This post contains SPOILERS for all aired episodes of Bones, including last night's Season 8 finale, episode 24, “The Secret in the Siege."

Bones super-villain Pelant has really done it this time. Sure, he’s used the powers of the interweb for evil more times than most people can count and generally played cat and mouse with the entire staff of the Jeffersonian, but interfere with Booth and Bones’s romance? Oh, no, he didn’t…except that he did.

The episode opens with the Booth/Bones banter we’ve come to love. She didn’t buy him jerky and there’s good-natured quibbling, as well as mail from Booth’s newlywed mom, which of course turns to talk of marriage. Bones insists that going all gooey over Mama Booth’s honeymoon pictures and a culturally inappropriate statue doesn’t mean she’s changed her mind about marriage. Isn’t it enough that she loves Booth? Do they need anything else?

[Oh, Brennan, you know marriage is what Booth's always wanted...]

Dubbed “The Virgin Queen,” Elizabeth I held the English throne on her own from 1558 to 1601. Not to say she didn’t have chances to marry, because she definitely did, but romance readers respect a woman who knows what she wants and won’t settle for less. That’s only one reason why the Elizabethan age is, for many, a favorite setting for historical romance.

Elizabethan heroines such as Bess Hardwick, from Virginia Henley’s A Woman of Passion, or Skye O’Malley from Bertrice Small’s classic of the same name, can go toe to toe with the most powerful woman in the world and come out on top. Elizabeth might have played an international cast of suitors against each other, while strongly discouraging romance for the ladies of her Court, but it’s the historical romance heroine who gets to walk away with everything—including the boy.

Though women wouldn’t be able to legitimately tread the boards for nearly a century, that doesn’t stop Elizabethan heroines from having theatrical aspirations. Karen Hawkins’s Much Ado About Marriage gives us Fia, a playwright determined to present her work to the queen, and Thomas, the supposedly luckiest man in England, who finds things are about to change in a very big way when he mistakes Fia for someone she’s not.

[What other goodness does Elizabethan romance bring?...]

It takes one generation to make it,
One generation to lose it,
One generation to talk about it,
And one to make it again
—Valerie Sherwood

These days, a historical romance series usually refers to a group of friends, siblings or colleagues, all within the same generation, but this wasn't always the case. In the 1970s and 80s, a romance series might as easily be a generational saga, with hero and heroine of book one returning as the parents of hero or heroine of book two, who would then become the parents of the lead of book three, and maybe even farther than that.

Valerie Sherwood, for example, often wrote mother and daughter series, often introducing the daughter's story in the second book of the mother's romance. Yes, second book. Sherwood heroines covered a lot of ground. In her Love quartet, original heroine Imogen cut a swath through England, the Netherlands, colonial New York and the Caribbean, giving daughter Georgiana (or Anna, depending on who you ask; it's complicated) some pretty big shoes to fill. Thankfully, such heroines' mamas don't breed fools, and both mother and daughter have heroes who can keep up with them. Sherwood's single title, Born to Love, is a family saga in one volume, covering the years 1666 to 1717 and three women from the same family, all of whom share the same passionate nature and bear the name Dorinda.

[Wonder how much romance per page that adds up to...]

Pirates play by their own rules. Maybe that's part of what makes Marsha Canham's pirates both engaging and authentic. This fan-favorite author dropped out of sight years ago when the winds of publishing changed. Stick to one historical period? Never! Tone down the adventure? Not a chance.

Readers mourned Canham's retirement, but the winds of the e-book and indie publishing revolutions have brought these tumultuous tales back on the horizon.

Ms. Canham first dipped her toe into the waters of piratical romance with Bound by the Heart, pairing American privateer Morgan Wade and British governor's daughter, Summer Cambridge, during the War of 1812. Summer tries to hide her identity, and for good reason. Not only are they on opposite sides of the war, but she happens to be betrothed to Morgan's arch-enemy, who isn't letting her go that easily. Though the original form of this book did include forced seduction, the e-book reissue does not, a change the author has said better reflects Morgan's character.

[Sometimes changes to reissues can be a good thing...]

Looking for a historical setting that’s primed for romance? One, maybe, with a young and charismatic monarch on the throne; or maybe a monarch who has an eye for the ladies. Maybe you want an era where it’s the dawn of a new day and anything seems possible? Wild things, like opening the theaters after years of disuse, and putting women on the legitimate stage, perhaps? How about a vibrant and bawdy Court filled with Cavaliers and courtesans, peers and actresses? Long for an age of swashbuckling pirates and the Puritans who love them? Look no further than the English Restoration. Films like The Libertine with Johnny Depp or Restoration with Robert Downey, Jr. deliver on the big screen, but Restoration-set romance novels have all of that and a happy ending. Interested? Read on.

