Candy Hearts: Unusual Historicals for February 2025

If January felt six months long, February has been blinked and you missed it - and yes, I realize February is the shortest month of the year, but still. I'm gearing up for my busy season at work (end of the fiscal year, June 30, is big hairy deal in my job and I basically start that process around this time) and I'll be going in for outpatient surgery the first week in March to take care of the hiatal hernia that has made my life miserable for the past couple of years. But, we still have books (well, at least for now...) and while February is a short month, it's a bonanza of options for unusual historicals - which, dead my ass. Again, historicals will only die on our watch, so if any of these look good to you - give them a whirl and spread the good word far and wide.  Here's what caught my eye this month:

A Tropical Rebel Gets the Duke by Adriana Herrera

Paris, 1889

Physician Aurora Montalban Wright takes risks in her career, but never with her heart. Running an underground women’s clinic exposes her to certain dangers, but help arrives in the unexpected form of the infuriating Duke of Annan. Begrudgingly, Aurora accepts his protection, then promptly finds herself in his bed.   

New to his role as a duke, Apollo César Sinclair Robles struggles to embrace his position. With half of society waiting for him to misstep and the other half looking to discredit him, Apollo never imagined that his enthralling bedmate would become his most trusted adviser. Soon, he realizes the rebellious doctor could be the perfect duchess for him. But Aurora won’t give up her independence, and her secrets make her unsuitable for the aristocracy.

When dangerous figures from their pasts return to threaten them, Apollo whisks Aurora away to the French Riviera. Far from the reproachful eye of Parisian society, can Apollo convince Aurora that their bond is stronger than the forces keeping them apart?    

This is the third and final book in the author's Las Leonas trilogy and this back cover blurb positively sings for me. Paris, a physician heroine in the crosshairs for having the gall to provide women with health care and a Duke hero who is very much on the outside looking in. He's determined to make her his duchess and she's less than thrilled with the idea - sign me up!

Never Gamble Your Heart by Lindsay Lovise

When the genteelly born, impoverished Frankie Turner's impulsive younger sister goes missing, Frankie has no idea where to begin the search to find her. But when she discovers hasty marriages materializing between “troublemaking” women and men who don’t deserve them, she knows her sister is somehow involved. The only thread connecting the groomsmen is a membership to Rockford’s, an exclusive gambling hell owned by the devilish Jasper Jones. And it just so happens that Jasper has recently become the guardian of a sullen fifteen-year-old.

Jasper suspects his new governess has an ulterior motive for being in his household, but he can hardly find the time to uncover it when his life is in a constant uproar. First, Frankie teaches his niece how to count cards and then she tries to break into his study. When he finally learns Frankie’s true reason for being there, he agrees to help the brilliant mathematician find her missing sister, even if it means giving her a fake dowry and watching men trip over themselves in her presence. As he and Frankie work together to dismantle a nefarious scheme, Jasper realizes that for the first time in his life, he’s gambled his heart—and possibly lost it.

Lovise is one of the few new writers working in historicals right now and this is the second book in her Secret Society of Governess Spies series.  A heroine with a penchant for numbers looking for her missing sister finds a connection at the hero's gambling hall, the same hero who has a sullen teenage ward. They're soon working together to bring down a dastardly plot, as one does...

The Viking's Princess Bride by Sarah Rodi

He’s won the throne… 

But she’s his royal prize! 

Victorious in his quest for revenge, Viking Njal takes the Saxon crown—and their princess! But while he’s wedding Cwen in the name of peace, he cannot deny the way she entices him. Even if it’s clear she’s holding something back… 

Princess Cwen has long accepted being used for her kingdom’s gain, but taking the enemy’s hand is the most outrageous request yet! Still, the rugged warrior ignites a fire inside her… Cwen just can't let Njal storm her carefully constructed walls. Because she’s harboring a secret that could rock the foundations of their marriage!

Rodi's latest stand-alone features a Viking hero who has taken a crown by force and decides to wed a princess in the name of "peace," while she, understandably is less than thrilled with the idea, even if she's always known that what she wants has very little to do with anything - oh, and look, she has a Big Secret!  Because what's a princess without a secret?

The Confessions of a Lady by Darcy McGuire

Dare she risk her secrets?

