New Releases for November 2023 – Historical Romance Books

Some Winter’s Evening by Erin Langston (2023)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Related to Forever Your Rogue. We get to see Cora’s barrister brother Gavin find his match in this holiday novella. Gavin is struggling with an ethical dilemma in whether or not to represent some unsavory client in attempts to boost his own chances at a promotion. While he is stressed and mulling this over, he is also on his way to his sister’s house for the holidays and ends up at an inn due to a snowstorm. Emilia is also stuck at the inn overnight on her way to her new governess position and meets Gavin. They share a lighthearted night together with no exchange of last names or contact information. Luckily though, Emilia is on her way to being the governess of Gavin’s very own nephew, so they meet again a couple days later when Gavin shows up at the house. They try to stay away from each other at first since she needs to keep her job and he needs to focus on being an upstanding gentleman, but that doesn’t last long, especially as Gavin’s brother-in-law (the ever-charming Nate) catches onto their obvious feelings for each other. From there, we get to see the uptight and serious Gavin learn to let loose and go with his emotions rather than strict adherence to the logical. His caretaking and worry for Emilia is delightful to read. It was also fun to see the boisterous family dynamics of the house and the affection between Gavin and his sister.

Advance ebook provided by Erin Langston.

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A Rose Blooms in Brooklyn by Ginny B. Moore (2023)

Historical romance. Gilded Age New York. Book 3 of the Flowers Sisters series. The beautiful and spoiled Rose has not had a success of her many Seasons in London and now she faces a pending engagement to a man she doesn’t love or to serve as companion to an elderly relation. She told her parents that she’s bound for Boston to reconcile with her twin sister, but she’s really headed to New York City to enjoy the high society her cousin lives within. However, she’s shocked to learn that her cousin is living in Brooklyn, estranged from her family, and working to support herself. Rose is completely out of her element and has to adapt to such unfamiliar surroundings. Ben is a widower and political activist who owns the building where Rose has landed and scoffs at Rose’s naivete. He’s also uncomfortably attracted to her even though his heart is all sorts of closed off after the death of his wife in childbirth. The romance between Rose and Ben involves a lot of push-and-pull, with Rose realizing that she has been completely sheltered all her life and with Ben learning to embrace life and joy again. Running through the entire book is the opposition towards laws that prohibit the distribution of contraception and the movement for women’s suffrage. We get to admire Ben’s selfless dedication to the cause as well as Rose’s increased awareness and understanding of such matters. A great read, with lots of support from Ben’s found family.

Advance ebook provided by Ginny B. Moore.

Check and Mate by Ali Hazelwood (2023)

Young Adult Contemporary Romance. Standalone novel. Mallory hasn’t played chess in years, since it seemingly caused the implosion of her family. Now she’s a high school graduate working to support her disabled mother and two younger sisters. Her best friend convinces her to join a charity chess tournament and she somehow wins against Nolan, the reigning world champion and top-ranked chess player. Mallory is understandably completely overwhelmed and bolts. Soon after that, Mallory is offered a well-paying fellowship to study and play chess with the hopes of entering upcoming chess competitions. While she tries to maintain some emotional distance from the sport, it all comes back to her even though she’s hiding her chess involvement from her family. Once we start heading out in the world of chess tournaments, we get more awkward meetings with Nolan and meet some of his friends. While a lot of the actual chess went over my head, the banter between Mallory and Nolan is so entertaining, as well as Nolan’s interactions with Mallory’s younger sisters. He’s clearly impressed and intrigued by her, even though she totally denies it. The romance aspect is sweet and fun to read (and the sex is closed door). We get to see these two open up to each other about the family secrets and traumatic histories, and ultimately find a way to have fun even in spite of the competition. Another super entertaining read from Ali Hazelwood.

Advance ebook provided by Penguin Teen via NetGalley.

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Never Wager with a Wallflower by Virginia Heath (2023)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 3 of the Merriwell Sisters series. Venus and Galahad have been at odds with each other since their first meeting without a real reason. However, things will probably become a lot messier when Galahad purchases the property next door to Venus’ orphanage to build his new gambling hell. With a negligent wastrel father, Venus has little tolerance for vice and believes the worst of Galahad. Add in Venus’ general distrust of men (and her own reaction to men), she is constantly wary of Galahad’s overtures of friendship. Galahad doesn’t want a potential war on his doorstep, so he aims to enter a truce with Venus before telling her about the gambling hell plans. In spending more time with her, Galahad shows his honorable nature and kindness towards the orphans and makes Venus start to question her perception of him. Of course, it all comes crashing down when she learns about the property purchase and she’ll have to figure out if he’s worth forgiving. This book was a nice wrap up of the series, showing how far the sisters have come from their desolate circumstances in Book 1. I also enjoyed reading about Galahad’s history and why he is so emotionally closed off.

Advance ebook provided by St. Martin’s Press via NetGalley.

