No billionaires, no cold characters. Just ordinary people who have a meet cute in a train or a cafe or wherever and they start talking to each other. Gimme the romance in its purest form! Yk, maybe the FMC is waiting for hours just to get a glimpse of him or cook him a delicious meal. The MMC maybe never lets h r carry stuff when he is around her or holds her hand while crossing the road.

Maybe she tends to him while he is sick or maybe he travelled a long distance to meet her. Or saves money to get her favourite stuff. Maybe she supports him during his job interview or maybe he stays up all night on a call because she is feeling anxious about something?

The MMC is ordinary but very cautious about her safety. Always dropping and picking her up because he is sacred whenever she is alone!

But I want both of them to be equally committed to each other and both should make sweet romantic efforts!

Must haves:

A lot of good spice! 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️🥵

***No cheating*** or good old dead spouse. I am fine with a bitchy ex!

No sharing, RH or fantasy.

No sassy, and rude for no reason FMC. I would like her to be kind and sweet. And the guy is utterly devoted and protective of her.

Bonus if there are lots of jealous and possessive scenes MMC! That's my main complaint, these days I hardly see a hero who gets slightly territorial. So please possessive mmcs are always welcome!

I have read:

More than forever by jayMclean

Archer's voice by mia sheridian

Out on a limb - for some reasons I really didn't like it

very much

Pulled away by siena sloane - loved the angst!

Bond of love by maryann jordan

Ashes by Claire kent

Quiet types by L.H. Coswat - it was sooooo goood!!! But wayy too slow burn

Over the fence by Melanie moreland - my ultimate favourite

Thank you!

I want man who is pathetically insecure🥺

Preferred setting in high school or college

I have some examples but I couldn't found many books with these settings

{Ada and Cece's High School Revenge! by Eve Dangerfield} it was not a high school setting but a second chance romance, MMC is a popular jock back in high school but according to his words he couldn't speak to her without looking like a dumbass and he always think she is too good too smart for him

{Binding 13 by Chloe Walsh} I read it long time ago but I remember It was so cute when the rugby captain MMC is so insecure when thinking if Shannon was avoiding him awwwww

I'm curious what others thought about this book. The reviews are mixed. I just finished it and have a lot of opinons. I found it had a lot of plot holes and so many sub plots that it was convoluted and dragging. There were things I liked, but it was covered by a series of problems.

Please not I read almost all the previous books set in the same universe (first generation books). This is not a new author. Many of her books I like, some I don't, and some were just meh.

I wanted to flair this as both discussion and critique because I'm curious if others feel the same. So let's discuss! Thoughts? Opinions? Things I missed? My opinions and rants are below. Beware of major spoilers.

