Unusual Historical Spotlight: America, Medievals, France, Restoration England, And China

Before the Dawn by Denise A. Agnew

What You Need To Know: Publication date June 28, 2011, digital only

Description:

A fallen woman must decide to stay down, or rise and fight…
Elijah McKinnon has been found innocent of a heinous murder, but it doesn’t erase the hellish years in prison he endured. He boards the train to Pittsburgh a changed man, certain he will never feel free until he’s wreaked revenge on the brother who ruined his life.

The passenger who catches his eye is intriguing, but he’s seen her kind before. The kind who puts on airs—and looks down on Irishmen. Still, he can’t seem to stop himself from stepping between her and a pack of ruthless cads.

Mary Jane Lawson is grateful for the handsome stranger’s help, but her journey has a higher purpose: to rise above her shattered reputation and declare her independence, come flood or famine. Propriety says she should refuse Elijah’s suggestion they pose as husband and wife—for her own protection, of course. Her practical side says it won’t hurt to pretend, just this once.

Come nightfall, though, their little charade must be carried all the way to shared sleeping quarters, where their vulnerabilities become painfully clear. And when danger past and present threatens, trusting each other becomes a matter of life and death.

What Makes It Unusual: American-set!  An Irish hero!  A "fallen" heroine!  ::swoon::

To Touch the Knight by Lindsay Townsend

What You Need To Know: Publication date July 1, 2011

Description:

As a pestilence sweeps medieval England, a low-born woman has only the sharpness of her wits—and the courage of her heart…

Edith of Warren Hemlet plays a dangerous game. At the knights’ tourneys across the land, among the lords and ladies, she is a strange foreign princess. But in the privacy of her tent with the other survivors of her village, she is but a smith’s widow with a silver tongue. They are well-fed, but if discovered, the punishment is death. And one knight—fierce, arrogant, and perilously appealing—is becoming far too attentive…

Sir Ranulf of Fredenwyke cares little for tourneys: playing for ladies’ favors, when his own lady is dead; feasting, while commoners starve; “friendly” combat, when he has seen real war. Still, one lady captivates him—mysterious in her veils and silks, intoxicating with her exotic scents and bold glances. Yet something in her eyes reminds him of home…and draws him irresistibly to learn her secrets…

What Makes It Unusual: Medieval England, and OMG - The Black Death!


Silence in the Mist by Leah Marie Brown

What You Need To Know: Publication date July 7, 2011, mostly digital, but it looks like print-on-demand paperback is an option.

Description:

After bloodthirsty revolutionaries murder her family, Françoise Despres vows to avenge their deaths and fight the violent mob destroying her beloved France by becoming a spy for the counter-revolutionary cause. She knows great success, silently slipping between the shadows to carry secret messages that thwart her foes. But she never expected to come up against Sebastien de Bréze, a daring, clever cavalry officer in the revolutionary army and master spy hunter. Who will win this dangerous game of cat and mouse?

When Sebastien discovers the spy he has captured is actually a wily, elusive young woman cloaked in men’s garb and shrouded in secrets, he finds himself intrigued and titillated. But the crafty woman slips through his grasp and soon he finds himself chasing her through France. Undaunted, he makes it his mission to recapture Françoise Despres, body and soul.

What Makes It Unusual: The French Revolution.

The King's Mistress by Sandy Blair

What You Need To Know: Publication date July 26, 2011, digital only

Description:

The long way home could be the shortest road to ruin.
The king of Scotland is in a snit. Which means Britt MacKinnon, proud captain of the king’s guard, has an onerous task: fetch Alexander’s favorite paramour back to the royal bed—now. Never mind that the crown should be about the business of getting a legitimate heir. Especially since England’s Edward I would love nothing more than to seize an empty Scottish throne.

When the handsome soldier appears on her doorstep, Geneen Armstrong has to think quickly. Her twin lies abed in her cottage, pregnant with the king’s bastard. If the barren queen learns the truth, the foolish girl’s life won’t be worth a farthing.

She must somehow transform her graceless, plain-spoken self into her vivacious, talented sister. Then, after the court is convinced she carries no child, use her herbal knowledge to sour the king’s taste for her sister’s company—for good.

By the time Britt realizes this unusually articulate, ungodly stubborn woman is the wrong woman, tendrils of attraction have already tightened into a bond. A bond that will be tested when the king’s unexpected death puts Scotland’s very destiny at stake—and unleashes an ever-tangling web of court intrigues, secrets...and lies.

