Alene @ Shoreline Archive.

Historical romances rock, and Amanda Quick wrote several of my favorites. A northwest author who also writes as Jayne Ann Krentz and Jayne Castle, she's written dozens of romances--historical, contemporary, paranormal, suspense--you name it. But the best of them remain the thirteen with single word titles originally published in the 1990s. Affair, Dangerous, Deception, Desire, Mischief, Mistress, Mystique, Ravished, Reckless, Rendezvous, Scandal, Seduction, and Surrender. Each of them is populated with a unique heroine and a flawed hero, marked by witty dialogue, and enhanced with a dose of adventure. None of which ultimately prevent the requisite "happily ever after."

Surrender's Victoria Huntington is an heiress soured by relentless pursuit from fortune hunters. Lucas Colebrook, Earl of Stonevale, has inherited a crumbling estate and bankrupt title. Victoria has a taste for adventure that is unsatisfied by her position as an unmarried young lady of good breeding. Lucas offers to assist her in her pursuit of adventure, protecting her reputation while showing her the parts of London not open to her. Of course circumstances conspire to have them caught and compromised and forced into marriage, at which time the true adventures begin.

Deception's Olympia Wingfield is a bluestocking raising her three nephews. Jared Ryder, Viscount Chillhurst, arrives on her doorstep with a velvet eye patch posing as a tutor, and proceeds to bring the boys into line and impress Olympia with his intellect. All the while he is seeking to find a treasure outlined in a secret diary Olympia is translating. Their attraction grows as they vanquish villains and pursue the treasure.

Affair's Charlotte Arkendale is orphaned with little means to support her younger sister, so she embarks on a career discreetly investigating the suitors of her clients. Baxter St. Ives is the illegitimate son of an earl and a scientist, with little interest in society. One of Charlotte's clients, a friend of Baxter's sister, is murdered. Their paths cross when they both begin to search for the murderer, Baxter initially suspecting Charlotte.

All three of these are enjoyable romps, and if you like them, there are ten more! Mostly set in the Regency period in London, humorous, sexy, and fun, they're a lovely way to while away a dark winter's evening.  I've read them all at least three times, and it's about time to go back for another round!

It's not easy to describe Harry Bosch. He's a Vietnam veteran. He's a homicide detective with the LAPD. He spent most of his childhood in "the system." He's not particularly lucky in love. He has a strong sense of right and wrong. He's the son of a prostitute who was murdered when he was 11. He has trouble with authority. All of these contribute to the man he is, and yet the list doesn't do him justice. Harry Bosch is the central character in several of Connelly's novels, among which The Closers is probably my favorite.

Harry has returned from retirement at the behest of the police chief, and is working with a former partner in the Open-Unsolved unit of the Robbery Homicide Division. The first case to get their attention is the 1988 murder of a 16 year old girl. Her body was found on a hill above her home, staged to approximate a suicide. 17 years later, DNA evidence causes Harry and his partner to review the case, finding several instances of carelessness or cover up in the original investigation.

Michael Connelly is a master of the police procedural, and Harry Bosch is an exemplar of the world weary cop. If you like them, you can read the other fourteen Bosch titles, or give Connelly's five standalone novels a try!

Min Dobbs is an actuary.  Cal Morrissey is a player.  Min is smart and funny and not thin.  Cal is successful and too good looking.  Min and Cal meet at a theme bar where her ex has just dumped her three weeks before her sister's wedding.  The ex bets Cal $10,000 he can't get her into bed in a month.  Min overhears this and decides to string Cal along to be her date for the wedding.  And it goes from there in Jennifer Crusie's Bet Me.  Min's two best friends are alternately helpful and devastating to the potential relationship, as are Cal's two business partners.  Min's mom and sister are not exactly what one might hope a mother and sister should be.  Krispy Kreme donuts play a pivotal role.

Filled with delicious food (I've made Emilio's Chicken Marsala, and it's just as good as it sounds!), fabulous shoes (I'm still looking for those heels with cherries on them), and sexual chemistry (whew!), Jennifer Crusie keeps you laughing, involves you in the lives of her characters, and cuts her sweetness with a healthy dose of skepticism in Bet Me.

I met Elizabeth Boyle recently and found her charming and witty, so when I learned she writes historical romances, I decided to give her a try.  His Mistress by Morning is the first of her latest set of linked novels (The Marlowe Series), and the events are set in motion by a magic ring.  Now, I don't generally go in for magic, but the magic is corollary to the characters and romance and events, rather than pervading them all.

Charlotte Wilmont is a reserved spinster.  Sebastian Marlowe, Viscount Trent, is the handsome but dull brother of Charlotte's dearest friend Lady Hermione.  She's loved him forever.  He can't seem to remember her name.  Disappointed when a promised inheritance is a small ring rather than a fortune, Charlotte wishes to be the woman Sebastian loves.  The next morning, she awakens in his arms in a world turned upside down.  Sebastian is a dashing rake, Charlotte his charming mistress.  Her wish has been granted!

After her initial shock, Charlotte decides to enjoy herself, and Sebastian's love, but soon finds herself wanting more.  Titled gentlemen don't marry mistresses, regardless of love, and the prospect of Sebastian marrying another to save his family's fortunes is unbearable.  Charlotte must find a way to be the woman Sebastian loves and his wife at the same time.

I have to admit, I read romances because I like knowing how they're going to turn out.  I know the suspense presented will be resolved by the end, with the primary characters alive and happy in each other's arms.  Ordinarily, I can see the path that resolution will take.  In this book, Elizabeth Boyle keeps you guessing.  She tells a fun and sexy story while you wonder how everything could possibly work out (although you have faith it will).  And if you like His Mistress by Morning, you can read Lady Hermione's story in Tempted by the Night.

One of the best things about historical romances is that many authors create large families or groups of friends and then set about telling you the love stories of all the members, over the course of many books.  This is a lot of fun, because you can get to know groups of characters, and visit with them once or twice a year.  And while titles are related, they're not precisely series, so nothing is ruined if you miss one or get out of order.

Let It Be Love by Victoria Alexander is one example of this, telling the story of Jonathon Effington and Miss Fiona Fairchild.  Jonathon is a member of the Effington family, and part of a group of gentlemen who are avoiding marriage.  Fiona's father left her the care of her younger sisters, but she can only provide for them if she marries promptly.  Hoping to sidestep an arranged marriage, she seeks the assistance of her cousin.  He notes that Fiona exactly fits his friend Jonathon's description of a perfect wife--the lady he'd marry immediately if she simply presented herself to him.

Fiona's cousin arranges a meeting between the two, Fiona proposes marriage to Jonathon, and he cheerfully accepts.  The problem is, he believes she's an actress hired to play a joke on him.  When Jonathon learns the truth, his honor demands that he help Fiona find a husband or a fortune before it's too late.

This entertaining tale, set in high society Victorian era London, has humor, passion, and charming personalities to recommend it.  You can also read the stories of the Effingtons and Jonathon's gentlemen friends in Victoria Alexander's other books!