The Duchess in His Bed by Lorraine Heath (2019)

Historical romance. Victorian-era England. Book 4 of the Sins for All Seasons series. Widowed duchess Selena is at the ladies’ club on the prowl for Aiden Trewlove, the owner and bastard son of some unnamed lord. We get to see their flirty and seductive first meeting, before finding out Selena’s real reason for being there. She needs to get pregnant and quick, so she can pass the baby off as her late husband’s to keep her position and fortune. It’s dramatic and angsty and we get to catch up with the whole boisterous Trewlove family. So much steam and longing within these impossible circumstances and it was so much fun to read. Pulls at all the heartstrings just right. Loved it.

Ebook and audiobook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

Never Been Shipped by Alicia Thompson (2025)

Contemporary romance. Standalone novel. Related to With Love, from Cold World. A defunct punk rock band is asked to join a teen drama revival cruise to perform their one-hit wonder that was played on the show’s big prom episode. And Micah is having all sorts of feelings about it because she’s the one who broke up the band all those years ago. Meanwhile, her childhood best friend and ex-bandmate John is also feeling apprehensive about the trip, because it’s super obvious to all of us that he was in love with her all those years ago buy stayed firmly in friendship territory. This book had so much emotional angst and longing. Watching the band reunite was so much fun because they all had to catch each other up on their time apart. The romance between Micah and John was both sweet and super steamy. And of course, the cruise ship comedy was also entertaining. Loved this book.

Ebook borrowed from my local library via Libby. Advance audiobook provided by Penguin Random House Audio.

An Innocent Kiss by Alexa Aston (2025)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 3 of the Captivating Kisses series. Perry is an earl who had gone to war and come back to take up his title after his father passes away. Drusilla is the daughter of an earl who is supposed to debut next season but uninterested in marriage or babies. But they happen to meet each other in the country in the off-season and fall in love. It’s a pretty predictable sort of tale, but I love these quiet easy romances, especially when the guy is the one to fall first. Love seeing all the men who join the extended family become friends and I also love that Drusilla gets to live nearby her sister and cousin in the country.

Advance ebook provided by Dragonblade Books via NetGalley.

Slow Burn Summer by Josie Silver (2025)

Contemporary romance. Standalone novel. I would say the romance in this story takes a backburner to the main plot, where Kate is playing the public role in place of an anonymous author who has written a love story. She’s a recently divorced mother of a university student who really needs a job, so she tries to get in contact with her previous acting agent. The old agent, Jojo, has passed away, leaving his son Charlie to take the job. For the most part, Charlie is a totally professional and supportive colleague to Kate as she finds herself in crazy situations in her new “author” role. I feel like the romance comes out of nowhere a bit, but it still works ok for me. I was much more interested in Kate’s life with her family and friends and how she deals with her newfound fame.

Advance ebook provided by Dell Publishing via NetGalley. Advance audiobook provided by Penguin Random House Audio.

Her Magnificent Mistake by Caroline Lee (2025)

Historical romance. Victorian-era England. Book 1 of the Surprised Heirs series. Lady Marcia is part of an investigative agency and their next case is to find proof that the latest Baron of a particular title is guilty of murdering about four of his predecessors. Problem is that the suspect is Hawk, her former flame and brother’s best friend. Obviously, he’s not guilty of the crime, and mostly just trying to survive and be a good guardian to his niece. But Marcia doesn’t know that and is all sorts of conflicted about her feelings, especially since she hasn’t seen the man for the past ten years. It’s chaos and a murder plot and seduction, rolled into one steamy and hilarious book.

Advance ebook provided by Caroline Lee.

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How to Get Away with Marriage by Fenna Edgewood (2022)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 1 of the Must Love Scandal series. Fake engagement for inheritance plot. We’ve met the amiable Hugh Cavendish in a previous book, but now he’s up for a fake engagement plot to show his aunt that he’s mature enough to collect his inheritance. He does not want to marry the spoiled and vain Edith who he had a childhood crush on, so would rather advertise for a fake fiancee in the newspaper. He never ends up doing that because he fake proposes to a schoolteacher in trouble instead. Triss is in need of a new position due to unwanted advances from a patron of the school and very hesitantly takes the fake fiancee job, despite the vast differences in her and Hugh’s social station. I loved seeing Hugh demonstrate what a great guy he is and Triss slowly start to trust him. I also enjoyed seeing Hugh’s loving relationship with his family and that we get to see all our favorite characters from Edgewood’s previous books.

