LGBTQIA+ Historical Romance Novels with Ghosts, Sorcerers, and Gothic themes 2021
A Haunting at Hartwell Hall by Rachel Bowdler (sapphic)
- It’s 1924 in Cheshire, England, and the grand estate of Hartwell Hall has had some strange complaints from its guests. With suspicions of ghosts and hauntings arising, Hartwell’s owner, Vincent, does the only thing he can think of to salvage his family-inherited business before the guests are scared away for good: enlist the help of a paranormal investigator.
However, his daughter, Felicity, has no reason to believe in the supernatural and can’t stand the thought of throwing well-earned money away on an obvious con-woman like Blair Nelson, who claims to have been able to feel the presence of the dearly departed all her life. A stubborn, money-minded sceptic and barmy ghost-hunter in the same room is hardly a good idea, then, and the only thing worse is them being forced to work together to explain Hartwell’s peculiar occurrences. But when Felicity faces something she can’t explain or dismiss in the middle of a storm-induced blackout, only Blair can help her uncover the truth about the mysteries of her centuries-old home and the shadow lurking around it. Can Felicity trust Blair enough to unravel her family’s secrets and open her heart to a new and unexpected love, or will Hartwell Hall always remain haunted and destined to run itself into the ground, Felicity along with it?
Strong Wine (Sword Dance #3) by AJ Demas (Ancient-Greek-Flavoured)
- Retired soldier Damiskos and his lover Varazda have been living together in Boukos for a month, and their future is beginning to look bright. Then Damiskos receives a letter summoning him home to Pheme—where his parents are deeply in debt, his brother is being hunted by loan sharks, and an unwanted arranged marriage looms.
And that’s before Damiskos is charged with murder.
Fortunately, he’s not alone. Old friends are back in Pheme. And Varazda—eunuch, sword-dancer, and spy—has solved mysteries before. But saving his lover from execution and from marriage will take time, and with only days until Dami’s trial, time is running out.
Strong Wine is the third book in the Sword Dance trilogy, the conclusion of Dami and Varazda’s story from Sword Dance and Saffron Alley. This time with fake fortunetellers, real courtroom drama, and … fertilizer?
Foxen Bloom by Parker Foye (alt world)
- Season after season, hunters have attempted to capture the white-tailed stag. Local legend holds that its capture promises prosperity, and in a land that is dying—to hunger, to war; to a magical curse, some say—even a whisper of hope is a powerful lure. Yet every hunter who tries fails, never to leave the forest. Fenton, god of the forest, yet imprisoned within its borders, watches from his place in the trees as the hunters first despoil and then fall to his land, dispassionate as his deadwood heart.
Prior doesn't hope to capture the stag or secure prosperity. He has a far bolder hunt in mind: to entreat the god of the forest to save his sister from the sickness sweeping the land. It's a desperate attempt without much hope of success. He doesn't imagine he'll meet the god in person, much less that he'll find himself agreeing to a favour in turn: his sister's life will be spared, and in exchange, Prior will kill the god's sibling. And he certainly hadn't imagined that a god would be so... human.
When Fenton leaves the forest, he has little but revenge on his mind. As he spends more time with Prior, though, he discovers that the world isn't as simple as the hunt, and he's not the only hunter with teeth—but sometimes the chase is worth the risk of being caught.
Pyotra and the Wolf by Elna Holst (f/f - Siberia)
- For the space of a breath or two, that wolf had entranced her, mesmerised her, made her believe—the impossible. And that was all it took.
Nothing about this wolf was as it should be.
Pyotra Nikolayevna Kulakova lives in a small Russian settlement in the northern Siberian taiga, where the polar night lasts for a good month out of the year and the temperature rarely reaches above freezing point. Pyotra’s days, too, seem congealed and unchanging, laden with grief, until her baby brother’s close encounter with a tundra wolf upends the lives of the three members of the Kulakov family in one fell swoop.
Pyotra and the Wolf is a queer retelling of Sergei Prokofiev’s symphonic fairy tale, structurally influenced by matryoshka dolls and memory castles. This is a story of darkness and light, love and loss, beast and human. Whichever way the spinning kopek falls.
