Unusual Historical Top Picks September 2019

September is the time of year where I seriously begin to question my decision to leave the Midwest - which this time of year is cooling off, the leaves are turning, and every mile marker or so you can find apple cider and homemade donuts. Instead, I’m living in the land of triple-digit temperatures with the constant specter of wildfire danger. Seriously, I miss the cider and donuts. But I still have historical romances, which are equally as delicious and, quite frankly, much lower in sugar. Here are some of the Unusual Historicals catching my eye this month:

The Rat-Catcher’s Daughter by K.J. Charles

Music-hall singer Miss Christiana is in serious debt, and serious trouble. She owes more than she can pay to a notorious criminal, and now he plans to make an example of her. There's no way out.  

But Christiana has an admirer. Stan Kamarzyn has watched her sing for a year and he doesn't want to see her get hurt. Stan's nobody special--just a dodgy bloke from Bethnal Green--but he's got useful friends, the sort who can get a girl out of trouble, for a price. Christiana's not sure what it will cost her...  

The two slowly reach an understanding. But Christiana is no criminal, and she can't risk getting mixed up with the law. What will happen when Stan's life as the fence for the notorious Lilywhite Boys brings trouble to his doorstep?

A trans f/m asexual romance novelette (17,000 words). 

Novelette? I prefer my terminology: Lunch Break Read. Clocking in around 50 pages, this short story takes place two years prior to Any Old Diamonds. This should be just the thing to tide fans over waiting for the next book in The Lilywhite Boys series.

Stolen Kiss with the Hollywood Starlet by Lauri Robinson

An innocent country girl…  

With stars in her eyes! 

In this Brides of the Roaring Twenties story, hotshot lawyer Walter Russell knows an innocent country girl like Shirley Burnette is going to find it tough in cutthroat Hollywood. A stolen kiss with this bright, young singer may be worthy of the silver screen—but Walter hates show business and has sworn off starlets. He knows he should steer well clear…if only he wasn’t so compelled to help her! 

A hero who has sworn off starlets who falls for...yeah, a starlet. Seriously, will these guys never learn? If I wasn’t hooked by the 1920s era, or the tension dripping off the back cover blurb, that cover would have been enough to reel me in.

Longing for Her Forbidden Viking by Harper St. George

 “Become my concubine.”  

But never his wife? 

Part of To Wed a Viking: Saxon maiden Ellan would rather wed a Dane than be forced into marriage by her father. In fact, she has one Dane in mind. But strong warrior Aevir has been ordered to marry for duty—all he can offer Ellan is a place as his concubine! She may be bold, but Ellan can never accept that! Even if his burning kisses make it incredibly tempting… 

I really enjoyed the first book in this duet, Marrying Her Viking Enemy, and I’m intrigued by sister Ellan’s story - namely because she, seemingly, does not have the same burdensome familial obligations that her older sister did in the first book. Ellan was already circling Aevir in the previous book, so it will be fun to see the author get these two together as a romantic couple.

Her Viking Warrior by Gina Conkle

When an outcast goes home and meets a woman seeking justice, hearts will clash…  

Eighteen years ago, Bjorn was exiled from Vellefold. Honor-bound to return, he’ll fight for the settlement…then walk away. First, he must work with his childhood friend, now a beautiful, high-ranking Viking lady.  

Fierce of spirit, Ilsa will do anything to save her people, including convincing the banished son to take the jarl’s seat. But she has her doubts about the stone-hearted Viking, despite the lust between them. It’s only a matter of time before Bjorn discovers that Ilsa is hiding dangerous secrets, secrets that may jeopardize all they’ve worked for.  

When the darkest hour comes, the once-rejected warrior must choose: rescue his men, the Forgotten Sons—or Ilsa, the woman he craves, body and soul. 

Carina has published historicals two months in a row, which sort of feels like a Christmas miracle in late summer. This is the second book in Conkle’s Forgotten Sons series and features a returned from exile hero and a heroine, his former childhood friend, now a high-ranking lady hiding dangerous secrets. I love life and death conflict, and that’s like shooting fish in a barrel in medieval and Viking-set romances.

What Unusual Historicals are sitting on top your TBR?

Top 4 Unusual Historicals for May 2018

Is there anything worse than a reading slump? Because, that, my friends is exactly where I’m living these days. If it weren’t for revisiting some old favorites on audio I’d literally be getting nothing read. But one thing sure to cheer me up? Browsing for books. Even if, you know, I’m not reading them. May is kind of quiet when it comes to not-your-usual historicals, but there’s potential all the same.

