Book Reviews | Random Olive

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Bookish Merch Making: Design, Print, Profit

Nov 23, 2022

Ready to make and sell some merch with your bookish art and designs? If you’ve got design ideas that you want to put onto physical products (for yourself, for friends, or even to make some extra cash), here are ways to put those together.

Design

With designing an image you can use on various products, you have a bunch of different choices for things you can do. If you’re adept at drawing, I highly recommend using a digital drawing device like an iPad Pro with the app Procreate. This will create a digital art file that you can upload to any service to get it printed onto actual products. If you’re new to digital drawing or you want to improve your skills, I recommend a bunch of classes from my friend Lisa Bardot over at Bardot Brush. She has a YouTube channel with tons of free tutorials in addition to her paid courses.

Another place to design some artwork, even without any drawing or lettering skill is on Canva. There are tons of fonts and elements you can use to create a design. With Canva Pro, you have the ability to sell products with the designs you make, and there’s even a function to get them printed directly onto stickers, shirts, and more. (I’ve got a link here for a free 30 day trial of Canva Pro)

Print on Demand Websites

So what kind of merch can you make? Pretty much any object that can be digitally printed on can be made into merch. Shirts and tote bags are probably the most common, but you can make cell phone cases, stickers, wall art, and more. If you want a place to very simply upload your designs and create a product, print on demand websites will handle the manufacturing and shipping. If you’re looking to sell these products to your audience, the profit margin is pretty low here, but all you need to do is create the design, promote the link, and then the company takes care of the rest.

Here are links to some common platforms for doing this sort of thing and I’ve linked an example of an item that either I’m selling or seeing other bookish content creators selling.

Etsy Shop

Another option for selling merch is to open an Etsy shop. Etsy does charge you a listing fee in addition to a whole bunch of other fees for the ability to use their platform. (If you’re a new Etsy shop, you can get 40 free listings with this link) You can integrate with a print-on-demand service to be able to automate the process of manufacturing and shipping. My Etsy shop integrates with Printful for a few items that I was testing out to see if they would sell. (Here’s a tote bag that I designed) Etsy can also be used to sell digital products you’ve made, like reading logs or checklists (See my reading list as an example) or any of your physical handmade products (like my corner bookmarks).

Self-Hosted Shop

If you’re ready to drive traffic to your own self-hosted shop, there are generally less fees and more profits involved. You can choose to integrate with a print-on-demand company to decrease the upfront costs of buying inventory (but you make less profit here), or you can choose to print a larger quantity all at once (saving money) and then carry inventory and sell/ship it on your own. One example of a self-hosted shop that carries inventory is BookshelfTees.

Overall, there are a lot of options if you want to start making bookish merch and hopefully you found this post helpful! Let me know if you are a merch maker and seller and leave a link in the comments to your products so I can check them out!

Thanks so much for reading this post! Looking for more bookish resources and romance book reviews? Read the archives!

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Weekly Reads: November 14 to 20, 2022

Nov 22, 2022

Lots of books this week as I finished out the last three books in Mary Balogh’s Survivors’ Club series. Remember to subscribe to get the latest reviews of everything I’ve read (even the smutty Kindle Unlimited books I don’t talk about anywhere else).

Villain I’d Like to F Anthology by Eva Leigh, Nicola Davidson, Joanna Shupe, Adriana Herrera, and Sierra Simone (2022)

Historical romance anthology. I have mixed feelings about anthologies in general. They’re both delightful and overwhelming all at once. The overwhelm is knowing that I have a huge book with multiple stories to read and it feels impossible to finish. The delight is where my favorite authors have written a quick novella that I can finish in a day. So I started to realize that I should just treat an anthology book as five distinct novellas that I should pace myself to read. And that’s what I did with this one. At this time, I’ve only read three of the five novellas in the anthology and found them all such fun to read. I enjoyed how the villain characters were completely unapologetic about their desires and that their love interests have come to appreciate them exactly as they are, without wanting to change them for the better. And as expected, the novellas I’ve read here deliver on all the spicy escapades I’ve come to expect from this group of authors.

Advance ebook provided by Nicola Davidson.

Shop this book via Amazon // Bookshop.org

Merry Miss by Annabelle Anders (2022)

Historical romance set in Regency-era England. Book 9 of the Regency Cocky Gents series. Novella. Delia is on the way to become an elderly lady’s companion and finds some travel difficulty, nearly becoming lost in the snow on the side of the road. While on his way to visit his family, Jack rescues a cold and shivering Delia and brings her to his room in an inn. Quick read and fun to see this rake show care and tenderness to Delia.

Ebook purchased via Amazon.

