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Mr Impossible by Loretta Chase- Is the closest to The Mummy of any book, I've ever read. The h is an Egyptologist and the H is an adventurer. The h is confident and the H is a charmer. It's a HR.
CW: Some questionable depictions of Egyptians.
I just started The Raven Prince by Elizabeth Hoyt and the h is 31. I believe the H is over 30, too. It's a HR.
I believe the h is At Last Comes Love by Mary Balogh is 30. And again the H is older than her. It's a HR, too.
Homebound by Lydia Hope is about a human woman working in a alien jail, who falls for a comatose prisoner. It is super slow-burn, lots of culture clash between humans and aliens, the H isn't just a green humanoid, he never abducts her, and it is probably the best book I've read all year.
This was extremely helpful! I read some of the Boundary Lands Omegaverse by Callie Rhodes, but I kind of had to figure out the rules of the genre as I went along. :)
I was obsessed with this being a romance novel when I first read that post. And turns out, Susan Stoker is going to make it one. Sounds like the exact same story! Hahaha, I'm hit or miss with her books but I honestly can't wait to read this one.
I've been binging the Loveless Brothers series by Roxie Noir, and they're all so hot I can't pick a favorite. Goddamn, that woman can write a love scene!
You can still get the Enemies with Benefits ebook for free if you haven't already. A+ hate sex, yum
One of my fave historicals with this trope. Scandal in Spring by Lisa Kleypas. It’s book 4 of the wallflower series.
Kiss an Angel by Susan Elizabeth Phillips has this trope and one of the best grovels of any book I've ever read.
If you're interested in historicals, A Bride for the Prizefighter has a poor h who is married to a pub owner. The book included a lot of the h working hard and worrying about money.
Maybe Three Fates by Nora Roberts? Three siblings and their love interests try to reunite three statues that allegedly sank on the Lusitania, but there is this evil woman trying to stop them. Lots of sneaking around, research stuff, and plotting to take down the villainess. I really liked how much stuff was happening.
If you want to read a lot about players, the game, the action on the field/ice I recommend checking out Sarina Bowen's Brooklyn Bruisers series. Almost every book in that series is great. Rachel Gibson's Chinooks Hockey Team series has also lots of on-ice action, but also lots of off-ice. I recommend {See Jane Score}, {True Love and Other Disasters} and {Nothing But Trouble}.
Susan Elizabeth Phillips is one of my favorite authors and she has written sports romance too, although it's not really that much about the sport. The only book that focuses on the game is the first book in Chicago Stars series, {It Had To Be You}. The first book is published in 1994 so maybe expect some outdated fashion or references, but I loved the story so much that I'm practically blind to its faults. Other books in that series that I recommend are {Dream a Little Dream} (this had me feeling so many emotions), {Match Me If You Can} and {Natural Born Charmer}.
Sara Ney writes great sports romance, and most of her novels are NA, so college kids and sports. I recommend checking out {Jock Row}, {Things Liars Say} and {Hard Pass}.
Elle Kennedy's Off-Campus series is quite popular, you can get the first book for free on Amazon. The spin-off, Briar U, is also good, and the first book is also free on Amazon.
I did that with Homebound with Lydia Hope. And then I had to post on here about it, which took me another half hour before I could go to bed. I regret nothing. :)
Radiance by Grace Daven fit a lot of this. Two royals from feuding lands are forced to marry. They each think the other is hideous, because they're different species/races. They decide to work together, rather than fight, though. Slowly, they come to desire and love each other. The couple is Brishen and Ildiko. There are more books in the series, but I've only read this one and it was pretty good.
What I Did for a Duke by Julie Anne Long is kind of like this. He is pretending to like her to annoy her brother, but then falls for her for real. She is pretending to like him to make her childhood crush jealous and it takes her a much longer time to realize she loves the H instead. They spend a good part of the book bickering and the rest of it happily plotting together.
Not flashy, but the first book that comes to mind is Johanna Lindsey's A Man to Call My Own. I read it at least 15 years ago, so this has maybe become exaggerated in my head over time. I typically like Johanna Lindsey, but this is my honest recollection:
Twin sisters, one good-hearted and plain, and one spoiled and beautiful. A cowboy H who only has eyes for the "EVIL" twin for a huge part of the book, while the "GOOD" twin (the heroine) secretly loves him. Kind of cliched and normal.
