The Good Girl’s Guide to Rakes by Eva Leigh (2022)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 1 of the Last Chance Scoundrels series. After younger sons of an earl Kieran and Finn assist their friend Dom in jilting their sister Willa at the altar, both families set down an ultimatum for the three scoundrels: each needs to marry a respectable woman within twelve months time or they all get financially cut off. Kieran’s book is first, followed by Finn in Book 2, and Dom in Book 3. As a terrible scoundrel, Kieran doesn’t have the best reputation among respectable ladies of the ton, so he needs some assistance gaining entry into polite events. He asks Dom’s sister Celeste, the epitome of a proper young woman despite her upbringing, to help him get into these events so that he can find a suitable bride. She refuses at first, but when her father insists that she is to marry her suitor at the end of the Season, she decides to strike a bargain with Kieran: she’ll help him if he takes her to scandalous places at night. Of course in spending all this time together, they grow close and fall in love, and they were already attracted to each other from the start. It was fun to see Kieran learn a different side to Celeste and appreciate the tough and brave person she is underneath all of the societal propriety she exhibits in the daytime.

Ebook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

How the Wallflower Was Won by Eva Leigh (2022)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 2 of the Last Chance Scoundrels series. At the start of this book, Finn is trying to set up Dom with bluestocking Tabitha, thinking that they would make for an easy marriage-of-convenience. However, Dom is not interested in courting or marrying and Tabitha is completely intimidated by Dom anyway. Plus Finn and Tabitha are clearly drawn to each other. The problem is that Tabitha is a well-read intellectual lady trying to gain entry into a prestigious academic society, while Finn has always been berated and thought to be an imbecile. He’s not, he just has trouble reading, but he’s clever and observant. Finn thinks that he’s no match for Tabitha and is afraid that she will despise him once she finds out the truth about his intellect (or lacktherof). Tabitha is also wary of emotional entanglements because of a hurtful experience in her past, but is slowly opening up to Finn. These two are deeply guarded with their feelings and with each other, but it’s plain to everyone else that they adore each other. I loved how supportive Finn was of Tabitha and that he respected her opinion and knowledge.

Ebook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

A Rogue’s Rules for Seduction by Eva Leigh (2023)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 3 of the Last Chance Scoundrels series. It’s been nearly a year since Dom abandoned Willa at the altar, and his friends and her brothers Kieran and Finn have conspired to bring them both the same isolated island house party in Scotland. Dom and Willa have to finally talk out their issues if they have any hope of moving on. We quickly see that while they were courting and engaged, each were playing a bit of a role and enjoyed the shock value of the other person’s status, rather than the person they truly were. From dockworker to wealthy son of a shipping magnate, Dom has been considered an outsider to the aristocracy. Willa, daughter of an earl, has been brash and outrageous, and delighted in shocking the ton with her brutish suitor. Likewise, Dom viewed Willa as an unattainable prize, who he first felt proud to court, and then felt guilty that he was so far below her standing… ultimately leading to his abandonment. Now that they’re in the same place again, they start to realize that they treated each other superficially in their courtship and engagement and a marriage at that time would have been unhappy. But the spark and attraction continues to exist between them and now that they’re being more honest with each other, they’re starting to give into those desires, even if they’re not quite willing to risk their hearts yet.

Advance ebook provided by Avon Books via NetGalley.

A Viscount for Christmas by Suzanna Medeiros (2022)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 1 of the Christmas Scandals series. Quick novella with a viscount returning to his estate for the holidays and finding his sisters’ friend, Celia, asleep in his bed. Caught in a compromising situation, he declares them engaged. Although a victim of her mother’s scheming, both the viscount and Celia are attracted to each other and are eventually happy with the engagement.

Ebook borrowed from my local library via Hoopla.

A Highwayman for Christmas by Suzanna Medeiros (2022)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 2 of the Christmas Scandals series. An even shorter novella than the one before, Celia’s cousin Lily has been courted by a serious and solicitous earl for the past six months. When he finally proposes, she refuses him because he has shown no desire or passion for her. Turns out dear Simon was playing the role of the proper suitor and schemes to win her back by playing a highwayman and kidnapping her to a cottage. As expected, she’s impressed by this display of rakishness.

Ebook borrowed from my local library via Hoopla.