Kept by the Viking by Gina Conkle 

Loyalty to the Brotherhood comes before all. Including women.  

Formidable Viking leader Rurik knows the law. His loyalty to the Forgotten Sons is his bond, and no woman will threaten what he’s built from the ground up. But the Sons are a roving band of Vikings, and Rurik is growing restless—so when Normandy’s chieftain offers land, the proposal intrigues him. And the sultry Parisian thrall he finds in his tent intrigues him even more…  

Safira is cunning and clever and full of secrets. Rurik’s men have no interest in securing her safe passage home, but, piqued with lust, Rurik views Safira’s wiles as a captivating challenge—one he’s determined to conquer, even if lying with her is as defiant as it is inevitable.  

Traveling with Safira has been a fantasy come true—what started as lust is quickly turning to the kind of partnership Rurik could never have dreamed. But their arrival in foreign lands marks a new chapter, one that demands a Viking wife. With impossible decisions to be made, Rurik’s alliances are fraying, and past promises may not be enough to save him from having to betray those he’s sworn loyalty to—including Safira. 

Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you a literal unicorn. A historical romance published by Carina Press. How momentous is this? Let me put it this way - if you go to the Carina website, click on the Historical Romance link, and sort by publication date? This is the first historical they’ve published since September 2016. Two years ago. I’m one-clicking this on principle.

Love’s Sweet Melody by Kianna Alexander 

Autumn, 1946

Warner Hughes returns home from war with the lingering effects of battle. Abandoned by his sweetheart and ostracized by his community, he feels he has no real home. 

Elizabeth “Betty” Daniels has one love: music. Betty’s family wants to see her married, busy with affairs of the home, leaving no time to pursue her art.

Warner’s only solace is in the sweet melody of Betty’s music. To Betty’s mind, marriage means giving up the freedom to pursue her art. Can Warner let love in, and can Betty make room for love? 

The latest in the Decades: A Journey of African American Romance series chugs along with Alexander’s entry set post-World War II. This sounds incredibly promising, with a returning veteran with, from the sounds of it, PTSD and a musically-inclined heroine. Alexander is no stranger to historicals, having written contributions for the Daughters of a Nation and The Brightest Day anthologies.

The Bashful Bride by Vanessa Riley 

A friend's newspaper advertisement for a groom nets the most famous actor in London, Arthur Bex. Shy heiress Ester Croome proposes to elope with the handsome man, who she's secretly loved for two years, in order to escape an impending engagement arranged by her overbearing family.

Trying to outlive the shadow of his villainous uncle, Bex needs to marry quickly—to a woman of good character. And smart, beautiful Ester fits the bill. But a harrowing trip to Gretna Green and dangerous abolition rallies prove to be a more treacherous stage than either imagined. Infatuation and a mutual love for Shakespeare might not be enough to bind a couple looking to outrun the chains and secrets of family and the past. 

The second, and final, book in the author’s Advertisements for Love duology, features that most tempting of reader catnip - a road romance! I also love that we’re getting an actor hero looking to outrun his family’s reputation and a heroine who has secretly been in love with him for years.

Bound for Eden by Tess LeSue

Alexandra Barratt has found the perfect man--it's a shame he thinks she's a boy... 

Fleeing from the murderous Grady brothers, Alexandra disguises herself as a boy and joins a frontier party heading West, with her brother and sister in tow. The wagon train is captained by the irresistible Luke Slater, who's never met a woman he couldn't charm. 

At first, Alex can't believe the way every woman in town falls at Luke's feet, including her suddenly flirtatious sister. But when she sees him naked in the bathtub, she finds herself swooning over him too. If only she could wash the muck of her face and show him who she really is. Unfortunately she has more pressing concerns... 

The Gradys aren't about to let Alex, nor the small fortune she stole from them, slip through their fingers. Only by maintaining her ruse does she have a chance of protecting her family. But fate, it seems, is conspiring against her. 

This debut has Old School written all over it - I mean, hello? We’ve got a chick-in-pants story, and she spies the hero naked in the bathtub. I’m...well, I’m reserving judgement on this one. But I love historical westerns, and we have a debut author. I’m going to put my money where my mouth is and give this one a whirl. Plus, you know, another road romance and a heroine on the run. I’m only human.

What Unusual Historicals are you looking forward to this month?