#Milla Vane

[fated-mates]

A classic among classics, we’re talking ENEMIES TO LOVERS this week! We get to the bottom of what we think of as “enemies,” and how it differs from “rivals-to-lovers” and “friends-to-enemies-to-lovers” and “friends-to-lovers” (jk, we’ll never understand friends-to-lovers). We revisit some of our very favorite romances, talk about stakes, about impossible situations, and about how sexy hating someone can be.

[crimson-kas]

I like to journal about books I read (especially the ones I really like) to get my thoughts down before I post reviews to Goodreads and StoryGraph.

[mermaidsirennikita]

Im pretty sure you had an enemies to lovers list but I can’t find it 😭 so can I request a list of the best enemies to lovers you’ve read?

Sure! I will say, I definitely have gotten a bit stricter about what constitutes enemies to lovers for me. There's dislike, and then there's being an ENEMY.

Paranormal:

A Hunger Like No Other by Kresley Cole. Enemies in that, though they are fated mates and he knows this, he hates her because she's a vampire and he's been trapped under the Parisian catacombs for 150 years in eternal flame, tortured by vampires. She does not love the fact that he kidnaps her, her family comes to kill him, it goes on.

Kiss of a Demon King by Kresley Cole. Enemies in that her brother rules his stolen kingdom and she is enlisted to seduce and kidnap him, and subsequently get him to impregnate her with the heir to the throne so they can like... kill him. Again, they know they're mates, but THE GAME IS V MUCH ON.

Dreams of a Dark Warrior by Kresley Cole. They're fated and have actually been lovers in all of his previous lifetimes... but each time they do consummate it, he dies shortly after and gets reincarnated again. She intended to avoid him to spare him, but oops, in this lifetime he's a militant anti-immortal warrior who's kidnapped her and is now holding her prisoner on an island. This is inteeeense.

Lothaire by Kresley Cole. He's an evil 3,000 vampire, she's a 24-year-old human who he believes has been possessed by the soul of his fated mate. His intent is to have her own soul taken from her so his mate can stay there permanently—her intent is to not have that happen. By any means necessary. Very much a Clash of the Titans type EtL in terms of willpower.

Evernight by Kristen Callihan. Victorian paranormal, the heroine is like... a witch who manipulates metal and also a mad scientist lol... the hero is a vampiric demon type. She was used to warp his body by an evil villain, he's out to basically force her to fix him, BUT THEN it turns out that the only way he feels peace is when she's touching him, oops!

Fantasy:

The Winter King by C.L. Wilson. After her brother kills his entire family, their nations go to war and he wins. As a part of the peace treaty, she's forced to marry him, but it's with the understanding (on her end) that she'll probably be an agent from within, and he's aware of this. Also, there's a lowkey threat that if she doesn't get pregnant within a year, he'll put her on like. A glacier. Lmao

The Witch Walker Series by Charissa Weaks. Begins as this for the core hero and heroine; he's the "witch collector" who takes witches to some mysterious locale from which they're never heard of again, he took her sister years ago, she intends to get her sister back and also kILL HIM. Even after they fall in love, however, you've still got a great secondary romance going on between one of the main villains (an evil prince with amnesia) and one of the main good guys (a hot disaster bi winter king who's like "but what if I healed his heart with the power of love").

The Kingdom of the Wicked Trilogy by Kerri Maniscalco. The heroine is a witch who wants to get vengeance for her identical twin's murder. There are tons of spoilers I can't give away here, but suffice to say... the hero..... has a lot going on that leads to EtL situations lol. Throne of the Fallen is a standalone spinoff that also has these vibes. Very much "enemies who reluctantly have to work together" throughout these novels.

The Hurricane Wars by Thea Guanzon. Very classic EtL, hero and heroine are on the opposing side of a war, he's all shadow she's all light, an arranged marriage MIGHT be on the table...

A Heart of Blood and Ashes by Milla Vane. Another reluctant EtL situation, but their enemy deal is pretty heavy because her dad killed his parents. Recently! However, she also wants her dad dead, so they enter into a betrothal situation with zero trust.

