“Guarding a Notorious Lady” by Olivia Parker (historical, Avon, June 2011, $7.99, 384pp)

If a book features a heroine in love with her older brother’s best friend, I will buy it – no questions asked. It doesn’t matter if it is a contemporary, a historical, a paranormal or other subgenre, I must read all romances with this trope. As such, when I read the blurb for Olivia Parker’s “Guarding a Notorious Lady,” I knew I would read this book. The thing is, I think that I first read about this book years ago. I pre-ordered it on Amazon, and I believe that it was actually scheduled to be released last summer. I remember this because I received repeated emails from Amazon about delays and needing to re-confirm my order several times.

“Too Wicked to Love” by Debra Mullins (historical, Avon, June 2011, $7.99, 384pp): Looking for a story with a hero who has a secret identity, a not-so innocent heroine, a villain willing to do anything to destroy the hero and/or a masked highwayman who might not be such a bad buy? If so, check out Debra Mullins’ latest release “Too Wicked to Love,” the second book in her Brides of Nevarton Chase trilogy. The hero is John Ready, a coachman who acts more like an aristocrat. He is charged with keeping Annabelle Bailey safe from the clutches of the evil Lord Raventhorpe. But, John is quite distracted by the lovely young Genny Wallington-Willis.

“Just Like Heaven” by Julia Quinn (historical, Avon, June 2011, $7.99, 384pp)

It would be supremely difficult to be a fan of Julia Quinn and not have read all about the Smythe-Smith musicales, yearly performances by four unmarried Smythe-Smith girls who have little-to-no musical talent. Quinn featured these musicals in many of the books in her Bridgerton series. I specifically remember that both Penelope Featherington (from “Romancing Mr. Bridgerton”) and Hyacinth Bridgerton (from “It’s in His Kiss”) felt duty-bound to attend and support the poor girls who had to play – with Lady Danbury in tow. As such, I was thrilled when Julia Quinn announced last year that she would be writing stories for these amateur musicians.

“The Devil in Disguise” by Stefanie Sloane (historical, Ballantine, May 2011, $7.99, 303pp)

Any time I get an ARC by a debut author, I get excited. There is something so exciting about reading an author’s first published work. I usually feel a great sense of wonder and hope at the possibilities that a new author presents. Many times, the book doesn’t live up to my hopes for it making me sad that I haven’t actually discovered another author to worship. Other times though, the author delivers a wonderful reading experience that makes me believe said author will be delighting me for years to come. This latter reaction is exactly what Stefanie Sloane’s debut book, “The Devil in Disguise,” inspired when I first read it a couple of months ago.

“A Growing Passion” by Emma Wildes (historical - erotic, Signet Eclipse, April 2011, $2.99, 120kb, ebook special): To coincide with the release of the first book in Emma Wildes’ new Ladies in Waiting series, “One Whisper Away,” Signet Eclipse recently released an eSpecial, short story by Wildes, “A Growing Passion.” This story features Victoria Manwell and Stephen Forsythe, two botanists who have known each other their entire lives. Victoria has always enjoyed freedom to travel and pursue her academic goals. As such, she has avoided marriage. Stephen has respected Victoria’s feelings despite the fact that he loves her.

When Victoria overhears a young married woman propositioning Stephen, Victoria decides to act on her developing feelings for Stephen and to seduce him. She takes an aphrodisiac that she acquired in America and throws herself at her friend. As you might expect, Stephen certainly cannot say no. Despite their burgeoning relationship, Stephen believes that Victoria may still have reservations against marriage, so he continues to woo Victoria with illicit assignations hoping she will come to realize her love for him.

“The Guardian” by Margaret Mallory (historical, Grand Central, May 2011, $7.99, 400pp):

I tend to stay away from historicals set during the Middle Ages** or set in Scotland – especially if they are by authors that I have not read before. The reason? I’m not a fan of Medieval romances in most cases. I guess that I have a very uncomfortable vision of life during that time that seems to me to be the antithesis of romantic. As for the Scottish thing, the accent can drive me crazy when reading dialog. All of the “Oooch lassie, I ken” makes my head spin. I end up skipping as much of the dialog as possible – and doing so can really ruin the story.

