April Showers: Unusual Historicals for April 2026

Y'all, I recommend before you start reading this post that you hydrate, stretch and do some breathing exercises because we have 17 (!) titles featured in this month's Unusual Historicals post. Even if I discount the two late March releases that I didn't catch in time for last month, and the one reprint, we're still looking at 14 (!) titles. I feel a little like a car salesman advertising on local television in a loud plaid jacket declaring a bonanza of choices! Everything must go! Done with stretching? Have something drink? OK then, let's dive in...

How to Fake It in Society by KJ Charles

It is 1821 and Nicolas-Marc, Comte de Valois de La Motte is making a splash in London Society. The son of Jeanne de Valois de La Motte, infamous for stealing a priceless diamond necklace meant for Marie Antoinette, Nico hopes to restore his wronged mother's reputation, if only he can raise the funds. But he must operate with great secrecy, because the Bourbon dynasty murdered his mother, and he fears for his life.

At least, that's what he tells Titus Pilcrow. Titus was a simple shopkeeper, making and selling artists' paints, when he found himself suddenly married to an immensely wealthy woman who wanted to disinherit her nephew on her deathbed. As word spreads of his fortune, Titus finds himself a target of every scammer and beggar in London...including one Nicolas-Marc, Comte de Valois de La Motte.

Nico is on his last legs, out of money, and on the run from some terrifying gangsters. When Titus offers Nico a space in his household, it's the perfect chance for him to exploit London's newest golden purse--until he falls in love with the man he needs to cheat. Still, Nico is sure they can have a happy ending together. If he can just find his way out of his own web of lies...

We've got a con man with gangsters on his tail and a shopkeeper who comes into a windfall who has every fortune hunter gunning for him - including the con man. Naturally the con man ends up falling for his mark, and complications ensue. As if gangsters weren't complicated enough...

Never After by Alexis Hall

On the grim streets of London, a young man succumbs to his demons. Discarded by his lover and left penniless and alone, Michael “Micha” Dashwood uses sex to pay the bills and opium to numb the pain.

When a sudden illness strikes, all seems lost. But hope finds Micha in the shape of the Reverend Thomas Mandeville. Haunted by grief of his own, Thomas cannot bear to ignore another man’s plight. He brings the ailing Micha home to heal in his parish at Nettlefield.

As Micha recovers under Thomas’s care, he begins to realize that some people in this world are worthy of trust. Thomas, in turn, learns the truth of his own needs and desires. Between the secrets of the past and the burdens of the present, their future together seems impossible. Questions of faith and the shadow of opium continue to haunt them both.

Yet possibilities, like miracles, can be found wherever you look for them.

An opium addicted hustler falls ill (surprise!) and is rescued by a grieving Reverend. Y'all I just....

Stolen by Her Viking Enemy by Roxy Harper

Swords are drawn…

sparks will fly!

For years, shieldmaiden Kara has suffered her stepfather’s cruelties to ensure her secret daughter’s safety. So being seized at swordpoint by Aksel, her stepfather’s ruthless enemy, feels like switching one captivity for another. Until glimpses of the man beneath the armor have her wondering if her captor could be her savior…

Raised in Constantinople, Aksel has returned to his Viking roots to avenge the destruction of his grandfather’s jarldom. Taking Kara was just part of his revenge. But when he realizes they have a common enemy, can his betrayal-scarred heart learn to trust—and love—again?

Shieldmaiden heroine under the thumb of a wicked stepfather is taken captive by an enemy of said stepfather, and well this situation is not any better...or is it?

The Duke's Got Mail by Samara Parish

Anonymous love letters are all well and good… until you discover you’ve been flirting with the enemy.

 

Eleanor Wright is the best compositor in London and in high demand with every printing press in town. But when whispers spread of a new machine that could put her out of a job, writing to a mysterious pen pal quickly becomes her only relief from a life that’s coming apart like a badly bound book.

Peter Montgomery, Duke of Strafford, has spent years trying to get his estate out of debt. Now he finally has the solution in a machine set to revolutionize the publishing industry. If only finding a wife was as straightforward. Peter wants a lady who cares about him, not his title. Someone like his charming, witty pen pal—the only person in London who knows his most intimate secrets but not his real name. But when Peter’s invention makes them bitter rivals in person, can the bond they’ve created on paper survive the test?

