I’m setting myself a goal of getting some historical romances on the most TBR’ed or most currently reading lists on the home page… even if they are on page ten- that will count for me. Haven’t decided how to go about this though. 🤣 probably need to make some club forum posts and/or post while reading more.

Bookriot has written an in depth article about the declining sales of historical romance with quotes from many well-known HR authors, like Mimi Matthews, Sarah Maclean, Joanna Shupe and Liana de la Rosa. I am a huge fan of historical romance and this trend of established HR authors being pushed into other genres by publishers makes me very sad. I also learned from this article that the mass market paperback is officially dead per the end of 2025. I knew this was happening (even Harlequins shifted to a larger format), but this also makes me very, very sad. I adore my large collection of mass market historical romances.

Are you still reading HR?

Article link: https://bookriot.com/unmaking-of-the-historical-romance-genre/

Tell me about a favorite romance novel or author that Jen and Sarah either have never mentioned or rarely mention on Fated Mates. I have a series and a book.

First, I absolutely love Elizabeth Essex's Reckless Brides series. They are historicals set during the Napoleonic War and tend to be about sailors. (Essex has a masters degree in maritime archeology so she knows her stuff!) The first book, Almost a Scandal, is about a woman who disguises herself as her brother to take on his post as a cabin boy, but lo! The captain is a family friend who knows her! There is a lot of yearning in tight spaces in this one. The final book, A Scandal to Remember, is about a lady scientist who embarks on a voyage to South America and falls in love with the ship's captain. I don't remember a whole lot about this book, but I EXTREMELY remember the part where they have sex in a rowboat in a hurricane off the coast of South America. Ya know. For warmth.

Lastly, no one ever talks about Captive Bride by Katharine Ashe and I NEED more people to read this book. It's a historical paranormal about a heroine who has to go to a castle in Wales to rescue her dipshit brother who claims he has to marry the lady of the castle or else she'll be wedded to a ghost. Turns out he isn't hallucinating! And now the ghost wants to marry the heroine! A truly bonkers book, the hero MUST deflower the heroine so the ghost won't be able to force her to marry him. What better romance reasons could you ask for?

Anyway, tell me yours!