#sarah maclean tells you what books to read

[mermaidsirennikita]

what would you say are the biggest trends when it comes to romance novels getting published nowadays and how do you feel about them?

Oh gosh, that's hard to say. In part because I am both deeply NOT on trend in what I seek out, and on trend in that I read a lot of ARCs from trad publishers? Who aren't the only trendsetters by any means, but are the ones with the most $$$.

(This got long so some of it goes under the cut.)

—Romantasy. Obviously. I hate the term romantasy, I think it's literally just made by marketers

(digression: I don't care if a random TikToker came up with the name, the nebulous thing that it IS... pure marketing, there is no definition, and I truly think that genre has to have DEFINITION to be a genre or even a subgenre, it can't just be what one random person thinks it is; you can genre-bend, play with it, but the people you are directing your product to needs to know SOMETHING about what they're buying; I'd compare it to selling a necklace and calling it jewelry without telling the buyer what the stones or metals ARE)

but undoubtedly this is a huge trend. There seems to be a biiiit of paranormal romance making a return with this—see: Kresley Cole's IAD rerelease books being marketed as "romantasy" when there's very little romantasy about that series.... But overall you see the connection to shows like Game of Thrones, etc, within them. Tons of dragons.

—Romcoms continue on. Lots of low stakes romcoms. I do not like these. A lot of the time they blur into women's fiction. The women's fiction blur I think has something to do with Colleen Hoover (though most of her books aren't intentionally funny) but also just publishing trying to capitalize on romance without committing to romance. Emily Henry is a good example of this. Sally Rooney is a more ~literary example. Jasmine Guillory. Etc etc.

They're impossible to really figure out, imo. Are they gonna be hot? Are they gonna be funny? Are they gonna be emotional? Yulin Kuang's How to End a Love Story is a great example of a book that is, to me, near-perfect. It's ABSOLUTELY a romance novel. But is it a romcom? Not really. It has funny moments and a beautiful HEA, but it's a VERY angsty book. Yet I saw it marketed as such.

—Kickstarter campaign books on the indie side, plus other ways to sort of circumvent the tradpub issue while also not... losing as much money. Several big time authors (in and out of romance) have seen huge success with Kickstarter; obviously, it's harder for small-timers, but still possible! I also know of authors who've written chapter by chapter on Patreon and given their patrons special goodies before publishing the book.

—Genre diversity for authors. A lot of authors in the past wrote under one genre or subgenre, then had to use a pen name for anything else. Amanda Quick was Jayne Anne Krentz's historical romance pen name, for example. Now... I don't think people are as strict. Sierra Simone has written erotic historicals, contemporary, dark romance, monogamous, poly, m/m, m/f, f/f, m/m/f, f/f/m, romcoms, etc. Sarah MacLean is dropping a contemporary (not romance) novel soonish. I see this as a good thing all-around. Pen names are cool, but I don't think they should be a MUST.

—Less angst, more fluff. THANKS I HATE IT LOL. I'm gonna say something controversial (apparently) but this is my honest opinion: It is not a story if there is no conflict. What you wrote was a scene. Perhaps a very good scene! A very long scene, maybe! But there is not a STORY unless there is CONFLICT.

Now, I don't know if I've read a book with ZERO conflict. But I've read many lately wherein the conflict was so thin... I felt the story had little substance. Not every conflict has to be ANGST ANGST TRAUMARAMA. A book I recently didn't LOOOOOVE but whatever, I'll accept it as an example, is Heaven, Texas by Susan Elizabeth Phillips. The heroine and the hero are not in danger of losing their lives. Their conflicts are internal. She loves him but doesn't feel like he'll ever genuinely love her, he's a dipshit who essentially doesn't want to accept that she's the one because he a) has a hard time trusting women in general b) has a specific idea of what his life is going to be that was disrupted when his career ended unexpectedly, and he's still working through some shit on that.

Nobody is at gunpoint, nobody is cheating, nobody is doing one last job. They're just... struggling with their feelings and their senses of self. (If the hero hadn't crossed ONE LAST LINE, I think I would've rated that book higher, but it's a testament to SEP understanding conflict that I can dislike the book and still say "solid conflict".)