A riff on The Shop Around the Corner (or You Got Mail - whatever) featuring a typesetter heroine and a hero hoping that his invention that would make her job obsolete will haul his estate out of debt. It's straight up enemies to lovers with the added the wrinkle that neither of them realize they're pen pals. 

Becoming His Dollar Duchess by Bronwyn Scott

She’s entirely unsuitable…

but everything he desires!

To gain control of her family’s sourdough empire, American heiress Zephyrine Duval must marry a titled Englishman—or her father’s dubious choice! Beginning her husband hunt among London’s high society, she encounters the divinely handsome, British as tea, but thoroughly disapproving Hale Eberley, Duke of Sunderland…

Hale has no desire or need for a dollar princess bride. Except the grumpy duke is begrudgingly drawn to vivacious Zephy’s sunny charm! So when Zephy sets her sights on a rakehell for a husband, Hale is compelled to step in…but will he meet her at the altar himself?

Repeat after me: SOURDOUGH HEIRESS!!!!!

The Undercover Heiress by Catherine Tinley

An innocent deception…

could cost her everything!

Voyaging to England and the fiancé she’s never met, Manhattan heiress Sophia Van Bergen is desperate for one last adventure before becoming an ornamental wife. She convinces her late aunt’s maid to swap places temporarily, giving her access to an exciting new below stairs world at the Earl of Hartington’s estate. But when she starts to fall for her employer, Sophia realizes she’s in for a bigger adventure than she bargained for! Hart is in search of a wealthy wife, and Sophia has the money to save him, but will the cost of revealing her deception prove too high?

This is the second book in Tinley's The Prince and the Pauper inspired duet. She's an American heiress looking for one last adventure, posing as her late aunt's maid - and then she has to go and fall in love with her employer. Um, oops!

A Dangerous Chemistry by Jo Benedict

The bastard daughter of an underworld crime lord wouldn't usually be a candidate to deliver vengeance, but she’s never been conventional…

London 1888

Frankie Smith has waited long years to bring her father, a powerful crime lord, to justice after he murdered someone she loved. Now that he’s kidnapped a high-profile heiress, Frankie teams up with the girl’s fiancé to make sure the crime doesn’t go unpunished.

Scientist Thaddeus Bruce, Viscount Caldwell, is on the verge of developing a method to sanitize public water. He’s also flat broke. To finance his research, he’s agreed to marry a sweet-tempered heiress who shares his passion for chemistry. So when a strange woman arrives in his washroom and claims his new fiancée has been kidnapped, he’ll do whatever he must to recover her--even follow this street rat into the St. Giles underworld.

Together, they search for answers and discover secrets that span oceans. But though pursuing criminals proves increasingly dangerous, their greatest risk may be the chemistry between them.

Illegitimate daughter of a late Victorian crime lord has vowed vengeance against Dear Old Dad. When Daddy kidnaps an heiress, our heroine teams up with the chit's scientist fiancée to rescue her - and then they have to go and do a silly thing like fall in love. 

The Heart of a Rake by Abigail Bridges

Their primary goal in Society is just to have fun. Until two four-year-olds—and the possibility of economic ruin—change everything.

Lord Mark Rydell is a rakehell known for entertaining the widows and lonely wives of the ton, with no interest in marriage. A veteran of the Peninsular War, he is rumored to have been involved in more than a few boxing matches and duels, most arising from his sarcastic wit and lack of respect for all things Society. He has a mistress, the controlling interest in a gaming hell, and no desire to change any of it.

Lady Judith Lovelace, now the dowager countess of Sculthorpe, has turned her widowhood into an ongoing party. Thirty-eight and dedicated to making the best of her beauty and stamina while they last, she is determined to entertain as many of the young blades of Society as possible. Her only other focus is her three sons, whom she adores with her whole heart.

So when her devious stepson pointedly introduces her to the charming Lord Mark Rydell, Judith knew some wicked scheme was afoot. She remains suspicious even as she’s inexplicably drawn to the handsome rogue’s clever wit. She knows he has secrets—what man doesn’t? So does she.

But it will be her stepson’s secrets that threaten everything they hold dear. As their lives unravel, Mark and Judith join forces to prevent the impending ruin, even if it means all the secrets will be brought into the light.