What Makes It Unusual:  13th century Scotland.

The King's Courtesan by Judith James

What You Need To Know: Publication date August 23, 2011, not sure if this is part of a series.  Anyone know? I've been informed that this is loosely connected to Libertine's Kiss.

Description:

Her body is the battleground

Sensuous, beautiful and determined, Hope Matthews is a favored mistress of the king. Her many charms have helped her rise from the gutter to the king's bed. But with the new queen's impending arrival, her nights in the royal chamber— and her hopes for security—will swiftly come to an end.

His honor a distant memory

Haunted by his past, hardened by the recent civil war, Captain Robert Nichols lives only for revenge. When told he must marry the king's courtesan to provide a cover for their affair, he's faced with a new low. Both are pawns of a great man, but married to their dreams of independence, their clash is inevitable. Can these two wounded souls realize the answer to all their dreams might lie in each other's arms?

What Makes It Unusual: Restoration England.

The Dragon and the Pearl by Jeannie Lin

What You Need To Know: Publication date September 20, 2011, book two in series

Description:

The Most Beautiful Courtesan of Them All…

Former Emperor’s consort Ling Suyin is renowned for her beauty; the ultimate seductress. Now she lives quietly alone–until the most ruthless warlord in the region comes and steals her away…

Li Tao lives life by the sword, and is trapped in the treacherous, lethal world of politics. The alluring Ling Suyin is at the center of the web. He must uncover her mystery without falling under her spell–yet her innocence calls out to him. How cruel if she, of all women, can entrance the man behind the legend…

What Makes It Unusual: 8th century China

• This is just a small sampling of upcoming and recently released titles.  Have you read any promising unusual historicals of late?

What's Old Is New

Before the proliferation of blogs, romance readers congregated on message boards. I was mostly a lurker on the AAR Boards, but inevitably the same debate would crop up every few months. Some reader(s) whining about how historical romance "ain't what it used to be." I'll admit, most of the time I rolled my eyes and moved on. I didn't agree with about 90% of their whining. That said, 10% of their whining was spot on. Historical romance in the 1970s, 1980s and the first half of the 1990s definitely had more meat on the bone. There was a real "saga" quality to the stories. They were bigger in scope, and there was ::gasp:: actual history to be found. The stories felt less interchangeable. Now, was all historical romance back in the day great fiction? ::Snort::, that's a big "Hell no." Some of it sucked ass. But my theory has always been that it's not the purple prose and "forced seduction" readers miss, so much as that "saga" feel.

First with Broken Wing, and now with Highland Rebel, Judith James seems determined to resurrect historical romance as we once knew it. The best part? She's reminding all of us how great those "big" stories can be, without drowning her tales in mind-numbing purple prose and having her hero rape the heroine until she falls in love with him. She's taken the best of the "old" and the "new" and melded it into a winning combination.

Jamie Sinclair has no use for religion. Protestant or Catholic, it doesn't much matter to him. That said, a man has to pick a side, and he's most likely to pick the side that will make sure his bread is buttered. With James II now sitting on the thrown, Jamie has thrown his lot in with the Catholics. It's on the battlefield that he spies Catherine Drummond, daughter of a now dead laird who has ridden into battle to rescue her foolish baby brother. Naturally it goes awry, and she's captured by a rather large group of hardened soldiers. Yeah, this will not end well for her. But riding to her rescue is Jamie, who immediately plucks her from their clutches and in a bid to save her, marries her on the spot.

The rest of the book essentially follows their marriage. It's a very inconvenient one for Jamie, who was promised a wealthy Catholic heiress by King James II to restore his coffers. It's very convenient for Catherine, who as a wealthy Highland heiress, is an inconvenience to her uncle, cousin and brother. They're determined to marry her off to have her out of their hair and secure a valuable alliance. She wants no part of it - so naturally being already married is quite beneficial to her. However with so much political unrest surrounding them, their marriage will be anything but easy. Jamie plays a very dangerous game, and Catherine's beloved Highlands will soon be choosing sides.

Some of you might recall that I was one of about three readers who didn't want to have babies with Broken Wing. I had a lot of issues with that story, uppermost being the writing style. So I can say with absolutely certainty (and you won't be able to convince me otherwise) that Highland Rebel is flat-out a better written book.

