Historical romance novels with virgins are easy to find. If you’re looking for an inexperienced female main character (FMC), you basically can take your pick of 80% of historical romances on any bookshelf.
Historical romance novels with virgin heroes are a little harder to find. We tend to assume the historical hero lost his virginity to some unnamed woman early in his adolescence and that, since then, he has been working on fine-tuning his experience so he knows exactly how to please our heroine when finally he earns his way into her bed.
If you’re in the mood for a historical romance book that explores a different angle, try a virgin hero. They tend to be men who march to the beat of their own drums, who have to face some deep-seated principle that has kept them chaste this long, and ultimately heroes who have fantastic character arcs.
Here is my ultimate list of historical romance books with virgin heroes, which I’ll update each time I read a new book that blows my socks off!
(This list is in no particular order.)
Unclaimed by Courtney Milan
Average Goodreads Rating: 3.92
Synopsis:
Her only hope for survival...
Handsome, wealthy and respected, Sir Mark Turner is the most sought-after bachelor in all of London and he's known far and wide for his irreproachable character. But behind his virtuous reputation lies a passionate nature he keeps carefully in check...until he meets the beautiful Jessica Farleigh, the woman he's waited for all his life.
Is to ruin the man she loves...
But Jessica is a courtesan, not the genteel lady Sir Mark believes. Desperate to be free of a life she despises, she seizes her chance when Mark's enemies make her an offer she can't refuse--seduce Mark and tarnish his good name, and a princely sum will be hers. Yet as she comes to know the man she's sworn to destroy, Jessica will be forced to choose between the future she needs and the love she knows is impossible.
Why I Loved It:
Mark is so principled, Jessica is so strong, and overall it is a wonderful, feminist, clever novel!
Two Rogues Make a Right by Cat Sebastian
Average Goodreads Rating: 4.01
Synopsis:
Will Sedgwick can’t believe that after months of searching for his oldest friend, Martin Easterbrook is found hiding in an attic like a gothic nightmare. Intent on nursing Martin back to health, Will kindly kidnaps him and takes him to the countryside to recover, well away from the world.
Martin doesn’t much care where he is or even how he got there. He’s much more concerned that the man he’s loved his entire life is currently waiting on him hand and foot, feeding him soup and making him tea. Martin knows he’s a lost cause, one he doesn’t want Will to waste his life on.
As a lifetime of love transforms into a tender passion both men always desired but neither expected, can they envision a life free from the restrictions of the past, a life with each other?
Why I Loved It:
For two people who are obsessed with each other, there is a lot that Will and Martin assume incorrectly about each other. Most of this story is peeling away those layers until they can finally communicate honestly. It is quiet and lovely!
A Taste of Honey by Rose Lerner
Average Goodreads Rating: 3.68
Synopsis:
Robert Moon risked everything, including his father’s hardwon legacy, to open his beloved Honey Moon Confectionery on the busiest street in Lively St. Lemeston. Now he’s facing bankruptcy and debtor’s prison.
When a huge catering order comes in, he agrees to close the sweet-shop for a week to fill it. There’s only one problem: his apprentice is out of town, so his beautiful shop-girl Betsy Piper must help Robert in the kitchen.
Betsy’s spent the last year trying to make her single-minded boss look up from his pastries and notice that she would be the perfect wife. Now the two of them are alone in a kitchen full of sweet things. With just one week to get him to fall in love with her, she’d better get this seduction started...
She soon discovers that Robert brings the same meticulous, eager-to-please attitude to lovemaking that he does to baking, but can kisses—no matter how sweet—compete with the Honey Moon in his heart?
Why I Loved It:
Full warning - this is an erotic short story first and foremost. What charmed me is that we get to see the losing of the virginity from Robert’s point of view and see how physical intimacy builds their emotional intimacy.
Temptations of a Wallflower by Eva Leigh
Average Goodreads Rating: 3.69
Synopsis:
In society circles she’s known as the Watching Wallflower—shy, quiet, and certainly never scandalous. Yet beneath Lady Sarah Frampton’s demure façade hides the mind of The Lady of Dubious Quality, author of the most titillating erotic fiction the ton has ever seen. Sarah knows discovery would lead to her ruin, but marriage—to a vicar, no less—could help protect her from slander. An especially tempting option when the clergyman in question is the handsome, intriguing Jeremy Cleland.