Project Duke by Mariah Stone (2023)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 3 of the Dukes and Secrets series. Lady Calliope has no interest in marriage since she’s so independent and outspoken and has goals of opening her own sleuth agency. However, when the dastardly marquess who hurt her many years ago announces his intentions to marry her, she needs to find a protector in short order. She’s hoping to gain the information to rescue her missing brother, but instead ends up entangled with Nathaniel, a handsome but impoverished duke. His late father has been trying to dictate his actions by withholding his inheritance until Nathaniel marries and provides an heir and time is running out. Nathaniel proposes a marriage of convenience to Calliope in exchange for assisting her find her brother. Although these two are very much attracted to each other, their personalities are completely ill-suited. Calliope is brash and independent and always getting herself into danger, while Nathaniel has emotional scars from being unable to protect his mother from danger and he wants to keep his new wife and sisters safe from harm. I found both characters a little irritating in their incapacity of empathizing with their partner’s stance. However, we slowly uncover more information about Calliope’s missing brother and continue to interact with her warm and loving family.

Advance ebook provided by Mariah Stone via BookSprout.

Bed Me, Earl by Felicity Niven (2023)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 3 of the Bed Me, Books series. Caroline decides to bed her long-time crush Phineas when he’s at her country home with her brother’s hunting party. The easy-going Phineas is delighted that a woman has come to his bed and thinks he’s got the best luck ever. When he realizes that he slept with his friend’s sister and that he might be forced to marry her, he thinks that wouldn’t be a hardship at all. Of course, Phineas says this out loud to Caroline and upsets her in the process. Despite all this, Phineas has decided that he wants to pursue Caroline and dismisses all his mistresses upon his return to London. Caroline was really only looking for a tryst and doesn’t aim for any type of relationship with Phineas, as her lisp and stutter were cruelly disparaged by her father. She’s been hidden away in the country for the past decade and has no interest in letting anyone know about her condition. After her father’s death, her brother brings her to London, hoping to make up for his neglect over the years. There, she finds an eager Phineas wanting to court her. There’s a lot of back-and-forth here as Caroline tries to push Phineas away, but their physical attraction is much too strong and gets them into trouble. Even though Phineas gives the impression of a confident and charming man, we see hints of his insecurity every time Caroline rejects him. When we finally do see them settle down together, we get to see Caroline step up and take charge of the household with utter confidence. I loved seeing this side of Caroline, even if it leaves Phineas questioning his own worth and competence. I really enjoyed reading this book and seeing how these two very opposite personalities come together.

Advance ebook provided by Felicity Niven.

Her Princess at Midnight by Erica Ridley (2023)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 2 of the Regency Fairy Tales series. Cinderella-retelling, where our dear Cynthia is enthralled by the Prince’s sister Ammalia. We get Ammalia serving as both fairy godmother and love interest, when she comes to see Cynthia before the ball to bring her a gown and slippers. Even though Cynthia has captured the Prince’s interest, she runs away from him because she’s not into him at all. Quick read and lots of fun.

Advance ebook provided by Erica Ridley via NetGalley.

The Duchess Gamble by Sofie Darling (2023)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 2 of the All’s Fair in Love and Racing series. Widowed duchess Celia is concerned with running her horse racing operation and is disappointed when a potential engagement to a wealthy duke doesn’t pan out. She’s also concerned over her own security when she finds that the solicitors have identified her late husband’s heir. Gabriel is a distant relation to the late duke and hardly believes that he is now the duke, but he seizes the opportunity to launch his younger sisters into society. When he first meets Celia, he thinks that she’s a title-hungry socialite since she had married a much older man, but he changes his stance when he gets to know her a bit better. With Celia wanting to keep her stables operable, she and Gabriel come to an agreement where he will finance her stables in exchange for her help with his sisters. It’s interesting to see the sparks between Celia and Gabriel and their ultimate affair. However, Celia does not think she’s good enough to be a Gabriel’s wife, mostly due to the mistreatment from her late husband. It’s nice to see Celia slowly start to trust Gabriel and also see his thoughtful treatment of her. We also gets to see hints of a potential relationship between Gabriel’s sister and a certain marquess, which will be featured in the next book in the series.

Ebook accessed from Kindle Unlimited.

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Never Met a Duke Like You by Amalie Howard (2023)

Historical romance. Victorian-era England. Book 2 of the Taming of the Dukes series. Lots of banter and bickering here between Vesper (daughter of a duke) and Aspen (the duke next door and former childhood friend). Somehow these two had a falling out as teenagers, grew apart, and then Aspen spurned Vesper at her debut ball. Now it’s many years later, Aspen has been off looking for fossils and back in England to deal with his wretched mother. Despite multiple offers of marriage, Vesper is still unwed and ruling society with her perfect poise. Aspen believes Vesper to be a spoiled society miss and tries to avoid her, even though he needs her help in preparing his mother’s ward for the Season. Despite Vesper’s outward appearance and reputation, she’s still the same outspoken and fiery lady she’s always been in the presence of her trusted friends. There’s a lot of push-and-pull between Aspen and Vesper as they fight, and kiss, and push each other away.

