February 2023 New Releases in Historical Romance Books

Portrait of the Duke by Alexa Aston (2023)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 1 of the Suddenly a Duke series. We start with an adorable prologue with an outspoken teenager warning away one of her spoiled sister’s suitors and letting him know that he isn’t a real contender being merely a viscount. Despite the age-gap and both of their youths, there’s a spark of chemistry between them. Ten years later, Lady Margaret is finally ready to make her debut after caring for her ill-mother, mourning her death, and mourning her father’s death. However, Margaret has no intention to marry, but to build a business painting portraits. Our young viscount, Daniel, is now a duke looking to marry this Season. He’d sought out Margaret in previous years, but she was nowhere to be found. As he sees her in the present, there’s an existing connection between their grandmothers who had been friends in their youth. Daniel’s grandmother is the best wingwoman around, making sure to keep Margaret close by, and supporting her art. This was a relatively low-angst book with an instant attraction between our main characters. There’s the petty spoiled sister in the background, but she doesn’t interfere too badly. Great book if you’re looking for an easy read and a good time.

Advance ebook provided by Dragonblade Publishing via NetGalley.

Shop this book via Amazon // Available on Kindle Unlimited // Get a free trial to Kindle Unlimited

Curled Up with an Earl by Amy Rose Bennett (2023)

Historical romance. Victorian era England. Book 2 of the Byronic Book Club series. Will is an earl and a duke’s heir, but is estranged from his grandfather, serving as a spy for Scotland Yard. He’s investigating a botanical expert on poisonous plants to determine if the man is responsible for the murder of another nobleman; he poses as the new groom to the estate to do so. However, he’s instantly smitten by the Lucy, the daughter of the botanical baron, who serves as a botanical expert in her own right. Lucy is pre-occupied with her own bluestocking studies and desire to travel while also looking after her father’s financially floundering estate and trying to locate her brother. I enjoyed watching Lucy and Will interact with each other, both nervous and smitten, and I also enjoyed seeing them team up with open honesty about the midpoint of the book. The romance plot was pretty low-ansgt without a third-act breakup between our two, but we do get to find out why Lucy’s brother was driven away and the culprit of the poisoning plant murder.

Advance ebook provided by Sourcebooks Casablanca via NetGalley.

Shop this book via Amazon // Bookshop.org // Libro.fm

Love a Lady at Midnight by Charlie Lane (2023)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 4 of the Cavendish Family series. We’ve met Jackson and Gwendolyn a few times in previous books as research assistants to Henry, the explorer and adventurer and archeologist. They’ve always shown to be bantering (and possibly flirting) throughout the series. Now, we finally get to see their relationship come to a point and learn why Gwendolyn was found as a stowaway in one of Henry’s ships six years ago. Jackson is very obvious in his desire to woo and wed Gwendolyn, and she’s the one who is protective of her secrets and wants to keep Jackson away. We learn early in the book that Gwendolyn believed to be married to a bigamist and was ruined and ostracized in London society. Her family was horrible and cast her out after the scandal, and her supposed father-in-law thought to make her his mistress. So she ran away and reinvented her identity. For as long as they’ve known her, the Cavendish family has believed Gwendolyn to be holding onto some secrets, but haven’t pushed her to reveal and instead been a supportive and friendly family. Jackson, of course, has been patiently waiting for his opportunity to court her and needs to know why she refuses him. In the background, there’s a plot about Jackson visiting his family estate for the first time in many years since his parents died, but he pretty much had a happy childhood and upbringing, so it’s fairly low drama on that front. And of course, when Gwendolyn finally reveals her secrets, the Cavendishes react exactly how you’d expect them to react. I really liked this one and would recommend!

Advance ebook provided by Charlie Lane via NetGalley.

Only The Valet Will Do by Sophie Barnes (2023)

Historical romance. Regency England. Standalone novella. Lady Lilliana has a meet-cute with her brother’s valet in the woods and feels an instant connection with him. Unfortunately, the disparity in their stations means that it won’t work out and she should stay away from him. However, he may be more eligible than he seems. Tristan is part of the landed gentry and considered a gentleman, but his father’s gambling debts have forced him to seek out employment. Hiding his true identity, he becomes a valet to a viscount and meets his sister Lilliana. Tristan has very little to offer with his diminished circumstances, so he also tries to stay away from the lady who has captivated him. But this is a novella, so it all works out pretty quickly and neatly. Enjoyable read if you need a low-angst bit of fluff.

Advance ebook provided by Sophie Barnes via NetGalley.

