For this Rec League we have a couple of personal requests. The first is from Reader Jennifer:
I’m a young widow and the idea of reading about a hero who had lost his wife was interesting to me, as there’s a dearth of that available in fiction in general.
I’d love to have some suggestions for books about younger people moving on after the death of a spouse. By younger, I mean under 50, I guess. I’m 39 and lost my husband when I was 35, and so much widow/widower stuff I found is about older people.
Sarah:Â Coincidentally, we received a second request from Reader A. who wrote:
I’m a long time reader of your site, and have a bit of a sad recommendation request.
I was very recently widowed, so now I’m a 28 year old childless widow and really do feel like someone in a historical, minus the romance part…
For a long time I’ve enjoyed reading romances especially when I’m in need of a pick me up. And I could definitely use one hell of a pick me up right around now.
Do you have any recommendations, or can post asking for them, books where the heroine is widow? Looking exclusively for books where the late husband wasn’t a 50 year old tyrant, or they weren’t married for a half day, or anything like that. Just widows (from a happy first marriage) finding new nice love, etc.
I’m partial to period romances but will read nearly anything! Among my favourites are Courtney Milan and Lisa Kleypas, to give a taste, but I’m very open to suggestions.
Redheadedgirl: The new Eloisa James is just that – Seven Minutes in Heaven ( A | BN | K | G | AB )
As is…oh Caroline Linden’s third book in the Reece trilogy. something Guide to Seduction?
Amanda: A Rake’s Guide to Seduction ( A | BN | K | G | AB )
Redheadedgirl: There was one by Erin Knightly…
Amanda:Â The Viscount Risks It All
Elyse: Augh what’s the super romance where the hero falls for his late wife’s best friend? The one with all the feels. Australian author? Sarah Mayberry maybe?
Amanda: Within Reach ( A | BN | K | G | AB )
Sarah: Recommendations ahoy! Â Lord Perfect by Loretta Chase ( A | BN | K | G | AB ) – Chase is amazing and her books are terrific.
It Takes Two to Tangle by Theresa Romain ( A | BN | K | G | AB ) – this is a romance of pen-pals, Cyrano style, and the heroine is a war widow.
The Lady Julia Grey series by Deanna Raybourn – a mystery series with a warning: the first book opens as Lady Julia’s husband has just been poisoned and is dying. She learns more about him as she investigates his death, and there’s a longer romance thread that builds with another character through the series as well.
Christmas Eve at Friday Harbor by Lisa Kleypas ( A | BN | K | G | AB | Au ) – this is a contemporary, and the heroine is recently widowed. The hero has become guardian of his late sister’s daughter.
Mrs. Drew Plays Her Hand by Carla Kelly ( A | BN | K | G | AB ) – Carla Kelly’s historicals are wonderful comfort reads, and many feature characters enduring hardship due to the Napoleonic wars, or due to social or economic hardships. In this one, the widow in question, Mrs. Drew, loved her husband deeply.
Beguiling the Beauty by Sherry Thomas ( A | BN | K | G | AB ) – The heroine is a widow who instigates an affair with the hero out of revenge. He was unkind to her in a very public fashion.
Amanda: Some other contemporary options are Bringing Home the Bad Boy by Jessica Lemmon ( A | BN | K | G | AB ) and Worth the Fall by Claudia Connor ( A | BN | K | G | AB ).
What about you, Bitchery? What great romances have you read with a young widow or widower main character? Bonus points if the prior marriage was NOT a miserable one!
Someone already mentioned Francesca’s book from Julia Quinn’s Bridgerton series, but “To Sir Philip, With Love” has the hero as a widower and struggling to move on from a complex relationship that resulted in his wife’s death. Really, the book just makes me cry gross ugly tears every time.
Great Rec League! 🙂
1. The Raven Prince – Elizabeth Hoyt (both have deceased spouses)
2. All through the Night – Connie Brockway (kick-ass widow lead, one of the most of interesting characters ever – an all time fav)
3. Sweet Disorder – Rose Lerner (great political setting, widow lead)
4. Almost a Gentleman – Pam Rosenthal (both have deceased spouses – this is a dark one but well-worth the read.. and the description doesn’t do the book justice as to how complex the female lead is)
5. A Marquess for Christmas – Christi Caldwell (widower and jilted heroine)
6. Passion – Lisa Valdez (Widow lead – I cautiously recommend this one. I really enjoyed the emotional depth, but it does border on purple-prosey and sappy at times.. Reviews are divided, but I found the male lead to be one of the more emotional ones, which is rare. It’s more erotica. Personally, whether or not like it depends on my mood).
