Irish Roses–wild or not–are the focus of this edition of Covers of the Week. St. Patrick’s Day is coming up soon, so Erin go Bragh!
Theme: Irish Roses
The rose is the flower most often associated with romance. Regarding book titles, it’s the go-to blossom for the genre, followed by jasmine, lily, and heather. (Personally, I prefer tulips. But I can see how that might make for awkward-sounding titles.)
Because St. Patrick’s Day is quickly approaching, we thought displaying romances with Irish Rose covers would be fitting.
Having no idea what an actual Irish rose looked like, I was surprised to discover that “the official Irish Rose” (L. Aeonium arboreum) is a succulent. Succulents are hearty plants that, like cacti, should be easy for anyone to maintain. (Not me; every cactus and succulent to have been under my brown thumb came to a bad, sad end).
Originally native to North Africa and the Canary Islands, the rosette succulent forms branches that grow little bushes of bright yellow blossoms with star-shaped petals, which soon dies after the flowers bloom.
As for the wild Irish rose, Ireland is home to a wide variety of these floral beauties, including many hybrid forms. Each county boasts that their native–and naturalized–roses that climb hedgerows, hug rocky shores, or dot sandy land, are the most stunning to be found.
Most of these wildflowers bloom in June and July, their white, pink, and purple blossoms adding bright bursts of color to the Emerald Isle.
Around this time last year, Covers of the Week #49 also had an Irish theme. Since we already used Nora Roberts‘ Irish Rose for that edition, one of the four titles here is not like the others. Even so, the book’s Irish setting and the cover’s loveliness make up for the slight inconsistency.
The Covers
For the week of Monday, March 6, 2023, to Sunday, March 12, 2023, our Covers of the Week theme is the Irish Roses.
Irish Rose Covers (from Left to Right, Top to Bottom)
The Irish Rose, Jessica Wulf, Zebra, 1994, “Asif” cover art
Wild Irish Rose, Lisa Ann Verge, Zebra, 1997, Pino cover art
As it is St. Patrick’s Day, we thought you might be in the mood for something a little bit Irish. These eight old-school historical romances are set on the Emerald Isle.
Most of these are available to read on Kindle or e-reader. The links are provided in the text description.
Some of these books we have read and enjoyed ourselves very much. Others are on our to-be-read list and have great reviews.
We’ll be reading Irish romances on March 17. Whatever way you spend your day, spend it doing something you love!
The Honor Price, Erin Yorke, Harlequin, 1997, cover artist TBD HH #239
Alanna O’Donnell…Lucas had named her his Irish witch. For, with hair the color of the sun and eyes as blue as the sky, she had bedazzled him beyond imagining. Making him forget that she tore his heart asunder between duty and desire.
Lucas del Fuentes…Alanna’s golden Spaniard had come to Ireland with the once mighty armada. But though the fates had brought him, they could also steal him back, for Lucas held an oath to king and country that might yet prove stronger than the tumultuous love that flamed between them.
He was the most beautiful man Meghan had ever seen… and she watched him, young, naked, and magnificent, bathing in the still waters of a crystal pool and the gold and green light of a summer afternoon in the Irish wilds. She loved him from that moment on and for all eternity, even though love was forbidden to her.
For Meghan was considered a changeling, a witch, marked as she was with the rose-colored spot on her cheek. And little could she dream that what once cursed her would bring her a glorious destiny — and the passion of the stranger she so wantonly desired.
#1 New York Times bestselling author Susan Wiggs sweeps readers away to the misty coast of Ireland in an irresistible tale of falling in love with the enemy…
THE MIST
Caitlin MacBride, the mistress of the beleaguered Irish stronghold Clonmir, made a wish one evening at sunset. “Send me my true love,” she whispered.
THE MAGIC
As she watched, a man walked out of the mist that rolled in off the water. In John Wesley Hawkins, Caitlin saw a magic she thought had been lost to Ireland forever.
THE MIST AND THE MAGIC
Though Wesley was sent by the English to seduce the lovely Caitlin and discover the secrets of Clonmuir, her beauty and fierce spirit mesmerized him. Each time he touched her, he came closer to defying those who’d sent him.
