Dog Days: Unusual Historicals for August 2026

I don't know about you all, but I'm about ready for summer to be over. It's felt like one extreme weather event after another across the entire US and where I am has been unbearably hot. I also have a couple more months of this nonsense since "crisp autumn" weather where I live usually means triple digits and everything trying to burn down. On the bright side, while work has been kicking my butt (y'all we are so busy right now....) I've had a tiny bit more reading mojo than usual. I'm afraid to declare my slump dead, but I'm feeling slightly more hopeful thanks to audiobooks and keeping on top of my own TBR Challenge. On that subject, I'd love to get back into reading some historical romance and what better way to get those juices flowing that looking at new ones publishing in August. We have 14 titles this month! So sit back, relax and enjoy the browsing.

A Novel Affair by Zijari Singh

London, 1815.

Leela Choudhury refuses to be silent.

From a hidden alley in Nightingale Court, she runs The Nightingale, an underground bookshop that trades in forbidden texts, political pamphlets, and stories society insists women should never read. When a scandalous serialized romance known as The Pirate’s Promise ignites demand across Mayfield, Leela suspects its anonymous female author is not who she claims to be.

She’s right.

Viscount Sebastian Toussaint—wealthy aristocrat, favorite of the Crown, and the last man Leela ever expected to trust—is the mind behind the novel that has women whispering, dreaming, and daring to want more. Bound together by secrecy and a shared love of literature, Leela helps Sebastian discreetly distribute his work chapter by chapter, even as the Crown and a powerful bookseller close in.

As censorship tightens and reputations unravel, Leela and Sebastian must decide whether stories can truly change the world, and whether love can survive when everything else is at risk.

In a society determined to control women’s voices, one book may prove impossible to silence.

She runs an underground bookshop, he's the anonymous author behind a scandalous pirate romance that is warping the delicate minds of female readers. As they fall in love, a censorship battle closes in. From what I can gather, this is Singh's debut. 

Their Convenient Tuscan Marriage by Bronwyn Scott

Sparks that burn…

Hotter than a Tuscan summer!

After a haunting loss, restless Colonel Hayes Winterton accepts his father’s mission to secure a vineyard in Tuscany. Except his plans are thwarted by widow Evelisse Banfield—his stubborn, captivating competition!

Evelisse is shocked when the stoically handsome Hayes proposes a drastic solution to share the vineyard—a convenient marriage! Rather than relinquish her claim on the property, she accepts, but he will be her husband in name only. Until Evelisse realizes their business arrangement could have pleasurable benefits, as long as real feelings don’t blur the boundaries…!

Scott kicks off what is quite likely her final series for Harlequin Historical with a military hero looking to purchase a vineyard in Tuscany only to butt heads with another prospective buyer, the heroine. Then this man has the audacity to suggest they enter into a marriage of convenience so they can share the vineyard and why is she even considering this proposal?

Duke's One-Night Heir by Sarah Rodi

A secret son…

demands a wedding!

About to inherit a dukedom, Edward Harrington’s search for a suitable bride ends abruptly when a baby is thrust into his arms! His eyes meet Beatrice Puddifoot, the enchanting serving maid he shared an all-consuming connection with. They both knew their bond could never last beyond that one perfect night. But his heir changes everything…

Beatrice is used to relying only on herself. So, she’s stunned when Edward demands her hand in marriage! Her station means she’s hardly duchess material, and their union will be tarnished by scandal. Yet, while Beatrice might not belong in Edward’s world, his arms feel inexplicably like home…

Rodi's latest leans hard into the Cinderella trope. He's a future Duke looking for an acceptable bride, only to be confronted by the maid he shared one perfect night with and the consequence, a baby! She's desperate and is hoping he'll take the child in. Instead he proposes that they marry! 

The Viscount's Dollar Princess by Carol Arens

Her money...

For his title?

