Discovering new books // 8 Historical Romances from Small Pubs and/or Self-pub
Hi! I finally got the urge to write a new blog post and you might have seen me talking about some blog ideas if you follow me on Twitter. One of these ideas is to do a blog post with book recommendations that have historical romances published by small pubs or that have been self published. If you're very familiar with historical romances, you know that one of the biggest pubs aka Harper publishes a lot of them under the Avon imprint. I absolutely love that imprint so much and all their books are fabulous.
But there are also historical romances that are not being published by the big pubs. And sometimes people forget them, I guess? If they're not published by Avon it doesn't mean they are bad. This concerns obviously all the other different genres and stuff - if it isn't published by the big 5 it doesn't mean the book is bad. They might be more amazing tbh.
Here are some books I have had in my TBR for a while or some I've already read. Hope you all pick them up!
A Taste of Honey by Rose Lerner is actually my current read right now and I'm enjoying it so much. If you're into the baking thing + a virgin shy hero and some cute moments, I definitely recommend it. It recently released and it's currently $2.99.
Fire and ice cream...
Robert Moon risked everything, including his father’s hardwon legacy, to open his beloved Honey Moon Confectionery on the busiest street in Lively St. Lemeston. Now he’s facing bankruptcy and debtor’s prison.
When a huge catering order comes in, he agrees to close the sweet-shop for a week to fill it. There’s only one problem: his apprentice is out of town, so his beautiful shop-girl Betsy Piper must help Robert in the kitchen.
Betsy’s spent the last year trying to make her single-minded boss look up from his pastries and notice that she would be the perfect wife. Now the two of them are alone in a kitchen full of sweet things. With just one week to get him to fall in love with her, she’d better get this seduction started...
She soon discovers that Robert brings the same meticulous, eager-to-please attitude to lovemaking that he does to baking, but can kisses—no matter how sweet—compete with the Honey Moon in his heart?
KJ Charles is someone I really have wanted to pick up her books. If you have the chance to read one her books, I recommend you all to take the chance and just do it. I really think you won't regret it.
London 1805. Jobbing writer, proprietor of the Matrimonial Advertiser lonely hearts gazette, and all-round weasel Theo Swann is just trying to get by when Martin St. Vincent turns up. Martin is a merchant, tasked with putting a stop to a wealthy young heiress’s romantic correspondence in the Advertiser. And when she and her swain make a dash for Gretna, Martin drags Theo after him on a breakneck high-speed (fourteen miles an hour!) chase up the country to catch the lovers before it’s too late. The question is, as entanglements, deceptions, and revelations come thick and fast, will any of them be the same again?
A Summer for Scandal by Lydia San Andres is one of my number one favorite historical romances. I can't believe I lived my life without reading her books and if you are in this predicament too, I really want you all to read them. This one is her full novel but she has another one, The Infamous Miss Rodriguez, that is a novella, but highly recommend it because I adore it too.
When Emilia Cruz agreed to accompany her sister to a boating party, she had no idea that the darling of the literary world would be in assistance—or that he would take such pleasure in disparaging the deliciously sinful serial she writes under a pseudonym. No one save her sister knows she’s the author and to be found out would mean certain scandal.
Stuck on his long-awaited second book, Ruben Torres has begun to edit in secret a gossip paper whose literary reviews are as cruel as they are clever. The more he writes about the mysterious author of a popular serial, the more papers he sells…and the more he is determined to find out her identity before anyone else can.
When Emilia Cruz agreed to accompany her sister to a boating party, she had no idea that the darling of the literary world would be in assistance—or that he would take such pleasure in disparaging the deliciously sinful serial she writes under a pseudonym. No one save her sister knows she’s the author and to be found out would mean certain scandal.
Stuck on his long-awaited second book, Ruben Torres has begun to edit in secret a gossip paper whose literary reviews are as cruel as they are clever. The more he writes about the mysterious author of a popular serial, the more papers he sells…and the more he is determined to find out her identity before anyone else can.
