This Rec League came from Rebecca in the SBTB Patreon Discord. The community there had some great suggestions but also wanted to open it up to y’all because I know you’ll have even more books to recommend and this might be someone’s mega-catnip:
Can anyone rec books where the characters fall in love or at least bond on a journey ideally a historical fantasy type journey riding horses or similar. I’m noticing that some of my favourite books, Graceling and The Perfect Crimes Of Marian Hayes, have that in common. And I really enjoyed Never Cross A Highlander recently. I tend to avoid things that are characters processing trauma or with much on page abuse or similar because I need my reading time to be escapist.
Something I’d like to add is just a note that I know Graceling has some problematic visual impairment representation near the end but I still love it mostly because the author appologised publicly and made an effort to do better later in the series. I usually flag this because I think it’s important; it is really something we need to be encouraging authors not to do in the first place.
Shana: A Week to be Wicked by Tessa Dare comes to mind. It’s not my favorite, but I know many readers love it. Wanted: A Gentleman by KJ Charles has road trip in the middle, similar to Never Cross a Highlander.
Sarah: Not a Historical like Regency et al, but Don’t Forget to Write by Sara Goodman Confino ( A | BN ) is set in the 1960s and is a road trip story
Dalliances & Devotion by Felicia Grossman
Alice Coldbreath has a few, including A Substitute Wife for the Prizefighter ( A )
Would Swordheart by T Kingfisher qualify? ( A | BN | K | AB ) I’d want a second opinion on that one.
A wonderful holiday romance; A Christmas Gone Perfectly Wrong by Cecilia Grant ( A | BN | K | AB )
Claudia, Would In Which Margo Halifax Earns Her Shocking Reputation would work? I think so!
Claudia: Absolutely!! Definitely a road trip.
Which is one of my favorite tropes but somehow I’m blanking out on favorites. I know Theresa Romain had a couple of good ones.
Sarah: A small glimpse into my brain: “The one from the Hamilton anthology that isn’t available anymore but had Courtney Milan and Alyssa Cole and Rose Lerner.”
The Pursuit Of! ( A | BN | K )
That is during war and they’re on opposite sides so trauma may be too present for this asker, though.
Oh yes, Romain! I love her books. Might have to re-read soon
Claudia: Ah, polarizing, for sure, but Sherry Thomas’ Not Quite a Husband fits. ( A | K | G | AB | Au ) And Meredith Duran’s Written on Your Skin. ( A | BN | K | G | AB ) I remember I really liked both.
Sarah: Ok one more – Outrageous by Minerva Spencer! ( A | BN | K )
Claudia: And an author sadly gone too soon — Miranda Neville. The Amorous Education of Celia Seaton is great. ( A | BN | K | AB )
Sarah: Oh gosh, yes. Really good one.
Elyse: For fantasy, Halfling by SE Wendel.
Which books would you recommend? Drop them in the comments!
I actually think a lot of T. Kingfisher would work for this, including SWORDHEART, PALADIN’S FAITH (fourth in the series; highly recommend the first three too), and MINOR MAGE. (My recollection may be a little fuzzy on how dark some of these are/are not because Kingfisher is so good at taking care of her characters.)
Also, PETER CABOT GETS LOST by Cat Sebastian.
A few off the top of my head:
*RED HEIR by Lisa Henry and Sarah Honey – M/M, fantasy, silly
*SOMETHING FABULOUS by Alexis Hall – M/M, historical, humorous (note: got very mixed reviews. I loved it but a lot of people thought it was too slapsticky and that one of the MCs was subjected to too much humiliation)
*THE ROAD TO SILVER PLUME by Tamara Allen – M/M, historical, train journey (does that count? I don’t think there are any horses!)
*TRAMPS AND VAGABONDS by Aster Glenn Gray – M/M, 20th century historical, US Depression-era “riding the rails.”
I would agree that many of T. Kingfisher’s books fit the description. Another excellent one is CLOCKWORK BOYS, the first half of the Clocktauer War duology.
For fantasy, Mystic and Rider by Sharon Shinn might work.
