Deck the Halls: Unusual Historicals for December 2023

Hey, so it's December. Don't ask me how we all got here. What I'll remember most about 2023 is the hazy blur of exhaustion I seemed to live with. 2024 might be the year that I finally need to knuckle down and take better care of myself - but that covers all the very not-fun stuff like nutrition, exercise, the buzzword du jour "mindfulness." It's all so bothersome, truly. In the meantime we're going to ring out (OK, more like kick out...) 2023 with the final Unusual Historicals post of the year. Once again, many thanks to AztecLady for uncovering a good chunk of these for me.  December is traditionally a pretty slow month in publishing and we have six books this month!

Whiskey War by Stacy Lynn Miller

At the height of Prohibition and the dawn of the Great Depression, lesbian couple Dax and Rose look forward to a clandestine life together in Half Moon Bay, hiding a treasure trove of stolen whiskey.

To save their floundering restaurant, Dax tries to offload the barrels in San Francisco, only to rouse her estranged brother-in-law, Logan. He sniffs out their stash, and soon they all get a taste of the dark side of bootlegging.

Enter Grace Parsons, Rose's glamorous ex and Hollywood elite, offering a way out. But her intervention ignites a violent feud that puts everyone at risk. Can Dax and Rose survive the whiskey war they never wanted?

Prohibition! San Francisco! My apologies folks, but this is actually the second book in a series featuring Dax and Rose, but now that it's on all our radars, we can back-track to book one if we so desire. Per the author's bio, she's former military and likes to infuse her stories with suspense as well as romance - also looks like there will be a third book in this series.

The Knight's Substitute Bride by Melissa Oliver

 

Could the wrong bride…

Be right for him after all?

For the sake of his family name, Lord Robert must marry to seal an alliance with an Irish clan. Only, the woman at the altar isn’t who he was promised! Instead, it’s her sister, Lady Mairenn! The sharp-tongued Irish beauty is as reluctant to wed as Robert, but as friction turns to fire between them, she’s further derailing Robert’s plans for this purely pragmatic arrangement…

Ah, the ol' I show up at the altar and it's not my intended but her sister instead trope. But alliances are alliances, and come hell or high water, a marriage there will be.  This is the second book in the multi-author Brothers and Rivals series, the first book being featured in November's Unusual Historicals post.

Art of the Chase by Tracy Brogan

Above the glistening waters of Trillium Bay, the majestic Imperial Hotel awaits its first guests. It’s the summer of 1888, and names like Carnegie, Astor, Pullman, and Bostwick line the premier resort’s registry as society’s elite gather on its grandiose front porch to see – and be seen.

But Chase Bostwick isn’t interested in being seen. As the second son of a wealthy financier, he’s only interested in work – in Chicago – so being tasked by his father to chaperone his wearisome mother and boisterous little sister during their Michigan summer holiday is Chase’s personal purgatory masquerading as paradise – for never was a man more ill-suited to leisure.

Emerson McKenna isn’t interested in being seen, either – but she does want her artistic talents to be noticed. As the illegitimate daughter of a renown portraitist more infamous for his romantic dalliances than for his work, Emerson has schemed her way into a position at the hotel teaching doe-eyed debutantes to paint. She says her goal is to commission enough portraits from the resort’s wealthy patrons to finance her dreams of studying in Paris.

But Chase has his suspicions…

Thinking to ease his ennui, he sets about to unravel the mysteries of this enigmatic Miss and her tattered satchel full of secrets, but what he learns – from her questionable marital status right down to the potentially felonious embellishment of her artistic credentials – leaves him feeling captivated. And protective. When his misplaced chivalry sets in motion events which may do more harm than good, Chase and Emerson must work together to keep her safe – and in his arms.

OK, not gonna lie - I'm really intrigued by this one. For one thing it's set in my home state of Michigan and for another, it's set at a hotel. Boardinghouses and hotels in historical romance flip a switch for me.  Throw in an artist heroine with secrets to hide and well, I'm only human.

