Dog Days: Unusual Historicals for August 2026

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

A Novel Affair by Zijari Singh

London, 1815.

Leela Choudhury refuses to be silent.

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

She’s right.

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

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

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

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

Their Convenient Tuscan Marriage by Bronwyn Scott

Sparks that burn…

Hotter than a Tuscan summer!

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

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

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

Duke's One-Night Heir by Sarah Rodi

A secret son…

demands a wedding!

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

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

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

The Viscount's Dollar Princess by Carol Arens

Her money...

For his title?

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

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

The Marquess's Wagered Wife by Emily EK Murdoch

A marriage gamble…

Worth the risk?

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

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

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

The Viscount's Silent Pugilist by Nicki Pascarella

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

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

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

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

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

A Scandal in White by Amber Night (novella)

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

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

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

And is it truly worth risking it all for love?

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

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

A boxer no proper lady should ever root for…

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

A spinster determined to leave him flat on the canvas…

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

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

The Spy in Disguise by Sheridan Jeane

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Earl's Forbidden Temptation by Stacy Reid

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

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

She never expected to find him there.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Obstinate Headache Girl by Jade Hendren

Happily ever after isn’t for the working class.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Miss Wylde and the Wynd by Jane Charles

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

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

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

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

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

Read to Me Lyon by Ramona Elmes

She has a secret that requires a husband.

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

He needs a wife to avoid scandal.

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

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

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

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

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

Summer Picnic Basket: Unusual Historicals for July 2026

Normally when I draft my monthly Unusual Historicals post I plan an introductory paragraph where I might mention what's happening around the Bat Cave (work is still busy but I'm past end of fiscal year nonsense) or maybe an observation about romance publishing in general. Look folks, we don't have time for that this month. Why? Because this month's post features 22 titles. Yes, TWENTY-FRICKIN'-TWO. So let's get down to it.

Pride Comes Before a Fall by Virginia Heath

Despite his many responsibilities, there is nothing Leopold Sloane, the 11th Duke of Debden, takes more seriously than the safety of those he loves. When one of his sisters is injured at a protest rally, he drags his family to Bath for the summer to keep his reckless and rebellious siblings out of harm’s way. The only flaw in his plan is his overwhelming but inexplicable attraction to the new chaperone he has hired to watch out for them. An outspoken conundrum of a woman who soon causes him more trouble than both his sisters combined...but who calls to his soul regardless.

From the moment Portia Kendall read her first revolutionary pamphlet beneath her bedcovers at Miss Prentice’s School for Girls, she realized that her true calling was to make the world a fairer place for the masses downtrodden by the aristocracy. A calling that led her to Equitas, a radical newspaper that champions reform. But as Portia discovers, writing doesn’t pay the bills. To make a living, she must push aside her principles and serve the very people she criticizes weekly in her column. A temporary position as a chaperone in the home of a pompous duke seems like the perfect way to earn enough to follow her heart. Unfortunately, the duke who hires her seems to be more dashing and noble than pompous and soon begins to call to her heart too—as much as she tries to deny it. But dare she risk her principles for love or will her pride always come before a fall?

More romcom shenanigans in this third book in Heath's Miss Prentice's Protegees series.  One of his sisters injured at a protest rally is all it takes for our hero to haul his rebellious siblings to Bath for the summer. Small fly in the ointment however - he hires the heroine as their new chaperone, not knowing that she also writes for a radical newspaper. Sparks, inevitably, fly.

Caroline's Courtesan by Jess Michaels

Caroline Ashfield has led the life familiar to many a woman of her station. Married off for social and political connection to a much older man, she led a life of privilege, but also of emotional discomfort. Now, though, her husband has been dead many years and she has enjoyed the freedom being a widow of a certain age has granted her. She can do what she wants, read what she enjoys and support her scandalous nieces to her heart’s desire. Everything is perfect. Well, except for one her constant thoughts about celebrated courtesan Simone Stanford.

Simone is also an independent woman, though certainly from a very different path, and she would tell everyone in her orbit that she wants nothing more than exactly what she has. Her playful interactions with the very proper Caroline were at first just for fun, but somehow they’ve become much more serious and left ripples in their wake she never expected. Now something is awakening between them and it feels like it could change everything for both of them.

An escalating passion and a secret affair are one thing, but when a moment arrives when they could find true happiness will they embrace it? Or let the pains of the past and fears of the future snatch true love from their arms?

Two heroines, both having earned their independence by divergent means. What happens when the proper widow falls for a courtesan? Complications, no doubt. This is the fourth book in The Comerford Courtesans series.

From Rogue to Viscount by Lotte R. James

A forbidden attraction

To the mysterious valet…

With nowhere else to go, penniless Sofia Guaro has been the guest of her brother’s grand British in-laws, feeling stifled. Her only escape is sneaking out to explore London with the family valet—broodingly handsome Josiah Meadows…

Josiah gets drawn back into his criminal past when he is forced to take one last mission to retrieve a painting from Cornwall—and Sofia won’t be left behind! He must resist his beguiling accomplice. After all, having sworn never to return to his own aristocratic family, can he ever be the man she deserves?

A heroine with nowhere else to go falls into the orbit of a valet with a secret criminal past. What happens when she gets sucked into his last mission to "retrieve" a painting?  Part of the author's The Ladies of Scandal series, set in the 1830s with Gothic overtones.

Wedded to Her Enemy Knight by Lissa Morgan

A house divided…

A passion ignited!

Outraged when Yorkist knight Edmund Deverell stakes his centuries-old claim on her beloved home, Lancastrian maiden Isobel Calvert won’t leave without a fight! But her best defense against destitution is to propose marriage—to her enemy!

After the pain of his first union, Edmund had never planned to wed again, his only allegiance now is to the House of York. Still, he can’t deny a practical marriage will secure his legacy and leave his emotions intact. But days of verbal sparring with his new wife lead to nights of unforgettable passion, until Edmund finds his loyalties wavering dangerously… 

Book two in a duet set in the early years of The War of the Roses. Yorkist knight returns to claim his family home, only to find a Lancastrian maiden in residence. And wouldn't you know it? She's not keen to leave. Well, bother.

His Awful Grace by Anne Knight

In 1887 London, the elite of Mayfair prosper while the poor of St. Giles die. Despite being an aristocratic wife, Ellen Grenfall fights in the bowels of London to save the lives of premature infants and their mothers with her fledgling medical dispensary--a cause close to her heart after her own infant loss.

