The heroines of these novels eventually found the loves of their lives and ended the novels secure and happy. Although modern romance novels have expanded to include both authors and protagonists of different genders, races, sexualities, and abilities, historically, romance novels separate themselves from other genres by being primarily written by women, for women, and about women.Įarly romance novels featured heterosexual, white female protagonists either defying social conventions or overcoming personal struggles in pursuit of their own happiness. In novels such as Samuel Richardson’s Pamela, or Virtue Rewarded, the gothic romances of Ann Radcliffe, and the works of Jane Austen, readers were introduced to a new form of fiction, one that primarily focused on the lives and struggles of female protagonists. This book is a marvelous, intelligent, respectful, breathtaking treat for your brain.The modern romance novel, or mass-market romance novel as we know it today, has its origins in the romantic fiction of the 18th and 19th centuries. An Entertainment Weekly TOP 10 ROMANCE BOOKS OF THE YEAR A Bookpage TOP PICK A Kirkus BEST BOOKS OF 2017 A Vulture TOP 10 ROMANCE BOOKS OF 2017 A Publishers Weekly BEST BOOKS OF 2017 A Booklist TOP 10 ROMANCE FICTION 2017 “Richly detailed setting, heart-stopping plot, and unforgettable characters.” -Deanna Raybourn, New York Times –bestselling author “You should absolutely read this book, immediately, if you haven’t already. . . . Caught in a tightening web of wartime intrigue, and fighting a fiery and forbidden love, Malcolm and Elle must make their boldest move to preserve the Union at any cost-even if it means losing each other. . .

Two undercover agents who share a common cause-and an undeniable attraction-Malcolm and Elle join forces when they discover a plot that could turn the tide of the war in the Confederacy’s favor.

Subterfuge is his calling, but he’s facing his deadliest mission yet-risking his life to infiltrate a Rebel enclave in Virginia. Malcolm McCall is a detective for Pinkerton’s Secret Service. Trading in her life of freedom in Massachusetts, she returns to the indignity of slavery in the South-to spy for the Union Army. Elle Burns is a former slave with a passion for justice and an eidetic memory. A former slave finds danger, intrigue, and passion undercover as a spy in first of this Civil War–era romance series from an award-winning author.

An extraordinary union