Trope Round Up: Historical Romance Books Where Someone Is Back from the Dead

The Duke’s Unexpected Love by Alexa Aston (2024)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 1 of the Strongs of Shadowcrest series. We start with a tragic prologue for James, who is a duke’s heir that gets abducted by sailors and forced onto a ship with limited memory of who he is. Many years later, we find that he’s the captain of a ship for a prosperous shipping line and recently landed in England for his next assignment. A drunkard who turns out to be his childhood tutor recognizes him in a tavern and insists that he’s a lord. James is pretty much shocked and surprised, but when he visits the duke’s household, he’s instantly recognized as the missing son of the duke. Meanwhile, Sophie, the owner of the shipping company is recently widowed and considering propositioning the handsome James for an affair, not knowing his newfound status or identity. James has bigger ideas (like marriage) and is actually trying to keep this all secret because he wants Sophie to accept him as a man, rather than a title. Add in the fact that James as a gaggle of sisters and cousins soon-to-debut, and we’ve got the beginnings of an interesting series.

Advance ebook provided by Dragonblade Publishing via NetGalley.

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One Night for Love by Mary Balogh (1999)

Book 1 of Bedwyn Prequels. Neville (Earl of Kilbourne) is waiting at the altar for his bride. However, before she can make it down the aisle, another woman, named Lily shows up and Neville says she’s his wife. Years ago, while he was away in the military, Neville married the sergeant’s daughter. They were attacked in an ambush and he believed she died. He recovers and goes back home to his noble duties. Turns out she was a captive the whole time and when she was released, she came to find Neville. Neville feels bad about rejecting his bride/cousin Lauren, but wants to make it work with his wife Lily, but Lily is a commoner with no experience in how to be a lady and is unsure of her standing with Neville. At some point, Lily leaves Neville and goes to London to acquire some etiquette lessons. There’s also a fun little plot twist here involving an older gentleman who is behaving strangely around Lily, which is uncovered towards the end of the book.

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Someone to Romance by Mary Balogh (2020)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 7 of the Westcotts series. Jessica, the sister of a duke, has finally decided that she will marry this year (in her sixth or seventh season). While she typically has a court of interested suitors, she’s looking forward to meeting newcomers to the ton. Gabriel has spent the past thirteen years in America after fleeing England due to some scandal and is back now to claim his rightful title and care for those living on the estate. Upon meeting Jessica, he arrogantly decides that he will marry her, since the sister of a duke will fulfill all of the practical criteria he has for a wife. However, Jessica is angry and insulted by his presumption, challenging him to do better if he wants to win her hand. This book was yet another really interesting story in the series with the unraveling of Gabriel’s mysteries and the support that Jessica provides through his ordeal. And while the women of Jessica’s family do not quite understand the pairing, the men are as quick as Jessica is to guess at Gabriel’s true identity.

Ebook and audiobook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

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One Week As Lovers by Victoria Dahl (2009)

Historical romance. Victorian-era England. Book 3 of the Somerhart series. Lord Lancaster, an impoverished viscount, catches his wealthy fiancee with another man at a ball, but knows he’s stuck marrying her anyways. When he gets a letter that his childhood friend Cynthia has died, he rushes back to his childhood hometown to pay his respects. When he’s there, he finds that she is not dead after all, but faked her death to escape an arranged marriage to a horrible suitor. Lancaster is fighting his own demons from his history of a happy childhood turning to a darker adolescence and also trying to resist his attraction for Cynthia. That doesn’t last long though, as they team up to find some buried treasure in the caves on Lancaster’s land.

Ebook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

It’s Always Been You by Victoria Dahl (2011)

Historical romance. Victorian-era England. Book 2 of the York Family series. Aidan, second son of a baron, had loved and lost when his sweetheart died at sea. After that tragedy, ten years prior, he turned into a cold and unfeeling rake. In a small shipping town on business, he sees a woman that looks like his old sweetheart, Kate and follows her into her shop. Well, it turns out Kate didn’t die and her parents lied about the death and married her off to a plantation owner in Ceylon. After suffering a horrible marriage, she’s fled and built a new identity and business in England. While Aidan and Kate reconnect, find out what thwarted them all those years ago, Kate is still keeping secrets about her marriage. Enjoyable read, even if somewhat predictable.

