Jingle All the Way: Unusual Historicals for December 2024

I hope that wherever you are reading this that December has managed to not suck out your will to live and whatever holiday madness you may celebrate that you can sit back, relax and enjoy it. I'll have Christmas Day off, but will otherwise be working this week and the last two things on are my to-do list are 1) buy rolls on Tuesday morning on the way to the office and 2) cook the actual holiday meal on Wednesday. I also hope I can take a moment to enjoy some holiday cheer before I'm back to work (it's a librarian's life for me!) on Thursday. Publishing typically ghosts us in December, but all things considered we still have a nice mix of Unusual Historicals debuting this month. Happy Holidays to you and yours and here's to a 2025 that doesn't suck (hope springs eternal...)

The Secret Daughter by Anne Gracie 

Orphaned Zoë Benoît has spent the last three years in Paris learning how to be a lady. But Zoë is torn—as an independent spirit and a talented artist, she cannot help but want more than the tightly controlled life of a society lady.

On an impulsive visit to the château where her mother lived, Zoë, disguised as a maidservant named Vita, meets a handsome wandering artist, known simply as Reynard. One blissful week with the charming Reynard convinces Zoë that this is the man and the life for her—until she discovers what he’s been hiding from her, and she flees, heartbroken.

Longing for the chance to redeem himself, Reynard searches far and wide for the woman he knows as Vita, to no avail. Disheartened, he returns to England to reluctantly resume his role as Julian Fox, the Earl of Foxton. However, when he sees one of Zoë’s paintings, he realizes she’s in London, and becomes desperate to find her before it’s too late. But even if they reunite, can he convince Zoë he’s worthy of her trust and prove to her that, with him, she can be a free-spirited artist and a countess?

This is the fourth book in Gracie's Brides of Bellaire Gardens series and features an artist heroine, masquerading as a servant, falling in love with another artist while visiting a French chateau. Not realizing, of course, he's actually an Earl. Oops.

No Ordinary Duchess by Elizabeth Hoyt

Cold and brooding, Julian Greycourt, the heir to the Windemere dukedom, has always known that his uncle the duke was responsible for his mother’s death. Now he’s determined to exact revenge against his uncle—if he can find the proof. But Julian hides a secret so explosive it will destroy him if it’s ever revealed, and the duke is watching. The last thing he needs is a distractingly sensual woman whose very presence threatens to destroy his plans.

 Sunny and cheerful, Lady Elspeth de Moray doesn’t know why her brother and Julian fell out all those years ago, but she can’t let the autocratic man get in the way of her mission: to retrieve an ancient family text that she believes is in one of the Windemere libraries. Locating the tome, however, proves trickier than she anticipated, and at each turn, she’s thrown together with the maddingly mysterious Julian. And the temptation to give in to her family’s greatest enemy grows stronger with each intriguing encounter…

The third book in Hoyt's Greycourt series has been four years in the making and features the heir to a dukedom bent on a revenge (aren't they always?) and a heroine determined to find a missing family text she thinks just might be in one of his libraries. The question is where? Like Hoyt's backlist, we're back in Georgian-era England for the various hijinks.

A Tempest of Desire by Lorraine Heath

After surviving a horrific railway accident, Viscount Langdon retreats to his private island to recover and conquer the nightmarish memories that continue to haunt him. The very last thing he wants—or expects—is for London’s most infamous courtesan to wash up on his beach. 

Marlowe is known for her bold flirtations, but her most daring exploits involve flying in her hot air balloon. When a storm blows her off course, she discovers herself alone with the isle’s only inhabitant. The gorgeous, seductive lord tempts her beyond reason, but giving into temptation would lead to her ruination because the all-consuming liaison would demand complete surrender. And she has secrets to protect.

Langdon finds the captivating beauty near impossible to resist, but he can’t risk her learning the true reason behind his isolation. However, a powerful tempest of desire is swirling wildly between them, urging them to give in to the perilous passion that could destroy them . . . or perhaps show them the way to love.

Heath continues her Scandalous Gentleman of St. James series with a plot so absurd it intrigues. A Beastly hero hiding out on his own private island (as you do) rescues a hot air balloon flying heroine, who happens to be a courtesan, when she washes up on his shores, thereby disturbing his pity party. The unmitigated gall of some people...

The Lady's Snowbound Scandal by Paulia Belgado

A spinster, a scrooge 

…and only one bed! 

American industrialist Elliot has a plan to ensure his sisters will marry well—find a London society wife to elevate the family name! What’s not part of his plan is falling for the shy spinster who has no intention of marrying at all… 

Lady Georgina believes Elliot to be a heartless scrooge! Still, she needs his help to save her beloved orphanage in time for Christmas. So, in exchange, she offers to help him find a respectable wife. But when they’re scandalously snowed in at a coaching inn, their simmering attraction has no place to hide…

He's an American industrialist (eww, he's new money and he works?! How gauche!) determined to take a London society wife to better elevate his sisters' prospects and instead...he falls for a shy spinster. Because of course he does. 

Murder in Moonlight by Mary Lancaster

On a personal quest, Constance Silver, who runs Mayfair’s most exclusive brothel, has lied her way into Greenforth Manor, home of respectable and charismatic provincial banker, Walter Winsom. She feels quite safe from recognition until Solomon Grey joins the party.

Aloof and strangely exciting, Solomon is one of the wealthiest men in London, so what does he want with any of the small players gathered at Greenforth? More immediately, will he give Constance away? He saved her life once, with most disturbing effects on her, and she is still magnetically drawn to him. But he is one of the few men she cannot read or influence.

