Making Merry: Unusual Historicals for December 2025

Somehow, someway, we've finally made it to December of the hellscape year that has been 2025. While there were definitely highlights to 2025 (Sisters trip to NYC! Ireland with my Big Sister!), I spent a good chunk of this year with a sour mood and bad attitude - which, not great. I've always been a person who skews towards a positive outlook. I don't like being in a bad mood. I don't like taking to my bed like some tragic Victorian heroine. Which is probably why when anyone tells me historical romance is dead I'm likely to dig in my heels.  And since 2025 has been ::hand waving:: all this? I'm digging those heels in out of spite. Know that I'm drafting this post with a glass of whiskey next to my keyboard and the continued foolhardy sense to charge up Romancelandia Hill to save the genre from itself. Happy Holidays, save a sub genre and read a historical romance. 

A Most Worthy Husband by Faye Delacour

Hannah Williams never wanted a marriage like her parents'. She'd be perfectly happy to spend her life as a spinster and support herself by helping to run her sister-in-law's gambling club. But no matter how many schemes Hannah hatches to repel suitors, her mother won't accept defeat. To wrest back control of her life once and for all, Hannah takes drastic measures. She'll ruin herself with a man so unsuitable that no one will force them to the altar, making her unmarriageable forever. What could possibly go wrong?

Silas Corbyn is nothing but trouble. Disinherited by his family and dishonorably discharged from the Navy, the ton has dismissed him without hearing his side of the story. When an old friend gives him work as a dealer at a lady's gambling club, Silas doesn't intend to repay the favor by compromising the man's little sister on his first night, but Hannah offers him an obscene amount of money for just one kiss—money that he could use to build a new life for himself.

Neither of them counted on Hannah's mother rushing them into a hasty marriage. Now they need to find a way to call off their engagement before it's too late. Unless they lose their hearts first. 

Delacour wraps up her Lucky Ladies of London trilogy with the time honored tradition of a heroine who wants to ruin herself. This girl though, thinks her plan is smart - and in theory, it is. She'll ruin herself with a man so dishonorable, so unsuitable, the ruination will not translate into a shotgun marriage. Um, until it does. I'll be honest, I'm in this one for the hero who sounds like he's fallen low indeed. I'm a sucker for a good redemptive arc and characters who need to "grow up." Count me in.

Viking's Royal Marriage Bargain by Michelle Styles

The maiden he never forgot

Becomes the bride he never expected!

Viking Rand is resolute. He will secure a marriage alliance with the kingdom of Islay. But whilst battle-hardened Rand is prepared for enemy attack, he’s wholly unprepared for the proposal to come from Princess Svanna…his first love, before war ripped their lives apart.

A union with Rand could bring peace to their kingdoms, but it's the last thing that Svanna’s hateful stepfather will allow. Not least because she’s been forced to harbour a royal secret that could throw Islay into chaos. Rand’s kiss is still etched into Svanna’s memory, but can she trust the fierce warrior before her?

A hero looking to secure an alliance via marriage (as you do) who didn't count on that proposal coming from his first love. Torn apart by war, the heroine knows the only way to thwart her stepfather and secure peace is to marry the hero - but complications and a Big Secret loom.  Styles is typically a very solid writer within the Harlequin Historical landscape. I'm looking forward to this one. 

The Maid's Masquerade by Catherine Tinley

Undercover as the Earl’s fiancée…

Looking to settle old scores

On a transatlantic voyage, English maid Marguerite hatches a plan with an American heiress to temporarily trade places when they arrive in England. Since being forced into servitude, this is Marguerite’s chance to re-enter Society, and posing as the betrothed of Benedict, Earl of Linford—the man at fault for her circumstances—is the perfect opportunity for revenge! But her anger is soon replaced by an unsettling attraction. Still, Benedict caused her to lose everything once, so she won’t lose her heart to him now—even when he reveals some unexpected truths…

Tinley gives us The Prince and Pauper but with heroines. An English maid pulls the ol' switcheroo with an American heiress, who conveniently is betrothed to the man who ruined the maid's life. But revenge gets complicated with an unexpected attraction and some truth. Naturally this is a duet. The American heiress' romance is set for April 2026.

Of Dukes and Forbidden Words by Sandra Sookoo

If ancient words don’t land them into scandal, their forbidden attraction in a library after hours surely will.

It’s the Christmastide season of 1816 and more than the weather is uncertain. When Barrington (Barr) Combes-Mead, Duke of Scarborough does some renovations to his London townhouse and unearths a book of erotic, Egyptian prose, he immediately wishes to have it translated. If the book proves valuable, he will certainly sell it, yet part of him hopes the book might inspire him to reclaim the excitement he’s missing in his life… somehow.

Miss Catherine Pickwick used to make her living as a governess, but after whispers of scandals, she changed her focus to that of a librarian, because research and study made her happy. As the daughter of a university professor, she is no stranger to ancient cultures and literature. When a duke of some consequence visits her lending library with the request to have an interesting and quite indecent book translated, she can’t wait to take up the challenge. Knowledge was power… wasn’t it?

Perhaps it is the words within the book or a natural attraction, but as the duke and Catherine spend long hours together because of the text or impromptu Christmas preparations, desire bedevils them. Acting upon it only ramps that delicious thrill, but when a series of troubling incidents arise, they assume the book is cursed. When silly antics on Christmas Eve end in assumed disaster, they each must face truths they’ve been avoiding, and perhaps they might find everything they want… if they’re fortunate.

The start of a new series titled Dashing Rogues and Ruined Librarians. THIS IS NOT A DRILL! RUINED LIBRARIANS! Hero lands on the doorstep of heroine's lending library to have an erotic book of Egyptian prose he stumbled across during home renovations translated. Antics and shenanigans ensue. Is the book cursed? This one is already downloaded on my Kindle. 

Go, Rogue by Kay K. Denner

Lady Catherine West is supposed to marry a future viscount. But she leaves him standing at the altar, instead.

Fleeing both scandal and suffocation, she slips aboard The Elphame, a merchant ship bound for Boston and captained by Andrew McGann, the one man least inclined to offer her safe harbor. Captain McGann—half-Scottish, half-Jamaican, and wholly exasperated by the runaway debutante now disrupting his deck—hasn’t spoken to Catherine since their last explosive encounter months ago.

But when navigational errors give way to sabotage, fire, and a violent attack at sea, Andrew is forced to confront the feelings he’s tried to bury. And when he’s kidnapped and taken to Jamaica, Catherine must rely on his slippery first mate, and her own untested instincts, to track him down.

In a land haunted by Andrew’s past and steeped in Catherine’s fear of what comes next, they must choose who they are—and what they’re willing to risk—for freedom, love, and the chance to chart a course all their own.

Second book in The Mavericks series, she's a runaway bride stowing away on a merchant ship to Boston and the hero is the ship's captain, who is short on sympathy and annoyed by the disruption her appearance is causing. High seas adventure, complete with a role-reversal kidnapping (HE'S KIDNAPPED!).

Irene's Fall by Elizabeth Donne

Pride comes before her fall. Love helps her stand again.

Irene Sangford has willingly cast herself as the villain of her own story. After all, her family has taught her that arrogance and manipulation are suitable qualities in a lady if she’s seeking a husband with a title. Especially when there are so few such men to be had, and she is competing with her own sister to snap one of them up.

