Abby Zidle and I had a candid chat at RWA in July, and we talked about everything. Abby is Associate Director of Marketing for Gallery Books, and is also a Senior Editor, as she worked in editorial for many many years. We talk about what’s changing in publishing and what’s changed over her career – from the process of writing and selling a book to the places you find that book in a store, or not.

What’s up with mass market? Trade? What does she love most about working in romance publishing. We are taking a 35,000-foot view here, and there’s a lot to discuss.

My favorite moment: “Your books and your life are so intertwined.”

Read the transcript →

Here are the books we discuss in this podcast:

You can find Abby Zidle online on Twitter and on Instagram.

We also discussed:

• The XOXO After Dark Podcast, and the episode “The IUD Will Set You Free”
• Jockey Skimmies
• The Beauty Blender
• and the makeup artist I hired: Christin Birkhead of Conceptual Beauty

If you like the podcast, you can subscribe to our feed, or find us at iTunes. You can also find us on Stitcher, and Spotify, too. We also have a cool page for the podcast on iTunes.

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What did you think of today's episode? Got ideas? Suggestions? You can talk to us on the blog entries for the podcast or talk to us on Facebook if that's where you hang out online. You can email us at sbjpodcast@gmail.com or you can call and leave us a message at our Google voice number: 201-371-3272. Please don't forget to give us a name and where you're calling from so we can work your message into an upcoming podcast.

Thanks for listening!

This Episode's Music

Our music is provided by Sassy Outwater each week. This is the Peatbog Faeries album Blackhouse.

This track is called “The Dragon’s Apprentice.”

Anyway. You can find this album at Amazon, at iTunes, or wherever you like to buy your fine music.

Podcast Sponsor

Today’s podcast is sponsored by MUFF STUFF, Book 3 in THE MUFFIA series by Ann Royal Nicholas.

Costly, coddled canines are missing all over the Southland. Sarah, a baking whiz and member of LA’s most dynamic women’s book club, is a soon-to-be single mom who’s about to get foreclosed upon thanks to her philandering ex-husband. Her son, Nathaniel, is being bullied at science camp, his Ls sound like Ws and the only movie he’ll watch is The Princess Bride. No wonder she’s having trouble getting through the Muffs’ latest read.

Sarah launches a plan to save her house while building a baking goods empire, and before too long, things start looking up—her cookies are a hit, Nathaniel’s Ls are improving and she meets a handsome widower who makes her feel sexy for the first time in years. But when she foils a plot to steal her family’s adopted French Bulldog, and Muff Lauren’s Boston Terriers go missing in the middle of her Labor Day barbecue, it’s time for The Muffia to mobilize. With the assistance of a Palm Springs Magic Men Live! aficionado, a vengeful Pug owner and three Bichon Frises, the muffs set out to nab the nappers, and discover dog thieves come in surprising guises.

MUFF STUFF and all the books in THE MUFFIA series can be found wherever books are sold. Find out more at www.AnnRoyalNicholas.com.

Transcript Sponsor

Today’s podcast is sponsored by Star Knight Errant: Thrust by A.K. Shelley. If you like Celia Kyle and Anna Hackett, you’ll love this sci-fi romance filled with action and passion. When Martian Air Science Engineer Cass Hedley takes a dare to use her new Artificial Intelligence system for a night of erotic release, there’s only one man she can imagine spending time with—the legendary comic book hero Star Knight Errant. She imagines strong hands, hard abs, and bubble baths, but her black market AI has another idea—an illegal fight club that will only end in her sexy companion’s death…or hers.

When Evander Mór transports to an unknown desert planet, his mission changes. Instead of brokering a peace deal, he’ll figure out what backwater he’s landed on and enjoy a well-earned weekend off with a gorgeous scientist. But when things get hotter than a supernova between them, he discovers he only has eighteen hours to stop an AI bent on murder, convince Cass he’s more than fiction, and find a way to cross the gulf between galaxies to bring her home.

The Orange County Chapter of RWA gave this story The Charlotte Award for Emerging Writers in 2018, and author Anita Philmar says it “hits all the buttons to excite and thrill.”

Star Knight Errant: Thrust by A.K. Shelley is on preorder now wherever books are sold and releases August 26. Find out more at AKShelley.com.

Remember to subscribe to our podcast feed, find us on iTunes or on Stitcher.

We all have our auto-buy story premises. Age gap, or May/December romances, are one of my top three and I’m always on the lookout for the next great one. Harper Bliss wrote one of my very favourites a few years ago, In the Distance There is Light, and she’s actually written a bunch of others that I’ve enjoyed too. When I saw she had a new age gap romance coming out, I did a little dance of joy.

Victoria “Rory” Carlisle is excited to start her DPhil in English Literature at Oxford (DPhil is the Oxford equivalent of a PhD) and she wants Helen Swift to be her advisor. Because Professor Swift is an out lesbian, Rory believes she’ll be the best person to help guide Rory through the ins and outs of a dissertation about the evolution of lesbian characters in the 20th and 21st centuries.

“The way I see it”—she cocks her head—“you’re my only chance at doing this particular kind of in-depth research.”

I arch up my eyebrows. I know what Victoria Carlisle wants to research. She emailed me about it in astonishing detail.

“I wouldn’t put it in such black and white terms, Miss Carlisle.”

“Well, no doubt you know what I mean.” That wide grin again, accompanied by a wink this time. Goodness, this woman is forward. Like most young people these days, who carry themselves with a familiarity towards faculty that I’ve never quite got used to.

Of course I know what she means. “Professor Monohan has an interest in the subject you suggest.”

Victoria shakes her head. “She doesn’t really.”

Professor Sarah Monahan is the other lesbian in the faculty and Helen’s ex-girlfriend. The book doesn’t get into either of their literary specialties, which (I say with two English degrees under my belt) is a little odd. So, for some reason that is never explained, Rory wants Helen to be her advisor way more than Sarah, even though Sarah is a lesbian too, and Rory definitely isn’t interested at all in working with Alistair, a gay man who’s also in the faculty.

Helen Swift isn’t feeling the same passion for academia that brought her into it all those years ago. Rapidly approaching her 50th birthday, she has the mid-life crisis Porsche already. Now she’s considering the unthinkable—dropping down to part-time faculty so she can devote more time and energy to writing. After all, her cozy mysteries set in the town where she lives in the Cotswolds are selling like gangbusters and they’re the main thing fueling her these days. Helen wasn’t planning on supervising another DPhil candidate, but she’s interested in Rory’s topic and appreciates her enthusiasm, so Helen agrees to be her advisor, knowing Rory will be the last student she takes on.

It’s not long before Rory finds herself crushing on Professor Swift, even though she knows Helen has strong boundaries with students and, unlike Alistair and Sarah, never socializes with them. Of course, when Rory bumps into Helen at a pub in Chewford when she’s home visiting family, it’s the beginning of the end of the walls that Helen keeps around herself.

Helen starts the book at a crossroads, thinking everyone will say she should continue as a full-time faculty member, but knowing it’s time to follow her dreams. She’s kept her alter ego, HS Barr, under wraps and worries what others will think when they learn that Helen Swift, respected literature professor, is writing cozy murder mysteries with titles like Chewed Up in Chewford. For me, this is the most interesting aspect of A Lesson in Love because, alongside the romantic relationship development, we get to watch Helen grapple with coming out to some of the people around her as an author. I can’t say for sure whether it’s this state of vulnerability that lets Helen open up to Rory or if it’s just because of Rory being her bubbly, daring self. Regardless, once Helen finally stops keeping Rory at the usual arm’s length she reserves for students, she becomes intoxicated by Rory’s attention and flirting.