He's a rake, she's a merry widow, and they're introduced by her wicked stepson who is up to something, but what exactly? With ruin about to rain down upon their heads they have no choice but to join forces.

The Trouble with Seduction by Jess Michaels

After watching her two sisters fall in love and marry, courtesan Julia Comerford is ready to get out of the life. She thinks the best way to do it is to marry her current protector, a viscount whose sweet words are everything she longs to hear. Only one problem: he has a serious, nosy and entirely too attractive cousin who is trying to tear them apart.

Despite being younger, Alexander has been trying to clean up his cousin's messes for years. This engagement to an infamous courtesan is just the latest. Only the more he gets to know Julia, the more he sees her for the irresistible, intelligent person she is. And the most he realizes that it isn’t his cousin who needs to be saved from her…but her who needs to be saved from family.

As the engagement falls apart, the anger and passion between these two opposites bubbles over, leading to a passion that is as unexpected as it is explosive. But there are going to be consequences to what Alexander has done. And it may only be Julia who can save him in the end.

This is the third book in the authors Comerford Courtesans series that features, well - courtesan heroines. She's looking for a way out and thinks marrying her current protector is the way to do that. Standing in her way? The man's highly annoying, and attractive, cousin. 

Duchess in Diamonds by Jennifer Ashley

London, 1816

When Eamon calls on the widowed Duchess of Aylesmore to assess her late husband’s art collection, he hardly imagines she’ll be young, lovely, and in desperate straits. Caro Aylesmore, raising her nine-year-old son alone and drowning in her husband’s debts, hopes the paintings will save them.

Dragged across Europe by his trickster father, Eamon learned all about art, including frauds and forgeries. He hates disappointing the late duke’s beautiful second wife—so much so that he impulsively offers to search the entire house for anything of value.

He's not certain why he's being so gallant. But Caro’s quiet resilience reaches him in ways he can’t explain, and young Leo, the new duke, is already finding a place in Eamon’s heart.

Caro faces more than stern debt-collectors. Her husband’s ambitious nephew aims to claim Leo for himself, and is all too eager to expose Eamon as the fraud he once was. If scandal touches Caro, she could lose her beloved son to a man who covets the title more than the boy.

As Caro falls for the disarming Eamon, she faces an impossible choice: her heart, or her son’s future.

Eamon may have to sacrifice his own happiness to keep her safe—even if it means losing the wager and his heart.

It's been a minute since Ashley has published a new historical romance and this is the start of a new series. She's a penniless widow hoping her late husband's art collection will pay off his creditors. He's the son of a con man who knows a whole lot about art thanks to Dear Old Dad. Falling in love is a complication neither needs, but of course they do.

Seven Brides for Beau McBride by Amy Barry

Beau McBride reckons he’s ready for marriage. But his ego is bigger than his brain, and his little sister Junebug can’t trust him to find the right woman. So they make a bet, both placing ads in the Matrimonial News for mail-order brides. But when she discovers that Beau has already made his pick, Junebug decides to even the odds ... by inviting six more brides to meet her brother.

 

Ellie Neale doesn’t expect much from life – and life hasn’t given her much, except a head full of daydreams and her beautiful best friend Diana. And now Diana has answered an ad to be a mail-order bride – with some letter-writing help from Ellie – and she's leaving for Montana. Unwilling to lose her only friend, Ellie answers an ad of her own, which will take her to the same town Diana is headed for. But there's a hitch: when they arrive, Ellie and Diana realise they're here for the same husband. Along with five other women!

 

With seven brides vying for Beau’s attention, he needs to make a decision – fast. The only problem is, his heart longs for the one woman who wants nothing to do with him.

Barry wraps up her McBrides of Montana series and once again sister Junebug has to save one of her brothers from himself. The complication? Junebug invites out six more potential brides for our hero and our heroine discovers her and her BFF both answered the ad for the exact same husband!  Well that's OK, because turns out our heroine isn't interested once she meets the hero - and of course that means she's now the only one for him.

The Highlander's English Rose by Elizabeth Heights

Betrothed to the Lord and in love with the Highlander.

1333 A.D. The English have proclaimed triumph over the Scots in their long-waging war. Far from the scene of battle is a beautiful widow who has everything… except her vanishing youth and the family she’s always longed for.