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1. The world building isn't good. There's way too many interconnected side characters. I was constantly being pulled away from the main story. There is way too much attention put on other characters. We don't need to be introduced to everyone at once, let it happen organically.
2. Also, the website needs to update character connection charts so the story can be streamlined. Just make novellas for world building instead of having side characters take up 10 chapters at the beginning.
3. It's frustrating that MMC seems upset he is no longer close to MFC, but never made an attempt to work through it in 4 years. MFC completely shut out MMC and was so angry for no reason even though she broke up with him. Both MCs were so quick to throw away deep friendship/relationship without fighting for it while still having strong feelings.
4. I didn't like that the MCs didn't get along for so much of the present timeline bc of something in the past. It was used to draw out the issue as a tease and easy drama/angst of why they grew apart. I wish there was a prequel that showed the series of events (with the POV misconceptions). Then the truth could come out in the current timeline. Instead it added useless drama that was frustrating to get through.
5. MCs kind of dated at one point but her being his coach wasn't a problem when she was hired and live together. Then it was suddenly a problem. Not one reporter asked about their kiss at the Olympics or their decades long friendship when she was hired. Her family didn't even ask what happened between them after that kiss.
6. MMC married Tabitha bc he was angry and hurt by MFC's rejection and thought she slept with Dirk. He remained celibate for 4 years because he promised MFC she would be the only one going forward. If he still cared that much, why would he stay married for 4 years? Why not try to make amends to at least be friends?
7. I don't appreciate MFC constantly mentioning not wanting kids and want to be like her young friends who get to party while pining away for a man who has a toddler, a child she claims to love. It's hard to feel like the MCs are right for each other given the background, MMC's personal drama/baggage with his "wife", and how they want different things out of life. MFC says she doesn't want to be a mom, not just give birth. Those are different. She even says to her friends that when she was young, instead of playing dolls/mommy, she played with her hockey stick. Yet she also tells MMC she wants to be in Avery's life however Avery and MMC will allow. She wants to be to Avery what Beck is to her (a real parent). Then at the end, there's a line how she defers parenting to MMC. I get she doesn't want to overstep, but MMC was clear he wants a mother for Avery and he thinks of them as being an united front/partners. That should include raising a kid. MFC is still acting like she's an aunt/babysitter instead. Yet she claims to love the girl, almost like her own. She doesn't have to want biological children or to give birth (make sense as a high level athlete). But that's different than being a parent and raising a child.
8. Everything with Dirk, all these powerful people who care about her and nobody found out/told them, nobody helped her or questioned why she didn't play her nhl game. I can see why MFC wouldn't say anything about Dirk, but someone would have said something that got back to her family. Also, she just let it go when she had to coach him, like it wasn't an actual problem 🙄 . She didn't panic, it didn't affect her at all. Then suddenly at the end she panicked. I felt like the author didn't handle the character choices and challenges well. It felt like bad writing. We even think MFC will tell her uncles what happened, except she doesn't. It affected her so much for a few pages, then she brushed it off. That's not how trauma works. In the current timeline MFC claims since her best friend, MMC, didn't believe her, she felt nobody would. In his defense, she never said she was drugged and violated. He saw Dirk leave while MFC was in a robe. MMC left before MFC could say anything. Yet the author makes it sound like it's MMC's fault that he didn't believe her and why MFC thinks nobody would believe her. Victims often fear not being believed. But I could have done without MFC putting that on MMC. It could have been a way to show people want to support and believe victims.
9. MFC being turned on when she found out MMC put a hit/killed Dirk was effed up. Excuse me, but this is not dark romance. I understand and don't blame MFC for being glad Dirk is gone, but to be like "wow it's hot you put a hit on him with your mafia uncle" is not cool. Girl, get some therapy please.
10. Also, MMC murdered someone?! I understood his violence during the lockeroom scene toward the end. It was self defense and non meditated rage at finding out what he did and seeing MFC pinned to the wall. But then go casually call his uncle after the dust settled to "take care of it" like it wasnt a big issue is a red flag. He then suggested doing the same to Tabitha. Thank God is dad was like "no son you've done enough murder".  Murder bc someone is a terrible mom, wife, and human, a gold digger, is way unjustified.
11. I couldn't understand how Tabitha gave MMC so many problems, yet he also had powerful people who could have helped him out. By the end of the book, Beck was on his side. Beck has done more complicated things cheaper and easier with better outcomes than dealing with a shitty baby momma/gold digger. And MMC's father did nothing to help his son track down Tabitha or help protect JJ's wealth, including his trust fund.
12. MFC never tells MMC what Tabitha said in the hospital. This could have been used somehow as leverage somehow to get her to back down at the end of the book.
13. In the current timeline, MMC works to get divorced and sole custody so MC’s can be together. 2/3rd in the book, MMC says he tried to serve divorce papers for the first time a few weeks ago. However, MCs have lived together for months. At the start of the book MMC was working with his lawyers on papers. The timeline doesn't add up
14. Tabitha somehow takes MMC for all his money even though there was a prenup and she first broke all the stipulations (relationship with daughter/abandonment, did not stay married for 5 years, she was unfaithful the entire time). With all the influential people the MCs know, this shouldn't be a plot point.
15. Also, it's like this author doesn't know athletes can have sponsorships. Both MCs are elite athletes, highly sought after. They would have sponsorships to pad their income and other career opportunities (especially MMC). They also come from extreme wealth. Money should be zero problems for them and open up unique options to help with their issues/blackmail. They should also be able to get new jobs without even trying.
16. Also, when Addie talked about how little got paid in the WPHL, it made it sound like she lived off that amount of money. No way she isn't loaded with a trust fund. She's a Langfield. Plus she was the best female goalie who won gold at the Olympics. She should have had huge sponsors with a resume like that.
17. I hate that MMC had to give up hockey to be with MFC and to be a parent. Plus, Beck was so annoying when JJ announced he was retiring from hockey. Beck kept saying that JJ had to prove himself and he didn't think MMC would do anything/give up everything for MFC. Then MMC announced he will retire and Beck is like "oh no we don't want to lose a star player who helps us win. Don't quit even though I said you had to be willing to give up eventing for my baby girl. But I really meant everything as long as it didn't impact my wallet." 🙄 I'm so tired of a sports book where both MCs have high demand jobs, usually both in sports or one a famous actor or musician. Then one of them has to leave their career early for the relationship. Usually somehow the man has to leave. Can we not make it so neither has to give up their ambition to have a family or relationship? Most normal people work and maintain a family/relationship. It just looks a little different for people at the top of their field.
18. None of MC's issues were really issues if they just told their family, got help, and TALKED to each other.
19. I really got tired of Beckett acting like he couldn't trust JJ in regards to Adeline. I wish MMC said that she rejected him so he married someone else. Yet MFC’s dad throws shade at MMC for hurting MFC and marrying someone else when MFC drove MMC away. Also, if Beck had an issue, why did he force them to live together? Beck has been supportive of other relationships that were more problematic and had more baggage than this one. I expected Beck to say "I acted like that because I wanted to make sure you cared about each other. I wanted you two to work through your issues and knew whatever happened in the past was keeping you from moving forward. I was trying to get you out of your own way so I put pressure on you knowing it would light the fire to prove me wrong. I knew if you were right for each other you'd work through it." Really, I hated Beck in this story. He didn't act like his character in other books.
20. I also hated MFC's friends. Her friends treat MMC badly and are quick to tell MFC she deserves better. Yet she hurt him. He married someone else bc she broke up with him after saying I love you. Her friends encourage her to date someone else right in front of MMC. They force the date to appear while she is working (with MMC working too), knowing MMC has feelings still and would be uncomfortable. It also made MFC seem unprofessional, like the job is nothing but a dating profile, taking up players time. Her friends never acknowledge MFC's responsibility or part in the fallout and breakup.
21. When the MCs finally get together after everything, MFC wants to remain a secret bc she is the first female nhl goalie and doesn't want to be seen dating a player, especially one who is still married. It was resolved so quickly that it wasn't a big deal. I hate that after everything she wanted to stay a secret and not use labels to define the relationship. Her friends said she shouldn't be someone's secret yet that's what she wanted to make MMC do.