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

The Duke Report by Fenna Edgewood (2022)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 2 of the Must Love Scandal series. Tragic prologue for all where Cherry is a single mother grieving the loss of her husband and in a different time and place, Cross is a single father grieving the loss of his wife. Both swear never to love again to avoid another heartbreak. Years later, Cross runs into Cherry in a darkened room, has no idea who she is, mistakes her for a lady he was going to have an assignation with, and kisses her neck. It’s not a good start because Cherry is completely indignant at the situation and tells him off. Cherry is also alarmed that a maid who was supposed to meet her to discuss a secret group of men who have harmed women didn’t show up. There’s a wicked mystery going on in this book with powerful men causing serious harm, and Cherry is the investigative journalist who’s on the case. Until she writes a column blaming the wrong man, and gets entangled back up with Cross, as he clears his name. I loved the flirty banter here and how well their families blended together once their children meet up. We also continue with the mystery that was left hanging from the previous book and learn more about these cruel abductors.

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

A Duke for All Seasons by Fenna Edgewood (2022)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 3 of the Must Love Scandal series. Maggie is a maid in a duke’s household who had been raped and impregnated by the old duke and about to be thrown out by the widowed duchess. But new duke Lance is here to save the day, first by insisting that Maggie stay in the castle, and second by marrying her to provide for her unborn child. I love a good marriage of convenience story, especially one with such protection and caretaking. We unravel more of the overarching mystery of human trafficking and see Lance uncover all his uncle’s secrets. This one kept me reading the whole way through to see how Lance and Maggie finally learn to trust each other. Loads of drama and angst.

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

The Bluestocking Beds Her Bride by Fenna Edgewood (2022)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 4 of the Must Love Scandal series. We finally get the conclusion to all of the terrible dealings of the Black Lodge here and we get to see our favorite side characters, Julia and Fleur get their own happy endings. Julia is the daughter of a marquess who has given up on society’s rules and runs her society for endangered women. It’s also an open secret that Julia prefers to spend her intimate encounters with women. After some tragic events of her own, Fleur and her childhood friend Jasper have landed in London to help teach at the society, but Fleur is terrible with children and tries to solicit Julia for a new role. Fleur somehow gets roped into a rescue mission at a house party and learns a lot more about herself along the way. I loved seeing the prickly Fleur learn to actually have emotions and take risks, plus loads of action-adventure with our external mystery. Excellent conclusion to the series.

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

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Coming in Hot by Josie Juniper (2025)

Contemporary romance. Book 2 of the Frontrunners series. Starts off steamy with a one-night stand between strangers who meet at a hotel bar. But it all turns bad when Natalia realizes she just slept with Klaus, her best friend’s boss, and racing manager for a team she probably will end up writing about in her new job as an auto magazine journalist. To make things worse, he tries to pay her money after their encounter. Ouch. We drift along a scattered timeline as they cross paths throughout the racing season all over the globe, with some of the events overlapping with the previous book of the series. Everyone’s got issues here, with Natalia’s sense of abandonment after her parents left her with an aunt at age 7 and Klaus’s grief over his late wife’s death. High on the steam, once they start hooking up again, but it’s angry bickering banter the whole way through. My favorite part of the book was Natalia finding out what happened to her parents all those years ago. Negative points for using the word “clean” when Natalia asks Klaus if it’s ok to have intercourse without a condom.

Advance ebook provided by Forever Books via NetGalley. Advance audiobook provided by Hachette Audio.