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Only a Promise by Mary Balogh (2015)

Historical romance, Regency-era England. Book 5 of the Survivors’ Club series. Ralph feels terribly guilty that his three friends followed him to war and did not survive. He’s cold and emotionless and empty. As heir to a dukedom from an elderly and ailing grandfather, he knows his immediate duty is to marry. Chloe is visiting the duke and duchess as she is the daughter of the duchess’ god daughter and attempting to serve as a companion. She hears of Ralph’s plight and proposes a marriage of convenience to him, no emotional ties, and no disappointment. Chloe’s reputation is mired in scandal, with her younger sister running off with a married man years ago, and recent speculation that her acknowledged father is not her natural father. She’s looking forward to the comforts of the countryside. However, tragedy strikes soon after the wedding and they’re bound for the London Season after all. Definitely a slow burn angsty romance with all the drama you’d expect from Balogh. And you come to adore Ralph’s grandparents through the story.

Ebook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

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Bridgerton Fanfic: The Duke & The Redhead by rayna_ray

Simon/Penelope one-shot. At Lady Danbury’s ball, Simon is bombarded with the ambitious mamas and their daughters. He singles out Penelope for a dance. Cute, short, sweet.

Bridgerton Fanfic: I’ll Keep Climbing by LightLeadingMe

Colon/Penelope smutty one-shot. After the events of Season 2 of the show, Colin is frustrated that Penelope is avoiding him. He drunkenly climbs into her bedroom through her window.

Only a Kiss by Mary Balogh (2015)

Historical romance, Regency-era England. Book 6 of the Survivors’ Club series. The only woman of the club, Imogen, witnessed her husband’s torture and death while at war. She now lives in the dower house of her late husband’s family estate, while her aunt-in-law lives in the main house with her cousin companion. The new earl, Percy, having gained the title two years prior, is visiting the estate for the first time. He has come mainly to see if anything needs to be addressed on the estate, establish a trustworthy steward, and return to his indolent and frivolous lifestyle in the city. Imogen and Percy start with a somewhat antagonistic relationship, with neither of them communicating clearly. However, they soon start a friendship and then an affair. Meanwhile, there’s an underlying plot in town related to the issue of smuggling and the backstory of how an earl’s heir somehow found himself going to war, with his wife in tow.

Ebook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

Have I Told You This Already? by Lauren Graham (2022)

Nonfiction/Memoir. I have been a fan of the show Gilmore Girls since it originally aired in the early 2000s back on the now-defunct WB network. While I was practically the same age as Rory Gilmore (I’m a mere year older than the character was during the original airing), I was equally invested in the story and plot of Lorelai Gilmore, portrayed by actress Lauren Graham. After the series ended, I didn’t keep up with the actors from the show and moved along to other entertainment pursuits. When the Gilmore Girls revival, A Year in the Life, premiered on Netflix, I binge-watched it in a weekend. After that, the very smart Netflix algorithm suggested that I watch Parenthood (another show that starred Lauren Graham), so I watched that too. Shortly after that, I read and enjoyed Graham’s first memoir, Talking as Fast as I Can (2016). Knowing that I’d been a fan of Graham’s acting and writing, I picked up the current book when I saw it was available as an influencer audiobook listening copy from Libro.fm. This year’s offering is self-narrated in audiobook format and shares even more essays and insights into Graham’s life as an early actress, adjusting to the body image and health fads in Hollywood, and aging as a female person in the industry. I appreciated her witty humor and ability for storytelling in this book. In audiobook format, it’s like having a conversation with a friend.

Audiobook provided by Libro.fm.

Only Beloved by Mary Balogh (2016)

Historical romance, Regency-era England. Book 7 of the Survivors’ Club series. Last and final book of the series. As the Duke of Stanbrook, George had opened his home to wounded soldiers of war after the death of his son and the suicide of his distraught wife. After all six weddings in the past two years of all his fellow Survivors, George realizes he is lonely and in want of companionship. He thinks back to a woman he met over a year ago, a music teacher to one of his fellow Survivors (he met the lady in Book 4) and returns to her town to propose marriage. Dora is a 39-year old spinster, having given up her debut after her mother ran off with another man to care for her young sister Agnes (the heroine of Book 4). George and Dora agree on a marriage of companionship, friendship, and comfort. All of this is settled probably within the first quarter of the book, and then we move onto a quick engagement period, then a wedding, and then the journey to George’s estate in Cornwall. While these two are contented with each other, there’s still a lingering issue of George’s unwillingness to speak of the past and an ugly incident during their wedding with his late wife’s half-brother. We start to see hints of the reality (and misery) of George’s first marriage, but we have a long wait until he finally reveals himself to Dora. Meanwhile, Dora is wrestling with her own hurts related to her mother’s abandonment and it was sweet to see them make strides toward reconciliation. Overall, this was a great cap to this emotionally wrought series and a good reminder of why I love Mary Balogh’s books so much.

