I've talked about my favorite paranormals and my favorite fantasies and lots of my other favorites - but one of my other favorite genres is historical, and I haven't mentioned them! (Well, except for the multiple re-occurrences of Bloody Jack. Which, fun fact, also appears here. Get the hint?)
So here are some of my favorite historicals. I'm so picky with them that it was hard to make a list; I read a lot of them, but I don't have favorites. So try these on for size:
The Bloody Jack series
Author: L.A. Meyer
Life as a ship's boy aboard HMS Dolphin is a dream come true for Jacky Faber. Gone are the days of scavenging for food and fighting for survival on the streets of eighteenth-century London. Instead, Jacky is becoming a skilled and respected sailor as the crew pursues pirates on the high seas.
There's only one problem: Jacky is a girl. And she will have to use every bit of her spirit, wit, and courage to keep the crew from discovering her secret. This could be the adventure of her life--if only she doesn't get caught. . . .
Why?: The ridiculous predicaments Jacky gets herself in are bound to make you laugh. Besides, it's brilliantly well written and plotted. And who doesn't love a pirate?
The Season
Author: Sarah Maclean
Series: ---
Seventeen year old Lady Alexandra is strong-willed and sharp-tongued — in a house full of older brothers and their friends, she had to learn to hold her own. Not the best makings for an aristocratic lady in Regency London. Yet her mother still dreams of marrying Alex off to someone safe, respectable, and wealthy. But between ball gown fittings, dances, and dinner parties, Alex, along with her two best friends, Ella and Vivi, manages to get herself into what may be her biggest scrape yet.
When the Earl of Blackmoor is mysteriously killed, Alex decides to help his son, the brooding and devilishly handsome Gavin, uncover the truth. But will Alex's heart be stolen in the process? In an adventure brimming with espionage, murder, and other clandestine affairs, who could possibly have time to worry about finding a husband?
Why?: Not only is it exquisitely well written, but the characters are lovable and the romance absolutely adorable. How did Sarah manage to write a YA romance that is as much about the other parts of the plot as the romance!? So many people can't pull that off...
Piratica
Author: Tanith Lee
Series: Piratica (#1)
Artemesia is the daughter of a pirate queen, and she's sick of practicing deportment at the Angels Academy for Young Maidens. Escaping from the school, she hunts up her mother's crew and breezily commands them out to sea in a leaky boat. Unfortunately, Art's memories of her early life may not be accurate-her seasick crew are actors, and Art's infamous mother was the darling of the stage in a pirate drama. But fiery, pistol-proof Art soon shapes her men into the cleverest pirate crew afloat. And when they meet the dread ship Enemy and her beautiful, treacherous captain, Goldie Girl, Art is certain that her memories are real. The Seven Seas aren't large enough for two pirate queens...
Why?: Okay, I have a thing for pirate books. So maybe I'm biased. But the main characters reminds me a bit of Bloody Jack, so I love it; it's a lot of fun to read and the backstory is different enough where it's two distinct stories.
Ivy
Author: Julie Hearn
Series: Ivy (#1)
The only beautiful thing in Ivy's drab life is her glorious red hair. At a young age, her locks made her the target of Carroty Kate, a 'skinner'. She recruited Ivy to help her coax wealthy children away from their nannies so that she could strip them of their clothes - clothes worth a fortune in the markets of Petticoat Lane. It is years before Ivy escapes and finds her way back to her in-laws. Once there, she finds respite in laudanum. But before she can settle into a stupor and forget the terrible things she has done, Ivy is spotted by a wealthy pre-Raphaelite painter. Oscar Fosdick needs a muse (until now he has had to use his domineering mother as a model, something not conducive to producing his best work, he finds). To him, Ivy is perfect, a stunner. Realising quickly that this painter has more money than sense, Ivy's in-laws order her to sit for him, and to do anything else he demands. But not everyone is happy. Oscar's mother is determined to get rid of Ivy. Oscar's famous neighbour is determined to paint her. Carroty Kate is determined to find her, and Ivy herself is determined to escape...
Why?: Because, despite it not being a historical novel I'd buy or one that I raved about in my review, I keep an eye out for the sequel every time I'm at the bookstore. Sure, it's not ZOMGfantastic, but it's good.
Pretty much anything by Eva Ibbotson
They're all really cute.
What are some of your favorite historicals?