A Bargain of Blood and Gold (Midnight Guardians Book 1) by Kristin Jacques
- A novice hunter with a mission. A five-hundred-year-old vampire with a strong sense of irony. A town plagued by creatures in need of saving.
When Johnathan Newman arrives in Cress Haven, the last thing he expects is for his life to be irrevocably changed. Sent by a clandestine league of vampire hunters to investigate a string of murders, signs point to a vampire lurking amid the townsfolk. Johnathan’s attempt to enlist the locals leads him to an unlikely partnership with Vic, the town's most eligible, enigmatic bachelor.
As the pair work to solve the mystery, Vic’s secrets come back to bite him. Revealed, the vampire fights his attraction to a man trained to destroy him, while Johnathan’s emotions land him in the middle of forbidden desires. Even if Vic isn’t the murderer, how can Johnathan yearn for his natural enemy?
As Vic leads Johnathan into encounters with terrifying beings straight from children’s nightmares, Johnathan learns that not only is the world stranger than he knew, but that those he once trusted have far darker intentions that will place hunter and vampire at the center of a conflict between realms.
Cress Haven holds more sinister secrets than its resident vampire, a secret so great, it could unleash Hell itself.
The Fog of War by AL Lester (sapphic 1920's)
- The quiet village of Bradfield should offer Dr Sylvia Marks the refuge she seeks when she returns home from her time in a field hospital in France in 1918. However, she is still haunted by the disappearance of her lover, ambulance driver Anna Masters, two years previously. Settling back in as the village doctor alone in her large family house is more difficult than she realised it would be after the excitement of front-line medicine. Then curious events at a local farm, mysterious lights, and a hallucinating patient’s strange illness make her revisit her assessment of Anna’s death on the battlefield.
Lucille Hall-Bridges is at a loose end now her nursing work is finished. Her Mama and Papa are perfectly happy for her to pursue any or no career or social round; but she felt useful as a nurse and now she really doesn’t know what to do with her life. She hopes going to stay with her friend Sylvia for a while will help her find a way forward. And if that involves staying at Bradfield with Sylvia ... then that’s fine with her.
But Sylvia is still focused on finding out what happened to her very good friend Anna three years ago; and the unbelievable events at a local farm over the course of the last year don’t seem to have helped her let that go.
Will the arrival of Lucy in Bradfield be the catalyst that allows both women to put their wartime stresses to rest? Can Sylvia move on from her love affair with Anna and find happiness again with Lucy, or is she still too entwined in the unresolved endings of the past?
Inheritance of Shadows: A Paranormal Historical Gay Romance (Border Magic) by AL Lester
- It’s 1919. Rob and Matty both return to Webber’s Farm from the trenches only to find Matty’s brother dying of an unknown illness. And Matty’s looking sicker and sicker. The answer seems to be in the esoteric books Arthur left strewn around the house.
It’s taken a decade and a war to admit they have feelings for each other. They are determined that nothing will part them. What is Rob prepared to sacrifice to save Matty’s life?
A stand-alone 35k word novella set in the Border Magic Universe (previously the Lost in Time universe). Gay, paranormal, historical, romantic suspense. Set in rural England in 1919.
Blood Pact (Youkai Bloodlines #2) by Courtney Maguire
- In Hiro’s world, youkai are a supernatural story used to scare children into obedience, and to keep men out of back alleys and brothels. Until Sakurai Hideyoshi walks through his door with a fantastical tale of a samurai who had killed a thousand men and drank the blood of his enemies, a man that lived in darkness but sought beauty to keep it at bay.
A story both terrifying and romantic…and completely ridiculous.
Convinced something softer lurks behind Hideyoshi’s hard mask, Hiro follows him home. And discovers the story is real.
Only instead of the blood of his enemies, it is innocent blood taken.
Hideyoshi tells him never to return. Yet after Hiro’s mother is mortally wounded, Hiro runs back to the one being he knows with the power to save her. When Hideyoshi can’t, Hiro begs him for the next best thing: the power to avenge her.
As Hiro becomes youkai, he faces a new threat, something darker, older, and far more dangerous. With Hideyoshi at his side, Hiro must decide what he’s willing to sacrifice--and what he’s willing to do--to protect this new life before he loses everything for a second time.