Ebook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

Daring Done Right by Charlie Lane (2022)

Historical romance, Regency-ish era England. Book 6 of the Debutante Dares series. The younger sister of the lady from Book 1 of the series has been risking her reputation for a series of bets and dares among the gentleman of the ton. She’s seeking out funds to secretly support a financially unstable medical clinic. Her best friend’s older brother had a previous reputation for being daring, but has turned into a serious and overbearing sort of fellow after the death of his mother. He seeks to discourage the lady’s brash behavior, but she brings out the daring and fiery side to himself. Loved reading the banter between these two!

Advance ebook provided by Wolf Publishing via NetGalley.

Shop this book via Amazon // Available on Kindle Unlimited // Get a free trial to Kindle Unlimited

Lonely Beard by Cassie Mint (2022)

Contemporary romance, novella. Book 2 of the Mail Order Mountain series. Our guy has struck out three times with the mail order soulmate service, so he’s finally quitting the matchmaking program. A lady from the company has flown out to meet him in-person to find out more about him to improve her matchmaking skills. She gets stuck outside his cabin when her car won’t start in a storm and she needs to spend the night. Super quick insta-love novella to read.

Ebook accessed from Kindle Unlimited.

Shop this book via Amazon // Available on Kindle Unlimited // Get a free trial to Kindle Unlimited

How to Be a Wallflower by Eloisa James (2022)

Historical romance, Regency-era England. Book 1 of the Would-Be Wallflowers series. Cleo is interested in being a wallflower and plans to order a drab wardrobe. When she visits a costumer, the company has been purchased by an American businessman who wants to move the company out of England. She gets into a confrontation with Jake, the businessman, and declares that she’s purchased the company instead. These two start a competition, and then strike a bargain, and then he starts to court her in earnest. It’s definitely a case of him falling first and changing all his plans, while trying to break down her defenses with her late mother’s fickle behavior and her previous fortune-hunting fiancee. Fun to read and pretty light on the drama and angst.

Ebook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

Harry Potter Fanfic: A Peculiar Fondness by Fluffy_Monk

Snape/Hermione smutty one-shot. Hermione and Ron break up, Molly sends a Howler to Hermione at Hogwarts and her crush on Severus is outed.

Want an intro to historical romance series? This post will help!

Want more Harry Potter fanfic? Here’s a spreadsheet of my all-time favorites.

Thanks so much for reading this post! Looking for more bookish resources and romance book reviews? Read the archives!

Useful Resources:

Get my massive guide of all the romances I’ve read on Kindle Unlimited

Read an introduction to fanfiction

Learn more about sources for reading fanfiction

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Top 5 Favorite Snape/Hermione Fanfics: And none of them are teacher-student relationships

Nov 18, 2022

Within the Harry Potter fandom, sometimes Snape/Hermione romance fanfic gets a lot of criticism. Either people just dislike Severus Snape in general or they disagree with the power dynamics of a teacher-student relationship or they dislike the age gap. But in the romance reading world, all of those things are fair game and sometimes even purposely sought out.

For the folks where a teacher-student power dynamic makes things squicky for you, I’ve put together a list of my top five favorite fics that happen to exclude this set up.

Fate Set Right by mltrefry

Time-Travel AU. At the end of Hermione’s third year, she has an accident with her time-turner and lands in July 1974. She is taken in by McGonagall’s brother and sister-in-law for the summer. She meets Lily and Severus on the train to Hogwarts for her everyone’s fourth year and befriends them. Story jumps between the 1970s and 1990s. Told from the perspectives of Hermione, Severus, and their daughter Aurora. One of the most solid relationships I’ve seen between Hermione and Severus, and a lot of the squick-factor people have around this ship is mitigated by them being the same age. Of the time-travel/Sevmione category, this one is my favorite. I’m usually not interested or invested in original characters, but I found myself rooting for Aurora as she interacts with Harry&Co in the 1990s.

Read this fic on FanFiction.net

Post Tenebras Lux by Loten

Ten years Post-Deathly Hallows. Severus has been dead since the end of the Battle of Hogwarts. So why does Hermione think she sees him at a train station in Muggle London? Hermione tracks him down, finds him in a Muggle trailer park, helps him re-integrate into the wizarding world, and gets him his job back at Hogwarts. Severus is back to being the Potions professor and Hermione teaches Muggle Studies. She’s single and lonely and wants to be his friend. He’s looking to cure himself of nerve damage from too many hits of the Cruciatus curse. They work together and Hermione slowly breaks down Severus’ emotional defenses. There’s no villain or dastardly plot in this story; just two people growing and getting to know each other, and dealing with the reaction of the people around them. One of my favorites in the long beyond Deathly Hallows era category of fics.

