Luck Be a Lady: Unusual Historicals for March 2025

Hello March, my old friend. Come back around to torment me again. March is the start of my "busy season" at work, when the push begins for end of the fiscal year. Overseeing collections, managing a budget, means June 30 is a big deal on my work calendar and it's the one time of year where I have hard deadlines I can't tap dance around. This all means I start early and my brain starts to melt down by week's end. On the bright side? The surgery I had earlier this month to correct my hiatal hernia means I'm 1) no longer regurgitating everything I eat and 2) I'm sleeping some of the best sleep I've had in years. I mean, I'm still not sleeping enough - but baby steps y'all. I'm also not reading again. My goal this year to read more consistently has not come to fruition, but it is only March. Maybe there's still hope I can turn this ship around? And on that score, here's a fresh crop of Unusual Historicals to pique my interest and maybe kick me back into a reading groove.

The King's Messenger by Susanna Kearsley

It is the year 1613, and King James is sending his messenger Andrew Logan into Scotland with secret orders to arrest Sir David Moray, close friend and advisor of the late Prince Henry. Secrets are second nature to Andrew, who must hide his Second Sight to stay alive. Joined by a court scrivener and the scrivener's spirited daughter Phoebe, Andrew slowly untangles the true purpose of his mission—to frame Sir David for Prince Henry's murder. But Andrew is unwilling to betray an innocent man.

Phoebe Westaway dislikes Andrew, and their history makes it hard for her to trust him. But as their journey draws them deeper into the dark web of court intrigue, Phoebe begins to suspect that she might have more need of the King's Messenger and his unusual gifts than she could ever have foreseen.

Oooooh, a new Susanna Kearsley! This one sounds fantastic. 17th century, a King's messenger who finds out his boss is up to no good, traveling with a woman who doesn't trust him as far as she can throw him. Oh, and it's a Road Romance! One of my favorite tropes.

The Lady Sparks a Flame by Elizabeth Everett

A Lady with a past. A man with ambition. A romance far from London society that might bridge their divides.

Lady Phoebe Hunt never anticipated returning from exile. A fatal choice drove her from England, but the death of her father—and the revelation of his debts—has brought her home. Once she settles her father’s estate, she will return to America, where she has reinvented herself. There’s no reason to remain, not even for one gravitationally challenged but deliciously tempting entrepreneur: Sam Fenley.

Samuel Fenley is all ambition. Rising from shop boy to wealthy investor, he’s left knocking on doors that open only for those with a title. Unless he buys the damned door itself—and the estate that goes with it. Sam offers to relieve Phoebe of her burdens, but is her crumbling mansion all Sam wants? Or is it the Lady herself?

When threats from Phoebe’s past spark new dangers, Sam and Phoebe discover that neither is what the other expected. Standing on the edge of disaster, the disgraced Ice Queen will have to decide if she wants to forge through life alone, or let an unlikely hero melt her heart.

Book 2 in the Damsels of Discovery series features a heroine exiled to America after her participation "in a revolutionary plot" returning home to sort her dead father's finances (naturally a surprise to one and all). The answer to her prayers might be the hero, who is offering to buy the crumbling family estate and also possibly wed her younger sister - which would also mean her mother would be cared for. So why does the hero woo'ing her sister bother her so much? 

A Wager at Midnight by Vanessa Riley

Scarlett Wilcox is willing to live out her life as a spinster if it means being able to continue her medical research to help a friend in need. After all, few husbands would tolerate her dressing as a man to attend lectures at the Royal Academy of Science. If the Duke of Torrance finds her such a specimen, she'll agree to a marriage in name only, much to the dismay of her elder sister, the Viscountess.

