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If I want to read a romance novel outside of my usual paranormal wheelhouse, where should I start? I don't like comedy, I do like murder mysteries, I love animals, and I'm curious about historical settings. Got any good recs?
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Mar 17, 2022 15:23
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StrixNebulosa posted:If I want to read a romance novel outside of my usual paranormal wheelhouse, where should I start? I don't like comedy, I do like murder mysteries, I love animals, and I'm curious about historical settings. Got any good recs? Funnily enough, my knowledge of murder-mystery romances mostly feature queer relationships. This is probably entirely the fault of Josh Lanyon, who has been writing gay murder-mystery romances for over two decades at this point, to the point where it was its own little subgenre for a while. I think either the standalone Snowball in Hell (which is also set in the 1940s) or Fair Game (which is contemporary-ish) would be fine enough places to start. If you would rather read a lesbian romance, I enjoyed Proper English (set ~1900s) by KJ Charles well enough. When it comes to heterosexual mysteries, it's been a while, but I think I remember liking the Lotus Palace Mystery series by Jeannie Lin well enough, which takes place in Tang Dynasty China. I also liked Nobody's Sweetheart Now (1920s England) by Maggie Robinson, but it's really much more of a mystery book than a romance. When it comes down to an actual-to-goodness Regency murder-mystery, I think your best bet is probably Murder on Black Swan Lane by Andrea Penrose or the Lady Sherlock series by Sherry Thomas (who has written a _lot_ of historical romances), but again, they seem to be more mysteries than romances (I also haven't really finished reading either of them, so take my opinion with a grain of salt). I've already typed a lot of words here, so I'm going to wrap up by saying if you're interested in reading a 'classic' romance with a Pride-and-Prejudice-esque dukes & high-society setting, Loretta Chase's Lord of Scoundrels is probably one of the most beloved (but I would recommend Lord Perfect above that one tbh). Honestly, these kind of books are like 95% of all historical romances published, so you can probably just pick a book at random off this reader poll list as see if you like it not: https://allaboutromance.com/aars-top-100-romances/ (edit: you may want to look up warnings before you dive into any of them though, some of them are unfortunately very old-school in the bodice-ripper way) kurona_bright fucked around with this message at 23:48 on Mar 18, 2022 |
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Mar 18, 2022 23:43
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newts posted:Anyone got a recommendation for a good series with good characters, an actual plot (prefer supernatural), and some explicit sex? Preferably M/M? Most paranormal romances are just too porn-heavy for me. I’m not even sure if I should be asking in the Romance thread—because I’m not sure if it’s romance I’m describing—but I’m not sure else where to ask You want KJ Charles. Historical romances, sometimes supernatural, often with mystery or intrigue. By series: Sins of the City - multi book, different characters/ romance in each, all connected with the same murder mystery Society of Gentlemen - same as the last series but this one is more about social intrigue. This is a Regency series so think pretty Austen. But gay Will Darling Adventures - thriller/suspense/mystery with a gay romance. This is probably my favorite romance series. A Charm of Magpies - supernatural, magic in Victorian times thing. Also murder mystery. The main characters in this are pretty interesting I think! You can also buy her stuff directly on gumroad which rules: https://kjcharles.gumroad.com/?recommended_by=search&sort=newest#dkUfK I recently finished A Marvelous Light by Freya Marske which hit really similarly to Charles' stuff. It was definitely HP fanfiction in another life. Very fun and I'm looking forward to the next one the series.
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Mar 22, 2022 18:27
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My favourite KJ Charles is The Secret Casebook of Simon Feximal. It's kinda like a (more) gay Sherlock Holmes anthology with (more) ghosties. I am just finishing up The Cadeleonian series by Ginn Hale and it's some of the most original and well-written fantasy I've ever read on top of having four different (angsty with happy ending) love stories throughout. I've read a ridiculous amount of m/m fantasy/scifi over the last year. I will make a longer post soon with a bunch of recommendations. Oh, the things I have read. Oh, the weird demon dicks and vampire feeding orgasms. The only line I don't cross is mpreg/omegaverse.