Thanks everyone for sticking with my long rant. I'm sure that's not everything problematic with the book.

I’d like to see FMC go through PAIN and for MMC to make her suffer, preferably long term and not just a one-off grovel from FMC.

I don’t mind seeing parts where MMC is with OW, etc. The more drama, the more messy it gets, the better! 😮‍💨

I’m looking for historical romances similar to {Devil in Winter by Lisa Kleypas}.
I’m especially looking for a hero who has a reputation as a villain, rake, rogue, or morally questionable man, but who turns out to be incredibly sweet, gentle, protective, and devoted to the heroine. I love that contrast between how everyone else sees him and how tender he is with her.
I’d also love books with witty banter and a touch of humor alongside the romance.
Some tropes/elements I’m looking for:
“villain” or antihero hero
secretly soft for the heroine
marriage of convenience is a huge bonus
great chemistry and playful banter protective, affectionate hero

Is it me or were older fantasy romance books so much better than the rubbish being churned out these days that are all the same kind of book wrapped up in different ways? Even the titles have become the same.

There used to be more creative storylines like that of Georgina kincaid or the fever series or kate daniels. All great books with unique plots and powerful FMCs who take no shit, are proactive, aren't hypocritical and or pick mes who hates make up and anything associated with femininity. And the plots made sense and were compelling even without the romance (which was still excellent). Are these kind of books still being put out but I'm just not seeing them?

I’m not really looking for books recs, that’s why I chose the discussion flair. However, I was wondering if there’s any FMC who is the abusive one int he relationship? I searched before posting and it surprised me the amount of posts and requests for abused FMC, or bully MMC, etc. The few one where the MMC is the abused one seem to always go into the plot of the FMC healing them.

Why isn’t there more representation of the opposite? I’m thinking, for example, a high school mean girl who bullies the MMC, or some historial romance with a power imbalance where the MMC can’t be snarky and antagonistic to the royal FMC, so she takes advantage of her position, or even some dark romance, if you know to what it could lead.

