Book:
The Duchess Deal by Tessa Dare
This book is about a deal between a duchess and a war hero who comes home with mental and physical scars. He needs a wife and heir, and she wants a relationship with love and purpose. Two very unlikely people are thrown into a marriage of convenience. Tessa Dare creates characters that are at war with themselves and are paired with a partner who supports and thinks outside the box to reach happiness. With that being said, both characters find ways to show and prove their worthiness. It’s a partnership, something that becomes apparent as time goes by in the novel. I’m trying not to say much because the book speaks for itself. It’s very heartbreaking but also uplifting to read a story like this one.
Series:
The Wallflower Series by Lisa Kleypas
Lisa Kleypas has written some of the most beautiful books, and she is one of my go-to authors to recommend when people ask for a book or author. The Wallflower Series is based around the mid-1800’s, which falls in the Victorian Era. I actually read this series out of order by mistake, but once I read all of them, and again in order, this quickly became a go-to series to reread and recommend to my friends.
Each book is based on a couple, and the other Wallflowers are in the background of each other’s books, which is great because the bonds they have formed prove to be everlasting. As cheesy as this may sound, this series really focuses on the friendships these women have and how their respective men establish witty friendships and respect for one another.
My favorite book from this series is Devil in Winter, which has the shyest Wallflower, Evie, and the playboy Sebastian St. Vincent, paired in a marriage of convenience. She needed to escape an abusive family, and he needed someone who had money. They are thrust into a dangerous relationship, that comes from outside forces. Poison, kidnap, and death are constant themes in this book, and through that all, comes one of the most fierce relationships this series has ever seen. It’s a very emotional book and it was based on Evie and Sebastian’s relationship, even though the whole time they are trying to avoid an actual relationship. This reason of trying to avoid a relationship is why this particular novel is my favorite out of the series, the reader sees how they interact with one another, but the whole time Evie and Sebastian hold each other a foot apart. Honestly, it’s a heartwarming but frustrating book, and these characters fight for the love they think they deserve.
The Author:
I’d like to focus on is Maya Banks, who has written many historical novels, but primarily Scottish Highlander novels. Men in kilts. Enough said. Her series are actually quite fun and have headstrong men and headstrong women that are able to challenge the haughty men they’ve been left with or married off to. I think that’s what attracts me to these books and this author in particular, because while the women are damsels in distress, many of her female characters find their way out of the problems they’re faced with. Yes its daunting for the majority, but it’s something they feel they must do, but the journey to get there is so defined and worth the wait, because we learn how these women face challenges and make their men want to be worthy. The question if she is worthy for her man shouldn’t be asked, it’s the man who must be ready for the headstrong woman they’ve married.
Historical romances generally deal with a time period when women were not equal to men and must be subservient to their husbands and/or fathers. What makes this particular sub-genre of romance appealing to me, is that the women are given characteristics that are outside the norm and these equally-as-strong men must adapt to their wants and needs. Women are just as smart and strong as men in these novels but they learn to showcase these talents and ideas in ways that aren’t really socially acceptable. Romance is written for both men and women, and of course there will never be a perfect man or woman, but these books give different perspectives of women and their ability to be the boss.