Ebook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

The Lady He Lost by Faye Delacour (2024)

Historical romance. Victorian-era England. Book 1 of the Lucky Ladies of London series. Naval Lieutenant Eli is back from the dead after being shipwrecked and captured by pirates to find that he has no money, no fiance, and might be questioned by his bosses about his time away from the Navy. His former friend Jane is being cold and he doesn’t quite know why, but he wants to regain her friendship and affection. Well, we find out that Eli and Jane had a strong friendship up until the point where Eli gets caught in a compromising position with Jane’s prettier and more sociable cousin Cecily and then gets engaged to that woman. Stuck doing the honorable thing and staying engaged to a woman he doesn’t like very much, he runs off and joins the Navy. It’s basically a cluster of immaturity for Eli there. Meanwhile Jane is trying to run a discreet gambling club for ladies and gain her own financial independence. Due to the meddling of too many of Jane’s family members, she and Eli end up at the same house party attending the horse races at Ascot and sort of maybe start a physical affair. But both Jane and Eli is dodgy about their feelings, leaving the other person totally unsure and insecure. This is one of those books where I’m just waiting for the characters to just talk to each other already. However, it was fun to read about Jane’s adventures in gambling and Eli’s unwavering support.

Advance ebook provided by Sourcebooks via NetGalley.

Make Mine a Marquess by Tina Gabrielle (2024)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 3 of the Daring Ladies series. The newly returned Marquess of Landon is out for revenge against his cousin, who seems to have orchestrated the shipwreck that left him for dead five years ago. The gross cousin spends money recklessly and is draining the estate’s funds, while also neglecting the tenants and estate repairs. Landon hopes to find evidence of his cousin’s guilt while also seducing the man’s fiancee to add further injury. Phoebe is mostly the innocent victim here, but she was apathetic enough to become engaged to the villain of the story because she wanted to avoid any type of desire or passion. However, all those repressed feelings flare back to life when she meets Landon and is instantly intrigued and attracted to him. She tries and fails to stay away from him and sees that he really is an upstanding guy, for the most part, but she doesn’t yet know that she’s being used for revenge. This was your fairly typical revenge love story and it’ll take a bit of groveling on Landon’s part to get the girl.

Advance ebook provided by Entangled Publishing via NetGalley.

A Lady for a Duke by Alexis Hall (2022)

We have a presumed dead, best friend romance here with a trans woman who left her previous name and title away after being declared dead in the war. She’s now living as a lady’s companion to her sister-in-law and visiting her previous best friend, who has been grief-stricken since he believes his friend died. They reconnect with new understanding of each other and their identities but still have to deal with the societal expectations of him being a duke. This was a very sweet story about finding joy and love with the person you’ve been connected with your entire life. And Viola’s family is the best most supportive family ever.

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The Baron’s Betrayal by Callie Hutton (2015)

Historical romance, Regency England. Book 4 of the Marriage Mart Mayhem series. Marion is the widowed older sister of the family and faints when she sees her husband at a local assembly. Turns out he was lost at sea, severely injured, and now blind. Tristan thinks that his blindness makes him an incapable husband or father so he stayed away from Marion, allowing her to think him dead, and then remarry to have a happy life. He’s insistent on seeking a divorce from her (even though that is completely scandalous and impractical in this time period). Stubborn Marion wants her husband back, so she moves in with him and follows him wherever he goes. This book has both characters being completely stubborn and unwilling to understand the other person’s point of view. There wasn’t much external plot here and I found the back and forth fighting to be a bit tedious. Not my fave of the series.

Ebook accessed from Kindle Unlimited.

