I know we've all been mourning the "death" of historical romance but y'all these posts are getting to be a lot of work for a sub genre apparently in it's death rattle phase. And while I realize some of the books featured this month are with traditional publishers who are dropping contracts, we still are managing to get seventeen books in August - and honestly there's likely a few more floating around out there. These are just the ones that landed in front of my eyeballs and made my "short list." So I hope you're limbered up and grabbed yourself a snack, we're all going to be here for a while.
A forbidden desire......for his enemy captor!Mourning his wife and unborn child, Saxon warrior Ryce has found solace behind the walls of a monastery and become a priest-in-training. Then Viking shieldmaiden Alivia, blazing with righteous fury, attacks and takes Ryce captive.Ryce must resist the spark between him and his captor. For he’s vowed to devote his life to the priesthood, and to her, he represents the enemy who killed her family. Forced to work together to protect their people, impetuous and fierce Alivia reignites his warrior instincts. Now Ryce has a choice: return to his duty, or embrace a new future with Alivia by his side?
Y'all this one might be my number one with a bullet for August. A hero in deep mourning decides to pack it all in and become a priest. She's a pissed off shieldmaiden who takes him captive "for reasons." Look, not gonna lie, the power dynamics in captive romances can get real icky, real quick, but the role-reversal and SHIELDMAIDEN!!!!!
As the youngest and most rebellious daughter of the overly protective Luna family, Gabriela Luna Valdés claws after her freedom in any way she can. This time, her hunger for adventure has led her aboard a windswept ship bearing for her homeland, away from a mob of fumbling British suitors. But Gabby can’t escape her father’s expectation that she settle down to find a proper husband—a compromise she’s unwilling to make.For Sebastian Brooks, Duke of Whitfield, the trip to Mexico is his last chance. His last chance to rectify his family’s estate and refill their dwindling coffers. And his last chance to match wits with the sharp-tongued but deliciously tempting Gabriela.When Gabby finds herself in need of a hasty escape, Sebastian agrees to assist her…but their close proximity sparks a red-hot passion that could ruin all their plans. With scandal looming, can Sebastian convince Gabby his regard is sincere or will she sail away with his heart?
The final book in The Luna Sisters trilogy features the youngest, rebellious (aren't they always?) sister determined to not settle for a milquetoast British husband but stuck due to her father's expectations. So she does what one must - she boards a ship to Mexico and lands straight into the arms of our hero, making the trip in the hopes of bringing his finances back up to scratch.
How can Lady Sylvia save herself from financial ruin?Step 1: Move to the seaside for the summer, where there will be no shortage of wealthy bachelors holidaying.Step 2: Strike a deal with local farmer Hannah. If Hannah can help Sylvia bag a rich husband, Sylvia will fund Hannah’s dream of opening a cheese shop.Step 3: Charm their way into luncheons, parties and exclusive balls, but do not start to confuse friendship with romantic feelings for Hannah.Step 4: Focus on her fortune-hunting scheme and do not let her heart get carried away by her unexpected and magical kiss with Hannah!
Fortune hunter needs to marry, but make it Sapphic. She's a fortune hunter one step away from total ruin and seeks the help of a local farmer by dangling the promise of opening her own cheese shop. The game, as they say, is afoot. If they could only ignore the inconvenient attraction simmering between them.
He destroyed her dreams. She'll destroy his heart.Charlotte Grace fought her way from the gutters of London to become England's first female barrister—until the man she loved betrayed her with devastating precision. Forced into marriage with her betrayer, she discovers a truth that shatters everything she thought she knew about their relationship.Andrew Creswell, the Earl of Carlisle, thought he was protecting what was his. Instead, he's unleashed hell. When forced to choose between his fortune and Charlotte's future, he makes a decision that will haunt them both forever. Now, as Charlotte flees and his empire crumbles, he faces the ultimate choice: cling to what he bled to build or sacrifice everything to become the man worthy of her forgiveness.The question isn't whether love can survive betrayal—it's whether either of them will survive the flames of their own making.
First in The Daring Damsels series gives readers enemies to lovers, a marriage of convenience that heads south quickly, and a second chance romance wrapped around a wrong-side-of-the-tracks heroine who pulls herself up to become England's first female barrister. I'm kind of stupid excited about this one!
