Hop To It: Unusual Historicals for April 2023

I don't know about y'all but I can't believe we're already into April. This month I broke up the monotony of work, home, sleep, with a trip north to see my niece, Lemon Drop, compete in an equestrian event.  Once she started school I stopped sharing photos of her on this blog, but long time readers will be shocked to hear she is now 13.  I know, I don't know how that happened either.  Also, SHE'S A ROMANCE READER!  She likes rom/com type stuff, so yes - all those illustrated covers her Aunt Wendy turns her nose up at because I am an old fuddy duddy.  I told her she needs to share the books she likes with me because I am nothing if not nosy. 

Will I eventually get her hooked on Harlequin Presents and Unusual Historicals?  Well, time will tell.  In the meantime, let me pique all y'alls interest with the April Unusual Historical releases that caught my eye.

 

Desert Phoenix by Suzette Bruggeman (Kindle Unlimited)

A woman with a past is not a woman without a future. 

Nevada's gold country, 1901. 

No longer young or fresh, Tempa is staring face to face with the whore's unholy trinity: alcoholism, drug abuse and suicide. While her best friend, Belle, has chosen laudanum, Tempa finds escape in literature, which she shares with the illiterate prostitutes in a book club-like setting at the cribs. Forced into prostitution as a girl after losing her family to yellow fever, Tempa also retains a sense of self-worth by using her knowledge of herbs to heal others. 

When she nurses Henry—a good-natured, young German immigrant on the run from a man who has reason to want him dead—Tempa sees a future she longs for but cannot allow herself to claim. So when the noose tightens around Henry's neck, she ransoms her life for his. 

At once a sweeping love story and a harrowing account of the harshness of the American Old West, Desert Phoenix is the tale of a middle-aged, crib prostitute who gains an unlikely ally in her struggle for physical and emotional survival. Based on local history and family stories passed down from Bruggeman's grandfather, this engaging and evocative novel for fans of Kristin Hannah and Kate Quinn interweaves Tempa's rise from the ashes of her old life with Henry's turbulent passage into manhood.

There are a lot of self-published historical westerns out there and to be honest I'm naturally wary unless I've got some sort of "history" with the author.  So I'm really happy that AztecLady posted a review for this one recently.  Y'all I want to read the hell out of this book and I've already downloaded it.  

Ana Maria and the Fox by Liana De la Rosa

A forbidden love between a Mexican heiress and a shrewd British politician makes for a tantalizing Victorian season. 

Ana María Luna Valdés has strived to be the perfect daughter, the perfect niece, and the perfect representative of the powerful Luna family. So when Ana María is secretly sent to London with her sisters to seek refuge from the French occupation of Mexico, she experiences her first taste of freedom far from the judgmental eyes of her domineering father. If only she could ignore the piercing looks she receives across ballroom floors from the austere Mr. Fox. 

Gideon Fox elevated himself from the London gutters by chasing his burning desire for more: more opportunities, more choices. For everyone. Now, as a member of Parliament, Gideon is on the cusp of securing the votes he needs to put forth a measure to abolish the Atlantic slave trade once and for all—a cause that is close to his heart as the grandson of a formerly enslaved woman. The charmingly vexing Ana María is a distraction he must ignore. 

But when Ana María finds herself in the crosshairs of a nefarious nobleman with his own political agenda, Gideon knows he must offer his hand as protection . . . but will this Mexican heiress win his heart as well?

Publishers seem determined to move historical romances into trade paperback and slap illustrated covers on them no matter how much I dislike the trend.  Yes, yes, profit margin blah blah blah - my blog = all about me.  Anyway, the cover is at least pretty (I love the colors and it's a clinch even if it is illustrated...) and it's a Victorian (I love this era for historical romance).  Also the back cover blurb evokes some actual history - which isn't always a guarantee in historical romances.  It's also the first book in a new series and De la Rosa's debut with big boy Berkley / Penguin Random House.

Bound to the Warrior by Ella Matthews 

A tense battle of duty and desire in this Medieval romance 

Wed to a stranger 

Awakened by his touch 

As the new wife to stoic knight Benedictus Monceaux, innocent Adela finds herself in a whole new world… Their union is one of convenience and power, but her feelings for the warrior unsettle and excite her. Hiding an inner strength, Adela knows she can be a strong ally to her husband—but she must walk a fine line between duty and desire, both at court and in the bedchamber…

At this point I could literally not read anything but Harlequin Historicals for a year and I'd still have plenty in my TBR.  Matthews is a relatively newer writer for the line and this is the fourth book in her second series for them. Seriously, if you love medievals, Harlequin Historical is more than happy to keep you in a steady supply.

A Manhattan Heiress in Paris by Amanda McCabe 

Step into the roaring 1920s Parisian music scene 

Leaving Manhattan… 

For a secret Parisian affair… 

New York darling Elizabeth Van Hoeven has everything…except freedom. But now Eliza’s traveling to study piano at the Paris Conservatoire and falling for jazz prodigy Jack Coleman in the process! A love like theirs is forbidden back home, and as they make beautiful music together under the Parisian lights, Eliza and Jack face a difficult choice: the life they’ve always known, or the possibility of a life they never could have imagined…

McCabe is a prolific writer and she's certainly bitten off quite a bit with this latest release. 1920s! Paris! Music! But also a really complicated relationship between an heiress and a jazz musician that will undoubtedly face many, many challenges (especially "back home").  I've always found McCabe to be a very solid writer so I'm giving this one a whirl.

At the Queen's Summons by Susan Wiggs (Reprint)

Feisty orphan Pippa de Lacey lives by wit and skill as a London street performer. But when her sharp tongue gets her into serious trouble, she throws herself upon the mercy of Irish chieftain Aidan O'Donoghue. 

Pippa provides a welcome diversion for Aidan as he awaits an audience with the queen, who holds his people's fate in her hands. Amused at first, he becomes obsessed with the audacious waif who claims his patronage. 

Rash and impetuous, their unlikely alliance reverberates with desire and the tantalizing promise of a life each has always wanted—but never dreamed of attaining.

The final book in Wiggs' Tudor Rose trilogy bows this month with yet another new cover iteration. This book was originally published in 1996 under the title Dancing on Air and it's first appearance under the new title of At the Queen's Summons debuted in 2012. I really need to read this trilogy this year because they all sound fantastic. Also I've had the original print editions in my TBR for an embarrassingly long time....

What Unusual Historicals are you looking forward to?