Sabrina Jeffries fans are in for a treat with a reworked reissue of By Love Unveiled, originally published under her Deborah Martin pseudonym. Marianne Winchelsea, daughter of a baronet, is suspected of plotting to kill Charles II and must don a disguise and flee for her life. Garrett Lyon, the Earl of Falkham, sees that Marianne is more than meets the eye, but can she trust him with her heart?

[Methinks she can...]

The fair folk have a long history of entangling themselves in the love lives of mortals. Shakespeare made use of this trope in A Midsummer Night’s Dream; Disney gave us a plethora of fairy godmothers, as well as a jealous Tinker Bell,  in the adaptation of J.M. Barrie’s Peter Pan, and many readers talk about wanting a fairy tale element in their romance reading.

In Beyond the Highland Mist, Karen Marie Moning introduced faeries, characters who are now on their third novel series, as the Highlander romance series begat the Fever urban fantasy series, which now spins off into Iced and its upcoming sequels. Romance mainstays Barbara Samuel, Mary Jo Putney, Jo Beverley and Karen Harbaugh teamed up for the memorable Fairy Magic anthology some years ago, and even historical favorite Edith Layton treated her readers to a fairy hero in Bride Enchanted. Susan Krinard’s Fane series starts off in Regency times with the forest fairy hero who’s anything but flighty in The Forest Lord. Fairies get up to mischief and down to business in multiple urban fantasy series, both adult and YA, with varying levels of romance, and the trend shows no sign of stopping.

[Are we under a fairy spell or is there something more?...]

What’s the first thing you think of when someone mentions the words “paranormal romance?” Vampires? Werewolves? Shifters of another sort? Angels, fallen or otherwise? Fan favorites and time tested, to be sure, but if anything is possible in paranormal romance, diversity amongst the otherworldy can only mean more to love. Let’s take a look at a few likely candidates, shall we?

Ghosts: How much more romantic can one get than a love that transcends death? All right, the lack of a corporeal body might pose a problem with the love scenes, but it also can focus on the bond between hearts and minds. In the internet age when couples can meet, fall in love and even commit themselves before exchanging a single touch, it’s not that far a stretch. Ghost stories come with a special poignancy, with lovers separated by more than time or distance, and finding a happily-ever-hereafter gives writers a chance to flex their creative muscles. Try The Ghost and Mrs. Muir by R. A. Dick for a real classic (or watch the movie) or Stardust of Yesterday by Lynn Kurland and get ready for Mia Marlowe’s upcoming Spirit of the Highlands series.

[So many great options!...]

This post contains SPOILERS for all aired episodes of How I Met Your Mother, including last night's Season 8 mid-season finale, episodes 11 and 12, “The Last Page" parts 1 and 2.

For Barney/Robin shippers, this has been a big season, and no episode bigger than the double episode midseason finale. Part of the fun of shipping is following a couple from that first meeting, through the ups and downs of their relationship until it all explodes in a supernova of romance. Long-suppressed feelings finally declared, hard-won commitments made, and in a way that's not only right for the couple but for each individual.

[It was legen—wait for it—dary...]

This post contains SPOILERS for all aired episodes of The Walking Dead television series, as well as for the graphic and prose novels.

In the world of The Walking Dead, be it comic series, TV series, or hardcover novels, the course of true love never does run smooth, providing dedicated shippers with a veritable buffet.

Rick/Lori/Shane: Here we have a classic triangle. Rick starts off the story married to his beloved Lori, who thinks he’s dead, so she turns to his best friend, Shane, only to have Rick show up very much alive. Rick and Lori reunite in every way and Lori soon discovers she is pregnant, but who’s the daddy?

[And is that even their biggest hurdle?...]

Note: If you haven't seen last night's episode of Covert Affairs (3.16, “Lady Stardust”), read no further. (Seriously! You'll thank us later.)

********SPOILERS********

In the interest of full disclosure, this was my first episode of Covert Affairs. Still, when I heard about the possibility of big shippy doings on the season finale, I had to have a look. All I knew about Annie and Auggie were that she was a CIA agent, he was in special ops, and between all the espionage and derring do, these two reportedly were doing a slow burn on the relationship thing. Would the season finale turn this slow burn into fireworks or would it go down in flames?

Annie, brave and resourceful, finds herself in Amsterdam and in the midst of a dilemma, so she does what any self respecting heroine would do. She consults her soulmate. No matter that she’s in Amsterdam and he’s in Iraq, because the connection appears to be that strong. Annie leaves a voicemail detailing her options and thanks Auggie for letting her talk things out. She’s made her decision, and  it’s back to work. Soon enough, she walks into a darkened room, and surprise, Auggie, sitting there in the dark, or as he puts it, just sitting. A man who’s sure of himself enough to fit such comments into everyday conversation and answers a voicemail by showing up in person to surprise the woman he loves, when she needs his guidance the most? Hot. I fell for Auggie right there, and found myself hoping Annie would as well.