Defying the Earl by Erica Ridley (2023)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 4 of the Lords in Love series. Titus is the grumpiest earl you ever did meet, eschewing all social niceties and events. He’s tasked by his godmother to take on a twenty-year old ward and comes to the Marrywell festival to meet her. But before he can do that, he’s kissed a stranger behind the potted plants at the assembly, and is aghast to realize that he’s kissed his ward Matilda. She’s out of mourning from her parents, nearly reaching her majority and inheritance, and wants to socialize and make friends with people. This one is very much a grumpy-sunshine story, with tragic backstories for both Titus and Matilda, but they differ greatly in how they’ve moved from their respective tragedies. Another fun and quick read from this series!

Advance ebook provided by Erica Ridley via NetGalley.

Two Scandals and a Scot by Tracy Sumner (2023)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 5 of the Duchess Society series. Theo runs away from her pre-wedding ball when her fiancee’s pregnant mistress shows up. Of course, she gets into the carriage of Dash, the friend she helped learn to read and write so that he could publish his book of gambling cheats. When he realizes that she’s run away from her duke of a brother-in-law’s house, he chases after her. Of course they cause an even bigger scandal when they’re at an inn on the road and pretty much forced to marry when Theo’s family catches up to them. Since the two are friends who are very much attracted to each other, Theo proposes that they stay friends with their own independence, not to fall prey to the obsessive love that surrounds the other couples in their social sphere (basically all the other couples from past books of the series). Bargain made, they go onto marry and settle into their new life a bit, trying so very hard not to involve their emotions. Which goes exactly how you’d expect it to go if you’re a frequent romance reader. I really enjoyed this book and learning more about Dash’s background, how he basically worships Theo, and her strength and stubbornness that most people underestimate. Another great addition to the series!

Advance ebook provided by Tracy Sumner and Wolf Publishing via NetGalley.

Want more Harry Potter fanfic? Here’s a spreadsheet of my all-time favorites.

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Falling for a Rake by Eve Pendle (2019)

Historical romance. Victorian-era England. Book 1 of the Fallen series. We start with a prim and proper lady who hunts for ferns and a rake of a man following her through the woods and trying to flirt with her, even as she politely puts him off. And then they fall down an abandoned mine and get stuck there overnight. Well, now that they’re basically ruined, they need to marry. But both of them have secrets from the past and neither are exactly what they seem. Lady Emily, daughter of a duke, has been engaged before, but her fiancee had died in a hunting accident, so now Emily doesn’t participate in any physically strenuous activities and only hunts ferns and not foxes. But there’s something more to the story there because she keeps having nightmares about her ex-fiancee. The rakish earl Oscar has admitted the worst of himself to Emily: that he has dallied with the younger sister of a woman he was courting, got her with child, and refused to marry her. The young lady and their illegitimate daughter now live in the country and he is not part of their lives. But he’s also not exactly the rake that he seems to play in the world; he’s kind and caring of Emily and doesn’t actually take advantage of her when they’re trapped together. This book had a lot of interesting reveals of Emily and Oscar’s pasts, presents, and learning to accept each other for who they are. And there’s a meddlesome anonymous gossip writer adding to the drama.

Ebook purchased from Amazon.

Once a Fallen Lady by Eve Pendle (2020)

Historical romance. Victorian-era England. Book 2 of the Fallen series. This story takes place around the same time as Book 1. We get to follow the lives of the young woman who was ruined and her now ten-year old illegitimate daughter. Lydia has been living as a fraudulent widow in a small village and raising her daughter Annie there. When Annie gets ill, Lydia doesn’t have the money to send for the doctor, but the schoolteacher Alfred notices Annie’s absence and comes to check on them. Over the course of Annie’s illness, Alfred comes to visit, bringing food and books, and helping to run errands for Lydia. This one is a relatively short but super quick read with Alfred definitely falling first and Lydia thinking that she’s not worthy of him. It’s also fun to read about an event that happens in Book 1 from a different point of view. I definitely enjoyed reading these two books back-to-back.

Ebook borrowed from my local library via Hoopla.

Catch a Falling Duke by Eve Pendle (2021)

Historical romance. Victorian-era England. Book 3 of the Fallen series. This book takes place about ten years after the first two books in the series, with Hugo (Emily’s brother) having just inherited the dukedom. While Hugo is looking through papers in the study, he finds that his family fortune is founded upon something horribly upsetting. As Hugo runs away from his estate to think, he encounters a woman at an inn and spends the night with her. Beatrice is a lonely widowed farmer, who’s parents have also died, and is looking to find a man named in a letter she found of her mother’s. She and Hugo spend the next day looking for the man, only to be met with disappointment. While Hugo ultimately admits his troubles to Beatrice (and also the fact that he’s a duke), Beatrice insists there’s no future between them due to the differences in social standing and they part ways. At some point, Hugo finds a way to try to prove his commitment to Beatrice, taking whatever part of her life he can get. We get to go back to Bea’s farm and meet all her farmhands and essentially her found family. This was a delightful way to tie things back together and we get to learn how Hugo copes with his grandfather’s ill-gotten wealth.