 

When she's unmasked at a lecture on ophthalmology, Scarlett prepares to be disgraced, but she's saved by Trinidadian-born physician Stephen Carew who claims her as a cousin. Dedicated to caring for his community, Stephen has no wish to marry a frivolous and privileged lady, no matter how many fall for his disarming accent and seductive charm. But Scarlett proves the opposite of any he’s ever met before. Yet the pressure to marry blinds them both to the chemistry growing between them, pitting their brilliant minds against their reluctant hearts—as the Duke and Viscountess await with bated breath to see who will win . . . A WAGER AT MIDNIGHT.

Book 2 in Riley's Betting Against the Duke series features a heroine secretly attending the Royal Academy of Science who is saved from scandal by a visiting physician from Trinidad. Naturally there is an attraction and naturally, this being a romance, it's complicated. 

Our Dear Miss H. is on the Case by Violet Marsh

Georgina Harrington should never have trusted her feckless cousin Percy with her most precious archaeological discovery. But no one would take her academic work seriously if they knew it was hers and not her male cousin’s. When Percy goes missing, only Georgina realizes that he is truly in danger.  To find him, she must rely on the help of his infuriating but incredibly handsome best friend. 

Although Alexander Lovett is always up for an adventure, he vows to keep his distance from Georgina, who is on his insufferable parents’ list of suitable brides for a future duke. He’s a grown man who can pick his own wife, thank you very much. But he’s surprised to find himself falling for Georgina’s shockingly bold initiative and independent thinking, which saves them from more than one deadly scrape. 

Yet as a simple kidnapping grows into a threat to the monarchy, their smoldering attraction might be snuffed out before it has a chance to ignite.  

Set during the Georgian era, our heroine uses her cousin to present her archeological discovery and he ends up going missing.  To find him she enlists the help of the hero, who agrees despite the heroine being on a short list (put together by his parents) as potential wife material. The hero has some bizarre notion of choosing his own wife - I mean, what?! Reviews on this one mention sparkling banter and the story being equally silly and serious - which means the publisher marketing this as a romantic comedy probably isn't far off (for a change...).

A Lady's Guide to Scoundrels and Gentlemen by Arden Conroy

A lady should avoid a scoundrel if she does not wish a lifetime of heartache. But sometimes hearts simply do not care about rules.

Luck strikes when least expected and Lady Vivian Winthrop finally gets a taste when an unexpected fortune is left to her and not her brother. But there’s a caveat: to keep it, she must marry within one year. As newspapers name her “Britain’s richest spinster,” men swarm her receiving room with hopes of charming her down the aisle. Vivian becomes frustrated by the incessant attention—and unfortunately, Vivian discovers she cannot identify true gentlemen from sneaky scoundrels like her own brother.

Her brother owes a shocking gambling debt to Edmond “Dantes” McNab, a scarred pugilist who owns a wild pub. With his ear to the ground, Dantes knows the truth about much of the ton. Vivian offers the man a deal he can’t resist: help her find a true gentleman to marry, and she will repay her brother’s debt in full.

It’s soon clear Dantes knows the scoundrels’ secrets because he is one himself. Unfortunately for Vivian, her heart becomes a bit too affected by the burly man. She knows well enough any affection for Dantes will end in nothing other than disaster. But sometimes one’s heart simply does not care about silly rules.

If Vivian doesn’t find a suitable gentleman soon, she may make the biggest mistake of her life and fall in love with one of the worst scoundrels in London.

Folks, we have a debut! The first in The Harp & the Thistle series, which feature "Three wild brothers from the streets of Whitechapel."  A heroine who has an inherited a fortune, but must marry within one year to claim it, soon finds herself overrun with potential "suitors." Couple that with her useless brother, she needs help weeding out the scoundrels. For that she turns to the hero, a former boxer, now pub owner, who will help her find a gentleman and in exchange she'll pay off her brother's debt to him in full.  I mean, what could possibly go wrong?

The Warrior's Bride Alliance by Denise Lynn

She needs a husband… 

So she captures one! 

Lady Gillian of Rockskill desperately needs a husband—one strong and wealthy enough to protect her castle. So she has warrior Rory of Roul captured and blackmails him into marrying her! 