Eight years earlier, Mark Grenfall joined the Royal Navy to escape his struggling marriage. But when he’s suddenly called by his family to provide an heir, he’s forced to return to London and the woman he abandoned—discovering that she is nothing like the giggling debutante he left behind. The real Ellen is a passionate, wildly intelligent woman pursuing neonatology, and he’s just the man who underestimated her.

Ellen has no use for a husband who abandoned her, especially not with a medical practice to keep her busy, but Mark's attention and support of her medical research sparks a new connection. Yet unresolved grief and a duty to produce an heir that neither feels capable of meeting endangers their fragile reunion.

Ellen must decide if she's willing to open her heart to her husband—and the possibility of new life—and try again.

After her own child dies, our heroine works to save premature infants and their mothers who lack the resources of her own aristocratic set. Throwing a wrench in the works is the return of her husband, who joined the Royal Navy to escape a marriage that wasn't going all that well. Needless to say, the wife he left behind has changed and isn't all that happy to see him.

The Spy and the Nightingale by Lea Hollis

Driven by duty . . .

British spy Nathaniel Blackmore has one objective: find and apprehend an Englishman suspected of treason in France in the tumultuous year after the Napoleonic Wars conclude. 

Intrepid Scottish widow Isobel Graham, grieving the loss of her husband at Waterloo, is determined to find her missing younger sister. Her desperate search leads her to Paris on the fringes of Nathaniel’s investigation.

Entangled by choice . . .

Posing as lovers to infiltrate Paris’s most dissolute society, they plunge into ever-widening circles of vice, from an opulent gambling hall to a club catering to debauched desires. In a perilous world of shadows and lies, genuine attraction is a complication.

Compelled by desire . . .

Fueled by danger, their charade as lovers ignites into incendiary passion and something unexpectedly tender . . . except their relationship isn’t meant to last beyond the mission’s end.

He's a spy looking for a traitor and she's a widow trying to find her missing sister. To achieve both their goals they decide to pose as lovers while traipsing through Parisian society. I mean, what could possibly go wrong?

The Laudanum Ladies' Society by Elisabeth Hobbes

In a London that insists women remain quiet, dutiful, and dull, two unlikely conspirators discover a secret that awakens everything society tells them to suppress…

Jenny Rosewood – single, clever and nearly thirty, heaven forbid – has long disguised herself as a man to attend nighttime lectures and chase knowledge forbidden to her. But when an accidental alteration of her uncle’s sleeping draught unleashes a dizzying rush of freedom, Jenny sees an opportunity.

Together with Gwen Walters, a pharmacist’s wife hidden in her husband’s shadow, they form a covert sisterhood where London’s ladies gather to indulge in their secret tincture under the guise of afternoon tea.

Soon, society's most proper ladies are sipping their way toward inspiration, rebellion and risk.

Because once women taste freedom, no amount of decorum can force it back in the bottle.

Hobbes has a background in romance and reviews seem to indicate this is what we'd call "romantic elements." Jenny is a 30-year-old spinster, and a lesbian, while Gwen is in an unhappy marriage that has slowly stripped away her own identity. When Jenny discovers an unexpected side-effect to her uncle's sleeping tonic, they decide to go into business and shake up society ladies. These two apparently meet matches, not with each other. Lots of grey in this back cover blurb, which intrigues me quite a bit.

The Housekeeper's War by Elaine Johns

She lost everything to war. But can she risk her heart again?

Widowed and grieving, Eileen Bentley leaves bomb-scarred London for the rugged coast of Cornwall, determined to start over as housekeeper to her dear late husband's brother.

But the war is never far behind. As air raids reach the docks of Falmouth and Eileen takes up fire-watching duty once more, the past refuses to loosen its hold - her husband's memory shadowing every step.

Then she meets Captain Andrew Harvey, a man marked by loss, whose quiet strength begins to break through her sorrow. As danger closes in and old loyalties pull tight, Eileen must can she open her heart again, or will grief keep her bound to what she's lost?

More romantic elements, this strikes me as one of those historical sagas that are quite popular in the UK and Europe but don't always catch fire here in the States. A grieving widow who lost everything in the war, leaves a bomb-ravaged London to be her brother-in-law's housekeeper. Naturally she meets someone new, only to have danger and their pasts throwing up road blocks. 

Honor Unbound by Alyson Chase

A dying stranger on her doorstep. A bloodstained letter with her initials. And the real scandal happening downstairs.

London, 1821

When a bloodstained stranger dies on Lady Mary Cavindish’s doorstep, the eccentric widow is thrust into a new mystery. In his hand is a crumpled letter bearing what appear to be her own initials—yet she has never met the man.

Determined to discover why a dying manufacturer of tinned goods sought her out with his final breath, Lady Mary launches her own discreet investigation. Assisting her are her clever maid, Marie, and her loyal under-butler, Brett.

As the unlikely trio delves into the victim’s tangled life, they uncover a nest of suspects: a bitter wife conducting her own affair, a grasping mistress, a vengeful business rival, and a hot-tempered brother bent on defending his sister’s honor. But the deeper they dig, the more dangerous the truth becomes.

Meanwhile, Marie’s quick wit clashes with Brett’s quiet determination. Though she insists she has no interest in the steadfast under-butler, Brett has already decided Marie is the woman for him—and he refuses to be ignored while they hunt a killer together.

Yes, it's the third book in the Lady Mary Mysteries BUT, we get a below stairs romance between a maid and an under-butler. Y'all, I am trash for below stairs romances, even if they are a secondary plot thread. That's enough for me!

Garden of Thorns by Mae Moore

Wanted – Respectable gentleman to wed an American heiress. No rakehells.

Myrtle Gray and her sisters have but one job. To aid in the expansion of their family’s assets, prestige, and influence by securing husbands with respectable titles. But Myrtle is not sure whether or not she can. With five years on the American marriage mart behind her, how can she be sure she’ll have more luck in London than she’s had in Texas?

Despite receiving the queen’s blessing, she’s had no suitors come forth. Not for her, anyway, and as such, Myrtle has found herself on the verge of spinsterhood. Enter Viscount Fredericks. By all accounts, he’s not worthy of her interest. He is rakish, with rumors abounding that he’s more interested in bedding women than wedding anyone. Add to that his issue of dubious parentage, and he is out of the question. At least he should be…

Samuel Fredericks is in a bind. Some cowards amongst his cousins have challenged his right to his inheritance. He must find someone to wed with haste. Miss Gray, his attractive new American neighbor, is intriguing, but she deserves better than him, a fact he knows from the moment he lays eyes on her.

