Full Bloom: Unusual Historicals for May 2025

Y'all I felt like January was three months long and ever since the year seems to be zipping by. My unheard of, super rare, two planned vacations this year are coming up fast (July and September) and I'm starring down the barrel of end of fiscal year deadlines at work. Also, after a rough slump in late April / early May, I'm hoping to stay inspired and get some reading done through the summer months.  Just in time for that? A really interesting crop of Unusual Historicals landing in May, some of which are already in my TBR.

Copper Script by KJ Charles

Detective Sergeant Aaron Fowler of the Metropolitan Police doesn’t count himself a gullible man. When he encounters a graphologist who deduces people’s lives and personalities from their handwriting with impossible accuracy, he needs to find out how the trick is done. Even if that involves spending more time with the intriguing, flirtatious Joel Wildsmith than feels quite safe.

Joel’s not an admirer of the police, but DS Fowler has the most irresistible handwriting he’s ever seen. If the policeman’s tests let him spend time unnerving the handsome copper, why not play along?

But when Joel looks at a powerful man's handwriting and sees a murderer, the policeman and the graphologist are plunged into deadly danger. Their enemy will protect himself at any cost--unless the sparring pair can come together to prove his guilt and save each other.

A new KJ Charles is always cause for celebration, and this stand-alone romantic suspense is set in 1924 London. Also color me intrigued by the pairing of a police detective and a handwriting expert!

A Showgirl's Rules for Falling in Love by Alice Murphy

It’s 1897, and a new fashion for thin threatens to end the career of proudly fat vaudeville performer Evelyn Cross. Enter Thomas Gallier, the man behind the new palace of entertainment promising to be the apex of New York City’s theatrical scene. He’s in search of a star for his vaudeville spectacular, and when he hears Evelyn sing, he knows exactly who he needs to grace his stage.

 In a grand finale, present-day narrator Phoebe steps in to reveal secrets and show readers what it really means to claim self-love. Inspired by the true story of a Progressive Era troop of plus-size dancers, this is a story about the spirit of community and the power of romance.

A late-Victorian set against the New York City vaudeville scene that features a present-day narrator as a framing device. I'm not sure how this is gonna work, but I'm intrigued by the premise enough to already have this book locked and loaded on my Kindle. This one is what I call a "pseudo-debut" the author being a "pseudonym of a bestselling author."

Seduced by a Scoundrel by Alyxandra Harvey

Sometimes all you need is a nefarious plot.

And a handsome marquess.

Sybil Taunton has no interest in resting after her last mission, never mind that it left her chained in a cellar. Rest is boring. And when someone begins targeting members of the Spinster Society, Sybil is ready to storm London’s most exclusive gentlemen’s club, steal the infamous betting book, and force her grumpy, oh-so-proper neighbor into helping her.

Keir Montgomery, Marquess Blackburn, prefers order, quiet, and a scandal-free life. Sybil is none of those things. But when her latest scheme pulls them both into the sights of a rival society, he’ll do anything to protect her… including breaking every rule he holds dear.

::Kermit flail:: The third book in Harvey's The Spinster Society series about a secret society of women who protect other women from unscrupulous and dastardly men. Sybil was the "agent" who went missing in the first book in the series, so it's only natural she would eventually turn up as a heroine in her own story.  In order to protect The Spinsters she needs to team up with her neighbor, who I can guarantee is not prepared for the likes of Sybil....

Manic Pixie Dream Earl by Jenny Holiday

When not writing, poet Edward Astley, Viscount Featherfinch, spends his time fending off the young ladies of the ton—and some of its young men—and avoiding his cruel father. As heir to the earldom, Edward knows he must marry someday. Alas, he is already hopelessly in love with someone. Hopeless because not only is Miss Julianna Evans not a member of the aristocracy, she is employed. She is a magazine editor—the only one to publish his work. Also, in all their years of increasingly personal correspondence, they’ve never met.

 

Also, she thinks he’s a woman. Named Euphemia.

 

Julianna is baffled. How can her soul mate not want to meet? Could it be that Euphemia is not the simple country girl she claims to be? Perhaps she’s wealthy. After all, she’s never cashed any of the bank drafts Julianna has sent. Perhaps Euphemia simply doesn’t want rank to come between them. Well, no more. Having extracted the details of a trip Euphemia is planning, Julianna squanders her meager savings and surprises her at the scene.

 

He is very, very surprised. As is she.

 

Now the two will have to decide what is true, what is not, and whether the truest thing of all—love—just might be worth an earldom . . .