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The Runaway Duke by Julie Anne Long (2004)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Standalone novel. Rebecca accidentally gets caught in a compromising situation with an impoverished baron who meant to compromise her sister, but now has to marry this man she doesn’t love. Luckily, her father’s head groom Connor agrees to help Rebecca escape. However, Connor is not actually a groom at all, but the heir to a duke who was presumed dead at Waterloo and is living free of his duties and responsibilities. As if the running away plot wasn’t enough, we get to see a more deeply interconnected plot as we add complications due to blackmail, a former mistress, and an industrious duchess. I really enjoyed reading the multiple points of view in this story, with the interconnections of various characters. It all comes back to the fact that Connor is now the rightful duke, even though he doesn’t know it, and all of the complications of his former life. It was also fun to see Rebecca and Connor go from being trusted friends to more along their journey.

Ebook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

Angel in a Devil’s Arms by Julie Anne Long (2019)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 2 of the Palace of Rogues series. Angelique is the former mistress of an earl and now proprietress of a boarding house on the docks who is content with the stability and security of her current position. When the devilish Lucien comes to claim the room he’d reserved, Angelique is instantly wary of his motives and seeks to protect her own heart. Lucien is the illegitimate son of a duke, but given a title of his own, pushed into the Thames ten years prior and presumed dead. He’s back in London and out for revenge. However, he’s distracted by his attraction to Angelique and her denial of his attentions. Despite all that, they slowly become friends and then lovers while Lucien is also reintegrating himself into society. This one was a really well-written slow-burn romance that I enjoyed.

Ebook and audiobook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

Revealing the Viscount by Lexi Post (2023)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 3 of the Marrying a Mabry series. Mariel is the eldest Mabry sister whose beloved fiancee had died in the war, married a much older man to restore her family’s finances, and is now a widow. She’s just learned that her once-fiancee is not dead after all and is forced out of hiding to become a viscount after his brother’s death. Marcus has indeed been hiding from Mariel, at first because he believed she betrayed him by marrying so soon after his supposed death and then because he believed himself incapable of siring children after witnessing atrocities during the war. When Mariel comes to confront Marcus over his deception, they both observe that the other person is changed from the person they knew all those years ago. They ultimately agree to a fake betrothal to preserve Mariel’s reputation and to keep away all the debutantes vying for Marcus’s hand. As these two spend more time together, it’s clear that they’re both still in love, but very damaged from their separate experiences. They definitely need to talk through their issues and attempt to overcome them before being able to be together.

Advance ebook provided by Dragonblade Publishing via NetGalley.

Taming the Savage Duke by Barbara Russell (2023)

Historical romance. Victorian-era England. Book 1 of the Victorian Outcasts series. Chaos and tragedy for everyone involved in this book. Maddie is on the cusp of receiving entry into a prestigious art academy, but an accident involving an overzealous botanist leaves her painting ruined and her hand injured and unable to paint. Hector is the brother of a duke who wants acceptance into his own scientific academy and accidentally injured Maddie in an attempt to collect a rare plant. He feels horribly guilty for her injury and only accepts his place on a South American expedition after Maddie’s encouragement to leave. Unfortunately, his ship goes down before he even reaches his destination and he’s declared dead. Eight years later, Hector is found alive, having survived alone on an island all this time. In this time, his brother and mother had both passed away and his horrible cousin is now the duke. Maddie gets involved to assist Hector in regaining his manners and civility to gain his title back. The romance is slow and sweet and low-angst, while we work through all of the external struggles that Maddie ad Hector have. This was action-packed and kept me enthralled the whole way through.

Advance ebook provided by Oliver Heber via NetGalley.

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Betting Against the Scoundrel by Mariah Stone (2024)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 4 of the Dukes and Secrets series. Former duke Spencer is back from his involuntary stint in the Navy, now with a limp, nightmares, and lack of direction. His brother and heir Preston is irrevocably the new duke and also married to the woman Spencer had loved and wanted to marry. Although everyone is glad to see Spencer alive, he’s broody and isolated and set on revenge against the corrupt duke who sent him to sea. Meanwhile, the overlooked and ignored Joanna is attempting to rescue her own family from ruin by that same duke (and her uncle) by searching for blackmail material. She and Spencer cross paths with their common enemy, but they have opposing purposes. There’s some bickering between the two, but the attraction between them is undeniable. Although Spencer tries to seduce Joanna, he’s also unwilling to start any sort of proper courtship, even as he starts to realize he cares for her.

Advance ebook provided by Mariah Stone via BookSprout.