This month, we’ve got stories about measuring the courage of one’s convictions, about gay wizards and vampires in a reimagined Gilded Age NYC that doesn't discriminate against same-sex couples, and about what you’re willing to risk for love,
The Christmas Heiress by Melanie Rachel
The Gentleman Spy by Georgina North
Beau has been a spy for years, escaping all the expectations heaped on him as a future duke. He's abroad when his father dies and manages big things from away, but Emerald, his father's—now his—ward, has actually taken on the day-to-day operations in his absence. When he finally returns (after an injury), Emerald is pissed that he's swooped in and taken away her work, and that he's still as handsome as he was when she was younger and had a crush on him.
They're clashing all the time about the estate, and Emerald is curious and suspicious about why he keeps running off in the middle of the night. At the same time, they're fighting their attraction to each other. But will Beau's spy past come back to haunt him and threaten Emerald?
This slow-burn, suspenseful historical romance is swoony and delightful, and it's available on KU now!
Hold Fast by Eliza MacArthur
It’s release day for Eliza MacArthur’s Hold Fast, and can we have some commotion for the old-schoolness of this cover??
Una has just ended a handfast marriage with a terrible man she is desperate to be free of. A gifted healer, she takes off to the neighbouring/rival clan when she saves the laird’s brother and finds safety and purpose there. After suffering a year of abuse in her marriage (check the CWs!), she wants nothing to do with men.
Meanwhile, the laird, Ewan, is deeply impressed with Una’s competence and her determination. He’s got his own issues, though, and has promised himself to never marry.
As much as both of them are scarred from their pasts, they’re still drawn to each other, and when they’re forced to handfast each other, they have to work through their trauma together and separately so they can stand against an old foe. But that trauma isn’t quickly healed by love or sex—so how much will their trauma get in their way and potentially tear them apart?
If you love old-school historical Highlander romance but want a more modern sensibility behind it, you HAVE to check this out! Hold Fast is on KU and Amazon now!