In the world of upstairs/downstairs, Housemaid Penny Smith anticipates her employer’s needs and blends into the background making her the perfect spy for the prime minister against a suspected member of the Devil’s Sons. There’s only one problem. When she meets the guilty marquess, his actions don’t match the evidence against him. Lord William Renquist defies her every expectation and sets her traitorous heart racing.

Lord William Renquist, Marquess of Stoneway and secret spy to Queen Victoria, must infiltrate the Devil’s Sons, tearing the brotherhood apart from the inside. His mission – to bring evil men to justice while atoning for the sins of his family, proving honour is stronger than tainted blood. There’s only one problem. A canny maid who is always in the right place at the wrong time and who deliciously challenges his every order.

Liam and Penny are unknowingly playing a dangerous game from opposite sides of justice. And at a masked ball, forbidden attraction burns into something far more complex as their secrets spin into daring confessions. This battle against their enemy will only be won if Penny and Liam can work together. But can a maid from downstairs ever trust an upstairs marquess?

This is the third book in the author's Queen's Deadly Damsels series and features a housemaid, who is a spy and a Marquess, who is a spy. Do either of them know the other is a spy? Of course not - there's no fun in that!  Also, and this cannot be overstated, I am trash for upstairs/downstairs "stuff" in historical romance.

Benefactor to the Baroness by Melissa Kendall

In a world of rules, surrendering to love is the only rebellion that matters.

Plagued by survivors’ guilt after escaping her impoverished childhood selling matchsticks, Fontaine Shepherd, the Dowager Lady Kerry, uses her position on the board of a charitable foundation to relocate starving orphans to the new world—until contact with the new office is abruptly lost. Fearing the foundation will discover she’s been clandestinely using funds to bribe workhouse owners to release children, she decides to travel across the ocean and re-establish communication herself.

Except the only captain who can transport her in time insists that she not travel alone.

Facing a lonely life after marrying off her nieces, Rosemary Summersby reluctantly agrees to attend a ladies’ charity group. There, she meets the vivacious Lady Kerry, who challenges her long-held beliefs of how a lady should look and act. Compelled by a desire to experience the excitement of which her niece often speaks, Rosemary accompanies the dowager baroness to a workhouse and witnesses the cruelty of poverty firsthand.

Then Lady Kerry stumbles into Rosemary’s cottage one night with an outrageous request: to travel across the ocean as her companion and help her uncover the mystery behind the missing orphans.

Unable to convince the dowager baroness of the dangers of her plan and remembering the sense of responsibility that drove her to accept three orphans into her life fifteen years prior, Rosemary decides to join Lady Kerry on her trip. But as the vast ocean and a noble mission stretches before them, a shared purpose and a single bunk ignite an unexpected passion that makes both women question what they truly want for themselves.

I'm going to be honest, I find this back cover blurb for the third book in the author's Seductive Sleuths series entirely too messy, but we've got a Dowager noblewoman who has known poverty, freeing children from deplorable workhouse conditions who needs a companion to travel across an ocean to unravel a mess. Also, while people are neither genre nor trope (says Wendy) - it's also Sapphic. At the very least it's worth reading a sample.

Complications in Paris by Melinda Copp

It was supposed to be a season in France, but then she decided not to go home.

Diane Talbot is an American in Paris and desperately wants to stay that way. Instead of returning to Woollett, New York, she and her sister didn't get on the boat. Now, nearly a year later, their father's fiancée and her stepson—at Daddy's behest—have come to Paris to bring them home. When they surprise Diane in a compromising situation with French party boy Guillaume Allard, she improvises and claims they're engaged.

It's the perfect plan. As long as she can convince her family that she's getting married and has established herself in Paris, they can't take her home. The best part is that Diane won't really have to get married—not to the man her father wants or to Guillaume.

Handsome and charming Guillaume barely knows Diane. But she's fun, and he owes her a favor. He goes along with the fake engagement, but that's a decision he soon regrets.

As Diane and Guillaume spend more time together, the ruse gets harder to perpetuate, and her family gets more involved. Soon, this perfect solution is far trickier than anticipated, and their feelings for each other have grown so complicated that it can only be love. Ultimately, they're forced to face an impossible obstacle to their happily ever after: he wants a lifelong commitment, and she believes marriage is a trap best avoided.