Brothers Sinister series is a biiiig thing in romance world. Courtney Milan writes some of my favorite tropes in romanceland and her historicals are so good you won't see it coming when they become your favorites.
Sometimes love is an accident.
This time, it’s a strategy.
Miss Minerva Lane is a quiet, bespectacled wallflower, and she wants to keep it that way. After all, the last time she was the center of attention, it ended badly--so badly that she changed her name to escape her scandalous past. Wallflowers may not be the prettiest of blooms, but at least they don't get trampled. So when a handsome duke comes to town, the last thing she wants is his attention.
But that is precisely what she gets.
Because Robert Blaisdell, the Duke of Clermont, is not fooled. When Minnie figures out what he’s up to, he realizes there is more to her than her spectacles and her quiet ways. And he’s determined to lay her every secret bare before she can discover his. But this time, one shy miss may prove to be more than his match…
Sometimes love is an accident.
This time, it’s a strategy.
Miss Minerva Lane is a quiet, bespectacled wallflower, and she wants to keep it that way. After all, the last time she was the center of attention, it ended badly--so badly that she changed her name to escape her scandalous past. Wallflowers may not be the prettiest of blooms, but at least they don't get trampled. So when a handsome duke comes to town, the last thing she wants is his attention.
But that is precisely what she gets.
Because Robert Blaisdell, the Duke of Clermont, is not fooled. When Minnie figures out what he’s up to, he realizes there is more to her than her spectacles and her quiet ways. And he’s determined to lay her every secret bare before she can discover his. But this time, one shy miss may prove to be more than his match…
Alyssa has written some of my favorite historicals too. I haven't actually picked up this one but I've read Let It Shine, An Extraordinary Union and Agnes Moor's Wild Knight, both very beautiful.
A rebellious cabaret owner and her stubborn chef pursue, life, liberty, and happiness in 1917 Harlem...and find love where they least expect it.
After spending half her life pretending to be something she’s not, performance is second nature for cabaret owner Bertha Hines. With the election drawing near and women’s voting rights on the ballot, Bertha decides to use her persuasive skills to push the men of New York City in the right direction.
Chef Amir Chowdhury jumped ship in New York to get a taste of the American Dream, only to discover he’s an unwanted ingredient. When ornery Amir reluctantly takes a job at The Cashmere, he thinks he’s hit the bottom of the barrel; however, working at the club reignites his dream of being a force for change. His boss, Bertha, ignites something else in him.
Bertha and Amir clash from the start, but her knowledge of politics and his knowledge of dance force them into a detente that fans the flames of latent desire. But Bertha has the vice squad on her tail, and news from home may end Amir’s dream before it comes to fruition. With their pasts and futures stacked against them, can Amir and Bertha hold on to their growing love?
A rebellious cabaret owner and her stubborn chef pursue, life, liberty, and happiness in 1917 Harlem...and find love where they least expect it.
After spending half her life pretending to be something she’s not, performance is second nature for cabaret owner Bertha Hines. With the election drawing near and women’s voting rights on the ballot, Bertha decides to use her persuasive skills to push the men of New York City in the right direction.
Chef Amir Chowdhury jumped ship in New York to get a taste of the American Dream, only to discover he’s an unwanted ingredient. When ornery Amir reluctantly takes a job at The Cashmere, he thinks he’s hit the bottom of the barrel; however, working at the club reignites his dream of being a force for change. His boss, Bertha, ignites something else in him.
Bertha and Amir clash from the start, but her knowledge of politics and his knowledge of dance force them into a detente that fans the flames of latent desire. But Bertha has the vice squad on her tail, and news from home may end Amir’s dream before it comes to fruition. With their pasts and futures stacked against them, can Amir and Bertha hold on to their growing love?
I'm obsessed with Rebecca Paula's contemporary romances, but I haven't actually picked up her historicals. I have had this one in my TBR for a while and it sounds pretty amazing.
