The Blades of the Rose Bundle

I read these individually when they were first released in 2010. They were my favorite books by this author, with smart, strong-willed women, and men who appreciated their intelligence, not just their looks. Each couple is on a quest to save magic relics before they fall into the hands of the Heirs of England, who want to use them to claim power for their country over all others. There are adventures, exotic locations, magic and Really Bad Guys, plus just enough humor and sex. The H/H generally start out with some mistrust, then work together towards their goal and fall in love gradually. There are no Big Misunderstandings and plenty of communication - the challenges they face are sufficient that they don't need a lot of artificial obstacles to their relationships. My favorites are #1, Warrior for the dashing ex-soldier Gabriel and #3, Rebel for the indigenous attorney with something extra Nathaniel. Unfortunately after three books that featured inventor Catullus Graves in a supporting role, the series conclusion Stranger that focuses on him is a bit of a let-down, with too much magic and not enough of his brilliant Wild, Wild West-type gadgets. But we do get to see all of the couples from the previous books, so that's something.This bundle is frequently on sale (I got it for $1.99) but even at full price it's well worth the cost. Zoe Archer seems to have moved on from steampunk (or maybe it has fallen out of fashion) to straight historicals (writing as [a:Eva Leigh 8886093 Eva Leigh https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1439934306p2/8886093.jpg]), but if she ever wants to re-visit this genre I'll be first in line.