Three words: Belle. Époque. Paris. If that isn't enough, an American heiress in Paris not all that anxious to return home (I mean, I'd stay in Paris just for the croissants and macaroons, so I hear you girl!) fakes an engagement with a "French party boy," as one does.  Of course it all soon gets complicated, as it always does.

The Mysteries of Pendowar Hall by Syrie James

She vowed to solve a murder.

Now she’s in danger of losing her heart … and her very life.

Diana Taylor, a bright and spirited governess who has sworn off love, is sent to Pendowar Hall in Cornwall to honor a pledge. She vows to teach her godmother’s niece and to find out who was behind the suspicious death of the former baronet. But her new charge is also a mystery, as is the man who inherited the ancient coastal estate—the charismatic but brooding Royal Navy Captain William Fallbrook, who is home on leave to recover from an injury.

As Diana investigates, her feelings for the enigmatic Captain Fallbrook blossom, and her guard goes up. Pendowar Hall is brimming with secrets as well as a frightening legend about a Mermaid’s Curse. What is behind the mysterious footsteps in the night? Is there more to the story of the tragic deaths of the former baronet’s wife and son? What secrets is Captain Fallbrook hiding? Can she trust the man who has stolen her heart?

He looks to be entranced by Diana, even though her determination to dig up the past seems to get on his last nerve. Soon, Diana’s bold quest to unmask his uncle’s killer leads her into terrifying danger, for someone is determined to end her life before she can discover the truth.

The first book in the Audacious Sisterhood of Smoke & Fire series has all the touchstones of a Gothic - Cornwall, a suspicious death, a governess, and a brooding hero (in this case a Navy Captain!) who has inherited an "ancient coastal estate." Also there's a curse, because of course there's a curse.  I am trash for Gothics, so this one is more than worth a look.

Evidence of Evil by Mary Lancaster

Pursuing murder and fighting love…

Several weeks after they parted company, courtesan Constance calls on the wealthy business-man Solomon Grey to request his help solving another mystery. Her old friend Elizabeth, now the wife of respected magistrate Sir Humphrey Maule, is being accused of murder.

Solomon, bored and restless, happily agrees, before he realizes they are expected to pose as husband and wife. While this presents its own challenges, the case itself is elusive. The young woman fished out of the lake in her nightgown is the Maules’ neighbor, and there is nothing to show how she died except that it was not by drowning.

Hunting for evidence, Constance and Solomon turn their attention to the complicated victim herself, who may have harboured more than one deadly secret.

Sigh. The second book in the Silver and Grey trilogy and I've had Book 1 in my immediate TBR for the past two months. Soon, my pet, soon. Anyway, our couple, a courtesan heroine and a wealthy businessman hero, pose as husband and wife to find a killer. 

A Diamond in the Rough by Andrea Pickens (Reprint)

Determined not to follow in the footsteps of his weak-willed wastrel father, Adrian, Lord Marquand, has designed a life for himself based on order and reason . . . and a passion for creating the most beautiful gardens in England. However, he must keep his true identity as England’s most acclaimed landscape designer a secret. But when his father gambles away Adrian’s beloved ancestral estate, he’s sure all is lost . . . until he’s offered a way to win it back.

Adrian isn’t the only one keeping secrets. Derrien McClellan, a fiery, unconventional Scottish lass must disguise herself as a boy to play golf on the hallowed course at St. Andrews. She’s the best golfer. . . which is why a dear family friend asks her help in teaching Adrian how to play so he can beat an unprincipled cad at his own game and win back Woolsey Hall. Derrien has good reason to dislike an English lord, but she grudgingly agrees.

And so the games begin! Secrets tangle with misunderstandings as the mismatched pair struggle to work together. And suddenly the stakes are higher as they head into the final match . . . with their hearts now in play, will Love conquer all?

Pickens has written a lot of books (she's also published under the names Cara Elliott and Andrea Penrose) and my sleuthing confirms this is a reprint of a Traditional Regency published by Signet in 2001.  This is a sports romance (golf!) and a Trad. I mean, if that's not an unusual historical nothing is. Also, god bless All About Romance, I was able to find a review they published for the book back in 2001, written by old friend of the blog, Blythe.

A Rogue to Watch Over Me by Tara Kingston

A woman in danger . . . a bold Scot who’s vowed to protect her . . .