When they discover their host’s murdered body together, they have to overcome distrust of each other to investigate. Everyone in the house seems to have had both motive and opportunity to kill him, so Constance and Solomon must uncover many secrets and set a dangerous trap in order to reach the truth.

She's a brothel madam up to shenanigans and he's an extremely wealthy man who can blow her cover sky high. Then their house party host turns up dead and they need to set aside their distrust of each other to solve the murder. This is the first book in the Silver and Grey series.

The Knight's Bride Prize by Ella Matthews

Will he risk his mission… 

For her hand in marriage? 

On a secret quest to expose a traitor, Sir Hugh enlists in a tournament to win the hand of his target’s daughter, Lady Bronwen. But the clever, driven maiden jeopardizes his plans when their unexpected attraction threatens to distract him from his duty! She’s desperate to escape her father, and Hugh can protect her by claiming his prize and marrying her. Yet honor demands the noble knight keep their desire at bay, for completing his mission means betraying his new bride’s trust…

He's on a quest to expose a traitor and instead ends up falling in love with the man's daughter. For our heroine's part, she's desperate to escape her father and in waltzes the hero, seemingly the answer to her prayers. This is the second book in the Knight's Mission series and is set in 14th century Wales.

A Story of Love by Minerva Spencer

Investigating London’s most infamous rogue for a seedy newspaper is hardly Lori’s dream job. But if that’s what it takes to break into publishing, so be it. She’ll uncover the sexy nobleman’s deepest, darkest secrets. It’s just her misfortune that she’ll have to peek into his bedroom windows—at his brothel, no less—to do it…

Lord Stand Fast Severn, heir to the Marquess of Granton, needs answers. Contrary to what the ton believes, he didn’t drive his twin brother to kill himself. But finding the man who did might be tricky. Especially with a nosy—and dangerously fascinating—journalist plaguing his every move. But when her investigation lands her neck-deep in danger, Fast knows it’s up to him to protect her.

The last thing Lori wants is the handsome rake’s protection. Especially when it means being kidnapped and held in his brothel like a prisoner.

But if Lori wants to get away from him so badly, then why isn’t she trying very hard to escape?

Can two enemies, forced into close proximity, write their own story of love?

Only if they can solve a murder before a killer gets to them first…

A rake with ulterior motives (don't they always...) partners up with a journalist heroine with ambition forced to work an assignment for a seedy newspaper because....well, woman. Whatcha gonna do? A brothel and a murder promise shenanigans. This is the seventh book in the author's Academy of Love series.

The Cornish Widow by Fil Reid

When Harriet Penhallow is left widowed, she and her two children are forced to accept the charity of her late husband’s aunt. Having uprooted themselves from their life in Bath, they move into a comparatively isolated and rundown cottage on the south coast of Cornwall, nestling above a little inlet known as Prussia Cove. Little does Harriet know, but it’s the center of Cornish smuggling.

One of the ringleaders is the charismatic Jack Trevelyan, captain of The Fly and only son of Harriet’s kind new neighbor. It doesn’t take her long to work out Jack is a smuggler, despite him being a gentleman and despite the fact that she’s beginning to have feelings for him. For his part, Jack, even though he’s immediately attracted to her, suspects she might have been sent to spy on his activities.

Then, one night, Harriet's twelve-year-old son sneaks down to the cove where The Fly is anchored, and she goes after him. When they hear the crew returning, they hide—before they know it, they’re at sea and too frightened to reveal themselves. When daylight comes, they’re discovered, but it’s too late to take them back to Cornwall. They’re forced to continue on to the smugglers’ rendezvous in Brittany.

A down on her luck widow falls for a smuggler hero with a suspicious nature. Then bingo-bango, shenanigans ensure and she finds herself a stowaway on a smuggler's ship with the hero and her 12-year-old son. This is the fourth book in the author's Cornish Ladies series.

Lyon's Lover by Maggie Sims

A wastrel lord and an ex-courtesan forced together must pay the price of their past sins.

She’s planning for the future…

Having enjoyed a successful career as mistress to various members of the Ton, Isabella Rossi longs to walk away from her past. She wants a normal life with all it entails—a husband, a home, and children. Isabella seeks out the Black Widow, owner of the Lyon’s Den gaming hell who also runs a specialized matchmaking service.

He’s living for the moment…

Heir to an earldom, Luke Lynwood is addicted to drinking, gambling, and avoiding his responsibilities. But when he gambles more than he can afford, the Black Widow offers him an alternative way to repay his massive debt.

Under Isabella’s reluctant tutelage, Luke must come to terms with his lack of self-control and face his father, which might just take a Christmas miracle.

Part of the long-running Lyon's Den continuity series, we have a former mistress desperate to finally settle down and a debauched hero basically blackmailed into making an honest woman out of her. This is either going to be really good or a hot mess (the word "addicted" is used to describe the hero - so help me if all it takes is a "love of a good woman..."). Also, never let it be said I cannot be shallow during the holidays - the we've got chest hair on the cover!

What Unusual Historicals are in your immediate TBR?

#TBRChallenge 2024: Parting Gifts

The Book: Parting Gifts by Lorraine Heath

The Particulars: Historical romance, Berkley Jove, 1994, Out of print - sort of. Available digital-only, 2010 Harpercollins reprint. Fun fact: this is Heath's second published book.