Ebook borrowed from my local library via Hoopla.

Thanks so much for reading this post! Looking for more bookish resources and romance book reviews? Read the archives!

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Introduction

If you’ve been following other content creators for your book recommendations, you may find yourself wanting to become one yourself. What could be more fun than talking about the books you’ve read and loved all the time? There are so many types of content you can produce and so many different places where you can talk about books, it can be hard to decide what to post and where. Realistically, you should just start posting wherever it is that you hang out the most. And then, when you feel up to it, you can slowly expand to other places.

Find new friends who can gush with you about books all day long. Started a new reading hobby and have no one IRL to chat with? There are so many different platforms online where you can talk about your favorite books.

Depending on the platform you want to use for sharing your book obsession, you’ll be working with different types of media: short form text, long form text, still photos or graphics, video, and audio. When picking out a platform, consider the type of media you’re comfortable creating. The other thing to consider is whether you’d like to collect your own followers, or contribute to the overall conversation in another established community. When you use something like Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, or your own website, people tend to remember that they’re interacting with you personally as an individual and will follow you specifically. If you’re posting reviews on Goodreads or interacting in someone else’s book club, it’s possible that people might not be following you in particular, even if you’ve become friends within that platform.

Twitter

Twitter is in the process of some overhaul right now with a change in ownership and leadership. If you’re not already a Twitter user, I don’t recommend starting one. It’s good for short one-liner types of posts due to the limits in character count. Images and videos are allowed, but they are not the primary form of media.

Instagram

• Instagram is one of my favorite places to look at book recommendations and reviews.
• This platform can be broken down into three different areas: Posts, Reels, and Stories.
  • Posts are square images and videos that show up on the feed. This is a great place for still photos of books, your book journal pages, or graphics that you designed. You can add up to ten images per post that viewers can swipe through the look at.
  • Reels are up to 60 second videos that are vertically formatted. These show up in the regular feed and in the Reels feed.
  • Stories are vertically formatted photos or videos that are on a separate feed at the top of the app and displayed only to your followers. Stories stay active for only 24 hours (or less if you delete them), so it’s good for fleeting content, like your current read or interactive polls.

TikTok

• Vertically formatted short-form video. While you can post up to 3 minute videos (or possibly 10 minutes if you account allows it), I recommend sticking to shorter videos to keep viewers’ attention. Depending on your level of enthusiasm or whether you’re trying to bait the algorithm, you can easily work through different trends on TikTok, with popular sounds, memes, and expressive reactions to what you’re reading. See what you like to watch and then try it yourself. Videos don’t have to feature you talking to camera (but if you do, and you’re holding a book, I beg you please to use the inverted feature so that people can read the book title without a mirror).

Tools I use for Instagram and TikTok

• iPhone 13 Pro Max for photo and video
• Tablet Stand Holder to hold my phone for video
• Softbox Lighting so I can record in early mornings
• White posterboard to help bounce light
• Canva Pro for graphics (click for a free trial for Pro version)

YouTube

• Horizontally formatted long-form video. Most booktubers film face-to-camera and talk about the books they’re read. That type of filming doesn’t work for my schedule, so my account has voiceover slide presentations of books, which can be an option for you too.
• There’s also a Shorts side that shows vertically formatted videos less than 60 seconds. If you’re already posting on TikTok or IG Reels, you can re-purpose those same videos here, which is my approach. I use SnapTik to take the TikTok logo off and then upload to YouTube Shorts.

Website or Blog

For long-form media combining text and photos or video, you could set up your own website and blog. For this one, you’d pick a website hosting platform and pay for a custom domain name. There’s a bit of tech involved with building your own website, but there are plenty of templates and tutorials for whichever platform you choose. I personally use Bluehost for website hosting and a domain name (that’s the URL link that says www.randomolive.com) and run WordPress on it for the blog. The different hosting websites have a super helpful support and tutorial side on their sites if you want to go that route.

