Sparks fly between an American woman and a charming British aristocrat when they’re thrown together by their parents’ plan for an advantageous marriage in Harper St. George’s The Heiress Gets a Duke.

August Crenshaw has seen the way marriages of convenience have run roughshod over her close friends, hurting them mentally, emotionally and even physically. She finds passion in numbers, risk assessment and her family’s iron works company. A husband would undoubtedly detail her career ambitions. She vows to never offer herself up as her family’s sacrifice, but worries that her parents’ restraint from using their daughters as pawns is coming to an end.

Evan Sterling, Duke of Rothschild, becomes the manager of the Rothschild estate after a series of devastating tragedies. His staid older brother dies suddenly, followed by his father, and the family’s financial situation is revealed to be truly dire. Evan and his mother realize that the quickest way to gain a fortune, especially as Evan’s twin sisters are set to debut the following year, is to marry. An American heiress will bring new money and steady income. Meanwhile, marrying a duke lends a sense of social capital to those who feel like longstanding institutions have been closed to them.

At first, it isn’t August on the chopping block, but her sweet younger sister, Violet, despite Violet having her own aspirations of becoming a writer and the interest of a man back in America. To protect her sister, August volunteers to take her place, much to the surprise and uncertainty of the meddling parents.

Wry, tenacious August isn’t exactly a friendly woman, but she is a memorable and well-crafted heroine. Prickly at best, she’s practical and often blunt with her words as she tries to get her family’s business taken more seriously. By contrast, Evan’s caring relationship with his mother is a cornerstone of his character (and provides some of the book’s best scenes). It’s lovely to see a mutually respectful and close relationship between a historical romance hero and his mother. And as a bonus, Evan moonlights as a prizefighter who fights shirtless and in tight breeches.

The Heiress Gets a Duke stands out from the crowded field of historical romance by combining old and new. St. George clearly has an appreciation for the genre, as the novel is reminiscent of historical classics that longtime romance readers have grown up with, but there are also meta moments of brilliance, as when August remarks on the amount of dukes available in England or the corniness of mysterious nicknames that just seem silly when said aloud.

Fun, tender and definitely sexy, The Heiress Gets a Duke is already at the top of my list for the best books of the year. Don’t sleep on this refreshing and feminist romance.

Susan Andersen’s latest release, The Ballad of Hattie Taylor, is a love letter to sweeping rural dramas like The Thorn Birds or Laura Ingalls Wilder's Little House books that straddles the line between historical romance and historical fiction.

Hattie Taylor has always felt like an outsider in Mattawa, Oregon. But a few people make her feel welcomed and loved, chief among them being Jacob Murdock. At the age of 11, Hattie was taken in by Jake’s mother, Augusta, despite her son’s reservations. As years pass, Hattie keeps her crush on Jake a secret, watching as he gets married and then must endure the untimely deaths of his wife and child. But now Hattie is an adult, and she hopes to make her intentions known to Jake.

Jake’s feelings for Hattie are complicated. Not only is he 11 years her senior, but he’s always seen her as a surrogate sister to be protected and watched over. They’ve always been close, but now that closeness seems to be turning into something more, spurred on by the loneliness and grief he feels.

This is a romance for the patient reader. Andersen covers a robust span of time as she explores the integral life experiences of her main characters. (Please also exercise some caution; someone close to the Murdock family rapes Hattie, and her process of healing is integral to the plot.) Mattawa is a small town, but its sprawling emotional landscape, full of complexities and characters, is as engrossing as the best afternoon soap opera. Andersen’s detailed approach to crafting a sense of place shines, particularly as she depicts the passing of each season.

Hattie and Jake’s romance is slow, thoughtful and meandering. Both are figuring out their lives and their identities. How does Jake handle the new role of widower? How will Hattie learn the differences between love and infatuation? Most notably, Hattie’s journey includes the very frustrating realization that she lives in a world ruled by men, most of whom have no care for her own thoughts and feelings. The line between empowerment and disillusionment is a fine one, and Andersen’s acknowledgement of that difficulty makes Hattie’s story all the more memorable.

