The Scot’s Seduction by Megan Frampton (2025)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 2 of the Heirs and Spares series. This one was a lot of fun to read. Drusilla is the ultimate spinster, taking lovers and refusing marriage proposals. Mostly due to a past heartbreak and a need to stay independent. She spends most of her time as an eccentric lady helping out women and children who need assistance. And somehow, she gets entangled with a young lady who needs guidance with her debut and the lady’s grumpy uncle Murdoch. He’s a Scottish earl who’s in town with his orphaned niece and pretty much has no idea what he’s doing. Drusilla is great with the niece and also great at seducing the burly earl. It’s a no strings attached arrangement, except for all those pesky feelings that develop. Loved it.

Advance ebook provided by Avon Books via NetGalley. Audiobook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

Good Spirits by BK Borison (2025)

Paranormal romance. Book 1 of the Ghosted series. A Christmas haunting gone slightly askew. Nolan is a ghost who’s there to haunt Harriet, but she’s not a bad person who even needs the haunting. She’s got a terrible mother and kind of a sad and lonely childhood, but she’s living life on her own terms now. Nolan is a grumpy ghost, having been a ghost with no signs of moving on for the past century. But watching Harriet and Nolan fall in love has got to be the sweetest thing to ever exist. And who knew relations with a ghost could be so steamy. Loved it.

Advance ebook provided by Avon Books via NetGalley. Advance audiobook provided by Libro.fm.

Never Ever After by Sue Lynn Tan (2025)

Young adult fantasy. Book 1 of the Never Ever After series. Lots of action and adventure here. Our main character Yining gets a major upgrade in life after being orphaned and living with her step-aunt to becoming a resident of the palace as a guest of the prince. There’s political maneuvering all around and danger in process. Nothing is quite as it seems and Yining is never quite sure who to trust. We get Cinderella vibes in this loose retelling, but there’s magic and danger lurking ahead. Loved seeing what surprises were in store as I was reading and I enjoyed all the twists and turns.

Advance ebook provided by Little Brown Books via NetGalley. Advance audiobook provided by Hachette Audio.

A Hellion in Her Bed by Sabrina Jeffries (2010)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 2 of the Hellions of Halstead Hall series. Lord Jarret is up next of our merry band of siblings with an overbearing grandmother. Jarret has been set up to take on the grandmother’s brewery while she’s ill and he’s negotiating with her that if he can keep it running well for a year, then he doesn’t need to follow her stipulation to marry. Grandma is up for the bargain, but she’s still secretly hoping he finds a wife. That’s why he’s super skeptical with the beautiful Annabel lands in his office with a business proposition. Except she has a legitimate proposition to combine their resources to aid her smaller brewery in the country. He’s resistant, so it comes down to a scandalous wager, and of course she wins. She’s got her own secrets with a drunkard brother and an illegitimate son that she calls nephew. But the romance here is delightfully steamy and Jarret is not the scoundrel he seems to think he is. Loved this continuation of the series.

Ebook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

An Enchanting Kiss by Alexa Aston (2025)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 5 of the Captivating Kisses series. Semi-tragic prologue for Rupert, an army major and second son of a viscount who was neglected for most of his life. He’s being called home by his brother who is on his deathbed. Left to clean up the mess, Rupert immediately takes on all responsibilities as the new viscount, including the care of his five year old illegitimate niece. The bond between Rupert and his niece is probably the sweetest part of this book, made even better when he meets Lady Lia, the daughter of a duke who is visiting her cousin at the neighboring estate. It’s a really easy going friends to lovers story here, with the only hiccup being Rupert needing to let himself fall in love.

Advance ebook provided by Dragonblade Publishing via NetGalley.

How to Woo a Reluctant Lady by Sabrina Jeffries (2011)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 3 of the Hellions of Halstead Hall series. Minerva has had a crush on her brothers’ friend Giles for years but had her heart trampled after a kiss from him at age 19. It’s nine years later and she’s an independent gothic novelist with no need for a husband, except for her grandmother’s pesky ultimatum. She tries to hold husband interviews, but Giles shows up instead, wanting to actually marry her. She decides he will make a very good fake fiance to scare her grandmother off. Except that he really does mean to court her. I love the set up where the guy has a fake rake reputation because he’s secretly a spy, so everyone has the wrong impression of him. We get all sorts of drama and intrigue with Giles’ background and we’re all still investigating what happened to Minerva’s parents all those years ago. Lots of plot and steam here, which makes for an enjoyable read.