If you’re looking for an alternative historical setting – Chokher Bali by Rabindranath Tagore is a good one (English edition on Kindle). It’s a very women-centric book and one of the lead characters is a young Bengali widow (setting is 19th century Calcutta, India).
I have always loved “Son of the Morning” by Linda Howard. I reread it every once in a while and can still lose myself in the book. I hope you find the same and it comforts you for a little while.
The h in The Perils of Pleasure was a widow that loved her husband dearly (and Colin Eversea is one of my top book boyfriends). At Peace by Kristen Ashley has a widow that talks about her first love openly.
I really Love Where dreams begin by Lisa Kleypas, Dream A Little dream by Susan Elizabeth Phillips and Fantasy by Sandra Brown.
I just finished “North of Need” by Laura Kaye, which was on this site recently.
Goodreads- 3.9, I leaned more to a 3 star myself, but it was fun to read.
Young widow (also 27-28ish) from a loving marriage finds love with a snowman/god of the north. Yup, there is some silliness, but it was a cute, fun little world.
I’d like to rec “Idlewild” by Jude Sierra, a contemporary m/m romance about a widowed restaurant owner in downtown Detroit who finds love again with a waiter raising money to go to med school. It was just named one of the Top 10 Romances of 2016 by Kirkus Reviews, and will be released on 12/1.
I haven’t read the sequels, but I loved A Hero to come home to by Marilyn Pappano when I read it a couple years ago. Liz Flaherty also has several books featuring widows and widowers. I especially recommend Jar of Dreams.
One fave Contemporary is Worth the Fall by Claudia Connor. Young widow with a passel of kids meets fun & hunky Matt at the beach, love (and two more books featuring 2 of his brothers) ensues. Very engaging characters, lovely story and the kids are terrific.
One fave Contemporary is Worth the Fall by Claudia Connor. Young widow with a passel of kids meets fun & hunky Matt at the beach, love (and two more books featuring 2 of his brothers) ensues. Very engaging characters, lovely story and the kids are terrific.
Bittersweet by Noelle Adams had a young mother who was widowed, and ends up with the cousin of her late husband, who had loved her from afar for years – it was really sweet, and the H was wonderful.
Barbara Metzger’s Father Christmas and Wedded Bliss both have widowed H and h, as does Loretta Chase’s Lord Perfect. All three are Regencies and are full of humor. All the heroines loved their husbands.
It’s far more historical erotica than romance (with LOTS of bondage), but WHITE ROSE ENSNARED by Juliet Hastings has the heroine, Rosamund, married to a much older man who’s nice but married her more for convenience than love. There’s also the Conveniently Dead Spouse trope (to both establish how evil the villain is and to let Rosamund and the hero fool around and fall in love without committing adultery) and possibly the Virgin Wife trope (as the husband’s attempts to make love are described as fumbling and ineffective).
Wicked Intentions by Elizabeth Hoyt. It’s the first in her Maiden Lane series and I think a couple of the others have widow/widowers.
The Proposal by Mary Balogh was mentioned already but I’ll second it since the heroine moving past her grief and finding love again is a big part of the plot.
*Unraveled* by Jen Frederick. It’s a NA/contemp that isn’t overly angsty, the series as a whole is good but this could be read as a standalone. The heroine is a 22 yo war widow, her husband died very quickly after they married and she is dealing with her family and his family’s expectations. The hero is military, on leave to decide whether to continue in service or return to civilian life. Kind of a bit of a spoiler (I knew it was coming, but it’s still so sweet!) the hero learns to knit for the heroine.
Butterfly Tattoo by Deirdre Knight – m/f queer romance. The hero is bi and widowed – his husband was killed a car accident a couple years before the story begins and he and his daughter are still feeling their way through their grief.
I was also going to mention Jennifer Ashley’s The Madness of Lord Ian Mackenzie, but I see others have beaten me to it.
I’m so sorry for your loss.
I’m reading Lisa Kleypas’ Lady Sophia’s Lover right now (the second book in the Bow Street Runners series), and the hero is a widower who finally remarries after several years. The hero and heroine have some frank, realistic conversations about the hero’s first wife and the nature of his previous marriage, which I enjoyed reading. I also second the recommendation of Julia Quinn’s When He Was Wicked – both the hero and heroine are grieving in the book and I thought it was really well done. It’s definitely of my favorite books by Julia Quinn.