When a murder victim lands at their feet, will they find the killer before they become the primary suspects? Only time shall tell the tale… but working together to catch a killer forces them closer, and their passion for one another only burns brighter.

From what I can tell this is a debut and yes, the publisher is marketing it as a mystery - but y'all, I'm intrigued. Texas heiress who can't make a match even with Daddy's money makes the move to London, only to have the same amount of luck (as in, none) there. Enter our rakehell hero, who really does need to marry, but recognizes she's too good for him - well, that is until a murder victim lands at their feet. Nothing for it, they'll need to work together to escape becoming the primary suspects.

Little Miss Nobody by Ava Devlin

Liberty "Libba" Lennox was born to perform.

An actress by trade, she can transform herself into anyone the stage demands. But when her brother's dangerously charming best friend drags her into his latest scheme, Libba finds herself cast in the most demanding role of her career: Princess Xandine of the Bedouai, a glittering foreign fiancée whose fortune is large enough to tempt and manipulate the powerful Templeton-Rath shipping dynasty.

Jasper Townsend has been planning his big break since childhood.

A Brighton shipyard boy with big dreams and no fortune, he's finally found his chance: the Templeton-Raths are coming to town, and their plain but practical heiress daughter needs a husband. Jasper knows he can’t compete with every hopeful swain in Brighton, but if he’s already "engaged" to someone glamorous enough to set aside for true love, he might have an incredible future on the horizon. It's the perfect scheme, isn’t it? He just needs his best mate’s little sister to help out. Just a little favor. Just a temporary, a brilliant diversion. Absolutely nothing could go wrong.

But Libba has never played small.

With every staged kiss, every invented accent, every dazzling performance, Libba reminds Jasper how incredible she is. And how impossible it would be to ever want someone else.

Soon, the man who meant to discard her is improvising a future that doesn't work without her. And the actress who spent her whole life becoming other people must decide whether the greatest role she'll ever play is the one where she finally gets to be herself.

The second book in The Starling Legacy. He's a former shipyard boy with big dreams who targets an heiress for his future wife. What better way to convince her to marry someone beneath her station if he's seen squiring a glamorous fiancée around town. Enter our heroine, an actress and his best friend's little sister. But what happens when the charade becomes all too real?

Her Brute Most Brazen by Tanya Wilde

A woman made for the light. A man born to the shadows.

When Lady Violet Sharpe flees her controlling brother and a fate she refused to accept, she reinvents herself in the lively Lanes of Brighton with a new name, a botanical shop full of flowers, and the desperate hope that her brother never finds her. She wants nothing more than to bloom quietly in her corner of the world, far away from the cruelties of powerful men. But when a dubious prize fight draws her into the wrong place at the wrong time, Violet finds herself face to face with one of the most dangerous men in Brighton.

What’s a woman to do? Pretend she’s lost, of course! And pray she can keep her identity a secret. Her prayers, unfortunately, go unanswered, and instead she draws the attention of the very kind of man she wants to avoid at all costs.

Drake Fury is not a man to be crossed. One of the feared Fury brothers and the undefeated Brute of Brighton’s underground fighting, he has built his reputation on brutal swiftness. His world is simple: Power is taken, never given. Weakness is punished. And threats are eliminated.

But when his newest tenant turns up where she shouldn’t be, lies to his face, and somehow outmaneuvers him and escapes, Drake is left with a problem he cannot quite solve . . . or stay away from.

Violet Sharpe.

The brightest flame he’s ever met.

As suspicion turns into a dangerous battle of wills, and Violet is thrust fully into Drake’s world, she must decide how much she is willing to risk to stay free, and this dark king must reckon with the one loss more dangerous than defeat: losing her.

Well hello there Wendy Catnip. An on-the-run heroine creates a new life in Brighton, only to be noticed by the one man she doesn't want to get noticed by - the dangerous prize fighter Drake Fury who, despite knowing she's hiding something, can't seem to stay away.  This is the second book in the Bastards of Brighton series.  

Anything but a Lord by Kathleen Ayers

Miss Helen Cosgrove only wants a quiet life, instead she falls for the Duke of Roxboro…or does she?

Helen has spent her life invisible. As a lady's companion to the spoiled daughter of a marquess, she exists in the margins of polite society—neither servant nor equal, wanted by no one and belonging nowhere. She asks for nothing more than to survive one final Season, collect her promised wages, and disappear into a quiet life of her own choosing.

But when the notorious Duke of Roxboro appears in a darkened alcove at a ball, Helen's carefully ordered world begins to unravel.

Fletcher Bean grew up in The Devil’s Acre; a place he’ll do anything to escape. Resembling a duke, even Roxboro, is profitable. Bracelets, necklaces, earbobs, stickpins…they all find their way into Fletcher’s pocket. No one ever questions him or rather, Roxboro, until he meets a sharp-tongued, perceptive lady’s companion and chaperone.

The attraction between them is immediate, passionate and doomed from the start. Miss Cosgrove believes Fletcher to be only an unrepentant libertine. A sot. A debauched duke.

But the truth is far worse.

The second book in the London Vices series, she's a lady's companion who just wants to collect her wages and retire to a quiet life of her own choosing. What she didn't plan on was catching the notice of the notorious Duke of Roxboro - or has she? Our hero is an imposter, who conveniently happens to resemble the Duke and uses that resemblance to his full advantage - that is until he meets our heroine, and a very inconvenient attraction ensues. 

The Countess Kisses a Rogue by Jillian Eaton

An American doctor, a British earl, and a love to last a lifetime.

When a doctor determined to prove herself . . .

Eight years ago, Dr. Abigail Chadwick, born in England and raised in America, eloped with the handsome, wealthy, and oh-so-roguish Earl of Lancaster. It was a marriage of convenience that was never supposed to be anything more . . . until a night of passion changed everything. When her resolve to obey her head instead of her heart is threatened, Abigail flees to the one place she knows Stephen will never think to look for her: London.

Is hunted by a charming wolf in earl’s clothing . . .

From the moment Stephen meets Abigail, he’s instantly intrigued. His bride of convenience is nothing like he expected and everything he desires. When she vanishes without a trace, he refuses to give up until he finds her. When he does, he offers her a daring ultimatum: Live with him at his country estate as his wife for three weeks, and her freedom is hers . . . if she still wants it.

