Penance for the Dead
In the slow burn tradition of TV's most watchable sleuth duos, Audrey Sinclair, the Duchess of Fournier, and Bow Street officer Hugh Marsden are a Regency Kate Beckett and Richard Castle, and hands-down the most engaging pair I've read in the last few years. Their chemistry infuses every book, keeping readers like me hungrily piling up the breadcrumbs of their intensifying attraction
Defended by a Duke
With some Three dozen Regency romances under her belt, Cheryl Bolen has made the short, breezy read a specialty. Defended by a Duke is Book 6 in her Beresford Adventures and follows the same entertaining formula as the rest of the series,
The Duke’s Best Friend
The Duke's Best Friend has a political backdrop that sets it apart. Heroine Kate Meacham was reared by her grandfather, a Foreign Office "legend" who moved in elite diplomatic circles.
Remember Me
A romance is in deep trouble when the only interesting chemistry is between the hero's grandparents. Back in the day, when I opened a Mary Balogh novel, I could almost hear my own sigh of relief. Immediate immersion. Smooth, accessible style. Vivid storytelling. Passionate, loving romance.
The Social Tutor
This is a heartwarming very clean romance, charmingly told, with some fresh elements that set it apart from other similar stories. It's not the author's best work, which has earned higher scores from us, but it's an enjoyable series debut from a prolific writer.
A Summer Game
It's splitting hairs to choose which of Mary Kingswood's books best reflect the attributes of a Georgette Heyer-style traditional Regency romance. Most are serious contenders, and A Summer Game is no exception.
Miss Newbury’s List
Light romance doesn't have to be plausible to be entertaining. Titled in the style of Regency hit Mr. Malcolm's List ( 2020), author Megan Walker's latest novel is another on-brand addition to Shadow Mountain's Proper Romance line-up.
Alverstone
If Georgette Heyer wrote Gone With the Wind. Alverstone is a slam dunk historical family saga, a vividly filmic Regency ‘Downton Abbey’ that has it all: romance, villainy, humor, and adventure, set against a backdrop of glittering balls, sprawling estates, and the battlefields of the Napoleonic Wars.
Venetia
Venetia is a charming novel that showcases both Georgette Heyer’s mastery of the Regency romance, and the enduring appeal of the ‘reformed rake’ trope. Heyer was a seasoned writer by the time it was published in 1958,
Edenbrooke
Expressly pitched as ‘proper’ Juliane Donaldson’s Edenbrooke is a light, sweet Regency romance that, as promised, keeps the palpitating bosom confined within a modest gown.