The Ballad of Hattie Taylor oozes nostalgia even as it vacillates from a lively, page-turning coming of age story, a tender romance that emphasizes care and patience, and a harrowing tale of one woman’s experiences on the American frontier. Hattie’s happy ending with Jake is hard won, but her infectious optimism will have readers with her every step of the way.

There are quite a lot of truths to learn about Robert, Duke of Rothhaven, the hero of Grace Burrowes’ latest Regency romance. It’s true that he’s handsome. It’s very true that he’s rich. It’s very, very true that he’s clever. But the most surprising truth about him—the secret concealed from society—is that all Robert’s advantages are countered by the strain of severe physical and emotional disorders. The physical ailments are the result of inherited epilepsy triggered by severe childhood head injuries. The emotional problems . . . well, those result from the barbaric “care” he received in the institution that was paid lavishly to keep the so-called family embarrassment hidden away. After his brother found and rescued him from the wretched facility, his fears and phobias kept him isolated from the world for several years. By the time The Truth About Dukes opens, Robert has summoned the courage to step forward from the shadows for his brother’s sake. The truth even he would have struggled to believe about himself is that love is waiting for him out in the light.

Constance Wentworth knows quite a bit about dukes, and not just because the Duke of Walden is her overprotective brother. She’s well-acquainted with Robert as well, from a time when she was fleeing her own uncomfortable truths and wound up working as a maid at the facility where he was kept. A bond formed between them then that endures when they meet again in society, and it’s immediately clear just how good they are for each other. She defends him, he steadies her; she accepts him, he challenges her. She teaches him to trust himself, he teaches her that it’s all right to trust others. Love (kind of literally) blossoms easily. Happily ever after? That’s another story—and what a terrific story it is!

Sensitive readers should be aware that The Truth About Dukes doesn’t hesitate to poke into dark corners. The horror of mental health care in the Regency period is unflinchingly portrayed, although descriptions of the more brutal “treatments” are mercifully brief, and Constance's childhood was violent. But the trials Robert and Constance have faced only highlight their strength and resilience as a family. Their love for each other is fierce and lovely, and their fight to defend it is inspiring. It’s a wonderful ray of hope to read a story like this where tremendous obstacles are overcome through faith, family and a true and deep devotion.

Moments after laying eyes on Lady Jessica Archer, Gabriel Thorne decides that she is the woman he will marry. But this isn’t love at first sight. It’s not even like at first sight. Freshly returned to England to make a long overdue claim on his title and estate, he’s staying incognito, getting the lay of the land, when Jessica sweeps into the nondescript inn and asserts a superior claim to the private sitting room he’s reserved. He’s unimpressed with her arrogance. She’s unimpressed with his rudeness. Love is definitely not in the air, but matrimony . . . is?

Gabriel will need a wife by his side to manage the family drama he came to England to resolve. The right sort of wife—imperious, irreproachable, from the right family with the right upbringing, manners and connections. And Jessica, commencing her sixth (or possibly seventh—she’s lost count) season in London, is more than ready to settle down. While she’s always been praised as a “diamond of the first water,” encircled by a constant throng of smitten admirers (think of that barbeque scene from Gone with the Wind when all the men beg to be allowed to fetch Scarlett O’Hara’s dessert), she’s done with drifting through life. She has a plan to pick a groom that is every bit as practical as Gabriel’s plan to pick a bride.

Then they meet in the proper society setting, Gabriel makes his intentions clear—and everything goes off the rails. Jessica realizes, suddenly and deeply, exactly what she does and doesn’t want. And a strictly proper courtship, complete with stifling social calls, stiff dances and a constant evaluation of the assets that she brings into the match, is definitely on the “no” list. It doesn’t matter that she is highly valued on the marriage mart when her value has nothing to do with who she truly is inside. She demands that Gabriel find a way to romance her as a person. She doesn’t ask for love; if anything, she shies away from using that word. But she does demand to be respected for who she is rather than for her bank balance or her pedigree.