[Get him, girl...]

Note: If you haven't seen last night's episode of How I Met Your Mother (8.06, “Splitsville”), read no further. (Seriously! You'll thank us later.)

********SPOILERS********

“I love everything about her, and I'm not a guy who says that lightly, I'm a guy who has faked love his entire life, I'm a guy who thought love was just something idiots felt, but this woman has a hold on my heart that I could not break if I wanted to. And there have been times when I wanted to. It has been overwhelming and humbling, and even painful at times, but I could not stop loving her any more than I could stop breathing. I’m hopelessly, irretrievably in love with her. More than she knows.”

Barney said it. He said it in public, in front of an ice cream parlor full of people and the gang on speaker phone. A romance novel worthy declaration of love if ever there was one, and he can’t take it back now. For Barney/Robin shippers, this is American and Canadian Thanksgivings rolled up in one. It’s Canada Day and the Fourth of July, French fries and poutaine.  In the middle of  “Splitsville,” a dessert place known as an infamous breakup spot, a romantically awkward Robin finds that breaking up with the very sexy but very dull-witted Nick is more than she can handle. Even when failure to break up with Nick while the gang listens on speaker phone means Barney will send everyone she knows a video initiation to a BFF dinner with her nemesis, the perpetually annoying Patrice, Robin can’t get the right words out.  She’s too fidgety, Nick’s too dense, it’s easier to procrastinate, and all seems lost, but for the arrival of a knight in suited armor.

[Nothing suits him like a suit—and Robin!...]

The first season of Hell on Wheels introduced us to three couples who could each star in their own historical romances, but who's going to get the happy ending? Now that the season two finale has aired, let's discuss:

***Beware of SPOILERS for Seasons 1 & 2 of Hell on Wheels***

Ruth Cole & Joseph Black Moon:

Though Ruth and Joseph come from two different worlds, in the world of the railroad, these two are perfect for each other. Ruth, a preacher's daughter turned preacher herself, struggles to find the balance between duty to her estranged, alcoholic father and her newfound passion for preaching and leading her church. Joseph proves her ideal mate, as he also must reconcile his Cheyenne heritage and fervent Christian faith. Though the two fall deeply in love, Joseph's desire to marry Ruth and lead the church together faces two big roadblocks. They both acknowledge that a white woman married to a Cheyenne man would have a difficult time moving in society, and the there's the little fact that Joseph stabbed Ruth's father. Okay, he did it to save a whole train full of innocent people, but it still counts. Now that tarnished idealist and Irish immigrant Sean McGinnes has set his sights on Ruth, abandoning both his family and his faith to gain her favor, is Joseph out of the running or will true love win out?

[Call it...]

What first comes to mind at the mention of the term, “frontier romance?” The endless expanse of wildflower meadows and wagon trains filled with hopeful homesteaders on their way to a heartwarming happily ever after of an inspirational romance like Janette Oke’s Love Comes Softly? A young widow and widower finding that love can bloom—again—even in the most unlikely of places? That’d fit. Or how about a cattle drive, staffed by the desperate and broken in body and spirit, perhaps along the lines of Maggie Osborne’s The Best Man? Also a perfect fit.

Maybe it’s the mix of people who might never have had a chance to meet, much less make a life together, if they weren’t headed for the very edges of the known world. From sweet to erotic, frontier romances truly have something for everyone, and the uncertainty of leaving behind all that is familiar for the chance at something better strikes a universal chord. This theme is a classic fit for westerns, to be sure, but also lends itself beautifully to other settings.

[Love: The Final Frontier...]

H&H’s bloggers are all avid readers, of course, and each has their favorite genre.

So, of course, we challenged them to read outside of their favorite genre—to read a book, in fact, in a genre they never read in. And we asked another H&H blogger who does read in that genre to choose the best book for the neophyte to read.

We’ll be posting the results of the Genre Experiment as each blogger finishes—or does not finish (DNFs)—their book. Today, H&H blogger Anna Bowling reads Marian Keyes’s Anybody Out There?, recommended by Kate Nagy.

Angsty historicals are my favorites, especially big, sprawling epics where hero, heroine or both go through their own personal hell before finding that well-earned happily ever after, so when asked what sort of book I avoid, the first thing that came to mind was the opposite: contemporary comedy. Kate Nagy recommended Anybody Out There? by Marian Keyes, and suggested that the less I knew about the story going in, the better, so I headed off to the library and dove in completely blind.

[What was the verdict?...]