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Mar 22, 2022 20:22
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big dyke energy posted:You want KJ Charles. Historical romances, sometimes supernatural, often with mystery or intrigue. Thank you for the recs! I vaguely remember reading the first Magpie book. I can’t remember liking it too much but I did finish it, which is a good sign. If I truly don’t like something, I usually drop it after the first chapter. I mostly recall thinking that the murderer reveal came out of nowhere. Maybe I’ll try the second one and see how I like it. I, too, have read about a lot of really weird dicks 
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Mar 22, 2022 22:57
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run on sentience posted:My favourite KJ Charles is The Secret Casebook of Simon Feximal. It's kinda like a (more) gay Sherlock Holmes anthology with (more) ghosties. god. this was the first kj charles book I read and also one of my first like, m/m romance reads in general?? [I think lee welch's salt magic, skin magic was my actual first, also a good one, come get y'all selkie juice] I remember thinking to myself at the veeeery beginning "oh my god is he going to gently caress the ghost out of this house??" and I was hooked from there kj charles and jordan l hawk go hand in hand if you find yourself enjoying that like, late 1890s-turn of the century vibe; whyborne-griffin's a looong series but it concluded in a very tidy manner, like, it didn't feel as though it dragged on longer than it should have.
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Mar 23, 2022 02:54
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I have unfortunately bounced off of Whyborne-Griffin like twice so far, I’ll have to give it another shot sometime. Salt Magic, Skin Magic is a book I haven’t reread, but I definitely remember liking (Lee Welch has another fantasy romance out as well - Seducing the Sorcerer, if people are interested). If people are looking for another historical paranormal series, there’s the Magic in Manhattan series by Allie Therin, which is set in 1920s new york. I think the first book is a little rough — not bad, but I definitely found myself liking the later books more. And if someone just wants a full-on fantasy romance with dragons, check out Reawakening by Amy Rae Durreson; it’s the first of a series and to be honest, I just really like Durreson’s work. I’ve reread her Frost of Cares (a wintertime ghost-story) several times at this point. kurona_bright fucked around with this message at 15:07 on Mar 23, 2022 |
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Mar 23, 2022 15:05
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If you like Salt Magic Skin Magic, I recommend The Greenhollow Duology. It also has more of a folk tale feel to it. Seducing the Sorcerer was good too, I loved the horse. I love me some Whyborne & Griffin, but it is a lot, so I don't blame anyone for not sticking with it. I found it super romantic though. The women characters all kicked rear end and I enjoyed the f/f novella too. I really liked Whyborne's secretary innocently admiring what a sweet friendship and roommate situation W&G have.
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Mar 24, 2022 03:19
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oooo I've had a frost of cares in my to-read pile for a while--the greenhollow duology looks really good too! I'm working my way through tavia lark's the sword-witch's heart, really liking how each installment focuses on a different couple but you still get to see the couples from the previous books too
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Mar 24, 2022 11:03
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Okay, after digging around on the internet (bookriot especially) I am currently reading... - A Nalini Singh Psy-Changeling reread because despite my problems with it, this is one of my favorite series. - The Flame and the Flower purely because it's so famous/infamous. I'm just starting chapter three, and I can't tell if I'm enjoying myself or not. In case you haven't heard of it - apparently this is the book that opened up the publishing industry to having sex right on the page, which paved the way for bodice rippers. On the one hand, great! Fantastic! Up with feminism and sex-positivity, down with censorship! On the other hand, why is there so much drat rape? Assuming I finish this book, my review will have to open with a plethora of content warnings for abuse, sexual assault, rape, rape, and more rape. I'm just going to end here with this link: The History of Consent in Romance - The Duke and I by Julia Quinn, or, I don't even like the regency setting or arranged marriages, why am I here? Because I discovered my best friend is reading it, and because it caught my eye in this list of completed romance series. I'm about 29% of the way through it, and to my surprise the characters are delightful, with funny conversations. It's not on the same level, but it DOES remind me of Wodehouse, and that's all to the good. - Dark Gold by Christine Feehan, book 3 in her Carpathian series - yes yes they're problematic, too bad I'm addicted. The writing is so good and dreamlike, which lends the horror a great nightmarish quality. I'd love it if the heroes would actually let their partners make informed choices about their health (especially before turning them into vampires) but again, problematic. This one opens with some outstanding horror that I shan't describe here, but I have to say: I'm a huge horror fan, and any mixture of horror and romance speaks to me. Which I suppose explains why I'm into this series so much. - The Next Always by Nora Roberts. This book feels like "small town americana / white privilege the fantasy" in that it's about a family restoring and rebuilding an inn in a small town and there's so many details on the furniture and so on, while simultaneously they find love and...like, it's super indulgent and fantastical