Sin & Vice by mak5258

Time-Travel AU. Hermione is given a special time-turner to train and become a fighter for the war; after so many turns of time, she’s older and tougher and fiercer when she meets Snape as her peer. This one takes place around the same timeframe as Books 5 through 7 of the series, but focuses on Hermione’s role in the war against Voldemort. The special time-turner comes into play quite frequently and I loved seeing Hermione and Snape come together in this one. Epic adventures involved.

The Poison Garden by turtle_wexler

Time-Travel AU. We start after the war when Hermione is a teacher at Hogwarts. She’s accidentally transported back in time to 1987 (when Voldemort has already been defeated). She lands in Snape’s rooms at Hogwarts and has to be hidden and protected. For the duration of the summer, she stays at Snape’s house at Spinner’s End and befriends his friend and neighbor, Charity Burbage (who is the Muggle Studies teacher at Hogwarts). When it’s time for the school year to start, Hermione wears a glamour charm, assumes a fake name and becomes the Hogwarts defense teacher.

In the World Where Things Went Right by TheTitaniumSerpent

What if Hermione was the same age as Severus? If Hermione met Severus before they started Hogwarts and remained friends throughout their school years. This one is pure fluff and super enjoyable when you need a low-drama story to read.

Bonus: Darling Death Eater by Recreational_Potions

Harry’s POV. Harry and Ron visit Hermione in America and find out who she has been dating. Hilarious one-shot.

Read an introduction to fanfiction

Want more Harry Potter fanfic? Here’s a spreadsheet of my all-time favorites.

Thanks so much for reading this post! Looking for more bookish resources and romance book reviews? Read the archives!

Useful Resources:

Learn more about sources for reading fanfiction

Want an intro to historical romance series? This post will help!

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Texas Trilogy Series by Lorraine Heath: Historical Romance in the Old West / Historical Romance Book Series

Nov 17, 2022

Lorraine Heath is considered a historical romance must-read for a reason. The Texas Trilogy brings all the emotions to the surface here with our sad puppy-dog wounded heroes and misunderstood heroines. Definitely read this series in order as all the stories build directly off of each other.

1. Texas Destiny (1997)

Don’t know where to start with Lorraine Heath’s massive backlist? Here. Start here. Texas Destiny in Book 1 of the Texas Trilogy and will bring you all the feels. Our guy Houston is all sorts of wounded and is sent to pick up his big brother’s mail order bride from the train station. They’ve got a two week journey back to the farm and everything that can go wrong does go wrong, including falling in love with each other. When they get to their destination, the story doesn’t stop there. We have the brother to deal with, poachers, violence, and more.

Ebook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

2. Texas Glory (1998)

Texas Glory is the second book of the Texas Trilogy and we have a marriage of convenience here between rival families. It’s a few years after the events of the previous book and we have our man Dallas itching for an heir. It’s definitely a slow burn on this one, and the back half of the book is full of drama that will ultimately lead to the third book.

Ebook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

3. Texas Splendor (1998)

Takes place five years after the events of the previous book. Um, don’t read the summary on this one if you don’t want plot spoilers for the previous book. However, it’s safe to say that this is little brother Austin’s book and he meets a lonely young woman living by herself and her dog. I started reading this book and smelled something shady going on… and was both delighted and saddened I was right. Another emotional rollercoaster from Lorraine Heath!

Ebook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

3.5. Texas Legacy (2019)

Book 4 of the Texas Trilogy revisits our beloved Leigh family many years down the line, when our baby Faith is now fully grown. Also, my favorite wingwoman here is cousin Maggie.

Ebook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

Thanks so much for reading this post! Looking for more bookish resources and romance book reviews? Read the archives!

Useful Resources:

Want an intro to historical romance series? This post will help!

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My Favorite Book Recommendation Resources: Ready to explode your TBR?

Nov 16, 2022

If you’re a bookish internet-addict like I am, you will probably constantly be bombarded with people telling you about books they’re reading, books they’ve read, and even more book they recommend. I’m an avid consumer of all of these recommendations and am constantly adding authors and books to my list of books to read. Obviously, I’m also contributing to the problem by giving you book recommendations as well. But where did I get exposed to those books to start with? Here are all the major places on the internet where I consume media related to books. I’ve just made a simple clickable list below and made a note of my absolute faves.