Nathaniel Macrae not only has no title, he has immersed himself in low society in his role as a secret investigator. Miss Sangford would never have given him a second glance, but when an attempted murder leads his inquiries right to her door, and a shocking secret from her past threatens to unravel her entire life, Irene discovers that Mr. Macrae is more compelling than any man she has ever met.

As Irene’s world falls apart, and she questions everything she has ever known, Nathaniel becomes her anchor in life’s greatest storm. Except this storm threatens to destroy them both. They will have to challenge everything they know and trust each other if they are to survive and find the love that has eluded them.

Fifth book in the Ladies of Munro series has our heroine trying to land a husband while competing with her own sister, only to become intrigued by our hero who has little money, no title and works for a living as a "secret investigator." He wants answers and she's got secrets. Marriages have been built on less. 

The Widow's Vow by Rachel Brimble

From grieving widow...

1851, England. After her merchant husband saved her from a life of prostitution, Louisa Hill was briefly happy as a housewife in Bristol. But then a constable arrives at her door. Her husband has been found hanged in a Bath hotel room, a note and a key to a property in Bath she knew nothing about the only things she has left of him.

To a new life as a madam…

Knowing the debt collectors will arrive any moment, Louisa must leave everything she knows behind, and move to Bath. But left with no means of income, Louisa knows she has little choice but to return to but her old way of life. But this time, she’ll do it on her own terms – by turning her new home into a brothel for upper class gentleman. And she’s determined the horrors she was forced to endure in the past are not experienced by the girls she saves from the streets.

Enlisting the help of Jacob Jackson, a quiet but feared boxer, to watch over the house, Louisa is about to embark on a life she never envisaged. Can she find the courage to forge this new path?

A word of warning upfront that this one might be "romance adjacent," but I am nothing if not predictable for my love of heroines who have "reputations." A former prostituted rescued from the life by her husband, inherits a property after his death. Desperate and with debts to pay, she decides to open a high-end brothel (as you do). It's the mention of the "feared boxer" she hires to watch over the house and business that intrigues me here. Also, 1851 - which puts us smack dab in the Victorian era (I love me a good Victorian). This is the first in a proposed trilogy.

Obliteration by Kathryn Le Veque

An inheritance that involves… wine, women, and song??

Sir Jareth de Leybourne is the moral compass of the legendary Guard of Six—a noble knight known for honor, logic, and restraint. But when his wealthy uncle dies, Jareth inherits far more than land and coin. He inherits a scandal that could destroy everything he stands for.

Summoned to the bustling medieval city of Bristol, Jareth discovers his uncle’s fortune was built on a discreet but wildly profitable enterprise: Aphrodite’s Feast, an elegant brothel and gambling hell quietly tolerated for its philanthropy. The business funds churches, education, and charity—but its existence threatens Jareth’s reputation as one of England’s most honorable knights.

Running Aphrodite’s Feast is Lady Desdra le Daire, a brilliant, sharp-tongued woman burdened by secrets of her own. Neither a courtesan nor a criminal, Desdra is a spinster by choice, using her education to manage the operation that saved her life. From the moment she and Jareth meet, sparks fly—clashing ideals, forbidden attraction, and undeniable chemistry.

As Jareth struggles to reconcile duty, honor, and inheritance, a deadly truth emerges: his uncle had a powerful enemy who now wants Jareth dead. Worse still, Desdra is caught in the middle—and the man threatening her life is her own father. 

To save Desdra and protect his honor, Jareth must confront betrayal, corruption, and a love that could cost him everything.

Unusual Historicals, come for the browsing, stay for the books featuring brothels. Part of the Guards of Six medieval series, a noble knight inherits more than he bargained for when his wealthy uncle dies - namely the business that supplied that wealth, a brothel. Good God man, he has a reputation to uphold! Complicating matters is the heroine, who runs the operation and her father, who not-so-conveniently wants them both dead. 

A Courtship at Linlithgow by Kate Robbins

A carefully orchestrated plot, or a chance encounter? Their love burns through all doubt.

Marion Baird’s biggest problem is her mother’s greed. Excited to explore King James’s court, Marion wishes to avoid being flaunted in front of future prospects like a prized cow. She would rather explore the lavish castle grounds and library at Linlithgow Palace. That is until she encounters a man straight out of legend she can neither ignore nor deny.

Alexander Campbell, Earl of Argyll has accepted an invitation to the King’s summer tourney. While the exercise is welcome, the society is wrought with drooling mothers and daughters anxious to display their lack of talent and grace. This event will prove no different. He encounters a bewitching lady in the gardens during the masked ball and what follows will be burned onto his soul for all time.

Caught between scandal and prejudice, Marion and Alexander must decide if their passion is real or the product of a carefully orchestrated plot.

A heroine who just wants to enjoy court by exploring the grounds and the library must contend with her mother parading her around like a prized cow at King James' court. Our hero accepts an invitation to participate in a summer tournament, but isn't all that anxious to thwart off matchmaking mamas. Stuff happens, these two have an interlude of sorts, and scandal ensues. The question being, was it orchestrated and by whom?  This is the first book in the Thistle and Rose series. 

A Taste of Gold by Sara Adrien

Her silence protects the man she loves and hides the woman she is.

Miss Maisie Morgenschein is very good at pretending everything is fine. Guardian to an orphaned marquess, she remains calm and protects a dangerous truth: nobody must know her real name—which makes it impossible for her lost love to find her, and that’s what she wants most. She still writes him letters she can’t send, not knowing where he is. A connection to her might lead the villain to him.

Dr. Felix Leafley, Harley Street’s most sought-after dentist, uses an English alias to keep his patients—and the other doctors at the practice—safe. Years ago, he was a medical student with Maisie in his arms. When circumstances tore them apart, they vowed to find each other. But passion refuses to stay polite, and secrets refuse to stay buried.

She can’t use her real name to find him. He can’t use his to be found.

The result? A duel of aliases, near-miss letters, and one dangerously perfect kiss.

But just as Felix and Maisie dare to speak their names, the villain closes in—and the truth may cost them the one thing neither believed possible: a future together.

This is the fifth book in Adrien's Miracles on Harley Street series featuring various medical professionals. She's a guardian to an orphaned marquess and hiding her identity "for reasons." He's a dentist and the one who got away and is also using an alias "for reasons." These two crazy kids were in love and torn apart but now can't find each other because....they're both using aliases "for reasons." Near misses and second chances set against the backdrops of Vienna and London.

This is it, the last Unusual Historical post of 2025. I hope you all enjoyed reading about them, browsing, and hopefully found some new historical romances to try. This feature isn't going anywhere anytime soon. It'll be back for 2026!

Spooky Season: Unusual Historicals for October 2025

Another month, another month running late with Unusual Historicals. October though, she does not disappoint. Do you love all things spooky?  Well this is your month because the Gothics have come out to play. So buy yourself that second (or third...this is a no judgement zone) bag of Halloween candy, light a candle, maybe summon a few spirits (if that's your thing) and let's go browsing....

All of Us Murderers by KJ Charles

WHO WILL SURVIVE LACKADAY HOUSE?

When Zeb Wyckham is summoned to a wealthy relative's remote Gothic manor, he is horrified to find all the people he least wants to see in the world: his estranged brother, his sneering cousin, and his bitter ex-lover Gideon Grey. Things couldn't possibly get worse.

