Posts in the Historical genre

Guest Post

Four Reasons to Give Historical Romance a Try

Historical Romance is one the most well known sub-genres of romance. Take any article you’ve ever read or show you’ve ever watched that deals with the topic and inevitably someone will mention or allude to historical romance. Although they make up only 20% of traditionally published Romance novels they have, for whatever reason, become the face of romance since their rise to popularity in the early 1970s.

Personally, I love historical romance. I love the history, the different customs, and the stories of romance that are both the same and different from what is experienced today in North American culture. So, imagine my surprise when I discovered that many of the ladies in my book club, as a rule, avoid Historical Romance.

Here are 4 reasons you should give historical romance a try.

  1. You Can Choose Your Own Adventure

When I started reading Historical Romance I started with Petals on The River by Kathleen Woodwiess. This was not a good way for me to start.

I hated Petals in the River. It was super long, it took place in Colonial America, which doesn’t turn my crank, and there was a lot of dubiously incomplete or simply nonexistent consent when it came to the heroine and her sexual encounters.

Lucky for me, historical romance isn’t a one trick pony. There are over thirteen subcategories, ranging from Viking romance, specific periods in England’s history, Pirates, Native American Romance and Civil War Romance. This meant I was able to easily find other historical romance novels that I could enjoy (and had less rape!). From Kathleen Woodiwiss I moved on to Lorraine Heath’s Texas Trilogy, Stephanie Laurens’ Cynster Series and the historical romance of Lynsay Sands and now I read all sorts of authors.

I found the romances I preferred were set in England or Scotland, usually during the Stuart era (1603 to 1714) or the Regency period (1811-1820) and preferably featuring a kilted Scotsman or a dark brooding peer of the realm.

Historical romance is so broad a category that it’s easy for anyone to find something they like.

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Steals & Deals

Deal Alert: Lavinia Kent and Desiree Holt!

This is a deal alert TWICE as good as usual! TWO very hot sexy titles are on sale for a limited time. First, there’s Desiree Holt’s Forward Pass, the first book in the Game On series:

Get Ready to Play Rough

Shay Beckham grew up idolizing her brother’s best friend, star quarterback Joe Reilly. There was no one in their Texas town who had the moves to match Joe on or off the field. Years later, he’s still a player who has what it takes to drive any hot-blooded woman wild. But Shay isn’t a kid with a bad case of hero-worship anymore. She’s grown-up and independent, with her feet on the ground and a serious head on her shoulders. If she could just say the same for Joe.

It’s been fifteen years, but Joe Reilly hasn’t forgotten the skinny little kid who used to follow him around like a shadow. What he can’t get over is that the skinny shadow has grown into one hell of an incredible woman. One any man in his right mind would kill to get his hands on. And one who seems to be completely immune to him. He knows he and Shay could have something special together. If he could only convince her he’s about more than just the game.

And then Lavinia Kent’s erotic historical Bound by Bliss, the second book in her Bound and Determined series:

Lady Bliss Danser, daughter of the Duke of Mirth, is a scandal waiting to erupt. Which is why her highly conventional brother wants to saddle her with Stephan Perth, Earl of Duldon, the only man he thinks will marry her. Worse, Stephan keeps threatening to punish her, to teach her just how a woman should behave. His words may cause Bliss to tingle in the strangest places, but that doesn’t mean she likes the man himself.

Stephan has secretly desired Bliss for years, but he knows how close he is to losing his beloved. Careful not to rile her impetuous heart, he promises only to aid Bliss in her search for another fiancé. And if she’s determined to understand the male body first, he’s happy to comply in that regard as well. However, she must follow his rules or face the consequences. Slowly he takes Bliss to the darker, steamier side of his world . . . where she realizes that Stephan is everything she’s ever wanted.

Exclusive Excerpt

Exclusive Excerpt: Gwyn Cready’s FIRST TIME WITH A HIGHLANDER

Gwyn Cready’s First Time With a Highlander is out next week and we’ve got an exclusive excerpt from the book! Hope you enjoy and pre-order you copy today!

Serafina scanned the faces of the Royal Mile crowd, not only to ensure the men at the Hollow Crown hadn’t followed them but also that Gerard was passing for a Scot. It was with the greatest surprise that she saw he seemed to be, though she could barely look at him without seeing the dissonance of clashing culture in every detail. His hair was too short, his pace too swift, and he walked as if he were at all times sharply aware of the balls between his legs. She had to admit if she put aside her worry, he did look rather dashing in the plaid. It was one of Duncan’s. She hoped Duncan didn’t mind.

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Autumn Thorns Yasmine Galenorn
Reviews, Reviews, TV

Megan Frampton Shares Her Top Five Historical Mini-Series

Look, we’re not always about books. Sometimes we watch movies made from books.

If you’re a historical romance fan, chances are you have strong opinions on book-to-screen adaptations (your favorite Darcy? is Heathcliff romantic or a psychopath — or both?), and chances are you’ve watched a few of the adaptations multiple times.

In the spirit of obsessive viewing, I’d like to share my Top Five Historical Mini-Series (your mileage may vary). All of these are based on books (two by Elizabeth Gaskell!), and all have their clutch-my-hand-t-o-my-chest-because-of-all-the-feels moments. (note: most of the clips are spoilers, so don’t click through if you don’t want to know who ends up with whom).

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Q&A

Paula Quinn Answers our Questions!