RomanceBooks – Super inclusive and friendly place for book recs!
HistoricalRomance
romancelandia

Facebook

The Ton & The Tartans: The Historical Romance Book Club
Upturned Petticoats & Undone Cravats: A Group for Steamy Historical Romance – Love this group for more explicit romance book recs
OSRBC (Old School Romance Book Club)

Podcasts

Fated Mates – Absolute fave. Co-hosted by romance author Sarah MacLean.
Romance Your TBR
Plot Trysts
Tea & Strumpets
Lace & Debauchery
Get Lit with Lianna
Learning the Tropes
What to Read Next
Smart Podcast Trashy Books

Instagram

There are way too many users on Instagram to list, so I’ll give you a few hashtags to follow for more ideas: #tropetuesday, #coverlustfriday, #stepbacksaturday

YouTube

The Book Refuge
PeaceLoveBooks
Lacey Book Lovers
Remarkably Lisa
Crystal’s Bookish Life
Christi Reads a Lot – A newer channel, but she and I have similar tastes in books
Novel Life
Rachel Reads and Sings
And me! Random Olive Reads – I give you slide presentation style videos that you can easily screenshot

TikTok

Tends to be the least reliable for me because people will just give a quick quote or roundup and it moves too fast for me to capture the book they’re talking about.

Amazon, Goodreads, Fantastic Fiction

Usually, when you’ve read or selected a single book from any of these places, there will be a handful of suggestions for similar books. Or books that others have also liked. These can be useful sources, but you’ve got to have a starting point. I’ve definitely casually browsed the book recommendations within my Kindle app and was lucky to find a few books I didn’t know about from authors that I loved.

Thanks so much for reading this post! Looking for more bookish resources and romance book reviews? Read the archives!

Useful Resources:

Get my massive guide of all the romances I’ve read on Kindle Unlimited

Affiliate links may be used within this post. If you make a purchase, I receive a small commission at no extra charge to you.

Weekly Reads: November 8 to 13, 2022

Nov 15, 2022

Mix of fics and books this week, including one audiobook memoir. Remember that I’ll talk about things I’ve read here that I might not post about anywhere else, so I recommend subscribing to not miss out!

Lady Meets Earl by Christy Carlyle (2022)

Historical romance set in Victorian England. Book 2 of the Love on Holiday series, but it doesn’t seem connect to the first book from what I can tell. Our poor guy James is being threatened by a loan shark after losing all his money from his shipping business; he’s inherited and earldom from his estranged uncle but finds that estate in debt with only one property potentially worth selling. In another part of town, Lady Lucy is living her ever-helpful nearly-spinster life and gets invited to visit her feisty aunt for awhile. While traveling to the estate via train, she bumps into James and they make friendly acquaintance with each other. Unfortunately, they soon find out that they’ve ended up in the same destination: Lucy’s aunt is occupying the house that James needs to sell. While it seems like this could be a major conflict, Lucy is mature about the situation and strives for transparency in communication. It’s delightful reading these two open up to each other and communicate.

Advance ebook provided by Avon Books via NetGalley.

Grizzly Beard by Cassie Mint (2022)

Contemporary romance novella. Book 1 of the Mail Order Mountain series. Super quick little read. Mail order bride shows up at a mountain cabin that she thinks belongs to her fiance, but finds another gruff and burly man instead. He offers to drive her to the right place, but a downed tree in the road stops them for the night and they have to cuddle for warmth.

Ebook accessed from Kindle Unlimited.

Shop this book via Amazon // Get a free trial to Kindle Unlimited

Beyond the Wand: The Magic and Mayhem of Growing Up a Wizard by Tom Felton (2022)

Nonfiction memoir. It should be no surprise here that I was a fan of the Harry Potter novels and movies. And as my fanfiction reading habits would suggest, I even sympathize with Draco Malfoy at times. Recently, actor Tom Felton, who portrayed Draco in the Harry Potter films published a memoir documenting his childhood, acting jobs, mentors, and life after Potter. I borrowed the audiobook from my library specifically because the book was narrated by Felton himself and it added a lot of emotion to the bits of his life he was sharing. The book ranged from his early childhood all the way up to a fairly recent struggle with alcoholism and rehab. I enjoyed listening to this book and you can hear the deep gratitude and appreciation Felton had for all the people in his life that helped shape who he is today.

Audiobook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

Shop this book via Amazon // Bookshop.org // Libro.fm

Only Enchanting by Mary Balogh (2014)

Historical romance, Regency era England. Book 4 of the Survivors’ Club series. Flavian is a viscount who suffered from a traumatic brain injury with a poor prognosis, and was betrayed by his fiancee and best friend who married each other while he was recovering. Many years later, his ex-fiancee is now a widow and his meddling mother and sister are trying to matchmake. Meanwhile, Flavian has met and danced with Agnes, a neighbor at his friend’s estate. He feels calm and at peace when with her and ultimately offers her marriage. She believes Flavian is a rake and a flirt and tries to avoid his advances, but eventually gives in. The most interesting part of this book is the strange history Flavian has with his ex-fiancee and the gaps in his memory that are slowly uncovered.

Ebook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

Harry Potter Fanfic: When I Kissed the Teacher by SlytherinLovesAGryffindor

Hermione/Severus one-shot, Part 1 of series. Hermione is under the influence of Amortentia fumes and is daydreaming in class. When Snape goes to admonish her, she kisses him.