The weird part was... it all felt like a Cliffs Notes version of the book. Like the editors told her to cut the word length, so she summarized what should be happening. Or if this was a sequel and she was catching you up on what previously happened. It felt like a rundown of events, with very little dialogue. Very little character interactions. Especially in the first 1/3. It was a chronical of what the characters had done, and experienced, and felt on the journey West, but we're not seeing any of it.
It's hard to describe, but it was bizarre to me. I have no memory of the MC or the larger plot, just the weird non-story of it all.
Seduce Me at Sunrise by Kleypas.
Awesome! Adding the link, this is a box set with all three for $3.49. https://www.amazon.com/Game-Changers-Collection-Romance-Stories-ebook/dp/B085F1P7BY/ref=mp_s_a_1_8?dchild=1&keywords=game+changers+series+rachel+reid&qid=1627685762&sr=8-8
Everyone loves Heated Rivalry but I have to put in a plug for Ryan and Fabian, the actual best couple of the series 😊
Judith McNaught writes this kind of "epic" romances. She writes a lot of historicals. But if you're willing to go contemporary romance, Paradise has a similar plot to Again the Magic.
There is a rich girl, poor boy couple separated for years, because of the evil father.
Treasure of the Fire Kingdom by Cassandra Gannon. It's a supernatural romance, where the h is literally jinxed. Weird and random stuff happens to her and causes all kinds of chaos. The H thinks she's amazing.
He's not a virgin, but The Madness of Lord Ian Mackenzie by Jennifer Ashley has a H with Autism and who struggles with emotions
Loretta Chase's Lord of the Scoundrels has a scene of the H unbuttoning the h glove that is more sensual than most love scenes.
I believe I have the model you're looking at - the one I have is what pulls when I search, anyway. I've had this since May; here are some of my thoughts:
Pros:
it's super lightweight, lighter than my iphone
it's comfortable to hold and read on
the e-ink is friendly on my eyeballs even with the backlight
it holds SO MANY books, way more than I have in my kindle library
I can read books I borrow on libby/overdrive on it
the battery lasts a long ass time
it feels more... robust than my iphone [no ipad here but I imagine it's the same], ie, not really worried about screen crack.
Cons:
it flickers when the page turns and refreshes the e-ink
it doesn't support continuous page scroll; you have to flip
it's slow in general; for example flipping through books in your library. I like to plan what I'm reading next on my phone instead of browsing the kindle.
I end up spending more at amazon more than I like, through both kindle unlimited and buying ebooks.
I can't read books I borrow from hoopla or cloudlibrary.
I hope this is helpful for you!
Some authors include trigger warnings and spice levels on their websites.
You can also check the StoryGraph, which crowdsources trigger warnings and other meta information about books from readers.
My favorite contemporary recently was Reaper by A. Zavarelli. It's a mob romance. The H is a socially-awkward killer, who wears glasses and is obsessively in love with the h. Free on KU
Susan Elizabeth Phillips write a lot of books like this. They're contemporaries, though. Match Me if You Can comes to mind.
Not exactly what you're asking for, but Wicked Ugly Bad by Cassandra Gannon flips the story so Cinderella is the bad guy and has locked her ugly stepsisters in a mental institution. They have to escape with the Big Bad Wolf and some other fairytale characters. Both stepsisters get a HEA.
Duke of Sin by Elizabeth Hoyt. This is a historical The H is objectively terrible in a blackmailing, killing people, kidnapping sense. The h is his housekeeper, trying to thwart his schemes. I read it as a standalone, but it's part of a series.
Lotharie by Kresely Cole This is a supernatural romance. The H is a vampire guy with A LOT of enemies, who kidnaps the h as part of a scheme. This one is also part of a series. I would read the two books before this one, to understand the arc better.
When Angels Fall by Megan McKinney. The H is the h former stable boy, now rich and powerful, back in town to get revenge and force her to be his mistress.
This isn't precisely what you're asking for, but I just finished Ever After Always (Bergman Brothers Book 3), and really enjoyed it. I can't always read a book where we're focused on a "marriage-in-crisis," but this was lovely. And, you get to hear about them falling in love originally as well as watch/read them try to fix their marriage. You get to really experience the relationship while the conflict is interwoven, if that makes sense?