Awaking in a dungeon to a marriage proposal, Rory stuns his beguiling captor with a counteroffer: to free his men and complete his mission for the king, he agrees to a temporary chaste marriage. One that can be annulled when his quest is over.  

But despite their stormy beginning, their attraction grows, and so does the temptation to claim their wedding night!

This is Lynn's return to Harlequin Historical, her first with them since 2018. It's apparently a part of her Warrior Wolves series, but I suspect it stands alone well since I'm only seeing the series mention on the author's web site (and not on either Amazon or at Harlequin). A good old fashioned medieval marriage of convenience plot - a Lady heroine needs a man to protect her castle, so when she captures a warrior, she blackmails him into marrying her. He, of course, expects to keep the marriage temporary and chaste. Ha ha ha ha!

With Love in Their Corner by Sandra Sookoo

When you want something out of life, you’ll have to fight for it.

Lewis Stapleton, eighth Earl of Lethbridge is a man hovering on the edge of breaking. Between his mother pestering him about finding a bride of high social standing, maintaining his estates and title without enough funding, and worrying over his brothers, he requires an outlet. Anger and grief haven’t been dealt with since his father’s death two years prior, so he works through those emotions while in the boxing ring. His father was a prize fighter so matching his over-large footsteps is difficult, but something must give else he’ll explode.

Miss Cecilia Dawson is tired of being an object of ridicule or allegedly not good enough for anything beyond a quick tryst. With an affinity for numbers, she keeps the books for her father’s shipping company, but is desperate for a way to defend herself against the coarse and crude men she encounters in the office near the docks. The day she steps into the Stapleton Boxing Salon while disguised as a boy rapidly becomes both the best and worst day of her life.

Despite the instant attraction between them, Lewis ignores it in favor of teaching Cecilia how to box for protection. As the summer days slip by filled with an illegal fight or two as well as activities that come far too close to courtship, the attraction spills into forbidden desire that lands them both into scandal. Distracted, they never see danger coming that puts them into a corner of peril.

Only by releasing fears and working together will they come away with a prize more valuable than anything they could imagine.

Another series starter, The Boxers of Brook Street, and another boxer hero. He's taken up boxing to deal with residual anger and grief, and she wants to learn to defend herself while working for her father's shipping company located near the docks. A forbidden attraction soon morphs into scandal and dun dun dun danger. 

Waiting for Love by Carol Coventry

If the gossips of the ton can agree on one thing, it is that Lady Olivia Taverston will marry a Peer.

Everyone expects Lady Olivia Taverston, the winsome sister of the Earl of Iversley, to be the most sought-after debutante of the London Season. Yet Olivia cares nothing for attracting suitors. Suitors lead to marriage, and marriage means leaving behind everything that she holds dear. Not even the prospect of a love match excites her. She fell in love once. It hurt. She won’t do it again. Naturally, a lady must marry, but Olivia can’t pretend to be happy about it. Especially not after he reappears—and he’s handsomer, kinder, and more annoyingly noble than ever.

Mr. Benjamin Carroll has returned to England after an admittedly harebrained attempt to make his fortune in Canada. A failed business venture not only left him bankrupt, but also made him the adoptive father of his deceased partners’ little girl. Thankfully, he has a lifeline. Jasper Taverston, the Earl of Iversley, an old Oxford chum, has offered him the job of estate steward. The only complication is Jasper’s little sister. Years ago, her infatuation with Benjamin progressed from silly to embarrassing. Of course, it’s absurd to think she could still be carrying a torch for him. She should be grown up and married by now. Except he finds she is not. Not married, that is. She is very definitely grown up.

The worst thing a lowly steward can do is to seduce his lord’s sister. Benjamin knows this. Olivia does too. But…

Defying the expectations of her family and the rules of the ton is not the worst thing a lady can do. Even worse is to surrender to them with a vengeance.