All Clara Cooper wants is something exciting to happen to her for a change. She chafes against the constraints of her society, which would rather see her married off than achieve her artistic dreams. A surprise inheritance turns her life on its head, opening doors she’d never dreamed of.Addie Barnes is nothing if not pragmatic. Getting by on nothing but her wits and her looks, she turns her savvy eye to Clara and her secret fortune. If she can become Clara’s companion, she’ll be set for life. She initially sees Clara as a means to an end, but as their connection deepens, she grapples with conflicting emotions.Amidst the tumultuous backdrop of the Great Depression, can they find redemption and love in the face of adversity?
An artist heroine who unexpectedly comes into a fortune and a heroine who marks said artist heroine as her meal ticket. Then, of course, those darn pesky feelings start to get in the way....
Stranded in India after being dismissed without a reference, governess Beatrice Layton exchanges her freedom for passage home to England, taking a position with the only family that will hire her. But Bea hasn’t reckoned for just how dreadful her new employers will be. Stuck with them at sea in increasingly desperate circumstances, she finds an unlikely champion in the injured ex-soldier traveling aboard their ship.Colonel Jack Beresford has spent the last fourteen years serving in Her Majesty’s Army. Though time has lent him maturity, it hasn’t dulled the roguish impulses of his youth. When he’s confronted with the tantalizing prospect of a damsel in distress, he naturally steps in to rescue her. His solution? An engagement of convenience, of course. One that will last only as long as their voyage.But once back on land, Jack and Bea’s simple arrangement is beset by complication after complication. There are former passengers to contend with, and meddling society matrons. Most complicated of all, there’s Jack’s family—his parents, siblings, and precocious nieces and nephews—all of whom seem to think that Bea might be perfect for him. Jack is beginning to think so too. All that remains is to convince bold, beguiling Bea that he’s perfect for her.
The sixth (and final?) book in the author's Somerset Stories series. Desperate heroine takes the only job available to her in order to get herself back to England finds a champion in a colonel who has spent the last fourteen years serving in the army. A fake engagement is only meant to help her out in her current situation, it's not actually supposed to lead to love.
Susanna’s husband is dead, and all she feels is relief. Or, rather, relief is what she would feel, if his death hadn’t left her penniless and in jeopardy of losing her estate. And then there is that other small matter she would prefer not to think about — someone is leaving her anonymous love notes, and the writer is growing bolder by the day.It seems that everything is going wrong for Susanna, until Benedict Stanton, railway magnate and the man she has secretly loved since childhood, appears like her own personal knight on a white horse with an offer to help. But the gentleman she hopes will solve all her problems soon sparks complications of his own, chief amongst them an insatiable lust that proves as all-consuming as it is dangerous.Because there is someone watching from the shadows, someone willing to kill to make Susanna his.Someone who has, perhaps, killed before . . .
The death of an undesirable husband is just the start of the heroine's problems when she realizes she's now penniless and has picked up a stalker. He's a railway magnate and the man she's been in love with since childhood. This is the third book in The Tempting Tycoons trilogy.
In 1880 a baby was stolen from the wealthiest family in America. Though no ransom was ever demanded, the Pendelton family never gave up hope . . . and their reward became the stuff of legend.After being raised in a children’s asylum, Josie Smith ends up on the streets and quickly learns how to take care of herself. Her singing voice draws crowds on every corner, and she’ll stop at nothing to become famous and travel the world, loved and adored by all. Maybe then she won’t think about the family who gave her away as an infant.Leo Hardy isn’t afraid to use his charm and wits to make a fast buck, especially with a mother and five siblings to support. When he stumbles upon a beautiful young woman singing on the street, Leo notices her striking resemblance to the infamous missing baby’s mother, Mrs. Thomas Pendelton. The Hardys lost everything thanks to the Pendeltons, and once Leo sees Josie, he seizes the opportunity to settle the score. All he needs to do is pull off the biggest swindle of his career.As the two are catapulted into Knickerbocker High Society, they grow closer to their goal, as well as to each other. But secrets can only stay hidden for so long. Soon the truth unfolds, and both Josie and Leo must separate what’s real from what’s just gilding.
