Author Spotlight: Julia Kelly's Top 5 Historical Romances + Giveaway!

I'm excited to be featuring Julia Kelly on my blog today and the release of her new GOVERNESS series! This sexy regency series have been on my must-read for a while and I can't wait to dive right into them. Book 1 is available now and the other 2 are available pre-order so get to 1-clicking. =D Then come back and check out Julia's top 5 historical romances below—--some of which are my own favorites! ♥

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Thank you, Lena for inviting me to celebrate the release of my first historical romance, The Governess Was Wicked!

Historicals were my entry point into romance when I first started reading around 11 or 12. The books I started out with were very sweet and, although I soon moved on to “spicier” books, I never lost my love of the genre.

Today I thought I’d share some of my favorite historical romance with your readers. They’re also the books I recommend most often when someone says, “Where should I start reading romance?” so if you’re looking for an entry point into the genre these are some strong recommendations.

Devil in Winter, by Lisa Kleypas

Talk to a historical romance author long enough, and you’ll likely hear her gush about Lisa Kleypas. For me, Devil in Winter in the pinnacle of Kleypas’ books. The heroine, an heiress named Evie, wants to escape her horrible relatives, so she proposes a marriage of convenience to Sebastian, a notorious rake who needs money. They elope and both of them are shocked when sparks fly on the night of their wedding. I don’t want to ruin the twists and turns the book takes, but what unfolds is the unlikely story of a man who falls deeply, passionately in love with his wife and proves it to her by fighting for her for the entire book. 

Your Scandalous Ways, by Loretta Chase

Loretta Chase’s Lord of Scoundrels is universally acknowledged as one of the best historical romances ever written, but Your Scandalous Ways is actually my favorite of her books. It has one of my favorite tropes—spies!—and a courtesan heroine, Francesca, who is totally unashamed about the choices she’d made. The hero, James, really just wants to go home and retire to respectability in England after one last mission, but he’s enthralled by Francesca who challenges him even as she frustrates him. The banter that follows is razor sharp, sexy, and not to be missed.

A Week To Be Wicked, by Tessa Dare

I have a not so secret love of road trip books and movies. In fact I love them so much, I set my third book in the Governess series, The Governess Was Wild, on the road. One of my favorite examples of how to do this trope right is Tessa Dare’s wonderful A Week To Be Wicked. It features an archeologist heroine (hello women in STEM) and a rake everyone underestimates. The two of them are so different on paper that they shouldn’t work, but they do. Oh they do.

Let It Shine, by Alyssa Cole

I was lucky enough to read an early version of this wonderful 1960s-set novella that appears in The Brightest Day anthology along with books by Lena, Kianna Alexander, and Piper Huguley. Sofronia is quietly fierce and comes into her own throughout the book. Her relationship with Ivan, who she’s known since she was a child, is the sort of slow burn romance that explodes in intensity. The boxing gym scene is also one of the sexiest things you’ll read all year.

The Countess Conspiracy, by Courtney Milan

Incredibly smart, highly analytical Violet Waterfield has a secret: she’s the one feeding the rakish scientist Sebastian Malheur his brilliant theories. But Sebastian has a secret of his own too: he’s been in love with Violet for years. (Don’t worry, that confession comes early so it’s not a spoiler.) What follows is a deeply emotional, raw love story about two people rediscovering and finding each other.

To celebrate her new series release, Julia is offering an awesome giveaway, which include 2 prize packs of books and gift cards. Be sure to enter below!