April Showers Bring Wallflowers:
7 Historical Romances With Wallflowers To Read This Spring
By: Shelby Cunningham
This spring, wallflowers are blooming! Not only are wallflowers often overlooked, but society underestimates them, viewing them as bookish and awkward, not capable of fitting in, or standing out for all the wrong reasons. But when a wallflower gets their way? That reading experience is all the sweeter. Bring some color and joy to your spring with these eight historical romances about wallflowers getting their happily ever after.
The Perks of Loving a Wallflower by Erica Ridley
The Perks of Loving a Wallflower by Erica Ridley is a delightful, fake dating, sapphic romance. Philippa York is a wealthy wallflower who would rather devote her time to her friends and her book club than to finding a husband. Thomasina, known as Tommy, is a Wynchester, one of my favorite historical romance families. The Wynchesters are a family of adopted siblings, all gifted in their own way, and Tommy’s gift is being a master of disguises. She can change herself into an old woman, a young man, and everything in between using makeup and costumes. She pretends to be her late father’s heir, the new Baron Vanderbean, so that she and Philippa can court. This read also features a plot to take down a corrupt aristocrat who tries to steal credit for a woman’s hard work. Who doesn’t love that?!
Isabel and The Rogue by Liana De la Rosa
Isabel and the Rogue by Liana De la Rosa is the second book in her Luna Sisters series, one of my favorite current historical romance series! Isabel is the self-proclaimed ugly duckling of her family, but she uses her status as a bookish wallflower to her advantage by sneaking away from parties unnoticed. She and her sisters are in London to seek refuge during a time of political unrest, and while they are charming the town, Isabel spies on members of the aristocracy in hopes of gathering information that could help her beloved Mexico. I love a historical romance with some political espionage!
The Wallflower Wager by Tessa Dare
The Wallflower Wager by Tessa Dare is a super spicy historical romantic comedy. In this book, Lady Penelope Campion prefers the company of animals to people. She’s on her own in a beautiful home that she has turned into an animal sanctuary, and regency real estate mogul Gabriel Duke is determined to find a way to buy this estate from her… without the animals. Tessa Dare books are always hilarious and spicy and this is one of her best, with some of the most iconic historical romance spice I’ve read to this day. The mirror scene—IYKYK.
Verity and the Forbidden Suitor by J. J. McAvoy
In Verity and the Forbidden Suitor by J. J. McAvoy, Verity is the sister of a duke, and while that gives her the status that some would kill for, Verity would like nothing more than to be left alone. She suffered at the hands of an evil stepmother for most of her childhood, which left her with unseen scars that manifest in horrific nightmares. Because of those scars, her greatest desire is not to fall in love and get married, but to be left to her own devices. I loved watching Verity not only fall in love, but rediscover her confidence and self-worth.
The Secret Lives of Country Gentlemen by KJ Charles
The Secret Lives of Country Gentlemen by KJ Charles is a male-male historical romance with mistaken identity, local politics, a lovable crime family, a murder mystery, and of course, a wallflower. When Gareth inherits his estranged father’s title, Baron of Romney Marsh, he is required to move to his father’s estate in a distant marshland. Gareth finds himself completely out of his depth; the marsh has its own set of etiquette and politics that are foreign to him. The marsh community doesn't respect Gareth's family title, instead obeying the Doomsdays, a local family of smugglers. Gareth discovers that he knows the leader, but not by the name Joss Doomsday.
Don’t Want You Like a Best Friend by Emma R. Alban
Don’t Want You Like a Best Friend by Emma R. Alban is a friends-to-lovers sapphic historical romance that’s really fresh and progressive. Not only does this book feature a wallflower, but this cover feels so spring! Beth is in her first year on the marriage mart and under a lot of pressure to marry well, but she’d rather spend time with her new bestie Gwen than search for a rich husband. Gwen is in her fourth year out in society, but unlike Beth, Gwen’s dad puts no pressure on her to marry and she’s just here for a good time.
Check out the audiobook, with the legendary Mary Jane Wells as one of the dual narrators.
Wicked and the Wallflower by Sarah MacLean
Wicked and the Wallflower is the first book in Sarah MacLean’s Bareknuckle Bastards series, a perfect series of five star books. Lady Felicity Faircloth is a spinster wallflower—an unlikely pairing made as a result of numerous failed attempts at finding a respectable husband. When Devil, one of the kings of Covent Garden, offers her a mysterious bargain to marry a duke, she is intrigued but rightfully skeptical. Felicity sets some terms of her own, mainly that she would rather have fun with Devil than go along with his scheme to land her a duke.