but also I can feel the dreamlike "what politics" air in it, which is weird. Reading contemporary romances is weird, especially when they're set in the mid-2000s. The author's such a best-seller that I know I shouldn't expect anything more, but... yeah. The book itself is super charming, with easy/fun dialogue and characters I can root for. Reading it makes me feel like a middle-aged housewife, but it's also too much fun to put down. - So of course I picked up her first novel as well, the Irish Thoroughbred. This feels way more classic fantasy in styling, but I can see the same charm in the dialogue. This book so far is like... how do you feel about horses? Or the Irish? The author fuckin' loves both, and straight up fetishizes the Irish girl here in America. I don't get it. I do enjoy how the heroine is all "gently caress you, I'm going to work with the men and show you how good I am at handling horses" while the hero despairs for her callused hands that aren't soft at all, woe! - Bring on the Blessings by Beverly Jenkins - the antidote to white privilege fantasy, here's a black power fantasy! Black lady gets R I C H off of a divorce, buys a struggling small town that was founded by black folk, and sets out to rebuild it and help bring foster kids in to live and recover. I've seen it described as comfort food / a soap opera, and honestly I'm digging it so far...even though I can tell I don't belong here? I'm white, this isn't my history or my people. So it's interesting to read this. I can't speak to the romance yet, as they've met but the characters are too busy meeting the town and working. - Forbidden Highlander by Donna Grant. I read the first one of these last year, as I wanted to read her paranormal romance series, but they're a direct sequel to these highlander books. I don't go here either! I don't care about Highlanders or Scotland, and you can tell the author is a fangirl of these things. The first book was a...ehh, it was roughly 3/5 stars, not my favorite, but I'm intrigued enough to keep going (there are dragon-shifters in my future!) and along the way this is a fascinating fantasy with instant love. And probably more, I can tell I'm in full monomania excitement. Learning about the genre is so NEAT especially how it ties into women's history, and the books themselves are so often delightful and/or fascinating. Especially from the perspective of someone who - well, I'm a fangirl, I've grown up in fannish spaces, I've written a buttload of fanfic. A lot of my teenagerhood was watching movies or reading books and figuring out who I'd ship. And here's an entire popular genre that preceeded that and continues the trend of "these two people should kiss" ps I'm reading the extras for Scum Villain's Self-Saving System, which is actually related here, as it's a romance too - the emotional core of the story is Luo Binghe and Shen Qingqiu learning to communicate and care about each other as equals. When I finish the extras I'm planning to read more by the author, because my love for danmei cannot be contained and she writes such fun characters.
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Mar 24, 2022 15:36
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StrixNebulosa posted:Okay, after digging around on the internet (bookriot especially) I am currently reading... Also white, but the way I look at it, as long as you don't claim to belong there or that these are "your people" it's okay to visit, listen/read and stay out of the way if that makes any sense. StrixNebulosa posted:- Forbidden Highlander by Donna Grant. I read the first one of these last year, as I wanted to read her paranormal romance series, but they're a direct sequel to these highlander books. I don't go here either! I don't care about Highlanders or Scotland, and you can tell the author is a fangirl of these things. The first book was a...ehh, it was roughly 3/5 stars, not my favorite, but I'm intrigued enough to keep going (there are dragon-shifters in my future!) and along the way this is a fascinating fantasy with instant love. I assume that there's no katanas, decapitations that create lightning storms or declarations that "There can be only one!" are there?
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Mar 24, 2022 17:59
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are there some gender flipped romance novels that are of reasonable quality? like instead of the quiet lady librarian getting into some steamy romance with an aloof and cold but handsome businessman, its some himbo trying to pursue like buffy the vampire slayer? idk im not tied to paranormal or anything. i am just a queer thembo and id like to read about people like me being romanced and most of what ive read is more spank bank sexy than something interesting romantically. ive read a bunch of m/m stuff in pursuit of this but it didnt quite hit for similar reasons i hope yall can appreciate why im reluctant to just click amazon randos Casual Encountess fucked around with this message at 18:14 on Mar 24, 2022 |
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Mar 24, 2022 18:11
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kurona_bright posted:Funnily enough, my knowledge of murder-mystery romances mostly feature queer relationships. This is probably entirely the fault of Josh Lanyon, who has been writing gay murder-mystery romances for over two decades at this point, to the point where it was its own little subgenre for a while. I think either the standalone Snowball in Hell (which is also set in the 1940s) or Fair Game (which is contemporary-ish) would be fine enough places to start. If you would rather read a lesbian romance, I enjoyed Proper English (set ~1900s) by KJ Charles well enough. By the way I've gone ahead and loaded up my kindle - I can't read series out of order much as I want to, so even if goodreads says "these are barely linked standalones", well, I'm starting with Snowball in Hell (standalone whee) and Miss Wonderful (Loretta Chase starting a series) Thank you!