Lilleth Younger never imagined marrying a British nobleman she’d never met, but that’s exactly what the American heiress must do to satisfy her father’s dying wish. After rural Connecticut, arriving in riotous New York to take her vows is a shock—as is her new husband, the brooding Viscount Abberly! He’s seriously opposed to romance, but soon begins to open up under her sunny charm. Lilleth is irresistibly drawn to the compassionate man beneath the reserved facade. But having discovered all he has sacrificed to wed her, dare she hope that their marriage could ever be more than convenient?

She's an heiress used to life in rural Connecticut, he's a British Viscount who makes sacrifices to wed her (I'm guessing her money probably helps....). Arens' latest stand-alone is set against the Gilded Age backdrop of New York City and London.  

The Marquess's Wagered Wife by Emily EK Murdoch

A marriage gamble…

Worth the risk?

When irritatingly handsome Montague Donovan, Marquess of Laidley, challenges Calliope Oliver to a painting contest, the stakes are high. If he wins, Calliope must marry him, and if Calliope wins, then she will gain the artistic recognition she’s always craved—and knock the arrogant smirk off his face!

Having unexpectedly become guardian to his orphaned nephew, Montague finds himself in need of a convenient wife—fast. As their competition reaches fever pitch, and he and silver-tongued Calliope bicker their way to attraction, it’s more than the wager he stands to lose—but his heart too!

Enemies to Lovers over...painting? He needs a convenient wife, she's looking to knock him down a peg and finally receive some recognition for her artistic abilities.  This is the second book in The Unconventional Oliver Sisters trilogy.

The Viscount's Silent Pugilist by Nicki Pascarella

When the world silences her, he gives her the courage to strike back.

When Viscount Jonathan Davenport discovers a mystery woman fighting off a group of bandits with only her fists and wits, he immediately knows she belongs at The Silk Knuckles Saloon. If only he could convince her to speak, or learn to read the notes she pens to him; only then they might come to know one another.

Lady Genevieve is on the run from her abusive father when a handsome stranger inserts himself into her life, offering her a fresh start. As much as she wants to talk to him, her throat refuses to work. Still, he seems to understand her, offering her everything she has ever dreamed of.

When Genevieve’s highly publicized fight leads a dangerous individual to their door, Jonathan and Gen must work together to save her from her haunting past.

The second book in The Silk Knuckles Saloon series, features a heroine with selective mutism on the run from an abusive father. He's a Viscount who meets her while she's fighting off a group of bandits and offers her a fresh start.

A Scandal in White by Amber Night (novella)

Lady Lydia Cavendish did not expect her recently departed father to leave her everything. Yet what seems a miracle, offering freedom from her controlling brother Rupert’s whims, soon turns into a stranglehold. Because there’s one condition: she must get married first, with Rupert’s consent. And quickly, if Thornleigh Hall is to outlast its debts. As heiress, the responsibility for the estate rests heavy on her shoulders.

Assistant to the groundskeeper, Thomas Brooks, keeps to himself. More tolerated than accepted by the other staff, a life of tending flowers has been enough since his beloved sister departed for a brighter future in London. When he stumbles across an injured, distraught Lydia in the twilit forest, his only impulse is to help.

What begins as a chance meeting soon blooms into a delicate connection. As Lydia repays Thomas’s kindness by reading him his sister’s letters, something quiet grows in the stolen hours. But her impending nuptials to Rupert’s best friend loom large. Soon, both of them are caught inside a tangled and conflicted net. Between duty and attraction, safety and freedom, which will win out?

And is it truly worth risking it all for love?

She is looking down the barrel of marriage to her controlling brother's BFF and he's an assistant to a groundskeeper when they meet and fall in love. This is the first novella in the multi-author A Society of Scandal series that is "aiming to highlight the joy of reading historical romance and escaping to the past in this wondrous genre whilst cherishing openness, inclusivity, and equality."