A stand-alone riff on Anastasia that is told in dueling first person point of view. Y'all that makes me feel some kind of way, but nobody wants to read my screed which will basically be chalked up to Middle-Aged Woman Yelling At Clouds. Will this attract readers who normally turn up their nose at historical romance? Time will tell.
He’s always loved her. A seaside holiday provides his chance.Anne Winthrop, the Dowager Marchioness of Litchfield, is a widow out of mourning. At her daughter’s encouragement, Anne decides their Brighton holiday will make for a good place to test the waters of romance. Though she knows firsthand how marriage puts women at risk, it would be fun to dance again. And a seaside romance does promise to be perfectly fleeting.Victor McNab’s life is exactly how he wants it. His pub, The Harp & Thistle, is thriving. His brothers are happily married. After the three of them grew up as orphans on the streets of Whitechapel, Victor is satisfied with how their lives have turned out. Unfortunately, his unwanted destiny looms. Victor learns his grandfather, the Duke of Invermark, is dying. And Victor, who wants nothing to do with the ton, is next in line.Horrified by the news, Victor confides in his closest friend, Anne. She encourages him to join his brothers in Brighton, where she will help him reenter the ton. Victor witnesses the attention beautiful Anne attracts and becomes unraveled by a revelation: he wants her for himself. But as someone who has never before desired romance in any form, Victor must uncover what this means or he risks ruining the most important friendship of his life.Love and friendship may go hand in hand. But they can also crash and burn together.
Well of course he turns out to be the heir to a Dukedom which is about as unusual as the terrible lemonade at Almack's. But, and hear me out, he's also a tavern owner and she's a Dowager Marchioness whose daughter (implying said heroine is "older") thinks it would be good for Mom to get back "out there" and have some fun. This third book in The Harp & Thistle trilogy gives readers a friends to lovers trope and, apparently, a virgin hero!
He’s never failed a mission…until her.Hunter is the most lethal member of the infamous Band of Bastards, a warrior known for working alone, living by a strict code, and finishing every mission with cold precision. Distractions are dangerous. And no distraction is more dangerous than the lady goldsmith who’s haunted his dreams for two years and threatens to crack the shell around his unworthy heart.Anora has no choice but to take matters into her own hands. With her father aging and her brother gone, the burden of protecting their goldsmithing business, and uncovering the thief sabotaging it, falls squarely on her shoulders. When clues lead her to Castle Whyte, she risks everything to sneak inside and recover the stolen jewels.But she never expects to run into Hunter.For two years, he’s shared meals with her father but ignored her completely. Now, not even her protests can stop the infuriating man from interfering with her mission, or protecting her at every turn.Forced into an uneasy alliance, Anora and Hunter must navigate danger, desire, and the undeniable pull between them. She doesn’t know he’s in love with her. He doesn’t believe he’s worthy of her. But he’ll break every rule he’s ever lived by if it means keeping her safe.Even if it means losing everything else.
The third book in the Band of Bastards medieval trilogy features a loner warrior hero partnered with a goldsmith (!) heroine determined to find the thief targeting her family's livelihood. With her brother gone, and her father now an old man, the burden lands on her, and the warrior who has spent time at her father's table.
A prince in exile. A nurse with everything to lose. One scandalous kiss could destroy them both—or rewrite their fates forever.Wendy Folsham has spent her life holding things together: her brother’s legacy, her patients’ lives, and the sterling reputation of 87 Harley Street. As the trusted nurse in London’s most daring medical practice, she’s the calm at the center of chaos. Falling for a man—let alone a prince—was never part of her plan.Especially not this prince.Prince Stan von Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen has spent his life shielding others—from secrets, from scandal, and from the quiet political storm he finds himself at the center of. Everyone close to him becomes a target. That’s why he keeps his distance. But Wendy Folsham changes everything. She’s competent, composed, and utterly irresistible. She saved his life when no one else could. But when Wendy kisses him in the clinic, everything shifts. His wounds may have healed, but now his heart is at war. Because the closer she gets, the more he wants her. And the more he wants her, the more he knows he could destroy her.Loving her isn’t safe. But letting her go might be impossible.And he can’t touch her without risking everything she’s built – everything he admires.She can’t let him go without risking her heart.As secrets rise, lives and reputations hang in the balance, Stan and Wendy must decide: protect their futures—or surrender to a love that could ruin them.
