Falling Into Bed with a Duke by Lorraine Heath (2015)

Historical romance. Victorian-era England. Book 1 of the Hellions of Havisham series. Tragic prologue for a group of young boys orphaned by a train accident and sent to live with a mad marquess. As the boys grow up, they’re known as the Hellions, giving the name to this series. Minerva (daughter of a former gambling hell owner) and the Duke of Ashebury end up meeting at a scandalous club where ladies attend to find trysts. She figures she’s an outspoken overlooked spinster who refuses to marry a fortune-hunter and she wants to feel desired for once in her life. There, she encounters Ashe, who does actually want her, without knowing who she is. When they encounter each other in society, Ashe starts suspecting Minerva of being the masked woman he met at the club and is completely intrigued by her. I loved how he appreciates her outspokenness and candor and how he comes to her defense when he overhears people speaking ill of her. There’s a lot of insecurity for Minerva to overcome though, so Ashe has his work cut out for him in his pursuit of her. As I do with most books by Lorraine Heath, I loved it.

Ebook and audiobook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

The Earl Takes All by Lorraine Heath (2016)

Historical romance. Victorian-era England. Book 2 of the Hellions of Havisham series. This book is a reputation in the historical romance space and with good reason. Twin brothers Albert and Edward were orphaned as children, making Albert the earl at age 7. When they go on a safari together, Albert is tragically killed by a gorilla and he extracts a deathbed promise from Edward to pretend to be him so that his pregnant wife Julia waiting at home does not suffer a miscarriage. We start the book pretty much at the funeral of “Edward” and the countess worrying over how distant her husband has been since his return. It’s all sorts of angsty here right off the bat, since she doesn’t know her actual husband has died, she’s feeling insecure about her changed appearance during pregnancy, and her husband is acting strange. Edward is basically scared of any wrong move harming Julia and the baby and fighting his attraction for her. Huge mess of confusing emotions throughout the entire book and such a great read. This one is required reading for all historical romance fans.

Ebook and audiobook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

The Viscount and the Vixen by Lorraine Heath (2016)

Historical romance. Victorian-era England. Book 3 of the Hellions of Havisham series. Viscount Locksley is not interested in falling in love, since it drove his father mad when his mother died in childbirth. And then Portia shows up at the front door answering the mad marquess’ advertisement for a wife. Locke wants to spare his father the trouble of dealing with a fortune and title-hungry schemer, so he marries her himself. It’s a quick marriage of convenience here with the aim of bedsport and making an heir. However, Locke soon realizes that Portia is not exactly what she seems and he becomes highly possessive and intrigued by her. Portia is doing her best to find security within the walls of the dusty old manor house. I liked seeing the slow development of real feelings between these two and also how Portia brings the manor back to life. I also enjoyed uncovering Portia’s secrets along with Locke and finding out just why the security of the country was so important to her.

Ebook and audiobook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

When the Marquess Falls by Lorraine Heath (2017)

Historical romance. Victorian-era England. Book 3.5 of the Hellions of Havisham series. Quick novella telling the backstory of the Marquess of Marden’s romance with his beloved Linnie. We get some peaks of this romance in the previous book, but this one expands a bit and ties together with the set-up of the whole series. It’s a pretty straightforward romance here with George, the marquess, falling in love with Linnie, the baker’s daughter and his childhood friend. He’s got to overcome his mother’s disapproval, but it’s easy enough to do with how much he loves Linnie. Heads up that the plot does include the childbirth of Locke that leads to Linnie’s death, plus a retelling of the prologue of the first book (where the orphaned boys come to the manor) but from Marden’s point of view.

Ebook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

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The Seafaring Lady’s Guide to Love by Fenna Edgewood (2021)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 3 of the Gardner Girls series. Rosalind Gardner is ready to set off on her adventure, so she’s at the docks getting ready to set sail. Except that when she goes to purchase her passage, the clerk says that the man who was previously there bought all the cabins. And then the reckless Rosalind tells the clerk that it’s no problem since she’s married to the man who just left. She figures she can just sneak onto the ship, reimburse the man, and then enjoy her journey across. Except Philip is a grumpy widower and a bit sensitive about the subject of a wife, and he’s the owner of the ship. It’s a lot of gruff and grumbly banter between Rosalind and Philip, despite the clear attraction they have. Also, get ready to hear Philip’s tragic backstory and an exciting brush with pirates. Super action-packed book that was very fun to read.

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

Beware a Scot’s Revenge by Sabrina Jeffries (2007)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 3 of the School for Heiresses series. Lady Venetia is visiting Scotland with her aunt, after having been living in London for many years, and promptly gets kidnapped by her childhood neighbor Lachlan. He’s got a rivalry with her father over some unpaid debts and is trying to use Venetia for ransom. But it’s way more complicated than that because Lachlan and Venetia keep switching between yelling at each other and lusting at each other. This is one of those stories where Lachlan is the one who needs to get over himself and his need for vengeance if he wants to have a true relationship with Venetia.

