor talks her into filling in on a "state of Black authors in publishing" panel - and oh, no worries, you're only replacing Zadie Smith. It's so not Eva's scene but she looking down a long, dark tunnel to ruin, so she says yes.  What she didn't sign up for was her traumatic past to come waltzing through the door.

Shane Hall is a reclusive, literary darling. After years of numbing himself with drugs and booze he's finally sober, taking temporary teaching gigs and trying to save kids just like him. He also fears his writing days are behind him. Now that he's sober? Yeah, the words ain't coming. But he's sober and wants to stay that way, which means coming to grips with his past, and Eva Mercy is that past. Fifteen years ago, as two extremely messed up high school seniors they spent a dysfunctional, drug-fueled week together before it inevitably imploded.  They both turned that pain into their writing.  Eva's been writing about Shane (hello, the vampire to her witch) and he's been channeling Eva in his celebrated literary masterpieces.  Now here they are, together again and it sets Black Book World on fire.

What I really loved about this book was the world building (so fantastic!) and the nuanced, multi-dimensional characters. The story does jump timelines and there is some chapter-break head-hopping, but it's a rich world that Williams has created populated by dynamic characters. I do think Shane takes somewhat of a back-seat to Eva, but that's what makes the story work. While there is a romance, and a happy ending, I'd classify this more as women's fiction with a strong romance arc. Eva's journey is what's truly driving the bus here.

However, I have quibbles. There's some kind of irony that during the author panel that sets this story into motion that Eva and fellow panelist Belinda (a poet) talk about how people only want books/movies/etc. about Black pain and suffering and this book?  Um, it's about Black pain. The traumatic pasts of Eva and Shane are front and center. What saves this from being Trauma Porn is that it's not the sum total of who Eva and Shane are and there are touches of humor laced throughout the book. I never set this book down feeling depressed or despondent. The tone is hopeful.

But...

It's also a clearly dysfunctional relationship between Shane and Eva for a very, very long time. The flashbacks to their one week in June as high school seniors you've got Eva gorking herself out on drugs to pain manage and cutting herself (again, pain management, plus her completely jacked up life with her Mom). Shane is a foster kid who deals drugs, partakes in his own product (plus alcohol) who has already spent time in jail. They don't fall in love so much as fall into a completely unhealthy, codependent relationship with each other. When they meet again as adults, with their unresolved baggage and lack of closure, all this "stuff" is a very large elephant in the room.

Eventually, however, I felt like these two get to a healthier place. And to do that? It all needs to go down the crapper...again. They need to break the cycle, the codependency, and while part of that is done early on because Shane is now sober, it's not really addressed until near the end of the book - which makes this heavy-lifting a bit rushed. I wanted to close the book thinking "these two are really going to be OK together" and I got to about 90% instead of 100%.

A few other things of note that stood out for me, the book is worth reading regardless but there's a scene between Eva and her daughter Audre when there's trouble at her elite private school that is one of the finest scenes in fiction I've probably ever read.  The relationship between Eva and her mother Lizette is fraught (this is putting it mildly) and I really appreciated this wasn't hand-waved away in the final chapters and everybody's one big happy family in the end (child, please). 

But...

While the life as a writer stuff is good, and mostly genre positive, there's a dig at the end that the romance genre reader in me found highly annoying. I don't feel like it was necessarily the intention but the message comes off as "shed your genre past to move on to become a fulfilled writer/person" and....baggage I haz it.  Which brings me to my final point - as much as I enjoyed this book it's also the kind of book that tends to annoy me in that there's a subset of reader who will wax poetic about how amazing it is and it's not like one of those "trashy Harlequins" as they sneer at the historical romance I'm reading with the clinch cover on the front.

Sigh.  But that's on me - not on the book Williams has written. And while yes, it was endorsed by a celebrity book club, at least Reese has enough sense to lean in on genre. I'm more than half-convinced it's why her book club has translated so well at least in terms of library demand and usage.

In the end I saw flaws in the story but I was so captivated by it that what flaws I saw were minor annoyances more so than a bridge to far. Was this a perfect read for me? No. But I inhaled it and what I loved I really, really loved. A book club read I would happily have deeper discussions about because there's a lot to chew on.  

