Hit the Books: Unusual Historical Spotlight for August 2022

August has shaped up to be a busy reading month because Past Wendy volunteered to do some contest judging that Present Wendy had conveniently forgotten about. Y'all, next time hold me back from doing these sorts of things, will ya? I've had a pretty good reading year (73 books so far!) but it's been coming in fits and starts. In the meantime, oh my look at all these Unusual Historicals landing in August! It's enough to distract a girl when she's got assigned reading to do...

To Catch a Raven by Beverly Jenkins 

Lying and cheating may be sins to some people, but for Raven Moreaux, it is a way of life. She comes from a long line of grifters and couldn’t be prouder…Until she’s forced to help the government. 

A former Confederate official is suspected of stealing the Declaration of Independence, and Raven, posing as his housekeeper, is tasked with getting it back. Her partner is the too handsome Braxton Steel. Masquerading as a valet/driver, Brax is also supposed to be her “husband.” He has his own reasons for doing this job, but when their pretend marriage ignites into fiery passion, they’ll have to put everything—including their hearts—on the line.

Jenkins excels at writing great heroines and crafting community in her stories (I think every librarian should recommend her historicals to folks who devour small town contemporaries).  I'm intrigued by this one because while the heroine certainly sounds very Jenkins-esque, we've basically got a spy story, so it'll be intriguing to see how the community atmosphere manifests itself here. I'm looking forward to this one because Raven sounds magnificent!

 

Compromised into a Scandalous Marriage by Lydia San Andres 

From island scandal 

To dutiful vows! 

When heiress Paulina Despradel is banished from the family quinta in a storm, she seeks shelter with her dashing new neighbor, Sebastian Linares. Their attraction may be as electrifying as the lightning outside, but the night they spend together is totally innocent. Barely more than strangers, they must now marry. But left alone with their simmering chemistry, can they build a true union from the ashes of scandal?

I have an ARC of this that I wanted to read soon and...well, see this blog post intro. Anyway, it's set in the Dominican Republic in the early 1900s! And if that weren't enough, thanks to this review at The Smut Report, I know I'm going to get a dastardly brother and some Drama Llama! This one is on tap soon for me.

The Scoundrel Falls Hard by Sophie Jordan 

A devil’s bargain burns the hottest…. 

For years, fiercely independent Gwen Cully has worked as the village blacksmith, keeping her family’s business going. But when a local rival threatens her livelihood, Gwen has nowhere to turn ... until a devastatingly handsome fugitive takes shelter in her shop and sparks fly. 

Unrepentant rogue Kellan Fox’s entire existence has been a dangerous game of deception that leads him into a fight for survival—and straight into the arms of a tall, fiery beauty. When Gwen protects him from an angry mob of villagers, Kellan sees the perfect solution to both their troubles. A marriage—in name only—that will last a single year. 

Only a marriage of convenience can’t hide their searing attraction. It glows hotter than Gwen’s forge and reaches deep below the tempting mask Kellan wears for the world. With every sizzling glance and scorching kiss, Gwen surrenders more of herself to the molten passion she finds in Kellan’s strong embrace. But can she ever truly trust her heart to a scoundrel?

This is Book 3 in Jordan's Duke Hunt series and y'all I typically glance right over most historicals with "Duke" mentioned somewhere.  But, but, but....the heroine is working as a blacksmith! And yeah the hero is a fugitive and will probably turn out to be a Duke in hiding but THE HEROINE IS A BLACKSMITH!

The Bluestocking's Whirlwind Liaison by Bronwyn Scott 

The quiet sister 

And the only man to charm her! 

Rebecca has always been the inventor of the family, much preferring her workshop to a ball. But she’s thrust out of her familiar life when she meets Jules Howells, a member of a manufacturing family that is interested in her latest invention. At first, Jules seems a carefree rogue…until their ever-more-passionate encounters show Becca a depth to him she cannot resist!

 

This is the fourth book in Scott's Peveretts of Haberstock Hall series and OMG, so much Wendy catnip here. The quiet sister! And she's an inventor! And the hero comes from a manufacturing family!  Gimme, gimme, gimme!

Beauty and the Thief by Shana Galen 

Callahan Kelly is a conman, pure and simple. With his dark hair, dark eyes, and dimpled smile, he can smooth talk anyone out of anything and has a keen nose for sniffing out liars and thieves. So clearly someone somewhere made a mistake including him on a train heading toward a training ground with an elite group of agents for the Crown. But Baron, the leader of the newly formed Royal Saboteurs, makes a deal with Callahan: stay until his troubles in London die down, and if he still wants to go, he’ll be paid and discharged. But Cal finds the training at the camp fascinating, and even more intriguing is Bridget, the red-haired beauty who’s immune to his charm. When Cal is asked to partner with Bridget to infiltrate a group of Irish separatists or return to London, the choice is neither simple nor easy. 