I just see a lot of authors shying away from serious conflict, and I wonder how much of it is because readers keep complaining about it. And yeah, bad conflict... sucks. But conflict does not inherently suck. I don't want to read 800 pages of PWP or pointless slow burn. I need PLOT. I need ACTION. And I think we can have low-conflict books and high-conflict books in the same market! But it feels like publishers (and perhaps some authors) don't feel confident in that.

Which is why your girl has realized that a lot of the books she loves are like... 10+ years old.

—Historical specific... the unproblematic 1800s white people. I want to make it clear: You can absolutely write politically progressive people of bygone eras well. The Duke Gets Even by Joanna Shupe has a heroine who's outspoken about women's rights and reproductive freedom. Joanna places this against political occurrences of the time to make it flow easily, AND I think is actually pretty real about the heroine having to give some things up to be with the hero (a duke) even though he supports her and doesn't expect her to be a conventional duchess. Some sacrifices are inevitable. Adriana Herrera's An Island Princess Starts a Scandal has a great portrayal of semi-openly queer women in 19th century Paris... and that's something that totally existed and again, flows well.

It's not that I'm a stickler for accuracy at all. See: my love of Alexis Hall's Something Fabulous series. But I think that you either have to lean the fuck in to not being super accurate like they do, OOOOR you have to make it flow. When we suddenly have a duke being like "AND BTW I'M A FEMINIST" I don't fucking buy it lol. I need to see growth, and I need to understand why he has these views. I think there's a lot of low-effort shit being done to make historicals appear more progressive. And while I do think HR has a lot to reckon with, if that's the only way it can continue to exist... It feels as if that subgenre has to exist within a structure that we don't necessarily expect from other subgenres. Not a lot of billionaire romances (and that's still popular, despite what some may tell you) have the hero going "LET ME STOP AND EXPLAIN HOW I'M AN ETHICAL BILLIONAIRE".

I think that romance needs to be aware of its environment and progressive; I also think that romance requires some suspension of disbelief, and I think we're seeing a lot of white guilt driving some newer historical romances.

Because to go back to Adriana Herrera... That's a woman of color writing very politically aware historicals, while at the same time FULLY diving into the escapism and wish fulfillment and all the things people should be able to get out of a romance novel.

(And btw: All the things marginalized groups should be able to get out of romance novels! A Shore Thing by Joanna Lowell is an amazing romance novel with a trans hero, and I've gotta say, the book confronts transphobia, sure, but there is such fucking delicacy and it BY ZERO MEANS drives the fucking book, and I find that really important. That the hero is existing. That Adriana's heroes and heroines exist. And so on.)

[marvelousgeeks]

We’ve been waiting for Imogen and Tommy’s story for years, and let me tell you — it was even better than I hoped! Knockout by Sarah MacLean finally gives a pair of beloved side characters their turn in the spotlight, and it’s worth every minute of the wait and then some.  

If you’re already a fan of MacLean’s Hell’s Belles, you know what you’re walking into. The romance book series, of which Knockout is the third entry, is loosely inspired by the real-life history of the Forty Elephants, an all-female gang whose methods and scope were probably not quite as superheroic as MacLean’s band of glamorous vigilantes and rebels. If you love your steamy, can’t-put-down romance with a side of gleeful chaos, female friendship, and taking down the corrupt and misogynistic men who run Victorian England — this is the series for you.  

Continue Reading

[dhaaruni]

Do you have any recommendations for romance novels with women who are sexually dominate?

Lol idk about sexually dominant per se but here's some romance novels that have that vibe.

Brazen and the Beast by Sarah MacLean: at one point she ties him to the mast of the ship, enough said. I'm personally a huge Day of the Duchess fan as well, and one aspect of that book that I really loved is that it was about giving Seraphina agency that she lacked. Also, Heartbreaker is also a really great book in terms of sexually dominant female leads because for one thing, Adelaide isn't a blushing virgin so there's no easing in period and it's hotter for that.