Why Was It In Wendy's TBR?: When I started reading romance back when dinosaurs roamed the Earth, ebooks weren't a thing, and the only way you could find old, out of print romances was by scouring used bookstores or the Internet. This was one of my white whales. Heath's early westerns tended to be recommended a lot in those days and were hard to find, but I somehow got my hands on a used copy and proceeded to keep it in my TBR for probably 20 years because that's just the kind of sick person that I am.

The Review: I have no idea what I thought of this story. The plot is straight-up early 1990s WTF-ery but damn if the execution doesn't mostly work even as I was cringing in parts. A lot of readers I know love this book and I'm not saying they're wrong - but it is rather eyebrow raising in parts.  Expect some spoilers folks. 

Maddie Sherwood has hit the end of the line. Her father and brother dead, she has traded or sold everything she has of value (meager as it was) and the only thing left is her body. Hungry, cold, and desperate, she goes into a well-known brothel and the madam quickly starts the bidding for who will get to deflower the virgin. Almost immediately a bid of $1000 is entered and that seals the deal. The winner is Charles Lawson and impotent from an accident, he doesn't want to bed Maddie, he wants to marry her. His wife, the love of his life died in childbirth. Charles himself has a terminal illness and three young children, who he doesn't want to grow up without a mother. Does he tell Maddie this? Well partly. He leaves out the part about him dying (our first Big Secret). With no other options, other than the brothel, Maddie says yes to Charles. They quickly marry and make the trip from Fort Worth to Waco.

Charles owns a stagecoach stop / inn, which is where he, his three children and his older brother Jesse live.  Jesse is a former Texas Ranger and is gobsmacked when Charles comes home married to a stranger. He's even more put out that he's attracted to her himself even though his lawman instincts tell him something is rotten in Denmark. The attraction is mutual, with both Jesse and Maddie rubbing each other the wrong way, until over time feelings grow as Charles' time on this Earth slowly ebbs away.

So hey, like I did, you're probably thinking that Charles dies within the first 50 pages and the rest of the 200+ pages are spent on building the love story between Jesse and Maddie. Narrator: Well, you would be dead wrong. Folks Charles LIVES for the majority of this book. It's only in the last few chapters when he finally pushes up daisies - so readers are regaled with Jesse and Maddie falling in love while she's married. MARRIED TO THE HERO'S BROTHER!

The author tap dances around this by having Charles still being desperately in love with his dead wife. Also, he's impotent so can't bone the heroine, but they do spoon and sleep in the same bed. Charles is also not a terrible person. He's desperately, hopelessly nice. He was honestly my favorite part of the story until he slips into Gary Stu Martyrdom territory in the final chapters. The friendship between Maddie and Charles is really well developed and frankly not the sort of thing we see a lot in romance.

Hot mess original cover

But that's not the romance. Jesse, Charles and a long-lost sister have very interesting backstory that involves them being separated as children, split up after their parents die. This, along with Jesse's time in the Army (he fought for the Union during the Civil War) have made him the man he is - a very black and white, suspicious character who protects those he loves. Naturally he doesn't trust Maddie a lick, which ends up being a smart move since about 30% in a bomb goes off and we find out Maddie has a Big Secret. Literally it's just dropped in. No foreshadowing, no nothing. Anyway, she's tight-lipped about it and says her past "won't hurt the children" and you know she's lying through her teeth.

Kisses happen as do declarations of feelings ALL WHILE CHARLES IS STILL ALIVE mind you, but consummation doesn't happen until the final chapter. Which honestly, even with good chemistry between the couple I largely skimmed.

Y'all, it's skeevy in that special way 1990s romances could be skeevy. So why do so many readers gush and love this story?  Even with all the skeevyness, Heath executes her story well. The characters are well-developed, interesting, and while I felt that Maddie's Big Secret could have been foreshadowed better in the early chapters, it's compelling. I had to keep reading.  Also, damn my black soul, I cried. When Charles nears the end I got choked up and leaked out tears. Hey, maybe I'm not completely dead inside after all?

So where does that leave us? Lord, I have no clue. It's interesting, it made me cry, but dude - she's married while she and her brother-in-law are both getting mutual pants-feelings for each other. Look, Charles is dying, he's in love with his dead wife, he's not blind, he's not even upset about it - but it's still skeevy. I said what I said.

But I cried. Over a book. And frankly that usually only happens once or twice every year.  This is definitely a Wendy review one should read and not just skip to the final grade, because Lord even knows what I'm doing anymore.

Final Grade = B-

Note: At the time of this posting, this book was available via Kindle Unlimited.

Small But Mighty: Unusual Historicals for July 2022

As I whined about mentioned in last month's Unusual Historical post, June and July are busiest months for me at The Day Job.  Here's the good news: I closed out the books on fiscal year 2021/2022 and managed to get the incoming budget for fiscal year 2022/2023 allocated!  The bad news? Staffing shortages and being spread too thin = Wendy is a hot mess. Which means all y'all are seeing the Unusual Historicals post for July releases during the last week of the month. Yo, it is what it is. Which can also be applied to the number of titles. Kind of slim this month, but here are the ones that caught my eye!

The Return of the Duke by Lorraine Heath 

When his father, the Duke of Wolfford, is hanged for an assassination attempt on Queen Victoria, Marcus Stanwick is stripped of everything. Vowing to return honor to his family, he seeks to expose the others involved in the treasonous plot and bring them to justice. His search forces him to turn to a woman he despises for her unforgiveable betrayal—a woman known as the heartless harlot. 