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Mar 24, 2022 18:21
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Casual Encountess posted:are there some gender flipped romance novels that are of reasonable quality? like instead of the quiet lady librarian getting into some steamy romance with an aloof and cold but handsome businessman, its some himbo trying to pursue like buffy the vampire slayer? idk im not tied to paranormal or anything. i am just a queer thembo and id like to read about people like me being romanced and most of what ive read is more spank bank sexy than something interesting romantically. ive read a bunch of m/m stuff in pursuit of this but it didnt quite hit for similar reasons The immediate book I thought of with your request here is Meljean Brook's Heart of Steel: quote:As the mercenary captain of the Lady Corsair, Yasmeen has learned to keep her heart as cold as steel, her only loyalty bound to her ship and her crew. So when a man who once tried to seize her airship returns from the dead, Yasmeen will be damned if she gives him another opportunity to take control.  (also, it's steampunk)The first book definitely falls more into the traditional dynamic you said you're not interested in (aloof, powerful hero; heroine wasn't a pushover but still), and on top of that, it has a truly uncomfortable scene (cw:sexual assault) where a sexual encounter between the two leads starts off consensual but then the heroine wants out and the hero doesn't realize (they're both drunk i think). He's horrified afterwards but nobody (including me) was happy. I can't really recommend it, personally. I don't remember anything like that in the second book (also, in universe, I don't think any scenes between Yasmeen and Archimedes could even play out that way, just because of who they are). Also, it's been years, but I remember liking it at the time. I'm fairly certain you could read the book as standalone... but you might want to pick the book up at a library instead of buying it, in case I'm wrong. FURTHER EDITS: The Greenhollow Duology is a very good time, I agree. Definitely a good read if you want more of that spooky historical feel. Strix, I hope you have a good time with those two books! I've only read Miss Wonderful once but I don't remember disliking it, which I think is a good thing. Mr. Impossible's dynamic is fun, but if you have strong feelings over British colonialism & Egyption historical sites at that time you'll probably have to brace yourself. Also maybe for the depiction of Egypt. That book is very Of Its Time and may not read well in 2022. (Lord Perfect for the most part holds up at least) kurona_bright fucked around with this message at 19:01 on Mar 25, 2022 |
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Mar 25, 2022 18:10
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Picked up Salt Magic Skin Magic based on the rec in this thread. It’s surprisingly delightful so far and the actual writing is good-to-great for the quality that I’m used to in similar books. Fun characters who have a personality beyond ‘huge cock’, which is nice.
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Mar 25, 2022 19:30
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So I was reading the Duke and I and I discovered a friend of mine is also reading it, and she warned me about That Scene and... I zoomed ahead in a fit of angry curiosity and read the whole thing and what the gently caress, Julia Quinn! Why was there a rape scene in a light and airy comedy regency romance novel? I finished the Duke and I and reviewed it. quote:Most of this book is a delightful fun and airy romp through a fake relationship that turns into a real, and delightful marriage. The characters are fun, the family ties are great to read, the dialogue is witty and charming, and...