Hers By  Summer's End by Kat Sterling (novella)

A boxer no proper lady should ever root for…

Drew Sutton has built his reputation with quick fists, quicker smiles, and enough knockouts to keep all of Seattle talking. But while society dismisses him as a rough-edged pugilist, Drew’s true talent lies far from the ring—in cultivating prize-winning blooms. His foremost contender? A loud-mouthed spinster with wild curls and a grin that never fails to send his pulse racing. Their rivalry has always been good sport—until he unthinkingly transforms their private feud into the scandal of the summer. Now it’s war over dahlias, but Drew can’t shake the feeling that the only thing worth winning has nothing to do with horticulture.

A spinster determined to leave him flat on the canvas…

Cecelia Townsend has cultivated her competition with Drew Sutton as carefully as her prize dahlias. There’s something delicious about the man who tends fragile shoots with bruised knuckles, and she’s long enjoyed their harmless flirtation. But when their rivalry becomes the city’s favorite spectator sport—complete with public sparring and brazen wagers—the stakes turn dangerously real. Then there’s the kiss. One reckless, soul-shaking kiss that changes everything. Now Cecelia is consumed by a far more perilous Victory—and the Fighting Florist himself—will be hers by summer’s end.

And oh look, here's the second novella dropping in the same month! He's a boxer with a passion for gardening and she's his competition. What starts out as a rivalry soon turns into a delicious scandal. Oh, and it takes place in Seattle!

The Spy in Disguise by Sheridan Jeane

She sees patterns in everything. Except the trap closing around her.

Charlotte Sinclair has spent her days in the quiet of her father's study, where secrets live in ink and paper rather than in the eyes of men who would kill to keep them. When the Crown requires a codebreaker inside the Black Rose Society, she is the only one who can unravel the cipher that threatens Parliament itself. But infiltrating a treasonous network demands more than a brilliant mind. It demands a man of experience, nerve, and dangerous capability to keep them both alive.

Major Adrian Blackwood is precisely that man — spy, gentleman, and keeper of secrets he has never dared speak aloud. He needs her gift for ciphers. She needs his cover. Together, they will pose as sympathizers within the Society's inner circle, navigating masked balls, forged documents, and midnight rendezvous along the fog-laden Thames.

What neither anticipated was a traitor within the Society determined to see them hanged for theft — or a blackmailer who knows precisely which ghosts will bring Adrian to his knees.

As they race to unmask a catastrophic plot against Parliament, their careful professional partnership begins to feel perilously like something more. With assassins on their trail, their reputations in ruins, and the Black Rose closing in from all sides, Charlotte and Adrian must expose the real villain before Westminster falls — and before the web of deception they have built together destroys everything they have come to hold dear.

In a world of shadows and shifting allegiances, the most dangerous secret is not the one their enemies carry. It is the one they are keeping from each other.

The second in The Shadow of the Black Rose series is being marketed as a mystery, but it sounds like there's plenty of romance in the back cover blurb. She's a codebreaker who is teamed up with a military man, a spy, gentleman and all around keeper of secrets. To ferret out the plot, they most pose as sympathetic traitors and a couple.

The Earl's Forbidden Temptation by Stacy Reid

Desperate to save her sisters, Miss Darcy Whitley travels to London seeking Sebastian, the Earl of Raine, whose connection to them could secure their futures. Yet his cold indifference suggests he could cast them aside at any moment.

Unwilling to trust their future to his mercy, Darcy accepts a secret commission within London’s most scandalous pleasure palace. Behind a mask and under the name Red, she paints intimate scenes of desire meant to tempt and ensnare all who dare to look.

She never expected to find him there.

In society, Sebastian is controlled, aloof, and untouchable. Within Aphrodite, he is wickedly indulgent, dangerously charming, and irresistibly sensual.

Darcy should fear and avoid him. Instead, his allure draws her in, tempting her to forget every caution she holds dear. Because if Sebastian ever unmasks Red, the cost of her deception may be more than she can bear.

This is the fifth book in the Sins & Sensibilities series. She's looking for protection and security to save her sisters but doesn't entirely trust the hero, so she accepts a job painting scandalous portraits  at a notorious pleasure palace - so what is he doing there?!  Oh honey, he's an Earl, this is a historical romance, of course he's there....