A marriage of convenience erupts into a passionate battle of wills!

The third book in the Ladies of Seduction series. She's an American doctor who runs away when her convenient marriage becomes emotionally inconvenient - so she heads back to London thinking her husband, our hero, won't think to look for her there. Turns out she's very, very wrong. 

A Lady's Guide to Subterfuge and Science by Isabella Kamal

All’s fair in love and science…

It is the summer of 1844, and seasoned microscopist Kalila Darwish has made a decision: travel to London, impersonate her cousin Dameer, and attempt to change the Society of Microscopic Biology from within. Clever and resourceful, Kalila is confident that she can convince her male peers to allow women into the Society over a series of lectures. All she needs to do is make sure she blends in—and for a woman with an extraordinary eye for detail, that shouldn’t be much of a challenge at all…

Oliver Booth had expected to enjoy the Society’s summer lecture series, but not like this. The person introducing themselves as Dameer Rafiq is none other than the woman he ran into only days ago, and Oliver is desperate to know what her angle is. But his Lady Impostor is guarded and rightfully so. After all, he was the one who’d left teasing critiques on all those papers she had submitted to the Society over the years, making her see him as something of a rival…

As Kalila’s affection for Oliver grows, she is forced to decide what to throw her heart into and to reckon with the fact that the world of science is riddled with far more hurdles than she was anticipating. With her research at risk, she and Oliver must work together—and Kalila must decide if her disguise is more of a help…or a hindrance.

She's a microscopist who decides to impersonate her cousin to convince a bunch of men that women have actual brains. The fly in the ointment? Our hero, who knows she's not a he, and it turns out he's the same bloke who has been leaving "teasing critiques" on all the papers she's submitted over the years. I'm going to guess that's not going to go over well when she learns the truth. This is the start of a new series for Kamal.  

Much Ado Over a Duke by Molly Thorpe

Two rivals from opposite worlds. One absurd treasure hunt. No time whatsoever for falling in love.

Lady Cordelia Nichols has buried two dukes in six weeks and has not the time, or patience, for a third. But when her father’s estate and title pass to commoner Justin Wright—the adopted son of a former scullery maid, by way of the most baffling entailment in English legal history—Cordelia must decide how far she’ll go to protect Hollyhead House and the three eccentric sisters who depend on her.

Justin has no interest in being a duke. He has a London life, an architectural firm, and a perfectly comfortable absence of aristocratic obligation. But settling the estate requires returning to the country house where he was never welcome. He finds a crumbling manor, four unmarried women, and a very beautiful eldest daughter who rides like a highwayman and argues like a barrister.

Then the late duke’s will surfaces a secret: a hidden fortune, left only for the heir “worthy enough” to find it. Suddenly Cordelia and Justin are rivals in a madcap treasure hunt where ciphered Shakespeare, overturned garden statues, and increasingly poor decisions abound. With a gossip columnist circling and their reputations unraveling, the search for the duke’s treasure may ruin them both. And falling in love along the way is the one disaster neither of them anticipates.

When our heroine finds out her father's estate and title are passing to the adopted son of a scullery maid (!) - she has to decide how far she'll go to protect her home and her sisters. Our hero is an architect, with a life in London, and isn't all that keen to become a Duke, especially when he discovers a crumbling estate and four women in residence, one of whom sets the land speed record for vexing him. Another start to a series, you can bet the sisters will eventually get their own stories.

Devoted to His Sword by Florence A. Bliss

A dangerous mission. A deadly secret. A desire that could ignite a war.

Michel de Chevalerie has spent years navigating the brutal territories of the Mongol Empire, protecting the precious trade routes between France and the East. As heir to a powerful duke, he's a soldier, a diplomat-and a man who doesn't make mistakes. Until her.

When a mysterious Mongolian woman stumbles into his path, injured and alone, Michel is drawn in by her sharp wit, fiery will, and beauty that makes his blood burn. He knows better than to get involved. But one reckless decision pulls him into a treacherous game of deception, desire, and political intrigue.

Eve is fleeing everything she's ever known: a forced marriage, a bloodstained crown, and the enemies that hunt her like prey. Her only hope lies west-in the fabled lands of France. To get there, she'll use every weapon at her disposal, including the charming nobleman leading a merchant caravan through her homeland. But what begins as a calculated seduction becomes something far more dangerous.

Michel might be her best chance at survival. He could also be the ruin of them both.

As secrets unravel and armies close in, Michel and Eve must decide what's worth fighting for: duty, desire… or each other.

He's a French knight protecting trade routes in Mongolia who gets a lot more than he bargained for when he meets a mysterious Mongolian woman running away from a forced marriage and various enemies. Her only hope, as she sees it, is to get to France and she'll do anything, including charming the hero. This is the second book in a series, and absent of a sample at the time of this posting, I suspect it's set in the 17th century. 

Once Upon a Reckless Rogue by Cassandra Samuels

In a world of war and duty, hearts intertwine in unlikely love.

In the shadows of post-war Spain, Thomas Markham, a spy, is sent on a covert mission, only to be captured and brutally tortured to the point of near death. Salvation comes in the form of an unexpected savior.

Under threat of death, Elena Diaz, a skilled healer, is forced to keep the English captain alive. But something about him, his resilience and fighting spirit, reminds her of the brother she lost. When the chance to escape arises, she risks everything to take the broken Englishman with her.

Drawn even closer together on their journey from the Spanish coast to the heart of England—in the face of danger, betrayal, and hidden truths—they long to share a life together, but can they find a place where they are truly safe?

Yes, more spies - but hear me out...post-war Spain! He's on a mission that goes south and she's the skilled healer who keeps him alive. It's a race to England to save their mutual skins. This is the third book in the Spies Like Us series. 

Highland Vow by Brenna Ash

She is the woman they whisper about.

He is the man she was never meant to love.

Eilidh Hart has spent years enduring a reputation she does not deserve. No matter how fiercely she plays her fiddle—or how honestly she lives—cruel rumors follow her from village to village. Music is her refuge. Her rebellion. The one place where she is truly free.

Torquil MacGregor wants no part of clan rivalries or whispered judgments. A gifted lute player with a gentle soul, he believes music speaks truths no blade ever could. When he hears Eilidh play, he’s drawn to her instantly. He doesn’t see the scandal others see, but the woman beneath the lies they all ty to ignore.

