Top Five Reads of February 2023 – Historical Romance Books

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.

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A Love by Design by Elizabeth Everett (2023)

Historical romance. Victorian-era England. Book 3 of the Secret Scientists of London series. The previous book hinted at a history between George and Margaret and we get the full story here. This book takes place about a year and a half after the events of Book 2. George and Margaret (and Violet, the main character of Book 1) were childhood friends out in the country where George was not part of the aristocracy at all. One summer, when it seemed that a romance was developing between George and Margaret, heartbreak occurred instead (we get to learn what it was at some point during the book when they finally talk it out). After they parted ways, George joined the army and somehow ended up an earl, while Margaret found an engineering mentor in Paris, got married, and became widowed. Now Margaret is back in England to start her own engineering company and is undertaking a huge project…. that is unfortunately funded by the nemesis of the female scientists at Athena’s Retreat and of George’s. While George and Margaret are growing closer again and working out their heartbreaking pasts, Margaret’s still holding secrets about her employer’s funding and causing discourse among the female scientists. George ends up being the more emotionally mature and politically progressive one in the relationship, supporting Margaret’s ambitions, providing her comfort and humor and safety. And there’s a scene in here that was hinted at earlier with one person’s awkwardness in the bedroom, with deliciously delightful payoff when the truth finally comes out… it was so good, I sent a screenshot of the scene to my friend immediately via text.

Ebook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

Falling for a Rake by Eve Pendle (2019)

Historical romance. Victorian-era England. Book 1 of the Fallen series. We start with a prim and proper lady who hunts for ferns and a rake of a man following her through the woods and trying to flirt with her, even as she politely puts him off. And then they fall down an abandoned mine and get stuck there overnight. Well, now that they’re basically ruined, they need to marry. But both of them have secrets from the past and neither are exactly what they seem. Lady Emily, daughter of a duke, has been engaged before, but her fiancee had died in a hunting accident, so now Emily doesn’t participate in any physically strenuous activities and only hunts ferns and not foxes. But there’s something more to the story there because she keeps having nightmares about her ex-fiancee. The rakish earl Oscar has admitted the worst of himself to Emily: that he has dallied with the younger sister of a woman he was courting, got her with child, and refused to marry her. The young lady and their illegitimate daughter now live in the country and he is not part of their lives. But he’s also not exactly the rake that he seems to play in the world; he’s kind and caring of Emily and doesn’t actually take advantage of her when they’re trapped together. This book had a lot of interesting reveals of Emily and Oscar’s pasts, presents, and learning to accept each other for who they are. And there’s a meddlesome anonymous gossip writer adding to the drama.

Ebook purchased from Amazon.

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.

The Husband Trap by Tracy Anne Warren (2006)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 1 of the Trap Trilogy series. This book starts right with the action (which I love). Violet is on her way down the aisle to marry Adrian, except that she’s pretending to be her twin sister Jeannette who wanted to call off the wedding two hours earlier and somehow convinced Violet to take her place. Shy and bespectacled Violet knows that she won’t get another chance like this and takes it because she’s already been in love with Adrian. The rest of the book involves Violet playing the part of a spoiled and bratty Jeannette, while sometimes slipping into her actual good-natured self, and hoping that her husband won’t notice. Of course Adrian can’t believe his good luck that maybe his snobby and shallow bride actually has kindness and depth, so he doesn’t suspect anything at all. But you know that the secret will eventually come to catch up with Violet in the most heartbreaking ways. Such a good book that I dived right into the second one immediately!

Ebook borrowed from my local library via Libby.