Historical Romance Starter Pack

Fantasy, fun, and a printable pdf

I like to think of any unrealistic historical romance elements as pure fantasy, not in the magical sense, but in the “handsome duke who doesn’t have syphilis and does have all of his teeth” sense. My favorite authors weave well-researched historical detail into page-turning plots that (let’s face it) would be considered unrealistic by a scholar’s standards, and this combination of historical fact and fantasy serves me well. I want to get lost in the world of historical romance having swooned and laughed and been fully entertained, and then come out on the other side having learned something new. 

Despite the heightened popularity of the romance genre, historical romance remains largely misunderstood. Grating phrases like “grocery store paperback trash” or “half-naked Fabio covers” malign a smart, feminist, and FUN sub genre. I’ll save my clinch cover rant for another day (tl;dr I love them, they’re beautiful, and you can pry them from my cold dead hands). Instead, allow me to share how I choose my historical romance reads and why I adore them. 

I take care to select historical romance novels written in the last seven or eight years, the newer the better. More recent romance novels contain clear and caring consent, characters who feel like they could be dropped in modern times and still hold their own, and less problematic writing around race, class, gender, etc. This isn’t a perfect system, and romance isn’t a perfect genre (no genre is perfect!), but so far it has led me to authors I can trust to deliver a well-written, page-turning, smart and sexy story. 

(Occasionally, I break my own rules and change my reading strategy. In the last few weeks, I listened to two backlist series from Lisa Kleypas, written in the early 2000s. Yikes. Highly problematic. I still finished them, but I found myself in English student mode, using critical lenses, just like I would with a classic novel.)

Another reason I stick with more recent romance releases is the inclusion of diverse authors and characters. In the last few years we've seen a slight uptick in traditionally published historical romances featuring characters of color, queer love stories, and settings outside of London. Romance has a long way to go, but the future of my beloved historicals excites me (I just don't want to see the death of the clinch cover, please and thank you).

The historical romance novels on today's printable list encapsulate my favorite aspects of the genre, and they’re wildly entertaining. Whether you’re an avid historical romance reader like myself or a curious romance novice ready to travel to the past, I hope you find something thrilling to read in today’s download.

Download your historical romance starter pack.

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Chelsey