Holy Fried Cucumbers! Upcoming Historical Romances!!!

Authors with an asterisk*, I'm picking up! For more Upcoming Releases that aren't historical see HEY DELIA!! August 15, 2019 to September 14, 2019. By the way, it is not my fault if a publisher changes the release dates - just so you know, they do not consult me. Let me also add this warning - since I am now using different sources, I am finding that one person's genre isn't necessarily another persons - sorry if your book is in the wrong genre.  
**Book by an author who is either new to me or has fallen off of my list and I might read.

Historical Romance

	Amy Rose Bennett** http://amyrosebennett.com/ How to Catch a Wicked Viscount The Disreputable Debutantes Paperback - August 27, ebook - September 3
	Ann Lethbridge http://www.annlethbridge.com A Family for the Widowed Governess The Widows of Westram series Paperback – August 20, ebook - September 1
	Darcy Burke http://www.darcyburke.com Never Have I Ever With a Duke The Spitfire Society series August 27
	Diane Gaston http://www.dianegaston.com The Lord’s Highland Temptation Paperback – August 20, ebook - September 1
	Ella Quinn http://www.ellaquinnauthor.com The Marquis She's Been Waiting For The Marriage Game September 3
	Erica Ridley http://www.ericaridley.com Too Tempting to Resist Gothic Love Story August 16
	Evie Dunmore** http://eviedunmore.com/ Bringing Down the Duke, debut A League of Extraordinary Women, September 3
	Felicia Grossman https://feliciagrossmanauthor.com/ Dalliances and Devotion The Truitts August 26
	Gina Conkle http://www.ginaconkle.com Her Viking Warrior Forgotten Sons, ebook September 2
	Hannah Howell http://www.hannahhowell.com/ The Scotsman Who Swept Me Away Seven Brides for Seven Scotsmen August 27
	Harper St. George http://www.harperstgeorge.com Longing for Her Forbidden Viking To Wed a Viking series Paperback – August 20, ebook - September 1
	Jane Ashford** http://www.janeashford.com How to Cross a Marquess Way to a Lord’s Heart August 27
	Jess Michaels http://www.authorjessmichaels.com Guarding the Countess The Scandal Sheet series September 3
	Kathryn Le Veque Emma Prince How To Wed A Wild Lass A Medieval Scottish Duet September 12
	Kerrigan Byrne http://www.kerriganbyrne.com How to Love a Duke in Ten Days Devil You Know August 27
	Lauri Robinson http://www.laurirobinson.blogspot.com Stolen Kiss with the Hollywood Starlet Brides of the Roaring Twenties Paperback – August 20, ebook - September 1
	Lorraine Heath* http://www.lorraineheath.com/ The Duchess in His Bed Sins for All Seasons August 20
	Lynne Connolly http://lynneconnolly.com/ The Girl with the Pearl Pin The Society for Single Ladies September 1
	Madeline Martin http://www.MadelineMartin.com Catriona's Secret Borderland Ladies August 27
	Marie Force http://marieforce.com/ Deceived by Desire Gilded series August 29
	Mary Brendan http://www.marybrendan.com Reunited with her Viscount Protector Paperback – August 20, ebook - September 1
	Maya Bank http://www.mayabanks.com/ Beyond the Night The Vault Collection August 26
	Stacy Reid http://www.stacyreid.com Sophia and the Duke Forever Yours series August 19
	Victoria Alexander* http://www.victoriaalexander.com/ The Lady Travelers Guide to Happily Ever After The Lady Travelers Society August 27

Historical Fiction

	Clive Cussler Jack Du Brul The Titanic Secret Isaac Bell series, sequel/prequel September 10
	Alan Lightman https://cmsw.mit.edu/alan-lightman/ Three Flames September 3
	Alix Nathan http://alixnathan.com/ The Warlow Experiment August 20
	Cathleen Schine http://cathleenschine.com/ The Grammarians September 3
	Emma Donoghue http://www.emmadonoghue.com/ Akin September 10
	Kelli Estes http://www.kelliestes.com Today We Go Home September 3
	Kent Krueger http://www.williamkentkrueger.com/ This Tender Land September 3
	Lara Prescott http://www.laraprescott.com/ The Secrets We Kept, hardcover September 3
	Philippa Gregory http://www.philippagregory.com Tidelands Fairmile series August 20
	Talia Carner http://www.taliacarner.com/ The Third Daughter September 3
	Wilbur Smith  Tom Harper Ghost Fire Courtney series September 3

