So here are the Historical Debuts of 2010! So what do you think of this year’s crop? Are there any that struck you as particularly memorable for whatever reason–good or bad? Any you still plan to read but had just never heard about? Any you would recommend? I’m giving away a bunch of prizes but I’m not saying exactly for what because I don’t want to skew the answers. Be honest and you have a chance of winning.  Tell me how many of the below debuts have you’ve read and answer one of the other questions above and you’ll be entered to win.

Click the above image and it will take you to the 2010 Historical Debut page on the site where you can read the back cover blurbs and available reviews, view covers and any available book trailers and also give you quick access to buy links for all the major online book sellers.

80 Replies to “Year in Review: 2010 Historical Debuts”

  1. The only book above that I remember reading is Sinful Surrender. I thoroughly enjoyed your book, Beverley, and would recommend it to everyone. The only other book I’ve heard about is Butterfly Swords. All of the covers look fantastic though, and though I haven’t heard of the other books or most of their authors, I would love to read them all. I think that 2010 was a good year for some great releases.

  2. I’m hearing lots about Butterfly Swords, but haven’t had the pleasure of reading it yet. Lila DiPasqua became an instant buy with her Awakened by a Kiss. I finally got to read Sinful Surrender and can’t wait for A Taste of Desire. Jenny Brown’s Lord Lightning was one I knew about from friends on Authonomy.com and Facebook, especially because it’s close to the premise of my “series.” Many of the rest I’ve noticed or heard of (in terms of author/title), but had not heard about the story/writing. I’m all for supporting debut authors, though, so I’ll read many of these eventually. Sadly, I’ve only actually read five of them.

  3. I’ve read four of them and to be honest, not one really spoke to me. I still have The Heir to read and it sounds interesting — one of my GoodReads friends described it as being very earthy, which sounds refreshingly different.

  4. Whoops. Hit the button before answering the question. I enjoyed all of the books that I read. The one that sticks out to me the most is When Harry Met Molly. It had me laughing out loud throughout the entire book. That doesn’t happen often with books for me. Another that stuck out to me was Ashley March’s Seducing The Duchess. It may have been a tad bit short but I love that we were able to see the pain and anguish Philip goes through to win back his Duchess. I would recommend all of the books that I have read in the list above. I was not disappointed in any of them.

  5. I have read five books and have 2 others to others to read. I really liked Lin’s “Butterfly Swords”. It was a good mixture of adventure, ninja battles and romance. I also really liked Sara Lindsey’s first book in the Weston series, which is fun to read. I liked Erica Ridley’s “To Wicked to Kiss”. It’s the first new gothic romance I’ve read in some time and had a really funny side character. Maggie Robinson’s “Mistress By Mistake” was also very good; a spinster in the wrong bed finds love. All very good reads. I’d also like to try several of the others.

  6. I’ve only read “When Harry Met Molly” and “Sinful Surrender.” I really liked both, mostly because I really love historical romances and second – and best of all – they both had good plots and characterizations. In terms of what’s next on my list, I’ve heard really good things about Courtney Milan as well as Grace Burrowes. I must say that Burrowes sticks out the most to me. Who can resist a “my-who-is-that-amazing-housekeeper-i-have-but-never-noticed-until-now.” I just cannot wait to read it!! I also love the basic premises of Lilia DiPasqua’s short story/erotic romances. It’s such a unique way to write romance (one I really haven’t seen before!) and I can’t wait to see the spins she puts on various fairy stories.

  7. You know what, I can’t believe this, but I haven’t read ANY of them! How did this happen? I have heard of most of them, and I intended to read them. I guess it IS true that there are so many books and so little time. I still hope to read them, especially “When Harry Met Molly”, “Sinful Surrender”, “Mistress by Mistake”, “The Highlander’s Sword”, and “Swept Away by a Kiss.”

  8. I read Proof by Seduction by Courtnay Milan after watching her live interview and I enjoyed the book. However, I have six of the books listed on my wish list including Lord of the Isles, When Harry Met Molly, Captured by Desire and Too Wicked to Kiss. I love finding new authors to read!

  9. I have read three of the books mentioned, including yours Bev, and all three were enjoyable. Can’t say any of the others are on my radar, but I will certainly look at them and see which ones to add to my huge, honking TBR pile.

  10. The only books I’ve read so far (that are listed) are SINFUL SURRENDER and MISTRESS BY MISTAKE. Great debuts by the way!! And I would recommend them both!
    I have many of these books in my TBR that I will be reading soon: Proof of Seduction,Too Wicked To Kiss, and Lord Lightning.
    There are many others that I still would like to buy.
    It looks like it was a great year for debuts!!