Ebook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

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The Truth About Lord Stoneville by Sabrina Jeffries (2010)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 1 of the Hellions of Halstead Hall series. Oliver and his siblings are given an ultimatum by their grandmother to all marry within the year to maintain their allowance and inheritance. Oliver tries to force the grandmother to back off by bringing home a totally unsuitable fiancee in the form of a brash and outspoken American woman. Maria is only in England to find her actual fiance and gets entangled into Oliver’s schemes. Lucky for them that they ultimately fall in love, plus all of Oliver’s siblings are loads of fun. Lots of drama and scandal in terms of the circumstances of how their parents passed away.

Ebook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

Road Trip with a Vampire by Jenna Levine (2025)

Paranormal romance. Book 3 of the My Vampires series. Witch Zelda is just trying to live her yoga studio life without magic, but her old friend Reggie sends the amnesiac vampire Peter to her door. He needs help finding his memories and she needs to let some magical steam off, so they go off on a road trip to meet at a mystery location in a threatening note he received. It’s chaos and humor as they try real hard not to hook up with each other. I loved this soft and funny approach to interacting with vampires. And Zelda’s backstory is loads of fun to learn about. Fun and easy read.

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

Through the Storm by Beverly Jenkins (1998)

Historical romance. Civil War America. Book 1 of the Le Veq Family series. Loads of drama here. Sable is a slave who is about to sold to a cruel master, so when her great aunt provides a distraction, she runs away. She meets the charming Raimond at a refugee camp and they almost maybe sort of start a romance. The flirting between these two is really fun to watch though, with the brazen and outspoken Sable not giving in and fawning all over the handsome Raimond. But danger comes calling again and she runs off, possibly betraying him in the process. They cross paths many months later when Sable is going by a different name and having befriended Raimond’s mother in New Orleans. From there, we’ve got an arranged marriage, more flirting and fighting, and maybe they finally fall in love. Oh and don’t worry, that nasty villain from the beginning of the book is lurking throughout.

Ebook and audiobook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

Kitty St. Clair’s Last Dance by Kate Robb (2025)

Contemporary romance. Standalone novel. I would say the romance plot here is secondary to Jules getting her life together and learning more about her late friend Kitty. Prologue has a one night stand between Jules and Reeve that seems magical, but does not work out, for reasons to be explained later. Two years later, Jules is at a funeral for Kitty St. Clair, lively resident at the retirement home where Jules works. And unexpectedly, Jules inherits the abandoned dance hall next door. We get glimpses of Kitty’s past through her super old diary that Jules has and through Jules’ super-realistic dreams where she’s transported to the past as Kitty’s best friend. Jules has lots of decisions to make regarding her application to medical school and what to do with the dance hall property. She also happens to find a second chance with Reeve who pops back into her life at just the right time. He’s super sweet and almost too perfect, but don’t worry, we’ll have some trust issues later on. I enjoyed the ride of this book and the anticipation of learning what Jules does with the dance hall. I also loved the Kitty back story along the way.

Advance ebook provided by Dial Press via NetGalley. Advance audiobook provided by Penguin Random House Audio.

The Nanny’s Handbook to Magic and Managing Difficult Dukes by Amy Rose Bennett (2025)

Historical fantasy romance. Victorian-era England. Book 1 of the Parasol Academy series. Super light on the fantasy; the nannies just have some basic magical powers like Mary Poppins. Otherwise, this was your fairly standard story about a duke with rambunctious orphaned wards who falls in love with the outspoken nanny. Emmeline is a graduate of the prestigious Parasol Academy and accidentally lands a job with Xavier, the clock-obsessed duke with unruly wards. They meet, she’s great with the kids, they fall in love. There’s a bit of drama with a villain trying to sabotage Xavier’s life, but otherwise, it’s a pretty predictable story.

