With Diary of an Accidental Wallflower, New York Times bestseller Jennifer McQuiston begins her new Victorian-era series, The Seduction Diaries, with a bang. I adore discovering new-to-me authors, and oh my, did I hit the mother lode with this one!

Pretty, popular Clare Westmore suspects she’s close to receiving a proposal from the future Duke of Harrington. Between steering him away from her eccentric family, putting copious amounts of effort into bringing the Duke up to snuff and staying vigilant to disguise her improper love of learning, she’s worked devilishly hard for this match. But matters turn topsy-turvy when she injures her ankle and finds herself in a ballroom’s Wallflower section, watching her so-called friend waltz off with her beau. To add insult to injury, she has to contend with Dr. Daniel Merial. Yes, he’s—wildly!—attractive, but he's also a commoner.

Daniel has been feverishly pursuing a way to safely administer an anesthesia to bring to the underserved, poverty-stricken patients surrounding St. Bartholomew’s Teaching Hospital. When he first meets Clare, he thinks she is a typical shallow, self-absorbed member of the ton. Yet, to his dismay, he’s highly aware of her. Only after finding himself appointed her doctor does he begin to discover the real woman behind the facade.

Clare and Daniel struggle to deny their mutual attraction, because it just isn’t proper for a Viscount’s daughter to socialize with a Romany doctor. But again and again, they find themselves gravitating toward each other, and rather than being put off by their radically different positions in the social order, with every encounter they discover more common ground.

McQuiston has penned a novel filled with complex family relationships and allows an engaging, unique peek into London’s ton. She peoples her story with a marvelously likable hero, an inquisitive, open-minded heroine and a host of fully realized supporting characters. This book is fast, fun and contains more twists and turns than the rookeries of St. Giles.

Best-selling author Sarah MacLean concludes her Rules of Scoundrels series with Never Judge A Lady by Her Cover. The long-awaited final book stars Lady Georgiana Pearson, the daughter of a Duke. Ruined at the tender age of 16, Georgiana turned her back on society and created her own world when she became part owner of “London’s most scandalous and most popular gaming hell,” The Fallen Angel. Only her three partners in the club know that Georgiana is also the most feared person in Britain. Disguised as Chase, the mysterious gentleman privy to nobility’s most hidden and disgraceful secrets, Georgiana holds the power to destroy many privileged families.

But now Georgiana’s daughter is old enough to be hurt by the cruel comments of other young girls, and Georgiana decides to marry in order to add a layer of protection around her sweet, intelligent child. She boldly re-enters the society that scorned her, determined to marry a nobleman who can add his name and influence to shield her daughter.

Georgiana has made a list of titled potential husbands, but the man who effortlessly intrigues her is not an aristocrat. Duncan West is “brilliant, powerful, handsome as sin” and the owner of five of London’s most-read publications. He has received plenty of secrets from Georgiana at The Fallen Angel. But there, she is disguised as Chase or cloaked in the persona of Anna, the queen of London’s light-skirts. Duncan doesn’t recognize her clad in the beautiful gowns and jewels of Lady Georgiana, but that will soon change.

How can they possibly reach their goals without losing the overwhelming, unexpected love that binds them?

While the two are powerfully drawn to each other, Duncan doesn’t have the aristocratic family title that Georgiana believes she needs to protect her daughter. However, she does need the influence of Duncan’s newspapers in order to sway public opinion and convince society to accept her. Duncan, on the other hand, wants information from Chase that is vital to breaking the hold a blackmailer has on his family.

They need each other for reasons beyond the physical. What neither could have foreseen is how much they want each other, passionately and beyond reason. But their mutual desire has the power and potential to destroy everything they’ve each plotted and schemed to achieve. How can they possibly reach their goals without losing the overwhelming, unexpected love that binds them?

MacLean’s written a well-executed novel, grounded solidly in the historical details of 1823 England. Never were a hero and heroine so evenly matched, both in bed and out. In Duncan, Georgiana has, at last, found a man who can go toe-to-toe with her formidable personality. In Georgiana, Duncan has found a woman he can trust with his deepest, darkest secrets. Readers won’t be disappointed by this rousing end to an intriguing series.  