“Midnight’s Wild Passion” by Anna Campbell (historical, Avon, May 2011, $7.99, 400pp): Anna Campbell’s “Midnight’s Wild Passion” is an interesting book – one that, at times, I had a difficult time wrapping my head around. I think that the hero, Nicholas Challoner, Marquess of Ranelaw, is an ass. He is an unrepentant rake with a thirst for vengeance against Godfrey Demarest, a man who once ruined his half-sister. This event so traumatized the young Nicholas that he spent years plotting ways to get revenge. When Demarest’s daughter Cassie makes her debut, Nicholas knows his time has come. Yet Cassie’s chaperone, Miss Antonia Smith, won’t allow such a dissolute man near her charge. She stands between Nicholas and his goal.

But Nicholas is rather intrigued by the prickly Antonia. He decides to use her to get closer to Cassie, in order to carry out his nefarious plans. Because he is attracted to her, he decides to seduce her. Antonia has some dark secrets of her own, and she is exttremely vulnerable to Nicholas’ seduction. She is unable to resist him. Unfortunately, her secrets eventually surface, complicating her growing relationship with Nicholas.

“Cloudy with a Chance of Marriage” by Kieran Kramer (historical, St. Martins, $7.99, 416pp): Kieran Kramer has a knack for taking somewhat improbable plots and turning them into winning romances. In “When Harry Met Molly,” Kieran had the virginal heroine masquerade as the hero’s ladybird at a house party filled with the hero’s friends. In “Dukes to the Left of Me, Princes to the Right,” she had her heroine create a fictional fiancé – who, of course, turned out to be real. In her latest, Kieran tells a story about a bookseller and navy captain who meet and fall in love on the unluckiest street in London.

Miss Jilly Jones is the heroine of “Cloudy with a Chance of Marriage.” She has recently moved to Dreare Street in London where she hopes to become a successful bookseller. To help, she brought her trusty retainer, Otis, a dedicated one-time servant who wears bedazzled shoes that double as potential weapons to fend off suspected villains. Unfortunately, Jilly's hopes for a bright future are dimmed by the arrival of Captain Stephen Arrow.

“Eleven Scandals to Start to Win a Duke’s Heart” by Sarah MacLean (historical, Avon, May 2011, $7.99, 384 pp):

I have been waiting, not so patiently, for Juliana Fiori’s story since I first read Sarah MacLean’s Avon debut, “Nine Rules to Break When Romancing a Rake.” Julianna meets Simon Pierson, the Duke of Leighton in the first book in MacLean’s series, and I was fairly certain that Simon would be her hero. MacLean added a serious complication to their relationship in “Ten Ways to Be Adored When Landing a Lord,” in the form of Simon’s pregnant, but unwed, sister. Thus, their story has taken three books to unfold, and made me crazy-mad for its conclusion.

“It Happened One Bite” by Lydia Dare (paranormal, historical, Sourcebooks, March 2011, $7.99, 416 pp):  For several years, I’ve avoided historical romances with paranormal elements. I’m not entirely sure why; it might have to do with the fact that historical romance are my favorite sub-genre – and I like them the way they are. But Lydia Dare is almost single-handedly responsible for changing my opinion. Her series about English lords who just happen to be Lycans and a band of powerful and Scottish witches has really captivated me. When I read that the author would be introducing vampires into the world, I was quite intrigued.

In “It Happened One Night,” Blaire Lindsay, one of the aforementioned witches, journeys to Briarcraig Castle with her brother – who just happens to have inherited said castle. Little does she know that her arrival wakes a sleeping beast in the castle’s dungeon. Blair frees the prisoner, James Maitland, Lord Kettering, unaware that he had been deliberately imprisoned – and certainly not realizing that he is a vampyre. James, meanwhile, wants revenge against the coven of witches who captured him and took his magic signet ring.