Defying The Odds by Kyle Moon isn’t necessarily light but it’s one of my favorites. The hero is an AH to most BUT the heroine and he’s very protective and devoted to her.
Thanks for the recommendation. I have this system where I take the five stars on Amazon and minus the 1 stars and use that number to help guide me to what I will read next.
https://www.amazon.com/Torn-All-Up-Book-ebook/dp/B01L7NNS5W
81 for the first book is very good. But 90 for the second is really high. Looks to be 2 books in the series?
Plus there is audio versions of both books. Looks to be my next book series ;).
I found this subreddit after devouring People We Meet on Vacation (a solid 4 out of 5 for me), which I bought on Audible on a whim after landing on BookTok on TikTok, started listening to it on a long car ride yesterday, finished it today - and now I need more. I love the writing and I'm such a sucker for slow burn and witty banter between characters. On my last car trip I bought Tash Skilton's Ghosting: A Love Story which I really liked and I had not really thought about reading romance books or seeking out really nicely well-written ones, even though that's what I drift towards in other media. I burned an Audible credit picking up Emily Henry's previous book so I'm going to listen to that soon as well.
Love seeing what people are reading to add to my list for when I go for a walk to my local bookstore! My shelf is filled with mostly non-fiction books so I'm definitely open to trying some new stuff.
I think Sin-A-Rama is the best known, but it's mainly interviews with the creators of the era and examples of some of the more outlandish covers. I'm sure there are other books on the topic, but I haven't read them.
You can also try Pulpcovers.com. They don't have articles, but they do have thousands of covers and plot blurbs to look through, sometimes even the full text of the books themselves available for free download. They know a TON about this topic and other pulp material.
This comes kinda close - and it's a great book!
Love for the Cold Blooded: or: the Part-Time Evil Minion's Guide to Accidentally Dating a Superhero
I remember reading a series of Viking romances by Catherine Coulter in the 90s. I don't recall many details about them, except the men always referred to sex as something like "plowing the wench's belly."
Johanna Lindsey has a series of Viking books as well. Again, I don't recall much about them, but I'm sure I read them as a teenager. I read all her books. :)
I bought Seven Years to Sin by Sylvia Day but I am waiting until I am in the mood for something historical and ...um... sexy.
Beast in Shining Armor by Cassandra Gannon. It's a fairytale/fantasy book with Enemies to Lovers. (Also kind of "I hate everyone but you" by the end, because the H is still mean to other people.) I remember him calling her "my love" when his guard is down, though. Underneath, he's been in love with her for years. Free on KU
I absolutely am! Hammer & Tongs started my romance career. I wrote it to entertain my husband, and he always calls it "pegging a Peaky Blinder."
Book 2, Trouble & Strife, will be out next Thursday. Birmingham was the center of a big chocolate industry boom, and I have Sidney falling for a sweet & ambitious plus-sized chocolatier.
Hi, everyone! I'll be releasing my third book, HARD FACTS, on Amazon/Kindle Unlimited on July 2! It's the third in my new adult college romance series, but can be read on its own (though, additionally, I'm running deals June 24-29 on the first 2 books for those who want to catch up).
This book features fake-dating with the most unlikely of couples: a rich, promiscuous, take-charge, sorority girl heroine, and a poor, inexperienced, prideful, brainiac hero. And when they meet, it's nothing but steam and sparks ;)
Here's the blurb!
Summer knows secrets.
Everyone has a secret. Everyone, that is, except Grayson Rowe. With my new tutor, apparently what you see is what you get. Though what I see is fine, I know he’s hiding something behind those dorky glasses and annoyingly endless collection of facts. And it’s not just a superhero set of biceps.
I don’t date nerds. But I need Gray’s help keeping this tutoring thing on the down low. So we strike a deal. Pretend to be my boyfriend, and he gets a spot in my rich daddy’s engineering program. Until then, I’ll ignore that I’ve got the hots for his smug grin and sharp mind―the one that makes me want to spill all my secrets instead. Including that I’m falling for him. Hard.
Grayson just knows everything.
Vinegar and baking soda. Sodium and water. Gunpowder and fire. Summer Prescott and me. Do you know what these things all have in common? Reactive chemistry. All things that, when mixed together, erupt. But as much as I love a good bang, that level of combustion can be…distracting.