Harboring secrets, Esme Lancaster has her own reasons for wanting to discover who’s behind the conspiracy that’s still afoot. She doesn’t trust Marcus but can’t deny the handsome devil makes her wonder if she does indeed possess a heart, one he could very easily steal. 

 As their hunt for the truth leads them into danger, Marcus finds Esme isn’t cold and calculating as he’d assumed but fire and brimstone, with courage and determination to match his own. Soon, they’re unable to deny their growing desire for each other. But giving into temptation comes at a cost, and they must decide if love is worth the risk of losing their one chance for redemption.

So, general rule - I tend to skip over 99% of all historical romances with Duke in the title but every once in a while one comes along that's just different enough for me to take notice. The hero's reputation is in ruins because Dear Old Dad was hanged after an assassination attempt of Queen Victoria! And to restore honor to the family name? Yeah, he has to team up with Dear Old Dad's mistress, who because this is a romance novel, turns out to be...um, complicated.  This is the third book in a trilogy, generally what readers have come to expect to be "The Payoff Book" and this may be where I hop on the series train.  Because, you know, the hero's father tried to assassinate the Queen!!!

The Defiant Maiden's Knight by Melissa Oliver 

A tense, dramatic medieval love story. 

A knight’s protection… 

That she doesn’t want…or need? 

Joan Lovent may be losing her sight but she refuses to lose her independence too. So when Sir Warin de Talmont tells her it’s too perilous to be out alone in the city, she doesn’t pay him any heed. But with threats surrounding them, she begins to value his protection and helps with his dangerous work in return. If only the powerful connection between them wasn’t so impossible to ignore!

This book kicks off Oliver's new Protectors of the Crown series, which is set in the early days of Henry III's reign and follows a trio of knights protecting the Crown from a mysterious group bent on treason, destruction and all-around shenanigans. A heroine losing her sight, determined to maintain her independence, finds herself leaning on the hero for protection. The back cover blurb offers hints of a "team work" storyline and I love me stories that feature hero and heroine working together towards some larger goal.

The Shopgirl's Forbidden Love by Jenni Fletcher 

From forbidden love 

To forever? 

Belles Biscuit Shop is more like a home than a place of work for Nancy MacQueen. The shared attraction between her and James Redbourne, the handsome owner of a nearby store, has been simmering for years, but she’s refused to trust his feelings for her. After all, they’re not remotely in the same social class. Until one day Nancy can no longer deny her love—only to find he’s become engaged to someone else!

Every month I search for Unusual Historicals and I still have a tendency to miss titles. Case in point, this is the fourth and final (!) book in Fletcher's Regency Belles of Bath series and the third one to feature a shopgirl heroine! Oof!  Anyway, this is the final book in the series, hence another "Payoff Book."  According to the author's website, this romance spans an eight year period starting with events prior to the first book in the series, and picking up where book three left off.  Which means just as the heroine is waking up to smell the coffee? It might already be too late.  Another series discovered, another series to catch up on.

What Unusual Historicals are you looking forward to reading?

Review: Texas Legacy

I started "seriously" reading romance in 1999.  That's 20 years, a lot of books, and Lord knows I can't tell you what I ate for breakfast this morning but I can tell you EXACTLY when and where I was when I read the Texas trilogy by Lorraine Heath.  It was 2001, I was a wee baby Super Librarian working in Michigan, and my employer sent me to San Francisco to attend the 2001 ALA conference to check out new ILS systems (for you non-librarian types - basically a new catalog system).  This was before ebooks and I took all three books in the trilogy, in print, with me and read them back-to-back-to-back.  I was punch drunk by the time I returned home and deeply in love.

Fans of the trilogy have been, quite literally, waiting for Texas Legacy for 20 years.  It's Rawley Cooper's romance.  Rawley, the abused boy that Dallas Leigh adopted in Texas Glory.  Rawley, who had the world's worst childhood and ultimately was destined to hook up with Dallas' biological daughter, Faith.  I had mixed feelings when Avon made the announcement that this romance, this book, was finally happening.  1) OMG LORRAINE HEATH IS WRITING A WESTERN AND IT'S RAWLEY'S STORY AND OMG SQUEEEEE!  2) Wait a minute, Avon Impulse. Shit, it's a novella and 3) It's been 20 years since I've read the trilogy, will I have time to do a reread?

Ultimately I ditched the idea of a reread.  Look, fans have been waiting for 20 years and a lot people haven't read the original trilogy - frankly this novella needs to sink or swim on it's own merits.  I didn't do a reread even though my recollections of Rawley as a character had largely faded from my memory (seriously, do you know how many books I've read in the last 20 years?).

Did this sink or swim?  Well....it mostly floats.  It's definitely a novella for fans and I think readers who recently read the original trilogy will get more out of it but...

Meh.  I rewrote this story in my head the entire time I was reading it.  Which...not the greatest sign.

It's been six years since Rawley took off for parts unknown to "find himself" - but a letter from the woman he considers his mother has him coming home.  Dallas Leigh has a had a bit of a medical scare.  Meeting him at the train station is Faith Leigh, Dallas and Cordelia's biological daughter, the woman that Rawley has always loved but has felt is way too good for the likes of him.  And who should happen to meet him at the train station?  Yeah, you guessed it.  And her welcome home present is to sock him right in the jaw.

Rawley left six years ago without so much as a by-your-leave, so yeah - Faith is a tinch hurt and upset.  They grew up together.  She idolized him.  For him to just take off, without a word?  But Rawley's about to find out a lot has changed since he left the Leigh ranch.  Namely, Faith is not the innocent, young girl she once was...