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Mar 27, 2022 15:11
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I love some trashy modern romance novels. That Gen X/Millennial mindset that flows through a lot is very good. Some super goon ones would be https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36199084 A series where the main character is a bit autistic https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16181775 I think this is the most read of the modern romance novels
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Mar 27, 2022 18:35
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StrixNebulosa posted:So I was reading the Duke and I and I discovered a friend of mine is also reading it, and she warned me about That Scene and... I zoomed ahead in a fit of angry curiosity and read the whole thing and what the gently caress, Julia Quinn! Why was there a rape scene in a light and airy comedy regency romance novel? Yup, that scene is bad. And I haven’t watched the Netflix adaptation, but apparently it’s still there
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Mar 27, 2022 22:18
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kurona_bright posted:Yup, that scene is bad. And I haven’t watched the Netflix adaptation, but apparently it’s still there  I finished Nora Robert’s first novel, Irish Thoroughbred. I’m linking my review but not quoting it because I can sum it up as short stereotypical 80s romance that sucked. The hero was a domineering idiot who didn’t reveal his emotions until the literal last two pages. I’m curious to see Roberts evolve from that into stuff I’m actually enjoying. StrixNebulosa fucked around with this message at 01:50 on Mar 28, 2022 |
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Mar 27, 2022 22:28
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DreamingofRoses posted:[*]Gone with the Wind - Margaret Mitchell I don't know what the official definition of romance novel is but I think many people, including me, think of it as being ultimately a love story. What surprised me about GOTW is how it's not really that at all. Scarlett's and Rhett's relationship is important but the story is all about Scarlett's life and struggles. Her various husbands, including Rhett, are just bit players in that narrative. You could say that's the tragedy of her character, she never could look outside herself and appreciate the people in her life. Nobody is gonna call GOTW progressive on race issues but for a story centered on a female written in the early 20th Century, I found it very compelling. It was not at all what I expected. I think paranormal romances are more of what I was thinking "romance novel" means. Rewatching Buffy, and more specifically studying the academic literature on how massively popular vampire fiction is and what it all means, I'm tempted to try some. I think Anne Rice is credited as the founder of modern vampires and paranormal romance and I've read her. But since then it's become more of a YA thing, which isn't a problem for me.
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Apr 2, 2022 02:04
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kurona_bright posted:Yup, that scene is bad. And I haven’t watched the Netflix adaptation, but apparently it’s still there It's there, but it's WAY toned down from the book, and handled better. Not ideal, but certainly better. Julia Quinn's popularity baffles me, because I've read three of those books now and the heroes are kind of awful! She seems to have a thing for forced marriages.
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Apr 4, 2022 21:54
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NikkolasKing posted:I think paranormal romances are more of what I was thinking "romance novel" means. Rewatching Buffy, and more specifically studying the academic literature on how massively popular vampire fiction is and what it all means, I'm tempted to try some. I think Anne Rice is credited as the founder of modern vampires and paranormal romance and I've read her. But since then it's become more of a YA thing, which isn't a problem for me. Anne Rice (and Dracula to some extent) were probably what got me into vampire romance as a teen. I imagine that Twilight also led to an increase in popularity of the genre, though I haven't read it myself. These are some m/m vampire romances I have enjoyed (all very much 18+): Lords of Discord series by Jocelynn Drake Present-day urban fantasy. Each book follows one of four vampire brothers and their step-dad/sire as they fall in love while fighting a war against clans of vampire baddies. One of the books is m/m/m.  There's a bittersweet underlying story about their mother and why they decided to be turned by their step-dad something like 130 years ago. I thought it was a good story with interesting characters and very steamy romance. Vampire Related Crimes series by Alice Winters (cw: kidnapping and amputation of a child) Another urban fantasy. In this world, humans know of vampires and most get along but there are both human and vampire terrorist groups who want to eradicate the other. Each book is about a different member of an agency who polices Vampire Related Crimes. The first main character is a human who is transferred to the VRC because he is good at kicking vampire rear end and being around them in general in spite of being a double-amputee after being kidnapped by a powerful vampire as a child. The love interest is a grump who doesn't think it's safe to have a human on the team. Lord of Eternal Night by Ben Alderson A gay vampire Beauty & the Beast type of tale. Not a literary masterpiece, but I enjoyed it. Immortal Jewels series by Lee Colgin (cw: mentions of an abusive relationship) comforthawk posted:I've absolutely demolished Lee Colgin's Immortal Jewels series over the past couple of days and found it very sweet. I'm finding that I really appreciate when like, a series offers side characters that pique the hell out of my interest and lo and behold the next book in the series focuses on those side characters. Like the author's like 'yea I knew you'd want more of this guy, here u go'. Book one's got a vampire and a witch, book two's got a couple of vampires who could really benefit from couple's therapy, and book three's got a half-demon and a just a regular guy and it's a hell of a ride emotionally but there's a solid HEA. Whitethorn Agency series by MA Grant Action-packed with a very slow-burn romance. A human veteran, who has PTSD from his unit being attacked by vampire-like monsters, is hired to be a bodyguard for an arrogant pain-in-the-rear end son of a billionaire, not knowing he's from a family of vampires. You will probably despise rich vampire son for most of the first book, but I loved him once more about him was revealed. The two become closer and closer while trying to save the world from baddie vampires and vampire-like monsters. I am looking forward to the next book.