Their connection is immediate. Undeniable. Forbidden.

With both families warning them apart and old tensions threatening to resurface, Eilidh and Torquil must decide whether a love born in song is worth the cost of defying clan, custom, and expectation.

I cannot un-see the fact that the hero looks like 1990s A Night at the Roxbury Chris Kattan. Look folks, I shouldn't be the only one suffering. Anyway, terrible cover aside, this third book in the Highland Heartstrings series features a couple who are both musicians and a heroine with a "reputation she does not deserve." I am such trash for heroines who have "reputations" that I'm even willing to look past our Chris Kattan lookalike. 

Merciful Salvation by Violetta Rand

A disgraced warrior. A spirited noblewoman. A second chance neither expected.

Aaron McNally left Scotland behind the day he lost his honor.

Banished in disgrace, he forges a new life in Norway—earning a title, a sword, and a place in the king’s army. Determined never to repeat the mistakes of his past, Aaron believes redemption must be earned.

Then he meets Kara Dalgaard.

Kara has never been the obedient daughter her father wants. Fierce-hearted and restless, she longs for more than the quiet life expected of her. But when Aaron arrives at her family estate recruiting soldiers for the king, she’s pressured into taking part in a cruel deception meant to shame him.

She regrets it almost immediately.

As attraction grows between them, Aaron begins to imagine a future he never thought possible. Yet old wounds and buried truths refuse to stay in the past.

Aaron fought to reclaim his honor.

Now he must decide whether risking his heart is worth losing it all again.

Third book in the Heart of a Viking series, he left Scotland with his tail between his legs and remade himself in Norway, hoping to not repeat past mistakes. Then he meets the heroine. Complications ensue. 

Tides of Passion by Lauren Everly

Society darling Abigail Ross has everything: wealth, beauty, and a future carefully planned. That is, until the notorious Captain Thorne forces her into hiding in New Orleans with a reclusive widower who wants nothing to do with her. She’s told it’s the safest place for her, and she’s inclined to agree—no pirate would think to look for her in the middle of a swamp.

Since his wife died, Lucien Moreau has turned his back on the world. Whispers follow him wherever he goes, branding him a madman. A murderer. He’s long since stopped caring, so long as he’s left alone with his ghosts. But the bright, headstrong socialite he’s forced to protect begins to unravel his carefully guarded solitude.

When Thorne strikes again, Abigail finds herself in the middle of a dangerous pirate hunt. As secrets about her father’s involvement in a government plot are revealed, she faces a choice: stand with family and keep her gilded life or walk away and lose it all.

The race is on to find those guilty as the line between survival and surrender begins to blur. And the undeniable pull between Abigail and Lucien becomes harder to deny—until resisting each other feels far more dangerous than any pirate on the horizon.

It's Old School shenanigans in the third book in the Secrets of the Seas series. A society darling who lands in the crosshairs of a notorious pirate captain is sent into hiding in New Orleans. Her protector? A reclusive widower who wants absolutely nothing to do with her or the mess that she's brought to his doorstep.  

Isabella's Rake by June Calvin (Reprint)

In 1800s London, Isabella Eardley dreams of becoming England's first great female landscape artist. When she meets the charming painter Harrison Curzon, she sees a chance to pursue her artistic ambitions. But as the granddaughter of a duchess, Isabella faces mounting pressure to marry the Duke of Winkham and fulfill her family's expectations.

June Calvin weaves a captivating tale of romance and rebellion in this Regency-era story. Through secret art lessons, daring escapes, and passionate encounters, Isabella challenges the rigid constraints placed on women of her time. With her loyal friend Virginia by her side, she navigates the treacherous waters of London society while fighting for her right to create art.

Will Isabella choose the safe path of a prestigious marriage, or risk everything for love and artistic freedom? As her father's threats grow more menacing and her feelings for Harrison deepen, Isabella must find the courage to defy convention and forge her own destiny. Her choice will either shatter her dreams or lead to a life she never dared imagine.

A Traditional Regency first published by Signet in 1997. A heroine with aspirations to become a painter cannot find anyone to give her lessons, well other than the most notorious rake in all of London that is. Will she follow her dreams and her heart or give into familial pressure to do what is "expected." Thanks to the Wayback Machine, The Romance Reader gave this 4 Hearts back in the day (B grade) and a positively scandalous sensuality rating for a Trad....PG.

Whew! Like the introduction to this post, I normally finish these up with a couple of pithy sentences; but 22 titles! I think I need to lie down. Maybe with a cool cloth on my forehead while I do some book shopping on my phone...

Summertime Breeze: Unusual Historicals for June 2026

I'm in that time of year when The Day Job gets complicated and busy, leaving me barely functional and desperate that August would just get here already. It makes reading and maintaining this blog that much harder than it already feels these days and eyeballing my Unusual Historical tracking spreadsheet I was already exhausted before even starting to draft this post - but hey, good problem to have AMIRITE?!

We have 16 titles this month (2 of which are reprints) and appearances by trad publishers St. Martin's, Grand Central, Harpercollins and Kensington. Even though I'm old enough to remember the days when Harpercollins Avon was releasing a pile of historical romances every month, this still feels like a bonanza.  

Scandal of the Summer by Alexandra Vasti

Eccentric heiress Lady Ruby Ballimore has had enough of the Marriage Mart. After offending yet another Very Important Marquess―and imperiling her father’s diplomatic career―Ruby flees London for the holiday house of a glamorous (and better yet, absent) princess. Armed with a forged invitation and accompanied by her like-minded friends, Ruby arrives at the Cornwall estate expecting a summer of blissful freedom.

Instead, she discovers a derelict mansion and the most suspiciously charming man she’s ever met.

Former privateer and current con artist Captain Malcolm Archer has dragged his ramshackle crew into a new life. Posing as staff at a princess’s abandoned estate provides the perfect cover for Archer’s smuggling scheme (not to mention free rent). Everything’s going according to plan―until an unorthodox London heiress crashes the party.

But when Archer and his crew attempt to frighten off their uninvited guests, Ruby’s unfazed by insect invasions and sham sea monsters. Harder to ignore? The scorching heat between the rakish pirate and the debutante who can see right through him. As sparks fly, deceptions run wild―because in this Great Cornish Fake Off, the only thing riskier than telling the truth is falling in love.

This appears to be the start of a new trilogy for Vasti (Flirty Rotten Scoundrels), and finds our heiress heroine looking for a respite from the marriage mart only to discover the country accommodations are derelict and a con artist hero in residence, leading to rom/com shenanigans.

