Trope Round Up: Second Chance Romance in Historical Romance Books

Nobody’s Lady by Annabelle Anders (2018)

We have a missed connection here with Lilly and Michael falling in love in their youth, but tragic circumstances kept Michael away from offering for Lilly’s hand. Her father forced her to marry her sister’s widower and care for her niece/stepdaughter. Many years later, Lilly is on her way to London for her stepdaughter’s debut and runs into Michael at an inn where he needs assistance. At this point, he’s a powerful duke and betrothed to someone else. Their paths continue to cross during the London Season, but Michael is determined to stay on the honorable course, so he cannot break his engagement. Super angsty drama in this one.

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Any Rogue Will Do by Bethany Bennett (2020)

Seven years ago, it seemed like Ethan and Charlotte were courting, but then one day Ethan publicly disparaged her and basically ruined her reputation that season. (We do find out why he does that later in the book). Now, they cross paths again, and she’s trying to avoid an unwanted suitor, so recruits him as a fake fiancee. Obviously, they’re still attracted to each other, but still need to work out all the reasons why he ruined her all those years ago.

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Have You Any Rogues by Elizabeth Boyle (2013)

Henrietta and Crispin are from rival families and somehow locked in a wine cellar together. This novella is told in a series of flashbacks throughout their relationship and rivalry with many instances of coming together and being thwarted by outside resources. This one is quick to read, but heavy on the pining and lost love throughout the years.

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Courting Trouble by Kerrigan Byrne (2020)

As a child, the coal boy of a fancy house falls for the eldest daughter. As a young man, he has an affair with the girl and makes plans to run away with her. When her father catches them, the man’s career is threatened, so the girl cruelly pushes him away and marries another. The beginning of this one is very similar to Again the Magic by Lisa Kleypas. Many years later, widowed and suffering from a gunshot wound, the lady is brought to the man who is now a renowned doctor.

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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.

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The Notorious Lord Knightly by Lorraine Heath (2023)

Historical romance. Victorian-era England. Book 2 of the Chessmen series. There’s a scandalous book written anonymously about the seductive exploits of a Lord K and the ton suspects that the Earl of Knightly, known as Knight, is the man in the story. In reality, he is the subject of the story which is written by Regina, the illegitimate daughter of an earl whom Knight jilted on their wedding day five years prior. We see a few chapters told from the past interspersed with present day chapters and learn more about the past and present relationship between Knight and Regina. He basically left her heartbroken and ruined all those years ago and she has been trying to rebuild her life since then. The notoriety of this book has drawn them back together, but there is still a lot of resentment on Regina’s side of things and lots of guilt from Knight’s. It’s interesting to see how they ultimately overcome the issues that kept them apart all those years ago and learning the truth about Knight’s betrayal.

Advance ebook provided by Avon Books via NetGalley.

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The Princess Stakes by Amalie Howard (2021)

After her father’s murder, and Indian princess stows away on a ship headed to England. When she’s caught by the ship captain, she realizes that this man is someone she had rejected once before who is now a duke. The captain’s obviously got a terrible grudge because of the heartbreak the lady had caused him, so he makes her do all sorts of chores on his ship to earn her keep. We do eventually learn why they were kept apart all those years ago and work towards reconciliation. However, there is still the issue of the interracial relationship that will likely be looked down upon by the ton.

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Again the Magic by Lisa Kleypas (2004)

Aline Marsden has been in love with the stable boy, John McKenna, since they were young. When her father, Earl of Westcliff, finds out about their relationship, he forbids them to see each other and sends McKenna away. Twelve years later, the old earl has died, Marcus is the new Lord Westcliff, and his sisters Aline and Livia are unmarried and living at the estate. A group of wealthy Americans has arrived for a hunting party and to gain Lord Westcliff’s business partnership. One of those wealthy visitors? McKenna. He’s been haunted by Aline all these years, believing that she had used him and had never loved him. He comes to take his revenge by bedding her and getting her out of his system. Aline has her own issues; not long after McKenna left, she was in a fire that left her legs scarred and disfigured. Believing that she’ll never be able to find love in her scarred state, she continues to let McKenna believe that she’s only interested in a physical relationship and that she doesn’t love him. Meanwhile, another wealthy man, Gideon Shaw, has caught the attention of Livia, who hasn’t been out in society since the death of her fiance a couple years ago and the related scandal afterward. Gideon’s got his own problems with being an alcoholic, but since this is a secondary romance in the story, they deal with that pretty neatly.

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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.