Bridget Murray was sent from London to serve as Baron’s secretary. She never expected to be given the chance to carry out a mission for the Royal Saboteurs. She doesn’t like Callahan Kelly from the moment she meets him. But when they’re paired to infiltrate the Irish nationalists, she reluctantly agrees to pose as his wife. Living in close quarters with Callahan isn’t as awful as she expected, and that’s just the problem. The closer they become and the more real the danger surrounding him, the more she realizes she doesn’t ever want to let him go.

A conman hero who stumbles his way into a modicum of respectability. I call this the Han Solo Complex. And then there's the heroine who shows up to do one respectable job (secretary) and finds herself thrust into spy games. It's like if Moneypenny was shoved out into the field (which, come to think of it, happened in the Craig Bond Universe).  Anyway, this looks like it could be fun and Smexy Books has a nice review for it. It's also the start of a new series.

The Viking's Runaway Concubine by Caitlin Crews 

The Viking’s captive 

Bonded by more than chains…? 

Renowned Viking warrior Ulfric can’t stop thinking about his runaway concubine, Eithne. Their powerful connection seared his soul…and still she’d escaped, scarring his face in the process! But now he’s found her. He intends to teach her a lesson, but the white-hot passion between them has only grown hotter, wilder. Is he the one in danger of falling captive to the emotion only Eithne rouses in him…?

Crews also writes as Megan Crane, but under the Crews name I'd say she's best known for her Harlequin Presents work. And just like a Harlequin Presents, this historical sounds like it could go one of two ways. It's either going to be a problematic hot mess or else I'm going to inhale every delicious
word and not come up for air for a few hours. Y'all I love this game!

Kit McBride Gets a Wife by Amy Barry 

The four McBride brothers have their worlds turned upside down when their precocious younger sister secretly places an advertisement for a mail-order bride. 

Kit McBride knows that Buck's Creek, Montana, is no place to find a wife. Between him and his three brothers—plus little Junebug—they manage all right on their own, thank you very much. But unbeknownst to Kit, his sister is sick to death of cleaning, cooking, and mending for her big brothers, so she places an ad in The Matrimonial News to get them hitched. 

 After Maddy Mooney emigrated from Ireland, she found employment with an eccentric but poor widow. When her mistress decides to answer an ad for a mail-order bride, Madd​y is dragged along for the ride to Montana. But en route to the West, Maddy is suddenly abandoned and left to assume the widow's name, position, and matrimonial prospects…. 

With no other recourse in the wilderness, Maddy must convince Kit she’s the wife he never knew he needed.

I'm going to be honest here - I'm including this book because it's a historical western and if y'all know me - IT'S A HISTORICAL WESTERN!  But, but, but...pretty sure this is going to be a Funny Ha Ha western and y'all - not my favorite. By a long shot. Give me ALL the Will We Survive Winter westerns, Funny Ha Ha? Not so much.  But, it's a western. Which means yes I'll have to try it but yes it's gonna be a library read.  It also appears to be the first book in a new series.  Barry has written a few westerns in the past under the name Tess LeSue.

What Unusual Historicals are you looking forward to?

Unusual Historical Picks June 2021: Crimes and Other Shenanigans

Where I live has lifted a number of COVID restrictions, I have an honest-to-goodness vacation planned to see my family in early July, and oh yeah - The Day Job is insanity right now. It's that time of year where Wendy is closing out one fiscal year, preparing for another, and under fire with very hard deadlines that I can't miss. That means trying to make time for happy things because without the happy - I'm no fun to live with.  So let's bring on some happy with this month's crop of Unusual Historicals which is just frickin' obscene y'all.  We also have a very definite theme running this month, so this post will be grouped into two sections.  Enjoy and happy browsing!

Crimes

The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels by India Holton

A prim and proper lady thief must save her aunt from a crazed pirate and his dangerously charming henchman in this fantastical historical romance. 

Cecilia Bassingwaite is the ideal Victorian lady. She's also a thief. Like the other members of the Wisteria Society crime sorority, she flies around England drinking tea, blackmailing friends, and acquiring treasure by interesting means. Sure, she has a dark and traumatic past and an overbearing aunt, but all things considered, it's a pleasant existence. Until the men show up. 

