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The Match of the Century
The Match of the Century by Cathy Maxwell is $2.99! The heroine is betrothed to the hero’s brother, so there’s an element of a forbidden relationship happening. Readers recommend Maxwell’s writing if you like your historical romances on the lighter side. However, many felt bad for the heroine’s groom, as he was a pretty standup guy.
In New York Times bestselling author Cathy Maxwell’s glittering new series, wedding bells are ringing… until the return of a rake throws a bride’s plans— and heart—into a tailspin
Every debutante aspires to snag a duke. Elin Morris just happens to have had one reserved since birth. But postponements of her marriage to London’s most powerful peer give Elin time to wonder how she will marry Gavin Baynton when she cannot forget his brother, Benedict.
Already exasperated at being yanked from the military to meet “family obligations,” now Ben must suffer watching his arrogant sibling squire the only woman he has ever loved. Joining the army saved Ben from sinking into bitterness, but seeing Elin again takes him back to the day they surrendered to their intoxicating desire.
As the wedding draws near, Elin tries to push Ben far from her thoughts. When danger brings them together, there is no denying their feelings. But can Elin choose love over duty…?
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The Secret History of the Pink Carnation
RIPPED BODICE RECOMMENDED: The Secret History of the Pink Carnation is $2.99! This has romance, a bit of mystery, and some historical elements. On a podcast episode with Bea and Leah of The Ripped Bodice, Leah mentioned that she recommends this book pretty frequently. Have you read this one?
Deciding that true romantic heroes are a thing of the past, Eloise Kelly, an intelligent American who always manages to wear her Jimmy Choo suede boots on the day it rains, leaves Harvard’s Widener Library bound for England to finish her dissertation on the dashing pair of spies the Scarlet Pimpernel and the Purple Gentian. What she discovers is something the finest historians have missed: a secret history that begins with a letter dated 1803. Eloise has found the secret history of the Pink Carnation the most elusive spy of all time, the spy who single-handedly saved England from Napoleon’s invasion.
The Secret History of the Pink Carnation, a wildly imaginative and highly adventurous debut, opens with the story of a modern-day heroine but soon becomes a book within a book. Eloise Kelly settles in to read the secret history hoping to unmask the Pink Carnation’s identity, but before she can make this discovery, she uncovers a passionate romance within the pages of the secret history that almost threw off the course of world events. How did the Pink Carnation save England? What became of the Scarlet Pimpernel and the Purple Gentian? And will Eloise Kelly find a hero of her own?
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Never Sweeter
Never Sweeter by Charlotte Stein is 99c! On a previous podcast episode, author Molly O’Keefe mentioned that Stein is one of her writer heroes. The hero in this romance is the former bully of the heroine, so the redemption arc is really important. This is the second book in the Dark Obsession series.
Second chances are sweeter than ever in Charlotte Stein’s steamy Dark Obsession series—perfect for fans of Katy Evans—as a self-reliant college girl falls for a reformed bully who’s desperate to make up for lost time.
Letty Carmichael can’t believe her eyes when she catches a glimpse of her high school tormenter, wrestling champ Tate Sullivan, on campus. College was supposed to be her escape from Tate’s constant ridicule. Now he’s in her classes again, just waiting for his chance to make her life hell. But when Letty and Tate are partnered up for an assignment—on sex in cinema, of all things—she starts to see a kinder, gentler side of him. And when she realizes Tate knows more about sex than she could ever guess at, he soon starts making her blush in a whole new way.
Tate Sullivan is haunted by regret over his cruelty toward Letty. So when she agrees to work with him, he seizes his chance to make amends. He can’t blame her for not believing he’s for real, but soon Tate starts to break down her wall. She wants to know about passion, desire, lust—topics he is well versed in. And in return she offers the one thing he always wanted: the chance to be more than just a jock.
Letty is shocked by how sensitive Tate can be. Still, desiring him feels ludicrous. Loving him is impossible. Craving him is beyond all reason. So why can’t she stop?
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Letters from Skye
Letters from Skye by Jessica Brockmole is $1.99! This is an epistolary romance that was featured on a podcast episode on the same subject. Here’s what Sarah had to say:
Now, I haven’t read this, but I read about it on Heroes and Heartbreakers when I was researching some recommendations, and it caught my attention ‘cause it has all the things that I like. It is a story told in letters. It also features parallel storylines, so if you like the sort of timeslip qualities of Susanna Kearsley’s novels, this might appeal to you as well.