Devil in Winter by Lisa Kleypas: So like, Sebastian St. Vincent is recovering from an injury and making himself be celibate ("I'm Sebastian, Lord St. Vincent. I can't be celibate. Everyone knows that") so that his wife will fuck him and said wife basically climbs on top of him while he's comatose (it's all consensual obviously) and rides him. It's very hot but also hilarious.

A Rogue's Rules for Seduction by Eva Leigh: a truly excellent second-chance romance, and well, let's just say that Willa gets to ... take charge so to speak, in a way that's very rare for mainstream romance that's not ~erotica~

Thief of Shadows (Maiden Lane #4) by Elizabeth Hoyt: There's a blowjob scene in this one that made me gasp out loud (and then start crying) and I'd definitely classify that as dominant. Plus, the hero in that one is a virgin! Also, Duke of Midnight (Maiden Lane #6) has a scene in a chair that's ... intense and I don't know if I'd classify it as dominant but that particular one is one of my favorites because it's a cross class romance that doesn't feel remotely inequal, which is super rare when the man's the wealthier party

The Duke Gets Even by Joanna Shupe: This is probably my favorite Shupe novel (along with The Prince of Broadway), and something I loved is that Nellie, who's basically a lady rake for lack of better term, gives as good as she gets. There are multiple instances where she CLAWS at Lockwood to the extent of leaving marks, and it's just so refreshing to read.

For the Duke’s Eyes Only by Lenora Bell: I haven't read this one in a while but from what I can remember, aside from the fact it's like, basically a gender-swapped Indiana Jones (Lady India Rochester) and Marian Ravenwood (The Duke of Ravenwood) with a very dramatic and headstrong heroine, there's a rare 69 scene, which almost never happens in historical romance.

Her Night with the Duke by Diana Quincy: A widow heroine who attempts (and fails) to have a one night stand lol. Also, I loved that this book really hits on the fact that just because you end up together doesn't mean that all your flaws as an individual just go away. At one point, the hero stalks away from the heroine during an argument because he's avoidant and instead of just letting him have his time, she stalks out after him to tell him he's being stupid (and they end up having sex against a tree).

A Rogue of One’s Own by Evie Dunmore: the best of Dunmore’s books, a childhood friends-enemies-lovers and I cried a LOT. Also, Oscar Wilde shows up!

That should get you started!

[lowgrace]

Sarah MacLean, Knockout 6 out of 5 💥

Firstly, I should mention how wonderful this cover is. It is just marvellous … I wasn’t even able to do a proper fancasting. Just the woman on the cover is such a great illustration of Imogen that non of my own options beat it. So I decided to just skip fancasting someone famous as I usually do. Or maybe it was that I just waited for this book so much that I could only imagen the “cover girl” as Imogen. What of Tommy? In my head, he was a fairly beardier and bigger version of Andrew Garfield. No offence, Andrew, you are amazing!

Secondly. To the characters. I was so in love with both of the main characters from previous books, and was able to fall in love even more. They both are extremely beautiful souls. And a reformed policemen (against which occupation I have very strong feelings (coming from a shitty corrupt country with the worst forces possible). To say that Imogen is chaotic in the best possible way wouldn’t be enough because she is also so many more things like brilliant, caring, witty, loyal, curious, and overall self sufficient. She didn’t need someone to make her compute, she just was. This is what I like about this stories so much. These matched are partners most of all.

Tommy and Imogen connection, attraction and relationship development is also outstanding. From the beginning of book, we kind of knew about their traits. But their backstories were also a good touch in understanding who their are and how they came to be like that. The wit! The verbal sparing between Im and Tommy made me genuinely smile/laugh read.

And of course the story itself deserves an honourable mention. Sarah MacLean is the queen of building intriguing story. It is always just another separate main character in her books. I would be bald and compare my 2 favourite authors here. I absolutely love how Lisa Kleypas pays attention to politics, social dilemmas of that time and builds worlds in a highly educationed fashion. But what Sarah Maclean does … she builds stories very effortlessly, where she includes important topics and gives voices to women in a very natural way. There may be less direct narration on human, women, workers rights, but they are part of her stories and it becomes obvious what opinions she has and applies to her characters.