Rory definitely has some major hero worship going on with Helen, but her attraction is also genuine from very early in their interactions. She’s not fazed by their 22 year age difference and simply wants to get to know Helen better. Once they have that drink in the pub in Chewford, though, Rory is hooked. About 10% of the way into the book, I started picturing Helen as Gillian Anderson or Cate Blanchett, and once that happened, I couldn’t help thinking “Well OF COURSE Rory’s into her. Look at her!”

The chemistry between Rory and Helen is one of the best elements of the book, building slowly until things turn explosive. Their first kiss is A++ hot and the sex scenes are excellent, especially because they drive the relationship development. That said, I wish Helen and Rory had also spent more time just talking to each other. Instead, with the exception of when Helen eventually tells Rory about wanting to shift gears on her career, we see each of them talking more about stuff that matters with Sarah and Alistair than they do with each other. Their situation isn’t quite instalove, but it comes across as being more about want and unavoidable attraction than anything else, and while their HEA is lovely despite that problem, I’m still a little sad I didn’t get to see more substance to their relationship as it developed.

People who don’t like first-person stories should also know that the book is told in the first person, present tense, alternating between Rory and Helen. I liked getting to see into both of their perspectives, especially Helen’s because she has so much changing, growing, and decision-making to do throughout the book. These perspective shifts also mean it should satisfy people who say they don’t like first-person narratives because they only ever get to know one character. That is definitely not an issue with A Lesson in Love, and both of their perspectives are so distinct that I doubt anyone would need the chapter headers that say who we’re following.

So, did A Lesson in Love hold up to my expectations? Unfortunately no, though I still enjoyed it. Maybe it’s not fair, but I can’t help but compare all new age gap romances from Harper Bliss to In the Distance There is Light, in the hopes that I’ll get that lightning in a bottle again. Even so, for people who like British romances that aren’t particularly angsty, A Lesson in Love will be a good choice.

The transcript for Podcast 365. Sunrise, Sunset, and Behind the Scenes in Publishing: Hanging out with Abby Zidle has been posted!

This podcast transcript was handcrafted with meticulous skill by Garlic Knitter. Many thanks.

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August is nearly over! Let’s talk books!

Catherine: I’ve just finished reading This is How You Lose the Time War by Max Gladstone and Amal El-Mohtar ( A | BN | K | G | AB ) , which I loved to bits – I adored the relationship between the two protagonists, and the way the time travel plot was so perfectly structured that you could almost here the click as it came together at the end. I had to read it twice. And now I’m having a big reread of all my Sarah MacLean books, which is naughty of me, because I really ought to be writing a review of something completely different…

Aarya: I’m reading an ARC of Lush Money by Angelina M. Lopez and I love it so much. It features a billionaire Latinx heroine who offers a marriage of convenience to a European prince/viticulturist because she wants him to impregnate her. He accepts reluctantly because it’s the only way to save his struggling country.

A | BN | K

Lush Money is a debut but it doesn’t read like one. It’s polished, smart, sexy, and brilliant. I should probably stop praising it so much because I’m not done yet, but I have a gut feeling that it’ll end well.

Update: I finished. I freaking loved it. I’m floating on Cloud 9 but everyone should read it.

Lara Diane: I’m reaching for the comfort re-reads. I’m immersing myself in Fred Vargas’ The Chalk Circle Man ( A | BN | K | G ) . An odd book with odd characters and so much heart. It’s literary marmite – an acquired taste, but if you have acquired that taste, the love is deep and real.

Susan: I’m reading Taste of Marrow by Sarah Gailey ( A | BN | K | G ), the sequel to their alt-history-with-hippos book River of Teeth. So far it’s quite different in tone, because River of Teeth had at least the BUILD-UP of a caper while Taste of Marrow starts with the characters still caught in the aftermath.

(And for those who haven’t encountered the American Hippo thing and the importance of voting: the initial twitter thread is here or the Tor interview is here.)

I’ve also started listening to the audiobook of Widdershins by Jordan L. Hawke, because melodramatic queer fantasy-historical mystery romances are were I live (seriously, give me your recs) and rereading Jordan L. Hawke’s stuff is comforting.

A | BN | K | AB

Sarah: I’m reading magazines through my library – Bon Appetit, Cross Stitcher – and cookbooks. It’s two weeks until back to school and the dudes are home from camp, so it’s laundrypalooza over here. I’m also listening to Ekhardt Tolle’s The Power of Now ( A | BN | K | G )  while I stitch, also through the library. I love my local library so much.

Elyse: I love cooking magazines but I hate to cook.

Amanda: My romance reading docket is super light for September, but I have a lot of awesome fantasy and sci-fi waiting for me. Namely The Ten Thousand Doors of January ( A | BN | K | G | AB ) and Gideon the Ninth. I’ve preordered Gideon because the first printing is extra goth with black-stained page edges.

Elyse: Ooooooh!

A | BN | K | AB

I DNFed A Princess In Theory by Alyssa Cole ( A | BN | K | G | AB ) because of all the lying and stalking by the prince–I was just SO NOT in the mood for that.

I’ve started In a Badger Way by Shelly Laurenston ( A | BN | K | G | AB )  (thanks to Amanda’s heads up on the sale!!!) and I’m about to start the audiobook version of American Spy: A Novel by Lauren Wilkinson. It is narrated by Bahni Turpin who also narrated the The Sun is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon. I loved the incandescent teenage rage Bahni was able to communicate in The Sun is Also a Star, so I’m super excited to see what she does in this story about a Black woman being sent to spy for the American government in Burkina Faso and help facilitate the coup of a communist leader during the Cold War.

A | BN | K

This book is the roughest ride so far, since it includes domestic violence in a lesbian relationship, corrective rape, alcoholism, marriage between a gay man and a lesbian, and I’m sure more that I haven’t hit yet. Even so, it’s so well written that I read three quarters of it last night when I should have gone to bed.

In audio, I’m listening to Lead Counsel by Aurora Rey ( A | BN | K ) , which is the f/f novella that was up for a RITA. It’s light and fun and I’m really enjoying it.

Shana: I’m reading Amish Promises by Leslie Gould ( A | BN | K | G ) and hoping the slow pace will be relaxing. I just finished His Until Midnight by Reese Ryan, which met my modern cowboy needs quite nicely.

A | BN | K

AJ: I’m comfort reading while I recover from a fractured ankle, so right now it’s Beast Behaving Badly by Shelly Laurenston ( A | BN | K | G ) for probably the eighteenth time. If I get a little more headspace to read something new I also have Magic for Liars by Sarah Gailey ( A | BN | K | G | AB ) , which I’m super excited about.

Claudia: It’s back to school for my children this week and it’s been quite busy, but in the middle of the chaos I was happy I finally got my mitts on Someone to Honor ( A | BN | K | G | AB ), the newest installment of Mary Balogh’s Westcott series. I rate it among the best in the series so far, and I especially liked the hero, who was an interesting mix of dour and sweet. It’s not for everyone — some may feel it is a bit too slow, but it was exactly what I needed. I continue to enjoy the series’ broader found family/friends theme, one of my favorite in romance.

