Here we are, in October.  When I’m dodging all sorts of tasty, sugary temptations (it’s a good thing I don’t have kids - I’d steal all their candy spoils from trick-or-treating and likely drive them into therapy that much sooner…) and I look to distract myself with just about any healthy alternative - like, say, books!  Here are some of the October unusual historicals catching my eye this month:

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You know how sometimes you’re in the mood for a historical romance, but you’d like a touch of spooky and a hint of lightness? This could just be me who wants that sort of book all the time, but if you are like me, that book is The Widow of Rose House.

In the American Dreamer series, Herrera has crafted three strong romances that engage deeply with political and social issues without losing their sexiness  and humor. In American Love Story the failure of white LGBTQ allies to stand up for Black and marginalized people is front and center. Herrera sets Easton and Patrice’s reunion against the high-conflict backdrop of a spree of racially motivated traffic stops by local cops which only intensifies and highlights the poor communication behind the hot/cold dynamics of their tentative relationship. 

The Beautiful was the perfect October read for me. A murder mystery, a forbidden romance, unexpected twists, and immersive world-building. The book is set in an alternate history New Orleans, shortly after the Civil War. The protagonist of the story, Celine, grew up in Paris, where her white father raised her to hide her Asian heritage. After killing the young man who was attempting to rape her at the dressmaker's shop where she worked, she flees to a convent in New Orleans. Arriving in the city is a revelatory experience for her.

Just for clarity: Frankly in Love is not a romance. Frankly in Love might contain a love story or two, but it is not a romance by the standards we, the genre romance reading populace, live by. However, it is sort of a relief that this was not a romance. This review contains unavoidable spoilers.

Our friends at Hachette (think: Forever Romance) hooked us up with a review copy of the best/worst cookbook I've ever read. And we get to give away two copies! More on that below.

Sometimes, a book just really has too much plot - this tends to go with a lack of characterization - which is true of His Rebellious Lass. When this happens, the book tends to be a series of events and it never grabs hold of my attention.

Aurora Rising has  everything I want to read in an SF book and a Romance book - action, adventure, girls with guns, so much hacking, and of course kissing in space. Though the romance in Aurora Rising not the driving force behind the plot, it’s hard not to get engaged in Bianca and Ian’s drama.

Remember when Andrea shared some cool jobs in romance? Well, she's back with more!

If you were obsessed with Greek mythology as a kid, Lifestyles of Gods & Monsters will have you riveted even as you want to look away. The myth of Adriadne, Theseus and the Minotaur is a common enough story that you may go into this book with a vague idea of the narrative. The twist, however, is that this is a retelling set in a vaguely modern Crete, complete with both Gods and Monsters and cell phones and social media. And reality TV. Ariadne's family has been organizing and hosting a yearly competition in which fourteen young competitors from Athens try to kill the Minotaur one at a time. This has gone on for ten years and no one has been successful. They air it like any good reality TV show, complete with parties and dramatic pyrotechnics, and an arena of blood-thirsty fans.