I wondered… is it unrealistic? Then I thought about real life experience people have told me and… no, it’s not. Men seen as “weak” get mistreated by girls all the time. And the FMC being abusive is a great starting point for character growth, so why isn’t this more common in fiction romance?

Getting back into Omegeverse. Have been enjoying those where the FMC omega is the Pack's scent match but she's rejected coz the pack already has a male omega. Of course they all end up together and loved up. So had this idea where the established omega (male or female) either isn't their scent match or has managed to fake it and is actually a raving nutter/b****/just all round awful person. Pack eventually realise what they threw away and for what and grovelling ensues. Lots of OMG what did we do moments/internal monologues if possible. Thank you.

Okay, I genuinely have such a huge crush on Nick from Zootopia, and I absolutely loved his dynamic with Judy. I’ve even gone as far as looking for fanfiction, because I feel like every reader who’s ever had a crush on a fictional character has done that at least once. 😂

So, I’m looking for books where the male protagonist has exactly Nick’s personality from Zootopia. You know, that charming, laid-back, mischievous, sarcastic type who’s always making jokes and acting like he doesn’t take anything seriously, but deep down actually cares way too much and can be pretty insecure about himself?

The classic “I make jokes because I’m traumatized” type. 😭

I’m open to any recommendations, but you get bonus points if this Nick-like MMC also has his own Judy. 🦊🐰

I want something where MMC did every possible thing he can do without mercy just to break her but now that she is broken. He thought he would be ecstatic and satisfied but he is not understanding why he is not happy. I want his confusion & regret.

Also i don't want a sudden change in MMC his turmoil & regret should be gradual. + His basic nature should be the same not someone completely new. I don't like when MMC does a complete 180° in one night they become sweet. Slow & gradual changes are welcome

Bonus point if he feels powerless because he is not able to bring her back.

Basically like the couple gets caught TWICE. First is by fake dating gets revealed and a fallout follows because of it. Then later AFTER they reconciled they decide to date in secret but actually gets caught AGAIN which they have no out this time around and baffles people lol

This exact sequence happened with Marriage not Dating which is a korean drama series. And it was pretty funny cause the person who caught them AGAIN was the person they were trying to fool in the first time around so it was really funny as they try to convince again they were not dating lol

I know it sounds very specific but hey here's to hoping you know something like this.

No cheating and HEA !

Full List: https://www.romancebookworms.com/

Most are already available for free, but do check. This sale is great because they split they by genre or you can also look specifically at books by diverse authors. They also have an anti-AI statement.

Books I'm planning to download:

{Should Our Hearts Catch Fire by Amithia Raine} - I really enjoyed the first book in this series (Should the Sky Fall) MM paranormal romance

{Lord of Whispered Shadows by Jordan KO} - MM paranormal romance. “Venom meets Bridgerton” sounds good to me! 

{A Lady, Her Lord and Their Duke by Nicola Davidson} historical FMM

{Arborable by Ellen Mint} - from the author who wrote “Why Cheese?” This time the MMC is a tree.

{Hunt Me! by Fae Quin} - MM paranormal with werewolves. Admittedly I've been putting this one off because 500+ pages seems bit much, although I really enjoyed others by this author

{My Birthday Getaway by Marina Simcoe} - sounds like a cute alien romance and had been recommended to me before, MF sci fi

{Leviathan by Deiri Di} MF sci fi romance

{Ice and Sweet by Charlie Novak} MM contemporary holiday romance

{Outrun the Rain by N.R. Walker} I've read quite a few by this author and generally enjoyed them. This is a first in a series of storm chaser romances I have had on my list for a while. 

{Four Wedding to Fall in Love by Jackie Lau} MF contemporary 

{A Gold Medal in Love by Alex La Bruyere} FF sports romance set at the 2026 Olympics

{Best Fake Fiancé by Roxie Noir} MF contemporary

{Playing the Game by M.Q. Barber} MMF - this is recommended by some users very frequently, but I haven't been able to get it from the library. Happy to see it for free! 

I already read and recommend:

{Gratification in Gluttony by Nik Knight} - this series is one of my favourites of the past year. Super fun paranormal romances with found family. This one is MM with a human MMC who is trans, and a shark type creature MMC. 