Game of Rogues by Julie Anne Long

One disastrous night. One devastating man. One diabolical proposition.

Gabriel Marchand ruthlessly fought his way up from the gutters of St. Giles to preside over London’s most exclusive gaming hell. Few dare cross him. But when a young earl gambles away his inheritance, Marchand makes an enemy: a woman with wit like a dagger and the softest eyes he’s ever seen.

Spend a night in his bed, and he’ll call off the debt. This is the offer he makes Guinevere Woodville, the earl’s sister, when she blames him for her brother’s disaster. She’d rather die, of course. But when their seething enmity gives way to sizzling attraction at The Grand Palace on the Thames, his offer haunts them. Soon it seems a matter of not if, but when.

It's not long before Ginny is facing two stark truths: the so-called worst man in London is the best man she’s ever known....and keeping him would mean losing everything and everyone else she loves. But Marchand has one final card to play…and losing everything is a risk he’s willing to take if it means a chance to love her forever.

The 9th (!) book in the reader favorite The Palace of Rogues series features a wrong-side-of-the-tracks gaming hell owner hero and a heroine who has to pull her family back from the brink after her idiot brother gambles away his inheritance. The hero's answer to this problem? An indecent proposal, of course!

A Shop Girl's Guide to Wooing a Lord by Shana Galen

Tamsin Archer might just be having the worst year of her life. And that’s saying something, considering her father is dead, her mother was maimed at work, and her family regularly sleeps under London’s bridges. But when her younger siblings go missing, Tamsin decides it’s time to step up and fight.

Desperate times call for desperate measures, and Tamsin’s more than willing to take a few risks to reunite with her siblings. But while disguising herself to sneak into homes and steal from the rich, Tamsin is caught by Garret Kildare, the second son of an earl. Much to Tamsin’s surprise, Garret doesn’t want to turn her in. He wants to help her. Though Tamsin’s wary—she’s learned to never trust supposed “good luck”—the unlikely pair form an alliance, one that quickly muddles their class differences.

Garret knows he must be careful. Falling for a woman of a lower class could be the nail in the coffin for his family’s tenuous social standing, and there are eyes everywhere. Ignoring their attraction proves impossible, though, and soon the lines they’ve drawn around their partnership begin to blur. As more focus lands on Tamsin and Garret, they wonder if their red-hot connection means giving up everything—and everyone—they’ve ever known.

The start of a new series (The Heiress Hunters), a desperate heroine turns to cat burglary only to catch the attentions of a second son who wants to form an alliance. As they fall for each other, class difference raise their ugly head.

You Had Me at Heist by Christina Britton

Widow Iris Rumford has faced her fair share of hardships. Joining the Wimpole Street Widows Society has helped her start to heal—until she learns that her late mother's groundbreaking botanical work was stolen by her greatest adversary, who is about to publish the findings as his own. 

Determined to stop the thief at all costs, Iris refuses to let the dashing guard protecting the research threaten her plans. Even if he does tempt her in new, intriguing ways ... 

After a scandal cost Oliver Beckett his job as a Bow Street Runner, he’s spent the last year struggling to provide for his mother and sister. Guarding a lord's precious botanical collection seems too good to be true—who would steal a bunch of plants? But the appearance of a beautiful, maddening woman throws his hopes for a quiet future right out the window. 

As the two find themselves constantly thrown together, their resolve is tested—and so are their hearts.

The second book in the Wimpole Street Widows Society finds our heroine desperate to save her mother's groundbreaking botanical work from a charlatan, only to run up against a former Bow Street Runner felled by scandal who was not expecting a job guarding plants to take such a turn.

Dearest Beast by Felicia Grossman

Despite an unhappy first marriage, Roger Berab always took pride in being a good father. When his daughter's reckless behavior damages both their neighbor and her home, he's forced to reconsider. To pay reparations, he agrees to provide lodgings until the repairs are complete. Unfortunately for Roger, the victim is the same woman with whom he foolishly once shared a night of passion ... and then scorned for her lack of status.

With her sharp tongue and disdain for fashion, Rebecca Adler is not exactly a community darling. What she does have going for her are her midwifery skills. That is, until she injures herself saving Roger Berab's daughter.

With her profession at a halt and her haven in disrepair, she has no choice but to accept Roger's offer of shelter ... but never again will she believe a man of substance lies beyond his pretty face.

Trapped in the same house, neither Rebecca nor Roger can avoid each other—or the passion still burning between them. But their time together has a deadline, and Rebecca no longer trusts Roger.

Can he convince her his feelings are true? Or is their tale doomed before it's truly started?

We've had Cinderella and Snow White, so it's only fitting that the third book in Grossman's Once Upon the East End series gives us Beauty and the Beast.  She's the beast in this scenario, but the hero is the one who did her wrong. I still have the previous book buried in my TBR, I need to catch up because this one sounds great!

Her Forbidden Irish Warrior by Michelle Willingham

A dangerous mission…

A distracting temptation!

As the daughter of an Irish King, Mairead MacEgan has dozens of suitors competing for her hand in marriage. And exiled warrior Balor Ó Phelan, the Demon of Éireann, knows he’s the last man on earth worthy of claiming it. But Balor isn’t a man who follows the rules and when Mairead’s brother is taken by the enemy, he agrees to help her find him. Worlds apart, he should have nothing in common with the forbidden lady, but the cold nights on the road are warmed by a shared passion neither can ignore… Yet falling for Mairead means going against the King, risking everything – including their lives!

This is the fourth book in Willingham's Legendary Warriors series that also shares some ties with her early MacEagan Brothers series. She's the daughter of a King who taps him, a lowly, exiled warrior, to rescue her brother, leading us down the path of my favorite medieval romance trope - a road romance!

A Deal at Dawn by Vanessa Riley

Katherine Wilcox Palmers, the Viscountess of Hampton, has lost custody of the daughter she secretly bore to Jahleel Charles, now the Duke of Torrance. The bitter court ruling was engineered by the duke himself, but now he is gravely ill. If he dies, Katherine, branded a scandalous bigamist by her late husband’s vengeful family, may never see her child again—unless she makes a bold offer...

Desperate, Katherine swallows her pride and proposes that she will nurse the Jahleel back to health, serve his every need, and keep up appearances, on one condition: he will secure her a respectable husband to silence society’s gossip. In private, she will be his mistress. . . .

