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The Scandalous Widow
Elizabeth Rolls
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A Lady of Letters
Andrea Pickens
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This book has left me completely breathless. We follow Augusta and Julia on their second breathtaking adventure and it is indeed a follow-up that cannot be read as a stand-alone. The suspense is palpable on every page, especially in the second part. The slow burn romantic tension is impeccable. The depiction of Regency England is superb. And above all, Gus and Julia are magnificent - older! - heroines. This book is without a doubt my favorite read of 2025.
Beware: this book does not shy away from the darker underbelly of the 19th century, especially regarding the treatment of women.
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I notice there is only one historical romance in this quest. Not a complaint. (I only had one, and for that you can read my other post.)
This is more about the traditional publishing industry’s desire to no longer publish historical romance as it perceives HR no longer popular enough to make the profit margins it desires. It seems it wants mostly to publish clones of the most popular works, narrowing the whole genre substantially as it is afraid to take risks. This has forced even established writers to either change from their preferred sub genre largely to contemporary romance or face breach of contract or no more contracts. If a writer wants to continue publishing HR, they have to do so independently.
I’m wondering then if we could have a Side Quest (or even Main Quest) exclusively featuring historical romance? BIPOC, queer and trans HR would need to be included. It would encourage readers to try the sub genre while also saying FY to the traditional publishing industry. We already have other more narrow quests in the genre (cowboys, small towns, Sarah MacLean, himbos, Christmas), but none has the same feel of urgency, not to rescue a dying sub genre, but to support writers and their readers get the books they want to read, and perhaps expose a new generation of romance readers to a sub genre that has a long history and budding representation.
There, I’ll stop my rant. lol
[Note: I’m thinking of cross-posting this in the club forum to generate discussion, and perhaps in the forums of other romance quests.]
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The Real Jane Austen: A Life in Small Things
Paula Byrne
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The Ladies Road Guide to Utter Ruin (The Ill-Mannered Ladies, #2)
Alison Goodman
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The Ladies Road Guide to Utter Ruin (The Ill-Mannered Ladies, #2)
Alison Goodman
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Cocaine Blues (Phryne Fisher, #1)
Kerry Greenwood
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The Slide into Ruin (Daughters of Disgrace, #2)
Bronwyn Stuart