A Lady's Guide to Love and Pirates by Jennifer Moore

Annabelle Bradford was born on the sea and, as an infant, was claimed by pirate captain Reid Courtney as part of the spoils of seizure. Though she lives in London, she spends every summer aboard her godfather’s ship, exploring the ocean and embracing the freedom the horizon offers.

But when her godfather is kidnapped by a rival captain who is hunting for lost Spanish treasure, Annabelle must set sail on the most dangerous mission of her life—but first she’ll have to break a pirate out of prison.

Captain Hawke has vowed to never return to the cursed Isla de Plata, not even if the lovely but arrogant Lady Bradford practically demands it of him in exchange for his freedom. When she also promises him a ship of his own once Captain Courtney is rescued, Hawke reluctantly agrees to sail with her and her crew.

Though Annabelle and Hawke initially clash over who will captain the ship, as they travel through storms and dangers toward the mysterious Devil’s Triangle, the lady’s heart begins to soften toward the charismatic pirate captain. But what if he doesn’t love her back? What if when they are done, he simply sails over the horizon without her?

Annabelle knows how to navigate both the ballrooms of London and the waves of the ocean, but finding her way to true love may prove to be the most difficult journey of all.

She's off to save her kidnapped godfather, but for that she first needs to break a pirate out of prison - which would be our hero. One small fly in the ointment, even though she can get him his freedom, he's not all that keen to return to the island where her godfather is being held captive. 

Obstinate Headache Girl by Jade Hendren

Happily ever after isn’t for the working class.

Though Clara Fletcher’s life was recently upended, following her best friend all the way to Scotland was hardly any trouble. What troubled her, beyond her constant headaches, was wondering whether Harry would come with them.

Harry Stanton, the staid, always proper butler, had been the rock upon which Clara stood since the moment she’d arrived to take up her position in her friend and employer’s household. By day, they ran the house side by side. Each night, they slept the same way. Clara had never been good at that—sleeping. Something about the past that lingered like her headaches wouldn’t allow it, unless she was lying next to him. It was a daring impropriety, but the only one they could allow, as domestics in the same household could never marry and keep the positions they so cherished. Acting on their long-held but still-silent feelings wouldn’t be worth the risk.

Moving to Kinloss would be a new beginning for all of them, but the roads they traveled to get there were eerily familiar to Clara. Scotland was her home. Or at least, it had been. Edinburgh was where she’d buried her secrets, and nearly from the minute they’d arrived, the mail coach had carried those secrets right to their little village.

Clara was an author. An accomplished one, though the impact of her work was previously unknown, even to her. In the bright eyes of a villager’s daughter, Clara begins to see the revolutionary difference her inexpensive pamphlets of whimsical, educational stories for children are making. But the name on the papers grasped in her tiny hands isn’t Clara’s own.

Now, she has a choice to make. She can either give up control of her own life’s work or do the thing she’s quite possibly the worst at: asking for help. More importantly, whichever path she treads—will Harry follow?

A below stairs romance featuring a heroine with a secret writing past and a butler. Oh, and it sounds like our heroine suffers from migraines. Seriously, this back cover blurb is kind of a mess but there's enough here for me to check out a sample.

Miss Wylde and the Wynd by Jane Charles

Lord Damian Wynd had control of his world and his life. As the second born, it was his responsibility to manage the family import business, Trade Wynd. His days were spent on the docks overseeing the unloading of ships or in his offices not far away, which left Damian with little else in his life. An emptiness gnawed at him, but he had no time to determine the cause, let alone fill it. Nor was it as important as keeping order of all he supervised. However, his carefully balanced world is soon overturned when he spies a young woman sneaking away from one of their newly arrived ships.

Miss Georgiana Wylde had always had an adventurous soul, though limited in what she could pursue, grounded, intelligent, and knew what was expected of her. However, when her sister disappears in pursuit of an English rogue, Georgie must go after her before all is ruined, although she fears that it may be too late.