Ned Lightbourne is a sometimes assassin who is smitten with Cecilia from the moment they meet. Unfortunately, that happens to be while he's under direct orders to kill her. His employer, Captain Morvath, who possesses a gothic abbey bristling with cannons and an unbridled hate for the world, intends to rid England of all its presumptuous women, starting with the Wisteria Society. Ned has plans of his own. But both men have made one grave mistake. Never underestimate a woman. 

When Morvath imperils the Wisteria Society, Cecilia is forced to team up with her handsome would-be assassin to save the women who raised her--hopefully proving, once and for all, that she's as much of a scoundrel as the rest of them.

Holton's debut is being billed as a romcom that mixes fantasy elements with historical romance. There are flying houses, pirates, an assassin, a gothic abbey and "presumptuous women."  I'm no expert, but this sounds like a perfect summer vacation read. It's also the first in a series.

The Hellion's Waltz by Olivia Waite

It’s not a crime to steal a heart... 

Sophie Roseingrave hates nothing more than a swindler. After her family lost their piano shop to a con man in London, they’re trying to start fresh in a new town. Her father is convinced Carrisford is an upright and honest place, but Sophie is not so sure. She has grave suspicions about silk-weaver Madeline Crewe, whose stunning beauty doesn’t hide the fact that she’s up to something. 

All Maddie Crewe needs is one big score, one grand heist to properly fund the weavers’ union forever. She has found her mark in Mr. Giles, a greedy draper, and the entire association of weavers and tailors and clothing merchants has agreed to help her. The very last thing she needs is a small but determined piano-teacher and composer sticking her nose in other people’s business. If Sophie won’t be put off, the only thing to do is to seduce her to the cause. 

Will Sophie’s scruples force her to confess the plot before Maddie gets her money? Or will Maddie lose her nerve along with her heart?

A heroine looking for one big score for noble purposes finds herself attracting the attention of a suspicious, and observant, newcomer who despises swindlers and cheats (with good reason!).  This sounds positively delicious!

The Queer Principles of Kit Webb by Cat Sebastian 

Kit Webb has left his stand-and-deliver days behind him. But dreary days at his coffee shop have begun to make him pine for the heady rush of thievery. When a handsome yet arrogant aristocrat storms into his shop, Kit quickly realizes he may be unable to deny whatever this highborn man desires. 

In order to save himself and a beloved friend, Percy, Lord Holland must go against every gentlemanly behavior he holds dear to gain what he needs most: a book that once belonged to his mother, a book his father never lets out of his sight and could be Percy’s savior. More comfortable in silk-filled ballrooms than coffee shops frequented by criminals, his attempts to hire the roughly hewn highwayman, formerly known as Gladhand Jack, proves equal parts frustrating and electrifying. 

Kit refuses to participate in the robbery but agrees to teach Percy how to do the deed. Percy knows he has little choice but to submit and as the lessons in thievery begin, he discovers thievery isn’t the only crime he’s desperate to commit with Kit. 

But when their careful plan goes dangerously wrong and shocking revelations threaten to tear them apart, can these stolen hearts overcome the impediments in their path?

A former thief longs for the "good old days" when opportunity comes knocking on his coffee shop door.  Sebastian's latest is Georgian-set .

Subtle Blood by KJ Charles 

Will Darling is all right. His business is doing well, and so is his illicit relationship with Kim Secretan--disgraced aristocrat, ex-spy, amateur book-dealer. It’s starting to feel like he’s got his life under control. 

And then a brutal murder in a gentleman’s club plunges them back into the shadow world of crime, deception, and the power of privilege. Worse, it brings them up against Kim’s noble, hostile family, and his upper-class life where Will can never belong. 

With old and new enemies against them, and secrets on every side, Will and Kim have to fight for each other harder than ever—or be torn apart for good.

The third, and apparently final, book in The Will Darling Adventures finds our heroes embroiled in a murder at a gentleman's club and dealing with Kim's less-than-welcoming elite family.  

Other Shenanigans

The Devil and the Heiress by Harper St. George 

No one would guess that beneath Violet Crenshaw's ladylike demeanor lies the heart of a rebel. American heiresses looking to secure English lords must be on their best behavior, but Violet has other plans. She intends to flee London and the marriage her parents have arranged to become a published author--if only the wickedly handsome earl who inspired her most outrageously sinful character didn't insist on coming with her. 