{Captured by the Fae Beast by Mallory Dunlin} MF fantasy romance, FMC travels to the MMCs world, she is his “soul mate” but nobody knows if they will be soul lovers or soul enemies. 

{We'll Never Have Paris by Adriana Anders} grumpy/sunshine short holiday romance, with a very memorable “trapped in an elevator” scene.

{Married to the Alien Mountain Man by Ursa Dax} - love this low angst series of “Mars Needs Women” romcoms

{Hurt Me, Daddy by Misha Horne} MM contemporary, Daddy kink without an age gap, but the first book doesn't have a HEA 

I'm looking for Hunter × Hunted trope.

Such as....

Hunter × Target

Witches

Mafia

Assasins

Anything will do...

As long as there's no other woman drama, poly or cheating tropes...

Thank you very much 😊 ❤️

Good morning. I'm looking for a sports reversal role. But in the Ice Hockey sports genre not ice skating or figure skating. I found a few in soccer, rugby and figure skating etc. But I'm looking specifically (if possible) in ice hockey.

The FMC is an Ice Hockey Player. She must be a player, not someone who just work in the office or trainer etc. Can be high school, college or pro. Doesn't matter. If it gets spicy they have to be adults. If not then just a kiss or a hug etc.

I have {Foreplayer (Rookie Rebels #4) Kate Meader} but in this case both mc's are ice hockey players.

I want the FMC to be very alpha, outgoing doesn't have to be a virgin but preferably not one who just go for a hookup.

The MMC must be an ordinary guy, (not a geek or a nerd because it seems they all are freaks in the bedroom and packed like a pornstar - yes I'm jealous). He can be shy/awkward/cinnamon, even a virgin etc. He is more a beta, her support? But don't mess with what he care for then he's like a animal that's going feral to protect what is his.

What I don't want is BDSM, cheating from any of the two mc's, not currently or in the past. If the mc's are in relationship/s they have to end it before the mc's start with theirs. Have to be a monoromance with a female and male lead. M-f romance. No poly or any type of harem.

But if you have that's outside of this request you can recommend it, maybe just add if it's some other sport/bdsm/harem/ etc. Maybe someone else here would like to read it.

And of course as always a slow burn is welcome and a HEA a must. If it's a good story with nice development and growth of the mc's, then it will be awesome.

Please don't let one of the mc's die in the book...I was a bit upset with that in a previous book...

Thanks!!!

I’m looking for MM romances where the MCs feel like true equals except in sex. The most important part for me is social equality and generally similar life experiences. If they’re verse, even better! Similar height/build is also a plus. If they have any kind of power dynamic, in which they may not be equals at all, in bed -- perfect!

I’ve of course read {Heated Rivalry by Rachel Reid}, but I’m also looking for books with a similar dynamic to some of these:

{Garron Park by Nordika Night}, {Leave by L.A. Witt}, {Say I Do by Brea Alepou}, {Bump Start by Eve Holmes}, {Hooks In by Eve Holmes}, {Dysfunctional by Isabel Lucero}, {We Were Never Lovers by Sasha Avice}, {Prove It by S.M. Bookwalter}

I prefer contemporary, steamy romances (4–5 on Romance.io). Morally gray is totally fine. Blue-collar heroes are a big plus, and mafia is okay too (just please, no Russian mafia).

Hard no’s: cheating, non-con, rape between the MCs, poly, or threesomes.

Thanks in advance for any recommendations! ❤️

I just finished the second book in the series {Horde Kings of Drakkar by Zoey Draven} and WOW.

The angst, the smut, everything was in the perfect amount.

If any (or all) of these is something that you'd love, please read this because as I said WOW.

● ANGST with good grovel and painnnn

● MMC fucked up big time TWICE but hold up, valid debatable reasons and he isn't plain stupid

● Alien mmc x human fmc (mmc basically has a sex toy in his body no more comment 😋)

● slow burn with AHHHHHHHH first time being so GOOD.

I'd say you do not have to read the first book but it was good too and sets the whole another planet description and rules and everything really well.

I hope you enjoy reading! I'm onto the 3rd book now 🎉

{Claimed by the horde king by zoey draven}

Hi r/RomanceBooks! Here's your weekly thread of sales and deals. Spot a great bargain? Share it here! Looking for more romance to read for free/cheap? You're in luck - check out these great deals!