Then the master of the house announces the true purpose of the gathering: he intends to leave the vast family fortune to whoever marries his young ward, setting off a violent scramble for her hand. Zeb wants no part of his greedy family—but when he tries to leave, the way is barred. The walls of Lackaday House are high, and the gates firmly locked. As the Dartmoor mists roll in, there's no way out. And something unnatural may be watching them from the house's shadowy depths…

Fear and paranoia ramping ever-higher, Zeb has nowhere to turn but to the man who once held his heart. As the gaslight flickers and terror takes hold, can two warring lovers reunite, uncover the murderous mysteries of Lackaday House—and live to tell the tale?

You know I'd harp less on my dislike of illustrated covers if more of them leaned into creating atmosphere and mood - and it's hard to not get drawn into that with the cover of Charles' latest. A young man trapped in a Gothic manor thanks to the whims of a wealthy relative wants no part of any of the shenanigans, only to find the house has untold secrets. Who to turn to? The man he was once hopelessly in love with - of course. I need to find my reading mojo because this sounds right up my alley.

The Dravenhearst Brides by Lindsay Barrett

“It’s very dangerous to love a Dravenhearst…even more dangerous, perhaps, to be loved by one.”

After a scandalous debut sent her into recluse, heiress Margaret Greenbrier returns to the Louisville social circuit for the 1933 season. Laudanum prescription or no, Margot is not crazy. She’s not. But perception is reality, and all the money in the world can’t buy the illusion of sanity. Nor, apparently, can it convince even the most red-blooded of men to get into bed with her.

Meanwhile, in the heartland of Kentucky, the Great Depression is sinking its roots into the Bluegrass. Prohibition has not been kind to the whiskey industry, and bourbon aristocrat Merrick Dravenhearst is feeling the squeeze. After a chance encounter with a beautiful heiress, sworn bachelor Merrick impulsively throws his hat in the ring for Margot’s hand. Just the right hint of lust, money, and quiet desperation…the best society marriages have been staked on far less, after all.

Upon arrival at Dravenhearst Distilling as a newlywed, Margot uncovers the legend of the Dravenhearst suicide brides—two generations of wives, both found dead on the grounds of the distillery. Her new manor home is teeming with ghostly glimmers of the women who lived there before her. And her brooding, beguiling new husband is unaware Margot has brought demons of her own to his estate, initiating a cataclysmic chain of events set to bring long-buried blood-tinged family secrets to the surface.

I didn't include it here but the subtitle on Barrett's latest is "A Kentucky Gothic Romance" and JUST GET IN MY EYEBALLS ALREADY! A wealthy heiress with a reputation for "madness" marries a man who desperately needs her funds because wow, Prohibition is a drag y'all. The spark and sizzle are there, but so are the secrets. A whole bushel of secrets...

The Peculiar Incident at Thistlewick House by Jenni Keer

Where bones fall from the cliffs and secrets linger in the mist, a village haunted by the past refuses to give up its dead... 

As the bones start to fall, the spirits will rise…

Norfolk, England, 1895: When renowned spiritualist Edward Blackmore receives a desperate message from his cousin Barnabas, begging him to come to the coastal village of Thistlewick Tye, his first thought is to ignore the request. Despite his cousin’s insistence that his wife is possessed by a malevolent spirit, Edward has no time for the man who stole his inheritance.

Lured by the promise of money, along with a genuine concern for Barnabas’s wife – who he’d once loved – he reluctantly travels to at Thistlewick House, only to arrive too late. Emma is dead.

Barnabas suspects there are supernatural forces at play. But Edward is convinced murder is afoot. As he begins to investigate, he finds himself drawn into the lives of those in this isolated and unnerving village, especially the beguiling woman who gathers up the human bones falling from the rapidly eroding cliffs.

Then he discovers that a travelling circus completely disappeared in the area forty years previously and no one is willing to talk about it. Perhaps not everything at Thistlewick Tye is quite what it seems…

 A hero loathe to help out his paranoid cousin arrives too late to help the woman he once loved. To discover the truth he finds himself drawn into the lives of the remote and isolated village, and a woman who gathers up human bones as the cliffs erode away into the sea (I mean, she sounds like fun AMIRITE?!). And what does all this have to do with a traveling circus who vanished from the area forty years ago?

Danger at Darkmoor Park by Syrie James

Hidden treasure. Murder. Mystery. Romance. All while snowbound at Christmas.

While trapped by a blizzard at a remote country manor house over Christmas, a school headmistress teams up with a charismatic doctor to solve a murder and hunt for hidden treasure.

But can she trust the man who has stolen her heart? 

Selena Taylor is thrilled to cohost a Christmas house party at Darkmoor Park, the beautiful Yorkshire estate she will one day inherit. But a massive snowstorm hits the area, and no one can leave. When one of the guests dies after giving Selena a cryptic clue to a cache of hidden money, she suspects that he was murdered.

Dr. Adrian Scott arrives out of the blizzard and he and Selena, fueled by a burning mutual attraction, become partners in investigating both mysteries—a thrilling hunt for hidden treasure and the search for a ruthless killer—while trapped with holiday guests who all seem to be hiding a secret.

When another guest dies and she starts receiving threatening notes, Selena realizes that she is in terrible danger, pursued by a relentless villain and involved with a man whose touch makes her heart race but who may be hiding a deadly secret of his own.

Our heroine just wanted to help host a Christmas house party and instead she gets a snowstorm that traps her guests, a murder, and a cryptic clue about hidden treasure. On top of that, all her guests seem to be hiding some sort of secret. Helping her crack the case? A handsome doctor with secrets of his own. This is the third book in The Audacious Sisterhood of Smoke & Fire series.

Beyond the Majestic by Juliane Ross-Clark

Atlanta, 1940s. A war widow at twenty, Abby Willingham is just trying to survive by working nights as a cigarette girl at the glamorous Club Majestic - where world-renowned swing orchestras keep the dance floor alive and corruption is concealed in the next room. Grieving, broke, and fending off her shady boss’s advances, Abby clings to her independence, the sympathetic ear of her fast-talking best friend, and the comfort of her late husband’s memory.

But when she meets architect Vince Vandenburgh III—charming, wealthy, and carrying secrets of his own—Abby begins to imagine a life beyond sorrow. As their paths continue to cross under the sultry glow of nightclub chandeliers, love dares to flicker... even as danger grows in the shadows.

Torn between the past and a future she never expected, Abby must choose: protect her heart—or risk it all for a second chance at happiness.

I know less than nothing about this book or author but it's set in Atlanta in 1946 and the subject headings over at Amazon include everything awesome I love that's not romance (they had me at "women's crime fiction," and "noir crime"). However, a hop on over to the author's web site touts this as "Romantic suspense at its most gripping..." and y'all I seriously need to find my reading mojo because hot damn!

The Sinner's Guide to Saving a Saint by Mihwa Lee

She offered her body. He demanded her truth. Both would require complete surrender.

Sylvia Addison had built her fortress from shadows and secrets—a respectable medical facility by day, an underground rescue operation by night. For six years, she'd saved desperate women from violence, forging documents and identities with the same precision she'd once used to survive her own brutal marriage. She'd learned to weaponize everything—her beauty, her wit, even desire itself—all while keeping her heart locked away where no man could shatter it again. Then Dr. Albert Raines arrived, threatening to tear down everything she'd built with his damning medical license and haunted dark eyes that saw too much.