So where did this go wrong?  Namely, in the fact that this is a novella.  And I say this as someone who LIKES novellas.  Heath writes a handful of chapters in flashback to detail why Rawley left six years ago, with the rest of the story taking place when he comes home.  You know what would have been great?  A full-length novel opening up with several chapters before Rawley left, a few chapters covering the period right after Rawley left, and then the final half of the book detailing Rawley coming home, reuniting with Faith, dealing with their respective baggage and living happily ever after.  Instead, as a novella, we get a climactic finish that strains credulity (really, the bad guy has been gone for SIX YEARS and suddenly just decides to show up right at the moment when Rawley decides to come home?) and a rushed romance that relies heavily on the fan's nostalgic feelings for the original trilogy.

Is this "bad?" No, it's not bad. It just could have been so much better. A historical western set in the early 20th century as civilization began altering the landscape even more (motion pictures, motor cars, oil men carving up Texas etc.).  It could have been so much bigger, more sweeping, and instead it's like a nice little novella love note instead.  Hey, nothing wrong with that necessarily, but it feels like Heath has wrapped up her saga with a postcard, as opposed to a letter. 

It's fine.  It's nice.  But....meh.

Final Grade = C

Notable Unusual Historicals for January 2019

New Year, new you? Well, if you’ve already broken your resolutions, maybe not. But at least we can all look forward to a new year of historical romance. January brings us a long-awaited follow-up to a beloved late-1990s trilogy, a Wendy recommended reprint, an angsty new K.J. Charles (woot!), Vikings and an enemy-to-lovers story set against the backdrop of the Jacobite rebellion.

Any Old Diamonds by K.J. Charles 

Lord Alexander Pyne-ffoulkes, the younger son of the Duke of Ilvar, holds a bitter grudge against his wealthy father. The Duke intends to give his Duchess a priceless diamond parure on their wedding anniversary—so Alec hires a pair of jewel thieves to steal it.  

The Duke's remote castle is a difficult target, and Alec needs a way to get the thieves in. Soldier-turned-criminal Jerry Crozier has the answer: he'll pose as a Society gentleman and become Alec's new best friend.  

But Jerry is a dangerous man: controlling, remote, and devastating. He effortlessly teases out the lonely young nobleman's most secret desires, and soon he's got Alec in his bed—and the palm of his hand.  

Or maybe not. Because as the plot thickens, betrayals, secrets, new loves, and old evils come to light. Now the jewel thief and the aristocrat must keep up the pretence, find their way through a maze of privilege and deceit, and confront the truth of what's between them...all without getting caught. 

To be honest, reading this blurb doesn’t exactly scream “Romance!” for me, so it’s a good thing Love in Panels has already published Eva’s review. I’m a sucker for angst and this book sounds like it’s positively swimming in it. Also, I love the way Charles evokes setting, so I’m all in.

Texas Legacy by Lorraine Heath 

For as long as he can remember, Rawley Cooper has loved Faith Leigh. But the cruelty of his childhood haunts him and he knows he’s undeserving of Faith. When she comes to him on the night of her nineteenth birthday, they both give into temptation. But the searing kiss reaffirms what he’s always known: he can’t have a lifetime of her in his arms. To protect his heart, he packs his things and heads west.  

Faith has always adored the boy her parents took in and raised. But she’s not certain she can ever forgive him for riding out of her life just when she needed him the most.
When an urgent telegram forces him to return six years later, Rawley discovers Faith is now a woman to be reckoned with.  

As old feelings are stirred back to life and new passions take hold, they both must confront secrets from their past or risk losing a legacy of love. 

Rawley was first introduced in Heath’s Texas trilogy, which means fans of that series have literally been begging for this story since 1999. I vividly remember reading the trilogy back-to-back-to-back in 2001 (I was traveling) but at this point, and many books later, Rawley has faded a bit (OK, a lot) from my memory. Crushing TBR Guilt keeps me from rereading, so I’m going to go into this one like a stand-alone and hope that Heath recaptures the magic.

Sent as the Viking’s Bride by Michelle Styles 

She’s the wife he doesn’t want…  

 …and the woman he needs!  

Desperate to escape her murderous brother-in-law and protect her young sister, Ragnhild agrees to marry an unknown warrior, and arrives penniless on his remote island. Only, Gunnar Olafson’s belief in love died with his family—he does not want a bride! But as yuletide approaches, Ragnhild transforms his isolated existence. Can she melt her Viking warrior’s frozen heart? 

A villainous brother-in-law, a wounded hero, a heroine in need of a safe haven and all out of options. Styles, who has written everything from ancient Rome to Regency, returns to Vikings, which is where she’s been the past several books.

The Highland Renegade by Amy Jarecki 

She is the daughter of his sworn enemy.
Famed for his fierceness, Laird Robert Grant is above all a loyal Highland clan chief. But when redcoats capture his rival's daughter, he sets aside their feud and races to her rescue. Aye, Janet Cameron is beautiful, cunning, and so very tempting, but a Cameron lass is the last woman he should ever desire.
He is her one hope of happiness. 

Janet refuses to meekly surrender, not even when surrounded by foes. She takes every chance to escape, first from the English soldiers and then from the wickedly handsome Robert. Yet with each day they spend together, his unexpected gallantry chips away at her reserve little by little. As danger and treachery loom, can she trust him enough to choose love over vengeance? 

