Making Merry: Unusual Historicals for December 2025

Somehow, someway, we've finally made it to December of the hellscape year that has been 2025. While there were definitely highlights to 2025 (Sisters trip to NYC! Ireland with my Big Sister!), I spent a good chunk of this year with a sour mood and bad attitude - which, not great. I've always been a person who skews towards a positive outlook. I don't like being in a bad mood. I don't like taking to my bed like some tragic Victorian heroine. Which is probably why when anyone tells me historical romance is dead I'm likely to dig in my heels.  And since 2025 has been ::handing waving:: all this? I'm digging those heels in out of spite. Know that I'm drafting this post with a glass of whiskey next to my keyboard and the continued foolhardy sense to charge up Romancelandia Hill to save the genre from itself. Happy Holidays, save a sub genre and read a historical romance. 

A Most Worthy Husband by Faye Delacour

Hannah Williams never wanted a marriage like her parents'. She'd be perfectly happy to spend her life as a spinster and support herself by helping to run her sister-in-law's gambling club. But no matter how many schemes Hannah hatches to repel suitors, her mother won't accept defeat. To wrest back control of her life once and for all, Hannah takes drastic measures. She'll ruin herself with a man so unsuitable that no one will force them to the altar, making her unmarriageable forever. What could possibly go wrong?

Silas Corbyn is nothing but trouble. Disinherited by his family and dishonorably discharged from the Navy, the ton has dismissed him without hearing his side of the story. When an old friend gives him work as a dealer at a lady's gambling club, Silas doesn't intend to repay the favor by compromising the man's little sister on his first night, but Hannah offers him an obscene amount of money for just one kiss—money that he could use to build a new life for himself.

Neither of them counted on Hannah's mother rushing them into a hasty marriage. Now they need to find a way to call off their engagement before it's too late. Unless they lose their hearts first. 

Delacour wraps up her Lucky Ladies of London trilogy with the time honored tradition of a heroine who wants to ruin herself. This girl though, thinks her plan is smart - and in theory, it is. She'll ruin herself with a man so dishonorable, so unsuitable, the ruination will not translate into a shotgun marriage. Um, until it does. I'll be honest, I'm in this one for the hero who sounds like he's fallen low indeed. I'm a sucker for a good redemptive arc and characters who need to "grow up." Count me in.

Viking's Royal Marriage Bargain by Michelle Styles

The maiden he never forgot

Becomes the bride he never expected!

Viking Rand is resolute. He will secure a marriage alliance with the kingdom of Islay. But whilst battle-hardened Rand is prepared for enemy attack, he’s wholly unprepared for the proposal to come from Princess Svanna…his first love, before war ripped their lives apart.

A union with Rand could bring peace to their kingdoms, but it's the last thing that Svanna’s hateful stepfather will allow. Not least because she’s been forced to harbour a royal secret that could throw Islay into chaos. Rand’s kiss is still etched into Svanna’s memory, but can she trust the fierce warrior before her?

A hero looking to secure an alliance via marriage (as you do) who didn't count on that proposal coming from his first love. Torn apart by war, the heroine knows the only way to thwart her stepfather and secure peace is to marry the hero - but complications and a Big Secret loom.  Styles is typically a very solid writer within the Harlequin Historical landscape. I'm looking forward to this one. 

The Maid's Masquerade by Catherine Tinley

Undercover as the Earl’s fiancée…

Looking to settle old scores

On a transatlantic voyage, English maid Marguerite hatches a plan with an American heiress to temporarily trade places when they arrive in England. Since being forced into servitude, this is Marguerite’s chance to re-enter Society, and posing as the betrothed of Benedict, Earl of Linford—the man at fault for her circumstances—is the perfect opportunity for revenge! But her anger is soon replaced by an unsettling attraction. Still, Benedict caused her to lose everything once, so she won’t lose her heart to him now—even when he reveals some unexpected truths…

Tinley gives us The Prince and Pauper but with heroines. An English maid pulls the ol' switcheroo with an American heiress, who conveniently is betrothed to the man who ruined the maid's life. But revenge gets complicated with an unexpected attraction and some truth. Naturally this is a duet. The American heiress' romance is set for April 2026.

Of Dukes and Forbidden Words by Sandra Sookoo

If ancient words don’t land them into scandal, their forbidden attraction in a library after hours surely will.

It’s the Christmastide season of 1816 and more than the weather is uncertain. When Barrington (Barr) Combes-Mead, Duke of Scarborough does some renovations to his London townhouse and unearths a book of erotic, Egyptian prose, he immediately wishes to have it translated. If the book proves valuable, he will certainly sell it, yet part of him hopes the book might inspire him to reclaim the excitement he’s missing in his life… somehow.

