Trope Round Up: Historical Romances Books with Women Disguised as Men

A Duke’s Introduction to Courtship by Sophie Barnes (2023)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 2 of the Gentlemen Authors series. Brody is an impoverished duke who has secretly written a romance novel with two of his friends, but is strapped for immediate cash when a debt collector comes calling for his younger brother’s debts. While out for a walk, he happens across a job opening at a print shop and thinks that he’ll be able to collect a small bit of money while also sneaking in his own manuscript for consideration. While there, he runs into a young man who works as a compositor in the print shop and doesn’t know why he’s drawn to the lad. Harry is actually Harriet and dresses up as a young man to gain employment to care for herself and her younger sister. She has successfully maintained the disguise for several years, but her attraction for Brody might give her away. This book had a slow progression of friendship, caretaking, and a relatively low-angst romance. We also get to revisit the couple from Book 1 of the series, as both Brody and Harriet are friends with the duke and duchess, respectively.

Advance ebook provided by Sophie Barnes via NetGalley.

West End Earl by Bethany Bennett (2021)

Book 2 of the Misfits of Mayfair series. Calvin is an all-around nice guy earl who like being a mentor to his young steward, not realizing the boy is actually a lady. Ophelia has been on the run from a cruel uncle and assumes the identity of her dead twin brother to escape.

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The Heiress at Sea by Christi Caldwell (2023)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Standalone, but tied to The Duke Alone, as we are following the older sister of the main character from that book. Cassia, the often invisible eldest daughter of an earl, is setting off an adventure, dressing as a boy and sneaking onto her brother’s best friend’s ship so she can see the world. Turns out she’s on the wrong ship and ends up on Nathaniel’s boat, which is aimed to intercept a French war ship. Nathaniel is the second son of a duke, but recently became the heir after his brother fell off a horse. With his father’s demands in mind, this mission is likely to be his last. With everyone trapped on a ship, there’s plenty of drama to go around: Cassia is still pretending to be a boy, but she’s so terribly naive and sensitive that the other men mock her work; when they discover she’s actually a lady, there’s most definitely potential for scandal; and she cannot stop talking and chattering and also cannot detect sarcasm. It makes for annoying and infuriating conversation every time Nathaniel has to deal with her. But it’s a romance novel after all, and he starts to see her as someone brave (though naive) and also someone he wants to care for a protect. It was definitely a fun read and I enjoyed how all the conflict got resolved.

Advance ebook provided by Montlake Books via NetGalley.

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Odds on the Rake by Sofie Darling (2023)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 1 of the All’s Fair in Love and Racing series. Gemma dresses up as a stable hand to infiltrate the Duke of Rakesley’s racing stable and collect information for a rival horseman. Gemma and her twin brother were the illegitimate children of an earl and are running away from his overbearing care. When Gemma gets to the duke’s stables, she has a way with the wild and untrained horse and quickly moves up to being a jockey. While Rake runs an impressive stable, he’s curious about the new stable hand “Gem”. When he finally realizes that his new employee is a woman (and a very attractive one), they start a steamy affair that keeps her feeling guilty about her initial motives for being there.

Advance ebook provided by Oliver Heber Books via NetGalley.

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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Sins of a Wicked Duke by Sophie Jordan (2009)

Historical romance. Regency or Victorian-era England. Book 1 of the Penwich School for Virtuous Girls series. We start with a tragic prologue of three girls who become friends at a terrible girls’ school where meals are withheld and punishments are severe. Fallon escapes the unwanted advances of her employer’s son, and meets a devilish duke who attempts to both save her and seduce her. She rejects him as well and decides to dress as a boy for her next employment. Unfortunately, the employment agency has sent her to the demon duke himself, where she obtains a position as a footman. Although she hopes to escape Dominic’s notice, she sees firsthand the wicked behavior that he engages in and can’t help expressing signs of disapproval. Dominic has his own troubled backstory with a pious grandfather and physically punishing governess and seeks to live up to his wretchedness. He’s baffled by his unease around the new footman and unsure why he cares so much about the boy’s approval. He doesn’t yet realize that the footman is the very same woman he can’t get out of his mind since that chance meeting long ago. This one was fun to read to see all the chaos and calamity unravel, which is often the case with a servant in disguise.

Ebook borrowed from my local library via Libby. Audiobook borrowed from my local library via Hoopla.

The Duke’s Mysterious Lover by Caroline Lee (2024)

Historical romance. Victorian-era England. Book 6 of the Surprise! Dukes series. This one is the final book of the series where we will finally catch the big bad villain that’s been haunting all the main characters along the way. Thorne is the only unmarried friend left, so obviously this is his book. He’s also taken on much of the burden of catching the treasonous villain because he doesn’t have a wife or children to consider. He does however have a very handsome young footman who has caught his attention and who he has promoted to valet. Kit is not actually a young man but actually the daughter of a famous opera singer and some unknown nobleman, working as a footman so that she can get closer to the society where her father lives. She’s just trying to catch a glimpse of this absent father to make her own judgment about his character. However, being promoted to Thorne’s valet puts her in very close proximity to a very attractive man and she’s sorely tempted to give in. It’s a sweet sort of romance built on their personalities rather than their outward social appearance and Thorne is absolutely thrilled to learn that Kit is a woman (and possibly marriageable). We also get to reconvene with all the other Surprise! Dukes as they plot the final showdown. Super fun conclusion to the series.

Advance ebook provided by Caroline Lee.

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.