The reviews are kind of mixed. Some people loved it because of the quality of reading and the correspondence, but other people found that the, the characters were a little too simplistic for their tastes. Either way, I still want to read this, because letters, and also Scotland and historical and letters.
A sweeping story told in letters, spanning two continents and two world wars, Jessica Brockmole’s atmospheric debut novel captures the indelible ways that people fall in love, and celebrates the power of the written word to stir the heart.
March 1912: Twenty-four-year-old Elspeth Dunn, a published poet, has never seen the world beyond her home on Scotland’s remote Isle of Skye. So she is astonished when her first fan letter arrives, from a college student, David Graham, in far-away America. As the two strike up a correspondence—sharing their favorite books, wildest hopes, and deepest secrets—their exchanges blossom into friendship, and eventually into love. But as World War I engulfs Europe and David volunteers as an ambulance driver on the Western front, Elspeth can only wait for him on Skye, hoping he’ll survive.
June 1940: At the start of World War II, Elspeth’s daughter, Margaret, has fallen for a pilot in the Royal Air Force. Her mother warns her against seeking love in wartime, an admonition Margaret doesn’t understand. Then, after a bomb rocks Elspeth’s house, and letters that were hidden in a wall come raining down, Elspeth disappears. Only a single letter remains as a clue to Elspeth’s whereabouts. As Margaret sets out to discover where her mother has gone, she must also face the truth of what happened to her family long ago.
Sparkling with charm and full of captivating period detail, Letters from Skye is a testament to the power of love to overcome great adversity, and marks Jessica Brockmole as a stunning new literary voice.
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I just finished NEVER SWEETER last night and, although beautifully-written, I just couldn’t believe any woman who had been bullied so badly in high school that one incident required hospitalization (this is no spoiler, it’s in the first few pages of the book) would ever allow herself to voluntarily be in the presence of said bully again—let alone start dating him!
The Pink Carnation sounds fun, but I hope the lack of commas in the blurb isn’t also a problem with the text.
Years ago my excessively straight laced, and sexually conservative mother bought me a copy of the Pink Carnation. She handed me a copy of the book and said “I know you love history books, this one is apparently about spies in the Napoleonic era, like the Scarlet Pimpernel.”
I read the thing and I gotta be honest I was really confused at first. Because I was legit expecting it to be a historical non-fiction (which was my jam at the time). After I got through it, and after I sussed out what I was really reading, I went back to my mother and asked her if she’d ever read it before. She claims to have merely seen it at the library and knowing my love of history thought I’d enjoy. (Since it was a hard-back book I guess I can understand her mistake). I’ve never had the heart to tell her what it really was though.
How can I pass on a rec from the incomparable Molly O? One clicking in the offing.
If anyone is on the fence about Pink Carnation, I say go for it! The whole series (12 books!) is lovely. The first isn’t my personal fave, although it is really fun – I like the characters in the second and third quite a lot. And many others of the 12, of course!
I liked Pink Carnation, Black Tulip (book 2) and Crimson Petal (4, I think). After that, I was so aggravated by Eloise and her stop-and-start relationship that I gave up two books later after referring to the modern couple as (showing my age here) the Taster’s Choice people—anyone else old enough to remember the commercials where the British pair spent years of commercials flirting a little and never getting very far?
@Lora: I loved those commercials, that Anthony Head (later on BUFFY) was one of the characters was just a bonus. I never understood why they made his character American, but whatever, they were fun.
I always skipped the modern couple’s parts in the Pink Carnation series, lol.
Anyone read the letters from skye one?
Pink Carnation was my gateway drug into the modern world of romance novels….and I too mostly skipped the present-day stuff. Fun series, especially the earlier ones.
I wanted to like Pink Carnation, I really did, but the historical heroine was TSTL for me, and I have never been able to enjoy contemporary plots either.
I enjoyed the series for the first few books (also skipping the contemporary parts), but after a while the joke wore thin. I did like the Christmas one (I forget the title) with Turnip, though.
@BookLovinGirl: I listened to it because I was curious about the use of multiple narrators. It’s atmospheric and very transporting in terms of the day to day detail, but one storyline was stronger than the other. It’s a lovely sort of restful book, like flannel and fuzzy blankets for your imagination.
“Never Sweeter” takes on a whole new meaning when you notice that the cover model is sniffing his armpit.
And @DiscoDollyDeb: the blurb for “Never Sweeter” hinted that the bullying was intense and had already turned me off from checking it out. Thanks for confirming that the hero’s bullying was as problematic as I suspected.
Thanks Sarah! Flannel sheets and fluffy blankets of a book sounds perfect right now!