Advance ebook provided by Forever Books via NetGalley. Advance print book provided by Forever Books.

Not the Duke You Marry by Jess Michaels (2023)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 3 of the Kent’s Row Duchesses series. With both of her widow friends married now, Bernadette is feeling lonely and undesirable. She expresses her interest in finding a lover to Theo, a childhood friend who she recently reconnected with. His aghast reaction makes her feel horribly rejected and insecure, but she rallies and finds her way to a pleasure club. When Theo spots her there, he tries to emphasize how dangerous her actions are, but really he just lusts after her himself and is conflicted about his feelings. These two go back and forth a bit, but end up having an affair, and try very hard not to fall in love with each other. Add in a backstory where Theo had long ago rejected a chance to marry Bernadette and we’re just waiting for her to be heartbroken by the revelation. Lots of steam and internal revelations in this one, without too much external drama.

Advance ebook provided by Jess Michaels via NetGalley.

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The Earl I Want for Christmas by Colleen Kelly (2023)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Standalone novella. Soon-to-be spinster Lydia is contemplating accepting a proposal from her latest suitor, the local vicar. When her dashing and rakish neighbor Gabriel returns to his estate, she is distracted by the memory of her first kiss with him six years prior. Before committing herself to a boring marriage with the vicar, she proposes an affair with Gabriel to experience passion while she has the chance. Gabriel is definitely not marriage material after being spurned by his previous fiance but he does intend to follow through with Lydia’s demands. While their affair is definitely very steamy and their expectations are made clear up front, we also get to see the honorable side of Gabriel as he interacts with others in town along with the care and tenderness he shows Lydia. Quick to read, with lots of spice and heart.

Advance ebook provided by Colleen Kelly

Get the ebook from the author’s website.

Investigating the Duke by Alexa Aston (2023)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 8 of the Suddenly a Duke series. This one is the final book of the series, where we get to see how Shelby becomes an accomplished Bow Street Runner. We’ve seen Shelby at work many times throughout the series, solving cases for the other sudden dukes. This book features Jasper, a third son of a duke and vicar, who suddenly becomes a duke when his father passes away from illness, his oldest brother drunkenly falls down the stairs, and his second oldest brother dies at war. The timing of his oldest brother’s death along with his father’s death seems to be suspicious, so Jasper heads to hire a Bow Street Runner to investigate. The very accomplished Shelby is assigned to the case and she poses as Jasper’s new secretary to blend in with the household. The romance here was fairly straightforward, with Jasper deciding pretty quickly that he wants to marry Shelby after the investigation is over. However, finding out the cause of deaths for Jasper’s family members is much more complicated and kept me very invested in the story.

Advance ebook provided by Dragonblade Publishing via NetGalley.

A Lady’s Rules for Ruin by Jennifer Haymore (2023)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 2 of the Lions and Lilies series. Frances is completely uninterested in marriage, despite the meddling of her family members. She decides to put herself in a ruinous situation so that she can finally be an unmarriageable spinster. Her plan works out quite well; with her unwitting kissing partner on a ship bound for Egypt, Frances has the freedom to pursue a variety of interests without the pressure of balls and soirees. One experiment in charity work brings her to a boys’ orphanage where she is to tutor a child on manners before he meets an important lord. Evan is a charming and amiable earl who has just found out that his father has been financially supporting an illegitimate son and he goes to meet the boy. When at the orphanage, he immediately realizes the mistreatment of the child and decides to bring his brother home with him. Luckily Frances has already formed a bond with the boy and is there to soothe the young child’s temperament when faced with his new situation. Frances and Evan have interacted with each other before at social events, but Frances was always suspicious of Evan’s gregarious nature even though he has always been intrigued by her outspokenness. We get to see Frances and Evan bond over the care of his newfound brothers (yes, plural, he definitely finds more) and develop a friendship and then affair. I loved seeing Evan take responsibility for his brothers and build a family with them.

Advance ebook provided by Entangled Publishing via NetGalley.

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It Had to Be a Duke by Vivienne Lorret (2023)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 1 of the Liar’s Club series. Verity is the oddball of her family, being sensible and plain, rather than an outrageous actor. Faced with an embarrassing situation with her catty neighbor, she makes up a lie that she’s engaged to a duke. When Magnus hears a rumor about this from the father of the heiress he means to marry, he hastens to the village where Verity lives to settle this issue. Magnus and Verity are longstanding family rivals from a time when Magnus’ father lost a lot of money in an investment and Magnus has blamed Verity’s father for the swindle. He definitely does not want to be associated with Verity or her family, but he seems to need to rescue her from her own clumsiness and daring. He’s also annoying stiff and proper and sometimes even mean to her. Of course, he’s only mean to her because he’s attracted to her when he doesn’t want to be. They continue a temporary fake engagement so that he doesn’t appear outwardly cruel, and he slowly starts to soften towards her. There’s definitely a lot of grudge-holding and angry bickering in this story, so it’s interesting to see how these two find common ground.

Advance ebook provided by Avon Books via NetGalley.