#historical romance rec

[theromanticartist]

Penelope & Colin Engagement Ball💖

Download the pack with ALL High-Resolution Watermark-Free Bridgerton illustrations for $9.99, including Romantic and Spicy Uncensored content. The pack has more than 12 high-quality finished illustrations + several drawings and painting wips + fanfics, and it’s included in the Scorching Hot tier only until the end of October. 🌹 Next month, only monthly content (decided by Patrons votes) will be available and the pack will be sold separately. I hope to see you there! 😘

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For so many years Colin has taken Penelope in his arms and danced with her in almost every ball ♥

Bridgertons Book 4 - Romancing Mr.Bridgerton by Julia Quinn

[spicy-bunz]

Queer historical romance book recs?

Throwing this into the void to see if anyone knows of any good queer, historical romance novels. I’ve read Heart of Stone by @johannestevans (it also includes vampires, so 🤌) and I’m almost done reading A Lady for a Duke by Alexis Hall. I think I’ve found my favorite genre of literature and would love to read other books that fall into that genre.

Tia!!

[mermaidsirennikita]

Do you have any queer historical romance recs? Are there any upcoming 2024 queer historical romances that you’re excited for?

Absolutely, I have recs! As for 2024 books, I'm currently most looking forward to You Should Be So Lucky by Cat Sebastian, which is an m/m romance set, I believe in the 50s, set around the world of baseball.

I also just read A Sweet Sting of Salt by Rose Sutherland (out 4/9) which I SUPER recommend if you want a f/f romance set in the 1800s, with a touch of fantasy. It's about a prickly midwife who finds this mysterious woman in the middle of the night, literally about to give birth. She helps her, and her husband turns out to be a local fisherman. But... something isn't right... both with the husband, and with his wife's origins. And when the husband realizes the women are falling in love, he only becomes more possessive. I promise it's romantic and has an HEA and doesn't feature overwhelming sadness (there is domestic and sexual violence alluded to, but it's brief and off the page).

As for historicals otherwise...

M/M

We Could be So Good by Cat Sebastian--set in the same general era and space as the 2024 release, I think, about a pair of reporters slowly and sweetly falling in love, especially after they become roommates (and they were ROOMMATES).

The Secret Lives of Country Gentlemen by KJ Charles--about a guy who moves to the marshland after he becomes a baronet, and has to take care of his estranged father's family left behind. He finds out there is a crime family of smugglers controlling the area, and he rats on them after seeing something sus... But when he goes to testify, who's there to stop him but the guy who he used to anonymously hook up with! JOSS DOOMSDAY. Joss Doomsday is amazing I love him. Super sexy, funny, and definitely focused on a side of England you like, never see in historicals.

The Nobleman's Guide to Seducing a Scoundrel by KJ--the standalone followup to the last book. In this case, another title is inherited, and this time the lord's this gruff former soldier. His cousins or something contest his inheritance, and he hires this young, charismatic secretary (especially important because our lord has a hard time reading, which I felt was done in a really touching way). Anyway, the sexual tension boils over and they start hooking up on the low, but there's a SECRET. (Also, the lord is very like "I'M ABUSING MY BOSSLY POWER" while the secretary is like "I mean... abuse it some more.....")

Band Sinister by KJ Charles--kind of a queer sendup of gothics, this is about a young guy whose sister is like, always spying on their scandalous neighbors who hold orgies and shit for the sake of writing her novels. Then she breaks her leg and ends up laid up in the orgy house, and he rushes over like NO ORGIES FOR HER, but he realizes the group of friends is actually super cool, especially the verrrry siiiiiilky smoooooth one who's just soooooo suave. So good, and especially interesting in that, while I would definitely not call this a poly romance, it does explore the complexities of open relationships and polyamory.

The Queer Principles of Kit Webb by Cat Sebastian--Kit is a retired highwayman running a cafe, and suddenly this vERRRY pretty nobleman comes in flashing his very nice ankles and asking Kit to steal this mysterious book from his dad. Kit refuses, but agrees to teach Percy how to steal. Both are great, but omg PERCY is AMAZING. He's kind introduced as somewhat like... conventionally more on the femme side, but he's like a secret swordmaster, and also takes the lead with Kit sexually a lot. One of my favorite moments in this book is when he's blowing Kit and Kit thinks he's gone too deep and is like "SORRY" and Percy rolls his eyes and makes Kit grab his hair and start facefucking him lmao. Also has nice demi rep in Kit.