Historical:

A Kingdom of Dreams by Judith McNaught. They're very literally on the opposite sides of a political conflict (he's English, she's Scottish, it's medieval times) and he has her kidnapped at the beginning of the book. The king does force them to marry, and they're not happy about it!

The Widow's Kiss by Jane Feather. She's a Tudor era lady who's recently been widowed for the fourth time, each time enriching her more. He's the guy Henry VIII sends in to investigate her for murder, essentially... also, he benefits if she loses her lands (which would likely also end in her execution). There's a ton of distrust here, and it is very fun.

A Rose at Midnight by Anne Stuart. He's sorta responsible in part for her family dying in the Reign of Terror, she's become a cook in his cousin's house, and when he shows up there (because he's waiting out whether or not this guy he shot in a duel will die, he's the worst) she tries to kill him! And then goes on the run when it doesn't work! Definitely pretty damn dark, a true enemies to lovers book, TW TW for dubcon and past noncon and a ton of of other shit.

Shadowheart by Laura Kinsale. The hero takes the heroine and forces her to marry him as a part of his political scheme. He's crazy and murderous, she hates him... until she starts to learn from him. TW for noncon first encounter.

The Viper by Monica McCarty. The hero and heroine had an almost-thing years ago, but then he basically dropped the ball and she ended up being imprisoned and separated from her kid for years. Now they're reunited, and the beef remains VERY real and the trust is ZERO.

When a Rogue Meets His Match by Elizabeth Hoyt. The hero is the henchman for the heroine's evil uncle; and he's about to quit his job when the uncle is like, "do one last thing for me and you can marry my niece". To which the hero says "GREAT! LOVE THAT FOR ME!" She does not love that for him, and in fact begins plotting. If he dies, he dies.

Dark:

Mafia Mistress/Darling, Mafia Madman, and Mafia Target by Mila Finelli. A guy who kidnaps a girl to have her marry his son, then decides to make her his mistress! ANOTHER kidnapper, this time with more hatred and both of them deciding to destroy each other! An assassin falling for his target while still vowing to kill him! This is the stuff fairy tales are made of.

King's Captive by Amber Bardan. I mean. He kills her dad in the beginning of the book and keeps her on his private island for years. She's not thrilled, and she does want out.

In Sierra Simone's Lyonesse series (MMF), Tristan and Mark are not enemies... and Tristan and Isolde are not enemies... But Mark and Isolde are in an arranged marriage in which she is trying to learn his secrets to take him down from within, and he is Terrified of Feelings while also being like I ALWAYS WIN, ISOLDE. So. Yeah. Begin with Salt in the Wound to find out Why They Are The Way They Are.

[killjoyrequests]

hi, can a get a playlist for a klarion (young justice) fictive? i don't know what genr's i'm really drawn to, but if it helps with picking songs i like songs by Ghost, The Orion Experience, MCR, MARINA (you don't have to find songs by those people, their songs are just the kind i'm drawn to) and like songs that have rebellious vibes, chaotic vibes, and girlboss vibes, if that makes any sense. oh, and any songs that have transfem / trans girl vibes or are songs made by those kinds of creators. hope that isn't too much, i usually don't request playlists much but want some new songs to make a 2024 playlist for -♠️

aaagh i love mcr (if you can't tell.. lol), ghost, and marina, so i hope these fit!