Christian Halston, Earl of Leigh, has a scheme of his own: escort the surprisingly spirited dollar princess north and use every delicious moment in close quarters to convince Violet to marry him. Christian needs an heiress to rebuild his Scottish estate but the more time he spends with Violet, the more he realizes what he really needs is her--by his side, near his heart, in his bed. 

Though Christian's burning glances offer unholy temptation, Violet has no intention of surrendering herself or her newfound freedom in a permanent deal with the devil. It's going to take more than pretty words to prove this fortune hunter's love is true....

The second book in St. George's Gilded Age Heiresses series finds our heroine waiting for an opportunity to escape a marriage she's not interested in to pursue her dreams to become an author. Unfortunately her family's fortune is all too tempting for a financially strapped Earl (isn't it always?)

A Wager to Tempt the Runaway by Bronwyn Scott 

She’s a free spirit 

He’s a serious businessman 

Josefina Ricci has run away to fulfill her deathbed promise to her father to travel the world! During her stop in England, the free-spirited artist is embroiled in a wager—to paint an award-winning portrait of oyster businessman Owen Gann in exchange for room and board. Owen is her opposite in all ways, pragmatic and responsible, but as he reveals a wild, passionate side, might Josefina have found her greatest adventure…in him?

The third book in Scott's Rebellious Sisterhood series is an opposites attract romance that finds our artist heroine painting the portrait of a staid, upright businessman in order to win a wager...as one does.  

Her Royal Payne by Shana Galen 

 

He’s a pain…literally. 

Rowden Payne, known as The Royal Payne, makes his living in the high stakes world of bareknuckle boxing. The disavowed son of a duke likes the focus boxing requires. It keeps his mind off the tragedies in his past. But just as he’s poised to knock out his biggest rival, he’s mesmerized by a pair of exotic hazel eyes in the crowd. He finds himself flat on his back and short fifty pounds. 

She’s a prude with a problem. 

Modesty Brown’s father has vanished. The strict minister has never disappeared before, and Modesty is left having to rely on elders of the church for help. But when she becomes a burden to them, she has to seek out her aunt, a woman of high rank. Modesty’s only way of finding her is by asking the only man she knows of that class—Rowden Payne. Unfortunately, she’s the one responsible for the Royal Payne losing his crucial fight. 

Sometimes the hardest hit is the one to the heart. 

Rowden doesn’t want to care for anyone or anything, but if he can just help Modesty find her father, he can be rid of her. Soon the revelation of her father’s secrets and lies puts Modesty, Rowden, and their friends in danger, and if Rowden can’t admit his feelings for Modesty, he’ll lose her forever.

Galen's Survivors series keeps chugging along with this 10th (!) book. An unacknowledged duke's son turned boxer falls for a sheltered heroine looking for her missing minister father. Opposites attract uniting to solve a mystery.

The Viking Chief's Marriage Alliance by Lucy Morris 

A challenging wife

For a warrior Viking 

When Thorstein Bergson rescues a beautiful woman from a storm-tossed longship, he little expects to broker a powerful marriage alliance with her. This high-status ice queen is not the comfortable wife the warrior chief is seeking. But maybe the bittersweet pain in Gyda’s eyes hides another woman beneath? The one he tasted that first night when she’d kissed him with such pent-up longing…?

Another debut this month! Lucy Morris scored a two-book deal with Harlequin Historical after submitting this book as part of their Warriors Wanted submission blitz. 

Ruthless Heart by Beth Williamson

He led her astray, and she never wanted to go back. 

Sheltered all her life, Eliza Hunter never imagined herself alone in the vast Utah plains, much less trailing a mysterious, rugged man hired to hunt down her beautiful younger sister. Unable to reveal the truth about her pursuit of him, Eliza plays student to the teacher, transforming herself in the process. And she when she finds herself sharing the warmth of Grady’s campfire, wrapped in his arms, hypnotized by his power, soon she is a naive spinster no more… 

Grady Wolfe is more than a loner, he’s a man forever on the run, an assassin with a dark past and an even darker future. With a body and soul finely honed from living off the land, Grady knows he should leave the irresistible woman alone, but she stirs something in him he hasn’t felt before. Now he’s lost in the woods for the first time in his life—with a dangerous job to do. And no one—not even the distracting Eliza—is going to stop him.

Originally published in 2010 by Kensington Brava under her Emma Lang name, Williamson will republish the next two books in this series later this year. It's a western set in Utah (not a terribly common locale...) and it was a Brava - so expect some sexytimes!