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Apr 5, 2022 00:17
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A friend of mine has expressed a "hankerin'" for gay pirates, either space pirates or the regular historical kind. Swashbuckling, steamy male romance, sex - I'm sure this exists but I am looking for recommendations!
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Apr 19, 2022 10:00
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Gertrude Perkins posted:A friend of mine has expressed a "hankerin'" for gay pirates, either space pirates or the regular historical kind. Swashbuckling, steamy male romance, sex - I'm sure this exists but I am looking for recommendations! Gay pirates, you say? These are the only ones I've read, I would also be interested in more: Tales of Fate series by Jaclyn Osborn pirates AND merfolk Kidnapped by the Pirate by Keira Andrews virgin captive enemies-to-lovers thing Both have problematic poo poo, being that it's pirates, but I don't recall any non-consent in either of these.
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Apr 19, 2022 17:11
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Fine. gently caress it. Never mind.
Everyone fucked around with this message at 15:13 on Apr 23, 2022 |
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Apr 22, 2022 17:06
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Everyone posted:So hopefully I won't get slammed or mocked too much for posting this Everyone posted:Literotica Everyone posted:high school Everyone posted:I almost want to see it taught as a course. wtf?
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Apr 23, 2022 09:35
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fez_machine posted:wtf? this thread is cursed af
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Apr 23, 2022 11:33
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Larry Parrish posted:this thread is cursed af fez_machine posted:wtf? You both suck, if you’re not going to post about romance novels, shoo. Also: while erotic romance is a very valid form of the genre, please remember we have to stay within SA overall rules. Literotica probably isn’t the best source to pull material from, but given the ubiquity of romance authors who started with fanfic it would be silly to say non-traditional publishing or web-posting aren’t valid sources. For actual content: if you like romantic relationships developing as a part of the plot, but not a sole focus of the plot and you like medieval(ish) fantasy, I’d like to recommend Lois McMaster Bujold’s Paladin of Souls. DreamingofRoses fucked around with this message at 21:31 on Apr 23, 2022 |
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Apr 23, 2022 21:25
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DreamingofRoses posted:For actual content: if you like romantic relationships developing as a part of the plot, but not a sole focus of the plot and you like medieval(ish) fantasy, I’d like to recommend Lois McMaster Bujold’s Paladin of Souls. I’ve read this and enjoyed. Any more recs like this? Where the romance is only part of a larger plot, but still done right? I’m always looking for books with a good romance as the B-plot.
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Apr 24, 2022 13:51
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DreamingofRoses posted:You both suck, if you’re not going to post about romance novels, shoo. Yeah, Literotica is a massive garbage fire so I was kind of amazed that I found something kind of decent in it.
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Apr 24, 2022 17:38
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newts posted:I’ve read this and enjoyed. Any more recs like this? Where the romance is only part of a larger plot, but still done right? I’m always looking for books with a good romance as the B-plot. Depending on how much romance you like/if you’re willing to read YA I’d recommend Howl’s Moving Castle, I really like how Howl and Sophie interact, a lot of Robin McKinley’s stuff, specifically in my mind are Sunshine (although it’s a bit more complicated) and Chalice, and I enjoy the dynamics in Margaret Rogerson’s books. On the adult side of fiction I’d recommend N.K. Jemisin’s The Broken Kingdoms which is the second book in the series (the first book is good and also falls into this realm, I just like this one more), Spinning Silver (and maybe Uprooted, but that one’s a little more problematic) by Naomi Novik, the October Daye series by Seanan McGuire has an ongoing relationship that’s woven into the books but not the primary focus (usually), Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao has a fun triad that develops. You’ll note these are all fantasy books, I’m kind of a one-trick pony so if anyone has any recommendations for other genres please feel free to jump in. DreamingofRoses fucked around with this message at 23:53 on Apr 24, 2022 |
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Apr 24, 2022 23:50
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newts posted:I’ve read this and enjoyed. Any more recs like this? Where the romance is only part of a larger plot, but still done right? I’m always looking for books with a good romance as the B-plot. Fortune's Pawn, by Rachel Bach. The A-plot is the MC space lady getting in her power-armor and stomping on escalating waves of alien faces. The B-plot is a steamy on-and-off romance with the ship's cook.
