Historical Romance Book Club discussion

For the month of January, 2021, we will be reading HRs of Your Choice.
You can nominate a HR from any trope/theme, subgenre and setting as long as you follow the nomination rules.

Rules of Nominations :
Not more than 2 nominations per member.
No book we have read as a group read in the last 2 yrs. (Please check the group's Bookshelf)
No author we have read in the last one year.
We will follow the 'In thread voting with point system'. A separate voting thread will be posted later.

Nominations end on 10th November, 2020.

Authors Not Eligible for January, 2021 Group Reads:

Vivienne Lorette - December, 2020
Candace Camp - December, 2020
Jennifer Ashley - November 2020
Jayne Fresina - November 2020
Ivory Lei - October, 2020
Lisa Kleypas - October, 2020
Anna Campbell - September 2020
Beverly Jenkins - September 2020
Sherry Thomas - August 2020
Elizabeth Hoyt - August 2020
Mary Balogh - July 2020
Meredith Duran - July 2020
Suzanne Enoch - June 2020
Anne Mallory - June 2020
Julie Garwood - May, 2020
Lorraine Heath - May, 2020
Judith Ivory - April 2020
Gaelen Foley - April 2020
Elizabeth Rolls - April 2020
Mary Jo Putney - March 2020
Caroline Linden - March 2020
Teresa Medeiros - February 2020
Amanda Quick - February 2020
Sabrina Jeffries - January, 2020

Final List of Nominations

1. My Fair Concubine by Jeannie Lin

2. Twin of Ice by Jude Deveraux

3. Rejar by Dara Joy

4. Carry the World by Susan Fanetti

5. Venetia by Georgette Heyer

6. The Bride Wore Scarlet by Liz Carlyle

7. Lord of a Thousand Nights by Madeline Hunter

8. Beyond Sunrise by Candice Proctor

9. The Passions of Emma by Penelope Williamson

10. A Duke of Her Own by Eloisa James

11. My Last Duchess by Eloisa James

12. Accidentally Compromising the Duke by Stacy Reid

13. Unforgivable by Joanna Chambers

14. Conor's Way by Laura Lee Guhrke

15. The Duke and I by Julia Quinn

16. The Duchess War by Courtney Milan

I nominate one on my list to read that I don’t think will fit easily into a trope:

My Fair Concubine by Jeannie Lin

Darbella wrote: "O wow I was going to nominate Mountain Laurel by Jude Deveraux
but just checked Amazon and the kindle price for this one is insane. Today's price US $15.99. That is just too much. Be back later wi..."

Ouch! That price is ridiculous! And for many of us (most of us?) price is definitely a consideration for joining BOTMs or not.

Sadly my local library does not have a huge range of HRs :( I have been lucky that they do have Into the Wilderness by Sara Donati. It's my November RATA challenge read, but I was dismayed to see it's $13AUD on kindle (about $9+ USD). So I'm saving a few pennies there.

This is hard to pick. So many favs I could nominate. I will go with these two choices:

Carry the World By Susan Fanetti.

A beautiful and heartfelt slow-burn romance between a lonely widower with children and a lonely widow. Set in a remote area of the US (Appalachians) during the Great Depression. This book really transports you to a lost time and place.


Venetia by Georgette Heyer.

An old-school, clean classic. One of Heyer's loveliest romances. Classic reform-of-a-rake story. The lively, intelligent and charming Venetia who is trapped in a very limited life in the country due to her circumstances. Meets a neighbouring landholder when he makes one of his rare visits to his country estate. He's a confirmed cynic and rake. The development and growth of their love story is a beautiful thing.


I would be more than happy to reread either of these. I would imagine most libraries would have the Heyer, and Fanetti's books are always reasonably priced.

I'm looking forward to seeing what else gets nominated when it's so open and free for noms. Will be interesting.

I nominate The Bride Wore Scarlet andLord of a Thousand Nights

Darbella wrote: "Jan, I know right? Way too high of a price, Imho.
I am resisting the urge to change my nominations so many options and authors to choose from. Examples...Loretta Chase, Julia Quinn, Julie Ann Long..."

Oh yeah, I can think of lots more I would like to nominate too. Loretta Chase would be up there. Or Julianne Long. Or Madeline Hunter. (Thanks for nominating her Shaz!) I also like Liz Carlyle. Thanks again Shaz LOL.

I'll stick with my noms and see what else pops up.

@Jan, when you search for the link for a book, beneath the "ADD" button there's a link to "Other Editions" of the book.

Missy wrote: "@Jan, when you search for the link for a book, beneath the "ADD" button there's a link to "Other Editions" of the book."

Thank you Missy. It's right there and I've never paid any attention to that before. I'm going to find a better cover image for Venetia right now LOL.

You're welcome, Jan. I think I barely noticed it this year or last year. Can't recall.

I nominate:


Beyond Sunrise by Candace Proctor (aka CS Harris)
- As described by Penelope Williamson, "Think 'The African Queen meets Romancing the Stone'---Only Better!" Proctor is independently re-releasing all of her HR's. I read Night in Eden earlier this year and it's going to be a favorite from 2020.


The Passions of Emma by Penelope Williamson
- "An all-consuming, forbidden passion between a high-society beauty from late-19th-century Rhode Island and the impoverished Irish revolutionary who is married to her new friend." This is available at my library, but it might not be the same for everyone else. I'm considering replacing this choice, since the ebook is kind of pricey.

I would like to nominate A Duke of Her Own by Eloisa James.

I would like to nominate...

My Last Duchess by Eloisa James

Accidentally Compromising the Duke by Stacy Reid

I nominate:
Unforgivable by Joanna Chambers - comes with huge warning of arsehole hero alert and infidelity
Conor's Way by Laura Lee Guhrke because who doesn't love a great Irish hero?!

Jultri wrote: "I nominate:
Unforgivable by Joanna Chambers - comes with huge warning of arsehole hero alert and infidelity
[book:Con..."

Jultri, I just checked your noms out and they sound wonderful. Especially Joanna Chamber’s. I’ve noticed that many of the noms are books that the one nominating have already read. I hope that isn’t a requirement, because my noms aren’t.

Darbella wrote: "T. having read the books already is not a requirement. :)
I usually, but not always pick nominations that I have read just because it usually fits the trope/theme well and/or it is one that I wou..."

Thank you for answering, Darbella. I'm not a big re-reader, so my nominations will likely be books that I've been wanting to read. Although, I can see where having already read the noms helps with choosing.

I don’t normally reread either but I read these many years ago and loved them. Not sure they will stand the test of time. Unforgivable will definitely provoke a lot of heated discussion because it is quite controversial in terms of the abhorrent behaviour of the hero in the beginning.

Jultri wrote: "I don’t normally reread either but I read these many years ago and loved them. Not sure they will stand the test of time. Unforgivable will definitely provoke a lot of heated discussion because it ..."

I think that's the reason I'm excited about it. I love unconventional.

I usually (but not always) nominate books I've already read, because I know they definitely meet the trope, and they're books I liked and hope others will too. Also, they are usually books I'd be happy to reread.

Having said that, when my nominated books don't get chosen (which often happens LOL), it's great to try out the winning noms with new authors or books I haven't read

Since this will be January, right after the series will air on Netflix I nominate The Duke and I: The Epilogue II. and unrelated to that but I've wanted to read it for a long time The Duchess War

The voting link is live. You can vote here: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

I'll send a message to the group tomorrow.