Whew! That's a whole lot of Unusual Historicals to choose from this month. What are you looking forward to reading?

Unusual Historicals for April 2019

Spring is here, baseball season is underway, I’m finally over the head cold from Hell - things are definitely looking up around the Bat Cave. What better way to celebrate than with new historical romance? Here are some catching my eye this month: 

The Scandalous Suffragette by Eliza Redgold

Votes for women!  

Can she fight for freedom and for love? 

When chocolate heiress Violet Coombes is caught hanging her suffragette banner in a most shocking place, Adam Beaufort, Esquire, proposes a marriage of convenience! His good name will avert scandal for her family, and her money will save the estate Adam’s father gambled away. Violet accepts, but she’s determined nothing will distract her from the Cause—including her oh-so-tempting husband! 

Reader: I totally judged a book by it’s cover. The Edwardian era has always been criminally under-utilized as a historical romance setting given what an interesting time in history it was for women. Redgold’s latest features an heiress whose scandalous suffragette leanings force her into a marriage of convenience to save her monied family from scandal. I one-clicked the heck out of this.

Sugar Moon by Jennifer Hallock

The nights were their secret.  

The papers back home call Ben Potter a hero of the Philippine-American War, but he knows the truth. When his estranged brother-in-law offers him work slashing sugarcane, Ben seizes the opportunity to atone--one acre at a time. At the hacienda Ben meets schoolteacher Allegra Alazas. While Allegra bristles at her family's traditional expectations, the one man who appreciates her intelligence and independence seems to be the very worst marriage prospect on the island.  

Neither Ben nor Allegra fit easily in their separate worlds, so together they must build one of their own. But when Ben's wartime past crashes down upon them, it threatens to break their elusive peace. 

Set in the Philippines at the dawn of the 20th century, the hero is the son of a tailor (he sews!), a baseball player, and war veteran. He’s also got issues. Given my continued hunt for Domme heroines, the author shared with me that there is some light D/s. Check out Kat’s (from BookThingo) Twitter thread and the author also has a handy page on her web site with content warnings on the entire series.

At the Mountain’s Edge by Genevieve Graham 

In 1897, the discovery of gold in the desolate reaches of the Yukon has the world abuzz with excitement, and thousands of prospectors swarm to the north seeking riches the likes of which have never been seen before.  

For Liza Peterson and her family, the gold rush is a chance for them to make a fortune by moving their general store business from Vancouver to Dawson City, the only established town in the Yukon. For Constable Ben Turner, a recent recruit of the North-West Mounted Police, upholding the law in a place overrun with guns, liquor, prostitutes, and thieves is an opportunity to escape a dark past and become the man of integrity he has always wanted to be. But the long, difficult journey over icy mountain passes and whitewater rapids is much more treacherous than Liza or Ben imagined, and neither is completely prepared for the forbidding north.  

As Liza’s family nears the mountain’s peak, a catastrophe strikes with fatal consequences, and not even the NWMP can help. Alone and desperate, Liza finally reaches Dawson City, only to find herself in a different kind of peril. Meanwhile, Ben, wracked with guilt over the accident on the trail, sees the chance to make things right. But just as love begins to grow, new dangers arise, threatening to separate the couple forever. 

I believe this is technically being marketed as historical fiction, but Graham has a romance past and reviews indicate it does have a happy-ever-after. However, reviews also indicate that it’s one of those old-school style books where there’s a fresh catastrophe awaiting our heroine nearly every other page. While that can be exhausting, it can also make for a page-turning read, plus the Yukon gold rush! A mountie hero! I’m going to see if I can score a copy from work.

Highland Crown by May McGoldrick 

Inverness, 1820  

Perched on the North Sea, this port town—by turns legendary and mythological—is a place where Highland rebels and English authorities clash in a mortal struggle for survival and dominance. Among the fray is a lovely young widow who possesses rare and special gifts.  

WANTED: Isabella Drummond
A true beauty and trained physician, Isabella has inspired longing and mystery—and fury—in a great many men. Hunted by both the British government and Scottish rebels, she came to the Highlands in search of survival. But a dying ship’s captain will steer her fate into even stormier waters. . .and her heart into flames.  

FOUND: Cinaed Mackintosh
Cast from his home as a child, Cinaed is a fierce soul whose allegiance is only to himself. . . until Isabella saved his life—and added more risk to her own. Now, the only way Cinaed can keep her safe is to seek refuge at Dalmigavie Castle, the Mackintosh family seat. But when the scandalous truth of his past comes out, any chance of Cinaed having a bright future with Isabella is thrown into complete darkness. What will these two ill-fated lovers have to sacrifice to be together…for eternity? 