  11. The only one I have read is SINFUL SURRENDER. I enjoyed it, would recommend it, and am looking forward to book two.

    On my TBR shelf I have IN FOR A PENNY, MISTRESS BY MISTAKE, THE SURRENDER OF A LADY OF A LADY, MISTRESS BY MISTAKE, and WHEN HARRY MET MOLLY. I really have a lot of reading to catch up on.

    On my Wish List, I have THE HIGHLANDER’S SWORD, LORD OF THE ISLES, CAPTURED BY DESIRE, and BUTTERFLY SWORDS.

    It was a good year with a nice variety of books. I think the only one I don’t remember hearing about is SECRETS OF SIN.

    Thanks for bringing these all to our attention.

  12. I’ve read six of the debuts and I enjoyed them all. I would definitely recommend Maggie Robinson’s “Mistress by Mistake” and Tiffany Clare’s “Surrender of a Lady.” I also really liked Erica Ridley’s “Too Wicked to Kiss” and would recommend that to those who like gothics.

  13. I have read one of them, skimmed through a few others, and anticipate reading yet a few more. It’s a good, eclectic batch, and I’m glad there are more authors venturing into different territory from what we have so far.

  14. I’ve only read one of them but I’ve got five of them on my “to read” pile. I’m really really behind…!

  15. I have read 6 of those listed. I loved Sinful Surrender and loved Missy and James Beverly. As for A Highlander’s Sword and Lord of The Isles they were great reads because I’m addicted to anything Highlander. 🙂 Lila DiPasqua is also an automatic buy for me after Awakened By His Kiss. I will still look to read Seducing The Duchess, Captured By Desire and TheHeir.
    An exciting giveaway.
    Carol L
    Lucky4750@aol.com

  16. I have read 2 books of this list : When Harry Met Molly and Promise Me Tonight. It’s not a lot but the truth is I have to be really careful with money. I can’t buy as much book as I’d love to. The result is that I usualy spend my money on my favorite authors (which are numerous unfortunately, 😉 and I have little left to spend on new authors. It’s a shame I know. That’s also why I like all those contest/giveaways.

  17. I confess I haven’t read any of these books though I have several. I plan to read THE HIGHLANDER’S SWORD (didn’t know about that one), THE HEIR, SWEPT AWAY BY A KISS, and BUTTERFLY SWORDS. The latter intrigues me.
    I haven’t read yours, Bev, but I would recommend it to friends. I’ve told people about this blog. Happy Holidays!!!!
    Looking forward to a New Year with all of you and THE SEASON!!

  18. I have read a few, including Sinful Surrender, which I loved. Most of the rest are on my TBR list.

    Thanks and Happy Christmas!

  19. I actually haven’t read any of these. BUT! In my defense, I also haven’t been able to read as much as I usually do because I started school again this fall. There are actually a couple on this list that are in my to-be-read pile though and I’m hoping to read a LOT over this winter break. So I still have to get a hold of a few of these debuts 🙂 Also, does Sarah MacLean’s Ten Ways…. count? Because I read that in about 2 days.

  20. I remember reading Too Wicked to Kiss and loved the gothic feel to the book. My historical romance reading wasn’t that great this past year in that I couldn’t concentrate on any but am finally out of my slump and plan to read many of those pictured here. Lately I’ve been looking for a new Medieval and those are a bit hard to come by. I love the Regency and Victorian time frame but a change of time is nice, too.

  21. I’ve read six but can only say with confidence that I read two all the way through. There was a lot of interesting plotting to start off but I was skimming to the end on several. I really enjoyed Sara Lindsays Promise Me Tonight and would recommend it. Im a sucker for brothers best friend stories though. Those seem to be popular with recent debuts. s I think it might be time for a reread.

  22. Great looking stories, I have read 4 of these debuts. And they were all good books so I kept them.
    The titles I’ve got in my bookcase are:

    PROOF BY SEDUCTION
    MISTRESS BY MISTAKE
    AWAKENED BY A KISS
    BUTTERFLY SWORDS

    I wanted to read them all but you know how it is: so many books and so little money, uhm time.

  23. A quick glance and I can say I read 7 of them…I’m thinking I may have started an 8th too and then got sidetracked (that happens a lot with me this time of year!). Most recently I read When Harry Met Molly, and I thought it was really cute…quirky, fun, easy read with enough of a twist that it wasn’t the same old boy meets girl story (although not perhaps realistic in the sense I could see it happening in that time frame). I’ve also found I really like Courtney Milan’s books – her characters are so unique and the storytelling is fabulous.