Tara: I finished Women in the Shadows because I couldn’t not and now I think I need a break before I read the next book, and possibly a cuddle. I’m consoling myself with A Little Light Mischief by Cat Sebastian ( A | BN | K | G | AB ).

Carrie: I am almost done with Turning Darkness Into Light by Marie Brennan. For Lady Trent fans (A Natural History of Dragons series) this picks up the story with her granddaughter as the main character. So good.

Also wading my way through a lot of biographies of emotionally stunted white Victorian men for some freelance jobs I picked up. Oh, J.M. Barrie. So many issues. SO MANY.

How was your reading this month? Let us know in the comments!

By request, since we can’t link to every book you mention in the comments, here are bookstore links that help support the site with your purchases. If you use them, we greatly appreciate it, and if you’d prefer not to, no worries. Thanks for being a part of SBTB and hopefully, you’ve found some great books to read!

Turning Darkness Into Light is a new standalone sequel to the Memoirs of Lady Trent series by Marie Brennan. It would be difficult for a reader to jump into this book without having read at least one of the Lady Trent books (for one thing, you have to know that Draconeans are a sentient species closely related to dragons). That series starts with A Natural History of Dragons and it is AMAZING. I admit to bias in my reviews because the author has always been very sweet to me at conventions even though the first time I met her I was so excited that I choked on a cracker. Transparency in everything, that’s my watchword.

The main character in this book is Audrey Camherst. She is Lady Trent’s granddaughter and idolizes her famous grandmother (as do we all, because Lady Trent is badass). Audrey studies ancient Draconean history with specialities in archeology and linguistics. She is hired by the smarmy Lord Gleinleigh to translate some tablets. Audrey enlists the help of her Draconean friend Kudshayn. He has known her since she was a small child, and he describes her as “my sister from another egg.” She also enlists Gleinleigh’s ward, Cora, a young woman who has grown up with minimal social interaction since the death of her parents when she was ten years old.

The Lady Trent series involved travel and adventure as well as linguistics, archeology, and other sciences. Turning Darkness is about the not-so-glamorous aspects of these sciences. Most of the story involves people staring at tablets for weeks on end and trying to copy them, translate them, and understand their deeper meanings. This is not what I’d call fast-paced action. However, it does involve interesting character interaction and stories within stories (we get to read the story that is inscribed on the tablets). Very slowly we discover that Audrey, Kudshayn, and Cora are caught in the midst of political and academic intrigue.

The story is told in a series of letters, notes, journal entries, translations, and articles. While Audrey is the clear protagonist, other characters also express their points of view in their own journal entries or letters, which means often the reader knows something that other characters do not. It lacks a strong sense of forward drive, especially in the first half. On the other hand, you get a good sense of how people work together to solve both personal and  academic problems.

In my opinion, the most interesting character is Cora, who gets the least amount of page time. Cora is never labelled in any way, but she read to me as being neurodivergent. Cora is direct and persistent, which cut through the attempts of others to be discreet, or evasive, or private. Cora also provides a reason for exposition, since she is new to the art of translation, and has never interacted with a Draconean before and needs to learn their body language and etiquette. Kudashayn is, of course, also fascinating.

This points to the book’s biggest problem (other than slow pacing, which is either a feature or a bug depending on how much you like watching scholarship happen – I liked it quite a bit). The narrator, Audrey, is relatable, but she’s the least interesting character in the book (with the exception of the one-dimensional villains).

I found myself caring very much about Kudashayn, a character with an unusual way of seeing the world and a character who is in a vulnerable position at all times. I cared enormously for Cora, for similar reasons. I wanted to hear more about Cora’s eventual fate and felt short-changed by the lack of resolution given to her. The one character I didn’t care much about was Aubrey. She’s young, impulsive, has a lot to prove, and is very confused by her feelings for a hot male academic with no morals. She’s a brilliant scholar, and her actions, though sometimes foolish, are understandable. She’s just not interesting.

Given my enjoyment of the scholarship, the world-building, the mythology that unfolds, and the political intrigue, I’ll snap any forthcoming sequel up in a heartbeat. I love the world in the Lady Trent books. However, I don’t suggest this book as a gateway into the series. Start way back with A Natural History of Dragons and work your way through it. You won’t be sorry.

Hey, so do you all want some books? Like a box of books? Because we have quite a few we’d love to give to the Bitchery.

We have seventeen (17) boxes of books to giveaway! Yes, seven-freaking-teen boxes.

We can promise the books included are new, finished copies, unread, and printed on paper. We can also promise there will be at least five books, possibly more, in each box.

Each box will have a mix of subgenres. Genres include contemporary, historical, thrillers, and paranormal romance, too. While we hope the box you receive contains a subgenre or author you enjoy, we also have our fingers crossed that you’ll love trying something new. And as always, our mission statement is to share the love and share the romance.

To enter, tell us what book you loved this summer (or winter, depending on your hemisphere)!

Standard disclaimers apply: We are not being compensated for this giveaway. Void where prohibited. Must be over 18 and ready to read read read. Open to international residents where permitted by applicable law. Boxes will contain books. We promise. Hope you’re ready! Entries will end around noon on Friday 30 August 2019, and winners will be announced and notified shortly afterward.

Good luck, everyone!

All three of these books are in a similar grade range, which is why I wanted to group them together, but they are very different. There is fantasy on audio, a f/f workplace romance with an ice queen doctor, and a contemporary romance with a grumpy Scotsman.

We hope you’re ready for Cover Snark!

Amanda: What the Goodreads description doesn’t mention is that Bubbles (the hero) is a werewolf.

Sarah: Bubbles the Werewolf!!!!

Amanda: Who is also an ex-con and is in a motorcycle club.

Sneezy: Double Bubbles, toil and trouble.

Foam and pout, like cheesecake wobbles.

Lara: Before I saw the name, I saw the shoulder. I’m not even sure what that muscle is called, but I’m pretty sure that muscle on top of the shoulder shouldn’t be square. Or is it a shadow?

Ellen: It’s a shadow but it’s an incorrectly shaped shadow based on where the light seems to be coming from otherwise…kinda looks like he’s got a baby alien gestating in that trapezius muscle.

Catherine: I’m still stuck on Bubbles the Werewolf, honestly.

Amanda: All the books in this series have an ass theme.

Bare Ass, Hard Ass, Gruff Ass.

Sarah: Gruff?

Amanda: Yeah, that’s a new one for me.

Sarah: Like, the crime dog?

Elyse: It sounds like a fungal issue to me.

Carrie: No. I’m not shaming y’all. If this book speaks to you, so be it. But no, no, no, no, no.

Sarah: Carrie, that was rather gruff.

Carrie: I say it like I see it!

Sneezy: Cheese Grater Ass

Lara: The tagline says “no euphemism”… and I might regret this, but I would like a literal photo of a gruff ass, please. Morbid curiosity FTW.

Ellen: Wait, which part are we supposed to take literally? That he has a gruff ass or that he has likeable rocks?

Catherine: It’s a pity, really, because it would be quite a nice cover without that title. And now all I’m thinking about is billy goats. Specifically, the three billy goats Gruff, Ass, and Love. Oh my…

From Lucy C: Hello, this lady has no neck and I want someone to know that.

Amanda: That empire waist is doing her no favors.

Sarah: Duly noted, Lucy. No neck, AND bad photoshop.

