Holy Jelly Beans!!! Upcoming Historical Romances!!! April 15 to May 14, 2021 !!!!

March 29, 2010

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 April 15, 2021 and May 14, 2021. 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. 

Historical Romance

	Amelia Grey http://www.ameliagrey.com/ How to Train Your Earl First Comes Love series April 27
	Annabelle Anders http://www.annabelleanders.com   Cocky Viscount, ebook Regency Cocky Gents April 27
	Annabelle Greene https://annabellegreene.com/ The Soldier and the Spy, ebook Society of Beasts April 20
	Bree Wolf https://www.breewolf.com/ Once Upon a Temptingly Ruinous Kiss, ebook The Whickertons in Love April 15
	Caitlin Crews http://www.caitlincrews.com Kidnapped by the Viking April 27
	Carole Mortimer http://www.carolemortimer.co.uk Wild , ebook Regency Scandal series April 30
	Cathy Maxwell* http://cathymaxwell.com/ Her First Desire A Logical Man's Guide to Dangerous Women series April 27
	Cecilia Rene https://www.ceciliareneauthor.com/   Ruined by the Bachelor Marquess, ebook The Bachelor series April 21
	Christi Caldwell http://www.christicaldwellauthor.com Someone Wanton His Way Comes, ebook Wantons of Waverton series April 20
	Claire Delacroix http://delacroix.net The Wolf and the Witch, ebook Blood Brothers series April 26
	Courtney Milan http://www.courtneymilan.com The Devil Comes Courting Worth Saga series April 20 - maybe
	Elizabeth Rolls* http://www.elizabethrolls.com A Marriage of Equals April 27
	Eva Devon, aka Maire Claremont http://maireclaremont.blogspot.com The Beast’s Bluestocking, ebook The Bluestocking War April 30
	Heather McCollum http://www.heathermccollum.com Highland Warrior Sons of Sinclair series April 27
	Helen Dickson** https://www.hdicksonrnweebly.com/ A Viscount to Save Her Reputation April 27
	Kathryn LeVeque http://www.kathrynleveque.com   The Dark Spawn, ebook Battle Lords of de Velt series April 22
	Kathy I. Wheeler http://kathylwheeler.com The Earl's Error, ebook Rebel Lords of London April 24
	Kerrigan Byrne http://www.kerriganbyrne.com Tempting Fate, ebook Goode Girls Romance series May 11
	Lauri Robinson http://laurirobinson.blogspot.com/ A Proposal for the Unwed Mother Twins of the Twenties series April 27
	Linda Broday http://www.LindaBroday.com A Cowboy of Legend Lone Star Legends series April 27
	Madeline Hunter* http://www.madelinehunter.com/ Heiress In Red Silk A Duke's Heiress series April 27
	Merry Farmer http://merryfarmer.net Just a Little Gamble, ebook The Brotherhood Book April 23
	Megan Frampton http://www.meganframpton.com A Wicked Bargain for the Duke Hazards of Dukes series April 27
	Nicole Locke https://www.nicolelocke.com/ The Knight's Runaway Maiden April 27
	Rachel Ann Smith https://www.rachelannsmith.com Tempting a Gentleman, ebook The Hadfields series April 20
	Sarah Mallory aka Melinda Hammond https://www.melinda-hammond.co.uk/ Rescued by Her Highland Soldier April 27
	Sofie Darling https://www.sofiedarling.com At the Pleasure of the Marquess, ebook Shadows and Silk series April 28
	Sylvia McDaniel http://www.sylviamcdaniel.com Ravenous Rose, ebook Bad Girls of the West April 30
	Vanessa Riley https://www.vanessariley.com   An Earl, the Girl, and a Toddler Rogues and Remarkable Women series April 27