AMELIA STEWART is no man’s damsel in distress. When a dashing Scottish rogue storms into her orderly library claiming he is there to defend her from a mysterious threat—summoned by a letter her brother wrote before his death—she rebuffs him as a cruel fraud. Amelia has had her fill of charlatans seeking to profit off her raw grief. But when she’s targeted by ruthless criminals hunting a treasure tied to her brother’s suspicious death, Amelia joins forces with the brash rake to bring the cutthroats to justice. As danger closes in, Amelia and the tempting Scot are brought together, day and night. She knows better than to fall for a man like him, but Logan MacLain might well be the rogue she’d never dreamed she wanted . . . never dreamed she needed . . . with—or without—his kilt.

Honor bound to watch over her, he’ll risk everything . . . except his heart . . .

LOGAN MacLAIN made his fortune taking risks. Now settled into a comfortable life running his tavern in Queen Victoria’s London, he’s content with a rogue’s existence and the hard-won certainty that love is mere fantasy. Until a message from a dead man calls upon him to repay a debt of honor. Now, Logan must risk his life to shield his murdered friend’s sister from the sinister menace which stalks her. But soon, protecting Amelia is no longer about a duty spawned by a long-ago vow. Drawn to her, he desires the clever beauty above all others. He wants Amelia in his arms. By his side. And in his bed.

A rogue’s passion . . . a woman’s heartfelt need . . .

But Amelia needs more than his desire. More than his passion. She believes in love. She trusts that Logan will watch over her. He will defend her, no matter the cost. But can he give her the heart he encased in ice all those years ago?

She's in danger from criminals looking for treasure and he's a OMG TAVERN OWNER (!!!!) who has vowed to protect her having been summoned by her brother from beyond the grave. She believes in love, he of course does not. And, you know, there's that whole minor threat on her life thing....

The Detective and the Baroness by Karyn Gerrard

Detective Sergeant Mitchell Simpson’s only purpose is his job with London’s Metropolitan Police. But when he’s seriously injured in the line of duty, he has no idea what to do. So, when he’s offered a private investigation to work on while he recovers, he jumps at it. The problem? His client is the baroness who nursed him back to health…and stole his heart while doing it. And worse, she’s newly married…

After tirelessly working as a nurse for a decade, Lady Corrine Addington entered an arranged marriage to save her family from financial ruin. But it’s not long before she realizes her estranged husband is up to something, so she hires Mitchell to follow him. But even she realizes that she enjoys Mitchell’s company a little too much. Then a murderous turn of events changes everything…

Suddenly a widow, Corrine is free to follow her heart. But Mitchell has figured out what the baron’s murderer was looking for, and fears that Corrine will be the killer’s next target. While Mitchell desperately wants to make her his, it’s more important that he keep her safe, even if it kills him. And it might…

The first in the Duke's Bastards series features a detective hero taking a private job while recovering from an injury. Minor detail that his client is the woman who nursed him back to health and she needs him to follow her estranged husband to find out what he's up to.  Turns out hubby soon gets up to getting dead and our heroine is in danger.

Heartbreaker of the Ton by Emily Royal

A ruined woman, a virgin vicar, a forbidden love.

Debutante Juliette Howard’s attempt to ruin her sister out of envy and spite ended badly—with Juliette herself ruined, disgraced, and pregnant. Consumed by regret, and reviled by Society, Juliette fled her family’s disappointment to hide in obscurity in a remote seaside village. As an outsider, she’s viewed with suspicion by all except the vicar with the gentle voice and kind eyes, whose compassionate soul threatens to breach her defenses.

Andrew Staines followed his calling when he entered the church. But his faith is continually tested in the country parish where the gentry consider those of lower rank to be disposable commodities. His is a lone voice speaking out against the injustices of the world—until a mysterious widow arrives with her young son. Her soulful eyes speak of past tragedy, but despite the hardships she endures, she becomes a champion for the cause of the downtrodden, and Andrew finds himself in danger of falling in love.

Despite vowing to protect her heart, Juliette finds a soul mate in Andrew—a man struggling with his faith, as she struggles to reconcile herself with her past sins.