An enemy-to-lovers story, this fifth book in Jarecki’s Lords of the Highlands series has piqued my interest thanks to review coverage I ran across at The Day Job. Library Journal calls it “beautifully done,” and that the “adventurous romance” is “greatly enhanced by an exquisite depiction of life in the early 18th-century Scottish Highlands.” A hopeful bit of teasing for readers who prefer their historicals to, well, read like historicals.

Winter Woman by Jenna Kernan 

She survived the winter alone…
After Cordelia Channing endures the lethal winter season alone in the Rocky Mountains, she is discovered by Thomas Nash, a solitary mountain man who wants only to hunt, trap and be left alone to grieve the woman he could not save. 

Cordelia aches to go east before winter but over the days and miles, Delia finds her battered spirit yearning for this self-reliant trapper, who stirs her longing and wakes her heart.  

With only few, vital months to hunt before the snows fly, Nash has no time to look after a woman. He is surprised as Delia transforms his life and gives him the second chance he never expected. But with fall approaching, she must face her resolve to escape another deadly winter, and he must confront his oath not to open his heart to love once more. 

A digital reprint that was first published by Harlequin Historical in 2003, I really enjoyed this story a lot when I read it back in 2005. Her preacher husband goes out hunting and ends up dead, leaving the heroine to survive winter alone in an isolated cabin. She’s found by peaceful Natives whose solution to finding a half-starved white woman is to take her to the only white guy they know - the trapper hero who isn’t much of a “people person.” A well-done romance and survival story, the setting is pre-Civil War (1835) isolated frontier and I ate it up.

What Unusual Historicals are you looking forward to this month?

#TBRChallenge 2018: Sweet Lullaby

The Book: Sweet Lullaby by Lorraine Heath

The Particulars: Historical western romance, Berkley Diamond Books Homespun, 1994, Out of print.  Available in digital edition, Harpercollins Avon, 2010

Why Was It In Wendy's TBR?:  It's a Lorraine Heath western and a beloved book for many in Romancelandia.  I tracked down a print copy pre-ebook days and paid the exorbitant price of $6.50 for a pristine used copy.  Because that's what us old farts had to do back in the pre-ebook days.

The Review: It's been a long time since Wendy hated on a classic romance beloved by Romancelandia - yet, here we are.  Although "hate" is probably too strong a word.  To get this party started let me just say that this was Lorraine Heath's debut novel and it finalled for a RITA.  That bit about this being her debut?  That's important.  I'm come back to it in a moment.

Rebecca Anderson is the only child of a prosperous Kentucky rancher and Daddy has been grooming her to take over the family business.  Then the fool girl makes the mistake of falling in love with one of the men and getting pregnant.  This is how naive our girl is - when she tells her father about the baby she's blindsided by his less-than-thrilled reaction.  Anyway, the Baby Daddy has taken off for parts unknown before Rebecca even knows she's pregnant and he made no promises or gave any indications when or if he would return for her.  Daddy sees only one option.  She's going to have to marry someone else and Jake Burnett is the man for the job.

Jake has loved Rebecca since he first laid eyes on her and while they are friends, this love is totally unrequited.  But given her limited options and with Jake having land in Texas that they can settle on, a shotgun wedding is planned and over with before we even hit page 50.

After I finished the first two chapters I immediately went to check the author's web site.  This is the same author who wrote the Texas trilogy and Always to Remember?  Yes it is - and that's how I verified that this was her debut.  Guys, it totally reads like a debut.  You know what else it reads like?  Like the author wanted this to be a saga.  A 600-800 page historical saga with a long-winding romance arc but she ended up selling it to Berkley who told her to chop out half the word count.  The character development is flat.  We're TOLD Jake has unrequited feelings for Rebecca.  We're TOLD they're friends.  But there's no foundation laid.  Other than Jake being the Beta-iest Hero to Ever Beta, I'm not sure WHY he loved Rebecca so fiercely.  The pacing also felt "off."  There's too much time spent on secondary characters for a book that's less than 300 pages (in my opinion) and there's a mad dash to the finish line that felt positively frantic.

Things do get better the further along in the story we go, but these characters never feel fully realized until towards the very end of the book, and that's when more problems come into play.  Namely, Rebecca.  Man, is this girl a problem.

I liked her at first, I really did.  She has gumption.  She knows her own mind.  She sticks up for herself and for Jake.  But, as you can probably guess, her past comes back to haunt her towards the final third of the book and that was when she was dead to me.  You know how we like to talk about romance heroes who need to grovel?  The kind of heroes you want to have to crawl over broken glass to atone for how dismally they treat the heroine?  Well, never let it be said that I'm not equal opportunity because Rebecca's actions during this portion of the book had me shaking my head in disgust. 

Original cover. Isn't it horrid?

Now, Jake?  He's one of your standard Too Good To Be True heroes.  The only thing (and I mean ONLY) thing saving this guy from being a hopeless Gary Stu is that the author gives him a back story to explain his lack of backbone.  Frankly, given Rebecca's actions in the latter half of this story I was left firmly believing that he was WAY too good for her and was hoping against hope he'd fall in love with a woman who truly deserves him (for those of you who have read this - I had my eye on Velvet The Prostitute for that role).

I was all set to slap this with a C grade, mostly because of the flat writing and lack of character development.  But then the conflict that spurs the reader towards The Black Moment comes into play and it left a sour taste in my mouth.  I'll be honest - this final grade is probably a little harsh.  I've read way worse and maybe if I had read this book earlier in my romance reading life I would have loved it.  But I didn't and I didn't and here's where we're at. 