KICKIN TRASH - NOAHFINNCE

Oh No! - MARINA

Blood & Money - The Orion Experience

Choke - I DON'T KNOW HOW BUT THEY FOUND ME

What He Don't Know - Anarbor

There's A Good Reason These Tables Are Numbered Honey, You Just Haven't Thought Of It Yet - Panic! At The Disco

Dirty Night Clowns - Chris Garneau

A Crow's Trial - Vane Lily

Dead! - My Chemical Romance

The Sharpest Lives - My Chemical Romance

I/Me/Myself - Will Wood

Dead Man's Party - Oingo Boingo

House of 1000 Corpses - Rob Zombie

The Mission (M Is For Milla Mix) - Puscifer

I'm Not A Vampire - Falling In Reverse

He Is - Ghost

Year Zero - Ghost

Nvr Pass - She/Her/Hers

Kiss Me, Son Of God - They Might Be Giants

(Don't Fear) The Reaper - Blue Öyster Cult

Dead Presidents - Always Tyrants

It Took Me By Surprise - Maria Mena

Come As You Are - Nirvana

I Don't Trust U Anymore - Left At London

[ohbo-ohno]

saw you wanted some recs about mean husbands and I have two!

- Kiss An Angel by Susan Elizabeth Phillips. written in '96 and definitely reads like it. a little weird (the fmc telepathically talks to a tiger idk) but the mmc resents their marriage and does his best to get her to leave

- A Heart of Blood and Ashes by Milla Vane. fantasy romance. "betrothed" instead of married. physically weak but whip-smart fmc. mmc thinks she killed his parents and is mean even when he's not trying to be

both have solid groveling too if you like that lmk if you've read them and liked or hated them!

kiss an angel has been on my tbr for like a YEAR maybe i'll use this as my sign to finally pick it up! also i fucking love groveling i've said it a million times but it's my favorite thing in a romance book lol

[alphacrone]

Tag nine (9) people you’d like to know better

tagged by @eskildit <3

Last song: the foggy dew by colm mcguinness. i love the sinead o'connor & the chieftans version but came across this one on youtube today so i've been enjoying it.

Currently watching: really not watching much rn but i'm biding my time for the new seasons of wwdits and puppet history. i started reservation dogs a while back and need to pick it up again.

Currently reading: i've been halfway through 'a restless truth' by freya marske for MONTHS and i need to finish it up and also have just started 'a heart of blood and ashes' by milla vane

Current obsession: i mean lockwood & co. obvi but that's been going on for several months now haha.

Tagging @ghosthorse and @displayheartcode and anyone else who wanna do it

[ivorygarcia]

2023 Reading Journal

The Sword of Rhiannon by Leigh Brackett

The King's Spinster Bride by Ruby Dixon

The Cargo by John Hundley

Three Part Dead byMax Gladstone

The Beast of Blackmoor by Milla Vane

The Nemesis From Terra by Leigh Brackett

Prince Lestat by Anne Rice

The Stoneheart Bride by Kati Wilde

Pretty Bride by Kati Wilde

The Midnight Bride by Kati Wilde

The Silmarillion by J.R.R. Tolkien

Prince Lestat and the Realms of Atlantis by Anne Rice

Liches Get Stitches by HJ Tolson

The Lady and the Orc by Finley Fenn

Taken to Voraxia by Elizabeth Stephens

Broken by the Horde King by Zoey Draven

The Galactic Rejects by Andrew J. Offutt

The Man Who Loved Mars by Lin Carter

Taken by the Horde King by Zoey Draven

The Darkness on Diamondia by by A.E. Van Vogt

The Seeds of Time by John Wyndham

Throne of the Horde King by Zoey Draven

Teacher's Pet Wolf by Kati Wilde

The Empress of Salt and Fortune by Nghi Vo

Chains of the Sea by Robert Silverberg

Thongor and the Wizard of Lemuria by Lin Carter

Beyond Control edited by Robert Silverberg

Quest for the Future by A.E. Van Vogt

Currently Reading: Deep Space edited by Robert Silverberg

28/52

[separatist-apologist]

Have you read A Heart of Blood and Ashes by Milla Vane? It is, to me, a perfect fantasy romance. This book had everything -- sorcerers, megafauna, barbarians, enemies to lovers, and a heroine that I loved and was actively rooting for. Don't want to oversell it but... trust me. ♥️♥️♥️

I'll add it to my TBR!

[wizzardofxxxx]

If you read the Milla Vane books you get cockmongers

Siuan Sanche ponderings

[cynicaloptimism2]

February had a lot of books!