Mirror Monster On My Wall: A Steamy Reverse Harem Regency Monster Romance (Shadows & Glass #1) by Tam Nicnevin (f/m/m - Biracial and Autistic MC - Regency England)
- In a battle of wills against her wicked stepmother and a cruel earl intent on her dowry, Alice Blanchard is positive she has no one to turn to...
Regency England is a hostile place for twenty-five-year-old Alice Blanchard: half-Black, autistic, and wholly uninterested in the romantic company of men, her current plan in life is to endure the tyrannical abuse of her stepmother until the racist old woman dies of an apoplexy. That plan goes out the window when the cruel Madame Blanchard informs Alice that she's been betrothed to the equally cruel Lord Matthew Hillborough, Earl of Pennwood.
Until four old friends show her what she's truly capable of...
Ever since she was a little girl, the only people who've ever shown Alice real love were Magpie, Silver, Kapri, and Glashtyn: four strange, clawed, fanged, many-limbed creatures carved of black glass that appeared to her in her dreams. Now these beings are all grown up, and so is Alice. They love her, they're willing to do anything for her, and she's willing to do anything for them. She just has to find the desperation she needs to let her monsters step out of the dream world and into reality. All it takes is a full moon...and human blood like a scarlet tide...
Mirror Monster on My Wall is a 22k-word erotic monster mash-up novelette of "Snow White" and "Alice in Wonderland" set against the backdrop of Regency England and featuring a new kind of monstrous lover.
Warning: This novelette is the story of an abused young woman taking back her power and autonomy and escaping her monstrous abusers with the help of the real monsters who love her. It features explicit scenes between a human woman, a monster woman, and three non-binary monsters. Reader discretion is advised.
The Bachelor's Valet (Flos Magicae Book #2) by Arden Powell
- Alphonse Hollyhock is blessed with wealth, class, and more beauty than brains. Though he hasn't got a lick of wit or magic to his name, he's perfectly content living life as an airheaded bachelor with his valet—the clever, unflappable Jacobi—by his side to ensure everything runs smoothly. All he lacks, according to his mother, is a wife.
Despite Alphonse's protests, he's to marry Aaliyah Kaddour: a bright, headstrong young woman who would probably be charming company if she didn't threaten everything about Alphonse's way of life. Marrying means giving up his fashionable flat, his fast car, and, worst of all, it means losing Jacobi.
Perhaps most distressingly, this talk of marriage is bringing all sorts of confusing feelings to the forefront. Because rather than falling for the beautiful girl being pushed into his arms, Alphonse seems to be falling for his valet. Except a man can't fall in love with another man. Can he?
Meanwhile, Aaliyah has plans of her own. She's as devious as she is pretty, but if Alphonse wants to get through this marriage business in one piece, he'll have to trust her. Her and Jacobi, and, most dangerously, his own feelings.
The Bachelor's Valet is a novel in the Flos Magicae series, a collection of queer romances set in an alternate 1920s universe with magic. All the stories are standalones and can be read in any order.
The Dandy Medium by Dez Schwartz
- Alfred “Alfie” Hughes is a spiritual medium who has more than enough people in his social circle. Unfortunately, they're all dead. That is until Detective Sebastian Davies arrives in Nótt Haven, a tourist town known for its active nightlife, and deems Alfie's abilities—perhaps, even his company—worthy of closer inspection.
A circus performer, known as The World Bender, mysteriously disappears and a slew of peculiar murders accumulate. Suspecting foul play as unusual as the crimes themselves, Sebastian enlists Alfie to guide him through the town's supernatural underbelly to find answers; and, in the process, Alfie might solve the biggest enigma of all: human connection.
Camilla and Laura by SD Simper (f/f - reissued and audio 2021)
- In the late 19th century, Laura lives a lonely life in a schloss by the forest, Styria, with only her doting father and two governesses for company. A chance accident brings a new companion, however - the eccentric and beautiful Carmilla.