Final Grade = D+

The Gunslinger

A new Lorraine Heath western!  Well, sort of.  The Gunslinger was previously published in a shorter format in the To Tame A Texan anthology back in 1999.  The author expanded it a bit (to just over 100 pages) and Avon has reissued it under their Impulse banner.  It has some of the hallmarks that I come to expect from a Heath western but ultimately fell short for me thanks to a too big plot in too small a word count.

Chance Wilder is no hero.  He's a world-weary, soulless gunslinger.  He's not the fastest draw in the west, but he is deadly accurate.  He's sitting with his back to the wall in yet another series of endless saloons when a young boy comes running in sporting a bloody, broken nose.  His older sister is getting harassed by some local thugs, and having heard that a famed gunslinger was in town, Toby offers the man everything he owns to save his sister.  Chance agrees and ends up saving Lillian Madison from nearly being raped by shooting her assailant between the eyes.  However she's not terribly pleased that he just killed a man, and she's really not pleased when it turns out Chance was also wounded and she needs to nurse him back to health.  Close proximity and the added complications of why Chance was in town in the first place round out the conflict.

The whole time I was reading this I couldn't help thinking, why not expand it to a full length novel?  Because ultimately that is the sticking point here.  There's a lot of potential for angst here that is defused and a lot of complicated emotions that are left unexplored.  This is especially a determent to the heroine, who suffers because of the shorter word count.  Her reaction post-almost-rape is no reaction.  It's like nothing happened to her.  In fact her only reaction is to be Miss Prissy Pants that Chance killed a man.  Never mind that that the man had a legacy of harassing her and was two seconds away from raping her.  She eventually does have a breakdown moment where it finally seems to hit her, what almost happened to her, and what did happen to her, but it's a brief moment that quickly goes away after Chance holds her.

Likewise Chance has a very intriguing back-story, and while I wanted more of it, there is enough here to make hero-centric readers quite happy.  There's also a villain lurking in the background (other than the dead rapist) who wants to push Lil off her land.  This is pretty compelling conflict despite the fact that it wouldn't exist if Lil wasn't so blindly prideful.  Telling the villain the truth, instead of perpetuating rumors and lies, would have solved all her problems.  But noooooo, why ever would she want to do that?!

Everything is, naturally, right as rain in the end - which leads to another issue.  It's a very Sunshine Merry Sue Rainbow ending.  One I probably would have loved in a longer, full-length novel, but in the shorter novella length?  It strains.  The villain naturally sees the error of his ways, after Chance spills the beans (not Lil - because of course!), and the epilogue is suitably sappy with Chance's family estrangement getting blissfully swept under the rug.

It was nice, and it was OK - but man, it could have been better.  As it stands as a novella, Lil suffered and I never warmed up to her.  Chance fares better, but his past is so dark and black I have a hard time buying into a happy ending for him (mostly because every two-bit, would-be gunslinger would come gunning for him looking to make a name for themselves - but whatever).  Toby was a real charmer however and the strongest take-away from this story for me.  Of course it's hard to not be charmed by a boy who hires a gunslinger to protect his sister and offers him "everything" he owns.  Which includes his lucky penny, a good length of string, and a rusty harmonica.  Seriously, how could you not fall in love with that kid?

Final Grade = C+

TBR Challenge 2014: Always To Remember

Original Jove Cover - Blah

The Book: Always to Remember by Lorraine Heath

The Particulars: Historical romance, Jove, 1996, Out of Print, Available Digitally (reissued by Harpercollins)

Why Was It In Wendy's TBR?:  This used to be the Holy Grail for western historical romance fans and like all HG's, you had to cough up a kidney and/or sell an ovary to get your hands on a used copy.  I eventually did - I think scoring it via an online romance bud.  In 1997 this won the RITA for Best Short Historical.  My print copy clocks in at 323 pages while the Harpercollins digital edition claims to be only 100 pages (which makes no sense - but there you have it.)

The Review:  Hype is a dangerous thing.  The vast majority of the time when a book is hyped it's pretty much doomed to be a meh read for me.  But this book?  This book.  People, I just can't even! This is an instance where the hype sells the book short.  It's that good.  Drop everything, call in sick to work, tell the kids someone better be on fire before they bother you - this is squee'worthy awesome-sauce every day of the week and twice on Sunday.

Cedar Grove, Texas gave it's young men to the Confederacy.  The only men left in town are old and bitter or young and bitter (having been too young to join the war and fight for the Glorious Cause).  Meg Warner gave up more than most.  Three brothers and her husband.  Gone.  Killed at Gettysburg.  Buried in a mass grave.  As a constant reminder to all that she and the town has lost?  The coward Clayton Holland.  He grew up with their sons and husbands but instead of standing by them, of going off to war with them, he refused to pick up a rifle.  He refused to serve.  While their loved ones marched off to die Clayton Holland the coward was hauled off by Confederate soldiers, condemned to die, but somehow weaseled out of even doing that.  Now he's back in town, working his parents' farm with his three younger brothers.  Meg cannot abide this man.  Her hatred bleeds off the page and she wants Clay to suffer - to suffer more than she has and does.  His father used to cut stone, having done most of the tombstones in town.  Clay learned at his knee.  What better way to make him suffer than to have him carve a monument to all of the town's fallen heroes.  As he works on that monument, as he toils on it, the weight of his cowardice will crush his very soul.  Revenge complete.