Jamie is one of my favorite types of heroes. Yes, he has a tragic past and plenty of baggage, but he doesn't wallow too much. He knows the way of the world, and how quickly fortunes can change. In fact, his fortunes change several times over the course of this story. He's a charmer, a rogue, and a bit of a scoundrel. He'll sell his loyalty to the highest bidder, just so long as that bidder actually has a shot in Hell at winning. Jamie's main mission in life is to look out for Jamie.

I'll be honest, Catherine annoyed me considerably for the first 50 pages. If you're going to ride into battle, at least cut your damn hair to disguise yourself better. Also, she's rather combative with Jamie when it's rather blatantly obvious that he's just saved her from being raped to death by a gang of soldiers. She struck me as rather dense. All that being said, readers need to stick with her past page 50, because that's right around the time the author fills in her back story, which I found interesting and it really helped to flesh out her character. Also, she stops acting so dense, and that certainly helps.

The Restoration period of English history is largely neglected in historical romance, and is one ripe with possibilities, if only for all the political maneuverings and court intrigue. It provides the author with plenty of fodder, and gives the romantic couple plenty of conflict to overcome. That said, the ending of this story is rather, well, open-ended. Make no mistake, the characters get their happily ever after, but the author doesn't lay it all out at the reader's feet. It actually reminded me a bit of the ending of All Through The Night by Connie Brockway. There's no epilogue showing Jamie and Catherine 10 years down the road with children running wild around them. It's up to the reader to imagine what shall happen to them next. What adventures they'll encounter. I rather liked it, although I'll admit I would have loved more closure for some of the secondary characters.

It took me a week to read the first 50 pages of this book, and one evening to plow through the last 400. Once I got sucked in, I couldn't seem to stop myself from reading all the way to the finish line. If you're a reader who digs stories with that Big, Sweeping Saga feel to them, you really have to read this book. There's really nothing quite like it out there, except for maybe James' debut novel Broken Wing. That being said, Broken Wing was the kind of story that I was selectively recommending, where Highland Rebel is one I think historical romance lovers everywhere need to consider giving a shot. It's got great history, interesting characters, and a wonderful sense of adventure. It misses an 'A' because I've no burning desire to reread it, but that doesn't make it any less "good."

Final Grade = B+

California's Burning Down

I'm currently carrying around Highland Rebel by Judith James and wouldn't you know it? Southern California is on fire. Some of you may recall that last November, I had just checked out a library copy of Broken Wing when My Man and I were hustled out of the Bat Cave under mandatory evacuation because of the Freeway/Triangle Complex Fire. I left all my books to burn (which thankfully, they didn't) but did rescue Broken Wing and a cozy mystery I had snagged from work. I know. I'm such a good little worker bee.

In fire news, I'm currently safely out of harm's way. In fact, you wouldn't even know parts of the area are in the process of burning down if you were just looking at my neighborhood. The only visual evidence I've had is spying a giant white mushroom cloud off to the west as I went to pick up a pizza for dinner on Saturday evening. So yeah, except for the ungodly hot weather we're having, the Bat Cave is fine.

I did send out an e-mail to the other So. Cal. Bloggers this weekend, and everyone is fine. Nikki, Rowena, Lori, Tracy and Renee are probably getting the worst of it because the smoke is so hellish and the air quality is shit. But everybody is currently safe, although worried about friends and family that are in the path of the fire. My Lil' Sis (along with Kassia Krozser of Booksquare and Quartet Press fame) live in the Pasadena area, but neither are in harm's way - just suffering because of the piss poor air quality.

This is honestly the only time of year I hate living in southern California. It's insanely hot (at one point it was 109 at the Bat Cave last week!) and some part of the area is always trying to burn down. Luckily the winds haven't been bad, but with the heat, terrain, and the never-ending drought, our firefighters have been working their asses off. Then of course you end up reading about some dumb ass idiots who ignore the mandatory evacuation orders and try to protect their homes with a garden hose.

Yeah. Seriously people. Use your brains. If you're there, you are hindering the firefighters from doing their jobs. Like your garden hose is going to beat back a raging wild fire? Why not spit in the ocean while you're at it? Geez. Besides, no amount of "stuff" is worth your life. When I evac'ed last year, yes I was worried. I'd left behind so much (including a quilt my grandmother made me - d'oh!) - but you know what? It's just stuff. We can always get more stuff. Our health, well-being, our very lives? Yeah. Not as easy to replace. Just sayin'.

Be safe everybody. Feel free to use the comments section here to check in and give updates.