Why am I passionate about this?
I’ve been a romance author for two decades now, and a romance reader for decades before that. It’s my favourite genre to read, critique, and write, closely followed by paranormal reads and mysteries. I’ve had the good fortune to win several awards for my romance novels, including a Gold Medal and an Irwin. My limited-release novellas have also been long-listed for ‘Best Romance’ and ‘Best Historical Romance’ many times. I’m a compulsive researcher too! I spend hours poring over old maps and out-of-print glossaries. I also visit graveyards quite a lot to learn names and life spans, and the how so many stories end.
Clyve's book list on historical romance reads with lessons in love
Why did Clyve love this book?
Lord Lavay is determined to recapture his family’s fortune. His housekeeper is just as determined not to fail her fatherless son. Drama and growth – the best ingredients of the most moving stories.
This novel was the first one I read in the Pennyroyal Green series from this author. I almost gave up writing then and there because she wrote so well, so powerfully that I doubted my ability to become as good as her. This novel now serves as my measure, against which every romance novel is placed – including my own.
The way her characters are drawn on the page, the way they move through their own journeys, and still come together at the end, is seamless. Great characters, flawed and relatable. Excellent plot and pacing, including the world building.
1 author picked It Started with a Scandal as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.
Lord Philippe Lavay once took to the high seas armed with charm as lethal as his sword, and a stone-cold conviction: he'll restore his family's fortune and honor, no matter the cost. Victory is at last within reach-when a brutal attack snatches it from his grasp and lands him in Pennyroyal Green. An afternoon of bliss brings a cascade of consequences for Elise Fountain. She is shunned by her family and ousted from a job she loves, and her survival means a plummet down the social ladder to a position no woman has yet been able to keep: housekeeper to…