Dr. Albert Raines came to Ravenwood seeking solitude, not scandal. The bastard son of an earl and a courtesan, he'd spent his life running from his mother's shadow, only to inherit a manor full of mysterious women and their maddeningly beautiful leader who threatened him with a gun and offered herself as casually as afternoon tea. Every instinct screamed to throw them out, to protect the reputation he'd fought to build. But watching Sylvia Addison save lives with fierce determination while carrying wounds that matched his own, Albert found himself wanting something he'd never dared imagine—a woman who understood that sometimes the greatest dignity came from choosing your own terms.

When a woman who uses desire as currency meets a man who's spent his life refusing to be bought, who will surrender first?

I've said it before, I'll say it again, I am utter trash for heroines who have "reputations." This is the fourth book in the Madams and Mischief series and when I heard of it's existence, I downloaded the first novella to give it a whirl - I just need to find my flagging reading mojo. On the subject of novellas - y'all words should still mean something and I'm not sure what's going on here because while this is tagged as "novella four" Amazon lists it at 300 page count. Could that be an error? I mean, maybe? Because the first novella in my TBR is listed at 112 pages.

A Viking Too Wild to Wed by Lucy Morris

Warrior, adventurer, charmer

…husband?

Egill Eriksson has had more wild exploits than he can remember. Now with his brothers settled, it’s time for him to secure his own future and finally wed! Enchanted by thrall Mildritha, Egill has a simple plan: free her from servitude and win her hand. If he can convince her he’s changed his ways…

The last thing Mila wants is a man trampling on her independence, especially one with a reputation like Egill’s! But there’s no arguing with their inescapable chemistry. Until Egill’s unruly past catches up with him and threatens the future Mila was just daring to hope for!

I mean, if you're not a Viking with a reputation, how good of a Viking could you possibly be? Our hero in Morris's latest is finally ready to settle down, he just has to convince the heroine that's he's a changed man. Turns out that's easier said than done.

Once Upon a Courtesan by Jess Michaels

Arabella Comerford always had too many dreams and desires to ever be happy with the forced marriage and staid life her cruel father planned for her. She sees her way out when she spies on a handsome gentleman engaged in elicit activities with a woman at Vauxhall Garden. Ultimately it leads her to her own path as a celebrated courtesan with freedom and money. But she always wondered about that man who got away and the startling green eyes that haunt her fantasies.

Silas Windham has been gone from London for nearly six years, after his father’s death caused a rift between him and the marquess’s legitimate children. Now he’s back thanks to the illness of his half-brother and unsure what to do next. Until he encounters Arabella at a hell and realizes she’s the woman who he once caught spying on him in a garden. The one he hasn’t been able to get out of his mind since.

Long-held memories and desires explode into a passionate affair that can only be temporary for both of them. But as their passions soften into deeper and deeper connection, it leaves them both wondering if two wild, broken people might be able to let go of the past and become everything to each other.

A trapped and desperate heroine discovers the answer to all her problems after spying a notorious rake in flagrante delicto. Six years later, she's a celebrated courtesan and he's back in London when his half-brother falls ill.  Their paths cross again and naturally things get very complicated. Again, trash for a heroine with a "reputation" and OMG, this is the first in a series featuring courtesans!

Olive Becket Plays the Rake by Kat Sterling

A wallflower with a secret…

Olive Becket has played it safe since the day her father died. So no one is more surprised than she when her suffrage anthem–an anonymous, harmless jingle–is a state-wide sensation. The public is clamoring to know who she is, but revealing herself could incur the wrath of her anti-suffrage landlord. Unfortunately, the devilishly handsome detective hired to unmask the composer is convinced she knows something. As if supporting her family isn’t enough, now she must outmaneuver a man who makes her shiver. If she misses a beat, she could find herself on the street. Or worse–directly in the rake’s embrace.

A detective under pressure…

Emil Anderson’s new detective agency is sinking fast. When a lucrative partnership is dangled in front of him in exchange for locating one low-profile composer, he doesn’t hesitate. To his surprise, his only lead–a perplexing pianist with spellbinding doe eyes–is immune to his famous charm. Unfortunately for her, Emil loves a good riddle, and he’ll track her until it’s solved. There’s only one snag–the more time he spends with her, the more protective he becomes. Now he has to choose: close the case, or open his heart.

An unexpected partnership…

Her livelihood. His future. The truth. All dangerously close to unraveling. How can they put aside their mutual suspicion–and inconvenient chemistry–before someone else pulls the strings? And what if the ending they fear turns out to be the beginning they never saw coming?

No one is more surprised than our heroine when the little jingle she wrote becomes an anthem for the suffrage movement. And really, who knew one little jingle would end up causing so much fuss? She's treading lightly around her anti-suffrage landlord and now there's a detective snooping around looking to unmask her. Now if she can only thwart him while not falling for his charms.  This is the second book in The Seattle Suffrage Society series.

Lord Carlisle's Enticing Lure by Cerise DeLand 

She’s much too carefree, too lovely, too enchanting to be a spy.

His job is to catch spies. She cannot possibly be one—and he cannot possibly love her!

Clive Davenport, the Marquess of Carlisle, does not fall for beautiful women. But when the dark-haired sylph he glimpsed not far from his home last winter reappears on the beach at Brighton, he cannot escape her lure. Swaying in the June breeze, she is the picture of freedom and delight in the summer sun. Then she saves his little girl from the crashing waves of the Channel waters and constructs kites that dance in his daughter’s hands—and in his heart.

She tells him her name is Giselle Laurant, and that she is a French émigré with a work commission she must urgently finish. Employing her special talents as an illustrator, she does not reveal that her renderings of coastal English towns have a special destination.

So falling in love with dashing Carlisle creates problems. He will not disappear. Nor does she want him to. Her past experience with an abusive husband and French police are bitter. Yet she marvels at Clive’s kisses that are so sweet, and his tender regard so alluring, that she allows herself one night of surrender.

But when her foes track her, Clive is determined to save her, no matter her sympathies. No matter that he loves her to distraction.

The fifth book in the Scarlett Affairs series features a hero whose job it is to catch spies and a French émigré heroine, a talented illustrator, who likes to draw pictures of coastal English towns. I mean, she can't possibly be a spy, can she?  Dude, c'mon now.

The Lyon Returns by Kimberly Keyes

A widow starting anew. A gentleman dodging the noose. Will their pretense of a marriage turn into a head-over-heels love?

To purchase the publishing house of her dreams, new-to-London Gwendolyn Barnes must find herself a husband. With no desire to wed again, the young widow pays an exorbitant fee to the notorious Black Widow of Whitehall for a husband who, she assures Gwen, is almost certainly dead.

Then her husband, shipping magnate and aloof son of a duke, Gideon Devereux, walks through the front door.

After reading of his marriage to an unknown bride, the date of which provides him a handy alibi, Gideon returns to London determined to discover who framed him for treason. He’s content to allow his farce of a marriage to the beautiful bluestocking to stand. He only sees two problems—Gwen’s stipulation the marriage remain in name only, and an ungovernable hunger for each other that neither can quell.