Elyse: Remember when you’d pull the head off your Barbie and it never went on right again? That’s what this looks like.

From L: I’m still having a laugh at the woman’s photoshopped head.

Sarah: Looking at it again, it almost looks like someone stepped on her.

Carrie: The photoshopping is awful and so is the title – but I can I just say that every single time I try to be elegant I end up in that exact position – slumped over, legs sprawled around, dress all bunched up? I feel you, my poorly photoshopped sister.

Sneezy: Is anyone else creeped out by the dude lurking in the back? Why does he look so flat and…weird shaped? It’s like he’s a laser printed gingerbread man stuck onto the wall.

Lara: The poor lady has been turned into a reverse bobble-head… her head belongs on a much smaller person.

Ellen: For once a cover that is not improved by the inclusion of a head.

From Sandy: I’ve come across some covers that I wanted to send in the past but I couldn’t pass this one. If I have to look at that then others have to too. The Game Warden’s Mate is just a complete train wreck.

Sarah: What happened to this poor man?!

Amanda: Is this…a bigfoot romance?

Sarah: I don’t know. According to the line at the bottom it’s a “abduction sci-fi romance.”

Elyse: There’s not enough neck on that thing to justify the chest and shoulders.

Carrie: There’s medication for that, buddy.

Sneezy: I can’t decide if he looks like he’s wearing the most useless coat, the furriest stripper costume, or the most half-assed armor.

Lara: Did he hold still in the ocean for a real long time? Long enough for seaweed to make a happy home on his bosom?

Ellen: Why does his torso have a mustache? I feel like a mouth is about to open from his midsection and start talking.

Catherine: It looks like he’s got moss or something growing on his chest. And arms. That can’t be good for you.

The Blacksmith Queen is my very own Dragon Age video game fantasy come to life. There are powerful women, plus quippy banter between friends and family, and a talking dragon. It’s fantastical, fun, and I’ll immediately be buying a physical copy to add to my own library.

The Old King has died, sending the kingdom into turmoil as his sons murder one another for the throne. However, the Witches of Amhuinn have prophesied that the next ruler shall be a queen. Confusion ensues as the king only has sons and thus begins a quest for everyone to find this mysterious queen-to-be and either kill her or ally with her.

And whoooo, boy, there are surprises, which I refuse to ruin for you. Not even in a spoiler because I need everyone to read this book.

There are a couple things I want to make clear right up at the top. I wouldn’t call this a fantasy romance. There is a romance present, but it’s mostly background development. You could completely remove it and things would largely remain unchanged.

Second, if you are particularly sensitive to abusive language against women, this has a lot of it.

Undoubtedly, I had the most fun reading this. Sarah can attest to all the excited messages I kept sending her. Lots of caps were typed.

Ed. note: Can confirm.

For those who aren’t aware, G.A. Aiken is another pen name for Shelly Laurenston. While there are similarities, especially when it comes to the over the top, madcap feel of nonstop action, Aiken’s settings work better for me than those written under Laurenston. It’s easier for me to settle in for a bonkers ride with a fantasy world, rather than paranormal/fantasy elements set in present day. If you’re a fan of both, you’ll love this. It has all the markers: supportive men, strong and capable women, comic book-esque fight scenes. And jumping into the fantasy setting of this book is rather effortless and uncomplicated

There was not a single woman I didn’t like in this book, especially those who were part of the Smythe/Farmerson family. Keeley is the main character. She’s an affable blacksmith who makes friends with demon wolves and sees the best in everyone. She’s like a golden retriever if those dogs could wield a giant hammer.

But before Samuel could truly panic, Keeley came jogging toward him, carrying the axe and her hammer as if they weighed nothing. She tossed the axe back to its owner and said, as she ran past, “Now we run away. Run,” she cheerfully pushed. “Everyone run. Quick like bunnies!”

Gemma is one of Keeley’s sisters. She left the family a decade earlier under mysterious circumstances to become a nun, creating a rift in their relationship. By the end of the book, Gemma became my favorite:

Quinn heard the soldier’s scream and turned to see a battle unit release the women they’d be dragging away and run. From Gemma Smythe.

“You really love doing that, don’t you?” he had to ask, briefly ignoring the fighting going on around him. “Scaring the unholy shit out of them when they see what you really are?”

She looked at him over her shoulder, the smile on her face pure sin.

Beatrix is a creepy Wednesday Addams in spirit and sister to Gemma and Keeley.

As she expected, her sister Beatrix sat with her back against the trunk. She wore a bright yellow dress, the skirt spread out around her, along with many books and parchment scrolls.

Keeley relaxed her shoulder against the tree. “We have visitors. If you don’t want to talk to them, you may want to avoid dinner.”

“Gladly.”

Their mother, Emma, is the infamous Blacksmith Maiden, who beats the shit out of dudes while nursing.

“You have a trebuchet?” Caid asked…because he couldn’t think of anything else to say.

“Mum made it. She gets bored when she’s pregnant.”

Keran is a cousin: a 40+ year old woman and former pit fighting champion. She loves to be naked, drink, and have sex with anything that moves.

Keran pushed her way between the two and shoved them apart. “Cut it out.” Both women opened their mouths to argue, but Keran quickly added, “I’ll get fully naked right here! Tits and bush for the world to see!”

Laila isn’t part of the family; she’s a centaur. Her mother is the matriarch of the Amichai clan. Even the villainous women in this book are…admirable, if only because I respect the fuck out of their hustle.

This book is essentially women being badasses and men supporting their decisions. It’s wonderful.

Most of the men in this book are just goofy dudes who love their partners. It’s sweet to see women who are appreciated unabashedly for who they are. Caid, the hero, though I struggle to give him that label because like I said, not a romance, is Laila’s brother and a centaur. They’ve come to the Smythe/Famerson family as part of their quest to ally with the prophesied queen.

The centaurs are an interesting group, as there are clans for different climates and geographical areas. They can shift at will and their centaur form comes with big ol’ antlers and fangs, plus your typical horse lower body. Though Laila and Caid (and later their other brother, Quinn) become part of this odd band of adventurers, the Smythe/Farmerson family is always the focus.

My issues with this book are minor, as it’s easily in my top reads for 2019, but it wasn’t without fault. Despite absolutely loving all the different portrayals of women in The Blacksmith Queen, Gemma is frequently body shamed by her sister and other people around her. She’s frequently called the “chunky nun” and it made me sad to see. Everyone is readily accepting of Keran’s scarred and beat up body from years of prize fighting, and of Keeley’s muscular shoulders. I wished that same love was given to Gemma, but the way she looks in her robes is commented upon several times.

Though The Blacksmith Queen is the length of standard book, it felt much longer in some parts. A lot of things happen and there is so much travel.

It’s possible that these plot points aren’t fully resolved yet, but the pacing of the second half felt overcrowded. Larger page counts don’t intimidate me and I would have voted for at least a hundred more pages to address plot details and the romance more thoroughly. Major political and romantic threads are introduced and wrapped up in the last quarter of the book. Things could have been allowed to breathe and develop more There are scenes where allies need to be recruited and though it seemed like it was going to be a rather extensive mission, it all happens pretty quickly. I would have preferred more detail given how much these decisions are supposed to affect the overall story arc. Would the dwarves be better allies than the elves? What about the aggressive and mistrusting barbarians?

