I so wanted to read this book, because it gave us what should have happened, Jo and Theo ending up together! But it was so much more than that, they had all the heat, that heart-connection, and still, as always, looking out for the other, even if that meant pain for them. Of course, it all worked out in the end, they just needed some time and maturity to see they were perfect together <3
I'm happy people are still reading Harlequin and Mills & Boon. I read my mom's old paperbacks when I was younger and they get a bad rep. Or maybe I thought they were good because they were spicy and I was young. Do you have any newer M&B Harlequin suggestions?
I love that! I think Harlequins were probably the first adult romances I read back in the day and honestly, the dream would be to write something for them someday (it has been... a slow work in progress). So from my understanding Mills & Boon is the British romance imprint of Harlequin so idk how much overlap there is for the books I'm gonna recommend. I've sorted them by author mostly, and they all fall under Harlequin Dare (super hot, now defunct 😔), Harlequin Presents (the fun international ones inevitably with some kinda billionaire/prince/sheikh), or Harlequin Desire (mostly rich Americans):
Caitlin Crews: Here is a list of my absolute favorites by Caitlin, and to add to that, The Secret That Can't Be Hidden (ft. my favorite insta-sex scene during which he basically beckons her forward and fingers her on the spot... no conversation necessary), Crowning His Lost Princess (warlord touches down in a field in.... Kansas? and tells a farm girl she's a lost princess and he's gonna marry her), and Her Deal with the Greek Devil (he has hella beef with the heroine who's his stepsister so he makes her go around his house naked— don't ask me how he gets to that point but it makes for some great tension).
Jackie Ashenden: On the Harlequin Dare front I'd recommend, King's Ransom (ft. the world's biggest kidnap girlie who also has sex for the first time after she's caught sniffing her kidnapper's clothes), Dirty Devil (A heist story that takes a delightful "can I seduce him into letting me free?" turn), Sexy Beast (the only kind of friends-to-lovers I condone, namely the kind that begins with her taking him up on his offer to give her an orgasm) and In the Dark (brother's best friend except she's filling in for her escort friend and he's the client). On the Presents side, I really like Promoted to His Princess (he's a playboy prince and she's the elite soldier meant to guard him).
Naima Simone: Naima writes diverse romances with really hot sex scenes. My favorites include Black Tie Billionaire (they have anonymous sex during a blackout and it turns out he wants to ruin her brother... by getting fake engaged to her), Secrets of a One Night Stand (another anonymous encounter, and it turns out he's her boss, and she's pregnant), and Vows in Name Only (they're both blackmailed by her dad into marrying each other and the hero is suuuuuper resentful of her... until he isn't). Honestly, I'd recommend everything Naima has ever written, even outside Harlequin.
Tara Pammi: Tara writes great Indian-forward Harlequin Presents. I'd recommend Claiming His Bollywood Cinderella and The Secret She Kept in Bollywood. This post has a more in-depth description of both.
Lauren Hawkeye: Lauren wrote a modern series based on Little Women under the Harlequin Dare imprint. They're all pretty good but my favorites are Beth's book, Playing Dirty (she's a mechanic, he's a rich man who's *ashamed* of his bedroom proclivities) and Meg's book, Sweet Temptation.
Jadesola James: She writes lovely Harlequin Presents set in Africa; Here is me gushing about The Royal Baby He Must Claim, and that heroine's sister has her own book in The Princess He Must Marry (ft. marriage of convenience... until they actually need to be together).
Miscellaneous:
The Greek Billionaire's Innocent Princess by Chantelle Shaw: She's a princess but she's so "frumpy" he thinks she's waitstaff, but then he sees her skinny-dipping and they have sex in a cave on the beach.... and the next time he sees her, surprise! she's a princess.... and she's pregnant. This one was basically my Harlequin awakening.
The Prince's Forbidden Virgin by Robyn Donald: The first vineyard-based book I ever read; he's the king of a small Mediterranean country and she's his cousin (at least they think.... until the near-end) who's back to rescue the vines from blight.
The Cost of the Forbidden by Carol Marinelli: The first Russian hero to really do it for me; she's his PA and she's given her notice (because she's too attracted to him) so now he basically thinks she's fair game. What a smooth man.
Hold Me by Anne Marsh: The greatest and most seamless roleplaying I've read (until very recently). Here's a hint at what it includes.