Harry Potter Fanfic: The Name of the Game by SlytherinLovesAGryffindor

Hermione/Severus one-shot, Part 2 of series. Snape’s point of view from the kiss incident and the resulting detention.

Harry Potter Fanfic: Andante, Andante by SlytherinLovesAGryffindor

Hermione/Severus one-shot, Part 3 of series. After several weeks of detentions, Hermione and Severus plan to consummate their relationship.

Bridgerton Fanfic: I Think I Might Love You by IrishRose30

Anthony/Penelope romance. Follows the events of Season 2 of the series. Kate rejects Anthony at the Featherington Ball at the end of Episode 8. The Bridgertons and Featheringtons see each other at the park during a promenade and Penelope attempts to make Anthony smile. They begin a friendship, flirtation, and eventual courtship. The fic was a little shaky on the rules of Regency-era propriety, but it was still a fun and endearing read.

A Holiday by Gaslight by Mimi Matthews (2018)

Historical romance set in Victorian England. Novella-length. Quick read. Sophie is the eldest daughter of a baronet and has been courting Mr. Edward Sharpe for two months and breaks it off because they seemingly don’t suit. It’s mostly because the courtship was awkward and stilted because he was trying too hard to be a gentleman. She decides to give him another chance with his holiday visit to her family’s house, and this time, he knows he needs to win her over. Super sweet read for the holidays.

Ebook purchased as an ebook deal via Amazon.

Harry Potter Fanfic: Paradox by olivieblake

Draco/Hermione action-adventure romance. This one was a re-read for me. I had probably initially read this sometime in early 2020 and am in the process of putting together a post with a bunch of olivieblake’s fics. I had forgotten a lot of the details of this story, so I figured it was good to re-read it. In this one, we find Draco and Hermione thrown into a parallel universe and having to team up with their alternate selves. We spend time in both the Potterverse (canon, as we’ve known it) and the Grindelverse (a world where Grindelwald defeats Dumbledore and sets up his militaristic regime) and follow the adventures there separately. This fic is heavy on the plot and light on the smut, but you can tell how witty and clever the writing is. It’s a fun one, but will make your brain spin.

Want an intro to historical romance series? This post will help!

Want more Harry Potter fanfic? Here’s a spreadsheet of my all-time favorites.

Thanks so much for reading this post! Looking for more bookish resources and romance book reviews? Read the archives!

Useful Resources:

Get my massive guide of all the romances I’ve read on Kindle Unlimited

Read an introduction to fanfiction

Learn more about sources for reading fanfiction

Want an intro to historical romance series? This post will help!

Affiliate links may be used within this post. If you make a purchase, I receive a small commission at no extra charge to you.

Top 12 Picks for Historical Romance Beginners: A little of every trope here

Nov 11, 2022

If you’re just getting started with reading historical romance, the options can be overwhelming! You could start with Bridgerton if you’ve been a fan of the series, but I have to tell you that those aren’t my faves. To get a great mix of a variety of writing styles and tropes, I recommend the twelve picks here. I’ve listed them in alphabetical order by author last name, so you can pick and choose which you want to read first!

What a Difference a Duke Makes by Lenora Bell (2018)

Book 1 in the School for Dukes Series This one is a bit of a Mary Poppins retelling, with our serious duke with rebellious twins needing to hire a new governess. Because his kids keep running off the other ones. Of course our duke underestimates her at first, but then is impressed by her ability to connect with his children. It’s pretty much your classic governess-widower story.

Ebook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

Shop this book via Amazon // Bookshop.org

The Highwayman by Kerrigan Byrne (2015)

Book 1 of the Victorian Rebels series. You can just imagine that a prologue that starts with two kids in an orphanage becoming friends, teaching each other to read, protecting each other, and getting pseudo-married in the chapel with the guy’s clan tartan is going to lead to heartbreak. And that’s exactly what happens. Our girl-child gets assaulted by a priest, her child-husband stabs him to death, he gets sent to prison, and she runs away. Flash forward to adulthood, she’s a respectable “widow” working for the police station, almost courting the chief inspector, and gets kidnapped by the most notorious criminal in London. High drama indeed.

Ebook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

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The Duchess Deal by Tessa Dare (2017)

Book 1 of the Girl Meets Duke series. If you’re looking for an easy-to-read, super funny, historical romance, this is the one for you. We start with a seamstress barging into a duke’s home wearing his ex-fiancee’s ugly ass wedding dress and demanding payment for it because his ex-fiancee didn’t. And then this duke decides to propose to the woman! He needs a wife and heir, and since his last fiancee left him after he was all scarred from the war, and this new girl seems to need the money, it’s win-win. She accepts with several conditions, including saying she’ll bring her cat. (She doesn’t actually have a cat and just finds one on the street that day) Of course they’ll need to stay together in London til she gets pregnant, and then she’s going to be shipped off to his country estate to raise the kiddo. Both our main characters have past hurts in their lives, but they work through them and open up to each other. And there’s just so much humor in this story. Tessa Dare is just so great at bringing levity into her stories.