Secretly falling for the brooding and seductive Devereux, a wary Gwen vows to avoid a repeat of her disastrous first marriage. And with his enemies circling ever closer, Gideon’s inner demons whisper that their white-hot passion can never ignite into a forever love.

Can this made-for-each-other couple discover new heights of happiness in each other’s arms, or will the echoes of their pasts tear them apart?

Another month, more books that are part of The Lyon's Den world. The heroine wants to purchase a publishing house but in order to do that she needs a husband. So she pays an exorbitant fee to wed a man that is most likely dead. It should be perfect, until it isn't. For you see, the husband isn't dead and his "marriage" just so happens to provide him with an alibi that wiggles him out of trouble. He's fine with letting the sham of a marriage stand, other than the fact that his wife doesn't want to consummate it. Oh and the small matter that someone almost succeeded in framing him for treason....

Dreaming of a Lyon by Sandra Sookoo

In search of excitement… Though Captain Simon Henry Huxley lost an eye in the naval war with America in 1812, it hasn’t slowed him down the past six years. Since his contemporaries are falling into parson’s mousetrap with alarming regularity—manipulated by Mrs. Dove-Lyon no doubt—and with yearning to return to the sea thrumming through his veins, London is a bit dull. But after a spontaneous visit to the infamous Lyon’s Den gaming hell one winter night, his life will change in every conceivable way.

Dreaming of freedom… Lady Hattie Anne Russell, youngest daughter to the Earl of Stonewycke, has been intimate with scandal since the day she turned sixteen. She dislikes rules, labels, or the ton’s boring dictates for proper ladies, and through it all she’s been bedeviled by dreams of an adventurous lion. Frustrated, her mother turns to Mrs. Dove-Lyon for help in marrying Hattie off before further disgrace follows; no stake is too high, and any Lyon will do, but Hattie won’t be tamed, and neither will she submit to marriage without a fight.

A matchmaker’s interference may provide both… After a hasty marriage of convenience, the newly wedded pair is forced to make the best of their reality. As the calendar marches toward spring, the two accidentally find common ground by bonding over the silliest of things. Secrets and dreams are shared, and emotions prompt surprising heat between them, yet an unexpected complication has the power to destroy what they’re building. It will take daring heroics and exceptional mettle to prove they are worthy of a love—and a life—for the ages.

Yes, more Lyon's Den - and look, I'm only human. The hero is rockin' an eye patch. Also I can't even begin to tell you the last time I saw the War of 1812 play any sort of role in a historical romance since the bodice ripper era. He's anxious to return to the sea, and she's a scandal-ridden heroine whose mother is determined to bring her to heel. Of course these two messy people end up married to each other because it would be no fun otherwise.

Ah, October. The month for spooky shenanigans, mysteries and secrets galore. Will this crop of Unusual Historicals that feature so much Wendy catnip unearth my reading mojo? God willing and the creek don't rise. What Unusual Historicals are you looking forward to?

Irish Eyes: Unusual Historicals for September 2025

I know, I'm shockingly late with this month's round-up of Unusual Historicals but I have a good excuse. I just got back from a 10-day trip to Ireland with my older sister. Two middle-aged women in a Kia Picanto (Go, Go Picanto!) starting and ending in Dublin - basically circling Ireland. Belfast, Galway, Killarney, Kilkenny, and a bunch of stops in between. Breathtaking countryside, amazing weather (just one rainy, dreary day!), proper Guinness, proper cider, and more medieval castles than you can shake a stick at.  To get this long overdue party started, let's lead off with a suitably appropriate title...

The Irish Midwife by Seána Tinley

Can she finally put herself first, in order to find love?

Peggy Cassidy is a milly, working in the Belfast linen mills to just about get by. But Peggy also has another job - a secret one. She works as a handywoman - an illegal midwife, tending to the women of her community in their time of need.

When Peggy is offered the chance to leave Belfast to receive formal midwifery training in Dublin, it sets off a chain of events that will change her life forever.

But amongst her middle-class colleagues, Peggy must keep the truth about her past secret at all times. If the realities of her life in Belfast are revealed, she could lose everything she has worked for.

And when she meets a well-to-do doctor down in Dublin, she must make a decision: should she protect her family and her history? Or can she let herself fall in love?

Tinley is better known to romance readers under the name Catherine Tinley, having written a number of books for Harlequin Historical. This book, set in mid-1930s Belfast and Dublin, is described as "saga historical romance," backed up by the 405 page count listed over at Amazon.  I'm pretty excited to give this one a whirl and it's already locked and loaded on my Kindle.

The Gunslinger's Widow by A.M. Vergara

When a gang of outlaws storms Flaka’s family ranch, pursuing a lone gunslinger, she kills the gang’s leader in a split-second decision that turns her into southern Texas’ most hunted fugitive.

Flaka couldn’t have known the masked bandit she shot was the local mayor’s son. And Mayor Ian Marcus is not a man to let his son’s killer go free, even if it was self-defense. Flaka joins up with the stranger who started all the trouble—Oliver, a mysterious and alluring gunslinger who promises to protect her. They flee across the deserts of southern Texas and northern Mexico, seeking safety outside the reach of Marcus’s vengeance. But Ian Marcus respects neither jurisdiction nor borders and, as her feelings for Oliver grow, Flaka begins to realize that the final showdown may come at a cost far higher than her own life.

I know less than nothing about this author but if ever a back cover blurb screamed "WENDY!" it's this one. A historical western romance the way I like 'em - not a cutesy small town in sight. Will the characters manage to stay alive, let alone fall in love? Guess I'll have to read the book to find out.

Is This Real or Just Pretend? by Emily Sullivan

Alexandra Atkinson prides herself on being in control. It’s why she’s such an asset to her father’s investment firm—along with her utter lack of a social life and her talent for spotting successful ventures for investors. But with her father nearing retirement and the board unwilling to have a female head, Alex could lose everything . . .

After his business partner burned him, Lucien Taylor is determined to start over. But he doesn’t know how until his childhood friend’s sister, Alexandra Atkinson, comes to him with a most unusual proposal: She’ll help Lucien find the funding he needs if he pretends to court her long enough to secure her claim to her father’s company.

But Alex and Lucien soon realize they didn’t quite account for all the details in their arrangement—like how they can undo each other with just a look. And the more time they spend together, the more the intensity shimmering between them can’t be controlled. Not even by Alex. And if they give in? Well, she’s not sure which of them will be in more trouble . . . but she’s willing to find out.

She's a numbers whiz trying to convince her father's partners that just because she doesn't have a penis doesn't make her incapable. To solve that issue? A fake engagement to her brother's friend who just so happens to need her investment advice to scratch up some needed funds. 

Lady Like by Mackenzi Lee

Two women set their sights on marrying the same duke, but instead of becoming enemies, they find themselves falling in love—though not with him.

Harriet Lockhart never planned to marry. She has spent her life defying expectations, playing male roles on London’s seediest stages, and doing whatever she pleases. When Harry is contacted by her hitherto anonymous father, she finds herself at risk of losing the trust fund that’s subsidized her lifestyle—unless she begins to lead a more respectable life, starting with finding a husband.

Emily Sergeant, the picture of modesty, has only ever wanted to marry. And were it not for one mistake in her youth that rendered her a social pariah, she would be appropriately betrothed. Instead, she’s due to wed the only willing—and most abominable—man in her small town. Desperate for an alternative, Emily flees to London to snag a less lecherous fiancé.