But what I wouldn’t give to attend Smythe/Famerson family reunion. These characters will be ones I remember forever and though I was initially disappointed at the lack of romance noted in reviews (as per my comments in a previous Whatcha Reading), I didn’t feel I missed it all that much.

The Blacksmith Queen is a bloody, feminist romp that exudes girl power in all forms, and I’m envious of its fantasy girl squad.

This HaBO request is from one of our new reviewers, Sneezy. It’s incredibly detailed (and hilarious):

The book I’m looking for is about a princess (or some kind of royalty; I don’t remember the exact titles used in this book, but it’s an equivalent position) who is sent off with her nanny/chaperone/maid to wed a prince from a desert nation/tribe. Initially, she kind of bummed about this. She felt like she was being married off to the middle of nowhere. The new place is less opulent than her home, and there’s definitely some culture shock. Because she’s used to a more opulent and strictly structured court life, she comes off at first as a bit snobby kind of useless.

Her prince didn’t like her at first for these reasons, and she wasn’t fond of him at first, either. As she spent more time there, starts learning about the place, about the prince, and we learn that she’s actually smart and adventurous and generally a good person that just needs to grow into her feet. She notices that although the king doesn’t display wealth as lavishly as she’s used to back home, his bearing is more commanding and regal than her father’s.

She also sees and rides camels, though they’re called by another name in the book – I’m not sure what language the author may have derived that from. There was a whole scene when some camels went stampeding in the streets for some reason (it may have been her fault) and the prince had to rescue her and give her a Good Talking To about the dangers of the green mucus-hocking beasts.

As the princess becomes more comfortable with the culture there and more obsequious to the heat, she starts dressing more like her future in-laws, eschewing her more lavish and elaborate clothes she brought with her for the breathable and comfortable robes/dress/whatevershedidn’tgonaked. This helped her fit in better, too, since it helped take away from her Snooty Princess image. One time, she went riding by herself on a crazy camel and had a hell of a time hanging on for dear life. Or maybe she had to rush back to be in time for dinner. Point is, she hung on too hard, the camel was going super fast, and the reins cut into her hands really badly. By the time she got back, she was in pain and exhausted. Her nanny dressed her for dinner that night, and as the majority of her attention was devoted to staying upright, didn’t notice until it was too late that her nanny had dressed her in a set of the clothes she brought with her. They were green, and someone, herself or her prince, says it made her look like a cake. Her nanny clucked at her, vigorously huffing that these were proper clothes, not like the stupid things these backwater nobodies had her wearing.

The dinner bell/gong sounds off just as her nanny finishes huffing, leaving the princess no time to change. The princess asks her nanny to quickly get the matching green gloves to hide her hands, instead. Even rushing, she was still late, making her in-laws wait to begin dinner. Her exhaustion and pain made her a less than stellar table mate (was there a table? I think they sat on a rug), with her picking at her food and showcasing the conversational prowess of a sloth. If her future in-laws thought their future daughter-in-law was snubbing them on purpose, they didn’t call her on it. Her prince, on the other hand, was furious, and cornered her after his parents left the room. She was disrespectful, he said, picking at the food his mom picked out for her and showing up like a cake. The princess tried to moonwalk out, so as to puddle in her own embarrassment and exhaustion in the privacy of her room. Her prince grabbed her hand to keep her there for the Talking To, only to see her going pale. Her attempts to moonwalk out were further forestalled as he pried her hands open and saw her glove soaked through with blood. He peeled them off, they probably made up, and I think he sent ointment to her or something.

Somewhere in there is an Ancient and Wise Crone, who the princess meets and meets again in the sand dunes and caves. At one point, the old lady takes the princess to a cavern in the cave and shows her gasoline. The reveal was all spooky and bad ass. The princess had never heard of the substance prior, so readers were in the dark with her. All we knew is that the princess was following this Old Lady into a cave/room in a set of caverns, with only the Old Lady’s torch for light. Something stank in the room, but the princess didn’t know what it was. Inside, there was a pool, and the old lady held the torch just above a pool in the room, and the entire pool caught fire. The princess was like, “Whaaaa???” And the Crone was like, “Yeeeee. This will be this country’s future source of power. Govern wisely!” Or some such wise intonation, but that’s the gist of what she said. (Also… how would you put out a pool of burning gasoline?)

There’s proooobably a villain in the book, as I vaguely remember some altercation happening just then or at some point by the Pool of Doom, some variation of, THE POWER IS MIIIIIINEEEE, but the princess and the Old Lady makes it out safely. After they’re safe, the princess asks the king, who came with the cavalry, just who the Old Lady was. The king tells her the Old Lady was once the most beautiful woman of their land and his sister. Old Lady had given up every thing she had to take on the mantle of Venerable Wise Person. The princess wonders at the old lady’s choice of going from a materially lavish and socially robust lifestyle to one so austere and isolated.

Then there was a scene where the princess and her prince stand together, looking off into the horizon or something, but definitely happily in love. I think Old Lady was also there, giving benediction and asking for a baby from them (or saying she saw them popping one out) that she will train to take her place. The end.

I want to say it was YA, but I might be wrong. I don’t recall any smexy fun, and the prince and princess were both well intentioned, if somewhat less than mature.

Show of hands, who wants to read this? *Raises hand*

This HaBO is from Kristen, who is looking for a book based on a Facebook ad she saw:

I believe this is a newish release because I saw an ad for it on Facebook, but I can’t find it now. It’s a contemporary, supernatural romance and I believe the heroine is some type of witch (but I’m not positive). The book starts with her grandmother dying and the heroine having a one-night stand with a werewolf who happens to be the Alpha and a mortal enemy of her late grandmother.

And that’s all I have. I read the description, read some of the reviews in the comments, thought about adding it to my reading list, and then forgot to. I’m hoping someone can help me out!

Can we find this one?

This post is sponsored by Audible Escape, formerly known as the Audible Romance Package. 

The Audible Escape subscription allows you to binge listen to thousands of romance audiobooks. You can borrow up to 10 audiobooks from the subscription at a time, return them whenever you like, then borrow more.

If you’re new to Audible Escape, you can try it free for one month. Then, a subscription is $6.95 a month for Audible members and Kindle Unlimited members, and $12.95 per month for non members. 

Shall we talk audiobook recommendations?

It’s driving and traveling and waiting in lines season, especially if you’re headed on vacation. It is that time of year, isn’t it? I usually listen to audiobooks while I walk my dogs, but when I’m traveling, I try to find a book that I can immerse myself in.

And if I’m driving, it’s great fun to have the audiobook and navigation going at the same time because invariably I’ll hear something like:

He turned to her with fury in his eyes, a slight quiver in his shoulders. After one terse breath, then another, he opened his mouth and said,

“In one mile, use the right two lanes to take the next exit.”

SO ROMANTIC.

I seriously cannot underestimate how much I love it when navigation interrupts the dialogue at exactly the right moment. Le swoon.

Since I’m a passenger on our next vacation and not doing much driving, I’ll be listening while I stare out the window, no navigation needed. But my deep dive into the available titles yielded a number of great options.  If you’re looking for some suggestions, here are a few that might make your upcoming travels more enjoyable.

Oh, boy. Now that I look at this list again, I almost wish the upcoming trip were longer.