With charm unparalleled and habits as mysterious as her history, Carmilla’s allure is undeniable, drawing Laura closer with every affectionate touch and word. Attraction blossoms into a temptation Laura fears to name, a tantalizing passion burning brighter than the fires of hell. But when a mysterious plague begins stealing the lives of young women in her home and the village beyond, Laura wrestles to reconcile the truth - that the gentle, fragile woman she loves may be a monster cast out of heaven.
Carmilla, the classic vampire novella written by J Sheridan LeFanu, receives new life in this gorgeous retelling, centered on the provocative, controversial leads of the original, Carmilla and Laura.
Cairo Malachi and the Adventure of the Silver Whistle Kindle Edition by Samantha SoRelle
- The first time I met the love of my life, he died in my arms.”
Cairo Malachi, Conduit to the Spirits, is a liar, a thief, and a fraud. He may be building a reputation as one of the most fashionable mediums in London, but he doesn’t even believe in ghosts and has certainly never conjured one. Which is why, after he witnesses the brutal slaying of a handsome young constable, he’s shocked when the man’s spirit appears in his home, begging for his help.
Constable Noah Bell is everything Mal can never be—honest, funny, and kind. But it’s ridiculous to be attracted to a man he can’t even touch, especially when every step they take towards solving Noah’s murder is one step closer to bringing him the justice he needs to move on—and out of Mal’s life forever.
As their investigation brings unexpected enemies to light, the secrets they’re keeping from each other may prove even more dangerous. Mal and Noah will have to work together... or risk a fate worse than death.
Wonderstruck: A Paranormal Historical Romance (Magic in Manhattan Book #3) by Allie Therin
- New York, 1925
Arthur Kenzie is on a mission: to destroy the powerful supernatural relic that threatens Manhattan—and all the nonmagical minds in the world. So far his search has been fruitless. All it has done is keep him from the man he loves. But he’ll do anything to keep Rory safe and free, even if that means leaving him behind.
Psychometric Rory Brodigan knows his uncontrolled magic is a liability, but he’s determined to gain power over it. He can take care of himself—and maybe even Arthur, too, if Arthur will let him. An auction at the Paris world’s fair offers the perfect opportunity to destroy the relic, if a group of power-hungry supernaturals don’t destroy Rory and Arthur first.
As the magical world converges on Paris, Arthur and Rory have to decide who they can trust. Guessing wrong could spell destruction for their bond—and for the world as they know it.
A Tricky Situation by Ellie Thomas
- At night in the seamy port of 18th century Bristol, close to Halloween, wealthy merchant’s son Christopher Holloway finds himself under attack from a gang of robbers.
His rescue by Edmund Hall, a working man of colour, seems almost miraculous. But their mutual attraction turns Kit’s world upside down. Will his feelings for Edmund cause a crisis of the soul?
Of the Wild by E. Wambhein
- Aeris, a shapeshifter of the Wild, steals children from unloving homes and raises them as his own in an enchanted grove deep in the Woods. Under the protective eye of their new guardian, the children absorb the forest's magic and grow more fey-like than human: some of them sprout mushrooms or flowers while others develop scales or wings. But the reserve of magic that keeps Aeris and his forest home alive is inexplicably running dry. With his life waning and the dangers of the Wild creeping closer and closer, Aeris will do anything to protect his family, even set his hopes on an unlikely new arrival in the Woods: a human stranger.
Seducing the Sorcerer by Lee Welch
- Homeless and jobless, Fenn Todd has nearly run out of hope. All he has left is his longing for horses and the strength of his own two hands. But when he’s cheated into accepting a very ugly sackcloth horse, he’s catapulted into a world of magic, politics and desire.
Fenn’s invited to stay at the black tower, home of the most terrifying man in the realm: Morgrim, the court sorcerer. Morgrim has a reputation as a scheming villain, but he seems surprisingly charming—and sexy—and Fenn falls hard for him.
However, nothing is as it seems and everyone at the tower is lying about something. Beset by evil hexes, violent political intrigue and a horse that eats eiderdowns, Fenn must make the hardest choices of his life.
Can a plain man like Fenn ever find true love with a scheming sorcerer?
Carillon’s Curse by Sionnach Wintergreen (Texas, 1888 - trans author) - Coming 12/10/21 so add it to your Winter holiday list!