I can’t afford distractions. And Summer, with her nosy nature and generous curves and all those secrets I don’t know, is the ultimate distraction. Yet, I need that internship. So I’ll fake-date her, and I’ll ignore that I’d like to know her. In more ways than one. Because if we get together, for real―that’s waiting for an explosion on an entirely catastrophic level. Fact.
Ann Mayburn’s Ivan’s Captive Submissive has the H prepping the h to squirt. Ivan’s Captive Submissive
> A Lady’s Code of Misconduct by Meredith Duran
Never had this happen on Amazon before, it says the Kindle edition is not currently available for purchase:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01HMXRXWK/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1
Kiss an Angel by Susan Elizabeth Phillips is my gold-standard grovel. The guy is not a cinnamon roll, though.
I have no book recommendations, but I wanted to share your pain. Dear God, I hate first person. I also hate present tense. I wanted to read Bound to the Battle God by Ruby Dixon, but I couldn't get more than one page in. First person and present tense was killing me.
I'm almost done Mine to Possess by Nalini Signh and the MC is making my face freeze in that face, I've been making it so much, It's one scene after another of... Wait, what?
The heroine changes her mind ever two minutes and makes no damn sense. Like, are you in love with the H, scared of him, or angry at him. Pick a reason for your hiding from him for 10 years. (Not a spoiler. It's literally in the first few pages.) She always has some new rationale.
And complaint. God, all she does is cry and complain.
The H is annoying me, too. He's currently upset >!because the h has slept with other men, when he was sleeping with other women. But, it's so, so different, because she was just doing it to "punish" herself, while he was motivated by the ardent desire to get his rocks off. So much more noble.!< Dude, just shut up and be a leopard. That's all I want to see.
But... Whatever. Maybe it will fix itself in the next 30 pages or so. I'm just turning pages, waiting for Kaleb. And Hawke. I like Hawke. :)
It's Welcome to the Dark Side by Giana Darling :)
I think I've read this ages ago. Was it a Dara Joy's Tonight or Never maybe? Or am I hallucinating? I remember there was a group of guys always hanging around called the Seven Deadly Sins, because they were so handsome or something.
What I Did for a Duke by Julie Anne Long. The MC is involved in a fake romance, and the H decides he wants to make it real way before the h does.
Second both, but especially The Silver Devil. It's probably the bodice rippingest bodice ripper I've read. Should be experience at least once if you're into the genre. It's completely over the top.
CW: >!kidnapping, rape, dubcon, violence, it's been a while but I'm pretty sure the MMC is bisexual, drugging of FMC, some OW drama, suicide of side character!<, etc, etc.
Btw, you probably have to do that thing that sailors are called who are known for plundering and pillaging since the physical copies being sold on Amazon are priced at $450, and there's no ebook version I can find.
If J/P does mean Japanese, I don’t have any books recs, but I do have manga recs. I Hear the Sun Spot is the one I would recommend the most. It’s about two young men in university and one is hearing impaired and the other offers to take notes for them.
I read the first two books in the Immortals After Dark series by Kresley Cole - The Warlord Wants Forever and a Hunger Like No Other. I was disappointed, I've heard so many people rave about this series but I found myself really uncomfortable about the lack of consent. It made me think hard about what I didn't like, though - I don't mind the Black Dagger Brotherhood books where the women can't help but be super turned on, and isn't that also a form of lack of consent? I'm not sure, but IAD bothered me where BDB did not.
Then I read A Heart of Blood and Ashes by Milla Vane, which I loved. It reminded me a lot of Game of Thrones but simpler and without the mysoginy.
The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Emmuska Orczy
During the French Revolution, an English Baronet severely misjudges his French bride. After a year's estrangement, an old acquaintance returns & threatens the couple in a terrible blackmail scheme.
*Written in 1905, so expect 1905 levels of heat + social attitudes.
Kind of obscure, because it's out of print, but I recall The Way Home by Linda Howard having a plot similar to this. It's part of the "A Mother's Love" anthology and is a short story from the 90s. The H is emotionally unavailable due to his traumatic childhood and has a "sex-only" relationship with a woman who loves him. She becomes pregnant and he is upset.