Something Fabulous by Alexis Hall--A frosty duke proposes to a woman he was always supposed to marry, and she subsequently goes on the run. He then has to pair up with her dramatic, fanciful twin brother. It's a really funny romcom, with a ridiculous duel that had me wheezing. Plus a semi-cultlike group of lesbians? Also, enthusiastic ass eating.

F/F

An Island Princess Starts a Scandal by Adriana Herrera--A cold vamp widow wants this business deal with a fun and flirty heiress, and the heiress agrees to make the deal... If the vamp agrees to show her LESBIAN PARIS. Hot, and both of the leads are Latina.

Mortal Follies by Alexis Hall--Adding this even though it definitely has a good dose of fantasy, because it's like... Jane Austen meets a Midsummer Night's Dream, with an emphasis on the fairies. This young deb ends up hexed so her dress is unraveling at a ball, and as she hurries into the pushes, she meets the mysterious Lady Duke, who's rumored to have murdered her brother and father. They begin this push and pull of seduction. It's both funny and kind of dramatic.

Trans/Nonbinary

Something Spectacular by Alexis Hall--the standalone followup to Something Fabulous. The runaway fiancee's ex, the genderfluid Peggy, is roped by said ex into attending an opera. The ex wants to seduce Orfeo, this gorgeous castrato soprano, and when they open their mouth to sing Peggy, who's very gruff and in control typically, faints. Orfeo is naturally like "WHO'S THAT" and begins pursuing Peggy rather than the ex. One of my favorite books, so funny (at one point they accidentally incite a gay orgy) with a hint of melancholy and great sex. Also, it has one of the most unique sex scenes I've ever read.

Unmasked by the Marquess by Cat Sebastian--a bisexual marquess makes a new friend in this young dandy in town. They kiss, and he thinks his friend is going to blackmail him... But the friend, Robin, turns out to be chamber maid in disguise! Except they're actually not a man or a woman, and don't want to live as a woman. It becomes as an FWB thing, but naturally our romantic hero falls in love and things become Fraught. Has one of my favorite "resentfully horny" moments, when Alistair is watching Robin from across the ballroom, and they pull a glove off with their teeth, and he's like "THAT IS IMPROPER" and wants to fuck them so bad.

A Lady for a Duke by Alexis Hall--Viola faked her death at Waterloo in order to live as her true self. Years later, she's pulled into helping her old best friend, the Duke of Gracewood, who's suffering from a chronic injury and severe depression following the battle. At first he doesn't recognize her... at first. Has an absolutely INCREDIBLE moment of recognition, and I really like that it's this romping old school type romance with a trans heroine.

Most Ardently by Gabe Cole Novoa--this one is actually a YA Pride and Prejudice retelling, highly recommend if you're open to it. In this case, the Lizzie character is actually Oliver, a trans boy, and he and Darcy fall in love--molly houses are included in this, which I really like. It's not super about historical accuracy, which I personally dgaf about, and it's very sweet and funny and warm. Also, the author is a trans man.

Queer Polyamory

Scandalous Passions by Nicola Davidson--FFM. A king's former mistress is sent away because the queen hates her, and is also asked to care for the king's ward. She and the ward begin to give in to their attraction, and at the same time their escort is this much-feared knight (who's really quite subby) who's been in love with the older heroine for years. And then he begins falling for the ward as well.... Super sexy medieval, with Dom/sub overtones.

Their Marchioness by Jess Michaels--A playwright is asked to a marquess and marchioness's home... Turns out he and the marchioness were in love before she was forced to marry the marquess. Fortunately, she and her husband are now very much in love, and he's basically gifting her a tryst with her old love for her birthday. Then he joins in... and it begins being more than sex. Has some bi awakening stuff.