The third book in The Taverstons of Iversley series features a bankrupt hero, returned home to England, taking a job from an old friend to be his new estate steward. What he didn't plan on? That his old friend's attractive younger sister would still, inexplicably, be single. And she's still single because he once broke her heart. She's the Earl's sister, he's a lowly estate steward. Complications ensue.

The Loyalty of a Lyon by Linda Rae Sande

He’s the widowed Marquess of Hawke. She’s a wealthy spinster named for Apollo. Will a conniving cousin thwart a matchmaker’s plans to see they end up together?

Robert Strathford, Marquess of Hawke, had thought to spend his older years traveling the world with his beloved wife, but when Eleanor dies in a carriage accident, he’s left heartbroken—and broke. While he was on the Continent, his man of business made off with most of his fortune, his whereabouts unknown.

After two years of mourning both his wife and his livelihood, he’s in need of a matchmaker—his past two attempts to land a wife using the Black Widow of Whitehall failed when he couldn’t win the strange games he had to play at The Lyon’s Den. He is determined Mrs. Dove-Lyon find him a wealthy wife. Will the third time be the charm?

Spinster Apollonia Alexander, the only daughter of a wealthy trader, has lived her entire life on the move. Her father chose to take her with him when he traveled to various ports and marketplaces, negotiating with ships’ captains and export houses for fabrics and trinkets for the British market. When he suddenly dies, she is devastated. Although her inheritance is substantial, her cousin inherits the Alexander Trading Company. Christopher will end up with her and her fortune if she’s unable to land a husband—she needs a male relative to access her funds.

Not about to marry her cousin, Apollonia seeks the services of a matchmaker. Mrs. Bessie Dove-Lyon promises a respectable marriage to a loyal man if she can handle life with a Hawke.

But will he be able to handle her?

Part of the Lyon's Den continuity series (76 books long!), features an older hero heartbroken over his wife's unexpected death, with the added complication that his man of business has robbed him blind. After two years he decides it's time to remarry, preferably a woman with some money. Enter, stage right, our heroine, a spinster and the daughter of a wealthy trader. She's got a pile of money but a terrible cousin with his own ideas, which means she needs a husband, and fast.

The Duke's Lance by C.H. Admirand

“Who in the world would marry me, just to ensure that

I stayed at Wyndmere Hall?”

“That would be me, lass.”

The winsome, ebony-haired lass with the violet faery-eyes captures O’Malley’s heart when she steps down from the carriage, but it is the ugly dark bruise on her cheek that has his protective instincts offering his strength and the protection of his name.

O’Malley’s stubborn pride takes a hit when the lass thanks him, but refuses his offer.

Helen Langley accompanied her mistress, the duke’s ward Emily, to Wyndmere Hall after a perilous journey from London. The broad-shouldered, green-eyed, handsome giant barely knows her, yet offers her marriage.

Helen cannot accept O’Malley’s offer, her past could ruin their future!

O’Malley is willing to wait when she leaves for the Borderlands intent on securing a position as a companion. But the man who murdered Emily’s father has Helen in his sights and follows her. When she is abducted—twice—Helen must decide whether to trust O’Malley and accept his offer, or keep her past hidden and live with the pain of her broken heart for the rest of her life.

Danger stalks in the night, but it will have to get past The Duke’s Lance before he will let harm come to those he has sworn to protect with his strength, his honor, and his heart.

This is the 12th book in The Duke's Guard series, which features the Irish O'Malley brothers and off-shoots of cousins. It's the kind of series where the author keeps a family tree running on her website. He's one of the Duke's guards, she's a lady's maid with ambitions to be a companion.  One small problem, she's in dun, dun, dun danger! He's willing to marry her to protect her, she's not so sure - that is until she gets kidnapped, not once...but twice.

Whew! Everything is a lot right now, but take your Aunt Wendy's advice. Take a moment to find some joy. Whether that's eating ice cream for breakfast, buying that new lipstick or treating yourself to some new Unusual Historicals. What Unusual Historicals are you looking forward to reading?