Top Ten Tuesday: Most Recent Additions to My Bookshelf

It’s Top Ten Tuesday. This week, we’re posting a list of the ten latest additions to my bookshelf. Since we are prolific hoarders—that is, collectors—we are limiting this to only the latest romance and romance-related books.

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Top Ten Tuesday

Today is another Top Ten Tuesday, where we post a list of 10 of our best, favorite, or most important book-ish-related items, depending on the week’s theme. Thank you to That Artsy Reader Girl for providing us with this feature and creative ideas.

“Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.”

This Week’s Theme

The theme for today, Tuesday, December 26, is “The Ten Most Recent Additions to My Bookshelf.” Since I’ve gotten quite a treasure trove of books this holiday, I’m limiting this list to the latest romance book purchases.

List: 10 Most Recent Additions to My Bookshelf

1. Intrigued by Bertrice Small

Intrigued, Bertrice Small, Kensington, 2001, Elaine Duillo cover art

I have often regretted parting with books, and Intrigued by Bertrcie Samll was one of those regrets. After Small’s most famous heroine, Skye O’Malley, passed away in Darling Jasmine, the author continued the saga with books about Skye’s great-great-grandchildren. I wasn’t too blown away by those tales, sad to say.

And since, at the time, I had a house filled with toys, I sold a few boxes of books to make room.

Foolishly, I got rid of many beautiful books, including Bertrice Small romances illustrated by Elaine Duillo. 2001’s Intrigued featured one of Duillo’s prettiest covers, too! So I’m glad this book is now once again part of my romance collection.

Intrigued

On her mother’s advice, Lady Autumn Leslie leaves war-torn England for France in the hope of making a suitable match. The wealthy and handsome Marquis d’Auriville is all she could wish for in a husband, but when Autumn is widowed only a few years after they are wed, she believes she will never give her heart to another man.

Yet as two kings–Louis XIV and Charles II–boldly bid for her affections, Autumn is plunged into the heady world of court intrigue, where powerful men will not hesitate to use a beautiful woman for their own ends–or barter her for their own pleasure. Yet it is Gabriel Bainbridge, the Duke of Garwood, a face from Autumn’s past, who is determined to become her passionate, and only, destiny. . .

2. The Demon Lover by Maria Valdemi

Pinnacle Books was the distributor of this January 1981 Tor paperback. The Demon Lover by Maria Valdemi has a remarkable paranormal plot. In this novel, the hero is a Russian prince turned into a vampire by Dracula himself.

In my attempts to research the history of the romance genre, I’ve come upon many books that are claimed to be “the first” in a particular subgenre or to include specific themes or elements.

I’m almost positive that this is the first vampire romance novel to include a happy ending—one where the protagonists look forward to a long, happy life (as mortals).

A Novel of Supernatural Passion

Would the love he offered lead to death–or life?

3. Season of Desire by Janice Young-Brooks

As for the book’s story,? The blurb reads:

Season of Desire by Janice Young-Brooks is a 1986 romance I had to buy due to the glorious Sharon Spiak cover art. And that beautiful head of blond hair drew my attention. I’m unsure if it’s my favorite cover model, the late Jerry Timm, or another similar-looking model.

Raised in a secluded world of books and dreams, Kate Sayers put fantasy behind her and came to Kansas to work as a Harvey girl in one of Mr. Fred Harvey’s finest railroad restaurants.

She was marked by innocence. The brooding stranger she glimpsed on the train was marked by fortune and fate. They might have passed in the night, speeding into separate worlds, but the look that flashed between them sealed an unspoken pact that would lead Kate into Dan Collins’s arms.

She was a young woman moving boldly into the future. He was a man haunted by the past. A fragile bond seemed to link them beyond time. But would it grow strong enough to bind them beyond a… Season of Desire.

4. The Wand and the Star by Pat Wallace

Pat Wallace’s The Wand and the Star is a rare gem I’m delighted to have just purchased and added to my library. Tracking this hard-to-find, out-of-print, pricy collector’s edition book was challenging. I will discuss this novel in an article very soon, as it’s pretty unique.

The beautiful princess Dione cared only to rescue her kingdom – until she looked upon the handsome sorcerer Fahne, from the land of mountainous air beyond, who was as irresistibly drawn to her as she was to him. And though she was promised to the great lord Vanand, she fled his embrace to brave the terrible fury of strange worlds and angry gods – and the sword of the jealous Vanand – to pursue with Fahne a love that offered them the answers to the elusive secrets of the universe.

5. Moonstruck Madness by Laurie McBain

I reviewed Moonstruck Madness by Laurie McBain on this site a long time ago, and this book has been part of my library for over 25 years. Admittedly, my copy is very worn. So, consequently, I’ve scotch-taped the cover to the spine as it was coming apart after several re-reads.

Plus, there are two H. Tom Hall editions of the original paperback romance—one with a clinch and one with a solo image of the heroine on a horse. I have the former edition, so when I came upon this edition of Moonstruck Madness, I had to snatch it up.

6. Mistress of the Night by Valerie Vayle

Valerie Vayle’s Mistress of the Night was another hard-to-find, out-of-print, pricy collector’s edition. This 1985 romance and its sequel, Nightfire, are rare and expensive books.