The start of a new series, my ears perked up (or maybe it was my eyeballs) over a doctor heroine who is wanted on both sides of the conflict - by the British who want her to name names and by the Scots who fear she’ll do just that. Loyalty as conflict in historical romances always seems to work for me, and an unconventional hero paired with a ship’s captain is just the sort of jam I can’t say no to.

Claiming of the Shrew by Shana Galen

What happens when a marriage of convenience isn’t so convenient?  

Lieutenant Colonel Benedict Draven has retired from the army and spends most of his days either consulting for the Foreign Office or whiling away the hours at his club with his former comrades-in-arms. He rarely thinks about the fiery Portuguese woman he saved from an abusive marriage by wedding her himself. It was supposed to be a marriage in name only, but even five years later and a world away, he can’t seem to forget her.  

Catarina Neves never forgot what it felt like to be scared, desperate, and subject to the whims of her cruel father. Thanks to a marriage of convenience and her incredible skill as a lacemaker, she’s become an independent and wealthy woman. But when she’s once again thrust into a dangerous situation, she finds herself in London and knocking on the door of the husband she hasn’t seen since those war-torn years in Portugal. Catarina tells Benedict she wants an annulment, but when he argues against it, can she trust him enough to ask for what she really needs? 

Galen continues with her Survivors series with another hero haunted by his war experiences and the wife he wed to protect. He never forgot the passionate kiss they shared, but it’s still a surprise when Catarina shows up on his London doorstep asking for an annulment - their marriage of convenience no longer being, well, convenient. Also, depending on which side of the fence you land on - this is a May-December romantic couple. I figure that will, in equal measure, have some of you one-clicking and others running far in the other direction.

What Unusual Historicals are you looking forward to?

Top 5 Unusual Historicals for March 2019

If the month of March had a definition it would be “tease.” Growing up in the Midwest, March meant warmer temperatures, the snow finally starting to melt, digging out my summer clothes when the temperature hit 60°F - only to have that cruel witch Mother Nature dump a March 31 blizzard to remind us who was boss. Oh, many an Easter it was where my pretty new dress was hidden under outerwear that made me look like I was going on an Antarctic expedition. You know what I’m talking about, amirite?! So why not plan for an impending final last-gasp snow day now by pursuing some new unusual historical offerings? Here’s what caught my eye for March.

To Tempt a Rebel by Shana Galen 

He’s a rebel…
It all began so well. When Tristan Chevalier joined the French revolutionaries to fight for brotherhood, equality, and liberty, he was full of hopes and dreams of what the revolution could accomplish. But after several years of serving as the bloodthirsty Robespierre’s second, Tristan is having doubts. When Tristan tries to halt Robespierre’s Reign of Terror, he inadvertently steps into a trap laid by the League of the Scarlet Pimpernel and orchestrated by the lovely Alexandra Martin. Tristan is no one’s pawn, but he thinks by playing along, he might be able to give his superiors information leading to the capture of the League. He could end the Pimpernel’s antics once and for all. There’s just one problem—no matter how much Tristan despises Alexandra, he can’t quite stop wanting her.  

She has a cause.
Alexandra Martin is an Englishwoman who’s has been playing the part of a French actress for years. It’s a clever cover for her real role as a member of the League of the Scarlet Pimpernel. Alex usually works in the background, but when she manages to snare one of the most important men in Robespierre’s government, she’s risking it all. So begins a harrowing adventure where Alex’s most vile enemy must become her most trusted ally. The fate of a young prince hangs in the balance as two clashing rebels discover enemies sometimes make the best lovers. 

Look, light and fluffy historical romance has its place, but for my money I’m always going to go with the historical with high stakes conflict. Like, life and death stuff. And it doesn’t get much life-er and death-er than the French Revolution. This is the fourth book in a series where I somehow missed the preceding three. Never mind. I’m rectifying that now.

Shipwrecked with the Captain by Diane Gaston

All she remembers…  

…is feeling safe in his arms!  

Part of The Governess Swap: Shipwrecked governess Claire Tilson wakes in Captain Lucien Roper’s arms—with amnesia! Her handsome rescuer believes she’s a member of the aristocracy he detests, yet he risks all to see her “home,” where she learns she’s betrothed to a wealthy stranger. Claire is convinced she doesn’t belong here…and Lucien is the only man she trusts to uncover her past and claim her future! 