He's an heir and secret poet, in love with a wholly unsuitable woman.  The woman in question is his magazine editor, feels as if they are soul mates and slight wrinkle here - thinks he's a woman.  I mean, what could possibly go wrong?  This is the second book in Holiday's Earls Trip series.

Doxy of the Ton by Emily Royal

Mimi La Fleur has survived heartbreak and destitution. The girl she once was is long gone and she never wants to be owned by a man again. She uses her body to earn a living, but her heart, and her pleasure, are not for sale. When she saves the life of a drunken duke, she’s reminded of a world long forgotten. He makes her an offer she can’t refuse—enough money to set her free, provided she agrees to be his mistress for six months.

Alexander Ffortescue, fifth Duke of Sawbridge, is notorious among the ton for indulging in all the vices London has to offer, but after he causes the death of his best friend in an accident, he’s disowned by all. When he’s set upon by brigands outside a tavern, he finds an unlikely saviour in a doxy, whose warm embrace and soft body give him much-needed comfort.

But Mimi is no ordinary doxy. Beneath the façade is a caring, compassionate woman who sees through Alexander’s rakish exterior to the lost soul within.

OMG SHE'S A DOXY!!!!!!!  He's a Duke on the outs with society after a tragic accident, it's the seventh book in the Misfits of the Ton series blah, blah, blah. THIS IS NOT A DRILL, SHE'S A DOXY!!!!!  I broke a nail one-clicking this.

The Lady Makes Her Mark by Susanna Craig

Known only as “Miss C.” Constantia Cooper creates satirical cartoons for Mrs. Goode’s. But her anonymity hides a more shocking secret—one that requires she remain elusive. When a scandal at the magazine threatens to expose her, Constantia packs up and flees. But in her haste, she is struck by a carriage and suffers a blow to the head. Fortunately, she’s rescued by a gentleman. Unfortunately, he is all too familiar. Feigning amnesia seems Constantia’s best strategy . . .

 

Alistair Haythorne, Earl of Ryland, would never turn away a lady in distress—even if he’s often the target of said lady’s biting satire. In fact, while “Miss C.” recuperates, he will have her teach his sisters to draw. Perhaps it will inspire a more flattering portrait of him . . .

 

But secrets make interesting bedfellows and as Constantia and Alistair grow closer, their opinions of one another change—drastically. With love in the air, two things stand between them: Alistair’s need to marry an heiress to keep his family’s estate intact . . . and a series of threats that endanger Constantia’s life. Can what keeps them apart ultimately bring them together?

She's a cartoonist who fakes amnesia when she comes face to face with her favorite subject, the hero. While he's not a fan of her satire, he sees the opportunity to have her teach his sisters to draw while she recuperates from her accident. I mean, what could possibly go wrong? This is the, presumably, final book in the Goode's Guide to Misconduct series / trilogy.

The Chef and the Countess by Karyn Gerrard

Liam Hallahan, illegitimate son of a disreputable duke, carries hidden scars from a childhood living on the streets. Through sheer determination, he acquired an education, took the gaming hall he’d inherited and successfully turned it into a respectable restaurant. Liam isn’t usually surprised by life’s twists and turns…until a widowed Countess is unceremoniously dumped on his doorstep.

Men have ruled Celia Gillingham’s life for as long as she could remember. Orphaned at a young age, her uncle negotiated a marriage for her with an old earl. After her husband’s death, Celia, now alone and penniless, goes back to her uncle’s home, only to find herself dropped off at an East End business by her viscount cousin. He tells Liam that Celia will work off his gaming debt. Instead, Celia asks Liam for a job. And Liam reluctantly agrees, putting the countess to work in his kitchen.

The unlikely pair soon discover a growing respect and a simmering passion—not only for cooking, but each other. Only Celia’s loathsome uncle and cousin haven’t forgotten about her.

An illegitimate son of a Duke inherits a gaming hell and decides to turn it into a restaurant. I mean, a hero who inherits a gaming hell and doesn't make his living off enflaming gambling addictions? WHAT MAGIC IS THIS?!?!?  She's a discarded widow dumped off to pay an odious cousin's gambling debts. This is the second book in The Duke's Bastards series.

The Lady Needs a Rogue by Tara Kingston

She’s happily on the shelf . . .

Heiress MARY CATHERINE MASON has no need of a husband. Shipped off to London to hunt a title—and the pasty lord who would unfortunately come with it—the talented photographer has dodged every suitor her tycoon father has thrown at her. A minor scandal here, a costume malfunction there—Macie has outsmarted the heiress-hunters at every turn. But she doesn’t count on being saddled with a bodyguard, much less a rogue like her brother’s friend, Finn Caldwell. Years earlier, the young rake had been the bane of Macie’s girlish existence. Now, Finn is a man. Taller. More handsome. And even more infuriating. Striking a bargain with her tempting protector, Macie enlists Finn in a romantic charade—surely a besotted bodyguard would deter the stuffy nobles hungry for a taste of her father’s fortune. But when a mysterious threat forces them together, Macie realizes Finn might just be the rogue her secretly tender heart craves.