Isabella will do whatever it takes to become a mother. Despite her misgivings, she accepts a marriage proposal from the new Laird of Greenock—a man she barely knows—and embarks on the long journey north to Scotland.

She is blithely unaware that Hamish, the rightful Laird of Greenock, is lying in wait for her at her ancestral home, Ember Hall.

Hamish will spend his last breath reclaiming his birthright. He intends to kidnap Isabella and negotiate terms with the English usurper who has stolen his lands, his title and his younger sister. He isn’t anticipating that the woman known as The Rose of England will turn his plans upside down with her surprising courage and steely determination.

As temperatures plunge and snow makes both a prisoner, passion sparks between the Highland warrior and the earl’s daughter. Against all the odds, they begin to believe in the possibility of happiness. But the course of true love never runs smooth, and Isabella and Hamish soon discover that their problems are only just beginning.

This is the fourth book in the author's Sisters of Ember Hall series. A widowed heroine desperate for children takes a flier and agrees to marry a new laird. Except turns out the man she's planning on marrying isn't the rightful heir. That man, our hero, ends up kidnapping her. As you do. 

A Courtship in the Highlands by Kate Robbins

Love may demand the ultimate betrayal of loyalty.

Agnes Sinclair, daughter to the Earl of Caithness, has been sent to Stirling Castle to make her debut and become one of the queen’s ladies in waiting. Traveling with her uncle, John Sinclair, she scarce pays attention to his prattling on about how the king is hell bent on turning the country soft with his flowery poets and pretty parties. She’s far more interested in discovering all the delights the King’s Court has to offer. Upon her arrival, she is grateful for the respite from her uncle and ever more intrigued by the enigmatic Earl of Montrose.

William Graham, Earl of Montrose, hails from a long line of nobles aligned with the monarchy of Scotland to maintain its independence from England. Fully supportive of the king’s new approach, he offers to assist when the king informs him of a band of rebels rumored to make an attempt on the monarchs. Prepared for a confrontation with brawny Highlanders, he is shocked to discover, at the center is a seemingly innocent yet confident young woman the like he has never seen in King James’s court.

Agnes and William’s journey is wrought with passion, betrayal, and deceit requiring a giant leap of faith. Attempt it they shall, but the question remains, where will their loyalties fall?

This is the second book in the Thistle and Rose series and features a heroine looking forward to experiencing life at court. Our hero is looking to ferret out a band of rebels and is surprised to discover that the heroine is somehow at the center of it all.

Fashioning a Knight by Eva Starling

A draper’s daughter with high ambition, a troubled knight who can help her, and a gown that could make or break them and their tempestuous relationship.

Alyson Fox has one goal: to serve as a dressmaker to a highborn lady. And as the daughter of a successful cloth merchant in the bustling English town of Thetford, she believes she has the skill to achieve this lofty ambition. Her father, however, would rather see his only daughter marry and marry soon. Opportunity arrives when the town bailiff and Alyson’s awkward suitor arranges a great coronation banquet to honor King Richard the Lionheart, who has just reclaimed his throne. But when a poor, taciturn knight on the outs with the king for reasons only he knows unexpectedly joins the Fox household, the young dressmaker finds herself distracted and annoyed–until she concocts a scheme that will benefit them both.

Lord Berengar of Ashenham killed for his faith and king on the bloody sands of the Holy Land—and more. Now in disgrace, he seeks redemption, although he doesn’t know what to do other than await the king’s call. In dire need of cash, he agrees to teach the son of cloth merchant a few tricks of his trade. It’s only when his brazen daughter makes him a strange offer that he sees a spark of hope for himself.

But things get complicated as the lives of the dressmaker and the knight become increasingly entwined and what once seemed like a simple trade of favors leads to revelations that neither had bargained for—and might be too much to bear. The coronation banquet—the greatest fete Thetford has seen in a generation—will make or break Alyson’s ambition, but the untimely spilling of secrets could threaten all. Not everything can be neatly sewn up!

First in a new series, we have another medieval - this time featuring a dressmaker heroine and a disgraced knight, returned from the Crusades, looking to get back into King Richard's good graces. 

Highland Enchantment by Brenna Ash

He lives for solitude. She was promised to another. But on a rugged Highland path, their hearts lose their way.