M/F with Bi leads

The Perfect Crimes of Marian Hayes by Cat Sebastian--a standalone followup to Kit Webb. Percy's stepmother Marian is having a correspondence with a blackmailer, who unbeknownst to her is her odious husband's secret son. He ends up falling in love with her as they go back and forth with letters, so when she ends up in trouble and on the run, he comes to "save" her, only to find that Marian ain't that girl. Both leads are bi, and the sex is really cool and interesting because Marian doesn't like penetration due to trauma surrounding her pregnancy and labor. So she penetrates him (among other things) instead.

Hugo and The Maiden by S.M. LaViolette--a successful sex worker ends up being transported and washing ashore after a shipwreck. He's very snarky, but finds himself up against the vicar's uptight and uncompromising daughter--but he still has enemies lurking. Hugo is openly (for the day) bi and services both men and women. I really liked that even as he fell in love, his bisexuality wasn't like this background thing--he sees a guy he likes at one point and is basically like "if I wasn't taken......."

Any Duke in a Storm by Amalie Howard--a spy (who's also kind of a lady pirate) ends up being attracted to her super rakish and slutty first mate. She's bisexual, and one of the women on her ship is her former hookup (still her friend), which I like.

Melissa and The Vicar by S.M. LaViolette--a madame goes to a small village to recuperate and de-stress, and ends up falling in love with a virginal vicar she's so sure she can't have. Melissa is bisexual, and I thiiink a woman she used to be involved with is on the page? Her hero, Magnus, kind of has a "oh shit am I bi?" moment when Melissa tries to fake him out by pretending she's hooking up with Hugo. To be fair, everyone wants to fuck Hugo.

In Which Margo Halifax Earns Her Shocking Reputation--a scandalous woman begins chasing her sister (who ran off with a Bad Man) along with her brother's best friend, who's secretly in love with her. Margo is bi, and her relationships with women are one reason why she's considered scandalous~.

[clockworkbee]

Historical romances, stories of young, innocent love, clandestine meetings, that longing for a kiss, then parting of ways, that train taking one of them far away, writing letters and waiting for them, letters lost or left unread, a lover holding the other as a brutal wave makes them lose their balance, sticking together through the best and the worst of it—stories that break your heart but leave you smiling through the tears.

[theregencywriter]

Lost in Silence 1 - Theo Sharpe x Reader

A/n - Okay so I'm obviously rewatching Bridgerton (are we surprised???) and I realised there's really no fics of Theo???? I mean of course there are but not many and I feel like he's underrated so I needed to put this out there! Still not completely sure which direction to take this in so pls message or comment if you have literally any ideas but uh, yeah! Hope you enjoy <3

The air was thick with tension. Y/n’s mother paced back and forth whilst her daughter Y/n, only ten, sat watching. The cobbled streets of London were cold and unforgiving but with no more room available in the room they were forced to wait outside. Hours passed before the doctor came out, his already stained robes marred with a fresh tint of crimson blood. He romoved a glove and placed his hand onto her Mothers arm as he spoke. “The bleeding was too much. There was nothing we could do and yet we still exhausted all options. I’m sorry.”

And then began a shriek from her mouth that young Y/n could swear rattled the nearby windows, as she shrank to the floor. It was odd, Y/n would recall years later, she never believed her mother to be truly extraordinary, and yet seeing her reduced to a blubbering mess on the floor was an unbearable sight. Y/n took off, her feet taking her as if by their own volition, running down twisted streets until she was pounding on a door.

“Y/n?” Theo asked, puzzled and tired as he opened his front door. He looked at his friend, and before she replied he was holding her in a deep embrace. Though he was only two years older than her he was naturally protective of her like no one ever had been. “He’s, he’s, oh my god!” It was as if by saying out loud for the first time it would become real, concrete and solid. “He’s what? Who’s what? Y/n please” Theo begged, his already panicked face deepening with worry. “Father!Oh Father, he was stabbed by a highwayman on his way back from the countryside! He’s gone!” Theo pulled her in closer. He had known that Y/n’s father, a coworker of his own at the butchers, was going out of London to look for work elsewhere. He also knew how worried Y/n was, and heard from his father that she was seen pleading with her own for him not to go, out of fear of a robbery.