Tools I use for blogging

• Bluehost
• WordPress
• ElegantThemes
• Canva Pro

Podcast

If talking is more to your style, consider a podcast. This is long-form audio that I have no experience in making, but there is likely to be some start up cost here for audio hosting, and then a learning curve for getting set up on podcast apps, audio recording and editing.

Email Newsletter

• With a lot of the other platforms above, you’re at the mercy of the platform that you’re using. There could be a massive crash of those websites or your account could be blocked for any reason. One way to keep in touch with people who follow you is to collect their email addresses in an email newsletter service.
• It’s up to you to ask people to join the list, but you can promote it on your existing social channels. The email addresses can be downloaded at any point as a list or spreadsheet and migrated to any email marketing service you choose.
• So what do I use my email newsletter for? I send updates on new bookish printables I’ve made, links to new videos I posted on YouTube, links to book reviews on my blog, and links to latest TikTok videos. (You can click here to subscribe to my emails if that interests you!) You can choose to send whatever you want at whatever frequency you want.
• I personally use Flodesk for my email platform because it’s a flat rate, regardless of the number of subscribers you have, and because the layouts inside it are aesthetically pleasing. (If you use my link here to sign up, you’ll get 50% off your first year of Flodesk)
• Note: If you’re going to send any bulk emails, it’s important to pay attention to the anti-SPAM laws associated with it and read the fine print within the email service.

Final Tips

• Being a bookish content creator can be both fun and stressful if you let it.
• Keep your goals in mind to find the motivation to keep going.
  • Do you want to find new friends?
    • Find new books to read?
    • Or someday monetize your obsession with books?
• You don’t need to post all the things to all the places. Pick the platforms you enjoy and the types of posts you want to create.

Download the full color and photo-filled guide! Available for pay-what-you-want pricing (which basically means free, but I’ll love you forever if you can contribute to my book fund).

I’ll be following this up with more guides and recommendations for monetizing your passion, so if you want to know when that’s available, sign up to be notified here.

Thanks so much for reading this post! Looking for more bookish resources and romance book reviews? Read the archives!

Useful Resources:

Read more about getting the most out of your library card

Want an intro to historical romance series? This post will help!

Learn more about Kindle Unlimited

Get my massive guide of all the romances I’ve read on Kindle Unlimited

Follow me on Instagram at @randomolive

Shop my handmade bookmarks on Etsy

Support this page with a donation

Affiliate links may be used within this post. If you make a purchase, I receive a small commission at no extra charge to you.

Chill and Prosper by Denise Duffield-Thomas (2022)

Nonfiction. Business and entrepreneurship. This book spends a lot of time focusing on mindset and taking away the hustle mentality that so often comes with entrepreneurship. I appreciate the approach here to cut out the feelings of overwhelm and imposter syndrome associated with running a small business. The biggest take-home message for me from this book is that everyone has something to contribute to the conversation about a topic and that you don’t need to be an expert or guru to do so. The back half of the book goes over business strategies like developing a product and marketing it, and doesn’t offer much different from other books in this genre, except that the focus should be on things that come easily, and not to struggle through all the things that seem impossible.

Ebook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

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

To Marry and to Meddle by Martha Waters (2022)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 3 of the Regency Vows series. We finally get to see the romance between Emily and Julian here in a marriage of convenience story. We start at the end of the house party from Book 2, where Julian has been sort of courting Emily and hinting to her that he would be able to save her family’s debt as her husband. We start right with a proposal in Chapter 1 and learn Julian’s motivations for marrying (he wants to improve the reputation of his scandalous theater to gain the approval of his estranged father). Emily is finally enjoying a bit of freedom away from her overbearing parents and learning to express her own opinions, instead of always being so prim and proper. The romance between these two was easy and fun to read, with an interfering kitten adding to the comedy-factor of the story. Loved this book and probably my favorite of the series so far.

Ebook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

To Swoon and to Spar by Martha Waters (2023)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 4 of the Regency Vows series. Viscount Penvale (older brother to Diana, from Book 2) finally has the opportunity to purchase his family’s estate back from his uncle, but he needs to marry his uncle’s ward, Jane, as part of the deal. Jane is socially awkward and kind of sharp, so Penvale’s group of happily married friends are all skeptical of the union. After the arranged marriage takes place and Penvale and Jane are back at the estate, she starts to enact her plan of haunting the castle to drive Penvale away. Jane thinks that he’ll just go back to his life in London, leaving her alone in the seaside as she desires. This one is definitely a slow-burn towards friendship and then love, with lots of humor as Penvale figures out pretty quickly that Jane is the culprit of the haunting. And we get to see everyone back together for a house party towards the end of the book. Since I read an advanced copy of this book, there wasn’t a sneak peak of the next book that the author is working on. I’m hoping that we will finally get the romance between Sophie and West (the older brother of James from Book 1), which has been strongly hinted at through the course of four books. I was absolutely delighted by all four books in this series and looking forward to reading anything that Martha Waters writes in the future!