Historical Fiction

	Alan Hlad https://www.alanhlad.com/ Churchill's Secret Messenger April 27
	Alison Weir http://www.alisonweir.org.uk/ Katharine Parr The Sixth Wife   Six Tudor Queens series May 11
	Chanel Cleeton http://www.chanelcleeton.com The Most Beautiful Girl in Cuba The Cuba Saga series May 4
	Chris Bohjalian http://www.chrisbohjalian.com/ Hour of the Witch May 4
	Eleanor Morse http://www.eleanormorse.com Margreete’s Harbor April 20
	Genevieve Graham http://www.GenevieveGraham.com      Letters Across the Sea April 27
	Karen White http://www.karen-white.com The Last Night in London April 20
	Kelly Bowen http://www.kellybowen.net The Paris Apartment April 20
	Maggie Shipstead http://www.maggieshipstead.com Great Circle May 4
	Renee Rosen http://www.reneerosen.com The Social Graces April 20

Hit Me with Your Best Scot by Suzanne Enoch

March 22, 2021

But, what about Francesca?

http://www.suzanneenoch.com/

So, is this the last of the MacTaggert’s series…or is there room for a few more stories? Well, I don’t know, but I do know that all three of the brothers have found their happy ending. If you enjoyed Wild Wicked Highlanders, all is not lost! There are some secondary characters who might get a story – Jane for one. I also would hope that Ms. Enoch fixes the romance between Matthew and Eloise. And, when I say fix, I mean do something with that snake of a fiancé Matthew, besides break his nose. In case you didn’t guess, Matthew has never been one of my favorite characters. He’s a weasel. Maybe Eloise can forget what a drip he was, but I can’t. But, Hit Me with Your Best Scot isn’t about him, it’s about Coll MacTaggert, Viscount Glendarril and Persephone Jones aka Temperance Hartwood. Yes, watch out for a name change part way through the book!

If you are not familiar with this book, or this series, let me remind you which one this is. This is the series with the mother who has been on my Mommie Dearest list for the last two years. At seventeen, Francesca married a Scotsman by the name of Angus MacTaggert. She hated Scotland. She wanted to reside part of the year in England. Angus wouldn’t let her. She had three boys, then she had a girl. When she had her daughter, she decided her daughter couldn’t grow up in Scotland. She abandoned her husband, and three young sons, and hunkered down in England for seventeen years. Never during any of that time did she attempt to see her sons. Needless to say, the sons are not all that fond of her. And, neither was I. Now she is forcing her sons to marry an English woman, or she will jerk the money which runs the Scottish estate out from under everyone. And, that also includes the people who live on that estate. The three sons sullenly go to England, and at the time this story starts, two of them have found their better half. That only leaves the eldest, most stubborn one: Coll. When I opened this book, I was hoping for a resolution to the Francesca/Angus story. Did I get the resolution I wanted? We shall see later.

One evening while Coll is escaping from his mother’s matchmaking clutches, he ends up backstage at a theater. There he sees the actress Persephone Jones, and he is instantly smitten. Coll and Persephone are mature people, neither are innocent. They are both aware of how to play games, and they proceed to use each other. Don’t get too upset with that, because they are honest with each other in their manipulations. I thought their chemistry was interesting, and honest. That means there are no big secrets, right? Well, that’s not quite true. There are secrets.  Persephone has a secret. Not only that, but someone is trying to murder her. Then there is the pretend romance she and Coll play, just to annoy Francesca.

Coll was a wonderful hero. He was strong, protective, loyal, understanding, sexy, and in the end a friend. Coll and Persephone make a delightful couple. They are comfortable with their reaction to each other, and it isn’t long before they are playing tiddlywinks. While they are twiddling, Coll is searching for the person who is trying to murder Persephone. And, here is one of the irritating moments for me. If Persephone had told Coll her secret, it would have helped him find the villain. Considering how honest they were with each other, and that they had already shared spit, it was disappointing to me that she didn’t confide in him sooner. But that was just a minor hiccup. Now, let’s talk about the major hiccup in the story.