Theo held her for a while until her mother came looking, and when he looked at her though mere hours had passed the once vibrant face of Y/n’s mother was sunken and worn. Before Y/n left with her, Theo gave her a vibrant blue notebook. “For company, when I myself am not there.” He smiled, only faintly as she left.

—

Y/n fidgeted with her bow. “Is it not too garish? I thought so all night” She asked. “Nonsense Miss Y/n, it is beautiful” Her maid replied as she helped fix it into her updo. In the years that passed since her fathers death her mother had remarried to a Lord Reginald Harrington, his wealth only matched by his cruelty. They had one child together other than Y/n, an Arrabella Harrington, now nearing twelve. Her birth was scandalously close to their wedding, yet she seemed to finally snap her mother out of the haze she had been in. To say having Arrabella had saved her would be a stretch, Y/n often lay awake at night worrying what could’ve happened had her mother not fallen pregnant and found a new purpose in life.

It was no surprise to anyone then that Y/n would be treated lesser than her sister by both parents. Y/n’s mother, now Lady Isadora Harrington, saw Arrabella as a second chance, whilst Lord Harrington naturally leaned towards the child that was his through blood. Despite this, Y/n was still sent through the marriage mart each season, attending balls and accepting callers. It wasn’t that she tired of it, per se, as she did find comfort standing on the sidelines with her two friends. It was moreso the matter of feeling like an imposter, knowing if it werent for a terrible accident that she wouldnt be here. That was something Penelope and Eloise simply couldnt grasp seeing as they were born into the lavish life they lead.

Whilst Y/n wasn’t closed off to the idea of marriage and preparing for life as a dutiful spinster, any man who attempted to court her never made it past the first two weeks. There were too many differences, she supposed, in their upbringing. After the first five men came calling it was clear they wanted a wife, not a companion. Seeing how regular people saw love most definitely shaped how Y/n saw the marriage mart. In the lower classes marrying for love was more common, as there were no titles to be exchanged. The marriage mart seemed to be just that in comparison- a business exchange. 

It was after one of these balls where Y/n found herself, being undressed by her lady’s maid. It was a remarkably unremarkable one, where she was once again stood by the edge like a wallflower. “I just don’t understand miss,” Her maid, Rosalind spoke. “Is it not a great honour to attend?” “I suppose,” Y/n replied as wrangled out of the embellished dress “Yet at the same time it feels so futile. There is no use in pretending, it is simple. I am an imposter.” Rosalind looked up, puzzled as Y/n continued. “I do not feel love, or anything. It feels like business there. No emotions to be had.”

Rosalind stopped pulling down Y/n’s stockings and paused. “Miss, I have been attending to you almost since you first day at this house. You have always been so closed off to everyone, were you like that before the?” She quit her sentence but they both knew she meant the accident. “No, not really” Y/n confessed. “I used to be open and vibrant before it all. It wasn’t even the accident in truth it was the whole combined affair. Not only losing my father but just mere weeks after losing all of the people I had ever known by moving to Mayfair. Even now I feel as though I am playing a role, that one day I might return back to the old house.” Y/n was smiling as she reminisced, unaware Rosalind was done.

“Miss, excuse me for speaking out of term if I do, but you cannot return. You have no reason to. Goodnight” Rosalind shut the door behind her as she left. Y/n sat on the edge of her bed and looked up at the vast array of books on the wall to her right. Tucked away, hidden in the very top corner, was a notebook. A vibrant blue with gold embossing on the spine it seemed to shine in the candlelight. Rolling her bookshelf ladder across to retrieve it she ran her fingers across it, taking in the delicate imprints where the gold pigment lay. After Theo had given her the book, she had never written in it. She had never even seen him after he had given it, seeing as they took no callers for their mourning period and soon moved to Mayfair to be with her new Stepfather. Y/n clinched the book in her hand and contemplated.

—

As she snuck out of her family home’s side door and caressed the dim streets of London it dawned on her the severity of what she was doing. She was unsure what would be worse, to encounter a madman alone of fall victim to the quill of Whistledown writing about an unchaperoned outing. She found her way towards Bloomsbury after several wrong turns, and while some landmarks were vaugley familiar, the majority were not. As she entered the only place on a street that had its lights on, a pub, she asked one of the patrons where to find Corral Street. The patron in return said a couple of slurred words, before turning to the stage and cheering some half hearted gibberish as a woman took to the stage. 

