The Book That Accidentally Made Me Fall in Love with Historical Romance
I opened The Wicked North expecting historical fiction and discovered, slightly too late to escape, that historical romance could be exciting, emotional, tense, and deeply readable.
Reading details: The Wicked North by Gina Danna · Historical romance / historical fiction · First read in 2018.
Affiliate disclosure: The Amazon.ca link is an affiliate link. If you buy through it, I may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
I read The Wicked North by Gina Danna back in 2018. At that time, I was not really a romance reader. Actually, romance was something I rarely touched, let alone liked. I read historical fiction, yes. I had watched Outlander before this, and I had also watched Sungkyunkwan Scandal, so clearly the historical-drama door was already slightly open. But reading historical romance? That was not really my thing yet.
So when I picked up The Wicked North, I started reading it thinking it was plain historical fiction. A little history, a little conflict, maybe some wartime danger. Safe enough. Then, as the story progressed, I realized: wait. This is romance. But by then it was too late. I was already completely engulfed by the adventure and the character dilemmas. Against my better judgment, I kept reading. I could not put it down.
Looking back, this book was basically one of my gateway books. It opened the door to historical romance for me, and somewhere down the line, that door also led me deeper into Asian historical dramas, wuxia, court politics, longing across impossible circumstances, and all that delicious historical chaos I now very much enjoy. So yes, this book has a special little place in my reading history.
The writing style pulled me in quickly. The plot kept pushing me forward, and I remember holding my breath whenever it felt like everything was about to go wrong. And honestly, that surprised me. I did not expect a romance novel to make me feel that much. Back then, I think I had this unfair little idea that romance would be lighter or less serious somehow. This book proved me wrong.
What worked for me most was how the characters grew. Jaque and Emma did not feel like cardboard people being moved around for the sake of a love story. Their emotions, decisions, fears, and conflicts made them feel alive. As I read, it genuinely felt like I was watching them grow. In a matter of days, I felt like I was living alongside them, which is usually the kind of feeling I only get after reading multiple books in a series. Getting that from one standalone story was impressive.
The romance itself was also handled really well. The romantic scenes were emotional without being unnecessarily vulgar, and the author managed to express intimacy without making it feel cheap. That mattered to me, especially as someone who was not actively looking for romance at the time. The relationship did not make me roll my eyes. It made me care. And that is probably the biggest compliment I can give this book: it made me care about a genre I did not think was for me.
Would I read it differently now? Probably. I have read and watched a lot more historical romance and historical drama since then. My taste has changed, and I have more language now for tropes, pacing, emotional tension, and character arcs. But I do not want to over-correct my original reaction too much, because the best part of it was how genuinely surprised I was.
I went in thinking I was reading historical fiction. I came out realizing historical romance could be exciting, emotional, tense, and deeply readable. So yes, The Wicked North became one of those books I remember not only because I enjoyed it, but because it changed what I thought I could enjoy. It was engaging, emotional, and completely entertaining. After reading it, I knew I wanted to find more of Gina Danna’s work, because I could trust her writing to pull me in and keep me there. For a book I started almost by accident, that is a pretty big achievement.