Damian’s first intention is to send Georgie back from whence she came, but her determination and fear for her sister pulls at something deep in his chest that might very well be his heart.

Georgiana had not expected that the most difficult and pragmatic gentleman in all of England would come to her aid. Further, she does not even like him, nor does he care for her. Yet, as their search takes them from the docks in Southampton throughout England and beyond, she finds herself coming to care, even love, the one gentleman who should be completely wrong for her.

The second book in The Wynd Brothers series, he's the second born managing the family's import business and she's looking for her impetuous sister before the family reputation is ruined beyond repair. 

Read to Me Lyon by Ramona Elmes

She has a secret that requires a husband.

Kitty Larson is in a predicament. She and her sisters have recently inherited their parents’ successful bookshop and printing press, along with its secrets. Unfortunately, her uncle is trying to obtain steal their wealth by becoming their guardian. Desperate to prevent this, Kitty reaches out to the proprietor of the Lyon’s Den in hopes of arranging a marriage. Marrying with the right stipulations will put an end to her uncle's schemes.

He needs a wife to avoid scandal.

Oliver's father, the Marquess of Everly, has died and Oliver returns to England after enduring the war on the Continent. Now he's the new marquess, and the responsibility of the family falls on him. So when he discovers his family is broke, there is no time to be upset. He must replenish the family coffers whatever the cost, even if that means marrying a stranger for her wealth, though he'd always expected to marry for love. He approaches Mrs. Dove-Lyon, known for handling situations discreetly and quickly. His family is one of the most respected families of the ton, but if their financial situation is discovered, their name and their legacy would be destroyed.

Will this marriage of convenience become more or will scandal ruin everything?

The need to marry, a book, and a game bring Kitty and Oliver to the altar. But what starts as a marriage of convenience quickly becomes something altogether different. With every lingering touch and kiss, they both realize they are losing their hearts. Unfortunately, Kitty has a secret about the source of her wealth that could bring scandal to the Everly name much worse than the situation that caused Oliver to marry her. When he finds out, will their unexpected love match survive?

She needs a husband to protect her inherited bookshop and printing press from a dastardly uncle. He's a newly minted Marquess who needs to marry an heiress when he finds the family coffers bare, but he needs to do so discreetly because if word gets out about his financial situation, well it won't be good. Part of a long-running Lyon's Den continuity series, we have another messy back cover blurb, but intriguing enough to get me to check out a sample.

Whew! Another month full of possibilities for your TBR. Hopefully you've found something worth checking out. Happy shopping, and reading!

New Year, New Unusual Historicals for January 2026

Welcome January 2026 - I guess. Besides the current news cycle, which is all bad all the time, I'm still sick. Am I getting better? I mean, sort of? I'm back to sleeping in bed (and not sitting up on the couch) and the cough is better (I guess?) although it's still here. At this point there's nothing for it, I have to go back to work this week and figure out how to string words together to tell y'all about this month's crop of Unusual Historicals (be gentle). I don't hold out much hope for my ability to do that right now, but if nothing else new historical romances are something we can hold on to - a small glowing light burning in what is currently the very dark cave we find ourselves in. Be good to each other Romancelandia and romance will be good to you.

Reclaiming His Viking Queen by Lucy Morris

He will have his queen… 

For better or worse! 

Viking Agnar has had many names: Usurper. Warlord. Wolf Slayer. Still, there’s one role he’s hell-bent on claiming—Skadi Friggsdottir’s husband! Rejected by Skadi years ago, he’ll be denied no longer. Storming her hall is easy. Taming his warrior queen will be much harder…

Young Skadi chose survival by marrying another over honoring her promise to Agnar. Now, believing Agnar has killed her husband, she’ll surrender her hand but never submit! Yet behind Agnar’s fury lies a man deeply wronged…one she can’t help but want. Is her enemy husband her doom, or her greatest desire?