Ebook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

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When a Scot Ties the Knot by Tessa Dare (2015)

So I have yet another Tessa Dare book to recommend. When a Scot Ties the Knot is Book 3 of the Castles Ever After series (though it’s not connected to the other books in the series). Madeline knew her London season would be a total bust so to keep everyone off her back, she invented a fiancee who was in the army. And she would write letters to him. And send them. Years later, when she’s in Scotland and doing research on lobsters, her army captain has come to claim and marry her. Turns out her letters were actually delivered to a man with the same name. He needs to find a reason for his men to work and keep going, so he’s come to marry and take care of the land. If that isn’t a great set-up, I don’t know what is.

Ebook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

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Bringing Down the Duke by Evie Dunmore (2019)

Book 1 of the League of Extraordinary Women So this one is your classic social class difference type of romance, with a woman who is unequal in station to a duke. Even worse, she’s a university student campaigning for women’s rights. And our duke is a staunch defender of the stuffy old laws. While she’s trying to sway his politics, he’s trying to both resist her and make her his mistress. And she’s not interested in a mistress-like arrangement at all. This book is probably a great example of how a cartoonish cover on a book can be misleading. There is plenty of on-page sex in this book, despite its cutesy cover.

Ebook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

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Texas Destiny by Lorraine Heath (1997)

Ebook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

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Never Fall for Your Fiancee by Virginia Heath (2021)

Historical romance in Regency-ish era England, Book 1 of the Merriwell Sisters series. A carefree and jovial earl prevents his mother’s matchmaking from America by writing to her about a fictional fiancee and her tragic tales that have prevented them from marrying. When his mother comes to visit, he hires a woman to pretend to be his fiancee. This book is full of far-fetched tales and silliness and it totally works. Expect a light-hearted and humorous story here. Though there is actually heartbreak in both characters’ pasts, those experiences have made them stronger and most of the book contains witty banter and calamity.

Ebook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

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Nine Rules to Break When Romancing a Rake by Sarah MacLean (2010)

Book 1 of the Love by Numbers series, and the first historical romance published by Sarah MacLean. This one finds spinster Callie facing a life in the country after her younger sister marries, so she makes a bucket list of London adventures to complete before she goes. One of the items is to kiss a gentleman passionately, so she sneaks into her long-time crush’s house and kisses him. He offers to assist her in the items on her list. So of course they spend lots of time together doing things that proper ladies shouldn’t, like fencing, smoking, and sneaking into clubs to gamble. Such a fun book and covers a lot of the usual locations in a typical regency romance.

Ebook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

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Ten Rules for Marrying a Duke by Michelle McLean (2022)

I love when a woman does the proposing in this era because it’s so unexpected. Arabella goes straight to a rakish duke’s house and proposes to him. She’ll give him an heir if he marries her. She’s out to save her family’s reputation after her older sister eloped and wants to protect her younger sister’s prospects. They arrange ten rules for the marriage. I love this clear and open communication between the two. Well, until they start to have feelings… This one is another lovely low-angst humorous book.

Advance ebook provided by Entangled Publishing via NetGalley.

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Ravished by Amanda Quick (1992)

Ravished by Amanda Quick is one of the older historical romance that I’ve read, but it is a really great one. Surprisingly, it’s a standalone novel that is not part of a series. We have our original bluestocking lady Harriet who is more concerned with discovering new fossils in her caves than anything else. When she finds that smugglers are storing stolen goods in her caves, she writes a letter to the viscount of the region to come take care of it. So Gideon comes back to town and he’s got a terrible reputation there because his past fiancee died and he’s rumored to have killed her. But he’s just ignoring it all and off to take care of the smugglers. Harriet was told to stay behind and out of trouble, but she doesn’t. And so these two end up getting stuck in a cave with the tides overnight. And when they come out, her reputation is compromised and they have to marry. At first, she’s not having it since she doesn’t care about her own reputation, but then realizes that if she refuses, then Gideon’s honor and reputation is at risk. What I love most about this book is that there is absolutely no miscommunication between Harriet and Gideon. They are on board with each other and supporting each other a hundred percent. Even when Gideon is being accused of any wrongdoing, Harriet is defending him and so sure of his honor. It’s really kind of rare to read in a romance. There’s no underlying insecurity between these two, just teaming up, working on their fossil project, and integrating into society.