An Unlikely Match for the Governess by Lauri Robinson

The most unlikely match…

might be the best fit!

After the young twins she cares for are orphaned, their governess, Aislinn, will do anything to stay with them. So when their maverick uncle—aristocrat turned rancher—Luke returns to England determined to gain guardianship, she proposes a convenient marriage! As an unexpected connection develops between them, Aislinn begins to long for a real future with Luke. But his home is in Montana… Could it be hers, too? 

I'll admit it, I have baggage. In the early aughts many a good historical western author defected for across the pond, but before that it was like publishing was setting us up.  The cowboys were now going to England or the blue-blooded daughters were the fish out of water in Texas or some such state. Eventually the pretense was discharged and historical westerns got rarer than hen's teeth.  Harlequin Historical was about the only outfit still publishing them, but they killed them a few years back.  But dare I hope? Maybe this new one by Robinson is Harlequin's way of testing the waters on westerns again - even if it's the story of "a spare" coming back to England after setting up shop in Montana.  People, I'm desperate. This one goes on the pile.

The Gentleman's Gambit by Evie Dunmore

Bookish suffragist Catriona Campbell is busy: An ailing estate, academic writer’s block, a tense time for England’s women’s rights campaign—the last thing she needs is to be stuck playing host to her father’s distractingly attractive young colleague.

Deeply introverted Catriona lives for her work at Oxford and her fight for women’s suffrage. She dreams of romance, too, but since all her attempts at love have ended badly, she now keeps her desires firmly locked inside her head—until she climbs out of a Scottish loch after a good swim and finds herself rather exposed to her new colleague.

Elias Khoury has wheedled his way into Professor Campbell’s circle under false pretenses: he did not come to Oxford to classify ancient artefacts, he is determined to take them back to his homeland in the Middle East. Winning Catriona’s favor could be the key to his success. Unfortunately, seducing the coolly intense lady scholar quickly becomes a mission in itself and his well-laid plans are in danger of derailing...

Forced into close proximity in Oxford’s hallowed halls, two very different people have to face the fact that they might just be a perfect match. Soon, a risky new game begins that asks Catriona one more time to put her heart and wildest dreams at stake.

Let's be honest here - this book could go either way. It could be good (Suffragette heroine! Hero with secrets! Oxford!) or it could be a hot mess (historical romance doesn't have the best track record with "exotic" characters - including the use of the word exotic...).  Also chatter I've read on this series in particular has been all over the map.  Readers seem to love them or loathe them, with not a lot in between. But so many of them have fallen under the "unusual" banner that I really need to give one of these a whirl via my library.

Second Duke's the Charm by Kate Bateman

The wedding-night death of her much older husband left Tess Townsend the Dowager Duchess of Wansford—and still a virgin. Now she and her two best friends investigate London’s most scandalous crimes, and while Tess longs to experience physical pleasure for herself, she can’t risk losing her treasured independence...

Cynical shipping magnate Justin Thornton never expected to inherit a dukedom, but he’ll do his duty. When the ravishing woman he kissed at a party turns out to be the Dowager Duchess, Justin sees an obvious solution: a marriage of convenience that will suit them both.

But the passion that sparks between them is anything but convenient. As Tess works on a new case at the request of Queen Charlotte, her increasingly suspicious behavior makes Justin question her motives—and her past. The infuriating woman clearly can’t be trusted, but Justin doesn’t believe in love, so there’s absolutely no danger of him falling for his own wife...is there?

VIRGIN WIDOW! I figure half of you are already one-clicking while the other half are all "no thank you ma'am."  What intrigues me here is the premise of three best friends (all women) investigating crimes and shenanigans.  Oh, and a hero who inherits a dukedom he hadn't planned on thinking the heroine and a marriage of convenience is the solution to all his problems.  Oh, you poor deluded man. Also, while I haven't been able to find confirmation, this smells like the start of a new series.

Whew! I hope you all enjoy a happy, healthy end to this hellscape year and that many fantastic books, including Unusual Historicals, await all of us as we step into 2024.