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Apr 28, 2022 23:49
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I saw another post talking about this thread (well, complaining, really). As a result, I figured I'd give some recs for contemporary m/f, in case anybody reading this thread isn't interested in the m/m fantasy stuff we've talked about before. You Deserve Each Other by Sarah Hogle is a relationship-in-trouble story where the couple is engaged, but the relationship is effectively miserable and both of them know it. But all of the (nonrefundable) reservations have been made, and whoever breaks up is the one who will have to pay the bill, so the two of them start actively trying to make the other's lives hell in order not to be stuck with the check. I liked this one because the relationship felt awful in the beginning. But they start rebuilding what they lost and figure out the different ways they failed each other, and that was pretty good. Impressive for a debut novel imo Twice Shy (also by Hogle) starts off with the heroine inheriting a huge property from her great-aunt after said great-aunt passes away, allowing her to leave behind her frankly terrible job. Unfortunately, her aunt also left the property to a grouchy groundskeeper, and it turns out that the two of them have very different ideas about what they want this property to be. The property's kind of a mess at the moment, so the two of them start working on fixing the place up and (surprise!) start forming a connection. I also really liked this one, unsurprisingly. While the couple start off on the wrong foot, they're not as pettily mean as in You Deserve Each Other. It's a pretty slow book, and melancholic at times, particularly when the heroine reflects on how she and her great-aunt drifted out of touch. Bet Me by Jennifer Cruise starts with the heroine overhearing her awful ex (who just dumped her) bet another man that said man can't get her into bed. Said man did not actually agree to the bet, but he ends up asking her out anyways, and it's a pretty awful blind date, so they agree to never see each other again. But they keep on bumping into each other, and start seeing different sides of each other. This is probably my favorite Jennifer Crusie book and is an extremely good time. It's also a much faster-paced book than the Hogle books I recommended, and I'm especially fond of Crusie's distinctive writing style -- here's the opening paragraphs: quote:Once upon a time, Minerva Dobbs thought as she stood in the middle of a loud yuppie bar, the world was full of good men. She looked into the handsome face of the man she’d planned on taking to her sister’s wedding and thought, Those days are gone. The last book I have to recommend is a little different, in that it's not a comedy and it's not a personal recommendation -- it's because KJ Charles, an author that I really respect (and whose name has come up several times in this thread), liked it. It's The Kingmaker by Kennedy Ryan, and the first book in a trilogy. From what I understand, this story is more zoomed-out than the previous books mentioned in this post -- there's at least two substantial time jumps involved. I've been meaning to get around to reading this -- when I have, I'll post an update. kurona_bright fucked around with this message at 08:52 on Apr 29, 2022 |
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Apr 29, 2022 08:17
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I really don't mean to yuck anyone's yum with this post, but what is it with all these romances starting off dark? I know it's a sub-genre that's very popular, but reading about the bad times of your protagonist or couple getting physically, emotionally, or, more popularly, sexually abused and tortured to gain some sense of depth for your character just seems tiring. I have memoirs and the news to cover such gritty topics.
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May 24, 2022 23:50
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Dark romance is appealing to some people for the same reason horror is appealing to some people: it lets you explore scary and uncomfortable things through the safety of fiction. It's easier to handle a scary or upsetting situation if you know 1) it's not real and 2) things are going to turn out okay for the people in it. That doesn't mean it's for everybody. That's why responsible authors will make it clear that there's Dark Stuff In This Work and won't expect people who aren't in their audience to shower it with praise.
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May 25, 2022 00:51
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Pththya-lyi posted:Dark romance is appealing to some people for the same reason horror is appealing to some people: it lets you explore scary and uncomfortable things through the safety of fiction. It's easier to handle a scary or upsetting situation if you know 1) it's not real and 2) things are going to turn out okay for the people in it. That doesn't mean it's for everybody. That's why responsible authors will make it clear that there's Dark Stuff In This Work and won't expect people who aren't in their audience to shower it with praise. That makes sense! Thank you. For some reason, I never thought of horror novels as a comparison.