Pure Satisfaction by Rebecca Hunter: I'm a sucker for a shame-boner because "she's too young for me" and this book really delivers (especially when she makes him say "you're too young for me" while she's in his lap with her top off lolol).
A Product of Genetics and Day Drinking - Jess H. Gutierrez
The Hard Parts - Oksana Masters
Rage Becomes Her - Soraya Chemaly
The Genius of Judy - Rachelle Bergstein
Me Vs Brain - Hayley Morris
Forever Barbie - M.G. Lord
It's Not Hysteria - Karen Tang
The New Menopause - Mary Claire Haver
The Nervous System Reset - Jessica Maguire
The Modern Trauma Toolkit - Christy Gibson
Small Talk - Richard Pink
Girls Just Wanna Have Funds - Emma Due Bitz
Please Unsubscribe, Thanks! - Julio Vincent Gambit
Work Won't Love You Back - Sarah Jaffe
The Tree Collectors - Amy Stewart
Cowpuppy - Gregory Berns
Bold = Highly Recommend
Italics = Worth It
Crossed Out = Nope
Thoughts:
Unfortunately this month was marked by some disappointments (eagerly anticipated reads: Slow Dance, Last Seen Online) and (sequels to books I loved: The Girl in Question, The Only Light Left Burning), but The Pairing restored my faith in Casey McQuiston and left me desperate for a European food and wine tour.
Meg gets an HEA? You know that was going to be a draw in. The fact that she finds a filthy, dirty talking, take charge, man in Ford to give her that? All the better! This book sat on my TBR for way too long, and I finally got to it, and great goddess, it was worth the wait. These two connect immediately, sizzle in fact, and act on it. Life isn’t where it needs to be, so it is 5 years later when they reconnect. Both have been through some stuff during that time, but the electric arc between them, still there and just as strong. They let the emotions in, and some deeper learning about each other is needed, but they finally get to there and enjoy their lives. And to think it all started with a poorly maintained Porsche <3
There’s a video on Lauren’s instagram where Glen is dancing outside with his nephew and all I could think about when I saw it was uncle Hangman visiting Chaos and Rooster. Nicks been plagued with his night terrors and uncle Jake is taking him outside to count the stars and suddenly it becomes a dance party at 3:30 in the morning.
Chaos & To Have & To Hold
Is this the one you were talking about? If so yes.
Roosters got his fresh out the womb baby girl in his arms, up having an early morning feed—burping her softly after you heard Nick screaming and had to go calming him down.
Jakes running out into the hall like the house is on fucking fire because that kids got a set of lungs.
“What’s wrong? Who’s dying?” Jakes asking all the questions.
“It’s just Nick.” Oh the sight of Bradley Bradshaw holding his baby girl, only two weeks old, Jake would never get used to it. How was this fucking guy a father of three before Jake was even a father of one. Soon—expecting, but still baking in his wife. He couldn’t wait. “Night terrors.”
“Okay, why don’t we just sit in the living room and calm down before we try to fall asleep again okay?” Jake felt like he fell into a parallel universe whenever he watched his friends actually parent.
“I have an even better idea—“ Jakes smirking as he’s scooping a teary eyed, tired Nick Bradshaw up into his arms. “I’ve got this one covered you two.” He’s beaming at you and Bradley who just stand there confused as Jake walks out the front door with your son.
Only to walk out a few moments later to see this:
Chaos is imminently texting Hawkeye:
“Come get your husband.” With the video attached. Which is met with a simple but snarky reply.
“He’s not my problem again until Sunday morning, until then it’s just me and the bun in the oven.” You smiled with a soft chuckle before another text is coming through from Hawk. “Send him home any earlier and I’ll send him right back to the sender Bradshaw.”
Hot take but I love the idea of Roy and Riza being able to enter more “dangerous” territory in their physical relationship. Like come on, with how much pent up anger and lust and inner demons these two have, they’ve DEFINITELY done their fair share of wall-slamming and broken a table or two. Like, I love love love soft tender royai but I also think they get RAW and PRIMAL. They’re both so strong and trust each other so much that they can handle (and match) anything they throw at each other, and still come out on the other side recognizing the person they love. And the strength and power they see in each other makes them want each other even more. Anyways please give fic recs that play into this idea
hello! could i please get some fc suggestions (no gender preference) that could fit a vampire that was turned in their mid-late twenties/early thirties, but has a cold exterior since they’ve lived for at least 100 years? tysm!