I feel like there are a lot of Regencies that might fit the bill here, including M.C. Beaton’s “Travelling Matchmaker” series–all of which feature stagecoach travel.
A DUKE IN SHINING ARMOR by Loretta Chase is a fun runaway bride book, kind of regency planes trains and automobiles that I really liked.
THE DUKE AT HAZARD by KJ Charles (Regency m/m) is this! It’s her newest book, out last week and is just delightful.
Adding my vote for T. Kingfisher’s SWORDHEART! It’s funny and lighthearted and full of kind people being kind to each other.
And thanks to Vivi12 for mentioning Loretta Chase; in addition to the one she recommended, I think LORD PERFECT would qualify — and it’s one of my absolute favorites by Chase!
I thought of MYSTIC AND RIDER too, but I’m not sure if it fits because Senneth’s backstory is pretty intense.
Madcap road trip romances are some of my favorites! Right off the top of my head, A Week to Be Wicked, Lord Holt Takes a Bride, The Rogue Not Taken, Lord Perfect, Last Night’s Scandal.
One day I’m going to organize my books by topic.
Some already mentioned here, the fantasy ones I recommend:
– Mystic and Rider – Sharon Shinn, about a band of people travelling together with romance. I think the 3rd book has some journey-ing too (and it was my favourite)
– Swordheart – T. Kingfisher, very pleasant stand alone road trip book
– The Sharing Knife – Lois McMaster Bujold, has some road-tripping in it, but most of the falling in love happens at an inn
Historicals:
The PERILS OF PLEASURE by Julie Anne Long — humorous and adventurous
TRUSTING MISS TRENTHAM – by Emily Larkin – 2nd book in paranormal historical where the heroine gets to pick a ‘gift’ when she turns 21.
TRICK OF FATE – by Stella Riley – 1st book in the Brandon Brothers trilogy. Fun little breadcrumb mystery road trip book.
And also — Hard Agree on MYSTIC and RIDER – by Sharon Shinn.
To @Star’s point, Senneth’s backstory(or rather what I like to call it, her hero origin story) is intense, but it, imo, doesn’t overshadow the story. Her entire background is fascinating and interesting and varied. Also she is such a stone cold badass in the book, that that is what becomes the overriding thing about her. And I am in my escapist reader no intensity mode as well, and I find the entire series a comfort read, tbh.
Two lesser-known historical romance suggestions:
Miss Chartley’s Guided Tour – Carla Kelly
The interesting thing about this is that the road trip happens before the romance.
Follow My Lead – Kate Noble aka Kate Rorick (wrote for Lizzie Bennett Diaries)
Road trip across Europe to authenticate a Dürer
GARY OF A HUNDRED DAYS, an MM fantasy romance, by Isabel Murray has a road trip. I don’t remember how much of the book it takes up.
Lord Perfect by L. Chase
Heartbreaker by S. MacLean
Seconding: A Duke in Shining Armor another Loretta Chase Gem
The Rogue Less Taken also by Sarah MacLean.
Minerva Spencer’s Wicked Women of Whitechapel series has a roadtrip as the catalyst for each book in this series. The Cutthroat Countess is my absolute favorite.
Earl’s Trip by Jenny Holiday
I think Sierra Simone’s Markham Hall & London Lovers series have roadtrip elements…
Here, have some Heyer.
The Foundling
Devil’s Cub
Sylvester (2 road trips)
The Corinthian
And some added Chase.
Last Night’s Scandal
The English Witch
Mr. Impossible (personal fave)
Peter Cabot Gets Lost by Cat Sebastian – mid 20th C road trip, opposites attracts romance between two recent college grads who drive from the east coast to the west coast and slowly fall in love. That’s it, that’s the whole plot and I LOVED IT.
I also 2nd the new KJ Charles romance, which is positively fluffy by KJ Charles standards and is also a delight.
A Restless Truth by Freya Marske – f/f historical fantasy. It’s the 2nd in a trilogy and most of it takes place on a ship going from the US to England. It is not stand alone.
