Holy Red Hots and Roasted Spaniish Peanuts!! Upcoming Historical Romance!!! October 15 to November 14, 2020

September 28, 2020

Authors with an asterisk*, I'm picking up! Authors with **asterisks have either fallen off my radar or new to me, and I'm might read them this time around. Release dates mostly between October 15, 2020 and November 14, 2020. For more Upcoming Releases that aren't historical see HEY DELIA!!

 

Series indicates a series, spin-off, sequel, trilogy, brother/sister, secret society/spies, good friends who attended Oxford/Eton, vampire/werewolf - anything that has something continuing - even if written 20 years ago. Anthology/novella/short stories could be an anthology or a bunch of books in one print or novella - one tiny book or an anthology with a bunch of novellas - could be a short stories by one author, could be short stories by multiple authors - could be - I'm getting a headache. Ebook, only sold electronically for now. Debut - congratulations!

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. 

  

Holiday books coming soon! 

 

Historical Romance

	Amelia Grey http://www.ameliagrey.com/ Only a Duchess Would Dare The Rogues' Dynasty series October 27
	Ann Lethbridge http://www.annlethbridge.com A Shopkeeper for the Earl of Westram Paperback – October 27, Ebook - November 1
	Anna Bradley http://www.annabradley.net The Virgin Who Ruined Lord Gray The Swooning Virgin’s Society October 27
	Anna Harrington* http://www.annaharringtonbooks.com/ If a Lady Lingers, novella Capturing the Carlisles series October 19
	Carol Arens      The Viscount's Yuletide Bride      Paperback – October 27, Ebook - November 1
	Carole Mortimer http://www.carolemortimer.co.uk James's Lady Regency Club Venus series October 30
	Charis Michaels http://charismichaels.com/ A Duchess a Day Awakened by a Kiss series November 10
	Cynthia Wright http://www.cynthiawrightauthor.com Quest of the Highlander Crowns and Kilts series October 29
	Darcy Burke http://www.darcyburke.com A Scandalous Bargain Untouchables: The Pretenders series November 10
	Ella Matthews     Under the Warrior's Protection Paperback – October 27, Ebook - November 1
	Eloisa James* http://eloisajames.com My Last Duchess The Wildes of Lindow Castle series October 27
	Grace Burrowes http://www.graceburrowes.com/ The Truth About Dukes Rogues to Riches series November 10
	Jennifer Ashley* Tanya Anne Crosby Kathryn Le Veque Kerrigan Byrne Darcy Burke Eliza Knight A Very Highland Christmas October 27
	Joanna Chambers http://joannachambers.com/ Restored Enlightenment series October 28
	Jodi Thomas Scarlett Dunn Sharla Lovelace The Cowboy Who Saved Christmas October 27
	Karla Kratovil https://www.karlakratovil.com Thief of My Heart Hearts of Stoneleigh Manor series October 26
	K.J. Jackson https://authorkjjackson.wordpress.com/ The Soul of a Rogue Box of Draupnir series November 9
	Kathleen Ayers http://www.kathleenayers.com Wicked Again The Wickeds series October 29
	Laura Martin One Snowy Night with Lord Hauxton Paperback – October 27,  Ebook - November 1
	Lenora Bell http://www.lenorabell.com/ Love Is a Rogue Wallflowers vs. Rogues series October 27
	Manda Collins** http://www.mandacollins.com A Lady's Guide to Mischief and Mayhem A Lady's Guide series November 10
	Mariah Stone http://mariahstone.com Highlander's Heart Called by a Highlander series November 1
	Mary Gillgannon http://marygillgannon.com/ Lord of Hearts Lords of the Borders series October 22
	Megan Frampton** http://www.meganframpton.com Tall, Duke, and Dangerous Hazards of Dukes series October 27
	Merry Farmer http://merryfarmer.net Scandal Meets Its Match The May Flowers series October 30
	Rachel Ann Smith https://www.rachelannsmith.com Revealing a Rogue The Hadfields series October 20
	Rebecca Paula http://www.rebeccapaula.com The Lady's Forbidden Desire (The Ravensdales #4) October 23
	Sandra Sookoo http://www.sandrasookoo.com On a Midnight Clear October 27
	Sarah M. Eden http://www.sarahmeden.com/ The Gentleman and the Thief Proper Romance Victorian series November 3
	Scarlett Scott http://www.scarlettscottauthor.com Lady Reckless Notorious Ladies of London series October 15
	Shana Galen http://www.shanagalen.com Snowbound with the Viscount November 10
	Sophie Jordan http://www.sophiejordan.net/ The Duke Effect The Rogue Files series October 27
	Stephanie Laurens http://www.stephanielaurens.com/ Lady Osbaldestone's Christmas Intrigue Lady Osbaldestone's Christmas Chronicles series October 15
	Tamara Gill https://www.tamaragill.com A Duke's Wild Kiss, ebook Kiss the Wallflower series November 9
	Tamara Gill https://www.tamaragill.com To Dream of You, ebook The Royal House of Atharia series October 20
	Tammy Andresen http://tammyandresen.com/ When to Dare a Dishonorable Duke Romancing the Rake series November 10
	Terri Brisbin http://www.terribrisbin.com/ Tempted by Her Viking Enemy Sons of Sigurd series Paperback – October 27, Ebook - November 1
	Virginia Heath* Catherine Tinley Sophia James Christmas Cinderellas Paperback – October 27, Ebook - November 1