Don’t Bargain with the Devil by Sabrina Jeffries (2009)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 5 of the School for Heiresses series. Heartbroken Lucy is back at her favorite girls school for a stint as the temporary art teacher while her father and stepmother go to Scotland. Her childhood friend and love basically told her that she was too outspoken and hoydenish for marriage, so she’s all sorts of insecure about herself. Meanwhile, a mysterious new tenant has moved in next door. The magician Diego is looking for the long-lost granddaughter of a Spanish marquess, and he thinks that Lucy might be the one he’s searching for. It’s mystery and intrigue and attraction all rolled into one very entertaining book. I loved learning all of Lucy’s family secrets and finding out how Diego fits into her future.

Ebook borrowed from my local library via Libby. Audiobook accessed via Everand.

A Forgery of Fate by Elizabeth Lim (2025)

Young adult fantasy romance. Standalone novel. This book was such a fun adventure. Tru is the oldest sister of three girls, stuck taking care of her family after her father disappears. She’s an art forger in a bit of a pickle with her mother’s gambling debts being called in. Somehow, she’s entangled in Elang’s bargain, the half-dragon and half-human prince who was banished by his dragon king grandfather. They enter into a marriage of convenience so that Tru can assist Elang with a special painting to overthrow his grandfather. We get a story full of wonderful world-building and tons of secrets to uncover. Loved it.

Ebook borrowed from my local library via Libby. Advance audiobook provided by Penguin Random House Audio.

Wed Him Before You Bed Him by Sabrina Jeffries (2009)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 6 of the School for Heiresses series. The headmistress of the illustrious girls school gets her romance here in the conclusion of the series. Charlotte is plagued with scandal right now with a whole bunch of her former pupils having run off and eloped and the latest scandal with a suicide. And it gets even messier when we find out that the widowed viscount, David, is actually an old acquaintance of Charlotte’s. Eighteen years prior, Charlotte and David were arranged to marry by their fathers, but it ended up in heartbreak and public humiliation. And then one day, David seeks his revenge by adopted the persona of Cousin Michael to offer a low-rent building for Charlotte to build a school, intending to raise the rents and leave her hanging after she’s comfortable. But it turns into a decade-long letter-writing friendship, and then turns into an even bigger mess when the true owner of the property is looking to evict Charlotte soon. David wants to keep his secrets, so sets himself up for more drama by faking an inheritance from his wife that was donated to the school. We get a pretty quick second chance romance here, with Charlotte being hesitant to trust, and David being a high-handed male. I enjoyed reading all the drama unfold though and learn more about Charlotte and David’s past relationship. Excellent conclusion to the series and introduction to some side characters that will feature in more of Jeffries’ books.

Ebook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

Worth Fighting For by Jesse Q. Sutanto (2025)

Contemporary romance. Book 5 of the Meant to Be series. Modern-day Mulan retelling, but instead of a gender swap, Mulan just assumes her father’s name Zhou in the course of business negotiations with Shang and his family. We’ve got a company buyout situation with an old-school, traditional, patriarchal whiskey distillery, where Mulan needs to prove that she’s the man for the job. We get a lot of slapstick humor here with her trying to impress everyone at a ranch and definitely a lot of awkward situations ensue. Meddling aunties and misogynistic uncles abound, but at least Shang isn’t like the rest of the males in his family. Cousin Mushu definitely brings the spark of humor to the story and was one of my fave supporting characters. Clever and funny retelling here, with a fade-to-black romance mixed in.

Advance ebook provided by Hyperion Books via NetGalley.

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The Lady Makes Her Mark by Susanna Craig (2025)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 3 of the Goode’s Guide to Misconduct series. Constantia is the anonymous satirical cartoonist at a ladies’ magazine and is always fearful of being followed. When all the writers at the magazine receive some suspicious letters, she goes on the run, only to be hit by a carriage in the street and knocked unconscious. Luckily, Alistair, the Earl of Ryland is there to save the day, although he doesn’t quite know what to do with her. When she wakes up, she pretends not to know him (even though he knows her) and he promises to take care of her until she gets her memory back. They have a bit of a contentious relationship, since he’s often the subject of her unkind cartoons, but Alistair is really the sweetest guy and mostly worried about taking care of his seven sisters. It’s chaos and calamity and actually a really great story.

Advance ebook provided by Kensington Books via NetGalley.