  24. I’ve read two and would definitely recommend Sinful Surrender! I can’t wait for A Taste of Desire!!!!! As for the others, I think I’ll go out today to try to find Too Wicked to Kiss (I meant to get it before, but time and the day job made the days go by too fast), and I’ll definitely be adding a few more to my wish list. This is the holiday season after all. 😉

  25. I have read SWEPT AWAY BY A KISS, By Katharine Ashe and I must say I was swept away!
    It’s a wonderful story with amazing historical details and “other” details, if you catch my drift (wink, wink)!
    Again, it was a beautiful story with a happy ending and it was my pleasure to escape away within the pages.

  26. I have read 6 of the new debuts. I would recommend Sinful Surrender, Proof by Seduction, Promise Me Tonight, & Mistress By Mistake loved them. I have plans to read at least 8 more of the debuts. 🙂

  27. I have read Sinful Surrender, Proof by Seduction, Mistress by Mistake, and have about six more of the above titles in my TBR pile.

  28. I have not read any but I do have the A. March title and In for a Penny on my TBR pile. I have not been impressed with many of the debut books or other books in my reading life this year. I do recommend Kaki Warner’s trilogy (last coming out in January)

  29. I just received Lila’s book and Katharine’s is on the way. I haven’t read any of the others. There are 2 on my wish list, Butterfly Swords and Lord of the Isles (I love Highland Time Travel). I’ve just added Erica, Amanda and Kira’s to my list from this blog! I love this contest, because it has introduced me to some new authors!

  30. I’ve read Katharine Ashe’s SWEPT AWAY BY A KISS and absolutely loved it! I’d recommend her to anyone. And the only other author of new debuts I’ve read is Grace Burrowes’ THE HEIR…another great read.

    I did see a few up there I would also like to download to my kindle….it’s just a matter of time. 🙂

  31. I’ve read 10! And I loved about 90% of what I read. I already have an eye on some of the debut author’s next releases!

  32. I’ve read Sinful Surrender by Beverley Kendall, Proof By Seduction by Courtney Milan and Promise Me Tonight by Sara Lindsey. Too Wicked to Kiss by Erica Ridley and Swept Away by a Kiss by Katherine Ashe are in my TBR pile.

    I would highly recommend all 3 of the books that I read. A common link between Beverley, Courtney and Sara’s books were well-drawn characters and an engaging plot. Courtney Milan’s novel was particularly interesting because her h/h came from such different backgrounds. The hero was uptight and upper-class, while the heroine was a fortune-teller and charlatan. Courtney also alluded to the serious topic of manic depression in 19th Century England. I liked both Beverley and Sara’s novels, because they had a similar plot: heroines who have known the heroes for years, but can’t get them to admit that they love each other.

  33. I bought 8 of them and read 6 of them. My favorite was When Harry Met Molly. When Zebra Publishing started their Debut Author Program I was buying them every month if I read that genre.

  34. I’ve read nine of those listed and enjoyed each one. i need to go back and get the rest. I’m hoping Santa brings me an ebook gift card for Christmas as my husband has seen the bill for B&N!

    Merry Christmas all,

    amy

  35. Kieran Kramer’s “When Harry Met Molly” is a remarkable debut. The humor alone makes it a winner, Molly’s poetry will make every reader wish they could have been there, and the happy ending is magical. It is a true standout from an author who I have placed on autobuy. The sequal is equally charming. Fabulous reading.

  36. I have read 6 of the books and have 5 more of them in my stack to read. I always have those reviewd at this site on my TBR list .
    I thiNk my New Year’s resolution is going to be READ FASTER

  37. I have Sinful Surrender and Captured by Desire but haven’t read them yet. All the covers are beautiful. Of the ones listed, I’d most like to read ‘The Heir’.

  38. I read Debbie Mazzuca’s book and Maggie Robinson’s book, and I enjoyed them both. I have The Heir by Grace Burrowes in my TBR pile and cannot wait to read it. I have heard great things about it. I am still dying to try books by Courtney Milan, Sara Lindsey, Katharine Ashe, and Ashley March. I think all of their books sound wonderful, but I just have not had the time to read them yet.

  39. Happy Holidays Everyone!

    I read Sinful Surrender, loved it. I thought it would be an awesome book to give a friend of mine who has not read romance. Can you believe it? She said,so far she is “very intrigued” LOL!

    I have Secrets of Sin, Have not read it yet.