Best of luck finding the book you’re looking for.
Kristan Higgins, The Next Best Thing. Young childless widow who was deeply in love with her husband who died after like one year of marriage and she’s still close to his parents.
An oldie to recommend is “Madam, will you talk?, by Mary Stewart. The heroine’s first husband was really wonderful.
Candace Camp’s An Independent Woman and The Courtship Dance are just two of her many romances with widows. The latter is the last book in her Matchmaker series which I enjoyed immensely.
I second Mrs. Drew Plays Her Hand, it’s wonderful, I read it yearly.
Elizabeth Boyle’s Bachelor Chronicles has three widows who were married to the same title, the husbands were assholes and have died in ridiculous ways. The widows end up living together, it’s a hoot. I liked the series it starts with This Rake is Mine and Love Letters From a Duke (hilarious) my favorites from Boyle.
I read one recently where the hero thought he was a widow, but the wife came back from the dead to mess everything up! Grace Burrowes wrote a similar trope in her Daniel’s True Desire, but for the life of me I can’t remember the title or author of the other book.
Amanda Quick wrote some widow/widower books in the early days before Arcane, I like The Wicked Widow best.
Elizabeth Thornton, Mary Jo Putney and Jo Beverley have written some great ones with this trope.
I also like the “posing as a widow trope”, they always get found out!
I loved Julie Anne Long’s What I Did For a Duke and Kristan Higgins’s The Next Best Thing! I know they’ve already been mentioned but I can’t tell you how often I’ve re-read them!
Virgin River by Robyn Carr, it’s good!
Sorry for both of your losses.
I’m glad there have been several mentions of Mary Balogh’s books. She has a huge back catalog and many of books have heroes or heroines who have lost their first spouses and many (although not all) times the first marriage was a happy one.
It might have already been said, but A Lady Awakened by Cecilia Grant IS TOTES APPLICABLE.
I have videographic proof it’s fangirl-tastic, seeing as how I lost said fangirl shit over it in a review, LOL.
The first book in Erin McCarthy’s Fast Track series has a widowed heroine with youngish kids – the hero is younger than her. I think he’s in his 20s and she’s in her 30s. Both her late husband and the hero were/are race car drivers. They had a good marriage.
Wicked West by Victoria Dahl is a bdsm historical novella set in the American west. The heroine is English and her first husband was much older than her but they had a good marriage. She inherited a house in a town In Wyoming (I think) and demurely, submissively seduces the Sherif (who is dominant but not as comfortable with his sexuality as she is.) There’s also a lot about her trying to figure out who she is since she married young. It’s one of my fave novellas of all time.
If you read m/m, Out from the Cold by LA Witt is an angsty, emotionally satisfying contemporary. One of the heroes lost his partner a year ago (he was a cop killed off-duty in front of the hero). His first love / boyhood friend reappears after serving in Afganistan. They both have PTSD and help each other cope and heal (no magic cures though). It’s angsty but hopeful.
And I thought of some others.
Good Grief by Lolly Winston – contemporary about a 30 something woman who loses her husband to cancer and first falls apart and then puts her life back together. Iirc it has a more chick lit feel but there is a romance.
Hannah’s List by Debbie McComber – I dnf’d this but it may be to other people’s taste. A widower opens a letter from his late wife thatincludes a list of possible women for him to date. Because he promised her he’d remarry.
I lost my husband 2 years ago at 27 and I can’t tell you how much I appreciate this post. I haven’t found many books about widows that I liked. They usually weren’t married for very long or the guy was a jerk or something. I also had to avoid A LOT of books because they would trigger the grief and the crying.
I’m sorry for both of your losses and want to add not to lose hope! 7 months ago a friend introduced me to her brother and he’s a perfect gentlemen. We can love again. 🙂 I also recommend that both of you join the Young, Widowed, & Dating group on facebook. It’s widows and widowers offering support to each other since so many people don’t understand.
Thanks again for the post and all of the comments! I’ll add these to my TBR list.
I lost my husband 2 years ago at 27 and I can’t tell you how much I appreciate this post. I haven’t found many books about widows that I liked. They usually weren’t married for very long or the guy was a jerk or something. I also had to avoid A LOT of books because they would trigger the grief and the crying.
