Seize the Fire
An idealistic young woman puts her trust in a cynical rake. You probably think you know where a story with this opening might go. But Seize the Fire, the 1989 historical romance from the incomparable Laura Kinsale, is a unique and memorable twist on the trope. Sheltered and somewhat silly Princess Olympia St. Leger hires British naval hero Sheridan Drake to help her reclaim the throne of her home country. But Sheridan, a smooth-talking charmer, knows firsthand how concepts like liberty can be warped into violence for political gain. He’d be annoyed by Olympia’s lofty principles and permanently rose-colored glasses—if they didn’t make it so easy for him to take advantage of her. Yet Kinsale doesn’t set one of her leads above the other, instead taking a more realistic tack of highlighting the pitfalls of both viewpoints and setting up two very flawed characters. Olympia’s naivete is as dangerous, if not more, than Sheridan’s cynicism, and as necessary to change. As they wend their way through an absolutely unpredictable sequence of dramatic adventures—including pirates, a sultan’s harem, a shipwreck and a revolution—these total opposites are hewn into shapes that can only fit with each other.
—Trisha Ping, Publisher
Illuminae
Illuminae by Aime Kaufman and Jay Kristoff, the first installment of the Illuminae Files trilogy, is a recounting of an intergalactic invasion on the planet Kerenza in 2575 through a series of files including news reports and video footage analysis. Kady Grant and Ezra Mason break up just hours before the invasion. In the ensuing chaos, they both end up on different refugee ships attempting to outrun the invaders. The remainder of this sci-fi second-chance romance follows tech genius Kady aboard Hypatia and Ezra on the Alexander dealing with its mostly uncooperative AI system, AIDAN (Artificial Intelligence Defense Analytics Network). Amid coordinating a cross-galaxy journey for the three refugee ships, battling a plague and a rogue AIDAN, Kady and Ezra realize how miniscule the issues in their relationship were compared to the fight for survival—and that they are the only person the other can count on. The audiobook version is immaculate due to its full cast and sound effects, making the story utterly immersive.
—Jena Groshek, Sales Coordinator
Any Old Diamonds
Morally grey hero this, morally grey hero that. Get you a guy that more than one character describes as “Mephistophelean.” KJ Charles loves an “upstanding gentleman meets an absolute reprobate”-type pairing, but Jerry Crozier of Any Old Diamonds is the king of reprobates—the reprobate all the other reprobates cross the street to avoid. A proudly amoral, single-minded jewel thief, Jerry arrives like an absolute wrecking ball into Alec Pyne’s life when the latter hires him to steal a set of diamonds from his father, a powerful duke. Charles has always been interested in how morality functions within immoral systems, and this theme finds its most extreme (and entertaining) expression in Jerry. Because he lives in 1895 Britain, Jerry’s talents for blackmail, theft, fraud and general intimidation are able to find a truly righteous outlet—robbing cruel, selfish aristocrats blind. His world is characterized by extreme wealth inequality and infuriating hypocrisy, which means that plenty of people deserve Jerry Crozier to “happen to them,” as he puts it. Actually, upon further reflection, I think Jerry would get along just fine in 2024.
—Savanna Walker, Managing Editor
Whitney, My Love
Tropes are the best part of the romance genre: You know what to expect, but skilled authors like Judith McNaught still find ways to reinvent them and make them exciting. Whitney, My Love, my favorite romance novel of all time, does just that, with McNaught employing a bevy of tropes at once: Fake relationship, check. Forced proximity, check. Arranged marriage, check. Hidden identity, check. This book’s many twists and turns make it a delightful read. Whitney Stone was sent to live with her aunt and uncle in Paris after being deemed an unruly child. When she returns home to Regency-era England after a triumphant launch in Paris society, she unknowingly catches the eye of the arrogant and mysterious Duke of Claymore, Clayton. Hoping to impress her father and finally be deemed good enough to marry her childhood love, Whitney tries to be the picture of a demure, refined woman. Clayton, her handsome but bothersome neighbor, pledges to help her appeal to her childhood love, but Whitney soon discovers that not only has her father promised her in marriage to Clayton, but he’s also a duke. McNaught cleverly twists together beloved romance tropes to create a complex story around intriguing characters that is impossible to put down. The best part is that finding passion and love isn’t the end of Whitney and Clayton’s story: There is so much more to discover about these two in this 577-page tome.
—Meagan Vanderhill, Brand & Production Designer
