On the Bookish Side

Lovely New Regency Romance

Compromised with Her Forbidden Viscount
Gaston, Diane
Harlequin Historical - November 2024

I fell in love with romance novels when I met regencies and realized they were set in the same world as the classics by Jane Austen I had read and loved. In 2024 regency romances, particularly the novels that will not let you put them down and that make you think of the characters when you have to leave them are few and far between. Gaston's homage to Romeo and Juliet features Will and Anna whose fathers had killed each other in a duel leaving Anna orphaned. When at a masked revel in Vauxhall, Will sees a young woman being attacked and steps in but her family claims she has been compromised. To escape scandal and ruin for both their families they head for Gretna Green but something strange is up with their feuding familes. It is truly one of the best, most heartfelt, and entertaining  regencies I’ve read in a long time.