Advance ebook provided by Kensington Books via NetGalley.

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The Gingerbread Bakery by Laurie Gilmore (2025)

Contemporary romance. Book 5 of the Dream Harbor series. Super fun second chance, not-quite-enemies-to-lovers romance. Annie and Mac have been sniping at each other in every previous Dream Harbor book and this book finally lets us know why. Apparently, one December many years ago, Annie and Mac had a quasi-relationship going on. But then Mac leaves town to explore the country and find himself and doesn’t come back when he promises to. Of course this makes Annie write him off for good, and makes his actual permanent return to town chilly and awkward. He’s still totally hung up on her and doesn’t quite know how to win her back. A weekend of wedding hijinks for their friends is the perfect occasion for forced proximity and bringing back all those old feelings. Cute and flirty and steamy.

Advance ebook provided by Harper Collins via NetGalley. Audiobook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

To Heist and to Hold by Christina Britton (2025)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 1 of the Wimpole Street Widows Society series. Heloise and her band of widows plan to infiltrate a gaming hell to save her sister-in-law, and one of those schemes involves seducing one of the owners. Ethan is the very gruff and serious gambling hell owner who is suspicious of Heloise’s motives, but lets her close anyway so he can figure out what she’s up to. They’re both keeping secrets, but it’s clear that they’re totally falling for each other. Lots of sweet caretaking here that goes both ways, plus the added mystery of who’s running a crooked game at the club. Lots of action, both in and out of the bedroom, making this an enjoyable read.

Advance ebook provided by Forever Books via NetGalley.

An Introvert’s Guide to Life and Love by Lauren Appelbaum (2025)

Contemporary romance. Standalone novel. Loved this book about an introverted homebody finding herself in a quiet little beach town. Mallory is the work-from-home hermit who adores online shopping and staying in her cozy apartment. But her life is a bit blown up when she inherits her a seaside cottage across the country from her late grandmother, in exchange for taking care of Gramps. I loved seeing Mallory grow closer to her grandfather and develop such a strong bond to him and the community where he lives. We also get to see Mallory juggle that remote job she hates and the home improvements she needs to make to the cottage to get it in rentable condition. The romance here comes in the form of a charming property manager Daniel, but it’s really more a story about Mallory’s journey and growth and the Daniel-based romance is just a bonus.

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

Jewel by Beverly Jenkins (2008)

Historical romance. 1880s Michigan. Book 2 of the Grayson Family series. Eli just needed a pretend wife for one dinner with a big city newspaperman to earn an investment, but ended up with a real wife instead when gossip gets out. Jewel is the only daughter of the gruff and surly lumbarjack and used to caring for her many older brothers. She never expected to marry, and especially not to Eli, the man she’d had a teenage crush on. She tries to make sure this is a marriage in name only, but he’s trying to convince her to make a real go of the relationship. It’s a lot of flirting and seducing on Eli’s part to get Jewel to comply. The romance is here is fairly predictable, but it was nice catching up with this town again and seeing everyone work together to built Jewel and Eli’s new house. Danger comes back into town in the form of cousin Nate’s ex-wife and we get to see all the chaos she brings with her.

Ebook and audiobook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

Duke of Eccess by Mariah Stone (2025)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 4 of the Seven Dukes of Sin series. Temperance is on the run from her life as Lady Agatha, daughter of an earl, and known as the Mad Heiress. She’s trying to escape her stepmother’s machinations and just needs to lie low until her birthday when she can claim her inheritance for herself. And that comes in the form of a governess position for Octavius’ wild charges. The three children lost their parents earlier this year and have run off half a dozen governesses. Lucky for them, Temperance is an unconventional sort and they start to bond with her, and become better behaved in the process. Octavius also needs some tutoring in better behavior and turns to Temperance for his own improvement. We get loads of drama with Octavius’ friend also eyeing Temperance, and all that hiding she’s doing from her stepmother. Excellent addition to this series.

Advance ebook provided by Mariah Stone.

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.

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