Ebook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

Muscles & Monsters by Ashley Bennett (2022)

Paranormal romance. Book 1 of the Leviathan Fitness series. I had heard of this series before, but hadn’t gotten around to reading it yet. But then I heard this week that the series got picked up for traditional publishing and I figured I’d read the indie version on Kindle Unlimited while I still could. We basically have an insta-love situation between a human baker, Tegan, and a wolven gym owner, Atlas. Super cute flirty banter, heavy steam, and small town charm. This one is a really quick read in its current edition, with a smidge of set-up for the town, but really, it’s just Tegan and Atlas very quickly falling for each other. Really cute and definitely looking forward to reading more.

Ebook accessed from Kindle Unlimited.

The Taming of Jessi Rose by Beverly Jenkins (1999)

Historical romance. Post-Civil War Texas. Standalone novel. Loads of drama here in all the best ways. Jessi is trying to keep hold of her land when a villain in town is trying to buy up everyone’s land to sell to the railroad. She’s the last holdout and the town is fairly hostile. Griffin is a train robbing outlaw sent to protect her in exchange for freedom from prison. He gives off the pompous air of incompetence, so it’s a nice surprise when he turns out to be pretty resourceful. I loved seeing Griffin slowly start to break down Jessi’s walls and also start to find a home to settle into. Their relationship was most definitely a delicious slow-burn amongst the danger surrounding them. Loved this book.

Ebook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

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To All the Earls I’ve Loved Before by Fenna Edgewood (2021)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 2 of the Gardner Girls series. Widowed Gwendolen is in a whole heap of trouble, being threatened by one man and being evicted by another. Luckily, a duke named Angel is ready to save the day by proposing a marriage of convenience. He’s the ultimate himbo character with a bit of a carefree foolish demeanor, but his protective instincts are spot on. He’s basically the best sort of man, offering his name and home and all his worldly resources to protect Gwendolen and her five-year-old son. Even though they’ve agreed on a marriage in name only, it’s so easy for these two to fall in love and desire more from each other. Lots of twists and turns here with the villain of Gwendolen’s story and how more information is revealed as the story proceeds. Loved this one.

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

The Lady Sparks a Flame by Elizabeth Everett (2025)

Historical Romance. Victorian-era England. Book 2 of the Damsels of Discovery series. Combine an emotionally traumatized exiled scientist with an upbeat and fairly emotionally happy kind of guy, and we get this absolute gem of a book. Phoebe is back in the country to deal with her late father’s estate, after having been exiled off to America for inventing a bomb that killed someone. She’s all sorts of detached and cold to everyone around her, and we learn that it’s because of her horribly abusive father. Somehow, the wealthy shop owner and newspaper owner Sam gets involved in her affairs, first by offering to buy her house and second by trying to court her sister. Sam’s just trying to improve his overall station in life and thinks a titled wife is the way to do it. But of course, Sam is more interested in Phoebe than anything else and wants to soothe all of her hurts. Tons of emotional angst here as we dig up all of Phoebe’s traumas and come to some resolution. Excellent read.

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

The Trouble with Anna by Rachel Griffiths (2025)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Standalone novel. I almost missed out on reading this book because I did not realize it was a historical romance. The cover design is fresh and fun but kind of confusing for which genre the book belongs in. Anyway, we have Anna, a socially awkward daughter of an earl who lives with her maternal grandfather and pretty much hates going to balls and parties. And then her grandfather dies and turns out he only leaves her the house, horses, and stables if she marries the earl next door. Julian is doing his best to do his duty and fulfill his obligation but he certainly does not want to marry Anna and thinks that the whole thing is a trap. But then he actually spends time with her and is honestly intrigued and a little bit smitten. And he’s terrible at communicating and she thinks he’s just courting her for duty-bound reasons, even though he kisses her every chance he gets. It’s basically all chaos in a book with an inheritance clause, a somewhat arranged match, and lack of communication. I enjoyed this book a lot and couldn’t wait to see how they resolved their issues.

Ebook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

Topaz by Beverly Jenkins (1997)

Historical romance. Post-Civil War Old West America. Standalone novel. I love the chaos and villainy of a Beverly Jenkins book. Katherine is a newspaper woman who’s investigating a stock fraud crime, gets caught, and needs rescuing by Dix. He’s a deputy marshall who was originally looking for Katherine’s father for his crimes, but then the old swindler promises Katherine’s hand in marriage to Dix since that’s the only thing he has of value. We start pretty early with an arranged marriage for Katherine and Dix and the slow wagon trail to Indian territory as they make their way to Dix’s home, while avoiding the crooks that are after Katherine. It’s danger around every corner and a slow burn romance rolled into one. So much happening in this book and I loved all of it.

Ebook and audiobook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

Two Wrongs Make a Right by Chloe Liese (2022)

Contemporary romance. Book 1 of the Wilmot Sisters series. Everyone gets off on the wrong foot here when autistic Bea and anxious Jamie are pushed towards each other at a party. He basically says the wrong thing all the time, coming off as an arrogant jerk when he’s really just tongue-tied, and Bea is the ultimate klutz that night spilling drinks on Jamie multiple times. Despite the horrible meet-disaster, their meddling friends and family trick them into a date. So Bea proposes they fake-date and then break up as revenge for the meddling friend group. And of course, in the time they spend together, they realize they’re a perfect fit. This book had so much cute witty banter, plenty of steam, and I loved how Bea and Jamie understood each other so well once they opened up to each other.

Ebook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

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

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

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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.