Advance ebook provided by Atria Books via NetGalley.

Surrendering to the Duke by Stevie Sparks (2023)

Historical romance. Interwar-era England. Book 1 of the Lords of Desire series. Content warnings galore on this one for violence, post-war substance abuse, and history of sexual assault. We have a duke’s widow, Emmaline, living with her late husband’s family with her young daughter, with a history of abuse at the hand of her uncle who raised her after she was orphaned at the age of 3. Michael, her late husband’s younger brother, and now duke, is back at home after completing his war-related duties after the Great War. His mother suggests that he marries Emmaline to provide her with more children and provide the dukedom with an heir. Of course Michael had been in love with Emmaline since he first saw her, but has had extreme guilt over coveting his brother’s wife. These two embark on a courtship of convenience with the possible goal of marriage, but both have secrets and traumas that may prevent them from living happily ever after. Loads of drama in this book and all the angst. Excellent read!

Advance ebook provided by Stevie Sparks.

Wicked Widows’ League by Dawn Brower (2023)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 1 of the Wicked Widows’ League series. Short intro to the series with the story of how Lady Wyndam became a widow and everything that happens in the decades after. There isn’t a romance story in this book, but describes how and why the league was formed and gives the foundation for the rest of the series. There are 18 books in this series, all written by different authors, so it’ll be fun to see how they all tie together. And I will also enjoy reading different authors for the first time!

Ebook available free on Amazon.

Shop this book via Amazon

Rogue Awakening by Cara Maxwell (2023)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 4 of the Wicked Widows’ League series. Sylvia is recently out of mourning for her much older husband of a decade and is ready to join the wicked widows. She’s at a ball looking for a gentleman to take to bed and settles on her younger brother’s best friend, Jasper, who has recently returned to England. Jasper has been in love with Sylvia for years and is hoping that this is the beginning of a courtship and marriage, but Sylvia doesn’t want to give up her freedom. This is a novella-length book that is a pretty quick and steamy read and the conflict does ultimately get wrapped up in short order. I love mixing in shorter reads in between longer more epic angsty ones.

Advance ebook provided by Cara Maxwell via BookSprout.

Shop this book via Amazon

A Beginner’s Guide to Scandal by Alivia Fleur (2023)

Historical romance. Victorian-era England. Book 1 of the Tales from Honeysuckle Street series. Childhood friends and neighbors Iris and Hamish are separated when Hamish suddenly becomes the heir to an earldom, losing his mother and older brother in a carriage accident. When Hamish returns to town twelve years later, he’s been instructed by his father to find a suitable wife, but he plans to thwart his father’s plans and create a scandal instead. Meanwhile, Iris has been assisting with her father’s merchant company, traveling the world, and learning the business for the past decade. However, her father’s mental state has been declining for many years and Iris has been keeping it secret. As Hamish and Iris reunite, they have to deal with her heartbreak after he left, their differences in social station, and her need to stay proper so that the board of directors will approve of her joining the leadership of her father’s company. It’s a huge mess competing interests and Hamish is mostly an idiot throughout the book. I did enjoy reading about all of the quirky neighbors on the street and am looking forward to reading more from this series.

Advance ebook provided by Alivia Fleur via NetGalley.

Thanks so much for reading this post! Looking for more bookish resources and romance book reviews? Read the archives!

Useful Resources:

Read more about getting the most out of your library card

Want an intro to historical romance series? This post will help!

Learn more about Kindle Unlimited

Get my massive guide of all the romances I’ve read on Kindle Unlimited

Read an introduction to fanfiction

Learn more about sources for reading fanfiction

Follow me on Instagram at @randomolive

Shop my handmade bookmarks on Etsy

Support this page with a donation

Affiliate links may be used within this post. If you make a purchase, I receive a small commission at no extra charge to you.