There are two hiccups for me in, Hit Me with Your Best Scot. It may be because I’ve been following this series from the beginning.  I’ve been hoping for a strong wrap-up of two plotlines which were threaded through the series. The first plotline involved the very young Eloise and her loathsome toad of a fiancé Matthew. They are both very young. Eloise seems to be especially young, and overly class conscious. I was hoping that there would be some indication that she was having second thoughts about marrying Matthew Moosebutt. I’m still hoping that Ms. Enoch does something further with Matthew and Eloise, because their story in this particular book left me feeling empty. The other hiccup in the story was BBBIIIIIGGG. Francesca and Angus: the parents from hell. For two books I have been waiting for something to happen which would redeem Francesca and Angus. It didn’t happen. Oh sure, we find out that she did write letters to her sons, and her sons wrote to her. And…Angus hid them allll! There was the biiiggg scene where Angus brings in a big-o-box of letters and dumps them on a table. See, your mother did love you!!! She wrote alllll these letters to you for seventeen years, and I hid them!!! See, she’s not so bad. And do you know what I say to that my little Petunia’s? To quote Daffy Duck: PFFFFFFTTTttt! I’m hoping Ms. Enoch is not finished with Francesca and Angus, because that plotline needs to be resolved. But there was nothing in this book that made me look at either Francesca and Angus and say, oh you poor dears…you have suffered so much. Oh, you only had your children’s best interest at heart. Again, I will let Daffy Duck speak for me: PFFFTTTttttt!

So, what did I think? I actually liked the parts of the book which Coll and Persephone inhabited. I thought they made a great couple. I was also pleased that Coll didn’t turn out to be the Bonehead he was represented as in the first two books. In fact, he was a wonderful hero. Coll and Persephone were a delightful couple, and the romance in this story was excellent. The mystery/murder was also interesting. I just wish Francesca/Angus/Eloise/Matthew had been handled differently, or maybe a hint as to future stories. As it was, those four characters “bummed me out.” 

 

Time/Place: Regency England (I guess)

Sensuality: Warm/Hot/Mature

Book: B

Francesca/Angus/Eloise/Matthew: D

Hero Wanted by Betina Krahn

March 12, 2021
Great Start…but
 

https://betinakrahn.com/

Hero Wanted caught my attention right at the very beginning of the story. Our hero and heroine are already engaged, but it seems they don’t care too much for each other. The story begins with Lauren Alcott and Rafe Townsend in a row boat. All of a sudden, they hear screams. Nearby are two women struggling in the water. Rafe refuses to rescue the women. Lauren stands up, strips off most of her clothes, dives into the water and saves the women. Rafe is outraged at his fiancée stripping off her clothing and diving into the water. But that’s nothing compared to when she is standing in front of him in wet clinging clothes. Her clothes are almost transparent. He can see almost everything. How dare she! Not that he has any interest in her, or her luscious body. Lauren is upset as well, she calls Rafe a coward. She breaks the engagement and storms off. And, that’s just dandy with him.

Little do they know that all of this was viewed by a reporter. The reporter has been looking for a big break, and he believes he has just witnessed his chance. He adds a few embellishments, even goes so far as to name Lauren, the Angel of the River. He reports what he’s seen. Of course, Rafe and Lauren’s reputations are in ruin, and their fathers are enraged. It seems that their fathers are trying to join their businesses together. Now their children have ruined their business deal. They are not happy campers. Back to the drawing board.

In order to fool the public, and make their fathers happy, Rafe and Lauren pretend to still be engaged. This requires that they spend a lot of time together.  I was excited! “Here comes the fun”, I thought. I rubbed my hands together in glee. Then they are kidnapped!!! Oh noooo! Not ye olde kidnapping plot! This was the point in the story in which I got lost. Yes, my little Petunia’s, I was reading another story that had tooooo much going on.

They are kidnapped not once, but twice. The sailors who kidnap them are not nice, so Lauren and Rafe burn the ship down. Lauren and Rafe rescue a starving street kid, get involved in a riot, have the reporter following them around…plus they have their fathers to contend with. It could have made for a fun screw-ball comedy book, but the narrative became filled with family business…in great detail. It was all very tedious. If only the business details hadn’t been added to the book. Lauren and Rafe could have been a great couple. They were getting in and out of trouble. There were some great secondary bad guys, even the reporter was interesting. But the business detail was mind numbing.