The second book in a duology, our amnesiac heroine finds herself mistaken for the heroine in A Lady Becomes a Governess. There are two types of readers: those who avoid amnesia plots like the plague and those who are drawn to them like a moth to flame. I tend to fall in the latter category, namely because I always have to see for myself if the author can pull it off. Gaston is a seasoned Regency pro, so I’m hopeful.

Desire Lines by Elizabeth Kingston

All he ever wanted was to go home.  

Leaving his life as a noble hostage behind him, Gryff has fled from one danger to another, never safe, always longing for a forbidden return to his conquered Welsh homeland. Held captive by villainous men, his unlikely savior is the most beautiful woman he’s ever seen – and the most deadly. Her silence is unnerving, her generosity unexpected, and her pointed warning that she will not be an object of lust is perfectly clear.  

Nan has no doubt the ragged Welshman she has saved from certain death was born to better things, far different from the servant’s life she’s led. Though the last thing she wants is a companion on her journey to find her cherished sister, she is compelled to help the man with haunted eyes and a mysterious past. But she feels the pull of his fascination every instant, and her own unexpected desire soon takes them places neither could have foreseen. 

OK, so how did this series fly under my radar?! 13th century and the conquest of Wales?! How did I miss this?! I like medievals. Again, high stakes conflict and one of those moments in history where loyalty was everything. And Lord help you if you were loyal to the losing side. Anyway, we routinely see English and Scottish medievals. We even see a small mattering of Irish medievals. But Welsh? And it’s a road romance. I’m a mere mortal after all. I cannot possibly resist.

Mrs. Martin’s Incomparable Adventure by Courtney Milan

Mrs. Bertrice Martin—a widow, some seventy-three years young—has kept her youthful-ish appearance with the most powerful of home remedies: daily doses of spite, regular baths in man-tears, and refusing to give so much as a single damn about her Terrible Nephew.  

Then proper, correct Miss Violetta Beauchamps, a sprightly young thing of five and sixty, crashes into her life. The Terrible Nephew is living in her rooming house, and Violetta wants him gone.  

Mrs. Martin isn’t about to start giving damns, not even for someone as intriguing as Miss Violetta. But she hatches another plan—to make her nephew sorry, to make Miss Violetta smile, and to have the finest adventure of all time.  

If she makes Terrible Men angry and wins the hand of a lovely lady in the process? Those are just added bonuses. 

This new novella from Milan is part of the Worth Saga and sounds positively delightful! When was the last time we got not one, but TWO, heroines over the age of 60? Seriously, this just may be the first one ever. And both of them sound like they’re well past giving a damn. I’m halfway to swoon already.

Marrying Her Viking Enemy by Harper St. George 

A Saxon maiden  

Bound to a Viking warrior  

Part of To Wed a Viking: The conquering Danes have taken everything from Elswyth—even her mother. So, despite the uneasy truce between their people, she knows where her loyalties lie. Until she meets towering Rolfe, leader of the opposing forces. Her mind knows this muscled Viking is her enemy. So why is her traitorous body so tempted by his suggestion that she become his wife? 

OK, so I have a thing for medievals and it’s probably because the time period plays so well to the Enemies to Lovers trope. When done right it’s utterly sublime. St. George has written Vikings before, but this is the first in a new series.

What Unusual Historicals are you looking forward to this month?

Top 5 Unusual Historicals for November 2018

I love the ease of digital reading and online shopping, but when it comes to browsing I still struggle with missing the experience that brick and mortar retailers provide. Case in point, looking for historical romances published in November 2018 on The ‘Zon netted me a bunch of books with half naked women on the covers with “Daddy” in the title. Um, not what I’m looking for - thanks for that Amazon. Anyway, in between the combination of averting and rolling my eyes, I did uncover some intriguing sounding historicals - none of which had “Daddy” in the title.

Unmask Me If You Can by Shana Galen

This masked lord…

Lord Jasper, younger son of a marquess, suffered horrible burns fighting in the Napoleonic Wars. He wears a mask to hide his face from the stares and screams and finds comfort in the shadows. Jasper is an exceptional bounty hunter, so when a woman summons him to her deathbed and asks him to find her runaway daughter before she passes away, he doesn't refuse. Jasper is close to his quarry when he's knifed by an assailant. Imagine his surprise when he regains consciousness in the arms of the woman he seeks. Except she's not at all what he expected.

Is not the only one with scars.

