I’m not sure where 2019 has gone, but here we are - already in August.  RWA has come and gone, the kids are either already back in school or will be very soon, and large swaths of the US are looking forward to Pumpkin Spice Everything. While, on one hand, I felt energized at RWA to come home and “read all the things,” the reality has been “um, not so much.”  Distracted and cranky seems to be the mood of the moment. So to snap myself out of it, why not browse for intriguing sounding unusual historicals? Here are the August releases that caught my eye.

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July in the United States means heat, humidity, and large swaths of the population shooting off fireworks for a solid month terrorizing animals and keeping me up at night.  It’s also my busiest time of year at The Day Job, with a variety of budget-related tasks and conference season hitting full swing. This year I’ll be soaking up some of that heat and humidity in New York attending RWA.  Yes, I’ll be there - as will some of the Love in Panels crew. If you see us milling about, be sure to say hello! So what books look good for potential reading on my long (loooong) flight to the Big Apple?  This month self-publishing takes front and center!

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Squeaking in under the wire, file this month’s Unusual Historicals column under “better late than never.”  But while I’m running obscenely late this month, that doesn’t mean there’s a lack of intriguing options for historicals that take place outside a Regency era ballroom.  Keep your one-click finger ready, it’s time to go browsing!

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Spring has sprung and May is an embarrassing bouquet of riches for fans of unusual historicals! Rule of thumb, I try to keep my Top Picks shopping list to around 4 or 5 titles.  This month, well it’s seven. Some of these are fairly big releases that you may already know about, but I think you’ll find a few surprises on this list as well. Let’s dive in!

Spring is here, baseball season is underway, I’m finally over the head cold from Hell - things are definitely looking up around the Bat Cave.  What better way to celebrate than with new historical romance? Here are some catching my eye this month:

If the month of March had a definition it would be “tease.”  Growing up in the Midwest, March meant warmer temperatures, the snow finally starting to melt, digging out my summer clothes when the temperature hit 60°F - only to have that cruel witch Mother Nature dump a March 31 blizzard to remind us who was boss.  Oh, many an Easter it was where my pretty new dress was hidden under outerwear that made me look like I was going on an Antarctic expedition. You know what I’m talking about, amirite?!  So why not plan for an impending final last-gasp snow day now by pursuing some new unusual historical offerings?  Here’s what caught my eye for March.

February: the shortest month of the year that always feels like the longest because hot takes on the romance genre - AMIRITE Y’ALL?!  I’ve been neck deep in contest judging which has meant less time online (and aggravated), but that doesn’t mean I haven’t been scouring around for unusual historicals.  Wild horses couldn’t keep me away from that. Here’s what looks enticing for February:

New Year, new you?  Well, if you’ve already broken your resolutions, maybe not. But at least we can all look forward to a new year of historical romance.  January brings us a long-awaited follow-up to a beloved late-1990s trilogy, a Wendy recommended reprint, an angsty new K.J. Charles (woot!), Vikings and an enemy-to-lovers story set against the backdrop of the Jacobite rebellion.

Veronica Scott shares her top picks for January, with four books to help you start your reading year off right.

I’ve been a collection development librarian long enough to tell you that publishing in December is traditionally a dead zone.  You’d think that would have changed somewhat with the mainstreaming of self-publishing, but not really. Things still seem to bunch up around the fall and spring months of the calendar.  But I can always count on my old friend Harlequin Historical and there’s two westerns this month that are prodding me to take a closer look.