Wild Wynchesters Historical Romance Book Series by Erica Ridley

The Duke Heist by Erica Ridley (2021)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 1 of the Wild Wynchesters series. The Wynchester orphans are really orphans now that their beloved adoptive father has passed away and they’re on a mission to recover a beloved painting that a crusty old duke had stolen right out of their homes. Except that duke has also passed away and his son, Lawrence, is the stuffiest most annoying guy of all, ignoring all letters and requests to meet from the scandalous Wynchesters. Chloe finds an opportunity to steal the painting from the duke’s almost-betrothed when it’s given as a courting gift, but accidentally kidnaps the duke in his carriage along the way. It’s a temporary mishap, worsened by the fact that the painting isn’t even the real one. Chloe needs to find even more excuses to get close to Lawrence to discover where the real painting is so they can steal it back. And then of course, Lawrence starts to realize he’s completely misjudged Chloe and starts to fall in love with her. It’s all complicated by the fact that he’s impoverished and needs to marry an heiress, Chloe is totally unsuitable, and she’s also keeping a secret about stealing that painting. This book was fun and chaotic and sweet and you will adore the crazy Wychester family.

Audiobook borrowed from my local library via Libby. Ebook accessed from Kindle Unlimited.

Shop this book via Amazon // Bookshop.org // Libro.fm

The Perks of Loving a Wallflower by Erica Ridley (2021)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 2 of the Wild Wynchesters series. Master of disguise Tommy Wynchester has been pining for the lace-trimmed Philippa York for a year, but cannot seem to find the courage to talk to Philippa as herself. Meanwhile Philippa’s parents are pressuring her to marry a lord this Season, and one of Philippa’s bluestocking friends has been wronged by her own uncle taking credit for creating a cipher. The Wynchesters are on the case for the stolen credit, but Philippa is stuck with her parents’ marital expectations of her. Tommy’s siblings have the bright idea for her to dress up as the fictitious Baron Vanderbean so she could court Philippa as a gentleman, but she fesses up to Philippa pretty quickly. It’s a bit of a surprise to Philippa to realize she wasn’t attracted to any of her previous suitors because they were men and that she’s most definitely attracted to Tommy. We get a mix of mystery and crime solving here, with lots of romance, finding yourself, and finding a family that loves who you really are. This one is another excellent addition to the Wynchesters series.

Audiobook borrowed from my local library via Libby. Ebook accessed from Kindle Unlimited.

Nobody’s Princess by Erica Ridley (2022)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 3 of the Wild Wynchesters series. We get to see a wannabe female Royal Guard team up with our beloved Wynchester family here. Kunigunde is a lady companion to the Princess of Balcovia but has always aspired to be a Royal Guardsman like her father and brothers; she’s in London to compose her own reconnaissance dossier to prove her worth to her government. Except that she’s also hiding from her actual guardsmen brothers while trying to uncover intelligence. Graham is conveniently present to rescue Kuni from being chased by her brothers and brings her home to meet his siblings. She gets caught up in their missions and her attraction to Graham, but she’s adamant about going back home. It’s fun and flirty for a lot of the book and then a little heartbreaking how she ends up rejecting Graham and his awesome family. Still, another awesome addition to the series.

Audiobook borrowed from my local library via Libby. Ebook accessed from Kindle Unlimited.

My Rogue to Ruin by Erica Ridley (2023)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 4 of the Wild Wynchesters series. Quiet artist sister Marjorie has her turn to take the lead on a case this time. When the Wynchesters find that a crime lord is passing counterfeit coins through his pawn shop, they aim to find the counterfeiter and bring about justice. Marjorie insists on infiltrating the workshop to find the evidence and solve the case, but she finds a charming lord there instead. Adrian is the second son of a marquess who was banished from his family home many years ago and made his money by counterfeiting artistic artifacts; when he’s caught at that, the crime lord blackmails him into counterfeiting money instead. He’s pretty much held captive, even though he feels horrible cheating innocent people out of money. While Marjorie and Adrian are at odds in the beginning, they soon realize they have a lot in common, and need to team up to get out of this mess. Adrian gets to witness firsthand the benefits of a loving family and find allies in all the Wynchesters. The romance here was easy and low-angst and the crime-solving caper was a lot of fun.

Audiobook borrowed from my local library via Libby. Ebook accessed from Kindle Unlimited.

Hot Earl Summer by Erica Ridley (2024)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 5 of the Wild Wynchesters series. It’s Elizabeth’s turn to take the lead on a case, putting her in the countryside to look for the missing will of a countess in an earl’s castle. Instead of finding the earl there, she finds his tinkering cousin, Stephen. We get a grumpy-grumpy romance in this one with both Elizabeth and Stephen preferring solitude to company. It’s fun to see them work together to try to find the missing will, plus I liked seeing Elizabeth being appreciative of Stephen’s inventions instead of disparaging his oddness. There’s a common annoying villain around who believes he won the castle in a card game, but once they find the will, it’ll be clear the property wouldn’t be his. Plus, we get a full family of Wynchester showing up for the big confrontation.

Advance ebook provided by Forever Books via NetGalley.

Shop this book via Amazon // Bookshop.org

A Waltz on the Wild Side by Erica Ridley (2025)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 6 of the Wild Wynchesters series. Solid conclusion to the series, but a lot of the story could have been resolved earlier if Vivian communicated more clearly about her missing cousin’s adventures. Vivian and her young cousin always argue over his and his friends’ hero worship of the Wynchester family, with good reason, since Vivian is worried that a bunch of law-breaking adolescents will not have the same privileges as the wealthy family of a baron. He goes missing one day and Vivian pretty much lands on the Wynchester doorstep to ask for help. She’s terribly prickly and judgmental and spends most of the book getting to know each of the siblings (and their respective spouses) to learn that they really are more honorable than she originally judged. Her romance is set with Jacob, the animal trainer and poet of the group, and it’s pretty much attraction at first sight, even with her being totally closed-minded. He’s smitten from the jump and wants to do anything he can to help her. We end up with a lot of wacky miscommunication and go through a lot of hoops to find the cousin.

Advance ebook provided by Forever Books via NetGalley.