Archives de catégorie : Historical Romance

NOW COMES THE MIST de Julie C. Dao

A sexy, romantic, feminist retelling of Dracula from the point of view of Lucy Westenra.

NOW COMES THE MIST
by Julie C. Dao
Podium, October 2024
(via Context Literary Agency)

Lucy Westenra is beautiful, rich, and admired by men. But under her sparkling, flirtatious façade, Lucy is melancholy and obsessed with death after losing her beloved father; she both fears and is captivated by death and dreads leaving her loved ones behind, especially Mina Murray, for whom Lucy cherishes an unspoken romantic attraction.

Lucy balks against the rules of upper-class society. She longs for experiences that are considered inappropriate for a respectable young lady, from traveling to indulging in her sexual curiosity and enthusiasm as men do. When she meets the sexy, mysterious Vlad, she realizes she has the chance to get everything she ever wanted. Or lose it.

Julie C. Dao is the critically acclaimed author of many books for teens and children including Forest of a Thousand Lanterns and Broken Wish. Her novels have earned starred reviews from Booklist, School Library Journal, and Publishers Weekly, won recognition as Junior Library Guild Selections and Kids’ Indie Next List picks, and landed on multiple best-ofyear lists including YALSA and the American Library Association. A proud Vietnamese- American who was born in upstate New York, she now lives in New England.

THE AUSTEN AFFAIR de Madeline Bell

Outlander meets Bridget Jones’s Diary in Jane Austen’s Regency England.

THE AUSTEN AFFAIR
by Madeline Bell
St. Martin’s Griffin, September 2025
(via KT Literary)

C-list actress Tess Bright grew up in a messy SoCal apartment watching Jane Austen flicks on repeat with her mom. When Mom passes away and Tess lands a breakout role as the female lead in a Northanger Abbey adaptation, she emerges from her grief cocoon with everything to prove. One big problem? Her upsettingly handsome castmate, Hugh Balfour, whose rigid acting methodology allows no room to collaborate with a go-with-the-flow whirlwind like Tess.

When sparks fly between the leads (literally) and an electrical accident zaps the pair back in time to the Regency era, Tess and Hugh must grudgingly learn to cooperate, leaning on each other to navigate the strict protocols of the past and find their way back home. Soon, they’re faking an engagement to misdirect the neighbors’ suspicions about their sudden arrival in country society.

Between militia rakes, nosy ancestors, and persistent suitors, the couple is swept into a comedy worthy of Austen herself. Tess never thought she could fall for anyone as uptight as Hugh, but as she gets to know his sensitive side, she realizes she might have misjudged him. With the romantic tension swelling between them, and her childhood fantasy made miraculously real, what happens if Tess doesn’t want to risk what they have by returning to her lonely 21st century reality?

Madeline Bell is a romance writer who has never met an enemies-to-lovers trope she didn’t like. She spends much of her free time ranking and continually reranking different adaptations of Jane Austen novels, and like a true rom-com heroine, she has a quirky day job working in a creative arts field in New York City.

A HUNT SO WICKED de Britt Andrews

Malindo Lo’s Ash meets Kiera Cass’s The Selection in this dark romantasy in which a peasant girl is persuaded to join a competition where the royal families select brides for their sons. When she learns the royals have a more sinister plan, she must fight to survive.

A HUNT SO WICKED
(Cursed Royals #1)
by Britt Andrews
Britt Andrews Books, May 2023
(via JABberwocky Literary Agency)

The guards arrive at Evie’s humble cottage with an unbelievable offer: come to an exclusive and mysterious isle to compete for the hand of a royal husband.

Enjoy a week of glittering balls, dancing, ostentatious wealth…and a royal hunt. If Evie is not selected by a prince, she will still be sent home with a pot of money. Whether she marries a prince or not, Evie’s life would be changed forever.

Her father begs her not to go, warning that it could be dangerous. But Evie stubbornly continues on, determined to win for the sake of her family.

When she arrives on the Roaring Isle and meets the royals who organized the competition, she realizes there are no Prince Charmings here. These royals are powerful, toxic, and bloodthirsty.

In the dark and treacherous wilderness, they are the hunters and Evie and the other would be royal wives are the prey. Not all of them will survive a hunt so wicked. But Evie is determined that she will.

Britt Andrews is an author of Paranormal Reverse Harem Romance novels. She loves eating Mexican food, reading all the books, and living her best mom life in rural Ohio.

THE FORGOTTEN BOY de Laura Andersen

Full of mystery, romance, and grief, THE FORGOTTEN BOY is a gorgeously written novel that tells the story of three powerful women who experience love and loss in vastly different time periods.

THE FORGOTTEN BOY
by Laura Andersen
Open Road Media, April 2024
(via Context)

1460: Ismay Deacon, caught between sides in the War of the Roses, tries to hide away in her ancestral home, Havencross. But when word gets out that she has a child, Ismay has to make a terrible choice to protect her son. The Deacon family disappears, but there are rumors of a young ghost haunting the halls of Havencross.

1918: Diana Neville, an experienced war nurse, is hired by Havencross School for Boys to run the infirmary. But soon there is knocking on her door in the middle of the night and she hears footsteps in empty corridors. Plus, the youngest students are reporting a ghostly boy luring them from bed in the middle of the night, all while the Spanish Flu hits Havencross. In the midst of the pandemic, the youngest boy disappears, and Diana has to face her deepest fear by going into medieval tunnels after him.

2018: Juliet Stratford is hired to spend the winter at Havencross to clear it out before it comes a luxury hotel. Juliet, an historian, throws herself into the mysteries of Havencross. Especially: Who is the forgotten boy that has haunted Havencross for so long? And is it the same boy that Juliet has begun to see in the echoing, empty house?

Laura Andersen is the award-winning author of The Boleyn trilogy, The Tudor Legacy trilogy, and The Darkling Bride.

APHRODITE AND THE DUKE de J.J. McAvoy

A regency romance with a more inclusive image in this beloved genre—one that centers on a Black woman as the most beautiful woman in the ton. This new series follows the diverse Du Bell children and their chaotic, dramatic, and oftentimes humorous paths to love.

APHRODITE AND THE DUKE
by J.J. McAvoy
Ballantine, June 2022
(via Nancy Yost)

APHRODITE AND THE DUKE, described as The Importance of Being Wanton by Christi Caldwell meets When the Earl Met His Match by Stacy Reid, is a second-chance romance centering on bookish and thoughtful Aphrodite Du Bell. Sure, the members of the ton, and even the queen herself, heap praise on her warm brown skin, perfect curls, and exquisite features, but Aphrodite can’t help but think that living up to the literal goddess of beauty is asking a bit much! Also, her renowned beauty certainly didn’t stop the love of her life from jilting her and marrying another four years ago.
When Aphrodite’s formidable mother summons her back to London to aid in her sister’s debut, she has no choice but to acquiesce. But she’s determined to ignore one man in particular, despite what the very sight of him does to her heart.
Evander Eagleman, the Duke of Everely, lost his chance for true love four years ago. Now that he is free from that particular family treachery—well, almost free—he is determined to win back Aphrodite’s trust…and her hand in marriage. But even as the couple makes strides to mend past hurts, a nefarious conspirator from Evander’s past threatens their future…as well as their lives…

Judy Onyegbado, writing as J.J. McAvoy, has written numerous independently published novels. Her books have been translated into six languages, and were bestsellers in Turkey, Israel, and France. She is active and delightful on social media: @JJMcAvoy; Instagram.