Rory Hart prefers cliffs to castles, silence to conversation, and freedom to duty. So when his father commands him to escort an abandoned woman through the Highlands, he’s prepared for a miserable journey. But Alana Duran is not what he expects. She’s sharp-tongued, stubborn, and utterly unprepared for the wild—and yet, her spirit sparks something both fierce and tender within him.

Alana has no choice. Her father’s arranged a marriage to secure her family’s future, and she’s determined to obey—even if it means trekking through unfamiliar terrain with the brooding Highlander who wants nothing to do with her. Rory’s rough, unkempt, and infuriating—and yet her heart begins to betray her.

Their journey is one of barbed banter, stolen glances, and growing desire. The Highlands begin to feel less like a prison and more like a promise. As trust turns to attraction and attraction kindles something deeper, one truth becomes impossible to deny—some paths are meant to be walked together.

But Alana is still promised to another. Rory is still bound by duty to his clan. And love, no matter how wild or fierce, may not be enough to rewrite their fate. In a land where alliances are forged by marriage and loyalty can cost them everything, can two hearts choose love over obligation?

Yes, truly - April is apparently Medieval Month! The second book in the Highland Heartstrings series features a loner hero ordered to escort our heroine to her future's husband home, a marriage she's not thrilled about but is entering into because medieval, alliances, her family's future, yada yada yada. This one is a road romance and I love me a road romance wrapped up in a medieval setting.

Fluently Speaking Baron by Ava Devlin

Harriet "Hattie" French speaks over a dozen languages—but none of them prepared her for this.

Seven years ago, Dowager Baroness Selwyn vanished without a trace. Now she's been declared dead, and her will is a masterpiece of meddling: Hattie, the first of the seven prodigies the baroness took under her wing during her prime, inherits Starling’s Rest, the manor where they were honed from wayward fledglings into world-renowned talents.

That would be well and fine, but for the baron. The dowager baroness’s taciturn and stormy nephew owns the land the house stands on.

The solution? Marriage. Orchestrated from beyond the grave by a woman who never met a prodigy she couldn't manipulate.

Elias Selwyn spent years proving he wasn't useless.

Elias fled Starling’s Rest as soon as he was old enough and hasn’t been back since. He left behind the pudgy, unremarkable child, with only a title to hold up against the sparkling genius of his foster siblings. In the years since, he forged himself into a disciplined cavalry officer, building a life far from the manor full of brilliant wards who made him feel invisible. The last thing he wants is to be dragged back to Brighton and shackled to the girl who once made him feel small—no matter how brilliant, beautiful, or infuriatingly fluent she's become.

But his aunt’s will has one final demand: a reunion carnival showcase, performed under the pavilion where the Starling prodigies once dazzled crowds. It's meant to be her funeral. Instead, it becomes the stage where Hattie and Elias must reconcile years of rivalry, resentment, and feelings neither wants to name.

As old wounds resurface and buried secrets spark to life, the pair discovers that some inheritances can't be divided—and that together, they might just be stronger than they are apart.

First in a new series featuring prodigies. She's a linguist who can speak over a dozen languages, and he's her benefactor's unremarkable nephew, all grown up. He's not happy to be home and she's less than thrilled with the idea of marrying him - which has been orchestrated from beyond the grave.

Warrior of Ice by Michelle Willingham (Reprint)

No man ever wanted her…except the man no one ever loved.

Lady Taryn of Ossoria has survived betrayal, pain, and scars that make people turn away from her. She’s accepted the truth: no man will want her. But when her father is imprisoned by a merciless overlord, Taryn strikes a dangerous bargain with Irish warrior Killian MacDubh.

A bastard by birth, Killian has fought for every scrap of respect—and challenging the High King could finally secure the future he’s earned. The last thing he needs is a bold noblewoman complicating his plans… especially one who awakens a forbidden hunger.

As secrets unravel and enemies step from the shadows, Taryn and Killian are forced to make a choice: save their loved ones—or risk everything on a love worth dying for.

First published by Harlequin Historical in 2015, this is the first book in a duet. A scarred and wounded heroine strikes a bargain with our warrior hero in order to rescue her father. Sigh, I still have the HH edition buried somewhere in my TBR because I just suck like that.

Whew! Y'all this is A LOT. Historical romance is dying my Aunt Fanny. I hope you had fun browsing this post and that you found one (or two, or ten...) books to add to your TBR pile. What Unusual Historicals are you looking forward to reading soon?