I’m just finishing up The Soldier by Grace Burrowes. It’s well named: the hero is not only a former soldier suffering from PTSD, but he’s been “soldiering on” for most of his life.  Other books in this family series follow that same naming trend. There’s The Heir, about the responsible brother, and The Virtuoso — I haven’t read that one yet, so I don’t know if it has any metaphorical meaning, but I wouldn’t be surprised. In a field in which generic titles abound, it’s cool to see a series with titles that say something about the main characters and their roles in life.

Wait a minute though… those are all the book about the sons of the family. There are also five daughters. And what are their titles? Lady Sophie’s Christmas Wish. Lady Eve’s Indiscretion. Lady Louisa’s Christmas Knight.  And Lady Maggie’s Secret Scandal. (What does that even mean? How can you have a secret scandal?) The final (?) book will be called Lady Jenny’s Christmas Portrait.

Five Ladies. Three Christmases. A multitude of meaningless Historical romance novel buzz words. These aren’t the most pointless, generic, pandering titles I’ve ever seen — I think that honor would have to go to Lady Amelia’s Mess and a Half — but it’s damn close.  I haven’t read any of these books yet, so I don’t know if I can expect the author’s usual straightforward, intimate style or if she’s had to cutesify it up to go with the titles. God, I hope not.