Final Grade = A

Reminder: #TBRChallenge Day is July 20!

Hey, hey, hey it's that time of the month again - #TBRChallenge time! The next Challenge is set for Wednesday, July 20.  This month's (always) optional theme is Vintage.

This was another suggestion that came out of the theme poll I ran last year, similar to former Old School themes in Challenges past.  Classic book, classic author, classic trope.  Or maybe you want to go off in another direction of "vintage" and read a book set in wine country!  As always, multiple interpretation of themes is encouraged.

However, the themes are completely optional.  Remember the goal of the challenge has been, and always will be, to read something (anything!) that's been languishing in your mountain range of unread books. The themes are just for fun 😉

It's not too late to participate in this year's Challenge!  If you're interested or you just want to follow along with those participating, be sure to check out the TBR Challenge 2022 Information Page. 

Library Loot Review: The Summer of Lost Letters

I do (generally...) subscribe to the axiom that "Twitter sells books" - just not (generally...) to me. What does sell me books is still old-fashioned long form blog reviews and I have Nick to thank for turning me on to The Summer of Lost Letters by Hannah Reynolds. I guarantee I would not have stumbled across this YA romance hybrid (more on that in a bit...) without seeing a review for it on her blog.  And guess what?  Here we are in early July and it's my first A read of 2022 (combination 😭 and 😍).

Abby is a nice 17-year-old Jewish girl from Massachusetts who isn't exactly looking forward to the summer before her senior year. Her boyfriend just broke up with her and all her friends are going to be away for the summer. One evening she's home alone when the doorbell rings. It's a delivery from her grandmother's former nursing home - a box of personal items, including a cache of love letters (!) written in the 1950s from a man named Edward.  Ahem, her grandfather's name was NOT Edward.  O'ma suffered from dementia in her later years but even prior to that she was tight-lipped about her past, which her family took at face value.  I mean, Ruth left Germany as a 4-year-old to escape the Nazis and her parents ended up dying in a concentration camp. Even if she wasn't tight-lipped, what would she know to tell?  So these mysterious love letters are a revelation - not only because of "Edward" but also apparently O'ma lived on Nantucket for many years.  She never mentioned Nantucket! Like, ever!

Abby is like a dog with a bone at this point. She loves history and here's a historical mystery right here in her own gene pool. She steamrolls over her parents, works some connections and bingo-bango before you know it she's renting a room on Nantucket island and working in a local bookstore.  She's going to track down this mysterious Edward and learn more about her dearly departed O'ma's past.

It's not long before Abby runs into Edward's grandson, very handsome, very rich, Harvard-bound, Noah. Noah a preppy God who is WAY out of her league. Which is fine by her really since he's insufferable. He's determined at first blush to throw up road-blocks. She can't just go poking around in his family's business (it's complicated, because of course it is...) and besides, love letters? Is she sure? Because shortly after his grandfather supposedly wrote these love letters he married Noah's grandmother, Helen. If he loved Abby's grandmother Ruth, why didn't he marry her? It doesn't make sense to Noah, who bless his heart has that naivete of youth thinking love can conquer all.

This is quite literally the perfect summertime read and Teenage Wendy that I keep locked in a book cave in the back of my mind gobbled this up.  It hit ALL my sweet spots.  The world building is fantastic (Nantucket! In the summer!); there's romance, family drama, history, a mystery and multi-layered characters!  Abby is the kind of girl I'd want to be friends with and while Noah is (definitely) occasionally misguided over the course of this story - he's a sweet boy wrestling with family expectations who is clearly smitten - which Abby is naturally too clueless to see (girl, we've all been there).

It's also a story of mothers and daughters and how complicated those relationships can be. There are so many layers to this story. I kept peeling back those layers and discovering more gems waiting underneath.  It's a fantastic story that kept me up well past my bedtime, on a "school night" during my busiest time of year at The Day Job.  I loved every single word and there's a sequel due out in October featuring Noah's cousin.  I cannot wait!