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When a Marquess Loves a Woman by Vivienne Lorret (2016)

Juliet and Max get caught in a scandalous kiss, which results in her being married off to a much older man before Max even has a chance to offer for her. Years later, Juliet is now a widow, Max is somehow entangled in her same friend group, and they’ve got a bickering and contentious relationship. They’ve decided to create a bet this season to see if they can predict this year’s incomparable debutante. While they are at odds every step of the way, of course, they slowly start to fall in love again.

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How to Best a Marquess by Janna MacGregor (2023)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 3 of the Widow Rules series. The prologue consists of a very charming proposal from Julian to Beth, but things didn’t quite turn out the way they expected. Eight years later, Beth is now one of three widows of a duke’s younger brother, and was not in fact married to the scoundrel at all. In a quest to recover her lost dowry and get away from her older brother’s influence, she seeks out the destitute Julian, now a marquess, for assistance, offering him half the money in payment. We follow with a road trip and second chance romance, though Beth is adamant that she never marry and she knows that her reputation will be detrimental to the honorable Julian’s reputation. Julian however just wants to convince Beth that he’s sorry for walking away all those years ago when her brother denied his proposal and that he’s still in love with her. I mostly empathized with poor Julian there who just can’t catch a break. And of course all of those road trip adventures are a fun read as well.

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

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The Mistake by Lily Maxton (2015)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 4 of the Sisters of Scandal series. This one is actually a full-length novel from this series, following the romance of Julia, the high-profile courtesan that we met briefly in Book 1 and heard about with her memoir in Book 2. She is currently pregnant with a marquess’s child and is under contract to remain his mistress in exchange for his monetary and social support of the child. Feeling disgusted with him (and herself), she feigns illness and ends up being housed at his country estate temporarily. While there, she reconnects with the head gardener, Adam, who was her childhood friend. A tragic prologue will tell you that Adam has been in love with Julia for years, but their paths diverged when she became a courtesan. It’s all sorts of emotional angst in this second chance romance.

Ebook and audiobook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

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The Baron’s Return by Suzanna Medeiros (2023)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 7 of the Landing a Lord series. The third of the friend group from Book 5 and 6 is a baron who has had his heart broken when a lady cruelly rejects him and marries another. After the heartbreak, Gideon joins the army, becomes a rake, and is distrustful of women. Abigail is finally out of mourning from the much-older husband that her father forced her to marry. With Gideon back in England, she tells him that they have a daughter together, and then he declares that they’ll marry. He’s got no intention of falling in love again, but she’s determined to win him back.

Advance ebook provided by Suzanna Medeiros via BookSprout.

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How to Deceive a Duke by Samara Parish (2022)

Edward and Fiona had a weeklong affair once upon a time, and she didn’t know he was a duke, and he thought he could marry her. But when he told his mother, she made him break it off. And so these two dummies have been heartbroken for years and years. Edward was engaged to Amelia from the previous book, but that obviously didn’t work out, and now he’s single and just sort of taking care of his estate or something. Fiona gets arrested dressed as a boy at some point and Edward goes to rescue her from jail, but has to promise to keep her at his house. And of course the forced proximity causes them to finally talk out their issues, but they’re really just still on totally different social planes. Fiona’s trying to sell her inventions, but has to dress up as a boy to do so… and there’s some political drama or danger with her father being the ringleader or something like it.

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Mogul by Joanna Shupe (2017)

It’s five years after Lily and Calvin have parted ways and Lily has a threatening note about her brother written in Chinese. She seeks out Calvin for assistance because his name is also on the note. This book has all sorts of plot happening, but basically, Lily and Calvin were briefly married when they eloped, but were tracked down by her father to dissolve the marriage since Calvin is technically married to someone else. He’s not really married to someone else, but trying to bring his servant’s wife to American from China and thought his name would be more effective in the government. Fast forward five years later, and Lily’s brother is in trouble with gang lord in Chinatown and seems to have run off with the man’s daughter. There’s a mystery to solve there to protect everyone involved and over the course of the book Lily and Calvin grow closer. This book is heavy on the history lesson and politics of immigration in the US, so it was interesting to read.

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The Hellion and the Hero by Emily Sullivan (2022)

Second chance romance between a widow and a supposed war hero. Georgiana has been running her business after her husband’s death and providing factory reform for the workers, but she’s suddenly being threatened by a competitor. Her brother has hired a retired Navy Captain to help protect her, but that captain was a former suitor who she passed over to marry her late husband. These two are stuck together despite being resentful of their history with each other and somehow find their way to common ground.

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