Worlds collide, dramatically and hilariously, when both women decide on the very same duke as their best possible chance at a tolerable husband and a secure future. A tongue-in-cheek romp through London’s summer season, from balls to brothels, horseraces to duels, Harry and Emily compete for the duke’s favor, only to find their true hearts’ desires may be more compatible than they could have ever predicted.

A scandalous actress and a social pariah are on the hunt for a tolerable husband, a minor matter complicated when they both set their sights on the exact same duke.  As they both vie for his attentions they find themselves drawn to each other instead.

To Heist and to Hold by Christina Britton

A vigilante widow and a casino owner are both trying to bluff their way to a winning hand.

Heloise Marlowe has always forged her own path. As a former blacksmith and fencing instructor, she wasn’t just going to sit around knitting after her husband died. The Wimpole Street Widows Society, a secret group dedicated to balancing the scales of justice, was a much better fit for her skills. Her newest mission: seduce the owner of the club Dionysus and gain access to the den’s inner workings. She didn’t mind putting her body on the line, but she wasn’t prepared to gamble her heart.

Ethan Sinclaire has worked hard to clean up his club after the betrayal of his brother. But now, rumors are swirling that his club is just as crooked as before. He won’t let anyone destroy what he’s built, so when Heloise starts poking around, he decides to go all in, in hopes that she’ll show her hand. Enjoying her company is the easy part. Keeping himself from falling—that’s a whole different card game.

The start of a brand new series, she's a widow bent on vengeance and he's a casino owner who fears his establishment has fallen back into bad habits he worked very hard to clean up. Naturally they are at cross purposes and naturally they can't stay away from each other.

Resisting the Forbidden Widow by Maggie Weston

He has a list of eligible brides

But his assistant isn’t on it…

After losing her husband so young, Mary vowed to never love again. Her new position as Cameron Sykes’s assistant is the perfect guarantee of independence. Until Cameron tasks her with helping him find a titled wife!

As they try to find his perfect bride, it’s only Mary that Cameron can imagine at the altar…and in the marriage bed! Yet she can’t give him the Society approval that his hardworking parents desperately craved. But can he resist the all-consuming lust that’s threatening to derail his plans?

Victorian era and third book in a trilogy, a young widow heroine takes a job as an assistant to a self-made man who has more money than the Queen herself, but not the blue-blood pedigree. What's a hero to do? Ask his capable assistant to help find him suitable wifely prospects, or course!  And naturally it all goes to hell when he can't stop thinking about his assistant in that role... 

Ladies in Hating by Alexandra Vasti

Celebrated authoress Lady Georgiana Cleeve has achieved fame and fortune. Unfortunately, she’s also acquired an enemy: the enigmatic Lady Darling, whose spine-tingling plots appear to be pulled straight from Georgiana’s own manuscripts. What’s a stubborn, steely writer to do? Unmask her rival, of course.

But unmasking doesn’t go according to plan—because Lady Darling is actually Cat Lacey, the butler’s daughter and object of Georgiana’s very secret, very embarrassing teenage infatuation.

Cat Lacey has spent a decade clawing her family out of poverty. The last thing she needs is to be distracted by the stunning(ly pretentious) Lady Georgiana Cleeve. But Cat can’t seem to escape her infuriatingly beautiful rival—including at the eerie manor where they both plan to set their next books. The plot unexpectedly thickens, however, when the novelists find themselves trapped in the manor together. In between ghostly moans and spectral staff, Cat and Georgiana come face-to-face with real danger: the scorching passion that’s been haunting their rivalry all along.

A Gothic novelist heroine who discovers her biggest rival is the butler's daughter she had a horrible crush on as a teenager. Things come to a head when they both make the trip to a creepy manor where they plan to set their next books.

Grace in Glasgow by Matilda Madison

Sometimes love is the best medicine.

Grace Sharpe has finally found the perfect medical instructor in Dr. James Hall. As a woman, Grace isn’t permitted to attend university to fulfill her dream of becoming a doctor. But now that Dr. Hall has taken her under his tutelage, she’s more determined than ever to make her dreams come true.

As long as she can focus on her work...

Dr. James Hall isn’t pleased with his current situation. After being begged, pressed, and eventually threatened to take on the youngest Sharpe sister as a student, he reluctantly does so. And while Grace seems more than capable of handling herself, James worries that he will not be able to keep his true feelings about her concealed.

When missing persons reports begin popping up all over Glasgow, Grace suspects something nefarious. Will Grace and James be willing to sacrifice anything to uncover the truth, including love?

Third in a series, she's determined to become a doctor but keeps hitting road blocks because she doesn't have a penis. He's the doctor pressed into tutoring her, a predicament he's none to happy about because feelings. 

On the Ropes of Scandal by Sandra Sookoo

Mr. Duncan Stapleton, Lord Frampton, adores the time he spends in the boxing ring as much as he does being a rake in London. He has a natural talent for boxing, and with each illegal bout, his confidence grows. Though the sport is wildly dangerous and ultimately took his father’s life, it’s the only thing he wishes to do and it’s a fat lot better than going into the church as his mother recently suggested… until a powerful jab to the head relieves him of his memories and he’s left wandering Cranleigh one early October evening.

Miss Phoebe Bidwell is tired of grieving. With most of her family dead, she takes refuge in her aunt’s small Surrey bakery, but those skills in creating confections don’t prepare her when the handsome man she watched box stumbles into her doorway on the street with no idea of who he is or where he came from. Deciding a string of little white lies is acceptable in order to have a bit of happiness for herself, she settles into sin with him.

The autumn days fly, but when Duncan’s brothers descend upon the bakery and tear apart the fake marriage story, they demand a surcease to the blatant scandal. Afterward, Phoebe and her pretend husband remove to London. Just as his memories slowly come back, they are forced to wed for real, and life shifts. He wants a return to his rakish life, and she’s a fish out of water in the ton, but when two fighters are against the ropes, they’ll either need to come out swinging or declare defeat, especially when the prize is love.

Third book in a series with shades of While You Were Sleeping. A particularly bad blow to the head leads to amnesia for our boxer hero, and the heroine, hiding and toiling away in her aunt's bakery, figures what's the cost of one little white lie? Turns out quite a bit when the hero's brothers find him and his "wife" which of course leads to a big ol' scandal. 

Nine titles this month, a whirlwind tour of options. What Unusual Historicals are you looking forward to this month?

Luck Be a Lady: Unusual Historicals for March 2025

Hello March, my old friend. Come back around to torment me again. March is the start of my "busy season" at work, when the push begins for end of the fiscal year. Overseeing collections, managing a budget, means June 30 is a big deal on my work calendar and it's the one time of year where I have hard deadlines I can't tap dance around. This all means I start early and my brain starts to melt down by week's end. On the bright side? The surgery I had earlier this month to correct my hiatal hernia means I'm 1) no longer regurgitating everything I eat and 2) I'm sleeping some of the best sleep I've had in years. I mean, I'm still not sleeping enough - but baby steps y'all. I'm also not reading again. My goal this year to read more consistently has not come to fruition, but it is only March. Maybe there's still hope I can turn this ship around? And on that score, here's a fresh crop of Unusual Historicals to pique my interest and maybe kick me back into a reading groove.