 A new stand-alone Viking romance from Morris featuring a hero ready to claim the heroine who threw him over for another years before. I'm hoping for lots of sizzling Enemies to Lovers tension in this one, which is already locked and loaded on my Kindle.

How to Get Away With Scandal by Caroline Linden

Don’t fall in love with me . . .

Evangeline, Lady Courtenay, has flirted with scandal her entire life, and paid a steep price for it, with two unhappy marriages and a tarnished reputation. She’s vowed never to get entangled with another man—until a dashing explorer, just passing through London, smiles at her and sends her heart leaping. Just one night, she tells herself; that’s all she wants from him or any man.

Sir Richard Campion is entranced by Evangeline the moment they meet, even before she takes him home with her for a night of pleasure, only to be gone when he wakes. When he encounters her again years later, he is just as fascinated—and elated to find that she still feels the attraction, too. But this time, he intends to persuade her that he’s worth getting entangled with . . . forever.

 I can't say no to a scandalous heroine and Linden's latest features a twice-married heroine who sounds like she's earned every bit of her reputation. She's vowed to stay away from men, but then meets the "dashing explorer" hero and really, what's one night?  Turns out enough to ensnare them both.

When the Earl Was Wicked by Jess Michaels

Popular courtesan Evelina Comerford thought she had her life in order. She had been with her protector, a powerful duke, for years and believed they would be together forever, even if he was forced to marry and produce legitimate heirs. And then he broke her heart by walking out of her with no feeling to be with someone else’s wife.

Vaughn is the Earl of Blackburn and he is enduring a scandal to end all scandals. His wife of three years has not only begun a public affair with a duke he once called friend, but she’s demanding a divorce. He’s angry and hurt and he wants a little revenge, which is how he finds himself on Evelina’s door, asking her to pretend to enter an affair with him to make both of their former loves jealous.

But a fake affair swiftly turns to something more powerfully passionate. And spying and trying to undermine their former partners begins to lose its shine. But can they both overcome loves that were never meant to be and recognize the true love that is looking right at them? Or will it all be too late when they finally figure it out?

The second book in Michaels' Comerford Courtesans series features a heroine dumped by her protector Duke and a hero whose wife wants a divorce because she's in love with his friend, that same Duke. So naturally hero and heroine decide to enter into a fake affair in the name of revenge - only to get more than they bargained for.

Hollywood Glitz and Glamour by Ariella Talix

It's 1939, the Golden Age of Hollywood, and the major movie studios make all the rules.

Only a very lucky few receive the coveted contracts from Hollywood producers—but they come with heavy strings attached. Actors and actresses are beautiful, talented, and treated like pawns on a chessboard. It's all about image, income, and hedonism.

Troy Kingsley is a handsome, gifted actor who explodes onto the Hollywood scene, gathering fans from all walks of life. Little does anyone know that Troy is a lawbreaker and morally corrupt by society's standards.

When the studio determines it's time for Troy to marry, he’s not at all happy about it and gives the studio his own ultimatum.

Rosalie Channing came to Hollywood to pursue her lifelong dream of becoming an actress. She doesn’t know anything about Troy other than he’s a terrific movie star who’s captured her attention in the past couple of years, and now she’s ordered to marry this stranger if they both want to keep their jobs.

She doesn’t know that Troy is a package deal.

If you're going to write a MMF historical, there may not be a better setting than 1930s Hollywood. Studios ran everything, spun stories out of whole cloth, and for the price of fame and fortune many an actor found themselves in one closet or another. Which is what we have in Talix's latest. I'm intrigued by this one for sure.

Waves of Desire by Lauren Everly

Two enemies bound by danger—and undone by desire.

Savannah socialite Samantha Warstein has finally been given the chance to earn her place within her family’s secret pirating legacy. Her first obstacle as a captain? An ambitious—and annoyingly handsome—navy lieutenant tasked with destroying the pirate trade. And she’s not sure which challenge appeals more: proving her worth or putting him in his place.