{Sarah's Child by Linda Howard} has a similar idea. That one is a full-length book and available in digital format. I don't think either of them feature the H's family being against the h, though. In both of them the H is mostly against the idea of a baby because it scares him. But he is stuck because the h refuses to budge on keeping it and he is unwilling to walk away from her.
Thanks for the recommendation and also this book is free on Amazon UK as well, thankfully: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Love-Scandalous-Duke-Once-Scandal-ebook/dp/B075DG5P7Y/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=to+love+a+scandalous+duke+liana&qid=1623578945&s=digital-text&sr=1-1
Hello All!
I just released the first book of my second series, and if you're interested I'd love for you to check it out. Available on KU.
Thanks!
Omegaverse, m|m, mpreg, billionaire, sweet & fluffy, 2-hour read
Omega's Forever Home by Lacey Daize - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B095Y5NF3K
Blurb:
Beau is an omega with perpetual wanderlust, ready to enjoy life in a new city.
Ever since leaving home at eighteen, Beau has wanted to see as much of the world as he can. However, the pay of a bartender doesn't leave much in savings for vacations to far-flung places. So instead he decided to move every few years to a new destination, where he can see the sights and experience a place before moving on. His next destination? The beachside billionaire enclave of Harris Cove. But is there more for him in the city when he meets a gorgeous alpha at the overlook outside town?
Kent is a billionaire alpha on the rebound, trying to erase the regrets of his last relationship.
Settling down with an omega to start a family had once seemed within reach to Kent, then he found his now-ex in bed with another man. It's been months, but the hurt and anger still haunt him. Then he sees a gorgeous omega at the overlook off the highway leading to Harris Cove. The man is beautiful, but is he ready for a new relationship?
Can a bartender on the move and a billionaire with regrets find love in each other?
KJ Charles. The first installment is free on Amazon US right now. It has been for a while.
The first book of Annette Marie's Guild Codex: Warped is $.99 now: Warping Minds & Other Misdemeanors. (these are also all on KU, but if you wanted to buy it...the second book just came out.)
Edit: link fix
The second book in Mina Carter/Evangeline Anderson’s CYBRG Files has this theme. I read in the comments Evangeline Anderson uses this a lot in her stories but I haven’t read any of her other works. Unit 78: Rescued: The CyBRG Files, Book 2 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0815CCD73/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_W8XNFQ0JAD98BF3VVP87
Remembrance by Jude Deveraux
I enjoyed this book and I LOVED the sequel In Total Surrender. I am a big fan of books with Gaming Hell owners as the H. I find the "underworld" setting a nice change, after so many historicals with Earls and Dukes.
Okay, this is not REALLY a romance, but...Jane Doe by Victoria Helen Stone (who also writes romances under another pen name, Victoria Dahl). The FMC is basically a sociopath who is getting revenge on someone (NOT the MMC). She has a side love story during this revenge. (there's also a sequel, but I haven't read it yet). The audiobook narrator is FANTASTIC. This may not be what you're looking for if you want more of a romance, but it's really good.
Grand Passion by Jayne Ann Krentz is a contemporary romance with this trope. In fact, that is where the title comes from. The h has waiting for "grand passion." (I believe they actually have sex before they are married, but she is certain he's "the one.") It's a good story about a woman who runs a B&B and the crazy people who work there. The H is a rich guy who thinks she's up to no good, but who is drawn into her warmth.
A Dance through Time by Lynn Kurland is a time-travel romance. I recall the h in this specifically waiting for marriage. In fact, she gets insulted when the H said he wants to sleep with her, but not marry her, and turns him down. She is a modern woman tossed back in time to Medieval Scotland. This is a very cool book, if you like time travel stories.
I enjoy her books so much! Kingpin of Camelot is one of my favorites. I am a huge fan of Tristan. :) I like that her heroines aren't pushovers and the heroes aren't assholes. Their relationships are always respectful, even when the H is a "bad" guy.
Her elementals books are also fun. Exile in the Water Kingdom and Treasure of the Fire Kingdom are my favs of the series.
Jude Devereaux Remembrance is sort of like this. The main "love story" part is their former selves, as I recall.