The King's Messenger by Susanna Kearsley

It is the year 1613, and King James is sending his messenger Andrew Logan into Scotland with secret orders to arrest Sir David Moray, close friend and advisor of the late Prince Henry. Secrets are second nature to Andrew, who must hide his Second Sight to stay alive. Joined by a court scrivener and the scrivener's spirited daughter Phoebe, Andrew slowly untangles the true purpose of his mission—to frame Sir David for Prince Henry's murder. But Andrew is unwilling to betray an innocent man.

Phoebe Westaway dislikes Andrew, and their history makes it hard for her to trust him. But as their journey draws them deeper into the dark web of court intrigue, Phoebe begins to suspect that she might have more need of the King's Messenger and his unusual gifts than she could ever have foreseen.

Oooooh, a new Susanna Kearsley! This one sounds fantastic. 17th century, a King's messenger who finds out his boss is up to no good, traveling with a woman who doesn't trust him as far as she can throw him. Oh, and it's a Road Romance! One of my favorite tropes.

The Lady Sparks a Flame by Elizabeth Everett

A Lady with a past. A man with ambition. A romance far from London society that might bridge their divides.

Lady Phoebe Hunt never anticipated returning from exile. A fatal choice drove her from England, but the death of her father—and the revelation of his debts—has brought her home. Once she settles her father’s estate, she will return to America, where she has reinvented herself. There’s no reason to remain, not even for one gravitationally challenged but deliciously tempting entrepreneur: Sam Fenley.

Samuel Fenley is all ambition. Rising from shop boy to wealthy investor, he’s left knocking on doors that open only for those with a title. Unless he buys the damned door itself—and the estate that goes with it. Sam offers to relieve Phoebe of her burdens, but is her crumbling mansion all Sam wants? Or is it the Lady herself?

When threats from Phoebe’s past spark new dangers, Sam and Phoebe discover that neither is what the other expected. Standing on the edge of disaster, the disgraced Ice Queen will have to decide if she wants to forge through life alone, or let an unlikely hero melt her heart.

Book 2 in the Damsels of Discovery series features a heroine exiled to America after her participation "in a revolutionary plot" returning home to sort her dead father's finances (naturally a surprise to one and all). The answer to her prayers might be the hero, who is offering to buy the crumbling family estate and also possibly wed her younger sister - which would also mean her mother would be cared for. So why does the hero woo'ing her sister bother her so much? 

A Wager at Midnight by Vanessa Riley

Scarlett Wilcox is willing to live out her life as a spinster if it means being able to continue her medical research to help a friend in need. After all, few husbands would tolerate her dressing as a man to attend lectures at the Royal Academy of Science. If the Duke of Torrance finds her such a specimen, she'll agree to a marriage in name only, much to the dismay of her elder sister, the Viscountess.

 

When she's unmasked at a lecture on ophthalmology, Scarlett prepares to be disgraced, but she's saved by Trinidadian-born physician Stephen Carew who claims her as a cousin. Dedicated to caring for his community, Stephen has no wish to marry a frivolous and privileged lady, no matter how many fall for his disarming accent and seductive charm. But Scarlett proves the opposite of any he’s ever met before. Yet the pressure to marry blinds them both to the chemistry growing between them, pitting their brilliant minds against their reluctant hearts—as the Duke and Viscountess await with bated breath to see who will win . . . A WAGER AT MIDNIGHT.

Book 2 in Riley's Betting Against the Duke series features a heroine secretly attending the Royal Academy of Science who is saved from scandal by a visiting physician from Trinidad. Naturally there is an attraction and naturally, this being a romance, it's complicated. 

Our Dear Miss H. is on the Case by Violet Marsh

Georgina Harrington should never have trusted her feckless cousin Percy with her most precious archaeological discovery. But no one would take her academic work seriously if they knew it was hers and not her male cousin’s. When Percy goes missing, only Georgina realizes that he is truly in danger.  To find him, she must rely on the help of his infuriating but incredibly handsome best friend. 

Although Alexander Lovett is always up for an adventure, he vows to keep his distance from Georgina, who is on his insufferable parents’ list of suitable brides for a future duke. He’s a grown man who can pick his own wife, thank you very much. But he’s surprised to find himself falling for Georgina’s shockingly bold initiative and independent thinking, which saves them from more than one deadly scrape. 

Yet as a simple kidnapping grows into a threat to the monarchy, their smoldering attraction might be snuffed out before it has a chance to ignite.  

Set during the Georgian era, our heroine uses her cousin to present her archeological discovery and he ends up going missing.  To find him she enlists the help of the hero, who agrees despite the heroine being on a short list (put together by his parents) as potential wife material. The hero has some bizarre notion of choosing his own wife - I mean, what?! Reviews on this one mention sparkling banter and the story being equally silly and serious - which means the publisher marketing this as a romantic comedy probably isn't far off (for a change...).

A Lady's Guide to Scoundrels and Gentlemen by Arden Conroy

A lady should avoid a scoundrel if she does not wish a lifetime of heartache. But sometimes hearts simply do not care about rules.

Luck strikes when least expected and Lady Vivian Winthrop finally gets a taste when an unexpected fortune is left to her and not her brother. But there’s a caveat: to keep it, she must marry within one year. As newspapers name her “Britain’s richest spinster,” men swarm her receiving room with hopes of charming her down the aisle. Vivian becomes frustrated by the incessant attention—and unfortunately, Vivian discovers she cannot identify true gentlemen from sneaky scoundrels like her own brother.

Her brother owes a shocking gambling debt to Edmond “Dantes” McNab, a scarred pugilist who owns a wild pub. With his ear to the ground, Dantes knows the truth about much of the ton. Vivian offers the man a deal he can’t resist: help her find a true gentleman to marry, and she will repay her brother’s debt in full.

It’s soon clear Dantes knows the scoundrels’ secrets because he is one himself. Unfortunately for Vivian, her heart becomes a bit too affected by the burly man. She knows well enough any affection for Dantes will end in nothing other than disaster. But sometimes one’s heart simply does not care about silly rules.

If Vivian doesn’t find a suitable gentleman soon, she may make the biggest mistake of her life and fall in love with one of the worst scoundrels in London.

Folks, we have a debut! The first in The Harp & the Thistle series, which feature "Three wild brothers from the streets of Whitechapel."  A heroine who has an inherited a fortune, but must marry within one year to claim it, soon finds herself overrun with potential "suitors." Couple that with her useless brother, she needs help weeding out the scoundrels. For that she turns to the hero, a former boxer, now pub owner, who will help her find a gentleman and in exchange she'll pay off her brother's debt to him in full.  I mean, what could possibly go wrong?

The Warrior's Bride Alliance by Denise Lynn

She needs a husband… 

So she captures one! 

Lady Gillian of Rockskill desperately needs a husband—one strong and wealthy enough to protect her castle. So she has warrior Rory of Roul captured and blackmails him into marrying her! 

Awaking in a dungeon to a marriage proposal, Rory stuns his beguiling captor with a counteroffer: to free his men and complete his mission for the king, he agrees to a temporary chaste marriage. One that can be annulled when his quest is over.  

But despite their stormy beginning, their attraction grows, and so does the temptation to claim their wedding night!

