The Luckiest Lady in London (2013) Sherry Thomas Set in London in 1888. Louisa Cantwell needs to marry well. Her youngest sister is epileptic, and without a good marriage, Lousia won’t be able to support her after their mother dies. So she’s been planning for years her campaign to find a wealthy husband. When she […]
His at Night (2010) Sherry Thomas Lord Vere has been acting the idiot in public for years now–as his cover as a secret agent for HRM. Even his brother (and only surviving family) believes that a head injury caused permanent damage to Vere’s brain. But pretending has grown exhausting, and the game is far less […]
A Dangerous Liaison with Detective Lewis (2012) Jillian Stone Set in England and Scotland in 1887. There were so very many things wrong with this story, I can’t even list them all. But I’m going to try my damnedest to give you a sound accounting. Fanny Greyville-Nugent’s father has died in a horrible industrial accident. […]
Unmasked by the Marquess (2018) Cat Sebastian (Regency Imposters) Set in Regency England, mostly London. Alistair, Marquess of Pembroke has been struggling to rebuild his fortunes after his father left the estates in ruin, spending much of his money on his mistress and the children he had with said mistress. He also wants to see […]
A Week to Be Wicked (2012) Tessa Dare Set in England in Scotland in the early 1800s. Colin Sandhurst, Lord Payne is a dissolute rake. His cousin is trying to reform him, but it’s not working particularly well, and in a few months, Colin will have access to his own funds when he comes of […]
Spectred Isle (2017) K.J. Charles Set in London in 1923 Archaeologist Saul Lazenby was disgraced during the war, and the only work he has been able to find is working for a retired Major with an interest in finding historical places and items with supernatural significance. Saul believes none of this, but is glad for […]
Unfit to Print (2018) K.J. Charles Gil is the son of a wealthy man and that man’s housemaid, but unlike many, Mr Lawes claimed his son. Gil had spent his childhood here under his father’s carelessly affectionate eye. The old man might have played the fool, or the knave, with his housemaid, but he had […]
The Ruin of Gabriel Ashleigh (2015) KJ Charles (Society of Gentlemen) Set in London in 1818. This is the prequel to the previous three books, a short story about two somewhat minor characters who appear in the other books: Gabriel Ashleigh, brother to Lord Maltravers, who is, at best, a knave. Gabriel has lost everything–literally […]
A Fashionable Indulgence (2016) KJ Charles (Society of Gentlemen) Set in London in 1819 As I continue to read backwards through this series, we come to the story of Justin and Harry. Harry’s father was disowned by his family, and took his wife’s name, Gordon. The family ended up on the continent when they were […]
A Seditious Affair (2016) KJ Charles (Society of Gentlemen) Set in London in 1819 This is the second book, in the series I am reading backwards. I read the first chapter a couple months ago, and put it down, because I wasn’t comfortable reading about BDSM. I mean, reading boinking passages in romance embarrasses me. […]
A Gentleman’s Position (2016) KJ Charles (Society of Gentlemen) Set in London in 1820 I am, apparently, reading this series backwards. I’d picked up the previous two books and read a few pages but wasn’t in the mood for them at the time. Richard is a younger son, an honorable man, and the one who […]
Silent Revenge (2012) Laura Landon Set in an indeterminate past in London. Simon Westland, Earl of Northcote has returned from India, his past still vivid in the minds of the ton. Even worse, he is about to lose everything, due to his father throwing away everything on gambling. Lady Jessica Stanton is about to become […]
Lord of Secrets (2013) Alyssa Everett Set in England in 1820. I almost quit reading this when I realized that it didn’t have a mystery sub-plot. But I was curious enough that I kept reading. David Linney, Marquess of Deal is haunted by his past. He believes he will never be worthy of love, but […]
Dreaming of You (1994) Lisa Kleypas Set in historical London some time after pistols but before trains There was so much I liked about this story, yet so much that I found problematic about it. Sara Fielding is the author of a famous novel about a fallen woman, and is in London researching a gambling […]
The Duchess Deal: Girl Meets Duke (2017) Tessa Dare Set in England in the early 1800s The Duke of Ashbury is in need of an heir. “If I died tomorrow, everything would go to my cousin. He is an irredeemable prat. I didn’t go to the Continent, fight to preserve England from tyranny, and survive […]
Practically Wicked (2016) Alissa Johnson Set in England in the 1800s. Anna Rees is the illegitimate daughter of an infamous woman of the demi-monde. Everyone knows of her, but no one has spent more than a few minutes in her company. And Anna mostly likes that, since she does NOT like being paraded around by […]
An Unexpected Gentleman (2011) Alissa Johnson Set in Scotland in the 1800s. Connor Brice wants nothing more from the world than revenge against his half brother, Robert Maxwell. Breaking up Robert’s probable engagement to Adelaide would give him the best of both worlds. Sir Robert had held his ground in the garden longer than expected […]
Nearly a Lady (2011) Alissa Johnson Set in Scotland Trying to figure out what I wanted to read next, I remembered I had a new Alissa Johnson, but couldn’t remember which book in the series came first, so I picked one, started reading, and realized this is the one I’d read. Perhaps I’ll just read […]
Widdershins (2012) Jordan L. Hawk Set in Boston in the late 1800s. This is an historical supernatural M/M romance. One of the characters is neuroatypical, and the other is suffering from PTSD, so they both have issues to deal with, but I very much like the spin that puts on the story. (Damaged or atypical […]
The Ruin of a Rake (2017) Cat Sebastian (The Turner Series) Set in London in 1817 Lord Courtenay’s reputation is a rake and a libertine is well-deserved. He drank and gambled and whored and ended up spending his fortune. But the death of his sister–after her complete ruin–and his love for his nephew have complicated […]
The Lawrence Browne Affair (2017) Cat Sebastian Set in Cornwall, England in 1816 Lawrence Browne, the Earl of Radnor is mad. He’s driven away most of his staff, and the local vicar is worried about his stability. “Five servants quit,” Halliday said, tapping Lawrence’s desk in emphasis. Dust puffed up in tiny clouds around the […]
Rag and Bone (2016) KJ Charles (Rag and Bone) This is set after Flight of Magpies and continues the story started in A Queer Trade. Crispin Tredarloe is trying to learn the right way to be a practitioner, instead of a warlock, like he was trained. But it’s difficult unlearning everything he has been doing […]
Hamilton’s Battalion: A Trio of Romances (2017) Rose Lerner, Courtney Milan, Alyssa Cole Set in the Americas in 1781 and 1820 This is three stories with some overlapping characters, including Alexander Hamilton, who appears at least in the background of each story. PROMISED LAND by Rose Lerner Rachel ran away to join the army as […]
It Takes Two to Tumble (2017) Cat Sebastian (Seducing the Sedgwicks) Set in England in 1817 Ben Sedgwick is happy being the vicar of Kirkby Barton. He is engaged to the girl who has been his best friend since childhood, and he feels comfortable about his calling. He might not want to, but when he […]
Lost to a Spy (2018) Sharon Cullen Set in Scotland in 1567 I picked this up when I saw it on sale because I thought the premise was interesting. Ladies in waiting can’t help noticing more than they let on. After so many years at the court of Mary, Queen of Scots, Emma Howard sees […]