Úrsula Corberó (1989)
Hannah John-Kamen (1989) Nigerian / White.
Mishel Prada (1989) Puerto Rican, Dominican Republic, and Mexican [Spanish, Portuguese, African, Indigenous], some French - has spoken up for Palestine!
Kiowa Gordon (1990) Hualapai and White - has spoken up for Palestine!
Luke Baines (1990) - has spoken up for Palestine!
Paapa Essiedu (1990) Ghanaian - has spoken up for Palestine!
Kelly McCormack (1991) - is queer - has spoken up for Palestine!
Kim Yong Ji (1991) Korean.
Yang Yang (1991) Chinese.
Sarah Kameela Impey (1991) Indo-Guyanese / White - has spoken up for Palestine!
Hari Nef (1992) Ashkenazi Jewish - is a trans woman - has spoken up for Palestine!
Medalion Rahimi (1992) Iranian, Iranian Jewish - uses she/they - has spoken up for Palestine!
Paloma Elsesser (1992) African-American / Chilean-Swiss - has spoken up for Palestine!
Emma D’Arcy (1992) - is non-binary (they/them) - has spoken up for Palestine!
E.R. Fightmaster (1992) - non-binary (they/them) - has spoken up for Palestine!
Mina El Hammani (1993) Moroccan - has spoken up for Palestine!
Jesse James Keitel (1993) - is a trans woman.
Freddy Carter (1993) - vibes in Shadow and Bone - has spoken up for Palestine!
Mia Khalifa (1993) Lebanese - has spoken up for Palestine!
Pınar Deniz (1993) Turkish [Lebanese] - her vibes in Aktris - has spoken up for Palestine!
Natasha Liu Bordizzo (1994) Chinese / White.
Adeline Rudolph (1994) Korean / White - vibes in Resident Evil.
Juliette Motamed (1995) Iranian - has spoken up for Palestine!
Sasha Calle (1995) Colombian.
Ella Balinska (1996) Afro Jamaican / White.
Yumi Nu (1996) Japanese / White.
Tati Gabrielle (1996) African-American, ¼ Korean - vibes in Chilling Advenures of Sabrina and Uncharted.
Lauren Jauregui (1996) Cuban [Spanish, possibly other], likely some Basque - is bisexual - has spoken up for Palestine!
Blu del Barrio (1997) Argentinian - is non-binary (they/them) - has spoken up for Palestine!
Omar Apollo (1997) Mexican - is gay - has spoken up for Palestine!
Bryn Chapman Parish (1997) - has spoken up for Palestine!
Alaqua Cox (1997) Menominee, Mohican - is deaf and a below the knee leg amputee - vibes in Hawkeye.
Kassius Nelson (1997) Black British - vibes in Dead Boy Detectives.
❤️🧡🤍🩷💜A WLW ASK MEME❤️🧡🤍🩷💜 List the top 10 ladies you’ve been obsessed with Ever Of All Time! Then send this on to 5 sapphic mutuals 👩❤️💋👩
Yes, fun! :D Thank you!!
Okay, I went fictional characters with this because I just don't really get obsessed with RL people outside of like a 5 year period between 2005-2010 where I followed select actors around to other shows. Also, there's only three ladies who I can confirm fit both 'obsessed' and 'ever of all time', so I've trudged through my entire childhood for every fictional lady who's helped shape my personality to round out the list.
In Chronological Order (to me not by air date):
Margaret Houlihan (M*A*S*H) -- Oh MASH reruns on the Hallmark channel, my beloved 💚 Now, I'm primarily talking about the juicy middle seasons after Potter took over command and Loretta Swit was able to wrestle some better storylines for Margaret, but there's some gems in the early years too. I've been drawn back to MASH three times as an adult and each time I get sucked deeper and deeper into both the real life history of the Korean War and the fictional character of Margaret. Do I have a thousand and one headcanons for how she handles life after the war? Yes. Am I obsessed with whatever platonic/sexual relationship she's got going on with Hawkeye? Yes. Have I plotted out what her D&D character might look like? YEP! She's a paladin :P I also believe if you examined her character through a queer lens, you'd find a trans man rather than a queer woman, but your mileage may vary.