Except, of course, it doesn't work that way.  Meg may have grown up with Clay but that doesn't mean she knows him.  He readily agrees to create the monument, and to exact her revenge, to take joy in every ounce of his suffering, she spends most of her free time supervising his progress.  But as naturally happens in romance novels?  The more time she spends with him, the more she sees how amazingly wrong she and the rest of the town are about Clay.  Turns out they don't know the first thing about courage and what it means to be truly brave.

Awesome book, two awful covers.

A large reason why I love historical westerns is that the sub genre plays nicely into universal themes that I find particularly compelling.  Heath explores the ideas of courage and bravery throughout this story.  Clay doesn't fight, but that makes him far from a coward.  Of course the town, swallowed by their grief, cannot see or understand that.  Clay is the quintessential western hero.  The man who stands up for what he believes in.  The man who does what is right, always.  It may not be popular.  It damn well could get him killed.  But he's not a man who will turn tail and run even when running would be the easiest thing in the world to do.

Meg is spiteful and hateful and you totally understand why.  She's young.  She's pretty.  And the war took everything from her.  She loved her husband.  She sent him off to war with tears in her eyes and fervent prayers for his return.  He never did, and neither did her three brothers.  The war nearly killed her spirit.  Her desire, her hatred, for Clay feeds her.  Slowly but surely that veil is lifted from her eyes, and then that's when the test of real courage comes into play.  Because she has fallen in love with a man whose reputation will surely drag her down like a sinking ship.  Does she have the courage, faith in both Clay and their love for each other to make a stand?

Heath has written some very good books.  Of her westerns in particular I've read books ranging from "It was OK" to "Keeper! Keeper! Keeper!"  But this book?  I know she's still writing.  I know she's probably got a lot of stories left in her.  But this book?  This book is a masterpiece.  It's a triumph.  I know authors who would start sacrificing virgins if the outcome was creating a story like this one.  It's that good.  I'm ordering all of you to read it right now.  Right.  Now.

Final Grade = A

TBR Challenge 2010: When Lorraine Comes Marching Home

The Book: My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys by Lorraine Heath, Georgina Gentry & Teresa Bodwell

The Particulars: Historical western anthology, Kensington, trade paperback, 2006, In Print. 2010 mass market paperback reprint is also in print.

Why Was It In The Bat Cave TBR?: Anthology or no (and I happen to like anthologies), this is a western. Which means Wendy bought it brand new, in trade paperback even. Also, hello? Lorraine Heath back to writing a western. Even if it is "just a short story," wild horses couldn't have kept me away.

The Review: I'm going to review these stories in the order which they appear in the book.

First up is "The Great Cowboy Race" by Georgina Gentry. Henrietta runs away to her Daddy's home in Nebraska to avoid an arranged marriage back in Boston. She arrives only to learn Daddy is away on a business trip. But instead of going to Daddy's massive ranch and throwing herself at the mercy of a housekeeper or ranch foreman, she decides to enter a horse race that will end in Chicago. Couple this improbability with a tell-y writing style, improbable character names like Comanche Jones and Throckmoroton P. Gutterstaff III, and the fact that the heroine is a brain-dead ninny? Yeah, I deserve a medal for getting through the first chapter. Needless to say, that was when I stopped.

Grade = DNF

"Moonlight Whispers" by Teresa Bodwell does a good job of cleansing my palate after the previous hot mess. Isabelle Milton arrives in Hell Gate, Washington hoping to reunite with her father. Unfortunately footloose Daddy is nowhere to be found. Isabelle is helping out the family that owns the local watering hole, but they're about to put her out on her ear. Riding to her rescue? Rancher Lucas Warring who only came to town to find his wastrel baby brother.

This is pretty standard western fare. Lucas doesn't want a housekeeper, especially Isabelle who was raised to be a "lady" and is therefore pretty much useless. It's fairly engaging and I was enjoying myself, until the first love scene, which hit some ick buttons. It's not forced seduction, but I'll be honest - it's rather unpleasant. It left a bad taste in my mouth, and for that reason the happily-ever-after didn't exactly warm the cockles of my heart. Disappointing.

Grade = C

"The Reluctant Hero" by Lorraine Heath is the final story, and keeps me from regretting that I pulled this one out of the TBR to read this month. Andrea Jackson writes dime novels and unfortunately her muse has left the building. Desperate for a hero, she travels to Gallant, Texas to meet Sheriff Matthew Knight, a man who single-handedly brought in the Ace In The Hole gang - dead, not alive. Andrea figures she's can stretch this guy into a hero for a whole series of books! The problem, of course, is Matt, who doesn't think he's a hero, and doesn't want to be glorified in a series of dime novels. What to do, what to do?

Reading this story just makes me more angry that Heath is no longer writing full-length westerns. Well-written, emotionally engaging, and featuring two characters with plenty of personal baggage. However it's the route the author takes to the happily-ever-after that sells me on this tale. It's not an easy road, and in fact, could have blown up in the face of a less-skilled writer. Heath explores the notion of heroes and hero-worship, and it makes for a compelling read. It also knocked the wind right out of me. Someone asked me on Twitter the other day what makes a good short story? Yeah, this one. That's all you need to know.

Grade = A

I have no flippin' clue how to grade this anthology as a whole. As awesome as the Heath story was, that's how terrible I found the Gentry entry - which I couldn't even bring myself to finish. The Bodwell story was pretty good until I hit that first sex scene wall, but it wasn't without it's charms. So instead of making my brain hurt, I'm not going to assign this one an overall grade. Heck, I'm still trying to decide if I'm going to keep this book. In the long run, I think I will. It's going to be a while before I can "let go" of that Heath entry.