On a remote cliff on the sea, Olivia Carlisle calls her five-year-old son in from an approaching storm. But the little boy is more interested in the man he's found on the trail to their hidden cottage. Olivia fears men and wants nothing more than to leave the injured man where she found him. But his knife wound is severe, and with the approaching storm, she knows leaving him will condemn him to death. As Jasper begins to heal, Olivia acknowledges her attraction to him, even though such emotions terrify her almost as much as returning to London. Jasper must convince her that her only chance at safety is to challenge the man who pursues her. They must travel into the lion's den—he to face his vulnerability and she to face her worst fears.

The fourth book in The Survivor’s series, this one has major Wendy Catnip: Beauty and the Beast and a heroine with a Big Secret who nurses the hero back to health. Reviews I’ve seen indicate that while past characters do show up, this book stands alone but noted that the heroine is a rape survivor. No indication on if that is graphically depicted, but a trigger warning all the same.

A Texas Christmas Reunion by Carol Arens

The neighborhood bad boy…

Is he back for good?

Widow Juliette Lindor believes in Christmas miracles. For the sake of her small children, she hopes there’s one that will restore her town to its former glory.

But when Trea Culverson returns, he brings all the passion she thought she’d never have again.

With the town firmly set against him, can she show them and Trea that trust and love are just as powerful as any Christmas gift?

I am a sucker for a Christmas-set redemption themed romances and a prodigal son with a bad boy reputation he has to live down is a personal favorite. This sounds like just the sort of romance I like curl up with on Christmas Eve.

Cadenza by Stella Riley

The performance finished in a flourish of technical brilliance and the young man rose from the harpsichord to a storm of applause.

Julian Langham was poised on the brink of a dazzling career when the lawyers lured him into making a catastrophic mistake. Now, instead of the concert platform, he has a title he doesn’t want, an estate verging on bankruptcy … and bewildering responsibilities for which he is totally unfitted.

And yet the wreckage of Julian’s life is not a completely ill wind. For Tom, Rob and Ellie it brings something that is almost a miracle … if they dare believe in it.

Meanwhile, first-cousins Arabella Brandon and Elizabeth Marsden embark on a daring escapade which will provide each of them with a once-in-a-lifetime experience. The adventure will last only a few weeks, after which everything will be the way it was before. Or so they think. What neither of them expects is for it to change a number of lives … most notably, their own.

And there is an additional complication of which they are wholly unaware. The famed omniscience of the Duke of Rockliffe.

The Regency has such a stranglehold on the genre that what inevitably happens to fans of either Georgian-set or Victorian-set romances is that we often get Faux Regency instead. This description for Riley’s sixth book in her Rockliffe series reads like the most Georgian thing ever. I’ve seen positive mentions for the previous books, and I have no idea how well this one may stand alone, but given that well-executed Georgian romances aren’t exactly thick on the ground, I wanted to mention this to Georgian lovers in the event Riley is a complete unknown to them.

A Healer for the Highlander by Terri Brisbin

She can save his son, but can she resist the Highland warrior?

A Highland Feuding story

Famed healer Anna MacKenzie is moved by Davidh of Clan Cameron’s request to help his ailing young son.

She wants to help—and the commander has unknowingly provided the introduction to the clan she’s been looking for. But Anna has a secret, one that could jeopardize the fast-growing, heated passion between them…

Terri Brisbin has written numerous medievals for Harlequin Historical and I’ve enjoyed her work in the past. This is the fifth book in her Highland Feuding series and I’m a sucker for heroines with Big Secrets and healers.

The Wise Virgin by Jo Beverley

It was quite daring of Edmund de Grave to rescue Lady Nicolette de Montelan before her father found out she was pregnant with an enemy family's child. Unfortunately, he kidnapped the wrong woman when Nicolette's cousin, Joan, took Nicolette’s place as the Blessed Virgin in the Christmas re-enactment—a last minute change that seemed fitting given her "condition".

Now, Lady Joan finds herself trapped in a cave on Christmas Eve with the great Edmund de Grave and neither are very happy about it. He's fuming because his plan was spoiled and worrying about his brother, now in enemy hands. She's perturbed that a man she thought a hero is the type to get a lady "with child" outside of marriage.

There's a battle brewing as the fires of ancient hatreds are stoked and the true spirit of Christmas is about to be tested.

Jo Beverley passed away in 2016, leaving behind a well-loved backlist and numerous fans. This is a digital reprint of a novella that first appeared in the 1999 anthology, The Brides of Christmas. From what I can determine, this is the first time the story has been available in digital, a welcome holiday present to her many fans!

What Unusual Historicals are you looking forward to this month?