This HaBO comes from Jenny, who warns this request might be a bit tough:
Okay, so I might have an impossible HaBO, but I thought I’d try anyway.
When I was about 7 years old (early to mid 90s) I was grocery shopping with my parents and we ended up in the books/magazines aisle. My parents were engrossed in something and not paying any attention to me, so I wandered over to the paperback romance section and grabbed a book and started reading.
I remember that the cover featured two women, one in a yellow gown and the other in blue (Regency style). In the first couple, pages the women were getting ready for a ball and were discussing two men whom they hoped would be there.
I was so proud of myself for reading a “grown-up” book that I asked my mom to buy it for me and she promptly snatched it from me and put it back, saying I was too young to read it. I remember feeling confused because I thought I was reading about princesses and assumed the book was filled with Disney goodness. That memory has stayed with me for over 20 years, and I would LOVE to be able to find the book that was denied to me. I’m assuming it was a 90s bestseller, maybe?
All we have is a cover description and the opening action. Any ideas from the Bitchery?
It looks like GoodReads has a list of Yellow dress covers
http://www.goodreads.com/list/show/73645.Yellow_Dress_Historical_Romance
I took a look, and didn’t see one with two women. But several, including Mary Balogh books have a woman in a yellow dress with the man in a blue jacket. There were quite a few of those. But I haven’t read any of them, so I can’t tell you if the openings match.
I thought of The Season by Sarah MacLean, but the timeline doesn’t match.
Here’s the cover: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3751593-the-season
Could it be twin of fire/twin of ice by Jude Deveraux?
It sounds a bit similar to how Dark Angel by Mary Balogh begins, but perhaps there are details that don’t quite match up. And I know when books are re-released they may get new covers so I didn’t want to discount Dark Angel even though the current cover doesn’t match the sender inner’s cover description.
Best wishes with the search!
Thanks for the replies! Unfortunately it’s not any of the books mentioned, but I’m slowly making my way through the goodreads yellow dress list, will hopefully come across the one!
If you find yourself with some extra time, you could pull up the bestseller lists from those years and comb through the covers.
Good luck with your HABO!
I don’t know why, but this cover sounds like a Signet Regency to me. So, I did a search on Regency Romances from Signet in the 1990s. I came across a cover for The Charming Impostor that has a lady in a yellow dress and a lady in a blue dress, but it is from 1985. I wouldn’t still be in a grocery store in the early 1990s, but who knows.
I’ve now spent a good portion of my evening searching the Internet for this cover. Is there anything else? Was it a hand drawing or more realistic photo/art? Were there any men at all along with the women? A cover with only two women seems very unusual. I hate mysteries!
The cover that Mary is referring to can be seen at this link: https://www.amazon.com/Charming-Imposter-Regency-Romance-Kihlstrom/dp/0451138023?ie=UTF8&ref_=asap_bc
Now I’m curious, too!
a late Victoria Holt?
The women on the cover (according to my hazy memory) looked like they were dressed in Regency style and they looked real, not like a drawing. I only got through the first 3-4 pages. The two women were getting themselves ready for a ball/party of some kind and were talking about 2 love interests whom they were going to meet there. I have no idea if this was even a good book, but it must have been somewhat popular to be sold in a grocery store book section. But that memory has stuck with me for 20 years for some reason, I just KNOW I would recognize the first few pages if I came across them. I also know that time has probably warped my memory some regarding cover art, but I’m positive that the story began with the women getting ready for a party.
And I’m sure it wasn’t a contemporary Romance because I remember thinking the women looked like princesses, which was why I chose that particular book. 🙂
This is really a headscratcher! I’ve been combing through covers from that time and there are plenty of women in yellow dresses, but none with another woman. I’m trying to think of I have ever seen a cover like that, of any kind. I feel like it’s always a man and a woman or just a woman (unless it’s erotica or m/m, f/f, etc., which would’ve *really* been an eye-opening shopping trip! :D). The only thing I can think of is that they were super close sisters or twins and that’s why they included it.