Okay, to the Duchess. I soooo want to say “I knew it”. But not to spoil anything I won’t tell what I knew. I’m so hooked and ready for her story. Just another long year/two years of waiting if we are lucky. But good things take time, so I am not mad, but very grateful to my favourite authors for keeping the genre alive, vivid, loud and beautiful 🤍🤍🤍

#TommyGoBoom

[triviareads]

Can you recommend for me books with cheating? modern or historical romance?

lol trying to jog my memory on this one, as well as figuring out what constitutes cheating, and then looking up what others count as cheating was a fun time (standouts include a lot of whining by people on Goodreads about Dreaming of You, Prince of Dreams, and inexplicably The Recruit by Monica McCarty because apparently having sex with another woman while thinking about the heroine who has no ties to him whatsoever counts as cheating??).

The Evolution of Sin trilogy by Giana Darling: The most explicitly cheating book I can give you: Sinclair fully tells Giselle he has a girlfriend, and Giselle predictably gets a little huffy but in the most French way ever, he asks her very coolly if she's "going to be an adult about this" and then says his girlfriend is great but he wants Giselle anyway so... they go for it. Between this series and Giselle's sister Cosima's books, they really do the most for me.

Harvest of Sighs by Sierra Simone: Delphine does cheat on Rebecca with another Domme, and the following emotional journey for both of them was so moving to read, and also, I just love their non-linear path to reconciliation like, Bex fully sends Delphine a remote control vibrator that she's controlling...... while they're technically broken up lolol.

The Heiress Hunt by Joanna Shupe: The first time Lockwood is cucked (but not the laaaast), but this is the only time he's really cheated on since Maddie was officially engaged to him while she slept with Harrison.

Notorious Pleasures by Elizabeth Hoyt: The heroine, whose name is Hero, is engaged to the Griffin's brother, but cheats on him with Griffin. It's a great fire-meets-ice romance and it will never not be funny to me that their first meeting is when she walks in on him having sex with a married woman and gets all moralize-y about cheating being a stain on his soul or whatever.

Day of the Duchess by Sarah MacLean: Haven cheated on Sera before the events of the book and now she wants a divorce. The Rogue Not Taken more explicitly shows the cheating in the prologue, and the heroine of that book, Sera's sister, catches him and shoves him into a pond. Day of the Duchess is a book-long grovel on his part for that (and much more).

Waking Up With the Duke by Lorraine Heath: A very Lady Chatterley's Lover premise; Jayne's husband gave her permission to sleep with Ransom in order to get an heir buuuuut somewhere along the way she develops feelings which I think counts as emotional cheating. And I think Lorraine tried to mitigate that by writing the husband cheating on Jayne but 🤷🏻‍♀️

Eleven Scandals to Start to Win a Duke’s Heart by Sarah MacLean: Simon officially asks another woman to marry him during the course of the story, but still fucks around (with feelings) with Juliana. Not my favorite MacLean book (there are better starchy heroes out there), and I love that the woman who got cheated on, Penelope, got a fabulous romance of her own in A Rogue by Any Other Name.

[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

[greenconverses]

hi! what romance novels would you recommend for those wanting to get into or better at smut writing? or whichever ones you've enjoyed the most

This is a fun question!

When I was still developing my smut writing style, Lora Leigh's books were my favorite for super explicit scenes. (Freshly graduated from high school Jess was v. impressed/scandalized by her threesome series.) I haven't read her in years though, because her scenes started getting repetitive and I couldn't stand her trend of Alpha FBI/CIA douchebag heroes. But she was still very foundational in the "Holy shit, you can write this in traditional romances?!" sense.

Roni Loren's Loving On The Edge series is another one if you're looking to study BDSM/threesome/non-trad smut. The books later in the series are better than the first few (I haaaate the first one), but they're all very creative.