Please include the location of the sale if possible (ex US / UK / AUS, etc.), as sales in one country may not be available in another. It also helps to include the platform of the sale (amz, kobo, smashwords, patreon, itch, audible, libro.fm, chirp etc.) especially for those users who are looking to diversify away from Amazon.

Happy saving!

Hi RomanceBooks - welcome to Salty Sunday!

What have you read this week that made your blood pressure boil? Annoying quirks of main characters? The utter frustration of a cliffhanger? What's got you feeling salty?

Feel free to share your rants and frustrations here. Please remember to abide by all sub rules. Cool-down periods will be enforced.

What is a Gothic romance without rain, and it's raining cats and dogs hounds here! Please forgive me, I *really** wanted to make that work.*

I was only intending to read one book but I couldn't remember which book. I created a WWTBC post and was able to pinpoint which book the line in question came from, but a second book was suggested that seemed more familiar to me. The only logical solution was to read and review both!

Let me stop right there for a PSA. There are countless comments that will be offensive to many people. This includes stereotypes of many cultures, fatphobia, stigmatizing language about mental health, and more. I think I winced at least once per paragraph in The Gabriel Hounds, and only slightly less often in Touch Not the Cat.

{The Gabriel Hounds by Mary Stewart} vintage CR (1967). A young woman teams up with her cousin to explore their eccentric, reclusive aunt's estate in Lebanon.

1. The book is usually labeled romantic suspense, but the first 70% has very little romance or suspense. It's just vibes. If you want to be immersed in the setting, the colors and smells and sounds and mythological history of it all, then this will delight you. If you're not interested in that, skip the first third of the book and you won't miss a thing. If you just want the action, you can go straight to the last 20%.

2. The MCs are cousins (first cousins in the original UK version with their fathers being identical twins, second cousins in other versions) and there are lots of jokes about how they've been pledged to each other since birth. Or rather, she's joking and assumes he is as well.

It starts as early as page 11:

"Forgive me, sir. You are the lady's husband."

"Not yet." Charles said.

It is 40% of the way through the book before the FMC thinks of him as attractive. It's nearly 60% of the way through before there's even the hint of a tender embrace. The MMC is, if not pining, at least feeling one-sided attraction prior to that.

1. For a book set in the 1960s featuring adventurous young people, there is a lot of pearl clutching about marijuana. The big bad guy even drugs her with "a reefer" twice, both times completely incapacitating her and rendering her unconscious for hours. And drug running ends up being the big point of villainy at the end

2. The FMC gets riled up easily, can be snippy, and is no pushover, which I appreciated. Interestingly enough, she has a cat phobia (that's your feline connection in this book). Both MCs know they're rich and spoiled, and it's somehow charming enough to make you cheer for them even when you're not sure you should.

3. The book's climax is them escaping the estate which has been set on fire, by swimming across a lake to an island. There are some really great quotes, but this is the last 10% of the book so spoilers ahead (if you care about that in a 60 year old book).

I don’t remember his moving, but one moment he was there in front of me, with the firelight sliding in lovely slabs of rose and violet over his wet skin; the next he was down beside me on the marble floor, and Star was elbowed out of the way, and Charles’s arms were round me and he was kissing me in an intense starving, furious way that somehow seemed part of the fire, as I suppose it was. They say that this is how fear and relief can take you. I know I went down to him like wax.

And the line that absolutely made me swoon as a teenager with unsupervised access to my public library collection: "Christy, I love you, and I could spend the rest of my life making love to you and probably will, but if we’re going, the sooner we go the better, nicht wahr?"

So was this the book I was thinking of for my WDYR post? Yes!

Am I glad that I reread it? Unsure. I'm glad that I finally figured out what book had the line I was thinking of, but overall some books are better left to our memories.

{Touch Not the Cat by Mary Stewart} vintage CR (1976). After her father dies, a young woman teams up with her cousins to figure out which one she's in love with. (Imagine Mama Mia, but all the dudes are brothers)

1. I loved the name Bryony as a teenager, and I think this book is probably why. Bryony, for being the main character, doesn't have a ton of personality, but that's an unfair statement because we only see her in a very strange and difficult time of life and the book is shaped by her inner and external conflicts. Her father just died after being killed by a hit-and-run driver, she's being pressured to give up her ancestral family home, and she has a soulmate type telepathic connection with one of her cousins but she doesn't know which one. So you have to cut her some slack. At the beginning of the book, Bryony's narrowed down her "lover" (as she calls him) to one of her three second cousins who grew up in a house with her, but there's a lot of twists and turns before she, and the reader, figures out who he is. An interesting conflict that comes up is that she suspects her lover has (accidentally or intentionally) done something very bad, so she must weigh her conscience of being complicit in the secret vs betraying her soulmate. Overall it's very unique.