“Ladies and gentlemen, If I may steal you from your drinks for just a moment, I find myself compelled to speak on a matter of great importance - the rights of women.” Y/n drew closer, as if entranced, and sat on the second row of benches. “In this new age of enlightenment, where minds are expanding and horizons are broadening, it is imperative that we do not neglect the rights and freedoms of one half of humanity simply based on their gender. For too long, women have been relegated to the sidelines, their voices silenced, their aspirations thwarted by societal norms and expectations. Let us not forget the brave women who have come before us, who fought tirelessly for the rights that we now take for granted. Let us honour their legacy by continuing their struggle, by raising our voices in solidarity until every woman, regardless of class or station, is granted the respect and dignity that is her due!”

The place erupted into cheers, and Y/n joined them, though restrained due to her latter years of education. As she rose up and looked around, confused on where to or how to find directions, her eyes fixed onto a man. Though taller and more rugged than the sensitive boy she once knew, it was undeniable. 

It was Theo.

[hussyknee]

KJ Charles has breathtaking range. And it's all so organically diverse and vivid and excellently paced and clever.

Doomsday books -- Smugglers of Romney Marsh in 1810–20s in the wake of the Napoleonic Wars.

Society of Gentlemen -- Clash between the royalist establishment and radical republicans in the last years of Regency.

Sins of the Cities -- Small businesses and trade of the Industrial Revolution in London's immigrant quarter (taxidermy of all things!), Victorian spiritualists and musical hall artists in the 1870s.

Lillywhite Boys -- London criminal underworld, bluestocking feminists, private detectives, colonial gem trade, the rise of industrialists in the 1890s, and pre-Victorian folk Christmas traditions.

Charm of Magpies -- Shanghai traders and Chinese immigrant communities of London in the late 1800s.

England World -- Nascent British intelligence agencies and new technology in the shadow of the Boer War in the 1890s + integration of Indian nobles from its last kingdoms with elite British society + classism and xenophobia in British antisemitism

Will Darling Adventures -- The reverberating social, political and economic changes from the aftermath of WWI and further development of intelligence organisations during the 1920s.

Just finished Band Sinister, which touched on Hellfire Clubs, the emergence of new medicine, atheism, and challenge Creationism from the fields of natural science, and Black British life before abolition. Currently reading Unfit to Print, which seems to be about London's underground pornography trade with character focus on the shared plight of Black and Indian immigrants from the colonies and their mixed race offspring. Charles's body of work really brings home that the 19th century was a full hundred years long and the distinct character of every decade. And that the real and authentic history of Britain had people of every race, religion, colour, disability, neurodiversity, gender and sexuality who have been deliberately erased by the same power structures that kept them disenfranchised and ghettoed back then.

[rheasmusings]

Someone, anyone, please please please read In Memoriam by Alice Winn. It's just fucking incredible and I'm going to be a zombie for the next few weeks since I've finished it. I'll be more coherent later but for now, just read it.

[ohbo-ohno]

finished watching bridgerton (yes i know im four years late but that clip from season 3 popped up on my tiktok fyp and i've been haunted since) and while everything about my blog might tell you otherwise, im a fucking SUCKER for a lighthearted romance and this show has me literally kicking my feet and giggling

[nothwell]

One Night in Hartswood by @a-kind-of-merry-war If you've ever seen A Knight's Tale and wished it was gayer, this is a book for you. We've got... • secret identities x2 • gory meet-cute • a misunderstanding that actually makes sense and results from the characters forming logical conclusions with the limited information they're given • hurt/comfort • angst • swordplay (both kinds) • a clever twist to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat • a gentle and lovely romance between our leads Ash is my bad boy fave and every morsel of his tragic backstory just made me ravenous for more. Lucky for me the sequel is out soon.