Final Grade = A

Review: The Viking She Would Have Married

Earlier this year I read Lucy Morris' A Nun for a Viking Warrior and got my head turned by Valda - a shieldmaiden "stuck in the friend zone" with the hero.  Valda really thought she had found "the one" in Jorund, a man eager to put down roots, have a home, create a life outside of war.  He never loved her, never toyed with her affections, but when he married the heroine Valda knew she couldn't stay. The Viking She Would Have Married finds Valda returned home to her mother and two sisters, having fallen on hard times after her mother's latest beau ran off in the dead of night with their silver.  Now Valda and older sister, Brynhild are trying to earn enough coin to keep them fed and convince a jarl to give them some land to farm. However even though both have fearsome reputations as shieldmaidens, sexism is still sexism.  Valda has taken to the docks looking for work and that's when her past comes back to haunt her.  Unfortunately it's a past with an offer she cannot refuse.

Halfdan Ulffson is a successful merchant and a jarl's son. Years before he and Valda had a relationship, eventually torn apart by class differences and misunderstanding.  Never mind that his father is a vile sack of human flesh.  The man is constantly bringing Halfdan to heel because unlike Dear Old Dad, Halfdan has a soft heart. He feels obligated to his half-brother, a slave. He needs to buy his freedom, he needs to secure his older brother his birthright, and to do that he needs to figure out a way to play his father like a fiddle. Well he's finally gotten Dad to agree to an exorbitant price to free Erik and all he has to do in return is wed some woman from Wales. Then Valda shows up on the docks, looking for work, desperate to provide for her family, and Halfdan gets his head turned. He loved Valda, fiercely, and she broke his heart. Now is his chance to win her back and hope that his plan to not walk down the aisle with the Welsh woman comes to fruition.

Except, of course, Valda doesn't want to be won back. In her eyes it was Halfdan who broke her heart. And while she may still be attracted to him she is still stung by his betrayal all those years ago.  Besides, what stood in their way before is still there.  She's a broke shieldmaiden from a nothing family and he's a jarl's son.  End of discussion.

This is what I call a Pride Goeth Before A Fall romance. The conflict is made up entirely of both characters being prideful, stubborn, and not talking to each other.  Valda turned down Halfdan's proposal for a life of passion and adventure on the high seas all those years ago (notice he didn't offer her marriage...) and then Valda witnessed an "appropriate for his station" woman leaving his ship the night she spurned his offer.  Then she finds out later the woman was pregnant and married another in haste.  On top of this Halfdan does not speak of Erik's true circumstances to anyone and what he is doing in the hopes of securing his brother's freedom.  

However, this is also a road romance, with Halfdan and Valda setting their sights to trade in Constantinople. A chance for Halfdan to seduce Valda's senses (and other parts of her...) and a chance for Valda to make stupid amounts of coin. Halfdan may be untrustworthy and a silver-tongued devil, but he's very good at his trade. One voyage with him and her family's problems will be solved.

Eventually Halfdan and Valda succumb and thank the Lord, they set their pride aside long enough to spill their guts.  That said, it still doesn't change who they are. A powerful jarl's son expected to marry to broker an alliance, and a shieldmaiden with few prospects.  Just because they fall into each other's arms again, that doesn't necessarily change anything.

I'm not going to lie, their stupid pride did wear me down after a while. By the halfway point I kind of wanted to shake them both senseless, not because I didn't believe in the obstacles standing in their way (alliances, loyalty, this was all stuff that could get you killed if you chose poorly) but because they wouldn't just talk honestly with each other and puzzle out a way to work around said obstacles.  Eventually though these two crazy kids do open their eyes, and I enjoyed the way to come to reunite in the end.

This is the first book in a trilogy and the set-up is delicious.  Valda is the pretty one, while youngest sister Helga is the ethereal one and older sister Brynhild is the fearsome-looking one.  The next book partners Brynhild with Halfdan's half-brother, Erik, and the angst is already simmering.

I didn't love this as much as I was hoping to, but I still really enjoyed it and read it in a couple of sittings.  Valda was an intriguing, strong heroine who finds herself falling back in love with a rogue - and Lord help us all, romance readers love us some rogues.

Final Grade = B-