Top Five Reads of April 2023 – Historical Romance Books

To Tame a Scandalous Lady by Liana De la Rosa (2019)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 3 of the Once Upon a Scandal series. Lady Flora, daughter of a duke and sister to a marquess with political ambitions, disguises herself as a man to become the assistant trainer at a horse racing operation. While she has set herself up to learn how to run a racing stable, she is surprised to find herself attracted to the marquess who owns the place. Christian aims to rebuild his family’s legacy after a stable fire took the lives of his father and many prized racehorses; after spending all his money to rebuild the stables, he needs this new horse to win in order to recoup the costs. When he finds out his horse trainer is actually a woman, he first wants to dismiss her, but keeps her on after Flora stubbornly defends her actions. They start a dalliance while they aren’t busy with the horses, but the truth of Flora’s identity could leads to scandal for them both if she’s caught. I loved reading about the defiant and competent Flora here and how she doesn’t cower to the men in her life.

Ebook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

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A Rogue’s Rules for Seduction by Eva Leigh (2023)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 3 of the Last Chance Scoundrels series. It’s been nearly a year since Dom abandoned Willa at the altar, and his friends and her brothers Kieran and Finn have conspired to bring them both the same isolated island house party in Scotland. Dom and Willa have to finally talk out their issues if they have any hope of moving on. We quickly see that while they were courting and engaged, each were playing a bit of a role and enjoyed the shock value of the other person’s status, rather than the person they truly were. From dockworker to wealthy son of a shipping magnate, Dom has been considered an outsider to the aristocracy. Willa, daughter of an earl, has been brash and outrageous, and delighted in shocking the ton with her brutish suitor. Likewise, Dom viewed Willa as an unattainable prize, who he first felt proud to court, and then felt guilty that he was so far below her standing… ultimately leading to his abandonment. Now that they’re in the same place again, they start to realize that they treated each other superficially in their courtship and engagement and a marriage at that time would have been unhappy. But the spark and attraction continues to exist between them and now that they’re being more honest with each other, they’re starting to give into those desires, even if they’re not quite willing to risk their hearts yet.

Advance ebook provided by Avon Books via NetGalley.

Loving the Marquess by Suzanna Medeiros (2013)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 1 of the Landing a Lord series. Nicholas was the second son of a marquess and now is the marquess after his father and brother both succumbed to an unexplained illness. Nicholas is now showing the same signs of that illness and worries for his health and the possibility of passing on the disease to a future generation. When he stumbles upon Louisa’s cottage, he is nursed back to health after passing out, but he knows that his uncle has wronged her family and feels terrible about it. When his grandmother pressures him to marry, he considers asking Louisa to be his bride. In fortuitous timing for him, Louisa shows up to ask for Nicholas’ assistance after his cousin is forcing her to pay rent that she cannot afford or pay with alternative means. Nicholas proposes a marriage of convenience and offers protection for Louisa and her two younger siblings. However, he is planning for her pregnancy to be sired by someone other than him so that his illness isn’t passed on. Of course, when Louisa finds out about his plan, she’s rightfully upset and these two need to figure out how to be honest about their feelings towards each other. Bonus, we do ultimately solve the mystery of Nicholas’ illness to a happy ending for all.

Ebook purchased via Amazon.

Two Scandals and a Scot by Tracy Sumner (2023)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 5 of the Duchess Society series. Theo runs away from her pre-wedding ball when her fiancee’s pregnant mistress shows up. Of course, she gets into the carriage of Dash, the friend she helped learn to read and write so that he could publish his book of gambling cheats. When he realizes that she’s run away from her duke of a brother-in-law’s house, he chases after her. Of course they cause an even bigger scandal when they’re at an inn on the road and pretty much forced to marry when Theo’s family catches up to them. Since the two are friends who are very much attracted to each other, Theo proposes that they stay friends with their own independence, not to fall prey to the obsessive love that surrounds the other couples in their social sphere (basically all the other couples from past books of the series). Bargain made, they go onto marry and settle into their new life a bit, trying so very hard not to involve their emotions. Which goes exactly how you’d expect it to go if you’re a frequent romance reader. I really enjoyed this book and learning more about Dash’s background, how he basically worships Theo, and her strength and stubbornness that most people underestimate. Another great addition to the series!

Advance ebook provided by Tracy Sumner and Wolf Publishing via NetGalley.

To Marry and to Meddle by Martha Waters (2022)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 3 of the Regency Vows series. We finally get to see the romance between Emily and Julian here in a marriage of convenience story. We start at the end of the house party from Book 2, where Julian has been sort of courting Emily and hinting to her that he would be able to save her family’s debt as her husband. We start right with a proposal in Chapter 1 and learn Julian’s motivations for marrying (he wants to improve the reputation of his scandalous theater to gain the approval of his estranged father). Emily is finally enjoying a bit of freedom away from her overbearing parents and learning to express her own opinions, instead of always being so prim and proper. The romance between these two was easy and fun to read, with an interfering kitten adding to the comedy-factor of the story. Loved this book and probably my favorite of the series so far.

Ebook borrowed from my local library via Libby.