Historical Fiction

	Aaron Gwyn http://aarongwyn.com/ All God's Children October 20
	Bernard Cornwell http://www.bernardcornwell.net/ War Lord The Last Kingdom October 15
	Jess Walter http://www.jesswalter.com/ The Cold Millions October 27
	Joanna Goodman http://www.joannagoodmanauthor.com/ The Forgotten Daughter October 27
	Karen Brooks Http://www.karenrbrooks.com   The Lady Brewer of London November 10
	Oliver Clements The Eyes of the Queen Agents of the Crown series October 27
	Sarah Lark http://www.randomhouse.de/Autor/Christiane_Gohl... Fires of Change Fire Blossom Saga series October 20

A Rogue of One's Own by Evie Dunmore

September 22, 2020

 

Just One More Opinion

 

http://eviedunmore.com/

Last year Evie Dunmore appeared on the scene, and I was a happy camper. Why was that? Oh, for a number of reasons. One of them being she was a fresh voice who was published in a “traditional” way.  Before anyone jumps down my throat. Yes, I’m very happy the publishing world has changed. I’m happy for those struggling authors who are out there being independent! Good for all of you! However, on the flip side. A number of those books are rushed; a number of them seem as if they were a high school literature project, and I’m not even going to talk about editing. You may shout at me, “Oh, yeah! Those things happen in traditional publishing too!” I reply to that by saying, “Yes, I know. But it’s still nice to see some historical romance novels being published in the traditional manner.” To continue on…So, I was happy with a new author, a new author who seemed to have a fresh voice. Furthermore, I liked her first book, and I was looking forward to the next book in the League of Extraordinary Women series.

A Rogue of One’s Own is the second book in Ms. Dunmore’s, League of Extraordinary Women series. If you remember the series, you should know that the series tells the story of at least four fictional women who are involved in the suffragist movement in Great Britain. They are four very different women, so their approach to the movement will be different. This story is about Lacy Lucie Tedbury, and in my opinion, she is the most unbending of the four. By that I mean she is stubborn, and believes her way is the only way.

I will be honest, when I read romance books I read them for enjoyment. I don’t appreciate being preached to. There are some authors who bring their political agenda to fictional books, and since I am against censorship of all kinds, if they choose to do that, they have that right. But I have the right, not to read them, or agree with them, or whine about it. Which is why I say, I don’t like romance books with agenda’s. If I want to read about an issue, I will go elsewhere. So what does that make me? I think it makes me normal. We are all unique people, we have differences, and we have different approaches to our differences. Some of us just have louder voices. So, from the very beginning of this series, I was a little leery of reading it. But the author was able to manipulate her words enough so that her message was not too painful. Back to Lucie.

Lucie is what I would call a more radical suffragist, one who might have a feeding tube stuffed down her throat because she’s on a hunger strike. That doesn’t happen in this book. However, because Lucie is portrayed as so unbending, I didn’t like this book as much as the first story. All through most of this story, she continually harps about not giving up her freedom by marrying the man she loves. I grew tired of listening to her.