I’m sorry for both of your losses and want to add not to lose hope! 7 months ago a friend introduced me to her brother and he’s a perfect gentlemen. We can love again. 🙂 I also recommend that both of you join the Young, Widowed, & Dating group on facebook. It’s widows and widowers offering support to each other since so many people don’t understand.
Thanks again for the post and all of the comments! I’ll add these to my TBR list.
I second the recommendation for Jessica Topper’s “Louder Than Love” which is one of my favorite rock star books. It manages to be emotionally poignant and pretty funny too.
I also loved Kristen Ashley’s “At Peace” where a young widowed smother of 2 teen girls meets the emotionally unavailable man next door. One of my favorite Kristen Ashley books.
Mr. Impossible by Loretta Chase. Widowed heroine and a rake, with lots of humor and adventure. Perfect for fans of the film “The Mummy”
Anna Campbell has a series of novellas called the Dashing Widows. Some of the marriages were bad, some okay, but the heroine in Tempting Mr. Townsend really loved her husband and is reluctant to get involved again. The heroine in Pursuing Lord Pascal wasn’t passionately in love with her husband (she married him for his cattle!) but had a good relationship with him.
I haven’t read it yet, but Lorraine Heath’s When the Duke was Wicked has a hero who married at 21 and has since lost his wife and young daughter.
Widowed heroines: Miranda Neville’s “The Importance of Being Wicked”, Mary Balogh’s “First Comes Marriage”, Nicola Cornick’s “Desired”(I think the heroine has been widowed 3 times; I know that sounds like crazysauce, but it really isn’t, a great book.)
Widowed heroes: Beverly Jenkin’s “Night Hawk”, Liz Carlyle’s “Beauty Like The Night”(unhappy first marriage though). Gretta Curran Browne’s “By Eastern Windows” is based on the real life story of Lachlan Macquarie, who is know as the “Father of Australia”. It’s a 4 book series, but the 1st book takes him through an early first marriage, the tragic death of his wife, and then the beginning of his second marriage.
Suzanne Brockmann’s “The Admiral’s Bride” is a contemporary where the widowed hero was deeply in love with his first wife.
Joan Wolf’s “A Double Deception”, both the hero and heroine are widowed. Nita Abram’s “The Spy’s Reward” has a widowed hero with grown up children, but it’s the last of a series, and I recommend starting at the beginning(also notable for being an historical series with Jewish main characters).
The Benjamin January historical mystery series by Barbara Hambly has a widowed hero, and he finds love again several books in. The first book is “A Free Man of Color”, highly recommended!
I just read Secrets of Wishtide by Kate Saunders. It’s the first in a series about a 19th century archdeacon’s widow who investigates mysteries for her lawyer brother to put food on her table. She and her husband had a very loving relationship. While there is no out and out romance in the first book, I read a lot into one of her relationships and expect more in that department in the future books.
So I’d like to mention a paranormal. In Lover Reborn Tohrment is widowed and very much loved his wife. Also in Slightly Dangerous by Mary Balogh, Christine Merrick is a fairly recent widow. Also the suspense story “All the Queen’s Men” by Linda Howard the heroine is a recent widow who really loved her husband. Don’t forget Dream a Little Dream by Susan Elizabeth Phillips. The hero struggles with the death of his first wife and this is done so well. One of my favorite books.
I recommend “Disavowed” by Kaylea Cross. The hero is a widower who still wears his wedding ring years after his wife’s death. The heroine is understanding and compassionate and doesn’t pressure him to take it off.
I was widowed 2 yrs ago, at 33, and have avoided this trope after reading some shockers! My heart goes out to all of the widows here. Thanks to everyone who’s recommended books, I’ll try dipping my toes in the water again!
This leans more toward erotica, but the heroine in 30 Days by Christine D’Abo (contemporary) is a widow who had a long and happy relationship with her husband. I think she’s in her mid-30s when the book begins.
Someone has already mentioned the book I just finished reading — “Tempting Mr. Townsend” by Anna Campbell. It’s one of my recent favorites, the author writes well and the story feels fresh. Both the love lost and the new love are treated respectfully, and the story doesn’t gloss over the accompanying grief that has to be worked through. It’s a very “contained” story, centering on the 2 main characters and doesn’t introduce any unnecessary side plots or manufactured drama.
Morning Glory by LaVyrle Spencer has a recently widowed (and, in fact, pregnant) heroine find love, while still appreciating her first husband — a very sweet and honest book.