Sarah MacLean and Tessa Dare mix explicitness with sensuality really well, and Anna Harrington is the latest historical writer I've found to hit the right notes with that. Lisa Kleypas gives me mixed results, Julia Quinn is/was like weirdly adverse to letting her heroes go down (I remain betrayed that we were denied with this with Colin/Penelope!!), and Lorraine Heath is another "depends on the book" type of author.

Basically, if you find an author that hits your buttons, just keep reading their back catalog until you're tired of it. Then, go back and read your favorite scenes to still if they're still fairly steamy in retrospect; if they are, study how the author sets up the tension, how they describes things and what phrases/words you're comfortable using in your own writing. And then you just sort of take that mix and make your own template from it!

Being honest with yourself about your comfort level around writing about sex is super important too. Readers can tell when you're trying too hard to be dirty because you feel like you have to use explicit phrases or include certain sex acts. Leaving things to the reader's imagination can be just as important in sex scenes as directly spelling things out is.

[mediaevalmusereads]

Year-End Reading Review: The Good, The Bad, and The Meh

Hello, gentle readers!

Below you will find 3 lists: books I read in 2021 that I liked ("The Good"), books I read in 2021 that I disliked ("The Bad"), and books I read in 2021 that I found enjoyable but not earth-shattering good ("The Meh"). Other than these three lists, the books aren't ranked or tiered in any way. For in-depth thoughts on each of these books, you can check out my Tumblr reviews or my Goodreads reviews.

Disclaimer: If your reading tastes are different than mine, that's perfectly ok! I'm not trying to tell anyone what to think about a book; I'm just reflecting on my own reading experiences from 2021.

The Good

Duke of My Heart by Kelly Bowen

An Unseen Attraction by KJ Charles

Pekolah Stories by Amanda Bales

Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor

Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

The Devil in Silver by Victor LaValle

In the House in the Dark of the Woods by Laird Hunt

Guns, Germs, and Steel by Jared Diamond

The True Story of Pocahontas: The Other Side of History by Linwood Custalow

Who We Are and How We Got Here: Ancient DNA and the New Science of the Human Past by David Reich

The Devil Comes Courting by Courtney Milan

Wicked and the Wallflower by Sarah MacLean

My Friend Dahmer by Derf Backderf

The Devourers by Indra Das

Sweet Disorder by Rose Lerner

Confessions of the Fox by Jordy Rosenberg

A Spark of White Fire by Sangu Mandanna

The Bad

Brothers of the Wild North Sea by Harper Fox

Scandalous Desires by Elizabeth Hoyt

A Duke, the Lady, and a Baby by Vanessa Riley

The Route of Ice and Salt by Jose Luis Zarate

The Black Hawk by Joanna Bourne

Master of Crows by Grace Draven

Ravished by a Highlander by Paula Quinn

The Serpent Prince by Elizabeth Hoyt

A Rogue by Any Other Name by Sarah MacLean

On Stranger Tides by Tim Powers

A House of Rage and Sorrow by Sangu Mandanna

Beasts Made of Night by Tochi Onyebuchi

Radiance by Grace Draven

Descendant of the Crane by Joan He

The Leopard Prince by Elizabeth Hoyt

The Meh

Cold Hearted Rake by Lisa Kleypas

Angel in a Devil's Arms by Julie Ann Long

Between the Devil and the Duke by Kelly Bowen

A Duke to Remember by Kelly Bowen

Something Like Love by Beverly Jenkins

A Seditious Affair by KJ Charles

Lady Derring Takes a Lover by Julie Ann Long

Bombshell by Sarah MacLean

Nobber by Oisin Fagan

Bringing Down the Duke by Evie Dunmore

Silver in the Wood by Emily Tesh

When a Scot Ties the Knot by Tessa Dare

Matrix by Lauren Groff

Muse of Nightmares by Laini Taylor

The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones

An Extraordinary Union by Alyssa Cole

Daring and the Duke by Sarah MacLean

Brazen and the Beast by Sarah MacLean

True Pretenses by Rose Lerner

The Lady's Guide to Celestial Mechanics by Olivia Waite

A Duke in Disguise by Cat Sebastian

These Violent Delights by Chloe Gong

The Wolf in the Whale by Jordanna Max Brodsky

Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse

The Rook by Daniel O'Malley

[sarahmaclean]

Adriana Herrera’s Books Are Absolute Bangers

Ok, look. If you’ve been paying attention to me literally anywhere (Hi! I have a podcast and I’m on Instagram, too!), you know that I am an Adriana Herrera evangelist. Yes, we’re friends, but this is one of those friendships that I literally willed into being because I love her books so much -- I think her American Dreamer series is an absolutely killer debut romance series and since she published it, she’s shown again and again that she can effing write. 

