This HaBO is from Seraph, who wants to find a historical romance based on some limited details:
This might probably be a long shot since I never actually even read the book…
It’s definitely a historical romance/regency novel. The only main thing I remember is that they’re using a book about the art of war, but applying it to courtship instead. I believe it’s the heroine using it to make the duke/earl/marquess fall for her, but not 100% sure.
I’m unsure if the book is strategy-based or is actually The Art of War by Sun Tzu.
I feel like I have either read this book or seen the synopsis. The one I’m thinking of, the heroine, finds the book because she has a military family, I think.And it’s not The Art of War, but a fictitious book and they’re excerpts of it in the romance. Maybe it’s even written by a family member of hers? Her grandfather, maybe?
Ah, maybe it’s not the same book, but this premise sounds really familiar.
Not helpful at all… But I feel like this is something Zapp Brannigan would do to “woo” Leela.
Might be Kathryn Caskies, Rules of Engagement: http://www.amazon.com/Engagement-Warner-Forever-Kathryn-Caskie/dp/0446614238
I think slimlove may have it with Rules of Engagement. The story also follows the fake relationship trope. And, if I remember correctly, has lots of snappy dialogue.
This couldn’t be Sherwood Smith’s Crown Duel, could it? In that one, our Plucky Heroine is dropped into the treacherous world of court and has to learn to communicate using arcane systems because Spying, I think, and eventually because Romance.
I’m also pretty sure it’s Rules of Engagement… I’ve got it here on my Nook. It’s actually the heroine’s Aunts who use the military strategy book, which they have mixed up with a plan for finding a husband. She agrees, because it means so much to her Aunts. Each chapter has a little quote from the rules, such as:
Rule Three: Use local guides to gain advantage of the ground.
Try The Duke and the Domina by Jenn LeBlanc. Every chapter starts out with a quote from The Art of War.
The heroine in An Extraordinary Union by Alyssa Cole had to memorize The Art of War, and she uses it to guide some of her actions.
I want to read ALL of these. Thanks you guys!
Not the right book, but it reminds me of The Duke’s Christmas Wish by Vivienne Lorret in the Christmas anthology: All I Want For Christmas. The Duke is a scientist and thinks he can use science on everything, including marriage.
Not the book you are looking for but I just read a short by Lori Foster, In Too Deep, and the hero is always quoting The At of War and it makes a lot of sense to and impresses the heroine.
Blurb for Rules of Engagement reads “We, the undersigned, confined to spinsterhood through no fault of our own, hereby declare to guide our beloved niece Eliza Merriweather through the upcoming season and secure for her one, if not several, offers of marriage. We vow to consult the magnificent handbook Rules Of Engagement and follow its advice to the letter.
Our mission will be difficult, for Eliza is a very independent-minded young woman and a worthy adversary. Already she has hatched a scheme of her own and persuaded Magnus MacKinnon, possessor of mesmerizing silver eyes and a shockingly sexy brogue, to play the role of attentive suitor. But with our help, it is only a matter of time before their “pretend” affections blossom into the real thing.
And so we pledge to remain steadfast and to accept nothing less than complete victory: our dearest Eliza walking hand in hand down the aisle with Magnus MacKinnon.
With true hearts and strong purpose,
The Ladies Letitia and Viola Featherton”
I’m really interested in the answer to this HaBO!! 😀
Now I need a historical romance the uses Machiavelli’s The Prince in a similar way!
I read a book that had Machiavelli in its plot courting a young girl when on a diplomatic mission. It was fun. Unfortunately I don’t remember the title and probably it wasn’t classified as a “romance”
Then and Now by W. Somerset Maugham