She could sneak around and have sex, but never commits to him. It’s hard to write historical romance, because we tend to give our heroes and heroines our modern values. I come from a long line of liberal women, some of those ancestors married, some didn’t. The ones who married, married men who were the right person for them. Those men supported them, they were true friends, lovers and partners. So, I know it’s possible to have a marriage that works. Historically, it was possible to have a marriage in which a woman doesn’t lose her freedom, even when the laws of that country say differently. It all depends on who she chooses for a life mate. For me, Lucie should have been smart enough to see that Tristan was the man for her. And, if he wasn’t, then she should have discontinued going to bed with him. Freedom doesn't mean bed-hopping. Being free doesn't mean you have to be like a man. I digress.

Tristan. Tristan is the heir to the Earl of Rochester. Rochester is a cruel man. He is the absolute ruler of his domain. Long ago, Tristan escaped to India so he would be out of his father’s reach. He spent many years living in India, and he grew to love the country. Now, because of the death of his older brother he is forced to return to England. Tristan tries to stand up to his father, but his father uses a bit of blackmail to get him to do what he wants – marry and begin a family. How does he pressure Tristan? He informs Tristan that he will put Tristan’s mother into an asylum if Tristan doesn’t do what he wants.

Time-travel. I have arrived at the conclusion that I am not made for time-traveling. The medical facilities were horrible. And, the asylums used for the treatment of people with mental issues were even worse. They were used as dumping grounds for what was lovingly called “hysterical” women. Therefore, Tristan takes his father’s warning seriously. He tries to come up with a plan to remove his mother from his father’s clutches before he is forced to marry. He decides to send his mother to India where she will be safe. I raised my eyebrows at that. I wondered if Tristan had thought that maybe his mother didn’t want to go to India. But then, that was just me. And, let me say one more time, there isn’t any time in the past I want to time travel to, not even to wear an Elizabethan ruffle.

Tristan and Lucie are both complex characters, Tristan a little more so. Lucie was just stubborn. Tristan and Lucie grew up together. Their relationship as children was combative. Tristan has always loved Lucie, but he expresses his feelings for Lucie by dipping her hair in ink. As a child, he had to develop a pretty hard shell to combat his father. In his adult life, he is portrayed as a user of people, all kinds of people, He seemed to be pretty unethical. He wasn’t a nice guy, in fact he reminded me a little of some of Anna Stuart’s “heroes.”  Did the author manage to redeem him by the end? Yes, I think she did, I just wish Lucie had discovered he was the man for her a little sooner.

Overall, this story had a lot of things going on, more than what I’ve covered. There is a fight over a publishing business between Tristan and Lucie. Tristan’s rat-faced father makes his vicious appearance throughout the story, There’s an odd solution for Tristan’s mother’s problem; it came out of the blue. Lucie’s relationship with her family, which isn’t good, is resolved at the end. Well, let me say this, it’s resolved, but I didn’t like the resolution. I thought Lucie’s mother was atrocious. For me, A Rogue of One’s Own didn’t work as well as the first book, Bringing Down the Duke. I’m still glad Evie Dunmore made her appearance, and I have marked my calendar her the next book. 

 

Time/Place: London 1880

Sensuality:  Hot

Someone to Romance by Mary Balogh

September 15, 2020

Time to take a nap

https://marybalogh.com/
Well, the Queen has done it again. She’s written a slow moving romance. The problem is, it’s so slow I started to nod off. Someone to Romance is part of Ms. Balogh’s Westcott series. I will be honest, this series has been all over the place. So far, there are eight books in this series. Out of those eight I liked three: Someone to Wed, Someone to Love, and Someone to Care. So, the percentage is a tad bit off.

Someone to Romance is Lady Jessica Archer and Gabriel Thorne’s story. If you have been following this story you may remember Jessica. She is/was the best friend of Lady Abigail Westcott. Jessica is not a very likeable person. She’s feeling blue because her bestest friend in the whole wide world is happily married. Yes, Jessica had planned on her and Abigail being spinsters and being together all of their life. How dare Abigail be happy with her man! Jessica is feeling sorry for herself. She sees the clock ticking away, she’s getting older, she’s twenty-five after all!!! Yikes! Since she can no longer roam the world with her spinster friend, she decides that she to will marry. She doesn’t necessarily care who she marries, but she just doesn’t want to be alone. Another case of depending on others to make you happy. It’s a real pity party.