Problematic Summer Romance by Ali Hazelwood (2025)

Contemporary romance. Standalone romance. Follow-up to Not in Love. I loved this book so much. Yet another humorous and steamy book from Ali Hazelwood. We’ve got a destination wedding in Italy and the groom’s younger sister Maya pining over her brother’s best friend Conor. But it’s not your typical age gap unrequited crush. We find out that they’ve been secretly friends for years and been talking to each other almost daily. The feelings are clearly there on both sides, but Conor is ever cognizant of his age and financial status and pretty much thinks Maya should do better, so he breaks off the friendship and we’re left with a rift between these two. We get a mix of chapters from the past with the present-day awkwardness and this book kept me completely hooked to find out how it all resolved. Excellent cast of side characters and super sweet to see everyone interacting in this dreamy Italian villa.

Ebook and audiobook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

The Scoundrel in Her Bed by Lorraine Heath (2019)

Historical romance. Victorian-era England. Book 3 of the Sins for All Seasons series. Fairly typical setup here with a second chance romance between the daughter of an earl and an impoverished illegitimate commoner. We get the story in a split timeline, starting with Lady Lavinia at present day where she has run away from her wedding to a duke a few months ago and now lives in a foundling home and buys babies back from baby farmers to save. She gets into a tussle one night and Finn, her former love, comes to the rescue. They haven’t seen each other in eight years and both believe that the other person betrayed them (but in a predictable fashion, we know that’s not the whole story). In the past, we learn how these two met, became friends, and then more, leading up to a plan for an elopement that never happens. In the present day, Finn is trying to figure out why Lavinia has changed so much and why she has run away from her family. I enjoyed reading about all the experience each one had in their years apart and how they come to the point they’re at now. The romance here was fairly straightforward and I was more interested in learning the secrets that Lavinia was hiding. A solid addition to the series.

Ebook and audiobook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

Duchesses Don’t Cry by Barbara Russell (2025)

Historical romance. Victorian-era England. Book 8 of the Victorian Outcasts series. Isabella would rather be in the gardens than the proper daughter of an earl, and lucky for her, her older sister Helen gets that responsibility. They’re all off to meet the duke that is intended for Helen, but Anthony finds himself intrigued by Isabella instead. Throw in an overbearing dowager grandmother and a scapegrace younger brother for Anthony and it’s a very awkward visit. But of course, the drama doesn’t end there, and what happens next will keep you reading to find out more. This book kept me hooked through my reading it.

Advance ebook provided by Oliver Heber Books via BookSprout.

All’s Fair in Love and Pickleball by Kate Spencer (2025)

Contemporary romance. Standalone novel. This book had so much good banter and flirting and it was such fun to read. Bex is the owner of a financially struggling racquetball club and one of her favorite clients has fallen and broken her wrist on the courts. Of course, that old lady’s nephew is some hotshot tennis star who is grumpy about his injured aunt and having his own struggles to make a tennis comeback. Nico and Bex are delightful to read together and the angry flirting is top notch. And then somehow they become pickleball partners, fake dating partners, and so much more. The community of all of Bex’s retiree friends in this sleepy little SoCal town is so much fun to read. I pretty much could not put this book down. It was a great time.

Advance ebook provided by Forever Books via NetGalley. Advance audiobook provided by Hachette Audio. Print book provided by Forever Books.

Love, the Duke by Amelia Grey (2025)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 3 of the Say I Do series. Hurst is the last of his duke friends to be unmarried, and he plans to take this wife-hunt seriously soon. In the meantime though, an ill childhood friend has asked him to marry his sister Ophelia, but Hurst rejects the girl because he’d rather meet and find love the old fashioned way. Fast forward several weeks, the old friend has passed away, and the sister has come to London searching for an artifact that was stolen from her brother’s church. Ophelia is all sorts of chaos and Hurst is doing his best to keep her out of trouble, but she’s terribly defiant and unwilling to listen to reason. Luckily, he mostly keeps his head on straight and they end up married anyway. Fairly straightforward plot with a hint of mystery.

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

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!

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

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Learn more about sources for reading fanfiction

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

Thanks for reading Random Olive Reads! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.