Remember When by Mary Balogh (2025)
Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 4 of the Ravenswood series. We have another slow and sweet character-driven romance from Mary Balogh. We start with a not-very-tragic prologue for childhood friends Clarissa and Matthew, who have been friends and neighbors for years, but their lives are about to change because Clarissa is expecting a proposal the next day from a handsome and charming earl. And despite Matthew’s feelings for Clarissa, he knows that he is not a suitable match for her as a second son with no income. And so, they must part ways. Jump forward 33 years and Clarissa is widowed with grown children and re-evaluating her purpose in life. She’s decided to spend the summer alone at the family estate to find some solitude to think and plan. One of those plans involves renewing her friendship with Matthew, who just so happens to be the village carpenter for the past 20 years. They’ve interacted briefly and casually throughout the years, but maintaining their distance since their social stations are so different now. But of course, once they start truly talking again, the friendship sparks back to life, along with something more. Such a lovely comforting story to read. There’s still plenty of drama with Matthew’s backstory and his family, but in true Balogh fashion, everything resolves neatly.
Ebook and audiobook borrowed from my local library via Libby.
Out of the Woods by Hannah Bonam-Young (2025)
Contemporary romance. Standalone novel. Sarah and Caleb were high school sweethearts and have been married since the age of 19. And Sarah is feeling all sorts of aimless as a wealthy housewife, wanting to build some independence and something of herself to be proud of. And as sweet and caring as Caleb is, he’s always swooping in to save the day, making Sarah continue to feel inadequate. Things come to a head at a charity event that does not go well, and it turns into a huge fight with all sorts of resentment and unhappiness bubbling up to the surface. And so, Sarah and Caleb are on a couples retreat in the woods to work out their relationship and communication issues. The humor factor here is that they’re both indoor people with no physical endurance whatsoever. But the emotional angst is ever-present. We get some flashback chapters to the past with how their relationship developed and how it intertwined with Sarah’s mom being ill and her career ambitions. This whole book is a heart punch and I enjoyed the supportive cast of characters present during the retreat. Loved it.
Advance ebook provided by Dell via NetGalley. Advance audiobook provided by Penguin Random House Audio.
My Inconvenient Duke by Loretta Chase (2025)
Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 3 of the Difficult Dukes series. We start with Alice being terrified that her idiot brother will be killed sometime soon, so she sets off to find a husband this season, to make sure she’s never at the mercy of her cruel cousin. Her brother’s best friend, the Duke of Blackwood, is all sorts of distressed at the thought of Alice marrying anyone else, even though he has no claim to her. He clearly is nursing a long time affection for her, despite having chosen a lifetime of debauchery with his friends instead of the upstanding life he could have had with her. And when Blackwood hears that Alice’s terrible cousin is in town, he tries his best to protect her. We end up with a wild goose chase in the middle of the book that have Blackwood and Alice in a compromising circumstance and needing to marry. While this seems like the beginning of a happily ever after for them, they get pulled in different directions due to their competing responsibilities. As a standalone read, this book was fine. As a follow-up after the first two books, it fell a little flat because all the hints from the first two books suggest that these two are officially estranged. We learn more about this so-called estrangement in this book and do eventually end up with a happily ever after, but it was much less dramatic than I expected.
Advance ebook provided by Avon Books via NetGalley.
Unromance by Erin Connor (2025)
Contemporary romance. Standalone novel. We start with a bang here with an elevator meet-cute and a one-night-stand for Sawyer and Mason. And then we find out that Mason is a famous actor who is being maligned in the press for a string of break-ups (none of which were his fault) and Sawyer is a romance novelist who is having major writers’ block. When they run into each other again, they decide to strike a deal where they hang out with each other doing cheesy romantic things so that Mason can desensitize himself from being a total romantic and so that Sawyer can find inspiration for their writing. And of course, they have a list of rules to go with their deal. The rules are clearly going to go out the window as these two people spend time together and get all emotionally entangled (on top of the physical attraction that started this whole thing). This book was both emotional and super funny and steamy all at once. The flirty witty banter was so much fun to read, plus all their meddlesome friends made a great supporting cast.
Advance ebook provided by Forever Books via NetGalley. Audiobook borrowed from my local library via Libby.