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May 25, 2022 01:26
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Reviving this thread just to say that I'm doing a reread of Nalini Singh's Psy-Changeling series and I want to shout out how lovely and indulgent they are. They've got issues - she fuckin' loves Big Men with Small Women and some gender essentialism and feminine moans - but the world-building is interesting, the characters are fun, and I love the initial premise of "true love (and lust) breaks down a Vulcan's mental defenses so they can voluntarily feel happy and loved". Like. That is my jam, thank you. I'm also a happy sucker for the couples usually becoming power couples who solve crimes or stop terror threats or rebel against the evil Psy Council together. Just, mwah. Thank you author for writing me so many of these.
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Jun 9, 2022 00:34
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The main thing that bugs me about Psy-Changeling is that you have a world where a third of humanity literally represses all emotions and sexual expression outside of pure reproduction (until test tube babies are invented at least), where the major city featured predominately in the earliest books is San Francisco, but queerness ends up relegated to 1-paragraph blink-and-miss-it references scattered throughout the books. That and the heroes in the Psy-Changeling series not really deviating from Possessive Alpha Male (regardless if they're shifters or Psy) was the reason why I haven't touched the Trinity follow-up series (even if I have read pretty much everything leading up to that). Her Guild Hunter series is a little better about this imo, but that one also straight up has books where it's literally all about the plot and there's no new romantic couple being introduced, so there's more room for side characters to breathe. For all my complaints, the fact remains is that I still read 14 books and several side stories about the Psy-Changling series. There's still a lot to like there.
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Jun 14, 2022 04:41
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kurona_bright posted:The main thing that bugs me about Psy-Changeling is that you have a world where a third of humanity literally represses all emotions and sexual expression outside of pure reproduction (until test tube babies are invented at least), where the major city featured predominately in the earliest books is San Francisco, but queerness ends up relegated to 1-paragraph blink-and-miss-it references scattered throughout the books. That and the heroes in the Psy-Changeling series not really deviating from Possessive Alpha Male (regardless if they're shifters or Psy) was the reason why I haven't touched the Trinity follow-up series (even if I have read pretty much everything leading up to that). Her Guild Hunter series is a little better about this imo, but that one also straight up has books where it's literally all about the plot and there's no new romantic couple being introduced, so there's more room for side characters to breathe. As I said, Singh LOVES the big alpha protective man and the short but curvy woman trope. That said... sometimes that's not a complaint from me, it's just nice and indulgent to read about being protected by a big dude who'll kill for you. I mean the heroine. I'm not going to defend her writing straight stuff, as that's a huge fault, but I'll say these two things: 1) from what I hear she actually wrote a gay couple in the latest Guild Hunter book, which owns, and 2) she sucks at describing places. I genuinely didn't know we were in San Francisco until my reread because it's generic "they went to a bar. there's an alley. now we're in the forests. oh it's snowing" and I feel like she could do a better job at making places feel like places, but... yeah. That said as I get deeper in to Psy-Changeling (I'm on Hostage of Pleasure now!) I am delighted to realize that wow, there are way more skin tones in these than I recalled. Like, I did a double-take upon realizing that the dude in Mine to Possess has really dark skin and the cover is....................white. so white. I know this is a long-running problem with covers, but yeah! The text is diverse, which is cool.
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Jun 14, 2022 16:20
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I know no one asked, but here's what I'm reading today:  - I love Dark Gold's cover so much. - I love Feehan's oldschool gothic romance flairs in her stuff, you can really see this in the way the vampires have weirder than usual powers (turning into dragons! packing earth into their wounds to heal!) and the heavy attention to mist and detail and so on. Unfortunately this includes pretty bad sexism and other (very) problematic aspects to her books, but I've found the first three to be - if you hold your nose, they're really indulgent and spooooky fun romance-horrors. - Branded by Fire marks my second least favorite thing about modern covers - they grabbed stock photos and photoshopped them together, and well, where's my painted gorgeous cheesy covers? I know, they cost money. - Rereading Branded by Fire a second time is... huh. When I first read it, I HATED it how it took a tomboy aggressively dominant lady and then began banging the "but she needs a male more dominant than her to be satisfied" drum and that's still garbage, BUT this time I'm digging it more as - I don't know if I'm older and different or if I misread this in the book the first time around, but I'm not finding her interactions with Riley to be as problematic. She's teasing, he's teasing, I'm not reading anything as sexual assault or harassment this time. More like...Mercy can't get over herself and her pride enough to admit what she wants, which is a different dynamic. idk. It's still one of the weakest books in the series, but I'm plowing through it and looking forward to moving to new territory I haven't read before.
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Jun 17, 2022 21:10
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