"C", a good friend of mine, recently asked me for a list of suggested book titles. Now normally one conducts a more formal interview to find out what she has read before, what she liked or disliked about the books, etc. However, I know "C"'s taste tends to run more towards the historical side since she did once remark that she has read and re-read a number of Georgette Heyer's books.
Hence, here are a couple of historical romance authors & titles that I think "C" might enjoy:
A Matter of Class by Mary Balogh
May's Review: Since "C" is quickly working her way through Balogh's Huxtable series, I definitely want her to check out this title. This book starts off as a typical Regency with the hero forced by his father to find himself a wife while the heroine is similarly forced by her parents to marry because she has socially disgraced herself. Needless to say, the couple has known each other for years and appear to dislike each other. Yet appearances are deceiving and Balogh throws in a twist that just proves how intelligent her heroines typically are and how noble our heroes can be.
Bride in the Bargain by Deanne Gist
May's Review: Although this book could be classified as Historical-Inspirational, I found myself drawn into the story of a lumberjack living in 1860s Washington State who desperately needs to find himself a wife so he can retain his land. However, nobody told his intended bride-to-be who thinks she is coming to be his cook and housekeeper! Based on an actual historical event, this book was simply delightful with wonderful written characters and a setting that just seems to jump off the pages.
It Happened One Autumn and Devil In Winter by Lisa Kleypas
May's Review: Although Kleypas just recently finished her Hathaway series, my all-time favorite is still the Wallflower series and while I wasn't a huge fan of the first & fourth books, I simply adore books two (It Happened One Autumn) and three (Devil in Winter). Both books follow a similar formula: take a very handsome but extremely arrogant man and have him cross paths with a uncommonly beautiful, intelligent and highly stubborn female. Throw in societal pressures, less than desirable in-laws and/or relatives and mad-cap adventures that include kidnapping & an assassination attempt, you got a terrific pair of books that are simply two of my all-time favorite romance books.
Barely a Bride and Merely the Groom by Rebecca Hagan Lee
May's Review: I am currently reading this series which centers around a Free Fellows League--a band of rich and highly educated lords who decide to risk everything for king and country but not their hearts. One by one, the men realize their folly and succumbs to cupid's arrow. Book one (Barely a Bride) deals with war and marriage while book two (Merely the Groom) deals with a forced marriage thanks to an impostor.
Ten Things I Love About You by Julia Quinn
May's Review: Julia Quinn is another must read Regency author and while there any number of books I can recommend, the main reason I'm recommending this book to "C" has a lot to do with the fact that we both watched the movie Red this past weekend. Remembered how we were secretly thrilled that Bruce Willis was reading romance novels? Well what do you think would happen if the hero wrote them? Throw in witty dialogue, a disdardly uncle, and a spunky heroine, you end up with yet another terrific Quinn novel.