But this year -- 2022, the year of an absolute nightmarescape -- Adriana has put out two books that I really think are not just her best but some of the best in the whole genre. Let me explain: 

Romance is going through a thing right now. All of publishing is, honestly, and I can’t really blame it, considering that it’s incredibly difficult to write while it feels like the world is on fire. The books that are being written right now seem to be generally softer than the ones that came before the pandemic. They’re quieter. Gentler. They’re less edgy. And for a genre that has always been willing to explore that edge -- that’s a big change. And for me, who loves explosions and fist fights and characters who tear shit up...well, I’m not always satisfied.

But Adriana isn’t writing quiet or gentle. She’s writing big and bold. This year, she released On the Hustle, which features a heroine who quits her job working for a rich asshole on page one, only for him to realize that he’s well and truly fucked up...he follows her across the country to fix it, realizing that he’s gone for her, and now he has to absolutely remake himself to fix it and win her. It’s sexy and deeply romantic and absolute FIRE. There are friends who are loyal and hilarious and perfect, and a hero with thighs the size of tree trunks.

Now. On the Hustle alone would have ensured Adriana’s place as one of the best of us, but she’s a double threat. (A triple threat if you consider she also released a very delicious monster romance this year. Wait. Make that a quadruple threat, because she writes erotic romance, too--honestly this one with a hot lady Santa is 🔥!) 

She also released A Caribbean Heiress in Paris, a Victorian romance set at the Paris World’s Fair featuring a Latinx heroine who has plans to build a rum empire and a Scottish hero with a whisky distillery who marries her for convenience and eventually bends over backwards to ensure she thrives. There are villains and explosions and sex scenes atop of the Eiffel Tower. There are friends who are loyal and hilarious and perfect, and a hero with thighs the size of tree trunks (you see this is a VERY GOOD pattern).

ANYWAY. PUT ALL THIS IN MY VEINS.

But here’s the thing: She’s also writing strong, sexy, smart characters in situations that put their backs to the wall. She’s writing about the world around us and how we can find ways to tear it down and rebuild it so we can thrive. She’s writing about love in all its forms, really ensuring that at least one corner of romance is underscoring, in the words of bell hooks: “love is the practice of freedom.” Her books are doing the work right now. And I really believe they’re the romance classics of our time. 

Anyway. Read On the Hustle right now. It’s a banger of a book -- sexy, fun, has  a hero who is just fully gone for the heroine from the jump, and will make you desperate for a group of friends just like the heroine’s. It’s the perfect weekend read. And when you’re done, immediately get A Caribbean Heiress in Paris, which is brilliant, sexy and an absolute joy. I promise you, putting Adriana on your autobuy will be the best thing you did all year. 

--

Is this what I should be doing here on Tumblr? Because this was a very fun post to write and as you can see I LIKE ROMANCE NOVELS A LOT. LMK if I should do more of these! 

[mermaidsirennikita]

Hi! i’m hoping you might have a recommendation or two for me - It’s my turn to pick a book for my book club and I want to pick a historical romance that’s fun and campy but still easily accessible for readers that don’t have much experience with histros. I think Tessa Dare is an obvious choice but do you have any other authors/books you might recommend to someone reading historical romance for the first time? I think my main concern is them getting bored or tripped up by the language?

I hope it's okay if I publish this! (And in response to your other ask, omg thank you and you're so welcome!)

Tessa Dare is a great choice for sure (and I would do A Week to Be Wicked if you go with her) BUT alternatives...