AndrAIa (ReBoot) -- Yeah, yeah, yeah it's a cartoon, but bb 11 year old me was absolutely OBSESSED with this show, and AndrAIa was a big part of that. Look at her little capital AI in her name! 😭 25 years before corporate greed ruined the acronym, that AI was adorable!! And very clever given that she was an NPC game sprite who decided to leave her game and live as a real sprite. Her whole existence and vibe was very formative for me. I love her.
Harley Davidson Cooper (Guiding Light) -- Yes, her full name is absolutely necessary, even if no one ever used it. So, I was SUUUCH a CBS soap girlie back around 2000-2002, and I've been very nostalgic for it in the last few years. As the World Turns was my primary soap, so I figured one of my regular blorbos like Rose or Katie or Romana would be the one I miss most. But then Harley's actress Beth Ehlers popped up during my Law & Order SVU watch and I LOST MY MIND!!!!! Her face and voice instantly filled my soul with joy! So Harley gets the trophy. Even if she didn't have any stand out storylines during that era (apart from her and Gus being Very Hot), she was always my favorite character from GL.
Piper Halliwell (Charmed, original flavor) -- Technically, I had Turtle Wexler from the book The Westing Game on this list instead because I didn't remember Piper until after I'd drafted all ten slots :S But listen! That's because health problems have made my memory shitty! It is not because Piper doesn't stand up to the test of time! Ugh, I remember the show never treated Piper like she was the fan favorite and I hadn't discovered online TV forums yet so I felt so alone in my love for her :( But being on lesbian millennial Tumblr makes 14 year old me feel SO validated, because Piper is the only Halliwell sister anyone ever talks about on my dash. 💜 Congrats everyone. We were right all along.
Lorelai Gilmore (Gilmore Girls) -- Yeeeaaah.. we've hit the Big Three that I alluded to earlier. I was very, very gay for Lorelai (and Lauren Graham) in the latter half of my high school years, and I did not realize that until way later. She taught me how to be quicker with the comebacks and, more importantly, to marry someone who could cook instead of learning how to feed yourself. And I really took that to heart. My spouse is a fantastic cook! :) (Don't get scared for me guys! I do actually know how to cook three (3) entire meals now that I'm in my 30s :P lol)
Rose Tyler/Billie Piper (Doctor Who) -- I will list the actress here, because my love for Rose Tyler is probably split 50/50 between the character herself, and Billie Piper's charisma and hotness. She's gorgeous!!! 😍 That seemingly common question in the mid-2000s of 'Who would you kiss if you were gay?' always left me stumped until New Who aired in the states. Then, I was finally able to answer 'Billie Piper' and actually mean it. Because that's what you were supposed to do with that question, right? Take it seriously and not treat it like hyperbole? #totallystraightbehavior #swearsies Alas, it would take me two more girl crushes and interacting with genuine queer women in a femslash fandom before I recognized my feelings for what they were. But Rose was still a very significant step forward!
Myka Bering (Warehouse 13) -- MY GIRL!!! My Lady of all Ladies. I would die for her. I would kill for her. I would kneel and raise my sword and swear fealty to her. MYKA FUCKING BERING, EVERYONE! 👏👏👏👏 Watching her fall in love with Helena made me realize all my girl crushes were real crushes and that I was bi. Bless her. Bless Joanne Kelly. And bless the incomparable Bering and Wells fandom. *kisses everyone on the mouth, sloppy style*
Erin Gilbert (Ghostbusters 2016) -- Look, I know that I can never get away with pretending that Erin isn't my favorite ghostbuster, but I do usually think about her in the context of her relationships! Like 8 times out of 10, when I'm headcanoning, I'm thinking about her and Abby's relationship. And if I'm not, there's a not-so-small chance I'm thinking about her relationship with Patty instead. (RIP to Holtzy who I virtually never think about outside of the foursome. Her fanbase just ruined it for me :S) But um... yeah, Erin's my favorite. I even have Pokemon parties picked out for them all. And their daemons.