Her rogue and protector . . .

FINN CALDWELL had one job—seal a crucial business deal with an old friend. But now, the bargain rides on Finn’s ability to keep his friend's sister out of trouble, a feat easier said than done. Macie attracts wolves in gentleman’s clothing and stumbles upon danger while toting her camera through the city. Macie’s unlike any woman he’s ever known—as clever and independent as she is beautiful, she challenges and intrigues him like no other. He wants her in his arms. In his bed. In his heart. But Macie is off-limits—especially to a rogue like him. Until she’s caught up in a perilous mystery, and Finn must put everything on the line to protect her.

Can he prove he’s the man she wants . . . the man she needs? Not for one night, but for the rest of their lives.

This is the second book in the Rogue of Her Own series and features a late Victorian heiress heroine who has no desire to marry and just wants to be left alone to pursue her photography.  She didn't plan on getting stuck with a bodyguard, especially when it's her brother's friend tasked to keep her out of trouble.

Miss Tiffany Has a Secret by Bronwen Evans (Reprint, Updated)

Miss Tiffany Deveraux is more than just a bluestocking, she’s a financial genius hiding behind the plain façade of an orphaned ward. Society sees a penniless, unremarkable girl under the Earl of Marlowe’s care, and Tiffany intends to keep it that way. Her quiet fortune, earned through sharp wit and savvy investments, is a secret she’ll protect at all costs. Because the only way to know if a man truly loves her… is if he believes she has nothing to offer but her heart.

Slade Ware, Marquess of Wolfarth, has the Midas touch, or so the ton believes. Lauded as a brilliant investor, his success is largely luck, and that luck may have just run out. When he learns of Tiffany’s hidden talents and growing wealth, a marriage of convenience seems the ideal solution. She gains protection. He gains stability. Simple. Logical. Unemotional.

But emotions have never followed logic.

As friendship deepens and hidden wounds come to light, what begins as a calculated match risks turning into something neither of them anticipated. Because what Tiffany truly wants isn’t his title or protection, it’s his heart. And that’s the one thing Wolfarth swore he’d never give again.

The first book in The Season of Secrets series is an updated reprint of A Lady Never Surrenders, and this edition also includes the prequel novella, Miss Serena Wakes Up which was previously published as A Lady Never Concedes. Confused yet? Anyway, she's a financial wizard hiding her talents to protect her heart from dishonest men and he's a Marquess whose luck in the financial markets has finally run out. He discovers her secret and a marriage of convenience is born.

A Rogue in Firelight by Susan King (Reissue, Updated)

Ronan MacGregor, laird of Glenbrae, lawyer, distiller, and sometime smuggler, cools his heels in Edinburgh’s dungeon as the city prepares for King George IV’s visit. But when the king asks to meet the distiller of his favorite Highland whisky, Ronan is released into the custody of the deputy lord provost. The Gaelic-speaking Highland rogue must be tidied up for the royal occasion—but he is not what he appears to be.

Ellison Graham, the deputy provost’s widowed, reclusive daughter, agrees to transform the rugged Highlander into a gentleman before the king arrives. Sequestered in the Highlands with MacGregor, she discovers he is highly educated, needs no lessons, refuses a royal audience—and has quickly stolen her heart.

Temporarily free, Ronan strives to help his friends and save his whisky business, never expecting to fall in love with beautiful Ellison, a secret novelist longing for passion and excitement. When a bitter rivalry threatens them, Ellison must face her fears while Ronan must choose between his freedom and his heart.

He's a lawyer, whisky distiller and smuggler rotting in a cell until he's sprung because of King George IV's impending visit. She's a heroine who thinks she's in a Pygmalion trope, but turns out our hero does not need a makeover, and he also has no desire to meet the King.  This is an updated reprint of Laird of Rogues, which is the third book in an out of print trilogy, the first two books featuring fantasy elements (fairies, legends, blah blah blah). However, this updated reissue is now listed as Book 1 in The Whisky Rogues series and nothing in this blurb screams fantasy elements to me. All this to say, I have no idea but it's already downloaded on my Kindle.

Another month with a bonanza crop of Unusual Historicals to be intrigued by and investigate. What are you looking forward to adding to your TBR?