Mass market Historical Romances: an addicting guilty pleasure

Hello, guys! Today I'll talk about a huge guilty pleasure of mine: mass market historical romances. I have lots of these and have read a ton more <3

This is a very interesting romance area in Brazil, because the books are very cheap in comparison to the paperback and hard cover books and the authors are just the best international ones. I met Nora Roberts in those romances that are financially cheap, but very rich in details and plots.

I selected my Top 5 titles that touched my heart among all the ones I've read to review and recommend:
 
5. The Naked Duke - Sally MacKenzie

 

This is the first book of the Naked Nobility series. Sorry for the lack of a personal picture, but I only have it at my Lev and it’s the bundle edition, so you can barely see its cover D:

From the Goodreads’ description:

The Surprise Of Her Life

Sophisticated. Scandalous. In fact, Miss Sarah Hamilton, a proper Philadelphian, finds London society altogether shocking. How can it be that she has awakened from her innocent slumber to find herself in bed next to a handsome--and exceedingly naked--man? The laughing onlookers standing in the doorway are no help whatsoever and surely this amorous lunatic cannot be a duke, as he claims. She is compromised--though she most certainly will not marry him!

The Sweetest Moment Of His

James, the Duke of Alford, is enchanted by his unexpected bedmate--and not at all afraid of her pink-cheeked fury. True, the circumstances and place of their meeting are most unusual, but the spirited American who's pummeling him with a pillow is an incomparable beauty. If Sarah will only listen to his perfectly reasonable explanation, James is sure that he can capture her heart... Forever.

What I thought: Sarah is a unique character. She has strength, personality and manages to be charming even when the situation is totally disfavoring her. James was an okay hero, not really that much different from thousands of gentlemen that came before him in my readings. My favorite scene is when James tries to explain to Sarah his titles and names. Her answer is ingenious <3

4. The Bridegroom Wore Plaid - Grace Burrowes

 

  

This is the first book of the MacGregors series and I got mine at Apple Store. Honestly, I want to stop buying digital editions, but I also have to eat, LOL. From the Goodreads’ description:

Ian MacGregor is wooing a woman who's wrong for him in every way. As the new Earl of Balfour, though, he must marry an English heiress to repair the family fortunes.

But in his intended's penniless chaperone, Augusta, Ian is finding everything he's ever wanted in a wife.

What I thought: I liked Grace’s writing very much. The way she describes the scenes and the characters makes you feel like you are inside the book with them, it’s very cool. And Ian was a dream. I love this name, I love how he looks like in my mind and his personality is dashing. Augusta was a surprise too, even being more like the status quo kind of historical romances’ heroin. The plot was also very good and intriguing. It’s a very worth reading!

3. Betrayed - Judith McWilliams

 This book is one of my oldest from the genre, as you may notice by the poor state of the cover. From the Goodreads’ description:

Forced to play the pauper in an England racked by war, American Eleanor Wallace vowed to help her country in any way she could. Yet the intrigue was becoming difficult, for she had somehow lost her heart to the formidable Duke of Ryland, a man who would never forgive her for what she'd done.

James Wolf, Duke of Ryland, sought a life of honesty over artifice --- a quality hard to find in London's pretentious ton, until the arrival of peerless Eleanor Wallace. But though the woman intrigued him, he had yet to unveil her secrets. Secrets that she guarded as carefully as she did her heart.
 
What I thought: this book surprised me. The plot is amazing! Lady Eleanor is so smart and funny. It's only natural that James fell for her. I devoured it crazily and my attention was locked until the very last page. It’s been a long while since I’ve read it, I have to read it again soon!

2. Cut From The Same Cloth - Kathleen Baldwin

 This is the third book from Regency Trilogy. In Brazilian, the title was translated to "The Light In Your Eyes". Bizarre, honestly. From the Goodreads’ description:

All is not as it seams...

Why does the powerfully built, golden-haired, Lord St. Cleve dress like an overdone Dandy? His outlandish wardrobe belies the hard unyielding lines of his face. Whoever he is, he’s ruining Elizabeth Hampton’s desperate scheme to secure a rich husband. Terribly vexing, to arrive at the most fashionable Breakfast Party of the Season wearing a perfectly stunning Chinese silk gown, only to discover Lord St. Cleve is clad in unmentionables cut from identical cloth.

Lord St. Cleve despises pretension of any kind. He cannot abide the self-important airs put on by some members of the Ton and takes pleasure in making a mockery of Brummell’s fashion strictures. Conceited frauds! Hadn't his grandfather’s snobbery made his mother’s life a misery? Maddening to discover the one woman who captures his interest is the biggest pretender of all! He vows to teach Miss Elizabeth Hampton a lesson she won’t soon forget.

What I thought: This is the kind of romance that makes you laugh hard while reading. I got several stares while reading it outdoors, because Elizabeth and Valen are both very clever in their arguments and he makes her loose her ground, something Elizabeth has never lost before. Something I always notice in books is the dialogical construction and Kathleen was brilliant at it.

1. The Truth About Cassandra - Laurie Brown

 

 

From the Goodreads’ description:

When a woman with a secret, scandalous career as a novelist saves a notorious rake's life, she only gives him her pen name...and leaves him searching for the woman who's stolen his heart.

What I thought: This book changed my life. Seriously. Since I was a small girl, I wanted to be a writer and a Lady from the 19^th century. When I saw a character that had a mind very much like my own in my favorite historical period, with my dream profession, doing something I’ve always wanted to try for fun (crossdressing) and that had my name (Anne), I went nuts. Moreover, decided that it was a sign to get into Journalism and not Law School. Now I’ll be a poor happy girl forever, LOL (I’m kidding, I love my profession and my job <3). In reality, it’s not any different from any of the other books that I reviewed on this post or from the one I’m currently reading (Darius, from Grace Burrowes), but it was very dearly special to me <3

That's it! I always say that, with this genre, the thing isn’t about knowing the end of the story, but how the couple gets there ;) Do you like this kind of historical romance too? :D