But a fallen woman with an illegitimate child is no suitable match for a chaste vicar, a man revered as the model of morality. And when Juliette discovers Andrew’s connection to her family, she realizes that some sins can never be forgiven.

Y'all, this book was written just for me - I'm convinced of it. I am trash for a virgin hero paired with a heroine who has "a reputation." Also, it sounds like this heroine was a villain in a previous book and just get in my eyeballs already!   This is the sixth book in the author's Misfits of the Ton series.

Whew! I feel like we all just ran a marathon - 12 unusual historicals for our consideration to keep us warm during the remaining winter months.  What are you looking forward to picking up?

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?

Boom! Unusual Historicals for July 2024

July is always a lost month for me because while it does feature my happy birthday, it's also the one time of year where I have hard, stressful deadlines at work thanks to a July 1 - June 30 fiscal cycle. I'm closing out the books on the previous year and then figuring out how to bleed a stone allocating the incoming year's budget. Seriously, the next person I see online whining about how wait lists are too long and their library's eBook collection sucks better run and hide because I am full up y'all. 

But you know what calms stress? Books. Then throw some more books on top of those books. And this month's Unusual Historicals crop is a good place to start. I'm highlighting ten books this month!

A Deal with the Rebellious Marquess by Bronwyn Scott

A search for the truth

Leads to a discovery of passion!

After tragically losing her husband, Fleur is determined to expose the man responsible in a tell-all news article. Yet she’s thwarted by Jasper, the infuriating, rebellious—and undeniably handsome!—Marquess of Meltham, when she implicates his brother. His deal? They work to uncover the truth together! As sparks of hostility turn into sparks of desire, Fleur must decide whether her vendetta is worth the cost of losing her heart…

The final book in the author's Enterprising Widows trilogy that follows three heroines trying to rebuild their lives after losing their husbands in the 1852 Holmfirth Flood. This is a apropos book to wrap the series up with, the heroine determined to expose the man she feels is responsible but having to navigate around, and ultimately partner with, that man's brother.

A Cinderella to Redeem the Earl by Ann Lethbridge

There are two sides to every story

And to every earl…

Damian, the new Earl of Dart, has returned to England for one purpose: to exact revenge on those who betrayed his family. Having discovered his enemy’s daughter Pamela is now a cook, he hires her. But his plans for vengeance go awry when the beguiling Cinderella sparks an attraction that complicates everything. For if Damian continues with his plan, he will betray the only woman who could redeem him…

He's a hero hungry for a revenge. She's now a cook whose father is the target of the hero's vengeance. The sample I read provides a bit more detail, the hero actually answers his own door in ramshackle rundown manor (shocking the heroine) and our heroine is really his enemy's stepdaughter, her own (now dead) father was a vicar who indulged his daughter by letting her spend time in the kitchen growing up.  

Stranded with her Forbidden Knight by Melissa Oliver

Caught between duty…

And forbidden desire!

Lady Elowen is traveling to her loveless arranged betrothal when she’s rescued from a storm by Lord Simon Trebarr—the enigmatic knight whose family has long been enemies of her own. She should hate him, yet an unwanted attraction has always simmered whenever he’s near… Within the walls of Simon’s Cornish castle, can Elowen resist experiencing passion before condemning herself to a life without it…even if it’s with the man who should be her enemy?

Star-crossed lovers alert! Set in 14th century Cornwall, a heroine trudging her way into a loveless marriage is rescued from a storm by our knight hero, whose family happens to be her family's sworn enemy. 

A Vengeful King Rises by Sophie Barnes

The only thing more lethal than his need for revenge, is the woman who's tasked with bringing him down.

Adrian Croft dreams of quitting the shady business he stands to inherit, of settling down, and of raising a family free from a life of crime. But when tragedy strikes, this fanciful dream is destroyed. All he wants now is revenge. His anger, however, threatens to cloud his judgment, making it harder for him to recognize danger when it approaches in the form of a beautiful woman.

Trained for covert operations as part of a secret government program, Samantha Carmichael's mission is to give British law enforcement a reason to prosecute the most powerful man in the country. But when common sense and duty begin to blur, can she remain steadfast in her goal, or will her loyalties shift as she gradually loses her heart to the one man she cannot afford to love?