Royalty in historical romance is not unusual but y'all I am trash for a nurse heroine and this one is named Wendy! Hey, it's my blog, I'm allowed to make up the rules as I go along. This is the fourth book in the Miracles on Harley Street series.
A spy with nothing to lose. A lady longing for excitement. A passion neither can resist.Oliver Black clawed his way out of the gutters of London, only to be thrust in the shadows once more—this time as a covert agent for the Crown. Wounded during a mission gone bad, he finds himself with nowhere to turn but the doorstep—well, balcony—of the one woman he knows he’ll never be able to forget.Emily Tailor, the fiercely curious daughter of a notorious Covent Garden madam, has lived the sheltered life of a princess in a tower. But when Oliver crashes into her world, bloodied and desperate, she seizes the chance to have the adventure she’s always craved. Posing as his lover, she joins him on a dangerous journey to a hedonistic house party where nothing is as it seems.With secrets swirling and seduction in the air, every glance ignites forbidden longing. As Emily and Oliver navigate a treacherous game of deception, the line between performance and reality blurs.Danger waits in the shadows—but so does desire…
A wounded spy who came up from the gutter lands on the doorstep of a fairy tale princess, if said princess was the daughter of a notorious madam. He needs her to pose as his mistress to infiltrate a notorious house party and she desperately wants to escape her tower. This is the second book in the Spy Society series.
Advice columnist Miss Vivian Henry hates how the Wild Wynchesters flaunt so many privileges ordinary people could never emulate. But when her beloved cousin goes missing and the authorities shrug, Viv has no choice but to beg for help from the vigilantes she despises.Aspiring poet Jacob Wynchester prefers animals to people. He’d rather stay behind the safety of a quill than interact with prickly clients. But when he's appointed lead investigator, Jacob finds he admires Vivian's resourcefulness and intelligence—including the sharp wit he must parry. As they team up to rescue her kidnapped cousin, they discover just how compatible they are.Together, they must not only save the day, but also decide how far they’re willing to go to be who they really are. And determine whether their partnership is a mistake… or the missing piece that completes them.
An advice columnist heroine with no love for the hero's family finds herself needing their help when her cousin goes missing. Our hero is a poet who would rather hide behind his pen and spend time with animals than his family's clients. This is the sixth book in the author's Wild Wynchesters series.
Articulate and intelligent, Lady Augusta Peabody avoids Society's censure by secretly publishing her political essays under the pen name "Firebrand." But despite all outward efforts to behave like a proper lady at the balls she can’t avoid attending, she finds herself tripping into awkward encounters with the roguish Earl of Dunham and igniting a fiery war of words between them.Bored with life as a rake, Marcus has decided to use his position in Parliament to champion Firebrand's cause, never dreaming that the reclusive writer is the headstrong young lady with whom he's constantly clashing.When the truth comes out, Augusta reluctantly allows Marcus to help her investigate the gentleman she suspects of running a dastardly criminal enterprise. Sparks continue to fly between them—and accidentally ignites new passions that could destroy them both if their cunning enemy has his way . . .
Originally published in 2000 by Signet's traditional Regency Romance line, this is a self-published reprint the author is branding as Book Five in the Intrepid Heroines series. A heroine who writes political essays and a hero determined to change his rakish ways by championing the writers' causes - not realizing of course that the Firebrand is the headstrong young woman who vexes him.
He has never forgotten how he failed her!Gavin King has been with the Bow Street Runners for years, with twenty men who report directly to him—a handful of whom he trusts implicitly to handle any issues that come up regarding the Duke of Wyndmere and his family. King has investigated crimes that still keep him up nights. One of those crimes involved the gruesome sight of Lord Hughes’s body stuffed into a sea chest. Though he solved Hughes’s murder, and the killer was brought to trial, he will never forget the anguished look, nor the tears that followed, when he delivered the news to Lady Lucretia Montfort as he promised. God help him, he felt helpless bearing witness to her pain.She has no choice but to enter the Lyon’s Den!Widowed for a decade, Lady Montfort hoped to find contentment when Lord Hughes proposed a marriage of convenience. His brutal murder was the catalyst for the recent salacious rumors, and the wager in White’s betting book that threaten the widow’s reputation.King vows to keep another promise, one that he made to himself—that he would place Lady Montfort under his broad wing of protection. The rumors escalate and turn ugly. King receives an urgent missive from one of his longtime contacts, Mrs. Bessie Dove-Lyon, advising that Lucretia has asked for her help finding a husband. King demands Bessie sever the contract. She refuses. Little does he know Mrs. Dove-Lyon has a plan of her own!