The Sapphire Heiress by Ella Leon (2025)
Historical Fantasy Romance. Victorian-era England. Book 1 of the Silver Order series. Mae was the daughter of a wealthy ship merchant, until her family loses all their money, her father and brother pass away, and now she’s the governess to the new occupants who bought her family’s house. And somehow she gets tangled up in a treasure hunt that her neighbor (who mysteriously has not aged in thirty years) and some other villain is undertaking at her home. Ethan was a pirate who sailed with Mae’s father until they became enemies once upon a time and he’s trying to reclaim a sapphire that he believes that her father had hidden in his vaults. Ethan and Mae have an instant attraction for each other, though she is definitely wary of him. I’d say this book is a lot more action-adventure than romance, with the treasure hunt and running from danger taking forefront of the story. Still, really enjoyable read.
Advance ebook provided by Dragonblade Publishing via NetGalley.
Lord Ravenscroft Is Not a Gentleman by Barbara Russell (2025)
Historical romance. Victorian-era England. Book 6 of the Victorian Outcasts series. We get another tragic set-up in this series when Edith and Perry meet at a garden, then their ship crashes into the Thames, they both nearly die, and then grow closer during their recovery. Edith used to be a bookish gal with aims of becoming a doctor, and Perry used to be a fun-loving younger brother of an earl with no ambition whatsoever. We catch up to them five years later when Perry returns to London after an extended recovery period at fancy hospitals and doctors in Switzerland and find out that Edith has lied to Perry all these years in her letters and making him believe she went to medical school and is now a doctor. But she is now totally aimless and getting into all sorts of scandals, much to the dismay of her family. Perry is somehow now the earl because his older brother gave up the title and married an actress. And so he’s the noble one trying to save her from her latest scrape of posing nearly nude for a painting. I enjoyed reading all the drama and twists and how these two people are so connected to each other, despite their new circumstances.
Advance ebook provided by Oliver Heber Books via BookSprout.
Duke of Luhst by Mariah Stone (2025)
Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 2 of the Seven Dukes of Sin series. Fairly typical brother’s best friend romance here between Lucien and Chastity. Lucien is a terrible rake who seeks to comfort his own loneliness with willing bed partners. He’s always had a soft spot for his best friend’s sister Chastity, but has been adamantly warned away by her brother. Chastity seeks to stay a plain and unremarkable spinster scientist, but she’s trying to get her research acknowledged by the local hospital. Somehow Lucien and Chastity end up in a wager with each other during a house party, where he has to maintain celibacy and she needs to be more sociable. Clearly, these two are headed for a romance of their own, but their very different goals and personalities may become a hindrance. This was a quick read for me, with the house party moving swiftly, and lots of drama from external players.
Advance ebook provided by Mariah Stone. Audiobook borrowed from my local library via Hoopla.
A Lady Would Know Better by Emma Theriault (2025)
Historical romance. Victorian-era England. Standalone novel. For having a brightly colored illustrated cover, we sure do start the story in lots of tragedy. Jasper is an earl who has been in mourning for over a year because his village was ravaged by scarlet fever and he lost his fiancee, parents, and older brother to the illness. He’s doing his best to keep it all together, even if that means he’s a stern and grumpy bastard to his remaining family. And then they find an injured and unconscious woman down the lane and bring her to the safety of their manor house. Waking up with no memory of herself or how she was injured, the family have named the woman Jane. And Jasper and Jane have almost instant chemistry with some flirty bickering. It’s a bit of a mystery to figure out her identity, and we mostly spend the book with a push-and-pull of Jasper’s emotions. See, he’s trying his best to stay away from Jane, but it’s not working, so then he feels conflicted and guilty. I did enjoy his slew of meddling sisters and how they instantly become attached to Jane during her stay. A nice mix of angst and drama here.
Advance ebook provided by Entangled Publishing via NetGalley.
Earl Crush by Alexandra Vasti (2025)
Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 2 of the Belvoir’s Library series. We get to mix a little bit of road trip with a little bit of fake identity and throw in a bit of fake marriage in this romp! The social awkward and painfully shy Lydia has shown up at an earl’s castle in Scotland to propose a marriage of convenience after three years of secret correspondence with the man. Except Arthur the earl is not who she had been writing to, it was his younger brother pretending to be the earl. And then the brother might be in some sort of scheme with a rifle part and Arthur needs Lydia’s help to track him down. It was so fun reading these two work together to solve the case and Arthur was just so impressed by Lydia’s cleverness. All the best kind of chaos, yearning, and steam.
Advance ebook provided by St. Martin’s Press via NetGalley. Advance audiobook provided by Dreamscape Media via NetGalley and Libro.fm.
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