Ebook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

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Her Night with the Duke by Diana Quincy (2021)

Book 1 of the Clandestine Affairs series. Two strangers meet at an inn and hook up and go about their merry way. He’s a duke who is going to meet his soon-to-be fiancee, so he gets there and meets with the girl’s family. And her stepmother is the woman he met at the inn! Talk about awkward. They eventually agree never to bring it up again. Everyone tries to do the honorable thing, etc. But the attraction is obviously still there and we’re just waiting to see how it breaks through. And also wondering how the issue with the impending engagement is going to be resolved. Such a sticky situation and satisfying to read.

Ebook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

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Angelika Frankenstein Makes Her Match by Sally Thorne (2022)

This book gets bonus points for just being really weird. We have poor sweet, kind of spoiled, Angelika who is the sister of Victor Frankenstein (the mad scientist). While she’s assisting him with his science project, she makes a creation of her own to be her suitor. The guy she creates though has a very strong moral fiber, and even though he’s attracted to her, he doesn’t act on it because he has no memory of who he is and he might be tied to someone else. So then we start the mystery part of the story where they team up to try to find this guy’s identity. In the meantime, Angelika does catch the attention of another man and there’s a bit of a love triangle thing happening. It’s just kinda crazy how we’re rooting for Angelika to get together with this monster man. And it’s really humorous. Definitely recommend this book.

Advance ebook provided by Avon Books via NetGalley. Print book provided by Avon Books.

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Thanks so much for reading this post! Looking for more bookish resources and romance book reviews? Read the archives!

Useful Resources:

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Debutante Diaries Series by Anna Bennett: Three friends chronicle their courtship trials / Historical Romance Book Series

Nov 10, 2022

Anna Bennett is an author I turn to for relatively low-angst, low-drama historical romance. We’ve got all the classic tropes here with a marriage of convenience, amnesia, and a slow burn between two people unsuitable for each other. I recommend reading this series in order because the secret that is being blackmailed from Book 1 is revealed in Book 2.

1. First Earl I See Tonight (2018)

I love a great marriage of convenience story. Our heroine here is being blackmailed and needs access to her dowry money, so she proposes to a destitute lord who needs his share of the money too. He’s worried she’ll regret it, so he invites her to visit his broken down manor. Hilarious.

Ebook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

2. The Duke Is But a Dream (2019)

The younger sister of Book 1’s heroine somehow gets into a bar fight and gets knocked in the head and loses her memory. A stern and stuffy duke rescues her and brings her home. Amnesia isn’t my favorite trope because we’re usually just waiting for some calamity to happen when the person regains their memory, but I do love a cold starchy duke.

Ebook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

3. When You Wish Upon a Rogue (2020)

This book is my fave of the series. We have the third friend of our little friend group looking for a place to host meetings and so she breaks into a vacant shop. The shop ends up not being very vacant and the owner is an insomniac who realizes the young lady is oh-so-very soothing for his sleep. They make a bargain to help him sleep and of course they fall in love and it is absolutely delightful.

Ebook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

Thanks so much for reading this post! Looking for more bookish resources and romance book reviews? Read the archives!

Useful Resources:

Want an intro to historical romance series? This post will help!

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Ways to Keep Track of Your Reading: Websites, Apps, Spreadsheets, or Just Some Paper

Nov 9, 2022

As you get started on your reading habit, there are lots of different ways to track your reading goals and your reading progress.

Most commonly, people will use the built-in features of Goodreads to mark books that you want to read, currently reading, or completed. There are also features that let you rate the book, write reviews, or organize bookshelves. All of these functions are built within the website version or the app version.

Another app/website you can use is Storygraph. I haven’t used this system much either, but they do have a section for giveaways you can enter if you want to try to win free books.

My preferred method is to use a Google Sheet that has columns that are personalized to all the things I want to track. Here’s a spreadsheet template on Google Sheets that you can save for yourself. My own personal sheet has extra columns that are specific to romance novels, like the tropes involved and the names of the main couple, plus a section for marking whether I’ve posted about the book on my social media accounts.

I’ll usually take this reading log and then write the title and author onto my physical planner. I like seeing the colorful list of books on the page. And mostly, I’m just writing it out so I can make a TikTok video about it.

For the paper planner/journalers out there, reading journals are also an option. There are tons of videos on YouTube with tutorials on how to set up your journal. Also, there are specific reading journals that you can purchase with a pre-built template for you. (Here’s one that I see a lot on TikTok: The Booktok Journal; and this one is super pretty: Always Fully Booked)

If you want to print out your own pages, there are also templates you can purchase and print out to track your reading or progress on reading challenges. I’ve linked a bunch you can buy online below. One of my favorite challenges is tracking book titles from A to Z and jotting down my progress.

Thanks so much for reading this post! Looking for more bookish resources and romance book reviews? Read the archives!

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