If you’re traveling for awhile, or the rest of your natural life, and you want to start a series:

Slave to Sensation by Nalini Singh, Narrated by Angela Dawe

This is the first book in the Psy-Changeling series, and the first sixteen books of the series are part of Audible Escape. A quick tally using my phone calculator tells me that this is over 200 hours of audio, and I’m not sure what trip you could take that’s 200 hours long. Maybe if you’re in a rowboat around the world? These books are so great, you’ll certainly paddle faster!

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The Mane Event by Shelly Laurenston, Narrated by Charlotte Kane

Shelly Laurenston writes some fun, hilarious, campy shifter books, and this is the first in the Pride series. The next eight books are in the Audible Escape collection yielding over 100 hours, so again, perfect for a long, long trip. And any journey would be enhanced by shifters, right? Be warned: these books can be silly to the point where you laugh out loud, and extremely sexy.

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Exclusively Yours by Shannon Stacey, Narrated by Lauren Fortgang

This is the first book in the Kowalski series, and I really enjoyed this series. Book three, Yours to Keep, is also part of Audible Escape and is probably my favorite of the series. I recommend these books for readers who like romances set in large families with complicated, realistic relationships between smart, and very funny people. All nine books are in the Audible Escape collection, so you can spend a ton of time – 60+ hours – with the Kowalskis.

If you love contemporary romance, and especially if you like clever dialogue and extremely sharp characters:

A Princess in Theory by Alyssa Cole, Narrated by Karen Chilton

Naledi, said princess in theory, is hilarious, and Karen Chilton’s performance only highlights her intelligence, and her sarcasm. This is also more than 11 hours of audio, so you can savor the narration and travel the world with Naledi and Thabiso.

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The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang, Narrated by Carly Robins

Amanda absolutely loved this book, as did our guest-squee reviewer Brooke, and the narration adds to the emotional pull and the delight of the story. Robins’ performance includes a variety of voices that are distinct but not distracting – something I really value as a listener. And, if you loved The Bride Test, the performance by Emily Woo Zeller is also part of Audible Escape.

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London Calling and This London Love by Clare Lydon, Narrated by Emily Bennet

Tara Scott recommends the entire series, and says they’re “very cute and fun romcoms, very British. The second, This London Love, is my favourite. It’s adorable.” The first two are narrated by Emily Bennet, while the third through fifth are narrated by Lucy Price-Lewis. So if you fancy a trip to London while you travel in any direction, this is a great choice!

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Tara also recommends the French Kissing series by Harper Bliss: “The narration is A++ good and it’s like a soap opera style story, with a few different couples being followed throughout the series as they go through various stages of their relationships. Super filthy, tons of angst, lots of fun.

“I highly recommend, but maybe don’t power through them at once. The first one feels the truest to the episode format, and each episode of the ‘season’ was released serially. So I read them as they came out and it was awesome. When I listened to it back to back, it was a bit of angst overload for me.”

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If you love historical romance:

His at Night by Sherry Thomas, narrated by Kate Reading

This is one of my very favorite Sherry Thomas novels, in part because the hero, Vere, is playing a very, very long con, allowing most of society to think he is a complete, though harmless, idiot, while really he’s more sharp and devious than all of them combined. “Learning the true you” romances where characters reveal their full selves only to one another are very much my catnip, and Kate Reading is a terrific narrator, too.

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The Governess Affair and the rest of the Brothers Sininster, narrated by Rosalyn Landor

Rosalyn Landor is a superb narrator, and if you’ve never tried one of her books, or you’ve never listened to Courtney Milan, hoo-wow are you in for a treat. The Governess Affair is the first novella in the series, which includes seven titles in all, so you can indulge in a complete romance in a little under four hours. That’s partway across Pennsylvania from Pittsburgh, or all the way through New Jersey and maybe Delaware, north to south if there’s no shore traffic, and if there is, no worries. Landor and Milan are a wonderful combination to distract you from highway parking lots.

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Indigo by Beverly Jenkins, Narrated by Robin Eller

Ok, first, I love this book. It’s one of the classic Beverly Jenkins historicals, and in 2012, waaaay back in the days of All Romance eBooks and the Smart Bitch Sarah Sizzling Book Club, this was a book club selection. This story has mystery, history, tense emotion, seriously hot romance, and a heroine who takes zero crap from anyone. And the narration of all of the above performed by Robin Eller is terrific, too.

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And here’s a bonus option from Ms. Bev: Nighthawk. I’m including this one for two reasons.

First, because the cover is a perfect compliment to the book cover, at right.

And two, the narration is performed by Kevin R. Free, and it is exquisite.

And, yes, it too is part of Audible Escape so if you subscribe, Nighthawk is included. (Seriously, y’all, this performance.)

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The Magpie Lord by KJ Charles, and the rest of the Charm of Magpies series, narrated by Cornell Collins

The Charm of Magpies series is very popular, but I hadn’t heard the narration until I’d listened to a sample while building this post. Holy smokes. Y’all. Wow! Cornell Collins narrates all five books in the series, which blends historical romance, alternate reality, magic, and mystery. That’ll take you on a fine journey, indeed.

If you like Jane Austen:

Emma by Jane Austen, Narrated by Juliet Stevenson

I’ve listened to Austen novels that I’ve already read a few times, and find that I discover new things about the story when I hear them. Juliet Stevenson’s performance is soothing and deft among the different characters, and made for an excellent listening experience.

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Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen, Narrated by Rosamund Pike 

I’ve mentioned this audiobook before, and I’ve listened to it twice now. No exaggeration, Pike’s performance of this book is freaking exquisite, and one of my favorites to re-listen to. It’s up there with the Richard Armitage narrations of Georgette Heyer (which are also, hooray, part of Escape but, alas, abridged versions). The Armitage Heyers and Pike’s performance of P&P are at the very top of the list of things I listen to when I’m stressed or my brain is scattered. I love this performance, so so much.

And don’t miss…

When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon, Narrated by Sneha Mathan and Vikas Adam

Dual narration fans, heads up! The performance of When Dimple Met Rishi between Sneha Mathan and Vikas Adam is terrific. Carrie loved the book, too, calling it, “adorable and funny and utterly delightful.”

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Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder, narrated by Gabra Zackman

I know many of you love this book. Amanda has said that she loved Poison Study so much, she owns it both in print and digitally. This book and the entire series is part of Audible Escape, all narrated by Gabra Zackman, and her performance really highlights the tension of the story.

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The Last Wolf by Maria Vale, narrated by Rachel Dulude

Another Amanda recommendation! Amanda listened to this audiobook while making chocolate souffle for a Soggy Bottoms post, and she very emphatically recommends it, especially if you’re traveling to a rather warm place: the series takes place in snowy, cold upstate New York. Per Amanda, “Vale knows how to write great atmosphere,” so if you’d like to cool off while you drive, this is a great choice.

What about you? Do you listen to audiobooks while traveling? Got any must-listen Audible Escape titles you’ve discovered recently? Any audiobooks you absolutely adored? Please share in the comments!

Jill Shalvis is one of my go-to “feel good” authors, so when I needed a lift I picked up The Lemon Sisters, and, man, it did not disappoint. This book was cathartic. It made me laugh and it made me cry, and it helped me let loose some of my own bottled-up feelings. I left this book feeling recharged and satisfied, which was exactly what I needed.

The third book in the Wildstone series can be easily as a standalone, and as much as it’s a romance, it’s also the story of two sisters reconnecting. All of the main characters in this book have to re-evaluate their situations and make an emotional journey, and I found the fact that they all did the work to get where they needed to be while also supporting each other to be incredibly satisfying.

