A Love and Lust rec: 'Must Love Breeches' by Angela Quarles
Must Love Breeches by Angela Quarles
What it's about (courtesy Unsealed Room Press):
She's finally met the man of her dreams. There's only one problem: He lives in a different century.
How far would you travel for love?
A mysterious artifact zaps Isabelle Rochon to pre-Victorian England, but before she understands the card case's significance a thief steals it. Now she must find the artifact, navigate the pitfalls of a stiffly polite London, keep her time-traveling origins a secret, and resist her growing attraction to Lord Montagu, the Vicious Viscount so hot, he curls her toes.
To Lord Montagu nothing makes more sense than keeping his distance from the strange but lovely Colonial. However, when his scheme for revenge reaches a stalemate, he convinces Isabelle to masquerade as his fiancée. What he did not bargain on is being drawn to her intellectually as well as physically.
Lord Montagu's now constant presence overthrows her equilibrium and her common sense. Isabelle thought all she wanted was to return home, but as passion flares between them, she must decide when her true home—as well as her heart—lies.
Why you should read it: Historical romance meets sci-fi time travel, and what a fun intersection of genres it is! Isabelle is an American living and working in London in the 21st century. When she attends a reenactment ball she inadvertently opens a portal to the past, to the very day in 1834 when this ball really happened. She is stuck in a past she has studied but doesn't really understand the day-to-day ways of just living without modern conveniences or technology. Fortunately, she encounters the very open-minded Lady Ada Byron, daughter of Lord Byron, who believes her story of landing in the past and takes Isabelle under her protective wing, so to speak.
Some of the funniest parts of this story occur when Isabelle is trying to curb her potty mouth and speak in the vernacular of almost 200 years ago so as to make herself understood and to understand others. It's almost like a foreign language. She discovers brand new editions of books she loves in her own future, figures out that she will have to get spectacles to replace her contact lenses, and falls in love with the handsome but socially reviled Lord Montagu.
When Isabelle runs into the wall of a lack of rights for women, including getting a job, opening a bank account, and just walking down the street unaccompanied, she is outraged. It is fun to see what is usually taken for granted in historical romances treated to a contemporary POV.
Lord Montagu is on his own quest for truth, but that has made him a pariah to the ton society. When the story shifts from Isabelle's survival to what is going on with Lord Montagu's mysterious activities, Isabelle has to make a decision about whether to remain in the past with him or return to her future. It's a delicious twist on historical drama and romance, and let me assure you, there is plenty of romance and sex. Apparently, bedroom activities haven't changed, and these two heat up the sheets.
I am relatively new to historical romance, but this one is a bit different and really held my attention. I loved this story and look forward to more by this author.
Becky Condit is a widow, mother of three and grandmother of 10 who reads all kinds of books, but her go-to comfort books are erotic romances. A romance novel coupled with just-out-of-the-oven chocolate-chip cookies and a glass of cold milk is her idea of heaven. She reads and reviews more than 250 books a year, so you won't often find her without her Kindle in hand, but when you do, she'll probably be gardening, doing needle crafts, working in her upholstery workshop and spending time with her family.