Romance:

The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna: I liked it, though I have many questions about the world building, some of which may be answered if there's a sequel.

Husband Material by Alexis Hall: Hall is great once again. Also, all his couples give me TodoDeku vibes and I love it.

The Rivals of Casper Road by Roan Parrish: this one jumped my queue when I realized it was out. Parrish is another must read author for me.

Ship Wrecked by Olivia Dade: this might be my favorite of the series.

A Heart of Blood and Ashes by Milla Vane: real damn good, fantasy barbarian romance.

Manga:

Deadpool Samurai 2

My Hero Academia #27, 28 & 29

My Hero Academia Vigilantes # 4: I don't know why I read this so slow. I like it when I read it but never feel like going back to it

Other books;

The Woman in the Library: I loved this one, especially the frame story told through letters to the author!

I'm Glad My Mom Died by Jeanette McCurdy: really hard to listen to but worth it.

Blacktop Wasteland by S.A. Corey: really good mystery, queer rep (though 2 gay men's murder is what kicks off the story), lots of discussion of racism. Spectacular

[fated-mates]

You can grab Milla Vane's A Heart of Blood and Ashes for $1.99 today.

This was one of our Best Romances of 2020👆. We also devoted an entire episode👇 to it.

It's sooooooo good.

[ghosthorse]

My Favorite Books of 2022

I saw someone make a post of their favorite books they read in 2022, so I thought hey I should look at my Goodreads stats and do that. I only included books that I read for the first time, and only one book per author. So in the order I read them, these were 20 of the books I liked best this year!

Pretty Little Wife by Darby Kane Caroline's Heart by Austin Chant The Nearest Exit May Be Behind You by S. Bear Bergman Confessions of the Fox by Jordy Rosenberg Peter Cabot Gets Lost by Cat Sebastian The Forgotten Dead by Jordan L. Hawk The Cartographers by Peng Shepherd A Lady for a Duke by Alexis Hall Secret Identity by Alex Segura A Marvellous Light by Freya Marske A Heart of Blood and Ashes by Milla Vane Thrall by Avon Gale and Roan Parrish The Bayou by Arden Powell Killers of a Certain Age by Deanna Raybourn A Madness of Sunshine by Nalini Singh His Beauty by Jack Harbon The Dragon's Bride by Katee Robert The Screaming Staircase by Jonathan Stroud Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir Tread of Angels by Rebecca Roanhorse

If you liked any of these (or hated them) (or want to ask what I liked about them) (or want to tell me about your favorite books of 2022)... do that!

[sugarless5]

Don't know how to stop being long winded so I'm answering via reply instead of in a comment. But since under smooth brain reads there are "I don't want to work hard to get into a book, a nice regency romance that's like slipping into a bath" kinds of moods and "looking for a fun romp" kinds of moods and "nothing's grabbing me - I need something compulsively readable and maybe off the beaten track" kinds of moods, I wanted to allow for all possibilities. (sorry if you've read them all and/or don't think any of them look good)

Historicals:

Sarah MacLean, if you haven't read her - she's currently on a series of romance novels following a Victorian girl gang that takes down rich, powerful men who abuse their power. First one of that series is Bombshell.

I want to recommend Kleypas if you haven't read her stuff, because I was reading one of the most enjoyable scenes I've read in a while in Chasing Cassandra when I saw your post, but it's hard to find a good entry point for her. It Happened One Autumn may be a good entry point, but it's not one of the ones you reach for to reread like some of her others.