Having lost his parents to pirates, Lieutenant Christian Thompson takes his assignment seriously, determined to spend his life married only to the sea. But when a mysterious, red-headed beauty bests him in battle, the mission becomes personal. He’ll see her brought to justice, no matter how her laughter haunts him... or how her courage stirs something he thought long buried.

When a notorious pirate kidnaps Samantha, her uncle hires Christian to track her down. Little does he know, the woman he’s chasing and the woman he’s rescuing are one and the same. Bound together by danger and deception, they must work together to take down the most ruthless man on the seas. But as treacherous waters and buried secrets close in, their greatest peril may be the desire neither can resist.

This is Everly's debut and according to the bio listed on her web site she "first discovered her love for historical romance at the age of twelve, when she stumbled upon a hidden box of Johanna Lindsey novels in her mom’s closet..." I mean, I've never been less surprised by anything in my life after reading this blurb which is pure, unadulterated throwback featuring a pirate heroine and the hero determined to run her to ground, only to fall in love with her not realizing her true identity. The only thing missing is the heroine rocking blue eyeshadow on the cover 😂

Wife Wanted by Wren St. Claire

He advertised for a wife and found his soulmate.

Renowned antiquities scholar, Deodonatus (Deo) Kinninmounth Earl of Pendrell, needs a secretary to help him with a new project, but the lonely, socially awkward, bespectacled giant, also wants a wife. He decides to advertise for a lady to fill both roles.

Miss Emily Grenfell is a closet antiquities enthusiast, heiress, and social disaster. Escaping from her draconian mother and a suitor she doesn’t want, Emily arrives a day late for the job interview and is shocked to discover she has applied for a post working for a man.

However, when the enormous, hawkish-featured man with red hair and freckles, proposes a marriage of convenience, Emily is happy to accept, rather than return to a home where she is mistreated and misunderstood.

Embarking on a project to dig up a Celtic burial site on the Duke of Troubridge’s estate, Deo and Emily discover they have more in common than a shared passion for antiquities. As desire sparks between them, Deo struggles to come to terms with physical and emotional intimacy, and Emily falls for her adorably nerdish and irresistibly attractive husband. And when Emily’s rejected suitor tries to cause trouble for the pair, Emily must learn to understand the harsh childhood that has robbed Deo of normal emotional responses and help him discover what his heart is for.

A red-headed hero (with freckles! I love this guy already!) proposes a marriage of convenience to a heroine who will fill his need for a secretary and a wife. Our heroine, a social disaster, accepts in order to escape a family and suitor determined to keep her under their collective thumbs.  This is the final book in the author's All for Love trilogy.

The Explorer Returns by Ramona Elmes

Love hadn’t been enough years ago; would it be now?

Lisbeth, the widowed Duchess of Lusby, travels to Syria to deliver an ancient map that will allow her antiquities club in London to find important artifacts. She expects to deliver them to her colleague, but instead comes face to face with the man whose heart she broke years ago. Gone is the quiet man she once loved, and in his place is a brash, famous explorer. She is unimpressed.

Thomas Easton is astounded when Lisbeth appears in the Syrian café where he is spending time with friends. He never planned to see her again after she ended their betrothal with a letter. Gone is the daring young woman he once knew, and in her place is a regal duchess. This different Lisbeth annoys him. Shocking them both, Thomas goads her into staying for one more adventure. He insists to himself it isn’t because of any lingering feelings.

As they hunt for artifacts, feelings and temptations start to grow between them. Could they have another chance at love? Perhaps, but secrets and dangers both in Syria and England have a way of derailing even the most certain happily-ever-afters.

Want more antiquities? January seems to be the month for it, with this third book in Elmes' Brazen Curators trilogy.  She's a widowed Duchess come to Syria to deliver an ancient map and he's the explorer whose heart she broke years before. They agree to one last adventure and complications, naturally, ensue. 

Envy Unchecked by Alyson Chase

London’s first gentlewoman’s club — Tea, On Dit, and …. Murder.