Bestselling author Paula Quinn, stops by to answer our questions for the release day of her book, The Taming of Malcolm Grant, the fourth book in her Highland Heirs series! Have you picked up your Highland Hunk today?

FIVE BOOKS

If you could only read five books for the rest of your life, what five books would they be, and why?

The Summer Tree by Guy Gavriel Kay. Kay’s books are very in depth. I’ve read this one three times and love it more each time.

The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley because I love her version of King Arthur.

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Reviews, Books, Reviews

Review: THE LAST CHANCE CHRISTMAS BALL Anthology

The Last Chance Christmas Ball
Mary Jo Putney, Jo Beverley, Joanna Bourne, Patricia Rice, Nicola Cornick, Cara Elliott, Anne Gracie
Kensington (September 29, 2015)

Christmas 1815. Upstairs and downstairs, Holbourne Hall is abuzz with preparations for a grand ball to celebrate the year’s most festive—and romantic—holiday. For at the top of each guest’s wish list is a last chance to find true love before the New Year…

A chance meeting beneath the mistletoe, a stolen glance across the dance floor—amid the sumptuous delicacies, glittering decorations, and swell of the orchestra, every duchess and debutante, lord and lackey has a hopeful heart. There’s the headstrong heiress who must win back her beloved by midnight—or be wed to another….the spinster whose fateful choice to relinquish love may hold one more surprise for her…a widow yearning to glimpse her long-lost love for even one sweet, fleeting interlude …a charming rake who finds far more than he bargained for. And many other dazzling, romantic tales in this star-studded collection that will fill your heart and spice up your holidays…

On September 24, Morning Bites asked Does Your Reading Taste Change with the Seasons? Until this month, I would have answered, “no.” And then I read The Last Chance Christmas Ball and was reminded that about this time of year I do like a good Christmas Anthology. These have been fewer and farther between with the demise of the Traditional Regency. Annually, I re-read the best and, this year, am delighted to find a new entry.

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Reviews, Books, Reviews

Rave: Tessa Dare’s When a Scot Ties the Knot

Tessa Dare’s Castles Ever After series perches on the premise that each heroine inherits a castle. As one does. Her latest book, When a Scot Ties the Knot, offers an introverted (seriously, she makes me look outgoing) heroine who’s received a castle under false pretenses-that she’ll soon be marrying a Scottish captain, which is why she simply cannot make her debut in London society. But the heroine made the hero up, confronted with the reality of having to be in public, in a group, and not panic. Armed with that subterfuge, she embarks on doing what she really wants to — illustrating wildlife, living in her cozy Scottish castle. So naturally she’s somewhat surprised when the captain from her letters shows up at her castle, wearing a kilt and with a posse of ex-soldiers who served under his command. Here’s the blurb:

On the cusp of her first London season, Miss Madeline Gracechurch was shy, pretty, and talented with a drawing pencil, but hopelessly awkward with gentlemen. She was certain to be a dismal failure on the London marriage mart. So Maddie did what generations of shy, awkward young ladies have done: she invented a sweetheart.

A Scottish sweetheart. One who was handsome and honorable and devoted to her, but conveniently never around. Maddie poured her heart into writing the imaginary Captain MacKenzie letter after letter . . . and by pretending to be devastated when he was (not really) killed in battle, she managed to avoid the pressures of London society entirely.

Until years later, when this kilted Highland lover of her imaginings shows up in the flesh. The real Captain Logan MacKenzie arrives on her doorstep—handsome as anything, but not entirely honorable. He’s wounded, jaded, in possession of her letters . . . and ready to make good on every promise Maddie never expected to keep.

This book toys with so many romance conventions, and it is delightful to watch Tessa take those tropes and toss them in the air like confetti. First off is that there are no ‘does he/she know or not?’ moments. As soon as Madeline and Logan are alone, they acknowledge that 1) she made him up 2) he received the letters and 3) he is here to take advantage of the situation she created.

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Exclusive Excerpt

Julie Anne Long’s Pennyroyal Green Excerpt Tour!

For almost 8 years, readers have eagerly followed the epic love-story-that-never-was of Lyon Redmond and Olivia Eversea throughout Julie Anne Long’s Pennyroyal Green novels. Now, FINALLY, readers will find out what really happened to separate the two lovers and if they can overcome the heartbreak and betrayal to reach their Happily Ever After in The Legend of Lyon Redmond out on 9/29! Before we get there, though, let’s relive Lyon and Olivia’s story up until now. Follow along the Pennyroyal Green Excerpt Tour where today we have an excerpt from A Notorious Countess Confesses…

Vicar Adam Sylvaine visits Olivia Eversea

When they’d reached a row of benches tucked among a series of rosebushes, he stopped abruptly.

“Olivia, I did come here for a reason today.”

Her eyes widened. “You should see your expression, Adam.” She sounded so calm, so wryly amused. As though the worst she could experience had already taken place, and nothing else would ever cause more than a ripple in her composure. “So very, very somber.”

“Something that once belonged to you has been entrusted to me. I should like to return it.”

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Exclusive Excerpt

Exclusive Excerpt: Mary Jo Putney’s NOT ALWAYS A SAINT

Mary Jo Putney has won some of romance’s most prestigious awards in her amazing career, including the RWA Nora Roberts Lifetime Achievement Award. (No slouch, our Ms. Putney!) She also moves effortlessly between historical an contemporary romance, and occasionally dabbles in fantasy. She gave us an exclusive excerpt of her latest historical novel Not Always A Saint, Book Seven in her Lost Lords series…enjoy!

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