Historical Romance Archives

Book Review:: Rules of the Heart | Janice Hadlow

Have you ever been swept up in an engrossing historical timepiece that runs on romance? If not, you need to pick up Rules of the Heart by Janice Hadlow. If you have, you’ll understand exactly why I’m telling you to pick up Rules of the Heart by Janice Hadlow. Lady Harriet Bessborough is a triumph and Hadlow structures her story in a way that keeps your heart in your throat the entire time.

Rules of the Heart by Janice Hadlow Book Cover

What can I say about this book? I certainly didn’t expect to be under its spell so quickly and entirely. I tend to enjoy an odd historical novel here and there, but rarely am I gripped by them the way this one gripped me.

There is passion, risk to reputation, promises and broken promises, jealousy, heartbreak, motherhood, friendship, protection, longing, betrayal, guilt, and love, so much genuine love it cannot be stopped, despite the risks and unconventionalities.

To be honest, I read this book months ago, and I still think about it. It is one of those haunting stories based on real-world characters and their lives that might seem flat if encountering them in a textbook format, but writers like Hadlow bring those often-flat biographies and paint them with vivid, exquisite detail in novels like this one.

Please don’t miss this. Even if you think you don’t like historical novels. This one is a straight banger.

Note:: I received an early copy of this book from the publisher through netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Details

Title::Rules of the Heart
Author::Janice Hadlow
Genre::Historical Fiction
Publisher::Henry Holt & Company
Length:: 480 pages
Published::January 20th, 2026
The Litertarian Rating:: 5-Stars

If you liked this book, check out…

Daughter of Ruins | Yvette Manessis Corporon
The Cheesemaker’s Daughter | Kristin Vukovic
Babylonia | Costanza Casati
Buckeye | Patrick Ryan

Book Review:: Ship of Dreams | Donna Jones Alward

Sometimes I wonder how the next generations will remember the disaster that was The Titanic. Books like this one carry the story forward, to guard against letting it slip into the sands of time.

Ship of Dreams by Donna Jones Alward Book Cover

Hannah is traveling aboard the Titanic with her husband, who must go to America for business. Their marriage is at a breaking point, and she has a secret to tell him if they are ever to repair. For bravery, she invites her best friend Louisa to join her, who will do almost anything to get out from underneath the control of her parents, who want her to marry someone she does not love. Louisa, recklessly, writes to a triste of hers that she will be aboard, and he surprises her once she boards.

Between the marital drama, and Louisa’s reckless but passionate behavior, the early pages of this book are propelled with the need to know what happens next. But we all know what happens eventually in a story like this one.

While tragic, this is a story about survivorship, about confronting things even when they’re hard. About acceptance, and being accepted. About the friendships that sustain us through the most difficult times of our lives. And about love, how it moves through us, and the scars it leaves behind.

I personally feel like the feminist angle was forced maybe a little too hard, though of course this was a major issue being examined at the time. At times it just felt forced, if you know what I mean.

Overall, though, this was an emotional book, and I really enjoyed reading it.

Note:: I received an early copy of this book from the publisher through netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Details

Title:: Ship of Dreams
Author:: Donna Jones Alward
Genre:: Historical Fiction
Publisher:: One More Chapter
Length:: 384 pages
Published:: March 31st, 2026
The Litertarian Rating:: 4-Stars

If you liked this book, check out…

Rules of the Heart | Janice Hadlow
Buckeye | Patrick Ryan
The Cheesemaker’s Daughter | Kristin Vukovic

Book Review:: The Highlander’s Lady of Loch & Sea | Heather McCollum

Looking for your historical Scottish hunk fix? Fan of true-blue bodice rippers? You’re going to love The Highlander’s Lady of Loch & Sea by Heather McCollum.

The Highlander's Lady of the Loch and Sea by Heather McCollum Book Cover

Laria is a fierce heroine who knows her own mind. In her first scene she’s seducing a powerful man she’s promised to kill. She would do anything for her family and her people. These are strange times, which call for strange measures.

Cyrus, her intended victim, is in a pinch of his own. With an imminent and complicated inheritance on the horizon, the last thing he needs is a complication as beautiful as Laria, but…she’s bewitched him.

For me, I wasn’t as interested in the perhaps overly-complicated political side of things peppering the novel with drama. It felt like a lot of telling, and though the characters cared about these conditions, I didn’t, really. It gave the book some scaffolding to stand upon, but it didn’t add a lot to the reading experience.

There is something about them Scots though – this book is a great escape for when you need something straightforward and sexy.

Note:: I received an early copy of this book from the publisher through netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Details

Title:: The Highlander’s Lady of the Loch & Sea (Brotherhood of Solway Moss #3)
Author:: Heather McCollum
Genre:: Historical Romance
Publisher:: Entangled: Amara
Length:: 346 pages
Published:: January 26th, 2026
The Litertarian Rating:: 3-Stars