Sorry to say, I was disappointed in this story. In fact, I believe I was more disappointed in this story because it had such a great start. Hero Wanted could have been a fun story. If only allll the tiresome business dealings had been left out. Sorry to say, I am unable to recommend Hero Wanted. 

 

Time/Place:; 1880 England

Sensuality: Warm/Hot 

A Lady's Formula for Love by Elizabeth Everett

March 12, 2021

Sometimes I don’t understand

https://elizabetheverettauthor.com/

As we all know, I’m always on the look-out for new authors. I always want to encourage writing, so it pains me that after I’ve finished the book, I don’t get it. I always question myself when I’m not as enthusiastic about a book as others seem to be. What am I missing? What am I not seeing that others see? Once again, I find myself in a minority of people. Woe is me. Maybe it’s my age, or maybe I grow weary of my romance stories having a message that I must ponder. Or maybe I just don’t understand what the message is. That was one of the problems I had with A Lady’s Formula for Love. Who am I supposed to be cheering for? The message of the book was not clear, because of that I was not able to pick a side. If an author decides to tackle one issue, or multiple issues, then they need to make it perfectly clear just what they are saying. When an author is voicing their opinions through their characters, then the characters in the book need to be true to that opinion. And by the way, if women are portrayed in the book as supportive of each other, then we should be able to see that support.

I wanted to like A Lady’s Formula for Love, I really tried. But I had to work to finish. I found myself putting it down and becoming distracted by Netflix. (Not Bridgerton this time). First of all, my ability to keep track of characters in my books seems to be dwindling. Now, I can understand this when it’s an eight-part series.  But I had trouble keeping track of the overabundance of the characters in the first few chapters of this book. There were too many people wandering around the pages, and not enough character development.

Women. As I mentioned before, the women in this story are supposed to be supportive of each other. But I thought they were catty. They insulted each other in a Marie Barrone kind of way. For the most part, they seemed to be a bunch of aristocratic women who wanted their freedom. However, they seemed blind to the suffering of women not of their class. The reason Violet Hughes created her scientific “refuge” for women was to give them the opportunities they lacked in their male dominated world. But I cannot see too much difference between men who bully and women who are snide, unpleasant, and myopic. If you are supposed to be friends, supposed to help each other, you don’t do gentle digs which wound. What’s the point of having a place to go if your miserable there? I didn’t like Violet, I thought she was a visionary without any vision.

Arthur Kneland is a super-duper guard who has been hired to protect Violet. He’s always had a problem dealing with women. But in this case that shouldn’t matter because his golden rule is to never get involved with a client. Haha, I laugh!  He isn’t in Violet’s presence for 5 seconds before his Timothy Toad starts talking to him. It’s instant-lust. There’s furniture breaking all over the place. The whankee-roo would have been a lot nicer if there had been some chemistry between Violet and Arthur.

Loads of plots. Let’s see, we have a group of mad-scientist women, we have Violet trying to save the government by working on a formula, someone is trying to kill Violet, smart women being silly, there’s worker rights movement, there is a transgender person, a hateful brother, and tons of characters waiting for their stories. It was a tad bit overwhelming, and I know I’ve left something out.

As I said earlier, I had a hard time getting through this story. The romance was swallowed up by other plot lines. I love stories where the hero falls in love with a woman who is smarter than he. Yes, they are out there, and they are wonderful! Nothing better than a hero who isn’t intimidated by a woman’s brain. Arthur never exhibited those qualities. I was also irritated with the way the women in this story were portrayed. They were all about the surface, and they were wearing blinders. If one is going to tackle issues in a book of fiction, good for you, but the characters need to reflect those issues. I wanted this book to work for me, but it didn’t. Sorry to say, I’m very disappointed.

 

Time/Place:  1842 Great Britain

Sensuality: A rubbing of sticks together without sparks