Up until that point, I was enjoying Balogh’s Someone to Romance as a stately, engaging dramedy of manners with lots of high-society escapism and the juicy fun of Gabriel’s family secrets. But when Jessica throws down that gauntlet, I started to really love this book. I admired Jessica’s strength and resolve, her determination to chart out her future on her own terms. And I was incredibly moved by Gabriel’s response to it—the tiny, deeply personal gestures with which he shows his growing esteem and trust. The happy marriage they build together is worlds away from the practical, businesslike matches they both anticipated at the start of the story, and yet it resolves in the sweetest of all imaginable happy endings.

This is a love story that earns the name on every level, not just for the love the hero and heroine find but also for the love you’ll feel for everyone involved by the time you reach the final page.

Veteran author of Regency romances Sabrina Jeffries is back with the third installment of her fun Duke Dynasty series, Who Wants to Marry A Duke. I’m a sucker for a smart heroine, and Olivia Norley more than fits the bill. While she’s more interested in her chemistry experiments than attracting Marlowe Drake, the Duke of Thornwood, she eventually catches on and realizes there’s more than one type of chemistry in the world.

Nearly a decade ago, Thorn and Olivia were caught in a compromising situation, and he proposed marriage to save face after being basically blackmailed into it by her mother. But Olivia said no, because chemistry was her jam. She spent their time apart bolstering her brain with knowledge rather than the frivolous debutante details of her contemporaries, and Thorn spent his time becoming a famous playwright under a nom de plume. Meanwhile, Thorn’s mother has been losing husbands, and it all stinks of arsenic poisoning. When Thorn’s brother hires Olivia to investigate, Thorn decides to tag along, as he’s still suspicious of her motives. It doesn’t take a genius to guess what happens next.

Jeffries is an expert in the Regency era. She does, after all, hold a Ph.D. in English literature. (There’s a fabulous primer on her website on the short period of history that has sparked hundreds of years of fascination.) If you’re not familiar with the Regency period, which lasted from 1811-1820, the most important thing to know is that women were expected to be pretty, quiet and boring. The thing that makes all of Jeffries’ heroines stand out is that none of them are quiet and boring. Pretty? Often. But the women she writes are spirited, intelligent, devilish, brave, independent and politically and culturally savvy. They are true heroines; she-ros, if you will. And Olivia Norley is definitely a she-ro.

Sarah MacLean wraps up her Bareknuckle Bastards series with the ultimate story of revenge and redemption. Fans of the first two books will enjoy seeing the series villain, Ewan, the Duke of Marwick, brought to his knees (literally and figuratively) by the strong-willed Grace.

A long time ago, Grace considered Ewan to be her first love, until he betrayed her and his brothers and forced them to live on the streets. Since then, Grace has built herself up to be a ruler in Convent Garden’s seedy underworld. Ewan’s love for Grace has never wavered, even in spite of his deceptive actions. For years, he thought she was dead, her memory driving him into madness. But once he discovers she’s not dead at all, but is instead the very successful owner of a ladies’ club, he fights to win back her heart. Unfortunately, Grace’s first instinct is to seek revenge rather than reconciliation. Can Ewan fully redeem himself and become worthy of Grace’s love and affection? In the end, the answer is yes, but you’ll get no spoilers from me on Ewan’s path to redemption. It’s something readers really do need to experience for themselves.

When Grace and Ewan reconnect, there is more pull than push. It’s obvious they both still love one another and their relationship becomes less of a fight against attraction and more of a healing journey to right past wrongs. If you expect fireworks of antagonism, you may be disappointed; this is a tender second-chance romance between two people who have known a life full of pain and abandonment. It’s emotional and heart-wrenching, as both Grace and Ewan are characters who experience their emotions strongly and earnestly. Think of this as more of a slow simmer than a rolling boil. Daring and the Duke will crush your heart and then slowly and carefully piece it back together. It’s the epitome of catharsis.

Though Daring and the Duke offers enough exposition for newcomers to dive right in, readers will miss the nuance of the hero and heroine’s history and how it informs their behavior without reading the previous two romances in the series. And honestly, it’s a grave disservice to your reading enjoyment to not start from the beginning with MacLean’s charming cast of characters. I can’t think of a better weekend activity than powering through the entire trilogy!

An unexpected, embarrassing and disastrous first impression provides the basis of a friends-to-lovers historical romance between a curious, winsome heroine and a grumpy Scottish spy in Vanessa Kelly’s The Highlander’s English Bride.