The Determined Lord Hadleigh by Virginia Heath

July 24, 2019

The return of the King’s Elite aka Elmer Fudd squad – sort of.
https://www.virginiaheathromance.com/
Warning: This is not a standalone book
Yes, it’s the final installment of Virginia Heath’s King’s Elite series, but this time it’s different. This time the hero had a brain. Actually, he was not really a member of the spy team, but the barrister who prosecutes the villain’s the heroes from the previous books had arrested.  That may explain his being smart; he was not one of the spies. There were not any over the top dramatics, or blood-curdling chase scenes in this story. It had a very different voice from the rest of the books in the series. The Determined Lord Hadleigh was a full-throttle, character-driven book, with two very strong leads.

In the one corner, we had Tristan, Lord Hadleigh. I will be honest, when I read his character in the previous books in the series, especially in The Uncompromising Lord Flint, I didn’t like him. I thought he was something of a hard-nosed tyrant. I guess you have to be, to be a prosecutor, but he was an aggressive, nasty person.  In The Determined Lord Hadleigh, we actually see that he had a human side. Hadleigh does care very much about the victims of the crimes he prosecutes, especially Lady Clarissa Penhurst.

If you have read any of these books at all, you may remember Lady Penhurst from The Mysterious Lord Millcroft. She was the abused wife of one of the villains in this series, Viscount Penhurst. This book, The Determined Lord Hadleigh began with Viscount Penhurst on trial, and his wife testifying against him. Tristan was impressed with the honesty and courage she exhibited on the stand.  However, after her husband’s guilty verdict, the Crown stripped the Viscount of his title, wealth and estates. This left Lady Penhurst without any means to keep herself and her son alive. Tristan felt guilty. For reasons he couldn’t comprehend, he had a need to do something to help her. But how would he be able to do that? Well, that was a conundrum, especially when Lady Penhurst changed her name, went into hiding, and refused any help from allllllll of her friends. And, Hadleigh was not a friend, so his chances of helping Penny were zero. What’s a guy to do? Well, in this case what he consistently did was the wrong thing. Penny Penhurst, aka Mrs. Henley turned out to be a real hard person to please.

The, I-want-to-do-it-on-my-own routine. Sigh. Penny Penhurst wanted to do everything on her own. She’s tired of being told what to do. She’s tired of depending on others. She wanted to be her own person. She’s bound and determined to make a living, and not have to answer to anyone. She will never, ever, allow any man to control her again! She will work and slave in her little shop until she has enough money to purchase that little cottage. There she will live peacefully, away from prying eyes and hurtful gossip. Imagine her surprise when she attempted to pay her bills and finds that they were already paid. All of them. She jumped to the conclusion that her friend Clarissa paid them – wrong. After some pretty mean, friend talk/accusations from Penny, Clarissa convinced Penny that she didn’t have anything to do with paying her bills. Penny did ask Clarissa to look into the matter for her. Remember, Clarissa’s husband was one of the spies. Then Penny found out who paid them? Penny exploded! Hadleigh had paid alllll of her bills – without her permission! She confronted him, and raked him over the coals. It was at this point in the story I said, “Wait a minute little lady.” Personally, I’m allll about women’s voices being heard. I believe women should have rights, do what they want, and not be crushed under the thumb of some abusive blockhead. However, she had a child, a child who was not yet two years old. She was a mother, and that should have been her first priority – the well-being of that child. She should have accepted the help from her friends. And, what about that confrontation with poor, don’t-know-women Hadleigh? In my opinion, she should not have turned into the hell-hound from Planet Virago. Her reprimand of Hadleigh was downright spiteful. A gracious thank-you would have been nice, followed by the don’t do it again speech. There are times to be assertive, there are times to be outspoken, but the welfare of one’s child should come first. You can find yourself after the essentials, (like eating) are taken care of. At this point in my reading, I did not care for Penny.

