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Y’all. This is the last week of October. I read my first Christmas romance this weekend (hopefully the first of many love stories set around the winter holidays!). And of course, it’s Monday. Again.
News and Useful Links
Let’s start out with the thing that caused a lot of emotional trauma late last week, after which point we can move on and all promise to do better.
There was a discussion thread on a popular romance-dedicated website that discussed historical romance. Several people there seemed to think that the newfangled diversity rules that are taking over the genre are causing historical inaccuracies left and right. So let’s all just remind ourselves and our friends:
- People of color and LGBTQ+ people have always existed
- England during the Regency consisted of more than just the Ton, and reading about people living in poverty is just as compelling (and sometimes way more interesting) than reading about rich people
- Everybody deserves a happy ending (unless they’re Nazis or otherwise unrepentant White Supremacists…like people who actively and willingly participate in the American Institution of Enslavement)
That’s it. That’s all the rules.
It begins: Publishers Weekly is the first to put out a Best Books of 2019 list (at least that I’ve seen). Do you agree with their choices for romance?
Have you seen the cover for the next (and sadly, last) Bareknuckle Bastards book? I feel physical pain every time I think about the fact that Sarah MacLean’s books come out a year apart.
If you’re curious about book cover design, here is an interesting look into how it works.
Cat Sebastian talked about fandom and spreadsheets, and included some fic recs. (Interesting note: I have a “fics” tab on my 2019 reading spreadsheet that was more than likely inspired by Cat. Also, she is the one whose Twitter recs sucked me–willingly–back into Stucky after several years away. So enter at your own risk lolsob.)
This wouldn’t particularly work as a meet cute, but it’s still a wild story and boy do I hope someone gets a plot bunny.
Deals
Holley Trent’s Shrew & Company is available for 2.99 right now! It’s a complete collection—seven total stories in over 1300 pages. Meet all the women of the Shrew & Company private investigation agency, and read the stories of them and the men who love them. There are shifters and acrobats and all kinds of surprising supernatural mysteries. And we all love Holley Trent, right?
Recs!
I realize I’ve been talking about Halloween for the past month, but I can’t resist one last time to talk about an oft-unsung sect of paranormal/supernatural romance: the magicians. And not just any magicians: historical ones. Magicians in historical romance are often presented a little differently than magical creatures, and the worlds they exist in are always fascinating to read about.
Salt Magic, Skin Magic
Lee Welch
I’d seen a few mentions of this book on the interwebs, and had made a note to check it out, but didn’t think about it again until I was looking for something to listen to in the car. (Note: the narrator of this audiobook is delightful; if you have a choice in format and enjoy audio, definitely go with it for this one.)
Lord Thornby lives to be outrageous. Not only is it fun, but it outrages his father. When he’s taken to the family estate after what to his father is the last straw, he spends a year trying to leave. When industrial magician John Blake arrives on a mission from a friend, he starts his investigating with Thornby. Thornby, of course, doesn’t even know magic exists, let alone how to use it. When it turns out the young man is telling the truth, and even worse, is the subject of someone else’s magic, John decides to help him figure out how to leave. And what’s plaguing the very bizarre house he lives in.
Spellbound
Allie Therin
This book runs at a very different pace than Salt Magic, but is built in the same kind of universe. There is a well-structured magical community, and they exist within and beside the nonmagical one. Magicians might work with mundanes, but for the most part, people in general don’t know about the magical world or how it works.
In this delightful 1920s(!) romance, Arthur is in search of supernatural relics that could be world-ending, and he comes to Rory for help to find them. They don’t particularly get along when they meet (catnip alert!), but their chemistry is pretty off the charts. Also, Arthur feels immediately protective of the smaller man. Which gets both of them in a lot of trouble as the world gets closer and closer to potentially ending.
Snowspelled
Stephanie Burgis
If you haven’t read this series, you’re missing out on a delightful world. Instead of existing in the shadows of the nonmagical world, the magicians of this Angland are a social class. And the society they exist in is somewhat matriarchal (the governing party is called The Boudiccate, for goodness sake!), but magic is reserved for men. That means nothing to Cassandra Harwood, who has a gift and wants to use it. Said gift has left her in a position where she’s had to end relationships, including the one with her now ex-fiance. When they’re trapped together at a house party that may or may not have been supernaturally snowbound, all those feelings come back to the surface as the two work together to resolve a conflict with an Elf lord who is hanging out just outside of the country manor where they’re staying.
I’ve also been meaning to read The Magpie Lord for, oh…a million years. I love everything KJ Charles writes, so I doubt I would hate that one. There’s also Jordan L. Hawk’s Widdershins, which I’m sure I’ve owned for just as long.
Who are your favorite magicians in historical romance?
As usual, catch me on Twitter @jessisreading or Instagram @jess_is_reading, or send me an email at jessica@riotnewmedia.com if you’ve got feedback, bookrecs, or just want to say hi!