Cat Sebastian: The Queer Principles of Kit Webb (Queer Regency) - cartoon cover, but I wouldn't consider it corporate Memphis Style (I really thought historicals were safe from cartoon covers but even they seem like they're headed in that direction)

I've been checking out the kinds of classic Old School romances I always avoided before, just because some of my favorite authors grew up reading them and I was curious. Julie Garwood's The Secret was fun and drew me in pretty quickly. It's an older book so be prepared for an angelic heroine and extremely boorish men, but it's a fun read. You don't see much Medieval era stuff anymore these days

-Historical queer fantasy romance: a light read, easy to get into, not too much worldbuilding, but I'm not sure I'd call it smooth brain, the Power Unbound Series by Freya Marske. Edwardian era, magical realism

Contemporary:

I don't have a lot of favorite contemporaries - I like them just fine but I tend to forget about them as soon as I read them. What jumps to mind are:

Boyfriend Material, Alexis Hall - hilarious, will make feelings sneak up on you (haven't read the sequels yet, so I can't speak to them) Bad news about the cover though :(

-Contemporaries that won't blow you away but are fun, easy reads: Wolf Gone Wild; Cleat Cute (I forget the authors of each)

And then in my "I can't in good conscience recommend these books to people because I couldn't tell you why I like them and on paper I really wouldn't like them but I find her stuff compulsively readable" category: Cate C Wells. She's most known for her dark romance Run Posy Run, about a legitimate psychopath, and for The Tyrant Alpha's Rejected Mate (which is pretty much what it says on the tin) and I can't stress enough that I don't actually know what I like about these books other than that I think she puts people together in interesting ways. She really makes you kind of hate the heroes first. Short, less sexy than you'd think, but scratches that lizard-brain itch.

Scifi/Fantasy Romance: Extremely Lizard Brain, Little Bit Bonkers, may make you go "what the fuck am I reading and why can't I stop reading it?"

Heart of Blood and Ashes, Milla Vane

Taken by the Horde King, Zoey Draven

Please recommend to me your favorite smooth brain romance books, the only caveats being they cannot have a corporate Memphis style cover or be written by Colleen Hoover

[mermaidsirennikita]

Hi!! Do you have any fantasy romance recs? I loved IAD

Hello fellow IAD reader!! Sorry for the lateness, blame Thanksgiving.

I do have fantasy recs!

A Heart of Blood and Ashes by Milla Vane--this one has a high fantasy setting, the hero is trying to avenge his parents who were killed by this evil king figure. He almost kills the heroine, the king guy's daughter--but she's the heir to throne and wants her dad dead too. So they agree to work together... and marry for an alliance. SO HOT. So angsty. So emotional. This is the book where she famously gives him a handy using her dead brother's blood as lube. It's GOOD.

The Winter King by C.L. Wilson--the hero is the prince of a winter-magic kingdom, and he inherits when the prince of the sun-kingdom kills his parents and brother. He takes revenge, conquers the sun kingdom, and the book begins with him solidifying a treaty by marrying the daughter of the sun king. The sun king tricks the hero into marrying the daughter he loves least, and the heroine has to give the hero an heir within a year... or else. This is for the Zutara girlies, it's a man with a heart of ice with this defiant princess, perfect enemies to lovers, with a dash of... Elsa?

The next book is The Sea King, which has the first heroine's sister being doggedly pursued by like... Prince Aquaman. From a matriarchal country. Where he was literally trained in the art of pussy. (TW: this one has sexual assault on the page, not by the hero.)

Consort of Fire by Kit Rocha--the first heroine is sent to marry this dragon god, and she must kill him or die. The twist: she and her handmaiden (who's super dangerous) are long term lovers. Twist twist: she and her new husband feel an instant chemistry. Twist twist twist: her husband her lover also have an angry sexual tension. It's hot, it's intense, and it's FFM. Beginning of an ongoing series.

Ruby Dixon's Aspect and Anchor series is GREAT. The first three books have modern women in our world end up in parallel fantasy words, where they must act as the "anchors" for these "aspects" (basically: supernatural gods). The first one is Bound to the Battle God, and it's such a good defiant heroine/stern hero book. There's a scene where the heroine is under the influence of an aphrodisiac and he has to boredly get her off. I live for it.

[tomesofthetrade]

Mass market paperbacks 📚

[jawesomesauce]

I’m reading a barbarian fantasy novel and if I’m reading this correctly…….. THERE ARE DINOSAURS IN IT???