But Jahleel has plans of his own. Pressured to produce an heir, he resolves to marry someone else. The hereditary blood sickness that plagues them both means Katherine can never be his bride again—no matter how fiercely their old passions reignite.

As dangerous forces gather, composed of those who would erase their child from the peerage for her mixed heritage, Jahleel and Katherine must confront the betrayals and deceptions that tore them apart. To protect their daughter, and fight for the future they were denied, they must jeopardize everything. Especially their hearts.

The third book in Riley's Betting Against the Duke trilogy, this is the book fans have been waiting for. She lost custody of her child thanks to him, and now he's gravely ill. She sees a way out of scandal, and all she has to do is be his nurse. Complications abound in the form of sickle cell anemia, and the fact that these two still love each other.

Maid for the Duke by Viola Thorne

May Carr stopped dreaming of her future long ago, content with her position as a lady's maid to her closest friend. But when one of England's richest dukes mistakes her for a lady at a masquerade, he offers her the deal of a lifetime: pretend to be his rich cousin for a month to test the intentions of his sister's suitor and earn an unfathomable sum, big enough for May to restore her mother’s only remaining heirloom into her possession. Except, May cannot keep the handsome Elias out of her head and out of her heart. As Elias' tantalizing proximity cracks her carefully curated façade and lights her body on fire, the entire ruse is in danger. But what will he do should he discover that she was an impostor all along...?

Elias Abigner, Duke of Southam is used to ladies pursuing him for his riches. But when a backwater member of the gentry wins the hand of his beloved sister, he knows he must make sure the match is true, for he won't let her fall for a ruse as he once did. Lady May is perfect for the job: recommended by a friend, charmingly witty and irresistibly beautiful, she is the one woman who could prove the truth of the pretender's affections. So why does she keep disturbing Elias' carefully guarded peace with her presence? Every time she's near, he cannot think of anything else but making her his. But dare he love a woman who would seduce another for money? And can he live with himself if he lets her go?

The first in The Fated Fetes series features a lady's maid heroine who agrees to a Duke's bargain so he can ferret out the true intentions of his sister's suitor. The problem, of course, is that these two crazy kids can't stop thinking about each other - putting the whole charade in jeopardy.

The Viscountess in Bloom by Kirsten S. Blacketer

Passion blooms when the viscountess falls for the gardener.

Hyacinth Corby, Dowager Viscountess Corby, adored her husband. When he died, a part of her heart remained with him. She mourned her loss while she raised their four children, but when her youngest finally leaves home, Hyacinth struggles to find purpose and companionship. She accepts her loneliness and tends to her flowers, pouring her heart and soul into her cherished gardens.

Oliver Blackwell returns from military service desperate to find employment. When he takes on the role of gardener at Viscount Corby’s country estate, he never expects to fall for the vivacious and passionate dowager viscountess. A dangerous prospect for a man hiding his heart as well as a sordid past.

Afraid to betray the memory of her first love, Hyacinth attempts to keep a distance from the handsome young gardener. But when a friend from her youth reappears seeking her affection, she realizes how much she truly cares for Oliver. Their passion blooms like a rare flower until a lifetime of secrets threatens to ruin not only their happiness—but end their lives.

Can they weather such a storm?

A widowed heroine madly in love with her first husband struggles after her youngest child leaves home (so she's "older!") and loses herself in tending to her prized gardens. Enter the hero, a former military man desperate for a job who becomes her "handsome young gardener." This is the second book in The Society of Wanton Widows series and needs to get in my eyeballs right now.

Where Mountains Pierce the Highland Heart by Paula Quinn

She saved his life and it cost her everything.

On a night meant for mercy, Elspeth Woodburn risks all to save a dying Highland prisoner in her father’s dungeon. By dawn, her home is ash, her family slaughtered, and the name burned into her soul is one she will never forget. Logan Cameron. For six long years, vengeance has been the only thing keeping her alive.

He should have died that night. Instead, he cannot forget the girl who saved him.

Logan Cameron remembers little of his rescue, only a fleeting glimpse of gentle hands and a soft voice that refused to let him die. He never expected to see her again, least of all as a lass with fire in her eyes and murder in her heart. 

Trapped within the unforgiving Highlands, they are bound together by decree. She waits for the perfect moment to strike. He watches her with a growing awareness he cannot explain.

Because beneath her fury is the same compassion that once saved him. And beneath his control is a pull he cannot deny. 

In a land shaped by blood and loyalty, where enemies are not meant to forgive, let alone desire each other, Elspeth must decide if vengeance will claim her heart…

Or if the man she swore to destroy is the only one who can reach it.

She saved him from death in her father's dungeon and as thanks her home is burnt to the ground and her family killed. She's not very happy about this and swears vengeance. Seriously, no subgenre does enemy to lovers quite like medieval romances y'all. This is the second book in the Where Heaven and Earth Collide series. 

The Very Definition of Love by Sophia Benoit

1816—Harriet Bancroft doesn’t mind that she’s on her fifth season with no marriage prospects, it gives her more time to write her dictionary of modern slang. Words are her passion, especially the exciting, filthy ones men have kept hidden from women for far too long.

Enter the ultimate teacher . . .

When Harriet accidentally finds herself in a compromising situation with the notorious rake Lord Alexander, she has no choice but to sort of kidnap him and strong-arm him into an elopement. This arranged marriage has a very particular condition—it will be in-name-only, leaving each of them to follow their own interests. For Harriet that’s her work; for Alexander, that’s women.

But love has a different lesson in mind . . .

But soon Alexander’s rakish lifestyle is not nearly as fun as spending time with Harriet, and Harriet’s beginning to worry that she might actually like her husband. Behind the closed doors of their respectable home, things become a little . . . complicated. After all, who better teach her the very thorough meaning of these indecent words than the renowned lover, Lord Alexander Stirling? 

Perhaps this marriage will teach them both a little more about that word they’ve been avoiding—love.

She's obsessed with words, working on a dictionary of modern slang, and lands in a compromising position with a rake who she then strong-arms into an elopement...as you do. She proposes a marriage of convenience in order for them to blissfully follow their own pursuits, which of course doesn't turn out the way either of them expected.  

The Lyon Dares to Dream by Elizabeth Heights

All Marianne wants is to provide a safe and happy childhood for her young son. Instead, danger stalks them both. 

