It started off pretty mainstream, but whoa doggy, where it went. Just trust me when I say, these Georgian boys and girls with their straight-laced nightdresses, high-necked cravats, starched breeches and voluminous petticoats do NOT let anything get in their lascivious way.
Like everywhere.
Tame: Romance of the regular sort
In July, I devoured every regency romance by Lisa Kleypas that I could get my hands on. The Wallflower series, the Hathaways. Bekah and I have been dying for books that are as well-written AND as hot as Sarah MacLean’s, and these did not disappoint. Fun, swoony, full of rakes and scoundrels and good girls and scandalous girls (but all virgins, because #tropes), these books have the happily ever afters you expect.
Tawdry: Bring In the Extra Dude
Based on a recommendation from my MMF loving friend, Amy, I picked up a couple of books in the Brothers at Arms series by Samantha Kane. And talk about FORMULAIC MENAGE. Somehow, all of these couples know one another, the men were “together” first, but they bring in the lady and they all fall in love. It’s wonderful and hilarious because if you LOVE MMF (I do) then you can’t get enough, but also you absolutely cannot suspend disbelief that all of these couples live happily ever after in polyamorous triads IN THE REGENCY ERA. It’s so unrealistic but I LOVE IT.
Yeah, we know. We see you in the next novel, still not stopping.
Taboo: Everybody just do it
ANOTHER recommendation from Amy’s MMF post led me to the House of Pleasure series by Kate Pearce which is SIMPLY without boundaries (see what I did there?). This isn’t just MMF for the sake of it. This isn’t just romance. This is bodies in all kinds of positions and every kind of kink for the good old fashioned price of intriguing characters and messy relationships. Pearce doesn’t follow the tried and true formula that everyone who gets a book gets a good or glowing introduction in the one that comes before it. One of the worst villains gets his own happily ever after eventually. Rooting for the guy who kidnapped and almost beat the hero in the last novel to death? Yeah. She made it happen.
I do. It’s both.
Tantalizing: BRING ON THE WEIRD
I’ve finally culminated this eroticaganza with the weirdest of the weird, but maybe my favorite series of them all: A Charm of Magpies series by KJ Charles. Talk about your breech-rippers. I’m not sure if the M/M tag on this series refers to the men at the center of the romance or the magical element that makes it even hotter. These books were witty, fun, and inventive. And even eeked a little bit into the realm of the horror genre. Plus hot. Like super hot.
So, there you have it. My foray into the most sensible and the scariest arenas of historical/regency romance series. Let me know if you pick any of these up, and what you think of them.