First in a new series that follows one couple and "the brutal challenges they must face" intrigues me for a hero who has inherited a criminal enterprise (and isn't overjoyed by that fact) and a heroine charged with bringing him down. 

The Play's the Thing by Margaux Thorne

Everyone’s a player in this love match.

Miss Anna Smythe is planning a romantic wedding to remember—only it’s not her own. After a youthful indiscretion left her with a broken heart and a tarnished reputation, Anna is more than content to sit on the sidelines and watch those around her find their perfect match. When her father, Sir John, informs the family that he’s ready for a second chance at romance with his childhood sweetheart, Anna is overjoyed to spend the summer with her future in-laws dreaming up a swoony future for the fortunate couple. Unfortunately, her happiness is not shared by everyone.

Lord Jacob Wright’s family may have come from nothing, but now that he’s stumbled upon a title, he’s not willing to mix with just anyone. The former journalist and new viscount can spot a fortune hunter from a mile away and Sir John is definitely one who has the audacity to set his sights on Jacob’s mother! A marriage between Sir John and Rose Wright will never happen—not on Jacob’s watch. Even when the Smythe family moves into Jacob’s home for a month, he is determined to kill the fledgling romance on the vine.

However, Jacob never anticipated Smythe’s daughter being a more than worthy adversary for his romance-poisoning plans. Anna believes in the older couple’s love even more than Jacob distrusts it and routinely thwarts all of his attempts to douse its growing flames.

To make matters worse, the more Jacob spends time with the starry-eyed Anna, the more he realizes she isn’t just another fanciful chit hell-bent on match-making. The delightfully enticing woman has a history, and Jacob soon discovers that Sir John isn’t the one person grappling with second chances. When an old flame reemerges in Anna’s life, resolute in starting where they left off, Jacob is determined to keep Anna by his side. Changing tact, Jacob becomes the romantic, fixed on showing Anna that even with his surly behavior and obstinate ways he’s the only man for her.

Can a few charming picnics, a hermit’s cottage, and chance encounters with circus strongwomen keep Anna from wondering about what might have been with her old flame?

Lord deliver me from back cover blurbs that want to tell the reader the entire story. Anyway, this second book in the author's Cricket Club series piques my interest for a "romantic" heroine who's fine with being on the shelf (for reasons) and the adversarial relationship that enters her life in the form of the hero, when their widowed parents, childhood sweethearts, reunite. I love a good adversarial romance, but they're really tricky to pull off.  Here's hoping!

Cast Vows by Ariella Talix

Danger strikes from all directions. Nothing is as it seems.

Nicolo Stark-James loves with his whole heart, but he finds there are despicable people who are willing to ruin everything.

Matty Remington needs to be safe, but he’s trapped. He has strong faith and a heart made for loving, but he needs to reconcile his love for God with his personal desires.

Eden Godwin might be the one to hold them all together, but her future isn’t her own to decide. She is pitted between love and saving her family from ruin.

Obligations are questioned, and promises are made that may not be kept. 

This is the third book in the author's Hearts of Gold series, all of which feature ménages and take place in 19th century California, this one being set in 1884 Los Angeles. I'm intrigued by that and also by the fact that one of the male characters is struggling with his personal desires and his faith in God. It's a theme we don't see a ton of in erotic romance. 

An Impossible Match by Sandra Sookoo

What the heart wants is sometimes at cross purposes from what is practical.

Miss Genevieve Hasting refuses to become a companion like her two older sisters. She aspires to loftier heights, and though she despises weak-willed men, society’s rules, proper deportment, and stays, she’s willing to suffer them all if it means winning a life of luxury without toil as well as a titled gentleman, except she’s been banished to her father’s country estate as punishment for too many scandals. It’s dull and there aren’t that many men to match with there.

Mr. Thomas Alderman is a country vicar who has enjoyed his living over the years. Though his good looks make him extremely popular with the ladies of his congregation, he hasn’t given marriage much thought, for in his youth, he had been quite the rogue, but he left that behind him when he received his calling to minister. When Miss Hasting slips into his church one glorious sunny morning, he’s thrown into confusion. He’s not that man any longer.

An unexpected courtship springs between the unlikely couple before either of them realizes it’s happening. Though Genna amuses herself while in the country by seducing the handsome vicar, he’s not what she wants for her future. And as much as Thomas adores revisiting the man he used to be, the man who bedded beautiful women like Miss Hasting, she isn’t the type of woman he needs by his side now.