Gabriel is also not a very likeable character. He is what one would call an absentee landlord. He’s been living in America for thirteen years. He’s been making loads of money, in the process he has also ignored what’s going on at his English estate. However, there is a fly in the ointment, his uncle Manley Rochford. You see, Gabriel is really the Earl of Lyndale, except everyone thinks he’s dead. Manley, his uncle, is going to have Gabriel declared dead, and claim the title himself. Gabriel’s uncle is a Snidely Whiplash kind of villain. Then one day he receives a letter from his aunt’s sister, Mary. She has been kicked out of her house on the Lyndale land by our villain, Manley. So after years of ignoring the people who depend on him, Gabriel decides to get off of his butt and help. He’s going to be sly about it and not let anyone know he’s back. There’s a good reason he is being shifty. He has to prove who he is. It won’t be easy because he’s changed a lot in the thirteen years. He will need to prove who he says he is. And he has a plan!

He is going to find an aristocratic bride. Someone who belongs to a powerful family. Someone who knows how to run an estate. His eyes fall on Jessica, the perfect person for the job. Now the story does a fast gear switch. When Gabriel suggests Jessica marry him, all of a sudden she wants romance. Now, she wants what Abigail has! Yes, she wants romance, and she wants to be romanced. Even though her original thoughts about marriage were cold, now she wants someone who doesn’t have an ulterior motive. Even though she’s not willing to give, she want’s someone to give to her. She was very selfish.

Gabriel’s idea of romance was interesting. While he may have no idea how to be romantic, he ends up being swoon worthy. He starts by sending her one rose every day. Who wouldn’t start to pay attention to something like that? While I thought Gabriel’s romantic technique was a winner, for me, both Gabriel and Jessica lack “couple” chemistry. Usually Ms. Balogh inundates her characters with thoughts, emotions, and slow burns. But they were strangely lacking in this book.

I think part of this was due to the fact that most of the Westcott’s put in an appearance. Now, that I’ve whined about the Westcott’s, I have to say, I did chuckle at Avery Archer, Duke of Netherby’s reason for disliking one of Jessica’s suitors: “He has too many teeth.” Brought a smile to my face.

Overall, Someone to Romance was very slow, and forgettable. It had a hero and heroine who were both unlikable. The story was just sort of bland. If you want to keep track of the Westcott family, then go ahead and read this one. But it’s really not all that exciting. 

 

Time/Place: Regency England

Sensuality: Bland

A Kiss from a Rogue by Elisa Braden

September 8, 2020

 

At last, the end.

https://www.elisabraden.com/

After nine books in the Rescued from Ruin series, I was ready for that series to end. Number ten in the series was A Kiss from a Rogue. This story involves a house party, a mystery, and an uncomfortable story line.

Ms. Braden has chosen to pair Hannah Gray and Jonas hawthorn. Both characters have appeared in previous books. Jonas is a Bow Street Runner, and he falls hard for Hannah in one of the previous books. Hannah is the half-sister of Phineas Brand. This story contains one of my least favorite themes: I’m-not-worthy. The, "I’m-not-worthy" attitude belongs to Jonas. Jonas is a lowly Bow Street Runner and he can never, ever, be good enough for Hannah. I do wish sometimes authors would stay away from class-system dependence. But, that’s one of the problems with historical romance novels. However, in this case Hannah was illegitimate, so I’m not sure if the “I’m-not-worthy” routine really works in this story. But I had bigger problems with this book. Hannah.

As I said, Hannah has appeared in a number of previous books, and she is a victim. She’s had tons of bad things happen to her. She’s been kidnapped, chased after by a killer, physically and psychologically abused. Hannah has a lot of issues, a lot of scars. Some of those scars show and some are hidden inside of her. She is leery of people, she doesn’t like to be touched, and she is a deeply troubled woman. Personally, I think the author has taken her too far down the trauma hole. But evidently, it just takes a couple of good hump sessions and all is resolved. I was uncomfortable with the quick manner in which she was able to participate in sexual antics. A few books ago, I realized that Hannah was going to have her own story. At that time I wondered how the author was going to do it. You see, Ms. Braden fills all of her stories with tons and tons of sex. Knowing that, and then seeing how troubled Hannah was, I was hoping the author would handle this book a little differently. I was hoping she would develop Hannah more, show us a gradual awakening. But, she didn’t. Once Hannah decided to marry Jonas, it was as if her previous issues never existed. Hannah’s recovery was toooo fast.

Then there were all the other characters from the previous books who showed up, plus all 50 gazillion of their children. This is the last book in a series and it shows. The character development of Hannah and Jonas suffered in the race to finish a series. This was not one of my favorites in the series.

 

Time/Place: Regency England

Sensuality: Troubling