Lois Dyer writes from her home in Washington

Graveyards and corpses don’t usually scream romance, but Brenda Novak uses them to perfect effect in her new historical romance, A Matter of Grave Concern. Action, mystery and fascinating historical tidbits are combined in this story of unlikely—and deliciously lusty—love.

Abigail Hale is the daughter of a surgeon at Aldersgate School of Medicine in 1830s London, where the study of anatomy is hampered by a sufficient lack of cadavers. Out of this need, the grim industry of stealing corpses from their graves to sell to medical schools is born. Abby abhors the practice as much as anyone, but she’s also relentlessly practical—without those bodies, her father’s school will not survive.

Her father knows that Abby is fascinated by medicine—although no  medical school would accept a young woman—but he does not know that Abby has taken it upon herself to procure corpses. Her father’s ignorance is unfortunate, because Abby is in far over her head when Jack Hurtsill’s “London Supply Company” arrives with the body she requested.

Maximilian Wilder’s aristocratic good looks and crisp speech set him apart from the typical “sack ’em up” man, but his story of gambling debts is enough to convince Jack Hurtsill that he’s in it solely for the money. However, Max is really on the trail of his missing half sister Madeline, who was last seen in Jack’s company. When Jack turns up with a still-warm dead body that’s clearly never seen a grave, Max’s suspicions about Madeline’s fate seem justified—in the absence of convenient corpses, are Jack’s men committing murder to provide cadavers?

A Matter of Grave Concern makes a suitably creepy read for the Halloween season.

To keep Abby safe from harm at the hands of the body snatchers, Max “claims” her as his share of the spoils, keeping her locked in his room. Their plan is predictably compromised by the attraction between them, but Novak keeps their interactions fresh and fun with Abby’s curiosity about anatomy and Max’s willingness to let her explore.

Novak’s London is satisfyingly foggy and grim, and the stern realities of life in 1830 are never brushed off. The class differences between Abby and Max provide a sadly realistic obstacle to their love, and the standard expectations of a woman of the era are plainly laid out. Despite her spirit, smarts and sensibility, Abby does not have many options in life without a man’s protection.

Romance veteran Novak keeps the plot twists coming until the very end. A Matter of Grave Concern makes a suitably creepy read for the Halloween season, with a resolution that’s fanciful in the delightful way of the best romances.  

Amy Garvey is a freelance editor and the author of several romances and two novels for young adults. 

Last summer, just as the Romance Writers of America conference rolled into Dallas, the news leaked through the ranks: Kathleen E. Woodiwiss had died. Some sources hint that her heart was broken after the untimely death of her son, Dorren, who died weeks before she did; others say it was simply the more prosaic, but no less tragic, cancer. Romance readers only know it was too soon. The beloved author had just turned 68. Woodiwiss is widely regarded as the mother of the modern historical romance, and her 12 novels (beginning with 1972's The Flame and the Flower) boast a staggering 30 million copies in print. Her strong-willed heroines are beautiful, her heroes devastatingly handsome, and the pair finds adventure and romance on the way to their happy ending. Woodiwiss sparked a passion in readers and writers alike, flinging open the doors to what has become a thriving genre offering work to hundreds of (mostly) female writers.

In a tribute to Woodiwiss, New York Times best-selling historical romance author Teresa Medeiros wrote, I am humbled by what a great debt of gratitude we all owe Kathleen E. Woodiwiss. At the conclusion of The Flame and the Flower, she should have written not The End,' but The Beginning.' One consolation is that Woodiwiss left a final completed manuscript for her devoted readers: Everlasting, a sumptuous story set in the turbulent aftermath of the Crusades. Abrielle's beloved fiancŽ has died, leaving her to find a husband who will help save her mother and step- father from ruin. Cornered by the specter of poverty, Abrielle agrees to a union with the loathsome Desmond de Marle, despite her conflicted attraction to a Scotsman, Raven Seabern. Raven is powerfully drawn to the beautiful and spirited Abrielle, and when her husband meets a fitting death, he becomes Abrielle's champion. Abrielle must sort out the truth of her feelings and Raven's if the pair is to find lasting happiness. This lushly written last offering is classic Woodiwiss, and every romance collection should include this final chapter in a brilliant career.

Colorado writer Barbara Samuel is the author of several historical romances.