    I really want to read Ashley March, Seducing the Duchess, I have heard rave reviews about her and I have to put her on my priority read list!

  40. I love finding new authors and this year there was a bonanza! I didn’t realize until looking at the list how many wonderful authors I “f0und” this year! I read all but 5 of the books and deciding on my favorites was so difficult I could only narrow it down to 8 of the 14 I read – they were all that good.

    In cronological order:

    Sinful Surrender by Beverly Kendal
    Proof by Seduction by Courtney Milan
    Promise Me Tonight by Sara Lindsey
    Mistress by Mistake by Maggie Robinson
    Captured by Desire by Kira Morgan
    The Surrender of a Lady by Tiffany Clare
    Seucing the Duchess by Ashley March
    When Harry Met Molly by Kiernan Kramer

    Fortunately for us readers some of these authors have even given us a second great book in 2010 – be sure not to miss Kiernan Kramer’s Dukes to the Left of Me, Princes to the Right which is already out and Cloudy With A Chance of Marriage coming out in April 2011. Thanks to all these great new writers and hopefully we will be reading more of them in the New Year!

  41. I’ve read ten and have two others on my TBR shelf. That’s an extraordinary number of books by debut authors for me. Some years I haven’t read a single one. Part of the explanation is that I had a number of friends who debuted with terrific books in 2010, and part is that my online community has made me aware of new authors that I would have missed in the past.

  42. I haven’t read any of them but I have at least 2 or 3 in my TBR.
    I have SINFUL SURRENDER on my Nook
    I’m pretty sure I have PROOF OF SEDUCTION in print
    and I just realized I have THE PRINCESS IN HIS BED not AWAKENED BY A KISS (bummer)

    Now I have a few more to put on my wishlist.
    WHEN HARRY MET MOLLY
    THE SURRENDER OF A LADY
    to start with.

  43. I’ve read some and have a few more in still in the TBR pile waiting on me to get to them. A couple, while still enjoyable, were a little disappointing — think I got snuckered into the hype and set myself up, would have enjoyed them more if not for that. There’s a couple there that I somehow missed and might have to remember to look into getting. I appreciate sites such as this that help bring these to my attention as I may not have picked them or even been aware of them to give them a shot otherwise.

  44. I read Shameful Surrender and loved it and have a couple more in my tbr pile. Shame on me. I’m sure I would love most of these books.

  45. I’ve got 4 on my TBR print book pile and 1 on my Kindle, but have not read them yet. What I want for Christmas is more reading time!!!!

  46. I have Mistress By Mistake, The Surrender of A Lady, and Captured By Desire but; haven’t got to read them yet. I think there were a lot of great books that came out this year. The one that really stands out is Awakened By A Kiss Because she did she did a blog tour that was very fun and it’s also I book I want. Sinful Surrender and Lord Lightning are 2 others that I really want and I really enjoyed the authors posts.

  47. I have definitely read “Sinful Surrender” and also Sara Lindsey’s “Promise Me Tonight”. Loved both! On my TBR pile I have Courtney Milan’s “Proof of Seduction”, Katharine Ashe’s “Swept Away By A Kiss”, and Kieran Kramer’s “When Harry Met Molly”. I’ve heard so many good things about these books and some of the other debut books that you have listed that I can’t wait to read them. You now have me knowing what I’ll be wishing for after seeing this group of books and reading the reviews!

  48. I read Katharine Ashe’s SWEPT AWAY BY A KISS and loved, loved, loved it. Can’t wait to read her “Rogue” book. When Harry met Molly is in my TBR pile for the holidays (ha! Like that is gonna happen)

  49. I have 5 of these books. My favorite by far is When Harry Met Molly – maybe it’s in the name? 😀 Actually, I really enjoyed the writing too. Not too much sex, it was just right!

  50. I’m sorry to say that I’ve only read one – Rose Lerner’s In For A Penny, which I loved because of the exploration of class differences. I do have three others on my TBR mountain, though. I’ve got The Heir, Proof By Seduction, and When Harry Met Molly waiting for Me.

  51. From all these books, I only have one and even that, I just got that in my mail and am planning to read it in the week-end. Should I just get back later?? 🙂 Anyway, it’s When Harry Met Molly and I’m super excited about reading it. I laughed (out-loud — it’s rare for me to show any expression that clear when reading a book) when I read the excerpt. So like I said, really excited. By the way, do debut covers always look a bit ‘overwhelming’? I mean it’d be better if the covers are a bit more simple, classy. It’s just a suggestion anyway. I am not that brave to bring those books around when I’m on public transport or infront of my little sister! 😀

  52. Butterfly Swords was a really unusual story for a romance and I thought it was a great read. In For a Penny was also a nice read and it goes without saying that Sinful Surrender was a great addition to the group.