Julie Anne Long! She writes really lighthearted but emotionally deep historical romances. They're not quite as high heat as Tessa, but they are explicit, and super lovely. I'd recommend What I Did for a Duke or After Dark with the Duke. She also has a new book out on Tuesday, The Beast Takes a Bride, which is GREAT and one I'd recommend.

Sarah MacLean is a great one if you want something approachable and easily translated to the modern age. Nine Rules to Break When Romancing a Rake or One Good Earl Deserves a Lover would by proposals for a book club.

Adriana Herrera's A Caribbean Heiress in Paris is modern and fresh and suuuuper sexy, while at the same time having a lot of the things we love about classic historical romances. I love that book.

The Wicked Wallflower by Tracy Sumner is a fun one—it's frothy and flirty (it's a classic brother's best friend book, with a self-made hero and a heroine pretend to be a wallflower) with a sweet beating heart.

There's also Amalie Howard! Her most recent historical romance series has been retellings of fun romcoms. Always Be My Duchess is a Pretty Woman take, and Never Met a Duke Like You is Clueless.

Alexandra Vasti! Her Halifax Hellions novellas are short, but you COULD do 1-2 together as they sort of tell two sides of the same story (they're about twins, and you know that one of them is pursuing the other when she runs off with a man in the first book... int he second you get the real story lol). Her full length debut Ne'er Duke Well is also good.

[notbecauseofvictories]

Hi Sarah! My friend and I are starting a bookclub (as much as you can with two people who aren't pressed for deadlines) and I was wondering if you have any recommendations? (That is if you have time to rec anything!) We're starting off with Deathless and have Fitzgerald next in line somewhere but I def want to try to expand the genres we read and tbh from years of following you, I trust your judgement

I don’t...like giving recommendations? At least not directly, it seems like too much opportunity for getting it wrong. Everybody has their own tastes, after all, and even the best of friends don’t necessarily vibe with what you vibe with. (I’ve experienced this with multiple friends, so I know what I’m talking about.) Truly, one of the reasons that my whole “I’m going to get back into reading for pleasure!” push has been so successful is that I only bother with books that interest me, and stop reading when they fail to catch my attention.

But I’ve now read at least 60 books in 2020, which is approximately 60 more than I’ve read in the years prior, so I’m happy to share that. Below is my list of recent reads, beginning to end, along with a very short review---I keep this list in the notes app on my phone, so they have to be. Where I’ve talked about a book in a post, I’ve tried to link to it. 

Peruse, and if something catches your interest I hope you enjoy!

2020 Reading List

Crazy Rich Asians series, Kevin Kwan (here)

Blackwater, Michael McDowell (here; pulpy horror and southern gothic in one novel; come for the monster but stay for the family drama.)

Fire and Hemlock, Diane Wynne Jones (here; weird and thoughtful, in ways I’m still thinking about)

The Secret History, Donna Tartt

Gone Girl, Gillian Flynn (here; loved it! I can see why people glommed onto it)

Swamplandia!, Karen Russell (unfinished, I could not get past the first paragraph; just....no.)

Rules of Scoundrels series, Sarah MacLean (an enjoyable romp through classic romancelandia, though if you read through 4 back to back you realize that MacLean really only writes 1 type of relationship and 1 type of sexual encounter, though I do appreciate insisting that the hero go down first.)

The Bear and the Nightingale, Katherine Arden (here)

Dread Nation, Justine Ireland (great, put it with Stealing Thunder in terms of fun YA fantasy that makes everything less white and Eurocentric)

The Haunting of Hill House, Shirley Jackson (VERY good. haunting good.)

Tell My Horse, Zora Neale Hurston (I read an interesting critique of Hurston that said she stripped a lot of the radicalism out of black stories - these might be an example, or counterexample. I haven't decided yet.)

The Rose MacGregor Drinking and Admiration Society, T. Kingfisher (fun!)

St. Lucy’s Home for Girls Raised by Wolves, Karen Russell (some of these short stories are wonderful; however, Swamplandia's inspiration is still unreadable, which is wild.)