Miss Catherine Pickwick used to make her living as a governess, but after whispers of scandals, she changed her focus to that of a librarian, because research and study made her happy. As the daughter of a university professor, she is no stranger to ancient cultures and literature. When a duke of some consequence visits her lending library with the request to have an interesting and quite indecent book translated, she can’t wait to take up the challenge. Knowledge was power… wasn’t it?

Perhaps it is the words within the book or a natural attraction, but as the duke and Catherine spend long hours together because of the text or impromptu Christmas preparations, desire bedevils them. Acting upon it only ramps that delicious thrill, but when a series of troubling incidents arise, they assume the book is cursed. When silly antics on Christmas Eve end in assumed disaster, they each must face truths they’ve been avoiding, and perhaps they might find everything they want… if they’re fortunate.

The start of a new series titled Dashing Rogues and Ruined Librarians. THIS IS NOT A DRILL! RUINED LIBRARIANS! Hero lands on the doorstep of heroine's lending library to have an erotic book of Egyptian prose he stumbled across during home renovations translated. Antics and shenanigans ensue. Is the book cursed? This one is already downloaded on my Kindle. 

Go, Rogue by Kay K. Denner

Lady Catherine West is supposed to marry a future viscount. But she leaves him standing at the altar, instead.

Fleeing both scandal and suffocation, she slips aboard The Elphame, a merchant ship bound for Boston and captained by Andrew McGann, the one man least inclined to offer her safe harbor. Captain McGann—half-Scottish, half-Jamaican, and wholly exasperated by the runaway debutante now disrupting his deck—hasn’t spoken to Catherine since their last explosive encounter months ago.

But when navigational errors give way to sabotage, fire, and a violent attack at sea, Andrew is forced to confront the feelings he’s tried to bury. And when he’s kidnapped and taken to Jamaica, Catherine must rely on his slippery first mate, and her own untested instincts, to track him down.

In a land haunted by Andrew’s past and steeped in Catherine’s fear of what comes next, they must choose who they are—and what they’re willing to risk—for freedom, love, and the chance to chart a course all their own.

Second book in The Mavericks series, she's a runaway bride stowing away on a merchant ship to Boston and the hero is the ship's captain, who is short on sympathy and annoyed by the disruption her appearance is causing. High seas adventure, complete with a role-reversal kidnapping (HE'S KIDNAPPED!).

Irene's Fall by Elizabeth Donne

Pride comes before her fall. Love helps her stand again.

Irene Sangford has willingly cast herself as the villain of her own story. After all, her family has taught her that arrogance and manipulation are suitable qualities in a lady if she’s seeking a husband with a title. Especially when there are so few such men to be had, and she is competing with her own sister to snap one of them up.

Nathaniel Macrae not only has no title, he has immersed himself in low society in his role as a secret investigator. Miss Sangford would never have given him a second glance, but when an attempted murder leads his inquiries right to her door, and a shocking secret from her past threatens to unravel her entire life, Irene discovers that Mr. Macrae is more compelling than any man she has ever met.

As Irene’s world falls apart, and she questions everything she has ever known, Nathaniel becomes her anchor in life’s greatest storm. Except this storm threatens to destroy them both. They will have to challenge everything they know and trust each other if they are to survive and find the love that has eluded them.

Fifth book in the Ladies of Munro series has our heroine trying to land a husband while competing with her own sister, only to become intrigued by our hero who has little money, no title and works for a living as a "secret investigator." He wants answers and she's got secrets. Marriages have been built on less. 

The Widow's Vow by Rachel Brimble

From grieving widow...

1851, England. After her merchant husband saved her from a life of prostitution, Louisa Hill was briefly happy as a housewife in Bristol. But then a constable arrives at her door. Her husband has been found hanged in a Bath hotel room, a note and a key to a property in Bath she knew nothing about the only things she has left of him.

To a new life as a madam…

Knowing the debt collectors will arrive any moment, Louisa must leave everything she knows behind, and move to Bath. But left with no means of income, Louisa knows she has little choice but to return to but her old way of life. But this time, she’ll do it on her own terms – by turning her new home into a brothel for upper class gentleman. And she’s determined the horrors she was forced to endure in the past are not experienced by the girls she saves from the streets.

Enlisting the help of Jacob Jackson, a quiet but feared boxer, to watch over the house, Louisa is about to embark on a life she never envisaged. Can she find the courage to forge this new path?

A word of warning upfront that this one might be "romance adjacent," but I am nothing if not predictable for my love of heroines who have "reputations." A former prostituted rescued from the life by her husband, inherits a property after his death. Desperate and with debts to pay, she decides to open a high-end brothel (as you do). It's the mention of the "feared boxer" she hires to watch over the house and business that intrigues me here. Also, 1851 - which puts us smack dab in the Victorian era (I love me a good Victorian). This is the first in a proposed trilogy.