[wimbledon2008]

okay i know youre probably really busy so please dont feel obligated in any way to respond but ive seen a couple of your book recs and i was wondering if you could compile them in one post/add any other recs you have? also please give petrie a hug on my behalf ❤️

the only thing i'm busy with is consuming the entire western canon of m/m romance so it'd be my honor to provide you with some recs! of my 23/24 reads, here are my favorites, in no particular order:

whistling in the dark, invitation to the dance, and downtime by tamara allen

seven summer nights by harper fox

magician by k.l. noone

the will darling adventures by k.j. charles (read k.j. charles's entire oeuvre tbh)

we could be so good and two rogues make a right by cat sebastian

something wild and wonderful by anita kelly

the place between and cattle stop by kit oliver

box 1663 by alex sorel

the murder between us and the grave between us by tal bauer

salt magic, skin magic by lee welch

the uses of illicit art by wendy palmer

heated rivalry and the long game by rachel reid (would also recommend role model as the events of the book overlap with tlg)

the spear cuts through water by simon jimenez

death and the devil series by l.j. hayward

farview by kim fielding

happy reading! ❤️

[literaryelise]

Romantic subplots in fantasy books with astronomical levels of tension✨

[theromanticartist]

“He was, for all his rakish and mischievous ways, for all his jokes and teasing and sly humor, a good and noble man. And he would be a good and noble husband. She knew this as well as she knew herself“

Colin Bridgerton | Romancing Mister Bridgerton by Julia Quinn

Access to exclusive Romantic and NSFW art at Patreon.com/TheRomanticArtist

Uncensored, Watermark-Free, High-Res printable files.

🌹

[triviareads]

Imagine if Colin told Penelope something like this in S3:

-From Chasing Cassandra by Lisa Kleypas

[acotars]

i think i'll do 30 days of romance novels this april again so if you have any recs, please send them my way! anything goes but i'm not a fan of billionaire/mafia/macho man content so bonus points for soft mmcs, queer recs (of all kinds!), and underrated faves.

[erlie]

Replying "publicly", in case someone else is interested too! @mokolat

And I am more than happy to share my book recs!

Concerning historical M/M, anything by KJ Charles is good, but I recently enjoyed these: Band Sinister Slippery Creatures Both Doomsday books Cat Sebastian is also always reliable: The Queer Principles of Kit Webb We Could Be So Good All of the Seducing the Sedgwicks series

Also some other authors: A Marvellous Light by Freya Marske (this has magic in the mix) The Scottish Boy by Alex de Campi

All these books contain adult themes or straight up smut. They also have some period typical homophobia, but it is never particularly heavy and I can't remember any slurs being flung around, with the exception of "The Scottish Boy". It is heaviest of the bunch and I wouldn't categorize it as a romance book, but it is SO GOOD.

Also, none of these authors believe in Bury Your Gays or some such, so happy endings for all!

Let me know if you want or need some other recs!

[apinchofm]

Fic Rec Friday

✨happy march ✨

The Becoming of Charlotte Bridgerton by @triviareads

triv is one of my favourite writers and i absolutely love the series about charlotte bridgerton (kate and anthony’s eldest daughter) who is just so ambitious, intelligent and interesting! next gen, historical romance

Never In My Wildest Dreams by ElleannaQ (@little-engineer-who-cant)

a closed off edwina and a grumpy, pipe smoking marquess?? already such an interesting first chapter! can’t wait for the rest! M, edwina sharma x oc

teaching a lesson by mirixmoya

one of my favourite married couples - with a hint of jealousy! also this author is one of my favourites, check out her work! george x bertha, m, fluff+ jealousy

come over here and profound for me by @dollypopup

the bestie has been vindicated so check out their fics!!

we got everything we need right here (and everything we need is enough) by @strideofpride

low-key was in my dair era again and this one night at a wedding was so good!! dan x blair, accidents happen, m

pandora’s jar by pjoseries (divineauthor) (@merlinemrys)

poseidon and sally are my roman empire and this is such such a lovely, angsty exploration of their relationship (poseidon is basically sitting by the phone) posally, t, tragic romance

home is where the heart is by askthearcher (@lucindabridgerton)

my bestie has written for one of my new fave hr couples, cam and amelia in kleypas’s wallflower series. just pure fluff and comfort. g, hugs and comfort