Where to start - Celia Lake

Almost all of my books can be read in any order – pick a time period, a trope, a type of character, or type of romance that intrigues you! Check out each book page for more ideas of what you might want to read next.

I also have more suggestions on reading order if you’re looking to follow threads of particular characters.

Or check out these books for wonderful places to start. Every book page links to an extended excerpt and has other information about the book, tropes, representation, and other delights.

Cover of Pastiche. A man and woman in Edwardian dress silhouetted against a bright teal background, with a stained glass window in golden yellow and muted purple behind them.

Pastiche (1906)

When Alysoun stumbles on something odd in a museum exhibit about stained glass, she and her husband Richard find they have more in common than the obligations of their arranged marriage and his increasing responsibilities and duties.

Pastiche is a M/F romance full of living life with chronic illness, an arranged marriage turned love match, and creating a family of choice. It’s a wonderful introduction to Albion and to the Edgarton family. Also available as an audiobook!

Content notes and representation

Arranged marriage to lovers trope. Main character dealing with what we would call fibromyalgia (and they called fibrositis).

Main character who is part of the Guard, Albion’s equivalent of a police force (among other things) and ongoing discussion of his current work and duties. Duelling.

Secondary character who is an amputee due to war injuries.

Cover of Carry On, a nurse and man in silhouette walking together, her arm through his on a mauve background. Yarn and knitting needles are inset in the top left.

Carry On (1915)

Sent home from the Front after a injury leaves her with ongoing headaches, Elen is desperate to do her part for the War effort. Assigned to a mysterious patient, she wants to help him recover. But when Elen tries to find out more about Roland, she can’t get any information. His files aren’t available, and no one will answer her questions.

Carry On is about taking time to heal, finding unexpected allies, and the power of quietly doing the necessary right thing. This M/F romance is an excellent introduction to the Great War and 1920s in Albion.

Content notes and representation

Set in 1915, early in the Great War: multiple discussions (non-graphic) of injuries, new kinds of injuries, and other implications of the war.

Hero was injured in the First Battle of Ypres in late 1914, the heroine has had a traumatic brain injury and continuing migraines. Both are new to dealing with these issues. Various attitudes of healers and nursing staff, some of whom are much more helpful than others. No on-page sex.

The cover of Best Foot Forward has a deep red background with map markings in a dull purple. Two men in silhouette stand, looking up at a point in the top left. An astrology chart with different symbols picked out takes up the left side of the image, with glowing stars curving up to the title.

Best Foot Forward (1935)

Geoffrey Carillon needs to get an imprisoned alchemist doing key research out of Germany before the world gets even worse. But he’s got excellent reasons not to trust the one person who might be able to help.

Best Foot Forward takes place in the magical communities of Great Britain, Vienna, and Berlin as the world moves towards another war. It is an enemies to “it’s complicated” M/M romance full of espionage, magic, extreme competence under pressure, music, and healing from the traumas of the Great War.

Content notes and representation

M/M enemies to “it’s complicated”, with one aromantic and asexual protagonist and one bisexual allosexual protagonist (also polyamorous – no cheating, full awareness of all parties). Takes place in 1935, including in Nazi Germany.

Contains mentions of past deaths, trauma from the Great War, emotional neglect in various forms, as well as injuries and PTSD. Both characters have moments of emotional crisis in the book. References to the current state of minorities in Germany in 1935, including homosexual men.

Only one bed trope. One character is French-Egyptian, with references to the implications while in Germany. On-page sex in the included epilogue novella, Intimacies of the Seasons but not in the novel itself.

Cover of Enchanted Net: A silhouetted man and woman in Victorian dress stand with their backs to the viewer. She is holding a glass of wine as they look toward each other. The background is a purple damask, crossed by pipes and gears and a streak of lightning, with a book inset in the top left corner.

Enchanted Net (1889)

Thessaly’s life has been laid out for her like a glittering gem. But when she meets Vitus at a costume ball, there’s an immediate spark. There’s no barrier to a friendship or magical collaboration – her marriage agreements allow for that. When a sudden change in her life throws everything she’d expected into chaos. Vitus has no idea how to help, not without risking his future as well.

Enchanted Net begins Thessaly and Vitus’s M/F romance, but their happily ever after won’t come until book three. The Mysterious Fields trilogy follows them supporting each other, navigating the politics of Albion’s Great Families, and figuring out how to live their own lives (plus my most hissable villain).

Content notes and representation

Contains family and magical politics including multiple murders (nothing graphic on the page) and grief afterwards. At the beginning of book 1, Thessaly becomes betrothed in an arranged match and it becomes increasingly clear there’s a problem. Secrets, bad life decisions, and damage to secondary characters from people they thought they could trust.

The book begins with Thessaly’s betrothal to Childeric Fortier. Her marriage agreements explicitly permit other relationships within set terms, this is an arranged match. This book includes two deaths, and guilt-laced grief related to one of them.