Obliteration by Kathryn Le Veque

An inheritance that involves… wine, women, and song??

Sir Jareth de Leybourne is the moral compass of the legendary Guard of Six—a noble knight known for honor, logic, and restraint. But when his wealthy uncle dies, Jareth inherits far more than land and coin. He inherits a scandal that could destroy everything he stands for.

Summoned to the bustling medieval city of Bristol, Jareth discovers his uncle’s fortune was built on a discreet but wildly profitable enterprise: Aphrodite’s Feast, an elegant brothel and gambling hell quietly tolerated for its philanthropy. The business funds churches, education, and charity—but its existence threatens Jareth’s reputation as one of England’s most honorable knights.

Running Aphrodite’s Feast is Lady Desdra le Daire, a brilliant, sharp-tongued woman burdened by secrets of her own. Neither a courtesan nor a criminal, Desdra is a spinster by choice, using her education to manage the operation that saved her life. From the moment she and Jareth meet, sparks fly—clashing ideals, forbidden attraction, and undeniable chemistry.

As Jareth struggles to reconcile duty, honor, and inheritance, a deadly truth emerges: his uncle had a powerful enemy who now wants Jareth dead. Worse still, Desdra is caught in the middle—and the man threatening her life is her own father. 

To save Desdra and protect his honor, Jareth must confront betrayal, corruption, and a love that could cost him everything.

Unusual Historicals, come for the browsing, stay for the books featuring brothels. Part of the Guards of Six medieval series, a noble knight inherits more than he bargained for when his wealthy uncle dies - namely the business that supplied that wealth, a brothel. Good God man, he has a reputation to uphold! Complicating matters is the heroine, who runs the operation and her father, who not-so-conveniently wants them both dead. 

A Courtship at Linlithgow by Kate Robbins

A carefully orchestrated plot, or a chance encounter? Their love burns through all doubt.

Marion Baird’s biggest problem is her mother’s greed. Excited to explore King James’s court, Marion wishes to avoid being flaunted in front of future prospects like a prized cow. She would rather explore the lavish castle grounds and library at Linlithgow Palace. That is until she encounters a man straight out of legend she can neither ignore nor deny.

Alexander Campbell, Earl of Argyll has accepted an invitation to the King’s summer tourney. While the exercise is welcome, the society is wrought with drooling mothers and daughters anxious to display their lack of talent and grace. This event will prove no different. He encounters a bewitching lady in the gardens during the masked ball and what follows will be burned onto his soul for all time.

Caught between scandal and prejudice, Marion and Alexander must decide if their passion is real or the product of a carefully orchestrated plot.

A heroine who just wants to enjoy court by exploring the grounds and the library must contend with her mother parading her around like a prized cow at King James' court. Our hero accepts an invitation to participate in a summer tournament, but isn't all that anxious to thwart off matchmaking mamas. Stuff happens, these two have an interlude of sorts, and scandal ensues. The question being, was it orchestrated and by whom?  This is the first book in the Thistle and Rose series. 

A Taste of Gold by Sara Adrien

Her silence protects the man she loves and hides the woman she is.

Miss Maisie Morgenschein is very good at pretending everything is fine. Guardian to an orphaned marquess, she remains calm and protects a dangerous truth: nobody must know her real name—which makes it impossible for her lost love to find her, and that’s what she wants most. She still writes him letters she can’t send, not knowing where he is. A connection to her might lead the villain to him.

Dr. Felix Leafley, Harley Street’s most sought-after dentist, uses an English alias to keep his patients—and the other doctors at the practice—safe. Years ago, he was a medical student with Maisie in his arms. When circumstances tore them apart, they vowed to find each other. But passion refuses to stay polite, and secrets refuse to stay buried.

She can’t use her real name to find him. He can’t use his to be found.

The result? A duel of aliases, near-miss letters, and one dangerously perfect kiss.

But just as Felix and Maisie dare to speak their names, the villain closes in—and the truth may cost them the one thing neither believed possible: a future together.

This is the fifth book in Adrien's Miracles on Harley Street series featuring various medical professionals. She's a guardian to an orphaned marquess and hiding her identity "for reasons." He's a dentist and the one who got away and is also using an alias "for reasons." These two crazy kids were in love and torn apart but now can't find each other because....they're both using aliases "for reasons." Near misses and second chances set against the backdrops of Vienna and London.

This is it, the last Unusual Historical post of 2025. I hope you all enjoyed reading about them, browsing, and hopefully found some new historical romances to try. This feature isn't going anywhere anytime soon. It'll be back for 2026!