A Hunger Like No Other Kresley Cole This book has vampires and werewolves. It's a fun book. There is a scene at the beginning that might be problematic. >!In that the H has kidnapped the heroine, because she is his chosen mate, and there is a page or so dubious-consent in a shower!< Not sure how sensitive you are to that. This is the beginning of the Immortals after dark series, which is popular and has all kinds of supernatural creatures running around.
Fantasy Lover by Sherilynn Kenyon, This is a very fun and also emotionally satisfying book, if you give yourself over to the plot. Basically, the hero is a Greek demi-god who has been trapped in a book as a sex slave. The heroine is a psychologist from modern day NOLA. High-jinx ensure when he appears in her living room. It's the beginning of the Dark Hunter series, which is a pretty popular series of supernatural romances. Vampires appear in the next book.
I just finished Caressed by Ice by Nalini Signh. The H literally can't feel emotion and everyone is wary of him, except the h. I wouldn't say he's an asshole, exactly. He just kills a lot of people and don't give a damn. He's pretty awesome.
Is historical okay? What I Did for a Dukeby Julie Anne Long kind of fits all of this. The h is 20 and the H is close to 40. It's not their main obstacle, but the age gap is worried over and commented on, by pretty much everyone.
I am torn on this. Typically, I read series in order. To the point where, if it's a trilogy, I will pre-buy all 3, before I even start the first one. I have always been this way, for as long as I can remember. I read soooo many Mary Balogh books just to get to Wulf's.
But lately, I've been wondering... why bother? Especially in HR, it just seems like a waste to invest in books that I have no interest in, waiting to get to the ones I want to read. I can usually follow along easy enough, with the info the author provides. (With supernatural romances, this can be harder, though, because the have a more complicated world-building.)
Last week, I wanted to read The Duke of Sin a HR by Elizabeth Hoyt. But there were 9 books in the series prior to Val's. So, I just skipped right to his and I loved it! I will probably go back and read others, but I feel free to pick and choose.
There are just so many books out there. Right now, I find I'm happier being choosier about which ones I spend my time and money on.
She also has a contemporary series:
The Travis Family, The Complete Series: Blue Eyed Devil, Smooth Talking Stranger, Sugar Daddy, and Brown-Eyed Girl
Taming Demons for Beginners (The Guild Codex: Demonized Book 1)
VERY slow burn romance! Also one of the best characters arcs / development plots I've ever seen -- the heroine's eventual self-confidence feels earned, it feels real and not rushed at all. I'd seriously recommend for the story as well as for the romance!
Oh gosh, the top shortage totally extends to romance! You may have luck searching out the "ice queen" trope, it's often code for top.
{Edge of Glory by Rachel Spangler} is my favorite ice queen/goofball romance, two Olympians at winter training camp, age gap, actually made me care about sports.
If you're up for kink, {Eight Kinky Nights by Xan West} is really incredible and involves two best friends negotiating boundaries and caring for each other. Ace rep, disability rep, older heroines, both heroines are autistic.
You need to read {Something to Talk About by Meryl Wilsner}, Jo Jones is my wife and I'm sure she'll be yours too by like 25% in. Competence, authority, slow-burn.
More f/f romance faves:
If you're up for more of a romcom, {Out on the Ice by Kelly Farmer} is new this year and a lot of fun.
{No Parking by Valentine Wheeler} is small town enemies-to-lovers with older heroines.
{Small Town Secrets by Katrina Jackson} is very soothing, baker and barista, but very hot.
I just preordered this but how good does Prize Money look? Lady bullfighter!
Twisted Circles by Claire Contreras! It has kind of been my gateway drug to romantic suspense, though I haven't found any that I've liked half as much as I liked this one. It was twisty, romantic, and set in a dark world without being a "dark romance." Like, the obstacles the characters faced were dark, but their romance was a bright light in the middle of all that darkness, if that makes sense. I highly recommend it!
>My only complaint with a lot of the books that have aliens with significant differences is that I can’t always picture them well and just wish I could find concept art or even fan art of what they could look like to help me!
While this book didn't quite hit the mark for me, I love the updated cover for Contagion by Amanda Milo. Look at that alien-alien (and cute art).
It is Rotten Romance Podcast. We are pretty new, but I'd love for you guys to listen - we are always looking for feedback. It has been a great way to connect and pass the time with my girlfriends during the quarantine - it is VERY Not Safe For Work...much swearing.