Eve (Lucifer) -- Okay so I know it hasn't even been a full high school (aka 4 years) since I met Eve, so I can't really say she's someone I'll stay obsessed with forever and ever and ever. You probably don't even believe I'm obsessed with her at all given the bulk of my Lucifer talk is about Lucifer/Chloe -- but that's just cause that's where the storyline is! Trust me, Eve is my favorite character, even if she was in the least amount of episodes (RIP me). When she pops up in the background of a Deckerstar fanvid, I'm instantly distracted and have to marathon every Maze/Eve vid in my collection. I decided to use a fandom name in the first time, like, ever, when creating my Lucifer-specific Twitter account and I made it Eve themed. She's my favorite, bestest girl who can do no wrong and -- YES! -- that does include accidentally-definitely-on-purpose starting a demon mutiny that led to newborn Charlie's kidnapping. She had never been dumped before okay? First woman to ever exist and she'd never been dumped. Did you handle your first break-up well? No! I didn't think so :P
Alex Cabot (Law & Order: SVU) -- I've only know Cabot for four months, but if anything happens to her, I'll kill everyone in this room and then myself -- OH WAIT! She already left me. 😭 I am in S17 now, which is like ten seasons past when she went into witness protection and barely ever came back, yet there's not an episode that goes by where I don't think about her. So, I say that counts as longevity and am sticking her on the list. This woman has Issues. Plural. Period. She makes me say shit like 'I want to dig into her brain with a fork' and it's actually an accurate metaphor for what I feel. I love her your honor... now who can I sue for emotional damages?
Chapter 3: Hydra Hurt us, But he brought us together.
We learn a little something about Keira's life at SHIELD.
Warnings: a lil bit of fluff, somewhat angsty, mentions of past trauma, mentions of therapy
A/N: I KNOW IM SORRY!!!!! I Know its short, the others will hopefully be longer
For 5 months, they kept me in SHIELD bases, where they trained me to become an agent. They wanted to turn me into an Avenger, someone else they could use to their advantage. I know I'm being used… but it seems Fury has a soft spot for me. He often gives me special treatment, letting me have more freedom than the council would like me to have. It feels nice. The training was always brutal, they wanted to test everything about me and learn what they could.
My legs felt like they were about to fall off. I kept pushing myself. I ran and ran. The treadmill’s track going fast. The agent beside me tracked how fast I was going. They were pushing my limits, seeing how the serum Hydra had given me affected my body, my instincts, and my boundaries. My speed was clocked at 45 mph, slower than Captain America but still way faster than the average human.
The agent came at me in the ring. His body was adorned with protective padding. I only had gloves on. I dodged his swing, landing a blow on his stomach. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Fury watching from the shadows. I kept my eyes trained on the person in front of me. After more and more of my blows landed on his body and his blows on mine, I finally swept my foot underneath him, knocking him off his feet.
Tony had visited me a couple of times at SHIELD, he said he felt sorry for me, but also like he had to protect me. So he’d visit in hopes of getting to know me better. I always looked forward to seeing him.
“Williams you have a visitor.” an agent called into my room. Who could be visiting me? I really didn't know anyone outside of Shield. I walked out into the main lobby to see Stark. “Hey…” he looked at me, as he trailed off. “...Keira. Call me Keira” He nodded and smiled.
Tony had stopped by again. We were hanging out in my room, and he was telling me about a new project he was starting up. He was working on new weapons and technology that would aid the Avengers in upcoming missions.
“What do you think about the ideas?” he asked me, I looked over the blueprints that he brought along “They are really cool!” I had never seen blueprints as detailed and messy at the same time as these. He had planned out new improvements for Hawkeye’s arrows, new wrist guards for Natasha, new weapons for both his and War Machine’s suits and new equipment for Dr. Banner to use in the lab.
“Really?” he asked, and I simply nodded.
While at SHIELD, they were able to find out who I was, based on what I could remember about life before Hydra. They still had barely any idea of what I went through at Hydra and I didn't want to tell them. But Fury thought it would be good if I had someone to talk to about all of it.
Fury sat me down in a room with a lady who held a notepad. “Fury what am I doing here?...” I asked, I looked up at him not sure why this lady was there. She's kinda scary… “She's a therapist,” he simply states, motioning to the lady “and I think it would be beneficial if you talked about your experiences with her.” I let out a small oh. He left the room and she began introducing herself. “My name is Lauren” she started, she waited a moment for me to introduce myself. “My name is Keira,” I told her, she wrote down something on her notepad.
During the first session, we talked about my interests, any friends I had, and what I did at SHIELD. It was just a get-to-know-me session. The next few times, she would try to coax things about Hydra out of me, it took quite a few of the weekly meetings to get anything out of me. But eventually, I started talking about it more. She recommended that I write in journals, first writing journals about what I remember during Hydra and before, then writing day-to-day journal entries about what I was feeling and what had happened throughout the day.