Could it be A Regency Summer?
https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&site=imghp&tbm=isch&source=hp&biw=980&bih=1594&q=a regency summer book&oq=a regency summer book&gs_l=img.3…2330.16376.0.16723.32.15.7.10.0.0.282.1759.2j11j1.14.0….0…1ac.1.64.img..1.20.1842…0j0i8i10i30j0i24j0i10i24j0i8i30j0i30.foZxK6VZZEI#hl=en&tbm=isch&q=a regency summer book balogh&imgrc=1ihSD9sB1juIHM:
So, I found this book, which has a woman in a pale yellow-ish gown and a blue gown, but it also has dudes on the cover. Might be it, though? Only issue is that it was published in 2002. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2374210.A_Scandalous_Journey
Here are two more that kind of almost fit the description of the cover:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/417583.Frederica_in_Fashion
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/692963.Carousel_of_Hearts
(Can you tell I’m bored at work?)
These two are a little earlier than the other, so more chance of being from the right era.
I read a regency summer in the 90s that had a similar cover. I’d go look to see which it was but my mom found it and took it lol!
While searching 90’s book covers I came across Johanna Lyndsey’s original book cover art for ‘Tender is the Storm’ YIKES! It has a woman in a yellow dress but she appears to be down on her knees with the NAKED hero smashing her up against his bit and pieces. I am certain this isn’t the HaBo if only because there isn’t a woman in a blue dress covering up his backside and of course it isn’t a 90’s book. 🙂
Sorry not about this HABO request, but I seem to be unable to communicate my HABO request via the web form. What’s up with that? What am I doing wrong? I’ve sent twice and get a notice appear that it was sent. Thanks!
KellyM- Holy Moly!! That cover is scandalous even by today’s standards!
Hey Susan! That’s very strange and I apologize for the trouble! Can you email me directly? Sarah AT smartbitchestrashybooks.com. Apologies!
Thanks for all the comments, still haven’t found it but have a ton of great new leads! Meanwhile, while I look I’ll continue to enjoy some awful 90s romance cover art and pictures of Fabio. 🙂
A lot of Georgette Heyers’ novels have two women on the cover, and usually in very princess like gowns. Also…
http://allankass.blogspot.com/2012/02/elizabeth-hewitt-private-understanding.html
I have nothing to suggest, but wanted to comment on what a charming story this is! I hope you find the book.
Like others, I wondered if this might have been a Signet Regency (or any traditional Regency), simply because those covers seem to be more likely to appeal to a little girl than the Fabio-type covers that would have been popular at the time.
@KellyM & Leeann – wow, that’s quite the cover for 1985!
And methinks it could use the cover snark treatment, if only for the bushes playing grab-ass with the nekkid dude (which… is not a phrase I ever would’ve thought I’d concoct in this lifetime).
@ Leeann & cayenne – I know, I was kind of scandalized. 🙂
It seems to be a Johanna Lindsey cover theme because Brave the Wind and especially When Love Awaits covers feature a naked hero. When Love Awaits cover, said naked hero is holding on to his conveniently placed unsheathed sword. (Nudge, nudge. Wink wink). He appears to be a knight. Brings to mind: If men were to fight naked there wouldn’t be war.
But it’s like unearthing 80’s romance cover porn lol.
I am still looking for your cover Jenny. Yellow appears to be a popular regency dress color on romance book covers, that and naked men.
The Westerby Sisters by Marion Chesney has two women on the cover, one in blue and one in yellow, although the dresses look more Georgian than Regency and there is also a man? You can read a preview on Goodreads and the women are talking about going to a party in the first few pages. It was published in 1982 which would be too early unless it was republished later?
We received an email from Nora with a potential solution! She suggested Falling for Chloe by Diane Farr after seeing this cover.