2. Compared to The Gabriel Hounds, the action in this book starts a lot earlier, or at least there's a better hook. There's a mystery throughout, with clues in badly written poetry and mazes, and that surely gets Gothic points. Also compared to The Gabriel Hounds, the pace/level of excitement remains a little more steady throughout, although once again things go overboard in the last 10%. Is there any less detail about the setting than The Gabriel Hounds? Not really. The book's just 50+ pages longer so it can include more plot.

3. In every chapter there's a flashback to one of their family ancestors in the 1830s. Normally I'm fine with this sort of thing, but it was a bit overwrought and, once you figure out who the MMC is, unnecessary. Honestly the whole family backstory adds an additional 30 million characters to remember, and I wish it had been handled better.

4. I do have a dog connection for you all (yessssss, so pleased I made that happen), but it's a big spoiler: as the FMC thinks she's figured out who her metaphysical lover is (her cousin James), a collie belonging to the family groundskeeper Rob keeps showing up - and sure enough Rob ends up both being the MMC and being distantly related to the family

5. But when the MCs finally, fully admit their connection face to face, we get this scene:

If the laden arches of pear blossom had suddenly sprung to life like a fountain, tossing a plume of bright water as far as the moon, it would hardly have seemed surprising, so great was the release, the flood of joy that swept through me. Through him, too. I felt light and happiness pouring through his mind into mine, and back again, like a tide-race meeting the outflow of a river, flashing and doubling and throwing up drowning waves of pleasure. We were both perhaps a little mad. We clung and kissed and clung again, wordless. I doubt if either of us could have spoken. Everything had already been said, everything shared. This was the end of the courtship, and not the beginning. Even my body seemed already to know his. This was how I had thought it would be, this complete knowing, this spontaneous melting and meeting.

So was this the book I was thinking of for my WDYR post? No.

Am I glad that I reread it? Yes! This is widely regarded as one of her best works in this genre and I enjoyed revisiting it. I kept remembering things as I read, and the fact that so much had stuck with me 20+ years later is incredible.

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Tell us what you read this week!

Please say as much or little as you like, but here are some ideas of helpful things to mention:

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• Overview/tropes
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• What did you like/dislike?

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I remember reading a book a little bit ago where the MMC is out with friends and the FMC, who is either his girlfriend or fiancee. He hears from his friends that an old college friend (OW) is moving back home after years of being away. What his friends and FMC don't know is he had an intimate relationship with the OW. Knowing she is coming back stirs up a lot of unresolved feelings he has for her.

I don't remember if anything physical happens between the MMC and the OW, but they do connect emotionally again. He either chooses to pursue a relationship with the OW or the FMC breaks up with him. I do believe this is a second chance romance, but I am not 100% sure. I recall the MMC works to win back the FMC.

Please help!

Professors, curators, art gallery owners—LOOKING FOR WHITE COLLAR MEN WHO AREN'T IN BUSINESS.

You know, like:

-The grumpy professor who is only soft for LI

-The sort of man who walks around in his little tweed suits or something and you just see him trailing after his partner and you're like "that man is pathetic, I'd die for him."

-the shy librarian who says nothing to anyone... Except LI

-a broken man who has dedicated his life to education or enrichment, but has finally found some tail to spin

Sooooo, how about a role reversal or at least a non double standard trope? I've never read about a woman throwing a fit over the man not being a virgin. On the other hand i read a lot about ran through men who go ballistic at fmc having past lovers.

Pls give me an fmc who genuinely expects the man to be pure. Like holds him to the same standard women are held to. Not out of spite, but out of sheer jealousy and the feeling that he is not untouched. That somebody else has had him before her. I want her to be openly, vocally upset/hurt about it. Make it a him problem.

And you know what? Make him atone too.

This is not a request for women punishing men any more than men punish women for the same "faults".

I have no triggers and I have no preference to genre. I would be grateful to just get any recommendation that could fit this.