This is the most recently published
Rotten Romance Podcast|Episode 11 "Trapped" by Alison Aimes
The first four books in Marie James' Cerberos MC series are currently free on Amazon. Haven't read any of that series but I am currently obsessing over her Blackbridge Security series so I'll give it a try.
This reminds me of the movie Tamara Drewe that was based on the comic of the same name.
Main character gets a nose job and gets alllll the boys :) it’s closed door sex scenes, though.
There is definitely shifter omegaverse. I mentioned Lexi Foss' Andorra Sector is shifter but a bit darker. Sam Hall is also shifter with a lot of omegaverse elements but I'm not sure if she considers herself to be an omegaverse writer.
Carnal Innocence by Nora Roberts. I have read it at least 6 times and I'm never bored with it. It's a contemporary though.
TW for racism from the bad guy
It's sci-fi/supernatural book, but Heart of Obsidian is about a h who's been abducted for 7 years and then H saves her. Most of the book is her trying to regain her memories and find her footing back in the world.
I just finished Lions and Lace by Meagan McKinney. The H is angry and the h due to a misunderstanding and they enter into a MOC, where he is determined to ignore her.
Slightly Dangerous by Mary Blough has an icy H who tries to ignore the h but she keeps drawing his attention anyway. It's very Pride and Prejudice.
Both are Historicals
I was going to recommend Kingpin of Camelot, then I saw it listed. LOL! That book just hit it perfectly. Cassandra Gannon is good at writing H who are dangerous to others, but supportive of the heroine. Treasure of the Fire Kingdom is another H like that IMO.
Maybe Fantasy Lover by Sherrilyn Kenyon would work for you? Julian (the H) is an ancient warrior guy who goes out of his way to be sweet to the h and make her happy.
No, all the one-word title books are stand alones. These are all from the 90s. The ones she wrote later are okay, but none of them are as good (IMO) as her earlier works. Sometimes her heroes can go too far for me (Seduction and Reckless aren't my favorites) and some of the newer ones are very mystery-forward for my taste.
After Ravished my very favorite is Mischief. The H has found a lost city and the h is a scholar, so she is challenging some of his ideas. She thinks he's "not a man of action," which he is happy to let her believe, because he's really a cold-blooded SOB and he's pleased to let her fuss over him. :)
The Devil is a Marquess by Elisa Braden is close to this trope. The father of the h is determined to have a titled son in law and "buys" the H, who is broke and dissipated. The h is way less enthusiastic about the idea, though.
The Beast's Bride by Eva Devon uses this trope. Personally, I think it's a way to add angst after a couple is married. It gives them some obstacle to overcome, without adding another woman/man, writing extra plot details, or delaying the sexy times. It's not my favorite, to be honest. It's not a deal-breaker, but I certainly don't look for it in a book.
Ashes and Metal by Naomi Lucas? Someone on here recommended this book a few days ago and it was really good. It's a futuristic-sci-fi book, where the woman is imprisoned in a pirate-spaceship. She is disguised as a boy. The H is dumped in the cell next to her and realizes she's a woman. He knows she'll be in big trouble is the pirates find out they have a woman captive (and he wants her for himself) so he decides to save her. He's more morally gray than "decent," though.
The Devil is a Marquess by Elisa Braden
Heart of Obsidian Nalini Signh:
“Love is the greatest form of loyalty, one that places the happiness of the beloved over that of the lover,”
Homebound by Lydia Hope. Everyone I know has had to hear about it and I've read all the "good" parts 6 times this week
The H is Linda Howard's Dream Man was such a dick. In fact a lot of her Hs are a little dick-ish. I still love her books, but I acknowledge the dick-tastic failing of some of the men. For instance, in Dream Man I am fairly sure he uses >!the h as serial killer bait, without telling her and almost gets her killed!< No. Just... no.
Hi all. =)
So I wrote this fantasy-romance novel a couple of years back. I originally had a publisher and had gotten several Amazon reviews, but the publisher ended up shrinking down and gave me back my rights. Ultimately, I decided to republish the book on Amazon, but I haven't been able to get any reviews for it. :(
It is currently free through Kindle Unlimited. You can find it here! Of Love and Make Believe - Kindle edition by Schutzman, Samantha. Romance Kindle eBooks @ Amazon.com.