Hotel of Secrets by Diana Biller (2023)

Historical romance. 1870s Vienna. Standalone novel. Maria is the owner/manager of a flailing hotel in Vienna. After her mother’s mismanagement and an economic downturn, Maria hopes to rebuild the hotel to its previous grandeur. Meanwhile, Eli is an American in town looking for clues on some smuggled codes sent from the hotel’s address. And while he’s there, he saves Maria from certain death multiple times. It was slow start for me, but once these two team up to find her assailant and give into their attraction, I couldn’t put it down. It’s amazing that these two very serious people are able to smile and find joy and humor with each other. Plus Maria’s complicated family history comes into play at multiple points of the story, making things delightfully interesting.

Advance ebook provided by St. Martin’s Press via NetGalley.

The Prospector’s Only Prospect by Dani Collins (2023)

Historical romance. Pre-Civil War America. Standalone novel. Divorced and disgraced with nowhere to go, Marigold sets off to marry a stranger. Her sister had been set to be a mail order bride, but found another suitor, so Marigold takes her place and travels west. When she arrives, Virgil is angry to find a stranger instead of his bride, but takes her home with him anyway to keep house and care for his three children. They bicker and argue, but it’s clear that Marigold is good with the kids and adapts well to her primitive surroundings. It’s definitely a slow burn romance with lots of missteps (mostly from Virgil), but the writing is refreshingly humorous and you’ll appreciate the competence from both parties and willingness to work together. I had a great time reading this book and can’t wait to see more from this author in this setting.

Advance ebook provided by Entangled Publishing via NetGalley. Print book provided by Entangled Publishing.

One Night with an Earl by Tina Gabrielle (2021)

Historical romance. Regency or Victorian-era England. Book 1 of the Daring Ladies series. We start strong here right at a brothel, where Ana is trying to lose her virginity before her thirtieth birthday. Ruined by family scandal a decade prior, Ana now works as a chaperone to a young lady making her debut into society. She seeks one night of pleasure and has the brothel madam help her. Oliver is a newly inherited earl after the death of his father and brother (both of whom were irresponsible and gross) and at the brothel with his brother’s friend’s. Of course, Ana and Oliver are instantly attracted and proceed with a tryst. Later, Ana finds Oliver at her house to court her charge and also that his family is the one who ruined hers. So much potential angst and drama here with the intertwined families, plus Ana has been hiding her identity from the world. At some point, I know the lies will catch up to her, but in the meantime, the development of the romance between these two is absolutely delightful.

Ebook purchased via Amazon.

The Work of Art by Mimi Matthews (2019)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 1 of the Somerset Stories series. We’ve got a strikingly beautiful and kind young lady, Phyllida, living with her uncle and cousins after her grandfather has passed away and now she’s being prepared for her debut and season. However, her uncle has almost sold her to a much older and cruel duke who is known for collecting rare and beautiful things. She finds kindness and connection with another man, Arthur, who is an injured war veteran. When it seems that her marriage to the duke is imminent, she enters into a marriage of convenience with Arthur, and he takes her away to his estate for protection. In reading this book, I appreciated the slow build of trust and companionship between Phyllida and Arthur and that they were able to talk through their issues for the most part. Even with the external drama of meddlesome family members, the romance here was solid and heartwarming.

Ebook purchased via Amazon.

Love And Other Perennial Habits by Emmaline Warden (2023)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 1 of the Genus of Gentlemen series. We have a widowed countess, Meg, finally out from under her cruel husband’s thumb and now she’s restoring an old manor in the country. She meets Oliver, a second son and now heir, who is doing his own botanical experiments in the country. While away from town, both Meg and Oliver can be themselves, freed from the strictures of society and easily fall in love. They’re happy and productive and things just can’t go wrong… except the reader knows that their holiday will end, and certainly Oliver will need to deal with the realities of his station. And as expected, when Oliver is called back to London, heartbreak and angst sets in for them both. This book made me feel all the feels and tear up all the tears in all the best ways. And I’m looking forward to the release of Book 2, with a heartbroken hero I need to learn more about.

Ebook borrowed from my local library via Hoopla.

Thanks so much for reading this post! Looking for more bookish resources and romance book reviews? Read the archives!

Useful Resources:

Read more about getting the most out of your library card

Want an intro to historical romance series? This post will help!

Learn more about Kindle Unlimited

Get my massive guide of all the romances I’ve read on Kindle Unlimited

Read an introduction to fanfiction

Learn more about sources for reading fanfiction

Follow me on Instagram at @randomolive

Shop my handmade bookmarks on Etsy

Support this page with a donation

Affiliate links may be used within this post. If you make a purchase, I receive a small commission at no extra charge to you.