The Blades of the Rose series by Zoe Archer, starting with Warrior. m/f historical fantasy romance series about a secret society fighting against villains who are trying to find and use magical objects to rule the world. Kind of like Victorian Indiana Jones. All of them feature complicated journeys in search of ancient artifacts, with a different couple each book.
The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee – m/m historical with a little magic / fantasy.
I found this a fun, captivating read, even though the narrator was insufferable for at least the first half of the book. His eventual growth is believable and satisfying. Plus there are pirates, alchemical mysteries, political intrigue, unexpected public nudity at Versailles and lots of smoldering adolescent longing.
The MCs are long time friends before the trip but one of them is completely clueless about the other’s feelings and figures things out on the road. Also, there’s lots of anachronistic language.
Fantasy road-trip is one of my favorite genre and trope combos! A few ideas to explore (some are part of a series, but road trips are a big part of the first book):
What Lies Beyond the Veil, Harper L Woods
Vengeance Born, Kylie Griffin
A Promise of Fire, Amanda Bouchet
The Witch Collector, Charissa Weaks
Bite the Woman that Feeds, Penelope Barsetti
Historical:
Bound to a Warrior, Donna Fletcher
The Duke’s Holiday, Maggie Fenton
Her Highness and the Highlander, Tracy Anne Warren
@PamG, there really is a Heyer for every rec league, isn’t there?
BEST KNIGHT EVER by Cassandra Gannon is an M/M fantasy. It does involve processing past trauma, but I still found it to be incredibly kind.
MIDSUMMER BRIDE, MIDWINTER MAIL-ORDER BRIDE, MIDNIGHT BRIDE and EVIL TWIN (basically all of the Dead Lands series) by Kati Wilde. These are all high heat, short reads.
Finally, I just want to mention SEATMATE by Cara Bastone. It’s a contemporary romance on a greyhound bus (so like, none of the descriptors), but genuinely, it’s such an interesting and unusual book. It’s almost ALL dialogue.
Sailor’s Jewel by Celia Lake takes place on an ocean liner (fantasy romance)
The most recent Penric & Desdemona novella, Penric and the Bandit is definitely road trippy as are a number of others in this series. The bestest ones are as follows:
Penric’s Mission
Mira’s Last Dance
The Prisoner of Limnos
The Orphans of Raspay
The Assassins of Thassalon
Demon’s Daughter
In fact, if you haven’t read these yet, start with Penric’s Demon and just read the whole series in the chronological order recommended by Bujold. Penric’s whole life is a road trip of sorts, with an ensemble cast, an emphasis on gentleness and kindness, and Bujold’s characteristic wit and humor. New to the series? You are in for a treat.
This isn’t out yet, but Julie Leong’s The Teller of Small Fortunes (coming in November) fits this perfectly. So gentle and lovely and full of found family!
Tycoon by Joanna Shupe.
Road trips are my specialty! The Theresa Romain books you may be thinking of are FORTUNE FAVORS THE WICKED and PASSION FAVORS THE BOLD. They’re both road trips in search of a treasure.
I’m suggesting Michelle Diener’s RISING WAVE fantasy series because it has a lot of road tripping and horses, but there is some violence and trauma.
ANGEL ROGUE by Mary Jo Putney-fun road trip across England, very low-angst.
MY LADY NOTORIOUS by Jo Beverly-Georgian era, some violent moments, but also lots of humor.
THE OTHER GUY’S BRIDE by Connie Brockway-very funny road trip through the desert. I forgot if they’re riding horses or camels!
THE ABDUCTION OF JULIA by Karen Hawkins-hero kidnaps the wrong woman for a elopement to Gretna Green, very funny.
BRIGHTON ROAD by Susan Carroll- a comedy of errors, road trip gone wrong. Very much in the style of Barbara Metzger.
SWEET STARFIRE a very early Jayne Ann Krentz sci-fi fantasy, if road tripping in a spaceship counts.
TAMING THE WOLF by Deborah Simmons-medieval road tripping, with horses. Lighter hearted than you would guess from the title.
I could go on and on, but I’ll stop here. I tried to stick mostly with low-angst titles.
Seconding SAILOR’S JEWEL (Celia Lake) and ANGEL ROGUE (Mary Jo Putney.) Also Jill Bearup’s delightful story-within-a-story JUST STAB ME NOW.