Hadleigh left with his tail between his legs, but he had a plan. Yes, he had a convoluted Romanceland plan. Remember Jessamine from The Uncompromising Lord Flint?  In this story she was about to testify against the bad people, and her husband wanted her protected. Hadleigh suggested that the Flints hide out at his country estate until the trial. He hardly ever visited his estate, and it did need to be put in order. Who better to clean and organize then Mrs. Henley, aka Penny Penhurst? The government could even pay her a small stipend. After a lot of arm-twisting, and pleading on Hadleigh’s part, Penny agreed. Unbeknownst to Penny, Hadleigh was donating a little extra funds to the pot. Oh, Hadleigh, would you never learn? You know she won’t be happy when she finds out you were contributing money - again. She’s mean Hadleigh, mean!

Anyway, they all went to his country estate, and Penny cleaned. Pretty soon Hadleigh appeared. But there’s something wrong! The second angst-filled problem. You know I can only handle one angst-filled person per book. There’s a reason Hadleigh doesn’t ever visit his lovely country estate; his mother was killed there. Yes, he had a bad childhood. He had an abusive father. His mother tried to hide the abuse from him, but he knew and he had this enormous guilt living within him. Then one day while Hadleigh was away at school, his father pushed his mother down the stairs. Well, he might not have been able to be there for his mother, but he was determined to be there for Penny, whether she wanted his help or not. You see the hamster in the wheel, don’t you? She wouldn’t accept his help, and he wouldn’t stop giving it. Around and around they went.

Eventually Penny and Hadleigh became friends, real friends. This was a slow burn romance. It took Penny a long time and lot’s of mental anguish to trust Hadleigh. The compromises between Hadleigh and Penny seemed a little lop-sided to me. I thought that Hadleigh did most of the compromising in the book, and for this romance to work they should have been equal partners. Penny should have realized that Hadleigh was nothing like her first husband. She could still be a strong person, and have the support of a man who loved her.

Grammar issue – again. While I have talked, at length about the issues I’ve had with Ms. Heath grammar, I feel I must bring it up again. I can overlook cultural grammar differences, but there were some editing problems in this story, for instance: “She’d happily share his bed and his body, but she did trust him enough to give up her freedom.” What does that sentence mean? In the context of what was going on at the time, it didn’t make sense. I’m going to jump out on a limb here. I believe there was probably a question being asked. I think there are two words which were switched: “she” and “did.” Or, maybe the word “not” was left out.  I think the sentence should probably read: “She’d happily share his bed and his body, but did she trust him enough to give up her freedom?” Doesn’t that make more sense? I know it’s hard to edit, I know about wrong words, wrong tenses, wrong spellings, and words that appear to be there but aren’t. But, there seemed to be an editing problem in this book, because I was thrown out of the story more than once. 

What did I think of this story? Well, it’s really hard for me to say, there were so many hot button issues that made me stumble over some of the characters. I was not all that fond of the heroine. In my opinion she failed in her attempt to be a strong, independent woman because she failed in her first responsibility – taking care of her child. Accepting help from friends would have gone a long way toward Penny turning into the powerful woman she longed to be. I was disturbed that Hadleigh and Penny were not equal partners. Maybe others might not be disturbed by choices the lead characters made, but I was. I also believe the author ended up solving a number of issues in a 21st century manner, and that can be a issue when writing historical books. There were parts of this story which were just fine, but the stubbornness of the heroine ruined it for me. I liked the hero, but was disappointed in the heroine. Bottom-line, this story did not live up to my expectations.

Time/Place: Regency England
Sensuality: Warm

Say No to the Duke by Eloisa James

July 18, 2019
The Wildes are with us again

https://www.eloisajames.com/
Spoilers ahead
Say No to the Duke is the fourth book in the Wilde series. So far, Eloisa James latest series on the Wilde family has left me…tired. But, when times are at their darkest, one can always depend on Ms. James to pull a rabbit out of her hat. Not all is lost with the Wilde series; it appears that Say No to the Duke may be my favorite. There was also a plus in this particular story. Imagine my surprise when the hero uses the title of the book in a sentence. At last, a connection between a Romanceland title and the story line. On top of that, it was also a very poignant moment.