Part of the long-running Lyon's Den continuity world, our hero is a Bow Street Runner (in management no less!) who solved the murder of the heroine's intended, a Lord she was hoping to enter into a marriage of convenience with for "reasons" that soon threaten her reputation. Things get complicated when he finds out she's sent out a call to find another husband.
What’s dangerous, necessary, and arranged at the Lyon’s Den? A marriage of convenience between childhood friends.Felix Canterbury, Viscount Foxton will never return to his childhood home. Nothing but nightmares there. He’s happy to gamble the house away to win a bride at the Lyon’s Den. Especially since his beloved grandfather is demanding he marry… and soon. Felix never expects the prize bride to be his childhood friend, the woman he deliberately enraged.Miss Caroline Maxwell needs a house for the women's refuge she’s building. Even if it means landing a husband along with it. She doesn’t need love, after all. She already gave her heart away to Felix, who promptly dropped it. With the Widow of Whitehall’s help, she snags a husband and a house with ease.The house is perfect.The husband—and arrogant and all too virile Felix—not so much.They agree to a marriage in name only, but when circumstances trap them in the house he hates, desire tests their resolve.Unless Caroline can help Felix overcome his childhood ghosts, fear will shape their futures instead of love.
Yep, another Lyon's Den book for August. This one features a hero determined to gamble away a house that holds nothing but bad memories and a heroine who needs a house to build a women's refuge. She's not exactly keen on the idea of a husband coming along with said house, but needs must and all that.
Louisa Northcott faces her second Season with quiet resolve. Her first wasn’t disastrous, but it failed to deliver the heart-stirring romance she craves. She longs for more than a “suitable” match, she wants someone who quickens her pulse. She never expects to meet such a man before even leaving for London.Maxwell Harlow, a tall, handsome, and aloof Anglo-Scottish industrialist, captures her attention the moment she encounters him in the stables at Highfield. He’s in Yorkshire to lease the vacant Northcott Manor, Louisa’s family estate, but he’s already engaged to an aristocratic bride. Disappointed, Louisa turns her focus back to the coming Season.Maxwell, meanwhile, has never sought marriage. Focused solely on success during Britain’s Industrial Revolution, he has little interest in anything that might compromise his autonomy. But when Lord Dent, an indebted viscount, offers his daughter’s hand for a fee, Maxwell initially declines. Purchasing a bride leaves a bitter taste. Yet the appeal of securing a noble connection leads him to accept the deal. With a wedding planned, he seeks a home for his future wife, which brings him to Northcott Manor. There, he notices Captain Northcott’s eldest daughter, but Louisa is off-limits.Still, fate intervenes. At a London society event, Maxwell and Louisa cross paths again. One innocent yet careless moment alters everything, throwing their lives into turmoil. Maxwell must choose between the rigid control of his career and the unpredictable stirrings of his heart.Louisa refuses to give up hope. She believes Maxwell will come to love her, truly, deeply. But her faith is tested, again and again.Just as happiness seems within reach, a devastating crisis threatens everything. Louisa begins to question whether Maxwell ever truly cared. Has she misjudged him? Has he deceived her all along?
The start of new Highfield Hall series finds our heroine wanting something more than a "suitable match" and unfortunately the man quickening her pulse is a industrialist who is already engaged to be married - no matter it's merely transactional involving her family connections and his money. But of course they run into each other again and of course complications ensue.
Whew! I won't tell you how long it took me to draft this post but we made it! I hope you found something to tickle your fancy this month. What are you looking forward to reading?
1 comment:
HOW DID I MISS THIS MATTHEWS RELEASE? (small press? self-published? no idea, but I apparently need to check my author newsletter subscriptions, because HOW DID I MISS IT)
Of course, I want most of these--and have an embarrassing number of them already in the overwhelming TBR--but some books just scream your name, don't they.
Aside: I *cackled* at the "It's my blog, I'm allowed to make up the rules"--the synchronicity is delicious, as my own formal review policy posted this morning at my blog.
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