Lady Sabrina Bell is honestly having the worst day. After being stood up by a suitor, she becomes the victim of a mugging and winds up in the river, soaked to the bone. Her rescuer: highlander Graeme Kendrick. The two begin a friendship, the basis of which is Sabrina’s uncanny ability to get herself into trouble. Graeme steps into the role of “knight in shining armor” begrudgingly, and the two make up the classic romance coupling of a hapless ray of sunshine who invades the heart of a buff, solitary curmudgeon.

Because of the secretive nature of Graeme’s work, he’s hesitant to form any sort of serious romantic attachment. Unfortunately for Graeme, his meddling family is determined to nudge him toward love and it doesn’t take much for Sabrina to win them over. Since this is the third book in Kelly’s Clan Kendrick series, readers can expect visits from the previous books’ large and lively cast, with plenty of Easter eggs for dedicated fans. Newbies, though, shouldn’t be deterred. This book works well on its own as a historical romance packed with mischief and mayhem!

Sabrina’s sweet and seemingly flighty nature hides a woman who knows what she wants and, put simply, she wants Graeme. If you prefer romances where the heroine is the one attempting to court the hero, The Highlander’s English Bride is a worthy addition to that list. Graeme possesses a deep sense of loyalty to his family and his country and worries about jeopardizing both by falling for Sabrina. Though opposites in personality, they are consistently drawn into riotous scenes of adventure and sharp-tongued banter. Retiring to an isolated and bucolic country estate is not their sort of happy ending. Theirs is a lovely coupling in which neither the hero nor the heroine feels like they have to compromise or sacrifice part of themselves to make things work.

In addition to the romance, there’s also an intricate mystery (after all, Graeme still has a job to do) that’s more of an adventurous road trip than a tightly wound whodunnit. The back and forth between the romantic main plot and action subplot guarantee that you’ll never be bored. A Vanessa Kelly historical romance is a lot like being at a carnival: It’s a whirlwind of fun with the lightness of cotton candy, the rush of a tilt-a-whirl and the satisfaction of a night well planned. There are few better choices than than this bubbly romance that delivers a heartwarming happily ever after.

Bestselling author Madeline Hunter begins a brand new historical romance series with a mystery inheritance from an eccentric benefactor, a roguish investigator and a secretive widow.

There is no love lost between Chase Radnor and Minerva Hepplewhite. In fact, Minerva is slightly delighted to whack Chase over the head when he sneaks into her home. She still holds some rather negative feelings for Chase, seeing as he previously accused her of murdering her late husband. But now he’s tumbled back into her life to inform her that she’s inherited a fortune, and from his very own uncle no less.

Why? Well, no one seems to have any idea. While Minerva is grateful for the financial windfall, she’s also perplexed by both the duke’s decision and his death, leaving the unlikely pair to put aside their differences to find some answers.

Minerva is a lively, independent heroine. Readers will fall in love with her the moment she decides to tie up and interrogate Chase for his intrusion. She’s frequently exasperated by his needling and the fact that he looks so good doing it. As an investigator, Chase has a natural disposition for solving puzzles and to him, Minerva is a puzzle yet unsolved. He isn’t sure he can trust her, but respects her intelligence and know-how and sees this as a large advantage in finding answers regarding his uncle’s death. Expect to have a goofy smile on your face for a bulk of the book as the two go head-to-head, while slowly learning to value the other.

Heiress for Hire feels like a mix of Knives Out (minus the hunky Chris Evans in a cable knit sweater) and Clue, with a touch of “Scooby Doo.” It’s an entertaining whodunnit with a slew of entertaining side characters and suspects. Thankfully, the mystery elements only enhance Minerva and Chase’s slow burn. And let’s talk about this slow burn, which is worthy of the ultimate chef’s kiss. After an an initial period of suspicion and mistrust, Chase and Minerva’s working relationship is built on respect for one another’s intellect. They’ve clearly made snap judgments about one another without truly considering how the other would feel, especially with Chase’s prior accusations against Minerva. The underlying mystery is the perfect catalyst to get them in close quarters and allow their strengths to shine. It’s a gradual and wonderfully agonizing seduction that will leave readers begging for these two nerds to just kiss already.

