💕 Historical Romance Bingo 🌸
In the last few months I have been struggling completing books, but have had no problem starting them. Thankfully, for this challenge, I have been in the mood to complete some historical romances!
The Historical Romance Bingo Board is to help me get through my own physical tbr, but the prompts are very general to the genre itself. I’m hoping that I’m able to complete the board with the books I own.
My first attempt to get a bingo was to ‘mood read’, which is generally my main state of being. And, spoiler alert, there is no bingo here!
For a blank version of the board, check out my previous post.
If you use StoryGraph, you can also join the challenge there: 💕 Historical Romance Bingo 💐 | The StoryGraph
Married by Morning; Lisa Kleypas
prompt: Hidden Identity/Dark Past
rating: 3.75⭐
“Leo must marry and produce an heir within a year to save his family home. Catherine’s respectable demeanour hides a secret that would utterly destroy her. But to Leo, Cat is intriguing and infernally tempting, even to a man resolved never to love again. The danger Cat tried to outrun is about to separate them for ever – unless two wary lovers can find a way to banish the shadows and give in to their desires…”
Married by Morning in the 4th book in the Hathaways series and I was so excited for this pairing. I’ve loved seeing Leo grow throughout the previous books, as well as watching the bickering relationship he has with Catherine.
And while, I did enjoy and understand the actions of these two, I didn’t find it as exciting as some of the other pairings in the series. In same ways it felt that we didn’t have enough of Leo and Catherine, but also that the plot went too quickly.
The hidden identity, along with the dark past that comes to light, is a huge factor of the book, but again it was somewhat rushed in the last quarter.
While reading, I absolutely loved this pairing together, but thinking back on it, it wasn’t as strong as it could have been. I do adore how Kleypas has written the Hathaways and their family bond is so important to me!
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Love in the Afternoon; Lisa Kleypas
prompt: Large Family (5+ Siblings)
rating: 3.75⭐
“As a lover of animals and nature, Beatrix Hathaway has always been more comfortable outdoors than in the ballroom. Christopher Phelan is a handsome, daring soldier who plans to marry Beatrix’s friend, when he returns from fighting abroad. When Beatrix learns of Pru’s disappointment, she decides to help…
What began as Beatrix’s innocent deception has resulted in the agony of unfulfilled love – and a passion that can’t be denied.”
Love in the Afternoon is the 5th and final book in the Hathaways series and again, one I was so super excited for and I started immediately after finishing Married by Morning.
I just wish the letter writing aspect was longer. I had so much fun reading them and it would have given a bit more insight into our male lead, which I think was a bit lacking.
I had high hopes for Christopher, especially when it came to Beatrix and her temperament, and while I did enjoy them being together, I wish there was more build-up as the relationship shifts quite quickly. Again, it was too fast paced.
All in all, The Hathaways series has been fun and I’ve enjoyed each of the books and I especially love this chaotic family. It started out strong with Amelia and Cam and I’ve enjoyed that they’ve stayed present throughout the rest of the series.
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Romancing the Duke; Tessa Dare
prompt: Disability Rep
rating: 3.25⭐
“As the daughter of a famed author, Isolde Ophelia Goodnight grew up on tales of brave knights and fair maidens. She never doubted romance would be in her future, too.
Now Izzy’s given up yearning for romance. She’ll settle for a roof over her head. What fairy tales are left over for an impoverished twenty-six year-old woman who’s never even been kissed?”
Romancing the Duke has a pretty fun premise, but it was a bit meandering in the plot sometimes.
Izzy was a great main character, and I enjoyed her stubbornness, but also her heart. And I really liked that, eventually, Ransom created a space for her to actually be a woman without the pressure of not being the character she’d been made into (both by her father and herself to survive).
Most of the side characters are here to add to the fun and whimsy. There is some tension and conflict, but it’s very minimal and there is an event that is being built-up to for quite a large majority of the book and the resolution was very underwhelming. I wish we could have sat with more tension in places, especially when it came to Ransom’s Dukedom.
I can’t speak for the representation, but I thought it was handled well and the accommodations and reactions that Ransom had with his visual impairment felt genuine.
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Cold-Hearted Rake; Lisa Kleypas
prompt: Certified Rake MMC
rating: 4⭐
“Devon Ravenel, London’s most wickedly charming rake, has just inherited an earldom. But his powerful new rank in society comes with unwanted responsibilities… His estate is saddled with debt, and the late earl’s three innocent sisters are still occupying the house… along with Kathleen, Lady Trenear, a beautiful young widow whose sharp wit and determination are a match for Devon’s own.”
After finishing the Hathaways, I immediately wanted to pick up the next series in Kleypas’ historical universe.
I did enjoy our main leads – Kathleen and Devon. Their relationship starts on rocky terms because the man is happy for everyone to hear his displeasure at having inherited the estate along with the title. And while their relationship is mostly physical, there are some lovely moments that bring them together on a more mind/feeling level.
The romance felt a little too quick, but I enjoyed meeting the Ravenel’s so much. I’m so excited to continue with each of their books and Cold-Hearted Rake did an amazing job in getting me invested in all the characters.
The plot was interesting, with seeing how Devon shifts from his ‘rake’ nature to actually throwing himself into being an Earl and how he now has to take so many other people into account when making decisions. He really steps up and I adored seeing West step up as well. I’m so mad that his book is number 5 in this series.
A great start to a new series!
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One Night Only; Elise Marion
prompt: POC Heroine
rating: 2.5⭐
“Thalia Ramsey has resigned herself to a quiet life running a respectable book shop in London’s West End. Nothing exciting ever happens in her world … until Stephen Dryden, His Grace the Duke of Westerfield, begins patronizing her establishment. A night of passionate romance is more than she could have hoped for, but once the night is over, will there be a chance for more?”
I wanted to love this so much, but unfortunately, the length may have been the problem.
This is so sugary sweet and fairy tale-esque that it took a little while to actually suspend my disbelief because they were perfect for each other and literally in love immediately. Like babes, your banter – that we’ve seen – isn’t anything special and he’s a Duke. Once that happened, I started having a bit more fun but to be honest not much happens.
I wish the book could have been longer so that we could have seen the relationship actually grow naturally and for the characters to feel a bit more well rounded. I loved Thalia’s relationship with her sister and would have loved for that to have been explored more. And I would have liked to gain more understanding in Thalia’s actions. They seemed a little contradictory to how her character seemed to be set up.
I did really like how Stephen used his elite status to express his Indian heritage, but would have liked to see it outside of a ‘dress-up’ night of entertainment.
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My bingo board following ‘mood reading’ five books:
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Are you a historical romance reader? Who is your favourite author?
Thanks for reading!
I hope you’re having a lovely day and staying safe ❤️
DramaRambles 🌸 
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