Lately, I’ve fallen down an internet wormhole learning about the project (and life) management tool Notion. It’s basically a free website/app that can sync across multiple devices to organize your tasks and projects. I use it for calendars, tasks, workflows, and as a rough note-taking dumping ground. And I’d consider sharing my own Notion templates with you, except that it’s about as messy as my scribbles on scratch paper.

Luckily, other people who are way more organized than I am have developed templates that you can purchase to visually track your projects and content.

Enter the Book Influencer Notion Template Bundle. Here’s what it is (from the sales page)

The Ultimate Notion Dashboard For Book Influencers and Avid Readers!

Description:

A reading journal and content planner in one provides everything a Bookstagram / Booktok / BookTube Content Creator needs to organize their bookish life all in one aesthetic place.

Who is this for?

• I want a place to keep track of my reading journey and library.
• I want to filter my reads by genre, trope, author, star rating, steam rating, etc. to help build social content.
• I want a FREE place to keep all of my post images, links to posts, and reviews.
• I want a FREE place to house all my bookish content planning.
• I want something easy-to-use and customizable.

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MAIN FEATURES:

Pre-built Home Dashboard that houses your:

• Current Reads Tracker: Track your current reads in a gallery on your dashboard; progress bar included.
• Weekly Agenda for your daily to-do lists
• Upcoming Book Releases calendar to keep track of all of your ARCs
• Widgets and links to customize your own (clock, books read counter, weather, podcasts, and Pomodoro timer)

Also included in template pages off of the dashboard:

• Content Planner (includes posts, videos, and collabs databases)
• Reading Trackers: daily read log (includes daily page counts; monthly pages read totals; book totals), series trackers, subscriptions trackers, challenges and goals databases
• Monthly reading recap journal prompts
• Book Club databases in calendar and table views: add your book clubs, attendees, and photos
• Books Read database (with pre-populated romance tropes and genres)
• Physical Library database (with pre-populated genres)
• Rankings lists (rank author’s books, series books, top reads by year, top reads or all-time and by genres) Newly added
• Reviews to Write checklist
• Graphics library (house all of your social graphics—less than 5MB each—here for FREE)
• Publisher Contacts database
• Collaborations/clients database (keep track of your clients, deliverables, and payments by platform)
• Banned Books databases for 100 Most Banned/Challenged Books 2010-2019, Top 10 Most Challenged Books 2021, and Top 10 Most Challenged Books 2020 and includes preloaded book images, year published, reasons for bans, link to Goodreads and infographics
• Blank Content Planner for anyone who wants to create a new one monthly, quarterly, or yearly.

Click here to learn more

*Affiliate links everywhere really

Thanks so much for reading this post! Looking for more bookish resources and romance book reviews? Read the archives!

Useful Resources:

Read more about getting the most out of your library card

Want an intro to historical romance series? This post will help!

Learn more about Kindle Unlimited

Get my massive guide of all the romances I’ve read on Kindle Unlimited

Follow me on Instagram at @randomolive

Shop my handmade bookmarks on Etsy

Support this page with a donation

Affiliate links may be used within this post. If you make a purchase, I receive a small commission at no extra charge to you.

If you’ve been following other content creators for your book recommendations, you may find yourself wanting to become one yourself. What could be more fun than talking about the books you’ve read and loved all the time?

There are so many types of content you can produce and so many different places where you can talk about books, it can be hard to decide what to post and where. Realistically, you should just start posting wherever it is that you hang out the most. And then, when you feel up to it, you can slowly expand to other places.

This Guide will help you:

• Find new friends who can gush with you about books all day long. Started a new reading hobby and have no one IRL to chat with? There are so many different platforms online where you can talk about your favorite books
• The guide will take you through the types of content you can create and where you can post it for people to find and declare you to be their new best friend.

Download it for free!

Thanks so much for reading this post! Looking for more bookish resources and romance book reviews? Read the archives!

Useful Resources:

Read more about getting the most out of your library card

Want an intro to historical romance series? This post will help!

Learn more about Kindle Unlimited

Get my massive guide of all the romances I’ve read on Kindle Unlimited

Follow me on Instagram at @randomolive

Shop my handmade bookmarks on Etsy

Support this page with a donation

Affiliate links may be used within this post. If you make a purchase, I receive a small commission at no extra charge to you.