This fantastic beginning may be Hunter's best series starter yet. With its memorable characters, a murder mystery and a perfectly paced romance, Hunter is at the top of her game in Heiress for Hire.

Eva Leigh puts inspiring, forthright female characters at the forefront of her delectable romances, and Lady Grace Wyatt is no exception in My Fake Rake, the first of a new series.

But first, Leigh introduces us to a disparate group of boys who, while in a Regency version of detention, form a lifelong bond and will eventually call themselves the Union of the Rakes. One of their number is Sebastian Holloway, a bookish and handsome anthropologist who becomes a close friend of Lady Grace.

Grace could care less what others think of her fascination with amphibians. With scholarly friends like Sebastian by her side, she doesn’t need the approval of the ton. However, things change when she’s suddenly faced with the task of finding a husband. Enlisting Sebastian to play the part of her suitor, she hopes to catch the attention of Mason Fredericks, a dreamboat fellow scholar.

Like many stories with this plotline, you’re left on the edge of your seat as you wait for Sebastian and Grace to discover their feelings for one another. With a keen eye for pacing, Leigh takes the reader along for the sensual ride, immersing them into Grace and Sebastian’s intimate friendship as they discover feelings that simmer just below the surface.

Leigh excels at giving appropriate modern and relatable touches in a historical romance. Grace’s deep intelligence and Sebastian’s social anxiety hook you in and transport you to their time with ease. And the other rakes, such as the scene-stealing Duke of Rotherby, possess sensitive qualities that humanize each man and complement the passionate and engaging female characters. Another benefit of Leigh’s subtle modernity? The sensual scenes are all the steamier.

With down-to-earth characters and an enthralling friends-to-lovers storyline, My Fake Rake is a hard one to put down.

In the latest installment of the Outcasts series, author Miranda Spencer shows that she has by no means lost her taste for juicy, refreshingly shocking characters that throw proper London society into a tizzy.

Martin Bouchard, captain of the Golden Scythe will be familiar to her readers. The New Orleans–born privateer has been a recurring character in the first two books of the series, and the story opens with him seizing a Dutch slave ship and finding, among the human cargo, someone he never could have expected. Sarah Fisher was born and raised in Africa and seized by the slavers along with the rest of the villagers, despite being the Caucasian daughter of British missionaries. When she’s freed by Martin—or rather, when her freedom is confirmed, since she starts the process herself through the audacious theft of the slaving captain’s gun—arrangements are made for her to be transported to England, courtesy of the Golden Scythe. While Sarah thinks of herself as plain (and tall, for that matter) and therefore entirely unlikely to entice the gorgeous, notorious, sin-poured-into-breeches captain, it doesn’t take long for her to fascinate, irritate, educate and enflame him. They clash—a lot. They say the wrong things and hurt each other—a lot. Their attraction is palpable (and very, very obvious to everyone around them) but at times it truly does seem like they’ll never be able to overcome the obstacles they keep putting in their own way.

Sarah is self-conscious about her looks and wounded by a lifetime of feeling undesired and out of place, and so she struggles to accept or even recognize Martin’s fascination with her. And Martin, wounded by secrets from his past and his own feelings of unworthiness, bristles with jealousy and what seems to be a deep streak of self-loathing that leads him to not just push but actively hurl everyone away from him. They’re complicated characters, and their journey to love and happiness is far from easy.

It would be clichéd to say that in the end, love sets them free. It also wouldn’t be quite true. Love actually comes early on, even if neither of them wants to admit it. Freedom comes later—and it’s something they have to embrace before they can truly let love in. Spencer enjoys poking at the delicate scales of power in Regency society. While her characters move in the highest echelons, they’ve all struggled with powerlessness and disdain in various forms. Sarah’s struggles would seem at first to be the most challenging—after all, she begins the story in the hold of a slave ship. But it’s Martin, a former slave himself, who carries the weight of his bondage, even years after gaining his liberty. When he lets go of that burden and finally accepts that his past doesn’t have to control his future, he’s truly set free. Free to love and accept love in return—and free to live happily ever after.