6 Reasons To Fall In Love With #HistoricalRomance during 2020

Happy New Year & New Decade!

What will you be reading this year?

I’m going to begin by enticing some of you to try a new genre.

6 reasons to fall in love with historical romance.

1) A refreshing change from email, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter!

Historical fiction brings back the art of conversation and hand-written letters. There is no constant checking for updates on social media, no stalking friends via the internet. Words like catfish and ghosting have completely different meanings in a bygone era.

2) Lessons in history that don’t feel like the schoolroom.

Historical romance can give readers insights into the past in the same way as other categories of the history genre, even if the main theme of a book is the romance.

I’ve learnt about real historical characters, social etiquette, smuggling and the Scottish witch trials, to name just a few examples.

The Dressmaker’s Secret by Charlotte Betts,

The Kings Elite series by Virginian Heath,

The Beauchamp Betrothals by Janice Preston

and The Mermaid and The Bear by Ailish Sinclair.

3) Escapism!

Modern life is fast paced, full of stress and worry. A well-written historical romance can transport you to another era and help you to forget about the outside world for a few hours. You can join characters in London ballrooms, country houses, foreign countries, or travel by horse-drawn coach and ocean steamer. Here are a few titles that I’ve escaped with:

The 20’s Girl, The Ghost and All That Jazz by June Kearns,

From Governess To Countess by Marguerite Kaye,

Secrets Of A Highland Warrior by Nicole Locke,

The Thorn Birds by Colleen McCullough.

4) We all deserve a chance on love.

For some readers the thought of a ‘Happy Ever After’ ending will have them running for the hills. However, for others the warm fuzzy feeling that you can get when you read a romance can be as healing as a strong cup of tea with two sugars. Reading about a couple who found love after adversity can be uplifting.

5) If you find a setting that you enjoy, you can stay for the series.

Who doesn’t love a series? If I discover an author that I like, I’m thrilled when I know they’ve written a series. Many authors offer book one of a series for free or at a reduced rate, which helps me to try an unfamiliar author, and once I’m hooked by a series I like meeting characters that I fell in love with when they appear again in later books.

6) You can appreciate romantic elements in other historical works.

I read quite a lot of historical romance and one point that stands out is that it needs to be believable. It has to fit the era and the actual romance, no matter what level of heat is used, it has got to be realistic. A good piece of romance can enhance an historical novel by helping to create passionate, layered characters that the reader wants to invest their time in. The books below had romance which supported the main themes:

The Wild Air by Rebecca Mascull,

The Alice Network by Kate Quinn,

Never Say Goodbye by Hilary Green

What books in the historical romance genre can you recommend to me?

 

If you’ve enjoyed this post, then you might also enjoy:

6 Reasons To Read Books That Feature The Paranormal

5 Reasons To Start Reading Urban Fantasy

 

Rosie’s #Bookreview of #WW1 Spy #Thriller THE ALICE NETWORK by Kate Quinn #TuesdayBookBlog

The Alice Network by Kate Quinn

5 stars

The Alice Network is a dual timeline spy thriller.

When World War One broke out, Eve yearned to take part. Raised by dual nationality parents and brought up in a French town where she also picked up a third language, Eve became an ideal recruit for Britain’s spy network.

In 1947 Charlie St. Clair, an American teenager, comes to Britain searching for a woman who might be able to help her find her French cousin who disappeared during the Second World War. In London, she discovers a broken and grieving woman who finds nightly solace in a bottle of whisky.

As the story unfolds, Eve and Charlie connect and we are drawn into a tale of the Alice Network, one of the most successful spy rings of the first World War.

I’m so glad that I finally got to read this book. I’m a fan of well-written and atmospheric stories of espionage, particularly set during war times. The dual timeline worked well and I was equally invested in both women’s stories. It was one of those books that I didn’t want to end. The author’s notes at the back were also particularly interesting, giving a little more insight into the true events of the time.

Overall, give this a go if you enjoy books about women’s roles during World War One.

View all my reviews on Goodreads

In an enthralling new historical novel from national bestselling author Kate Quinn, two women—a female spy recruited to the real-life Alice Network in France during World War I and an unconventional American socialite searching for her cousin in 1947—are brought together in a mesmerizing story of courage and redemption.

1947. In the chaotic aftermath of World War II, American college girl Charlie St. Clair is pregnant, unmarried, and on the verge of being thrown out of her very proper family. She’s also nursing a desperate hope that her beloved cousin Rose, who disappeared in Nazi-occupied France during the war, might still be alive. So when Charlie’s parents banish her to Europe to have her “little problem” taken care of, Charlie breaks free and heads to London, determined to find out what happened to the cousin she loves like a sister.

1915. A year into the Great War, Eve Gardiner burns to join the fight against the Germans and unexpectedly gets her chance when she’s recruited to work as a spy. Sent into enemy-occupied France, she’s trained by the mesmerizing Lili, the “Queen of Spies”, who manages a vast network of secret agents right under the enemy’s nose.

Thirty years later, haunted by the betrayal that ultimately tore apart the Alice Network, Eve spends her days drunk and secluded in her crumbling London house. Until a young American barges in uttering a name Eve hasn’t heard in decades, and launches them both on a mission to find the truth…no matter where it leads.

AmazonUK | AmazonUS