The story follows Roxas, a shapeshifter who is on the run from a zealot group that was responsible for her family's murder. She's taken in by a neighboring kingdom and ultimately has to agree to an arranged marriage to attempt to return to her own lands. But she and her and her new husband, Dacxius, aren't exactly likeminded. As feisty as she is beautiful, Roxas fights him at every turn, forcing Dax to maintain the upper hand
I promise - the story is better than my summaries. I am so bad at summaries haha.
The book contains detailed sexual encounters and adult themes - so be forewarned.
Look at the Beastly Lords series by Sydney Jane Baily. There like that, I think. Each Lord is sorta messed up, I really enjoyed the third book Lord Vile. They might even been on KU.
I first noticed this model (anyone know who he is?) multiple times because his hand tattoo is very distinctive and memorable.
Everyone's mileage is going to vary on this (because it's a Hallmark Publishing book and because it's Christmas), but I really loved A Royal Christmas Wish for this. It's enchanting, a little bit magical, and super romantic. A perfect fairy tale wrapped up in under 300 pages.
Also, I don't know what your bandwith is for YA, but I recently read Now a Major Motion Picture and really adored it. It's sort of in the same family as stuff like Ashley Poston's Once Upon a Con series, and it is very darling. Good for an afternoon pick-me-up.
I have my first in the series Ancient Egyptian historical novella coming out October 6th! I hope to make Ancient Egyptian the "new normal" for historical romance, mainly because women had better rights in that time period.Seduction in the Sand DESCRIPTION Seduction in the Sand
For the first time since the death of her husband, demure Netiqret attends a feast at the pharaoh's palace. Until now, she has kept busy managing her estate, sheltering herself from the mirage of nobility. Trying to hide behind a painted column, she is dismayed when the pharaoh insists she be introduced to a man she has never met: her neighbor. Even though his home is next to hers, Heqaib has never met the quiet woman next door. When his friendly request to fix a border issue is met with arid disdain, he wonders how to soothe someone so inhospitable. Should he try to cool her sultry temper or will he arouse her searing passion? Now that she has entered palace society, jealousy flows against the wealthy widow. Can Netiqret endure the truth, or will she drown in a flood of rumors and secrets?
The couple in The Way Things Are are for sure both dark skin. I also know her covers can be misleading because I'm 90% certain that the FMC in Liquor and Laundry doesn't look anything like the cover model lol.
Besides downloading the .mobi file and emailing it to your Kindle as /u/iamtheallspoon recommended, if you use Calibre to manage your regular ebooks, there's an amazing plugin called FanFicFare that can download fanfics automatically from AO3, Fanfiction.net, and several other sites and save them to your Calibre library. Here is the tutorial I used to set mine up: https://jadislefeu.dreamwidth.org/7810.html
Would HIGHLY recommend {The Magpie Lord by KJ Charles} and the following books. No shifters but MLM magic enemies to friends to lovers.
Not my review but I agree with the link belowIt’s hilarious and just … wonderful. This was my second MLM and I absolutely LOVED IT.
“With This Kiss” by Eloisa James
The MMC and FMC’s parents are best friends, so they’ve known each other all their lives. The FMC has had a crush on the MMC for years, so when he joins the Royal Navy, she decides to write him letters so he doesn’t feel so alone. In these letters she recounts anything funny that’s occurred between their two families and uses her love of painting to bring to life the scenes/stories she shares.
It’s heavy on the angst because >!the MMC only realizes he’s in love with the FMC after she’s given up on him!<.
Sadly, it’s not available on KU, and cost $2.99 on Kindle.
POV: Third Person Omniscient; M/F Romance; HEA
He Loves Lucy by Susan Donovan It’s a Biggest Loser-style weight loss challenge that is done publicly, but not as a competition reality show. Bonus: secondary character with Downs Syndrome was both unexpected and appreciated.
I loved these. I read them years ago in paperback, and then reread them when they came out on Kindle.
They've been retitled:
Until I Die Again is the first one.
Stranger in the Mirror is the second.
They both read well by themselves, but you really know how the girl ended up where she was in the second one if you read them in order.
Ooh... I just checked on Amazon. The first one is free today!!!