The Duke’s Secret Cinderella by Eva Devon (2023)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 3 of the Never a Wallflower series. While this book is part of a series, it reads completely standalone with no apparent connection to the other books in the series. This one starts off a lot of the movie Ever After (the Cinderella movie retelling from 1998 starring Drew Barrymore, which is one of my favorite movies ever). Charlotte is the servant of the house who schemes with her beloved stepsister to dress nicely and go down to the prison to free her servant. While there, she meets Rafe, a duke whose mother has just decreed that he should marry. They part ways before she can tell him her name, but when he comes to her home to call on her stepsister, she somehow gets introduced as a lady and cousin. Rafe is smitten with Charlotte the whole way through and is determined to make her his duchess, but she is resistant because of the punishments she will face from her stepfather if she’s usurped her stepsister’s place. This book was delightful with how straightforward Rafe is with his feelings and how his mother and grandmother are completely supportive. It makes a nice contrast to how evil and scheming Charlotte’s stepfather is.

Advance ebook provided by Entangled Publishing via NetGalley. Print book provided by Entangled Publishing.

The Counterfeit Scoundrel by Lorraine Heath (2023)

Historical romance. Victorian-era England. Book 1 of the Chessmen series. We have another servant-in-disguise story here, with Daisy/Marguerite posing as a maid in Bishop’s house to catch her client’s wife having an affair. Of course, with Daisy’s skills of observation, something doesn’t seem quite right. Although Bishop certainly seems to entertain a revolving door of married ladies, we find that he falsifies affairs to help the women secure a divorce. While Daisy and Bishop seem to have opposing purposes at first, they uncover each other’s motives and truths by about the midpoint of the book. After that, we see Bishop being suspected of murdering one of the husbands and him hiring Daisy as an investigator on his behalf. The plot twists on the mystery part were a lot of fun to read. The romance part was fairly predictable but in an enjoyable way. Overall, I really liked this book and continue to enjoy Lorraine Heath’s writing.

Advance ebook provided by Avon Books via NetGalley.

Never Seduce a Duke by Vivienne Lorret (2023)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 5 of the Mating Habits of Scoundrels series. This one makes more sense if you’ve already read Book 3 of the series, The Wrong Marquess. Meg is the younger sister of the male main character of that book and she’s traveling on holiday with the spinsterly aunts of the female main character of that book. After having her heart broken, Meg is intent on having a grand holiday (and possibly flirtation) before returning to her brother’s home to stay a spinster. However, the meddlesome aunts are at their recipe-stealing antics again and somehow get entangled with a surly hermit of a duke, Lucien. His family relic, a recipe book covered in jewels and myths, has disappeared the same time that Meg is caught trespassing in his home, so he chases her across her European vacation to find the book. Lucien seems to think that Meg is the seductive and mysterious Lady Avalon, known the be a thief, while Meg (who has been fresh-faced and overlooked by gentlemen) is flattered by his attentions. The banter and flirtation and fighting goes on for half the book… it’s a bit tedious at times to read, with them misunderstanding each other, and him being a stubborn stoic scientific arse. When they finally come together and perhaps the truth may be uncovered, there’s another set of miscommunications that keep them separated, and from Lucien never knowing Meg’s real name or identity. And as the summary alludes to, Meg ends up pregnant. Though the front half moved slowly and tediously, the pace of the plot picks up in the back half of the book with a gasp-worthy time-jump and we do ultimately find out the identity of Lady Avalon.

Advance ebook provided by Avon Books via NetGalley.

The Wolf and the Wildflower by Stacy Reid (2023)

Historical romance. Victorian-era England. Standalone novel. We’ve got tragic background for both the characters here in this story and it makes for an unbelievable connection. Jules has lived her entire life as a man, despite being born a girl; her mother endured difficult childbirths and was warned against having more children, but her father was insistent on a son… so her mother and midwife presented the baby as a son so that she could find relief from marital relations and pregnancy. James, the son of a duke, was lost in the Canadian mountains at the age of 18 and survived there alone for ten years before his rescue and return. Now that he’s back in England and the duke, his mother is concerned that he is addled and savage. Jules and her father are both mind doctors hired by James’ mother to assess the man and fix his behavior. Of course, Jules is the one who understands his plight and need for isolation and quiet amongst his busybody chattering family. James also sees through Jules’ disguise with his heightened senses and awareness and he has been the only one to truly see her in her whole life. The quiet moments where these two are alone are the only times they can be themselves without the judgments of society or putting on an act. It’s sweet and soulful and just the right amount of teary. Probably my favorite Stacy Reid book ever, and I love all her books, so that’s saying a lot.

Advance ebook provided by Entangled Publishing via NetGalley.