You did it! We figured this one out! It is a truth universally acknowledged (by me for certain) that the Bitchery pretty much knows everything, and really, it's true. Scroll down to see the solution for this HaBO - and many thanks!
This HaBO request comes from Ressmith, who is looking for a historical romance with paranormal elements:
I’m looking for a book that I saw in the library and wanted to read, but already had a huge TBR so I put it off and then forgot author & title.
What I remember is that it was a historical and the hero had some psychic ability – he could tell when someone was lying because it made him itch (or something). I believe part of the plot was that his grandmother was trying to make him get married.
Let this be a lesson to never let a huge TBR pile keep you away from reading about psychic heroes, who get a little itchy from time to time.
Oh my God I feel like I’ve read this recently, like it was a recent release this year. I don’t think it’s marketed as a paranormal but just a regular historical romance. But I feel like maybe the hero couldn’t tell when the heroine was lying and that had never happened before?
The Wicked Ways of a True Hero by Barbara Metzger
I think it might be jayne ann krentz. Sid it have crystals in it?
Or is it one of the Vanza books by Amanda Quick?
It’s not Jayne Ann Krentz or Amanda Quick, at least not in the Arcane series (I just reread most of them recently). It might be one of the Vanza ones, though, because it’s been quite a while since I read those.
But I would bet WKW is right, based on the goodreads review that points out that the guy gets rashes when people lie.
What about one of Hanna Howell’s Wherlock/Vaughn series? It seems like one of the heroes had this ability.
It’s one of a series by Barbara Metzger. The heroes are related and each has a unique way of telling when someone is lying (itching, as in the HABO book), seeing colors, etc. They are Regencies and some of the heroes have used this ability in the Napoleonic wars to interrogate prisoners. I like Metzger’s books; they don’t hit you over the head with their pyrotechnics bit are smart and humorous and you come to care about her heroes and heroines.
Yes, it is Wicked Ways of a True Hero. I love Metzger and I can’t believe I haven’t read it already. I even missed it when it was republished with a new cover a couple of years ago. Thanks!
Wow! Both HaBos solved on the first day, by the first and second comment (respectively). That’s damn impressive.