He was her guardian, absentee landlord of her neglected life–until Megan Kinkead returned to Maam’s Cross Court, determined to make Justin Brant notice her. She finally commanded the attention of the sixth Earl of Weston when she burst into his room and caught him stark naked in the tub. Suddenly she knew a woman’s hunger–and a woman’s needs….
Forbidden Kisses…
When had the scrawny brat from hell become a fiery, raven-haired, violet-eyed temptress? Justin told himself she was still a child as she offered him a seductive yet innocent kiss. He tried to remind himself that he was her guardian, her protector. But the flashfire desire that blazed between them ignited a love neither had ever known before. Then he told her he was married….
Forbidden Secrets…Bestselling, award-winning author Karen Robards sweeps us into Ireland’s lush landscape in this spellbinding novel of a headstrong young beauty and her aristocratic guardian, torn between passion, propriety, and…Forbidden Love.
She was married to another man and had promised fidelity, but her body honored no such promise. . .
As wild and beautiful as the Irish countryside, Dera Brennan knew from the first that Quint Flannery was the only man she would ever love. Ignoring her family’s warnings, she gave herself to Quint with passionate abandon. He was hers and hers alone until she found him in another woman’s arms.
To spite her faithless lover, Dera impetuously married Lord Fairfax, an imperious English aristocrat and Quint’s enemy. Yet even separated from Quint by a vast chasm of wealth and privilege, Dera yearned for his hungry, punishing kisses. Not even the cold brilliance of diamonds could quench a desire burning with emerald-bright intensity.
The Highwayman, Doreen Owens Malek, Diane Sivavec cover art
(Republished on Kindle as LADY SELBY’S LOVER)
THE NOBLEWOMAN AND THE IRISH PATRIOT
It was a bold and perilous plan—disguising herself as a boy and stealing aboard a ship bound for the far-off shores of Ireland. But from the moment orphaned Lady Alexandra Cummings arrived at besieged Inverary Castle, her life and heart were no longer her own. Captured by rugged Irish rebel Kevin Burke, the daring English noblewoman became a pawn in a dangerous game of treachery and betrayal.
For she lost her heart to the one man she dared not trust, and her passion could not be swayed by reason. But cruel fate tragically plunged Kevin into exile and Alexandra into a loveless marriage. Enemies and lovers, their forbidden desires swept them across a divided realm. A man and a woman bound together pledged their lives toward liberty and love.
HighlandFire, Ruth Langan, Harlequin, 191 George H. Jones cover art
A Scottish Tempest(in Ireland) Kieran O’Mara had never seen a female wield a sword with the skill and determination of the Scottish lass he knew only as Megan. No other woman had ever touched him with such fire, yet until she regained her memory, he could not claim her heart.
Though Megan MacAlpin had fallen in love with Kieran O’Mara, the fierce Irish warrior who had saved her from certain death, she could not tell him. For she was a stranger even to herself, and she would not rest until she knew that she was, indeed, a woman worthy of his love.
Nightwylde, Kimberleigh Caitlin, Berkley Books, 1988 cover artist TBD
A Passion As Hauntingly Beautiful As An Irish Ballad
A country torn by the flames of rebellion, Ireland held the destiny of Maryssa Wylder—a woman scorned for her willful spirit and banished from the social whirl of London.
A Love As Tender And Sweet As The Moonlight
A gentle, kind, and handsome man, Tade Kilcannon touched Maryssa’s heart with his glorious dreams of freedom—and his penetrating gaze.
A Desire As Fierce As A Raging Storm
A rival to her love, a masked patriot known only as the Black Falcon aroused a burning passion in Maryssa unlike any she had ever known—a smoldering sensuality that could not be denied. Soon, her life, her heart, and her soul were trapped in a web of intrigue—and torn by her wildest, deepest longings…
(Later published as Black Falcon’s Lady, Kimberly Cates)
Black Falcon’s Lady, Kimberly Cates, Kindle Scribe
More Irish Romances Coming in the Future
We’ll update the site with more pages, including a page forromance settings. There’ll be a section dedicated to Irish romances, so be on the lookout for that in the future.