Gentleman Jim by Mimi Matthews (2020)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 2 of the Somerset Stories series. Childhood friends Nicholas and Maggie are separated when Nicholas is accused of a crime and she helps him escape. Ten years later, Maggie is in London for the Season after an illness and mourning her father and her aunt, when a handsome viscount new to London is paying her court. It doesn’t take long for Maggie to suspect that the handsome viscount is really her childhood friend Nicholas in a new identity and persona. Both have their money and property at stake if they continue their association, but cannot seem to stay away from each other. It’s also interesting to watch them uncover the mysteries of the past and explanations for the viscount’s current identity.

Ebook purchased via Amazon.

How to Get Paid for What You Know by Graham Cochrane (2022)

Nonfiction. Business and entrepreneurship. This one is pretty much a how-to guide for how to monetize your knowledge by selling ebooks or ecourses. The idea is that with your knowledge and skills, you can create a digital product and sell it online in a semi-passive and scalable way. Once you’ve created the content once, it can continue to sell without you needing to make it again. Of course, this all depends on smart marketing and creating something that people actually want. It’s a lot of the same stuff I’ve heard before in the online marketing/business space, but it’s always nice to be reminded that it is possible and achievable. (Though maybe not to the full scale that’s presented in these types of books)

Ebook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

Return to Satterthwaite Court by Mimi Matthews (2023)

Historical romance. Victorian-era England. Book 3 of the Somerset Stories series. Take the son of the couple from Book 1 and the daughter of the couple from Book 2, throw them together, and you get Book 3. Kate and Charles have a chance meeting in a London street when Charles rescues a stray dog (much like his mother) and Kate finds herself completely enthralled and ready to pursue him. Kate is uninterested in any of the other gentlemen she’s met this year and Charles is newly returned from serving in the Navy. The romance here is pretty straightforward and we get to revisit the families we loved from the previous books. Plus, there’s a nice setup for Book 4, which comes out later this year.

Advance ebook provided by Perfectly Proper Press via NetGalley.

To Have and to Hoax by Martha Waters (2020)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 1 of the Regency Vows series. Violet and James have been married for five years, and four of them have been spent in chilly silence from an argument that none of their friends know the details about. And now suddenly Violet is feigning consumption to get James’ sympathy and attention. But he’s onto her pretty quickly. It’s basically just a comedy of errors and miscommunication all the way around and really fun to read and watch these two get back together. This book was a really nice set up for the friend group that surrounds both Violet and James and these meddlesome friends get their romances in future books of the series.

Ebook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

To Love and to Loathe by Martha Waters (2021)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 2 of the Regency Vows series. Widowed Diana has bet marquess Jeremy that he’ll marry within the year, adding drama to their bantering bickering semi-friendship over the years. Meanwhile, his last lover has critiqued his bedroom skills and he needs some honest feedback, so he propositions Diana for the job. She accepts, but is also meanwhile trying to set Jeremy up with another eligible miss. They’re both completely stubborn about their feelings and often put up a charming and carefree facade in society; and of course are only ever open and vulnerable with each other. Another great book in the series with a nice set up for the next one.

Ebook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

Romancing the Heiress by Darcy Burke (2023)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 3 of the Lords in Love series. Leah is back in Marrywell for the annual matchmaking festival as a companion to a young debutante in search of a husband. Of course Leah is still enamored with her childhood friend Phineas, who is considering marrying an heiress to save his secretly impoverished estate. This one is a relatively quick read, with somewhat tragic backstories for everyone involved: Leah had an abusive childhood so she was desperate to escape the village of Marrywell; Phineas had a gambling father who left the estate in dire financial condition; and even the young debutante who is not at all who we’re concerned with has an overbearing managing mother. However, the attraction between Leah and Phineas was a delight to read and their shared history made for a stronger connection. And we get to see the couple from Book 1 of the series again for the festival.

Advance ebook provided by Darcy Burke via NetGalley.

Want more Harry Potter fanfic? Here’s a spreadsheet of my all-time favorites.

Thanks so much for reading this post! Looking for more bookish resources and romance book reviews? Read the archives!

Useful Resources:

Read more about getting the most out of your library card

Want an intro to historical romance series? This post will help!

Learn more about Kindle Unlimited

Get my massive guide of all the romances I’ve read on Kindle Unlimited

Read an introduction to fanfiction

Learn more about sources for reading fanfiction

Follow me on Instagram at @randomolive

Shop my handmade bookmarks on Etsy

Support this page with a donation

Affiliate links may be used within this post. If you make a purchase, I receive a small commission at no extra charge to you.