Unless they stop hiding from their true desires, their summertime fling won’t develop into a lasting bond.

We get a lot of rakes in romance who meet the heroine, see the error of their wicked ways, then reform. It's the spin on that well-worn trope that piqued my interest in Sookoo's third book in her Hasting Sisters series. He's already reformed, and now a vicar, who finds himself tempted by an ambitious heroine determined to marry well and bag herself a comfortable life, which is proving difficult thanks her habit of courting scandal. 

London's Leading Lady by Jennifer Seasons

A passionate playwright, a headstrong lady . . . a love story for the ages.

Pragmatic Lady Carlotta Castlebury secretly adores the theatre. Enamored with the written and performed word, she writes play scripts in her journal, her most precious possession. One fateful afternoon in Hyde Park she loses it, only to discover soon after that the latest theatrical performance on Drury Lane sounds remarkably like her play. Yet the audacious liar taking credit for it is decidedly not her. Rather, the insufferable man is London’s most popular playwright, Thatcher Goodrich. Lottie is going to march down to Rhodes Theatre and give the infuriatingly sexy writer a piece of her mind . . . and most assuredly none of her heart.

The third son of an impoverished baron, Thatcher has made his way in the world with his wit and a deft pen. When his muse abandons him and leaves him wordless exactly when King William personally requests a new play, Thatcher does what any desperate playwright would do: he finds one and claims it as his own! He doesn’t expect the true author to barge into the theatre like a beautiful warrior queen and demand her work back.

Yet when His Majesty wishes another play, Thatcher must pen another with her, and the more time he spends with the insightful, clever lady, the harder in love he falls. Until something in Lottie’s original play rankles a dangerous foe, endangering them.

Now they must outwit a madman . . . or risk the final curtain falling on their lives and newfound love forever.

A lady who loses the journal where she scripts all her unpublished plays attends the theater to discover London's most popular playwright has found her journal and is now passing off her writing as his own. A hero with a case of writer's block does the unthinkable when the King requests a new play, and when he wants another? He has no choice but team up with the woman he's wronged. This is the fourth book in the author's Castleburys series. 

The Poet's Stern Critic by Mary Lancaster

An elusive poet clashes with an opinionated young lady…

Cornelius Vale, hard-working steward of his brother’s land, has another secret identity as acclaimed poet Simon Sacheverill. No one has ever met the mysterious poet – except the woman who once accosted him in a London bookshop and tore his works to shreds.

When he encounters That Girl again at a Blackhaven ball, he is appalled.

If only he knew, the girl in question, Lady Alice Conway, adores his poetry and is completely bowled over by the man. She too has secrets. She longs to play her own musical compositions in the great concert halls of Europe. And, disgusted by male physical contact, she refuses to marry. Unfortunately, she rejects a dangerous nobleman who hates to lose.

Despite frequent quarrels, Cornelius and Alice keep each other’s secrets and grow ever closer, incurring the ire of his old love and of the suitors determined to marry Alice.

As threats fall from all sides, will they risk everything to save each other? And if they do, is there even a way for them to be together?

A steward with a secret life as a popular poet and an ambitious composer heroine who has her own secrets. This is the fifth (and final?) book in the author's One Night in Blackhaven series. 

Tempted by the Highland Warrior by Michelle Willingham (reprint)

After suffering years as a prisoner of war, Callum MacKinloch finally breaks free . . . but his voice is still held captive.

Lady Marguerite de Montpierre tries to heal his brutal wounds and is captivated by the handsome Highlander. She faces her own impending prison of a loveless betrothal, though she is drawn to the fierce warrior who does not speak. Although a future together seems impossible, she is losing her heart to a man she cannot have.

But Callum refuses to give up on the angel who fought back against the demons of his past and gave him another reason to live...for her.

Originally published by Harlequin Historical in 2012, this third book in Wilingham's MacKinloch Clan series features a former POW hero now mute from the trauma he endured and the heroine nursing him back to health staring down the barrel of a loveless betrothal. Willingham has written some dynamite damaged characters in her day, I really need to dig this series out of my TBR.

Whew! Another month, another marathon list of Unusual Historicals. What are you looking forward to reading?