The Lemon sisters, Brooke and Mindy, aren’t exactly estranged, but they aren’t close either. Mindy married her high school sweetheart, had three children, and began to take over the family business. Brooke fled their small town of Wildstome, California, looking for adventure photographing the world. When the novel opens, Mindy is at her breaking point, and she unexpectedly shows up to Brooke’s LA condo with her three kids (Millie, Mason and Maddox) in tow and with the suspicion that her husband, Linc, might be having an affair. Mindy, who always strives for perfection, is seriously burned out.

Despite having spent little time together in recent years, Brooke offers to take the kids back to Wildstone and stay with them so that Mindy can have a break. The truth is, Brooke is ready to face her past, and that means Mindy’s neighbor and Brooke’s ex-fiance, Garrett.

The Brooke/Garrett romance is a pretty straightforward second chance love story. Brooke and Garrett were friends with benefits, sleeping together when Brooke rolled back through town. When she got pregnant, they got engaged because, to Brooke, it felt like the right thing to do. While working as a producer for a travel TV series, Brooke was in a serious helicopter accident that caused a miscarriage and left her unable to carry a pregnancy to term. Since the pregnancy was unplanned, Brooke felt some level of irrational guilt, like she somehow caused the accident to happen by being uncertain of whether she wanted a baby at all. She was also left with PTSD from the crash itself, and rather than deal with all of these things, and they are a lot of things, she left Garrett and Wildstone and stayed away.

Garrett never got over Brooke, and since he was delighted to be engaged and expecting, he never really understood how complex the miscarriage felt for her. When she returns to Wildstone with Plot Moppets in tow, Brooke feels like she owes Garrett some kind of explanation for why she fled, but she’s still too conflicted by her feelings for him and her trauma to articulate it.

Instead we get a lot of Brooke and Garrett dancing around their still-smoldering attraction for each other. We also get some adorable moments where Garrett helps out with the kids:

Five minutes later, they were in the kitchen working breakfast when Garrett reappeared. He eyed Maddox, face-down on the floor crying. “Problem?” he asked over the din.

“Whyever would you think that?” Brooke asked.

This got the slightest of lip twitches.

Mason and Millie just kept eating their granola with chopped up bananas. After she got to the store later and bought fresh stuff, she’d be able to get more than two colors in their bowl.

Garrett glanced at the still face down-on-the-floor Maddox. “What’s wrong with this one?”

“He’s upset that his sweatpants match his sweatshirt, even though he dressed himself.”

Garrett nodded like this made perfect sense. He crouched low, balanced on the balls of his feet, and murmured something softly for Maddox’s ear only, rubbing the toddler’s back with an easy, warm affection.

After a minute, Maddox got to his feet and hitched up his sweatpants, like, Okay, I’m good.

Garrett held out his closed fist, and to Brooke’s surprise, Maddox bumped his baby fist into it.

While all of that is going on, we also see Mindy and Linc’s relationship. Linc took over his father’s medical practice when he died, and hasn’t been home very much. Mindy feels like her entire identity has been reduced to wife-and-mother, and questions if her husband is still attracted to her. Her life is a constant juggle of carpools and play dates and laundry, with some poop thrown in for good measure.

I liked how the book pointed out that parenthood is hard, and that it’s okay to take the time to lay in your sister’s bed drinking wine for a week. It’s okay to say, “I need a break and a chance to breathe.”

Just like Garrett and Brooke, Linc and Mindy need to communicate as well, but on a different level. Mindy feels overwhelmed and ignored. Linc has been sailing through their relationship assuming that everything is okay because it’s not actively on fire, and missing the fact that his wife is handling more than her fair share.

And finally we have Brooke and Mindy. There’s less to work through between the sisters besides distance, but this felt like the most meaningful and heartfelt part of the book. The writing balances “driving each other crazy” with “unconditional love” in a way that resonated for me when I think of my own relationship with my sister. There’s a scene in this book between Mindy and Brooke that felt so poignant and felt so real to me. As a big sister, part of me never wants my little sister to go through any kind of pain, let alone without my support.

Mindy’s heart tightened. “What? Tell me. Please tell me.”

“I didn’t just miscarry after the helicopter crash. During the surgery, things…happened.”

“I know, Bee. You lost your spleen, some of your lower intestines, got an infection and almost died.” Her eyes filled again. “We were all devastated for you. I wanted to crawl into your hospital bed and take care of you. I’m your big sister–I’m supposed to nurture you so hard that you get annoyed.”

“Mission accomplished.”

They both gave a watery laugh, but Brooke’s faded. “I…can’t get pregnant anymore.”

Mindy stared at her, heart pounding at the reality of what her sister had gone through, alone. “What?”

“Please don’t make me repeat it. Bust most of all, please don’t cry anymore, you’re already dehydrated. You break out when you’re dehydrated. I don’t want that on my head.”

Mindy swallowed heard, not willing to let Brooke tease this away.

There are a lot of relationships being juggled in The Lemon Sisters but all of them are given the time and attention they need so it didn’t feel like any plotline was left dangling. The repair of those relationships also demanded that the characters really talk to each other which I appreciated.

The Lemon Sisters has a lot of Big Feels in it and for me it was cathartic and uplifting book I needed.

Hi there! Welcome to Wednesday Links!

I don’t know about you but I’ve been needing to turn my brain off for a bit and I’d thought I’d collect some adorable and sweet things from around the internet, in case you all feel the same way.

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This story of a man introducing is late-grandmother to Dungeons and Dragons made me cry in the best way. Be sure to read through the entire thread!

My grandmother passed away. Her funerals were today, but here I'd like to talk about the most important thing I couldn't spend too much time on in her eulogy: her love for Dungeons & Dragons. #DnD

— Antoine H. (@AntnHz) August 23, 2019

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Usually, I don’t get too invested in the love lives of celebrities and athletes, but I completely lost my mind at this engagement and the subsequent profile. Congratulations to Lindsey Vonn and P.K. Subban!

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If you love management games, there’s a Kickstarter up for dog shelter simulator called To the Rescue and I’ve backed it. It looks incredibly fun and I can’t wait to give all these great doggos fantastic homes.

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We discussed our love for the web comic, Lore Olympus, before and the creator has made a dreamcast of her characters. Some great choices on the list and I definitely know who I’d love to play Persephone out of the choices.

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When I need some reassurance, I turn to this video:

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Don’t forget to share what super cool things you’ve seen, read, or listened to this week! And if you have anything you think we’d like to post on a future Wednesday Links, send it my way!

The SBTB Slack gives way to some great discussions that produce even greater Rec Leagues. This one was inspired by a chat on Marrying Winterborne and where it ranked in The Ravenels series:

Ellen: I uh really love Sad Historical Businessmen as a trope

Elyse: Lol that’s specific and awesome and I love it

Ellen: and it’s like a Kleypas specialty :joy:

Amanda: I, too, love a sad historical businessman. I wonder if it’d make a good Rec League?

Sneezy: What’s the lure of a sad historical businessman?

Amanda: He’s wealthy, BUT THE MONEY DOESN’T MAKE HIM HAPPY.

A | BN | K | AB

Ellen: EXACTLY

Sneezy: Ooooh!

Amanda: Eff it, I’m adding it to the Rec League calendar because I can do that.