Tasked with unmasking London’s most scandalous author by his powerful family, Jeremy has no idea that his beautiful, innocent bride is the very woman he seeks to destroy. His mission must remain a secret, even from the new wife who stirs his deepest longings. Yet when the truth comes to light, Sarah and Jeremy’s newfound love will be tested. Will Sarah’s secret identity tear them apart or will the temptations of his wallflower wife prove too wicked to resist?
Why I Loved It:
These two kids are obviously made for each other, but they also have very opposing views on sex. I loved how much I was rooting for them as well as how the plot forced the reader to consider sex positivity in the role of steamy books.
A Lady for a Duke by Alexis Hall
Average Goodreads Rating: 4.12
Synopsis:
When Viola Carroll was presumed dead at Waterloo she took the opportunity to live, at last, as herself. But freedom does not come without a price, and Viola paid for hers with the loss of her wealth, her title, and her closest companion, Justin de Vere, the Duke of Gracewood.
Only when their families reconnect, years after the war, does Viola learn how deep that loss truly was. Shattered without her, Gracewood has retreated so far into grief that Viola barely recognises her old friend in the lonely, brooding man he has become.
As Viola strives to bring Gracewood back to himself, fresh desires give new names to old feelings. Feelings that would have been impossible once and may be impossible still, but which Viola cannot deny. Even if they cost her everything, all over again.
Why I Loved It:
The writing manages to be both witty and heartfelt. It is easy to love Viola, even as she shows her flaws to both the reader and the characters around her. The bond between her and Gracewood is undeniable, and I couldn’t wait for them to get together!
The Lord I Left by Scarlett Peckham
Average Goodreads Rating: 3.86
Synopsis:
He’s a minister to whores… She’s a fallen woman…
Lord Lieutenant Henry Evesham is an evangelical reformer charged with investigating the flesh trade in London. His visits to bawdy houses leave him with a burning desire to help sinners who’ve lost their innocence to vice—even if the temptations of their world test his vow not to lose his moral compass…again.
As apprentice to London’s most notorious whipping governess, Alice Hull is on the cusp of abandoning her quiet, rural roots for the city’s swirl of provocative ideas and pleasures—until a family tragedy upends her dreams and leaves her desperate to get home. When the handsome, pious Lord Lieutenant offers her a ride despite the coming blizzard, she knows he is her best chance to reach her ailing mother—even if she doesn’t trust him.
He has the power to destroy her… She has the power to undo him…
As they struggle to travel the snow-swept countryside, they find their suspicion of each other thawing into a longing that leaves them both shaken. Alice stirs Henry’s deepest fantasies, and he awakens parts of her she thought she’d foresworn years ago. But Henry is considering new regulations that threaten the people Alice holds dear, and association with a woman like Alice would threaten Henry’s reputation if he allowed himself to get too close.
Is falling for the wrong person a test of faith …or a chance at unimagined grace?
Why I Loved It:
I love a principled hero, and in Henry’s case, he is trying very hard to live by his principles while remaining compassionate and battling some very earthly lust. The romance between Henry and Alice is heartfelt and also asks the reader to engage with the question of why we regulate sex.
The Husband Plot by Katherine Grant (me)
Average Goodreads Rating: 4.72
Synopsis:
What could go wrong when you marry someone you have never met?
Lisbeth Dawes would rather not end up a spinster. After her first fiance leaves her at the altar, she agrees to marry Adrian Hathorne sight-unseen. She doesn’t expect much from her new husband, since he plans to leave for Jamaica within the year, but she does hope for friendship and freedom to pursue her own interests.
Adrian Hathorne wants to be above reproach. He doesn’t indulge in any of the usual gentlemanly pursuits, nor does he chase after any women. When his father writes from Jamaica with instructions to marry as soon as possible, he does as asked. It is only after the wedding that he realizes he doesn’t really know how to be a husband - especially not to a bluestocking wife with so many of her own ideas.
Divorce is not an option - which means Lisbeth and Adrian need to find common ground before their marriage of convenience goes up in smoke. Just when they have discovered they don’t disagree with each other over everything, another letter arrives from Jamaica with news neither of them expected. News that will test every aspect of their fledgling marriage.
Why I’m Including It:
I can’t write this list without including my own novel, The Husband Plot. Lisbeth assumes her husband will know how to consummate their marriage, but his insecurities quickly show up, causing all sorts of problems before their relationship can even begin. Finding out how to communicate with each other about sex helps them communicate about their emotions and ultimately helps them build a relationship that will be tested in a fraught family decision.