Clara Dawson always followed the rules, until one terrifying night when her inheritance is stolen and the man responsible is left for dead. Desperate to outrun her troubles, she accepts a governess position at the crumbling gothic manor of the mysterious Ravensdale family. Caring for three orphaned children gives her a purpose, but her vulgar employer, Bly Ravensdale, holds dangerous secrets that may shatter Clara's newfound safe haven. Yet this stubborn brute compels Clara to abandon her etiquette at every turn, and she can't stay away.Disowned by his family, Bly Ravensdale travels the globe as an explorer and agent of the British Crown until his brother’s passing leaves him saddled with three young wards. Charged with returning them to the family's vacant ancestral seat in the English countryside—the one place he wishes to avoid at all costs—Bly quits the role of spy to play family man. But a man nicknamed Devil rarely gets a clean start in life, even with the aid of the prudish yet lovely governess, Clara. Despite her cold exterior, Bly finds himself drawn to her, even as an enemy from his deadly past resurfaces seeking vengeance. Can he protect all that he has suddenly come to hold dear?
I got recommended Graveyard Sparrow by Kayla Bashe by a friend of mine and to be honest I'm so excited to get to it hopefully soon. Also to pick up every Kayla book there is in the world as well.
Katriona Sparrow, dubbed the Mad Heiress by most of London's upper class, is the deceptively fragile ward of a foreign nobleman. She can't stand making small talk with strangers, but she's unparalleled when it comes to deciphering the dead.
On a routine investigation, though, something goes horribly wrong, leaving Katriona catatonic in an upscale hospital and a serial killer with an artistic bent stalking London's most vulnerable.
Enter Anthea Garlant, a young witch and academic ostracized from polite society for traveling the world without a chaperone. She devises magical accommodations to protect Katriona from the side effects of her abilities- but as she grows more and more attached to the other woman, her professional façade begins to slip.
Will they be able to stop the man who turns beautiful dead women into works of art- the man who is closer to Katriona than anyone suspects?
Katriona Sparrow, dubbed the Mad Heiress by most of London's upper class, is the deceptively fragile ward of a foreign nobleman. She can't stand making small talk with strangers, but she's unparalleled when it comes to deciphering the dead.
On a routine investigation, though, something goes horribly wrong, leaving Katriona catatonic in an upscale hospital and a serial killer with an artistic bent stalking London's most vulnerable.
Enter Anthea Garlant, a young witch and academic ostracized from polite society for traveling the world without a chaperone. She devises magical accommodations to protect Katriona from the side effects of her abilities- but as she grows more and more attached to the other woman, her professional façade begins to slip.
Will they be able to stop the man who turns beautiful dead women into works of art- the man who is closer to Katriona than anyone suspects?
Elliot Cooper is someone I also have in my TBR. Prince and Pirate is just one of the books in it but also Rogue Wolf, but that one is more of a shifter romance, pirate story, across the galaxy kind of book, but still, if that also interests you * wink*
Prince Gavin is powerless to refuse when his father demands he secure an alliance with a distant kingdom. At first, he sees the journey as a chance to prove his worth and indulge in the grand adventures of his dreams. Yet nothing seems right about his father’s paranoid insistence he travel by merchant ship while disguised as a diplomat. Once out on the open sea, Gavin learns he’s been tricked into boarding an infamous pirate ship: the Ebon Drake.
Captain Marcas Drake is delighted to discover the courtier he’s kidnapped is really a prince. Acquiring such a hefty ransom will prove once and for all he’s a brilliant pirate in his own right, not riding the coattails of his father’s fame. And using his charms to seduce his prisoner makes for an entertaining pastime. But unfortunate events turn the Ebon Drake’s crew against their captain before the ransom can be carried out.
Marooned, Marcas and Gavin’s new equal footing turns the pirate’s sensual game into something else entirely. However, being stranded on a tiny island becomes the least of their worries when rescue arrives in the form of the bloodthirsty Crimson Queen, a pirate who’s been chasing Marcas for years. Working together to escape the queen is their only hope of freedom and a chance their growing love might outlast their misadventures.
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