London, 1820. Lady Mary Cavindish has scandalized society by opening her Minerva Club, a place where women can escape the constraints of propriety. But when a prominent member is found strangled inside its elegant walls, the club’s future teeters on the brink of ruin.

Already under siege by a moral crusade decrying her establishment as a den of vice, Lady Mary knows this murder could spell its doom. Refusing to let her creation perish, Lady Mary launches her own inquiry, probing the dark secrets of her members and the ton’s elite.

Frustrating her efforts is the arrival of a Bow Street Runner, a by-the-book investigator whose moral code doesn’t want the involvement of an eccentric widow in his case. Complicating the matter, as the investigation deepens, so do his feelings for the daughter of one of the prime suspects, a liaison that blurs the lines between duty and desire.

As they search for answers, Lady Mary and her fellow sleuths uncover a tapestry of betrayal, envy, and revenge. When scandal surrounds her, Lady Mary is forced to decide just where her allegiances lie.

The first in the Lady Mary Mysteries series, the publisher is marketing this as a mystery - but this blurb teases readers with plenty of romance-related shenanigans. She needs to find a killer in order to keep her club open and he's a "by the book" Bow Street Runner. One suspects that this romance may end up playing out over future entries. 

Once Upon a Wicked Wager by Cassandra Samuels

If love is a gamble, this is one wager they cannot afford to lose.

Notorious widow and social pariah, Lisbeth Carslake, Countess of Blackhurst, was acquitted of her husband's murder, but no one believes in her innocence. Known as the Black Raven, bringer of bad luck and death, she is the topic of gossip and wagers. She knows the only way to prove her innocence beyond doubt is to return to society and find her husband's killer.

Oliver Whitely, Earl of Bellamy, is well and truly in dun territory and drunkenly takes on The Black Raven Wager and ends up agreeing to a business proposal at the end of a fire poker, to escort Lisbeth back into the viper's pit known as the ton. Together, they must find her husband's killer before the killer finds them. That is, if her schedule allows and they don't kill each other first.

If antiquities aren't your thing, this month's Unusual Historicals also give you murder as an second option 😂.  She's a social pariah thanks to everyone thinking she murdered her husband and the only way to get her life back is to find the real killer. For that she's going to need help, which shows up in the form of our hero, who foolishly accepted a wager only to end up on the wrong side of a fire poker. A heroine with spirit - I like that. 

The Earl's Indifferent Daughter by Elizabeth Heights

Lady Esme de Neville has found true love… or has she?

Among the flatterers and fortune-hunters lining up for her hand, one man alone has captured her heart - and she will do whatever it takes to convince him of her affections. But after surrendering her virtue, Esme finds herself unceremoniously abandoned and forced to await her lover’s return at the country home of her sister, Frida, and brother-in-law, Callum.

Adam is a seasoned warrior, tasked with bringing Callum home to the highlands to his father’s deathbed. Upon arriving at Ember Hall, he unwillingly accepts a new assignment; to guard Lady Esme – whose youth and beauty threaten to topple the high barricades that have protected his heart for many years.

For Esme, the long days of waiting pass slowly, with her brooding bodyguard providing her only source of distraction. Despite his best efforts, Adam is unable to resist her overtures of friendship. Opposites attract and soon the sparks of romance begin to fly.

But fate has an extra surprise in store. Just as Esme recognises the depths of her feelings for Adam, a figure from the past threatens the future she longs to embrace. Her happiness – and Adam’s too – depends on two things: de Neville family loyalty and the power of true love.

Heights wraps up her Sisters of Ember Hall medieval trilogy with a heroine who fancies herself in love and only managed to ruin herself in the process. Now she's moldering away at her sister's country home being guarded by the hero, not the man she fancies herself in love with but the the one who ultimately ends up capturing her heart. 

Hopefully by the time I start thinking about February's Unusual Historicals post I'll be past whatever plague I managed to catch and we'll all have had some measure of good news to hold on to. In the meantime, share what Unusual Historicals you're looking forward to in the comments section.