Following the death of her husband, suspicious events force her to flee to London. But gossip clings and the ton will not accept a young woman labelled an adulteress, however unfair the allegations. With whispers—and strange men—following her wherever she goes, Marianne reluctantly accepts that she needs a male protector. Determined to secure her son’s future, she enlists the services of a renowned matchmaker.

Benedict is a soldier returned from France, with wounds both visible and invisible. He has long been the black sheep of his exalted family, but now his late grandmother has bequeathed him her country estate and with it the chance of the peace and privacy he longs for. However, he is in desperate need of funds and the lure of a big win in the Lyon’s Den is impossible to resist.

A marriage of convenience, decreed by Bessie Dove-Lyon, soon promises more, with sparks of attraction burning brightly between two individuals who had given up on love. But dark secrets and insecurities threaten the foundations of their fledgling relationship. And then a figure from the past steps from the shadows to stake his claim on Marianne’s future.

Part of the sprawling Lyon's Den continuity series, she's a woman in peril determined to protect her son and he's a wounded soldier in need of funds and with a country estate. I mean, what could go wrong in this marriage of convenience, other than the apparent danger stalking the heroine?

The Lyon's Sweet Temptation by Sara Adrien

Rosine Cassis has mastered the art of blending in. As a Jewish baker in Regency London, her survival depends on her unparalleled skill in creating pastries that are the talk of the ton, and her ability to conceal her true identity. Safe within the kitchen of the Lyon’s Den, she works toward her dream of opening her own bakery and living freely—until a hateful enemy threatens to shatter the world she has carefully built.

The threats risk Rosine's livelihood, her chance at love, and the legacy of Mrs. Dove-Lyon's gambling hell.

Sander is more than just a staff member at the Lyon's Den; he is a chess master with a brilliant strategic mind, and the Den's silent guardian, protecting those who cannot protect themselves. He has to guard Rosine and she challenges his control in ways no game ever has. But when the master of strategy finally loses his heart, is it a winning move or the ultimate sacrifice?

This isn’t a love story about clients of the Den—it’s the staff themselves whose fates hang in the balance. As danger approaches and secrets threaten to unravel, the romance between Rosine and Sander could upend everything the Den stands for.

With the Den under siege and their secrets on the brink of exposure, the baker and her protector must forge a partnership as heated as it is dangerous. To win their happy ending, they must stop hiding who they are and trust that their love is strong enough to conquer the hate standing in their way.

More Lyon's Den shenanigans, but this time it's all below stairs. She's a baker laying low working in the kitchens and he's a brilliant chess master tasked with protecting her, and ultimately the future of the Lyon's Den itself.  

The Lady and the Lost Heir by Fil Reid

Miranda, Lady Madeley, was married at eighteen to Sir Geoffrey Madeley, a man far older than her. He left her a young widow with three growing daughters who are all much keener on their horses than on meeting suitable gentlemen. Unfortunately, Sir Geoffrey neglected to provide for his family in his will, and his dutiful solicitor has discovered a distant cousin who is to inherit his title, the Windrush estate, and even the inheritance Miranda herself brought to the marriage. She's left with just an old farmhouse.

Captain Harry Madeley, late of Wellington's army and veteran of Waterloo, where he was an army doctor, has no idea there's a title of any sort in his father's family. He’s been badly wounded and is very much in recovery—in no condition to run a country estate. However, he decides to go and see what he's so unexpectedly inherited. He learns Sir Geoffrey’s widow has vacated Windrush, a house far bigger than any he's ever known.

Soon enough, he encounters the youngest of her strong-willed daughters and is invited back to the farmhouse, where he discovers Lady Madeley is anything but the woman he was expecting. Miranda, upon finding out the lost heir is not married, determines to engineer a match between him and her oldest. However, her daughters have other ideas.

And to make matters even more complicated, Miranda's not-quite-sane neighbor launches himself into the fray: he’s been waiting to claim Miranda as his own. With a duel between him and Harry in the offing, everything begins to look dangerous in the extreme.

The 5th book in The Mismatched Lovers series features a widow with three daughters and bare coffers and a former Army doctor hero who saw action at Waterloo who unexpectedly inherits her dead husband's title - a bit of a shock for him since he had no clue there was any sort of title in his family tree. Our heroine thinks, hey - he's not married, maybe I can arrange a match with my oldest daughter - only for her daughters to have other ideas.

Princess of Shadows by Susan King (Reprint)

A Highland legend, an ancient curse, and a dangerous love . . .

Scandal nearly destroyed Christina Blackburn when she posed for a provocative painting that shocked Victorian Scotland. Now, a widow and antiquarian for the National Museum, she hides her beauty and her past behind prim spectacles and cool reserve. Sent to a Highland estate to authenticate an Arthurian site, she encounters the infamous painting, owned by handsome, compelling Sir Aedan MacBride of Dundrennan, who intends to build a government road through the site even if the museum tries to stop him.

Laird, civil engineer, and avowed bachelor, Aedan is fascinated by the painting depicting a legendary Dundrennan princess, yet dismisses its curse, which forbids his line from marrying for love. When he meets the painting’s model, the prim scholar determined to halt his plans, she challenges his beliefs—and his heart.

Originally published by Signet in 2003 under the title Waking the Princess, this is second book in the Hearts in the Highlands series features a scandalous antiquarian heroine sent to authenticate an Arthurian site owned by the hero, who just so happens to own the scandalous painting she posed for years before.

Warrior of Fire by Michelle Willingham (Reprint)

The only man she ever wanted… was the man sworn to betray her.

Lady Carice believes she has only a few weeks left to live. Promised to a cruel king she cannot bear to wed, she flees the court, wanting to live her last days to the fullest… until a fierce Norman warrior looks at her as though she is something precious.

Raine de Garenne cannot afford distractions. If he fails to assassinate the king, his sisters will suffer the consequences. Helping Carice escape was never part of his mission…but every mile they travel together deepens their desire.

But when the moment comes to strike, Raine must choose between protecting his family…or the only woman who has ever set his soul on fire.

Originally published by Harlequin Historical in 2015, under the same title, this second book in a duology features a heroine who believes she only has weeks to live and flees a betrothal to live her final days in peace. He's the Norman warrior who has vowed to assassinate her betrothed in order to protect his sisters. He hadn't signed on to help the heroine escape, but well...here they are. 

Whew! I don't know about you but I feel like I just ran a marathon. I hope you found some titles to add to your TBR this month. What are you looking forward to?