Sneezy: Hahahahaa

Sarah: I LOVE THIS PLAN. And YES Sad Historical Businessmen is a Kleypas specialty.

Claudia: Omg Joanna Shupe must have dozens of heroes who fit that bill. The one I’m reading now certainly does, The Rogue of Fifth Avenue ( A | BN | K | G | AB ).

Amanda: Frank definitely fits.

Claudia: Her older Knickerbocker series also had at least one, maybe two rags-to-riches sad millionaires.

Aarya: Bonus points if the Sad Historical Businessman enters into a marriage of convenience with a poor aristocratic lady because her family needs money and he wants entry into society.

Sarah: Or his sisters do and so he enters the marriage for their future benefit.

Sneezy: Huh… what book does that make me think of?

Romancing the Duke by Tessa Dare! ( A | BN | K | G | AB | Au | Scribd ) That’s the one. Oh, I wouldn’t have been able to sleep if I didn’t figure that out.

Susan: Rose Lerner has quite a few that would fit too.

Kiki: If I’m picking specifics from Kleypas: Dreaming of You

A | BN | K | AB

Sneezy: I think the entire Girl Meets Duke series by Tessa Dare fits. Yup, just skimmed the earlier books. They fit.

The Duchess War and The Countess Conspiracy by Courtney Milan, also.

Wow, now that I’m looking, Tessa Dare wrote a lot of Sad Historical Businessmen.

A Notorious Vow by Joanna Shupe too, though he wasn’t so much sad as not happy, but had the added bonus of being an inventor, if you’re into that.

Amanda: I definitely think he’s of the related Grumpy Historical Businessman. Sometimes the streams cross.

Kiki: Also: Forbidden by Beverly Jenkins! Rhine isn’t grumpy sad, but he IS real sad about other things.

Shana: Wanted, A Gentleman by KJ Charles. I recall Martin St. Vincent being sad, and grumpy.

Susan: I was wondering about Wanted, A Gentleman and The Duchess War, because I couldn’t remember if the businessmen with sad or actually in business respectively

A | BN | K | AB

Aarya: For Joanna Shupe, the ultimate Sad Historical Businessman is in her Christmas/Gilded Age novella Miracle on Ladies’ Mile ( A ). It features a department store owner who is the widowed father of a young daughter. He throws himself into work due to grief from losing his wife, and isn’t the best father (he doesn’t really know what to do or how to take care of his child). But then he falls in love with a shop girl who is responsible for decorating the Christmas window displays (think Macy’s). It’s very charming and fits perfectly for the prompt.

For Rose Lerner, the novella A Taste of Honey ( A | BN | K | AB ) also fits the prompt. The hero is a owner of a confectionary and is struggling to keep his business afloat amidst threats of bankruptcy. Unlike the other examples mentioned, Robert’s sadness and stress come from a lack of success in his business. I enjoyed the workplace romance dynamics in this one and was constantly hungry because the book kept on describing the most delicious sweets.

Do Sad Historical Tradesmen count? EE Ottoman’s The Craft of Love ( A | BN | K | G | AB ) also comes to mind. It’s a short novella set in early 19th century NYC. Benjamin is a Trans male who commissions a seamstress to make a quilt out of the dresses that Benjamin’s mother made for him before she died. As a silversmith, he exhibits confidence and satisfaction in his work, but has lingering sadness due to memories of his mother and their relationship. It’s lovely but short.

Who are your favorite sad historical businessmen in romance?

A respectable widow of means seeks resourceful frontiersman for the purpose of matrimony. The lady seeks passage west to land owned in Mokelumne Hill, California. The advertiser presumes her manner and appearance will recommend her and expects applications from responsible parties only. Interviews are scheduled for the 6th of next month, beginning at nine o’clock in the morning, in the front parlor of the Grand Hotel. Please be prompt.

What a premise! Yes, please!

Welcome to Independence, Missouri in 1849. I didn’t know I’d love it, but I do.

A perfectly paced plot had me skipping words, trying to inhale this book in a single sitting. Dialogue that gives me that fist-pumping, warm-belly squee kept my eyes peeled long after my Official Bed Time had passed. We have an alpha hero, who is really more of a beta, and a woman being brave when really she is scared witless. Two people I can (mostly) admire and a plot that I did NOT see coming…YES PLEASE! While it drags a teeny tiny bit at the end, I still loved it.

Georgiana Bee Blunt, a widow from out east, is looking for a husband. Georgiana is travelling with three of her children: a toddler, Wilby, and twin boys, Phineas and Philip, who have a gift for chaos. She sets up camp at the Grand Hotel in Independence and spends her days meeting (unsuitable) suitors and panicking.

The reason for her panic is her first (dead) husband, Leonard. He was a feckless philanderer and gambler. Leonard left Georgiana in a tricky financial situation, exacerbated by Leonard’s awful “colleagues” and the use of her eldest son, Leo, as leverage for her compliance. Although we only hear the gory details of Leonard’s treachery towards the end of the book, it is clear from page 1 that things are Not Good. Until Leonard did a runner/died, Georgiana lived off a trust fund and enjoyed a sheltered life. Georgiana had never had to raise her children without a flotilla of servants. The trip to Independence, Missouri was a steep learning curve for her. She now faces a trip to California with her children, dwindling finances and a pair of henchmen on her trail. Because it is not enough that her husband took/lost money, but there are two men whose task it is to follow Georgiana to California to make sure she gets there.

Not wishing to take this journey alone, Georgiana decides to take the pragmatic approach of advertising for a husband. The applicants are a miserable lot and Georgiana is starting to get desperate. Enter Matt Slater, who leads a party – a giant train of wagons – to Oregon and California. He is only one of many leaders who gather their parties in Independence. Matt becomes, through a series of twists, Georgiana’s pretend fiance. Matt is quiet, super sexy (obvs) and really gentle.

I think you know where this goes.

Well, you do, but in so many ways YOU HAVE NO IDEA BECAUSE NEITHER DID I. I think at one point, I even cried. The plot is TwIsTy.

The party headed west contains future protagonists in the series, and there are some vivid characters. Seline, a prostitute who works in Dolly’s Saloon in Independence, and a few of her coworkers decide to travel out west. Unfortunately, they are treated terribly by most of the other party members. While Matt maintains a purposeful neutrality, and, in fact, veers towards respect and care, Georgiana is prissy and scathing towards Seline and her friends. Georgiana blessedly does grow as a person during the trip west.

In fact, all the characters grow and change, which is one reason it’s worth sticking with this series. A word of warning though: you can avoid the first book (Bound for Eden) – it is a misery of one-note drama (jealousy… SNORE!) and Seline is treated abysmally by the story. After Bound for Sin, I recommend diving into the wonder that is Bound for Temptation, in which Seline has her moment in the spotlight. Book four, Bound for Glory, is due out later this year, and I can’t wait!

Bound for Sin was my introduction to the genre of historical western romance and has become one of my favorite series. I’m not kidding when I say I’m impatient to read book four, wherein the hero is a Native American man who sometimes goes by the alias “Deathrider.” I loved Bound for Sin. I love that the characters grow and change and become better people. I love how all the protagonists and the plot surprised and delighted me. And because I love this series, I couldn’t wait to tell everyone about it. If you’re in need of an escape to a world of wagons, cattle, dust, and sassy talk, then saddle up and join me on the trail!