Seconding FOLLOW MY LEAD! Such an underrated gem.
THE SERPENT GARDEN by Judith Merkle Riley
THE WINTER WITCH by Paula Brackston
Both are historicals with some fantastical elements. The road trip part happens in the middle.
Lots here already mentioned (shout out to the Heyer fans!) but here goes:
HISTORICAL
SANGUINET’S CROWN BY PATRICIA VERYAN (my favorite by her!)
THE DEDICATED VILLAIN by VERYAN
JOURNEY TO ENCHANTMENT by VERYAN (she loves a good road trip obviously)
SON OF THE MORNING BY LINDA HOWARD (time travel)
THE INDISCRETION BY JUDITH IVORY – coach crash forces opposites together
PERILS OF PLEASURE BY JULIE ANNE LONG
FANTASY
KINGMAKER CHRONICLES BY AMAMDA BOUCHET I second this rec
FATED BLADES BY ILONA ANDREWS (I would read this authors laundry list)
THE IRON DUKE BY MELJEAN BROOK
THE STOLEN LUCK BY SHAWNA REPPERT (a m/m fantasy)
For gentle romantasy, I highly recommend anything by Celia Lake. Offhand, I don’t recall specific novels or novellas of hers that involve roadtrips as such, but many of them (MF, MM, FF) include quite a bit of bonding throughout the stories. Some good examples are The Fossil Door (MF, novel), Magician’s Hoard (MF, novel), Complementary (FF, novella), Four Walls and a Heart (MM, novella).
Oops, didn’t see the recs for Lake’s Sailor’s Jewel until I reloaded the page. So another thumb’s up for that novel. 🙂
I have some suggestions from Theresa Romain about her books! So! Much! Road! Tripping! Theresa says, “My most road-trippy (if that’s a term?) romance is Passion Favors the Bold—which was probably the most fun to update of any of my backlist books, as it’s a trope party with best friend’s little sister and grumpy/sunshine elements. From a different series, A Gentleman’s Game and Scandalous Ever After both have big sections with characters traveling together. Maybe because I struggle with travel in real life, I keep sending my characters out on the road. Or maybe I just like writing characters that get into unfamiliar situations and sass each other?”
“A commenter kindly mentioned Fortune Favors the Wicked as a road-trip romance, and it definitely has that vibe since the main characters have all recently traveled or are getting ready to travel. But someone looking for on-page road-trip shenanigans would find more in Passion Favors the Bold, A Gentleman’s Game, or Scandalous Ever After. I’d call PFTB the most road-trippy, but both AGG and SEA also have a lot of travel. (Each book’s page on my website includes story elements and content notes so readers can identify their catnip or anti-catnip.)”
“Oh geez, I forgot to mention The Rogue’s Treasure Hunt—formerly Season for Desire. That’s got a lot of road-tripping in it too. What is my deal with Regency-set road trips??”
Thank you, Theresa!
Hi Everyone, As the person who originally made this request, I want to thank you all for your thoughtful comments and recs. I have read through some of them and started looking up some of the books, but am only just getting round to commenting myself. I read and enjoyed the 1st Penric and Desdemona. It was just what I needed and felt very Becky Chambers vibes. The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet is also one of my favourite rereads for this. The’s a lack of horses, but being set in space and such lovely humourous characters makes up for that.
I do feel that this is a theme that is very much subject to individuals taste. I can see how Swordheart fits it for many people for example, but it doesn’t for me because there is some quite specific on page abusive behaviour from one of the main character’s family. But then, Graceling is pretty dark in places and yet it’s very high on my comfort rereading pile. I’ve recently reread the 1st 3 Blacksmith Queen books by GA Aiken and that was fun despite the fact that they have some graphic violence. And the 1st definitely has enough horse riding to fullfill my craving for that. There is very much a tone thing and a character disposition thing in it for me.
I’m also part way through reading Mystic and Rider and enjoying it, but definitely darker and with more heavier themes than I was personally envisioning with this request and yet still a book I’m glad to be reading.