Though romance is a very wide umbrella, one thing is still sacrosanct; the happily ever after (that, and other rules are covered in our What Rules are in the Romance Covenant? post). Our lovers have triumphed over every internal and external conflict. Their reward is a lifetime of love, together. Kind of the whole point, right? But what if fate throws another curve into the road to happily ever after? Is love lovelier the second time around?

Let’s take a look at a few Bertrice Small heroines who have had more than one big love in their lives. Since we’re looking at continuing series, spoilers will be present:

The O’Malley Women, O’Malley and Skye’s Legacy series

Skye O’Malley has to be one of the most resilient heroines in romance fiction as well as one of the most adventurous. Married six times, asking any O’Malley devotee who they’d pick as the love of Skye’s life (I’m a Niall gal myself) is sure to spark a lively debate.

[Where do you stand?...]

Angsty romances aren’t for everyone, but stories where the hero and heroine really have to earn their happily ever after are among my favorites. There’s a certain catharsis in following a pair of star-crossed lovers to hell and back. The romance genre guarantees that no matter what obstacles may stand in the way, our hero and heroine will triumph over war, treachery, disapproving family members, class differences or any other slings and arrows life or the author hurls their way.

The way I see it, the lower the valleys, the higher the mountaintops, and every midnight has a dawn. While a romance novel does have the promise that all will be well in the end, the harder it is to figure out exactly how that’s going to happen can keep a reader turning pages long into the night. As long as we have the happily ever after at the end, it can be well worth chewed fingernails and damp handkerchiefs.

Need proof? Try one of my favorite several-hanky reads:

Karen Ranney, Tapestry

The Angst: Ah, the classic teenage pining for a handsome older neighbor…who goes off to war. Then comes back, so severely disfigured and engulfed in despair that he wears a mask when he must be seen by others. Laura’s love for Alex still burns bright, and enters his household as a servant so that she might bring him back from the brink of death—at his own hand. Because of the loss of one eye, as well as all the time that’s passed, Alex doesn’t recognize Laura. Though strongly attracted to her, he is convinced he is a monster, unworthy of love. Laura, needless to say, disagrees.

[Oh, the angst!...]

Nick Hornby may not write in the romance genre, but he writes some darned good love stories. Whether it’s romantic love, love of friends, family or music, Nick Hornby novels hit right to the heart of the matter. Take the opening lines of his nonfiction memoir, Fever Pitch (twice adapted for the big screen, with the British version starring Colin Firth): "I fell in love with football the way I was later to fall in love with women: suddenly, inexplicably, uncritically, giving no thought to the pain or disruption it would bring with it.” Does Nick Hornby understand the ups and downs of love? Read on.

Four complete strangers all convene on the roof of London’s tallest building on New Year’s Eve to commit suicide, but find it’s A Long Way Down when they learn that there’s still a lot of love in the world: Martin’s affair with an underage girl ruined his career as a television journalist as well as his first marriage, and he’s not entirely sure about his current girlfriend. Maureen, wholly devoted to her comatose son, would love to find some joy in life, but doesn’t know where to look. Teenage Jess goes through adolescent angst like a rocket powered rollercoaster, while JJ’s misery over losing both his band and his girlfriend threatens to eat him alive daily. Alone, each one of them would have ended their lives, but together, they can find a reason to go on.

[Intense stuff...]

The Bones finale certainly held some surprises. Read a special reaction piece from Anna Bowling on last night’s memorable episode 13, “The Past in the Present”:

********SPOILERS********

Keeping romantic tension high when the happy couple is, well, happy. Booth and Bones are happily cohabiting, in their own cozy house with adorable baby Christine, content in domestic bliss. For all those who have been waiting to see Booth and Bones standing at an altar in front of a priest, “The Past in the Present” delivers exactly that, but not in the way one might imagine.

The day of Christine’s receiving her first sacrament, her christening, looms, and Bones still isn’t sure if she’ll attend. She doesn’t understand how sprinkling water over an infant makes up for the sins said infant committed before birth. Maybe she would have understood if Booth had a chance to explain that it’s a symbolic washing of the soul, but they did have a gruesome corpse to investigate, so family matters must wait.

[Ah, Bones—I’d say “never change,” but you wouldn’t anyway...]

Whether you’re a Barney/Robin, Marshall/Lily, or Ted/Mother fan, last night’s How I Met Your Mother hour-long Season 7 finale was full of surprises. Read a special reaction piece from Anna Bowling on last night’s memorable episode(s), (7.23 and 7.24) “The Magician’s Code, parts 1 and 2":

Kids, ah, readers, there are three parts to this season finale, and each part brings somebody to a point of no return. We’ve got a birth, an engagement, a wedding and a half, a vacation that never gets off the ground, the magical contents of a mysterious box, and that’s only scratching the surface, so get comfy. It’s going to be a bumpy ride.

[Buckle up!...and of course, spoilers!]