This is Lynn's return to Harlequin Historical, her first with them since 2018. It's apparently a part of her Warrior Wolves series, but I suspect it stands alone well since I'm only seeing the series mention on the author's web site (and not on either Amazon or at Harlequin). A good old fashioned medieval marriage of convenience plot - a Lady heroine needs a man to protect her castle, so when she captures a warrior, she blackmails him into marrying her. He, of course, expects to keep the marriage temporary and chaste. Ha ha ha ha!

With Love in Their Corner by Sandra Sookoo

When you want something out of life, you’ll have to fight for it.

Lewis Stapleton, eighth Earl of Lethbridge is a man hovering on the edge of breaking. Between his mother pestering him about finding a bride of high social standing, maintaining his estates and title without enough funding, and worrying over his brothers, he requires an outlet. Anger and grief haven’t been dealt with since his father’s death two years prior, so he works through those emotions while in the boxing ring. His father was a prize fighter so matching his over-large footsteps is difficult, but something must give else he’ll explode.

Miss Cecilia Dawson is tired of being an object of ridicule or allegedly not good enough for anything beyond a quick tryst. With an affinity for numbers, she keeps the books for her father’s shipping company, but is desperate for a way to defend herself against the coarse and crude men she encounters in the office near the docks. The day she steps into the Stapleton Boxing Salon while disguised as a boy rapidly becomes both the best and worst day of her life.

Despite the instant attraction between them, Lewis ignores it in favor of teaching Cecilia how to box for protection. As the summer days slip by filled with an illegal fight or two as well as activities that come far too close to courtship, the attraction spills into forbidden desire that lands them both into scandal. Distracted, they never see danger coming that puts them into a corner of peril.

Only by releasing fears and working together will they come away with a prize more valuable than anything they could imagine.

Another series starter, The Boxers of Brook Street, and another boxer hero. He's taken up boxing to deal with residual anger and grief, and she wants to learn to defend herself while working for her father's shipping company located near the docks. A forbidden attraction soon morphs into scandal and dun dun dun danger. 

Waiting for Love by Carol Coventry

If the gossips of the ton can agree on one thing, it is that Lady Olivia Taverston will marry a Peer.

Everyone expects Lady Olivia Taverston, the winsome sister of the Earl of Iversley, to be the most sought-after debutante of the London Season. Yet Olivia cares nothing for attracting suitors. Suitors lead to marriage, and marriage means leaving behind everything that she holds dear. Not even the prospect of a love match excites her. She fell in love once. It hurt. She won’t do it again. Naturally, a lady must marry, but Olivia can’t pretend to be happy about it. Especially not after he reappears—and he’s handsomer, kinder, and more annoyingly noble than ever.

Mr. Benjamin Carroll has returned to England after an admittedly harebrained attempt to make his fortune in Canada. A failed business venture not only left him bankrupt, but also made him the adoptive father of his deceased partners’ little girl. Thankfully, he has a lifeline. Jasper Taverston, the Earl of Iversley, an old Oxford chum, has offered him the job of estate steward. The only complication is Jasper’s little sister. Years ago, her infatuation with Benjamin progressed from silly to embarrassing. Of course, it’s absurd to think she could still be carrying a torch for him. She should be grown up and married by now. Except he finds she is not. Not married, that is. She is very definitely grown up.

The worst thing a lowly steward can do is to seduce his lord’s sister. Benjamin knows this. Olivia does too. But…

Defying the expectations of her family and the rules of the ton is not the worst thing a lady can do. Even worse is to surrender to them with a vengeance.

The third book in The Taverstons of Iversley series features a bankrupt hero, returned home to England, taking a job from an old friend to be his new estate steward. What he didn't plan on? That his old friend's attractive younger sister would still, inexplicably, be single. And she's still single because he once broke her heart. She's the Earl's sister, he's a lowly estate steward. Complications ensue.

The Loyalty of a Lyon by Linda Rae Sande

He’s the widowed Marquess of Hawke. She’s a wealthy spinster named for Apollo. Will a conniving cousin thwart a matchmaker’s plans to see they end up together?

Robert Strathford, Marquess of Hawke, had thought to spend his older years traveling the world with his beloved wife, but when Eleanor dies in a carriage accident, he’s left heartbroken—and broke. While he was on the Continent, his man of business made off with most of his fortune, his whereabouts unknown.

After two years of mourning both his wife and his livelihood, he’s in need of a matchmaker—his past two attempts to land a wife using the Black Widow of Whitehall failed when he couldn’t win the strange games he had to play at The Lyon’s Den. He is determined Mrs. Dove-Lyon find him a wealthy wife. Will the third time be the charm?

Spinster Apollonia Alexander, the only daughter of a wealthy trader, has lived her entire life on the move. Her father chose to take her with him when he traveled to various ports and marketplaces, negotiating with ships’ captains and export houses for fabrics and trinkets for the British market. When he suddenly dies, she is devastated. Although her inheritance is substantial, her cousin inherits the Alexander Trading Company. Christopher will end up with her and her fortune if she’s unable to land a husband—she needs a male relative to access her funds.

Not about to marry her cousin, Apollonia seeks the services of a matchmaker. Mrs. Bessie Dove-Lyon promises a respectable marriage to a loyal man if she can handle life with a Hawke.

But will he be able to handle her?

Part of the Lyon's Den continuity series (76 books long!), features an older hero heartbroken over his wife's unexpected death, with the added complication that his man of business has robbed him blind. After two years he decides it's time to remarry, preferably a woman with some money. Enter, stage right, our heroine, a spinster and the daughter of a wealthy trader. She's got a pile of money but a terrible cousin with his own ideas, which means she needs a husband, and fast.

The Duke's Lance by C.H. Admirand

“Who in the world would marry me, just to ensure that

I stayed at Wyndmere Hall?”

“That would be me, lass.”

The winsome, ebony-haired lass with the violet faery-eyes captures O’Malley’s heart when she steps down from the carriage, but it is the ugly dark bruise on her cheek that has his protective instincts offering his strength and the protection of his name.

O’Malley’s stubborn pride takes a hit when the lass thanks him, but refuses his offer.

Helen Langley accompanied her mistress, the duke’s ward Emily, to Wyndmere Hall after a perilous journey from London. The broad-shouldered, green-eyed, handsome giant barely knows her, yet offers her marriage.

Helen cannot accept O’Malley’s offer, her past could ruin their future!

O’Malley is willing to wait when she leaves for the Borderlands intent on securing a position as a companion. But the man who murdered Emily’s father has Helen in his sights and follows her. When she is abducted—twice—Helen must decide whether to trust O’Malley and accept his offer, or keep her past hidden and live with the pain of her broken heart for the rest of her life.

Danger stalks in the night, but it will have to get past The Duke’s Lance before he will let harm come to those he has sworn to protect with his strength, his honor, and his heart.

This is the 12th book in The Duke's Guard series, which features the Irish O'Malley brothers and off-shoots of cousins. It's the kind of series where the author keeps a family tree running on her website. He's one of the Duke's guards, she's a lady's maid with ambitions to be a companion.  One small problem, she's in dun, dun, dun danger! He's willing to marry her to protect her, she's not so sure - that is until she gets kidnapped, not once...but twice.

Whew! Everything is a lot right now, but take your Aunt Wendy's advice. Take a moment to find some joy. Whether that's eating ice cream for breakfast, buying that new lipstick or treating yourself to some new Unusual Historicals. What Unusual Historicals are you looking forward to reading?