Almost a Scandal by Elizabeth Essex is $2.99 right now. This is a historical romance about a woman who enlists in the navy disguised as a boy (obviously), and it's the first book in Essex's Reckless Brides series. Readers on GR really love the hero, too. Have you read this book?
Bold, brazen, and beautiful, the Reckless Brides refuse to play by society’s rules of courtship. But—come hell or high water—they always get their man…
A Lady in Disguise
For generations, the Kents have served proudly with the British Royal Navy. So when her younger brother refuses to report for duty, Sally Kent slips into a uniform and takes his place—at least until he comes to his senses. Boldly climbing aboard the Audacious, Sally is as able-bodied as any sailor there. But one man is making her feel tantalizingly aware of the full-bodied woman beneath her navy blues…
A Man Overboard
Dedicated to his ship, sworn to his duty—and distractingly gorgeous—Lieutenant David Colyear sees through Sally’s charade, and he’s furious. But he must admit she’s the best midshipman on board—and a woman who tempts him like no other. With his own secrets to hide and his career at stake, Col agrees to keep her on. But can the passion they hide survive the perils of a battle at sea? Soon, their love and devotion will be put to the test…
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One Night in London is $1.99, and is the first book in the “Truth about the Duke” series – which is effusively reviewed and has many fans among historical romance readers.
(This book also features a cover that never fails to make me feel a great deal of empathy for the women on the cover, as clearly she is enduring considerably windy gastrointestinal distress. One Night in London… makes demure ladies humble in the retiring room, apparently.)
A bargain that was all business . . . and pure passion.
Neither wealth nor beauty will help Lady Francesca Gordon win custody of her young niece Georgina, saving the girl from a cruel stepmother; she needs London’s top solicitor for that. But when Edward de Lacey, son of the powerful Duke of Durham, hires away the one man who can do the job, Francesca decides Edward himself must champion her case . . . if only she can melt the dashing lord’s stony heart.
Edward has reason to be guarded, though. London’s tabloids have just exposed a secret that could ruin his entire family. When Francesca offers a unique chance to undo the damage, Edward is forced to agree to a partnership . . . and now, each moment together feeds the flames of his scandalous longing for the passionate widow. But when Georgina disappears, fate will test them both . . . and leave their love hanging in the balance.
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Fool Me Twice by Meredith Duran comes out March 25, 2014, but it's still discounted for pre-order right now at $1.99. Meredith Duran is a tremendously talented historical romance writer, so I imagine this book will be worth far more than $1.99 (I haven't read it yet). Buy your future self a present, and when the book magically appears, you can thank you past self for being so thoughtful!
Sensible and lonely, Olivia Mather survives by her wits—and her strict policy of avoiding trouble. But when she realizes that the Duke of Marwick might hold the secrets of her family’s past, she does the unthinkable, infiltrating his household as a maid. She’ll clean his study and rifle through his papers looking for information.
Alastair de Grey has a single reason to live: vengeance. More beautiful than Lucifer, twice as feared, and thrice as cunning, he’ll use any weapon to punish those who fooled and betrayed him—even an impertinent maid who doesn’t know her place. But the more fascinated he becomes with the uppity redhead, the more dangerous his carefully designed plot becomes. For the one contingency he forgot to plan for was falling in love…and he cannot survive being fooled again.
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The Time of the Hunter's Moon by Victoria Holt is a Kindle Daily Deal for $1.99 right now at Amazon, it's been matched at BN today. This is a historical/gothic romance originally published in 1983. Some readers adore it as a classic while others really struggle with the old-skool hero and his overbearing, intense ways. Victoria Holt is one of the grand dames of historical romance, and many readers found their way to the genre through her novels.
Cordelia Grant wonders if she is dreaming after she sees a handsome stranger in the forest at the time of the hunter's moon, when legends say a girl will see her future husband. Haunted by the memory of this mystery man, Cordelia begins a new life as schoolmistress at a girl's academy and finds herself pursued by Jason Verringer, a dashing land baron with a scandalous reputation: It is rumored that Jason murdered his wife and mistress.
But he has invaded her thoughts and is competing with the memory of the handsome stranger.
Now Cordelia's destiny depends on finding out the truth about two very different men . . .
I see that a number of Victoria Holt’s books have been translated into Russian, which is so very cool. But what’s with the prices for these old and old-school—albeit well-loved—books like Bride of Pendorric? $8.86? Really?
I loved the Essex book and said the same on DA. I learned so much about sailing ships in the time period and the chicks in pants part wasn’t obnoxious to me. By obnoxious I meant they weren’t getting busy on the ship, the hero figured it out pretty quickly into the book, and the captain wasn’t an idiot. I loved how she wrote about the feels around what it is like for your ambitions to be severely limited due to your gender, not your abilities, and I loved it that the hero loved the heroine because of who she was and what she was good at, not in spite of it. I also like that the main characters weren’t lords and ladies and worked hard, and that some of their choices had consequences (but you know, still a HEA).
The publisher doesn’t allow coupon codes at places like Kobo, so this is a great price.
I bought the Victoria Holt book along with a couple of Jill Barnett books (Wonderful and Wild are $1.99 each) and What Angels fear by C.S. Harris for $2.99. My first month attempting to stick to a book budget has not gone well.
I used to like Victoria Holt until I read The Demon Lover and then I could never read another one of her novels again. I still own and reread some of her books that I read before that but The Demon Lover *shudder* = beyond awful.
Few weeks back on the 15th of February, I actually had an opportunity to meet Elizabeth Essex in person 🙂 hopefully I’ll like her books
Oh yes, I must agree about hating Holt’s The Demon Lover. I like to fool myself into thinking Holt was knocked over the head and was unconscious while someone else wrote this book using her name.
Wicked by Jill Barnett is only $0.99 right now. It’s the third book in the Medieval trilogy
Really loved “Almost a Scandal”, about the most realistic woman in a boy’s disguise book I’ve read. Since then I’ve read several of her earlier and later books which are not a series, but do have connected characters. The Caroline Linden book was good too, with an unusual ending, where the villain turns out to be not so villainous.
Ooh, thanks for the tip-off about the Duran book! And I always love cross-dressing to be a soldier/sailor so I bought that one too. Ah, Kobo impulse buying, I SHOULD regret it but I never do.
The Demon Lover killed Victoria Holt for me too! I read all her books that were at the library until I hit that one…I was probably 14 and had mostly read Regency trads up to that point and I honestly didn’t expect them to get together at the end! And about two-thirds of the way through the book I realized…no. (I was going to go into more detail but then I realized maybe spoilers are not cool in comment threads? What’s the etiquette on that? Should I just put a spoiler warning in?)