It is Lady Boadicea Wilde’s turn. Since no one really knows how to pronounce Boadicea, we will just call her Betsy. Betsy has a problem - her mother. Betsy has the stigma of having a notorious mother who created numerous scandals. These scandals include taking lovers, running off with a Prussian, and she may have given birth to a child who wasn’t her husbands. Plus, there is the small matter of a divorce, something that was clearly verboten in that time period. Anyway, Betsy has fought her inner demons all of her life. She does not want society to think she has inherited her mother’s character. When the story begins, we get some insight into the real Betsy. When she is young, she begs to go to a boarding school. She is eager to have friends, eager to become the perfect aristocratic girl/woman. Almost right away, she has a run-in with a bullying, catty, snot of a girl. This aristocratic snit of a girl insults Betsy and her family.  Well, maybe Betsy wants to be the perfect girl/woman, but she doesn’t take kindly to anyone bullying her, or bad-mouthing her family. This confrontation scene is a powerful moment, and shows us clearly that Betsy has chutzpah.

As she matures, Betsy continues her march toward perfection. She wants society to perceive her as something she’s not - a perfect, serene aristocratic woman. In her soul of souls, she actually craves adventure. She wants the freedoms that men have: wearing trousers, riding horses astride, going to auctions, playing billiards, and burping. I have to say that this conflict of desires created an issue for me. Betsy’s character had a strong sense of who she was. The strength of her character was so well developed, that I had a hard time buying into her desire to be such a namby-pamby society woman. I was perplexed at the conflict, and I didn’t think that a woman who knew herself so well would still have a desire for a false facade. It didn’t ring true, and it made me lower my grade.

Jeremy and Betsy. Talk about great chemistry. I had a smile on my face every time Jeremy and Betsy were in a scene together. They bantered with each other a lot. Their dialogue was delightful. They both could be their true selves when they were together. However, Betsy doesn’t want Jeremy, she had her eyes on Thaddeus Erskine Shaw, Viscount Greywick, a future Duke. Poor Jeremy. Jeremy was a veteran of the Colonial Wars, and was suffering from PTSD. He also had a drinking problem, or was pretending to have one. I actually didn’t understand why he was pretending to be drunk. Anyway, he was recuperating at the Wilde family’s estate. While he was there he found Betsy to be very irritating. But, he couldn't seem to stay away from her.

Thaddeus. I liked Thaddeus. That may not be a good thing, because in the past Ms. James has killed off characters I like. Or, they’ve just sort of disappeared. I’m hoping she gives him a book, because he is one of those stuffed-shirt nice guys I just love. You know the ones I’m talking about. They always fall for the wrong woman. Puleese Ms. James, don’t kill Thaddeus.

Even though Betsy wanted Thaddeus for her husband, in the end she made the right decision for herself and chose Jeremy. She did it without toooo much angst. She was honest with Thaddeus, and did it all logically, beautifully and without a heavy dose of drama. I loved this beautiful piece of writing. 

One more issue. Ms. James inserted an over-dramatic, crazy relative toward the end of the book. This man wanted to murder Jeremy, but he didn’t. I’m not sure why this filler was added to the story; it didn’t enhance it in any way. I have a theory that authors must attend a Villain 101 class. This class insists every book has at least one over-the-top theatrical villain scene in it before it’s published.  Anyway, that’s just my theory. In this case, the story was just fine without the minor irritation.

Overall, this was a witty romance, with a strong heroine and a hero who will give the heroine plenty of adventure in her lifetime. Jeremy and Betsy go together well, even with all of their imperfections. Those imperfections made them perfect for each other.

Time/Place: Georgian Englans
Sensuality: Warm

The Uncompromising Lord Flint by Virginia Heath

July 16, 2019
"Oh, people call me Daffy, they say that I am gooney. Just because I'm happy is no sign I'm Looney Tuney.
When they call me nutsy, that sure gives me a pain. Please pass the ketchup, I think it's going to rain.
Oh, you can't bounce a meatball, though try with all your might. Turn on the radio, I want to fly a kite!
Good evening, frieeeeeeeends..." - Boobs In The Woods

https://www.virginiaheathromance.com/
Have you ever read a Romance book that contains a bunch of intelligence officers/spies and found yourself pondering the use of the term intelligence? At least in whatever book it is you’re reading. I’ve often found myself asking, would we really apply the word intelligence to the group of goofy guys parading around throughout that story? Would we really entrust our national secrets to these guys? Because I am a person who ponders, I have often found myself wondering. Why am I bringing this up? Well, it just so happens that The Uncompromising Lord Flint contains such a group of men. One in particular happens to be our hero, and he’s one of the biggest Daffy Duck spies I’ve seen in a long time. Say hello to Lord Peter Flint of the King’s Elites from The Uncompromising Lord Flint by Virginia Heath.