  53. I read 5 of the books shown and really recommend Awakened by a Kiss. Have Butterfly Swords in my tbr and am looking forward to reading such an unusual story.

  54. Oh dear! I am a LOSER! Lol, I’ve only read one title “Awakened By A Kiss” by Lila DiPasqua. GREAT READ!!!

    This is a compilation or “Fiery” tales, sure to get your motor running! I would totally recommend you all grab this one and Princess In His Bed, for great reading pleasure!

  55. I’ve read 4 of the above books and have three others on my tbr list – I didn’t realize that so many of them were new authors! Such a great crop of new historical romance authors!

  56. I have read Promise Me Tonight, Swept Away By A Kiss, Seducing the Duchess, Lord Lightning and have When Harry Met Molly and The Heir in my TBR pile. I really liked Seducing the Duchess and Swept Away By A Kiss. Promise Me Tonight had a heroine who was just too young and acted that way for me. The follow-up book which I just read, Tempting the Marquess was much better. Lord Lightning was just alright. Swept Away By A Kiss just had it all, a hero and heroine I enjoyed reading about, a situation that was out-of-the-ordinary but not too far-fetched and good writing. I always enjoy the married couples finding their way back to each other stories so Seducing the Duchess was a good read for me.

    After looking at the blurbs about the others and having looked at several before, The Heir is the only other one I am interested in.

  57. I’ve only read one of these so far (Sinful Surrender), but several others have been on my to-read list all year (Proof by Seduction, Too Wicked to Kiss, Mistress by Mistake, and When Harry Met Molly).

  58. I have read 4 of these debut books. I loved Sinful Surrender, Proof by Seduction, and Secrets of Sin and plan to read the second books in each series! The last one that I read, The Surrender of a Lady, was very disappointing! I really didn’t like it and in fact it was a DNF for me! The plot and setting in a harem sounded promising, but the author just glossed over those parts that would have made this a really hot story!
    I still plan to read a couple other books on the list, especially Mistress by Mistake!

  59. I’ve read the following books:
    Sinful Surrender
    Proof By Seduction
    Promise Me Tonight
    Too Wicked To Kiss
    Mistress By Mistake
    Swept Away by A Kiss
    The Surrender Of A Lady
    Seducing The Duchess

    Out of all the ones I haven’t read, I would like to read Awakened By A Kiss the most. It’s on my wish list.
    Some of the books I enjoyed tremendously. A couple of them I liked, but aren’t on my keeper shelf. My favorites were Mistress By Mistake, Promise Me Tonight and Sinful Surrender. I’d recommend those.

    I have to say that Promise Me Tonight was definitely my all time favorite. It has to be one of the best debuts I’ve ever read. Sinful Surrender was right up there, too. They’re the most memorable for me because they were so similar to each other. Hero’s named James, both in love with their best friends sister. The tension and angst, and misunderstandings made them really good reads. Hmmm….I think it’s time for a re-reread of these books!

  60. I count 4 that I’ve read:
    Sinful Surrender, Proof of Seduction, Mistress by Mistake, and Seducing the Duchess

    BUT I have 3 waiting on my TBR pile:
    When Harry Met Molly, The Surrender of a Lady, Secrets of Sin, and Promise me Tonight

    I loved Proof of Seduction so I read Courtney Milan’s next one Trial By Desire which I LOVED and that has made her an autobuy for me!

    When Harry Met Sally will be my next book to pick up and read because I’m reading Kieran Kramer’s Dukes to the Left of Me, Princes to the Right and I ran out to pick up Harry lol

    LOVE finding new authors!

  61. I’m embarrassed to say I’ve not read any of them though I do have a few of them. I’d definitely love to read them all!

  62. In For A Penny by Rose Lerner is in my top 10 reads of 2010. I’m a long time traditional Regency fan and this book took me back to the days when Regency romances were readily available.

  63. I think there are a lot of fantastic books in this year’s crop. I read Courtney Milan’s Proof by Seduction and Ashley March’s Seducing the Duchess and I really enjoyed both of them. I have several more on my TBR shelf, but haven’t read them yet. The ones I will be reading are: Sinful Surrender, Too Wicked to Kiss, Swept Away by a Kiss, Captured by Desire, The Surrender of a Lady, and When Harry Met Molly. I’d love to read Mistress by Mistake, Butterfly Swords and Lord Lightning as well.

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