Daring and rebellious, she longed to be a lady, even as she ached for a dangerous love…

Born in an English bawdy house, schooled in the cunning and thievery of the streets, barely escaped from the hangman’s noose, exquisite Viveca Lindstrom would be transformed from a wild urchin into an elegant lady.

She would return from the Turkish court to marry a handsome young aristocrat, to build a stable of champion Thoroughbreds. Yet even as her newly acquired polish conquered the peerage, it was the love of Byrne St. James, the darling dark-eyed highwayman, that haunted and held her, taunting her with the promise of madcap adventure, untamed freedom, and wild, rapturous desire.

7. Lady of Fire by Valerie Vayle

Unlike the previous book by Valerie Vayle, fortunately, her out-of-print romance, Lady of Fire, is relatively cheap to purchase. According to her Goodreads page, “Valerie Vayle was a pseudonym used by Jean Brooks-Janowiak and Janice Young Brooks writing together. It was later used exclusively by Jean Brooks-Janowiak after obtaining the legal rights to the name.”

ROQUE MADE HER A WOMAN–AND A PIRATE, LIKE HIMSELF: FEARLESS, SHAMELESS, PROUD…
Garlanda Cheney’s past vanished in the churning waters of the Caribbean. Martinique and the convent school were behind her. And so was the enchanted island where two shipwrecked lovers had clung together for life–and discovered love.

Now there was only a dream and a mission: to uncover the true cause of her father’s death. From London society to the decadent French court, from a Turkish harem to escape and rebellion on the high seas, Garlanda’s course was charted for dangerous adventure.

A passionate pirate of the heart, no man could resist or forget her. But it was Roque, the bold buccaneer who possessed her soul, whose fate was eternally bound to the LADY OF FIRE .

7. The Opal-Eyed-Fan by André Norton

The Opal-Eyed-Fan by Andre Norton caught my attention with its gorgeous Harry Bennett cover. The author’s name was unfamiliar, but it shouldn’t have been. Andre Norton is a famous name in the history of science fiction. He was actually a she. Alice Mary Norton was the first woman to be inducted into the Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame. Other firsts include the first female Gandalf Grand Master of Fantasy and the first female SFWA Grand Master.

She wrote Beastmaster! Her book was the source for the gloriously awful 1980’s movie. Beatmaster starred Marc Singer and Tanya Roberts and was a staple of my childhood!

As for the Opal-Eyed Fan, this is one of only three romances Norton wrote. This romance melds the Gothic genre with fantasy and sci-fi elements.

FURIES UNLEASHED

Was it a random storm or destiny’s mischief that shipwrecked lovely Persis Rooke on Lost Lady Key? Persis couldn’t be sure. Rescued by the handsome Captain Crewe Leverett and marooned on the darkly mysterious island with his strange sister and her beau, she was aware only of the oppressive superstitions of the natives who feared a strange curse–the curse of the opal-eyed fan.

Somehow she knew she had to learn the unspoken secret of the island and the truth about the fabulous Spanish lady who, years before, had left the infamous Satin-shirt Jack dead and then disappeared forever. But Persis was not aware of the evil that awaited her, nor of the romance that would endanger her until it was too late. . . .

8. The Lion and the Lark by Doreen Owens Malek

I’ve had The Lion and the Lark by Doreen Owens on my wishlist for a long time. Well, Santa heard me at last! So, for this Christmas, I got an almost-new edition of this 1996 Zebra romance set in the Roman Empire. The cover art is by—I believe—the Italian comic artist Alessandro Biffignandi.

The year is 44 B.C. Julius Caesar is dead. And as rebellion divides Italy and Britain, a Roman centurion and a Celtic princess forge a bond no woman or man can rend asunder.

To ensure peace between her tribe and their savage conquerors, the exquisite Bronwen has been promised in wedlock to a high-born Roman tribune. But the British beauty is also a secret spy ready to risk her life to free her people.

Dispatched to Britain by Mark Antony, Claudius is irresistibly drawn to the flaxen-haired, cobalt-eyed Bronwen. Yet he knows he dare not trust the woman who is bound to him by law—not love.

10. The Resolute Runaway by Charlotte Louise Dolan

If you know anything about me as a romance reader, I have a spot for blond heroes. Ditto for historical heroes in uniform. So when you combine those two elements, I’m in heaven! As a result, I was a sucker for this Ted Sizemore cover.

Although no longer in print, this 1992 Signet Regency romance is now available to purchase on Amazon. The Resolute Runaway was the sequel to The Substitute Bridegroom, also on Kindle.

High Risk Romance

Miss Joanna Pettigrew knew the risk of running away in a daring gamble far a new life better than her odious old one She was without funds or family Her only so-called friend was Belinda Dillon, a belle whose only loyalty was to her own vanity. Her destination was Brussels, where young ladies were fair game for officers looking far love before facing the, foe at Waterloo.

And most dangerous of all, the gentleman who took her in hand was the dazzlingly handsome and highborn Captain Nicholas Goldsborough an ideal match for the beauteous Belinda, and a perfectly impossible catch for a young lady with nothing to offer but her heart…

Your Opinion

What do you think of this week’s theme? Do any of the most recent additions to my bookshelf sound intriguing?

Do you enjoy seeing what books are in our latest book haul? If so, would you like to see this as a regular feature in the future?

As always, please drop a comment, and let’s talk romance!