When the story opens, Peter is transporting a prisoner to London to stand trial as a traitor to the Crown, One Jessamine Fane. Jessamine is not a Romanceland pretend traitor, but a real one. Or, at least she would be if she was living in a real world. She is the step-daughter of the e-v-i-l Comte de Saint-Aubin-de-Sallon, and she has been passing messages to the bad people in England. At least that’s what the Daffy Duck squad believe. Little do they know that it was actually her mother who was passing the messages; at least until she died. The evil Saint Aubin then forced Jess to continue her mother’s work. Unbeknownst to him, while she was sending his messages, she was also adding secret messages inside the secret messages. She has been trying to send helpful hints to the English to help them defeat Napoleon. Of course, it would help if the messages had been sent to a group of smart spies instead of the group of Looney Toon characters being led by Lord Elmer Fudd Fennimore.

Now she is a prisoner of this group. She is trying to save her neck from the gallows, and escape the villainous St. Aubin at the same time. Like a lot of Romanceland heroines, she cannot be straight-forward. It seems she can’t let her captors know about the secret, secret messages. God forbid she would actually tell them the truth so they could help her, and maybe plan a covert operation which might work. Heck, who needs a plan?  Don’t worry my little Petunia’s, our hero can come up with a plan. You see, he has a little brain in his tented trousers.

Alas for our plan, our hero has an itchy trigger inside of those tented trousers, and he just cannot control it. While banging into walls with his big lump, he is torn between his duty to his country and his lust for Jess. In fact, for most of this story the little brain in his pants leads the way. While that brain is hot for Jess, Peter’s other brain doesn’t trust her. Maybe that’s because she doesn’t trust him, so they fight, then they lust, then they fight, then they lust. All that back and forth-ing was very exhausting. But, wait! All is not lost! He has a plan! He develops a plan to save her from St. Aubin, and it’s a doozy. He will take her to his country estate, and invite his mother, sisters, their husbands, and their children. Nothing says  “great” plan like putting your entire family in danger.

Not only was Flint-y Duck a questionable spy, he also had no respect for women. He hates being around his mother and sisters. He whines and complains about them all of the time. When we were finally introduced to them, I was struck dumb. They were not the horrible, conniving women I was expecting. They loved Flint, and just wanted him to be happy. I didn’t understand his aversion to them. So not only is he a brainless spy, he is also an insensitive lout…another stain against him in my book.

Let’s talk about the villain. Wow, our villain St. Aubin must have been trained at the Bugs Bunny School of One Step Ahead. He knew where the hero and heroine were going to be alllllll the time. He knew all the paths they would take and every secret passage they exited. He could even get past the “Invisibles”, which is the name the elites were called. Of course, maybe when one is up against Elmer Fudd Fennimore and his master spy Flint-y Duck anyone would look good.

Jess’s guilt. I have to ask, just why did Jess have so much overwhelming guilt written into her character? Her mother took her to France, her mother did the spying, and her mother married the e-v-i-l guy. None of that was Jessamine’s fault. She did all she knew how to do to escape the situation. First of all, I thought her guilt feelings were misplaced: secondly, her guilt routine went on waaaayyyyy tooo long.

I’m relatively new to Ms. Heath’s books. In the previous books I admit I was distracted by the odd English grammar, but I was intrigued enough with the stories to continue with the series. But, this addition to the Kings Elites aka Elmer Fudd super-duper spies was a fail for me. There were a lot of silly, idiotic choices made by both the hero and heroine. I just couldn’t believe that spies would actually be that stupid. This story was such a stretch for me to believe, and I’m having a hard time recommending it.

Time/Place: Regency England
Sensuality: Warm