17776, Jon Bois (made me cry. deeply human. A triumph of internet storytelling)

The Girl with All the Gifts, M. R. Carey (deeply enjoyable. the ending is a bittersweet kick in the teeth, and I really enjoyed the adults' relationships)

The Door in the Hedge and Other Stories, Robin McKinley (enjoyable, but never really resolved into anything.)

The Hero and the Crown, Robin McKinley (fun, but feels very early fantasy - or maybe I've just read too many of the subsequent knock-offs.)

Mrs. Caliban, Rachel Ingalls (weird little pulp novel.)

All Systems Red, Martha Wells (enjoyable, but I don't get the hype. won't be looking into the series unless opportunity arises.)

A People's History of Chicago, Kevin Coval (made me cry. bought a copy. am still thinking about it.)

The Sol Majestic, Ferrett Steinmetz (charming, a sf novel mostly about fine dining)

House in the Cerulean Sea, TJ Klune (immensely enjoyable read, for all it feels like fic with the serial numbers filed off)

The Au Pair, Emma Rous (not bad, but felt like it wanted to be more than it is)

The Night Tiger, Yangsze Choo (preferred this to Ghost Bride; I enjoy a well-crafted mystery novel and this delivered)

The Left Hand of Darkness, Ursula Le Guin (unfinished, I cannot fucking get into Le Guin and should really stop trying)

The Ghost Bride, Yangsze Choo (enjoyable, but not nearly as fun as Ghost Bride - the romance felt very disjointed, and could have used another round of editing)

Temptation's Darling, Johanna Lindsey (pure, unadulterated id in a romance novel, complete with a girl dressing as a boy to avoid detection)

Social Creature, Tara Isabella Burton (a strange, dark psychological portrait; really made a mark even though I can't quite put my finger on why)

The Girl on the Train, Paula Hawkins (slow at first, but picks up halfway through and builds nicely; a whiff of Gone Girl with the staggered perspectives building together)

Stealing Thunder, Alina Boyden (fun Tortall vibes, but set in Mughal India)

The Traitor Baru Cormorant; The Monster Baru Commorant, The Tyrant Baru Cormorant, Seth Dickinson (LOVE this, so much misery, terrible, ecstatic; more here)

This Is How You Lose the Time War, Amal El-Mohtar, Max Gladstone (epistolary love poetry, vicious and lovely; more here)

The Elementals, Michael McDowell

Gideon the Ninth, Tamsyn Muir (didn't like this one as much as I thought I would; narrator's contemporary voice was so jarring against the stylized world and action sequences read like the novelization for a video game; more here)

Finna, Nino Cipri (a fun little romp through interdimensional Ikea, if on the lighter side)

Magic for Liars, Sarah Gailey (engrossing, even if I could see every plot twist coming from a mile away)

Desdemona and the Deep, C. S. E. Cooney (enjoyed the weirdness & the fae bits, but very light fare)

A Blink of the Screen, Terry Pratchett (admittedly just read this for the Discworld bits)

A Memory Called Empire, Arkady Martine (not as good about politics and colonialism as Baru, but still a powerful book about The Empire, and EXTREMELY cool worldbuilding that manages to be wholly alien and yet never heavily expositional)

Blackfish City, Sam J. Miller (see my post)

Last Werewolf, Glen Duncan (didn't finish, got to to first explicit sex scene and couldn't get any further)

Prosper's Demon, KJ Parker (didn't work for me...felt like a short story that wanted to be fleshed out into a novel)

The Secret Garden, Frances Hodgson Burnett

His Majesty's Dragon, Naomi Novik (extremely fun, even for a reader who doesn't much like Napoleonic stories)

Three Parts Dead, Max Gladstone (fun romp - hard to believe that this is the same author as Time War though you can see glimmers of it in the imagery here)

A Scot in the Dark, Sarah MacLean (palette cleanser, she does write a good romance novel even it's basically the same romance novel over and over)

The Resurrectionist, E. B. Hudspeth (borrowed it on a whim one night, kept feeling like there was something I was supposed to /get/ about it, but never did - though I liked the Mutter Museum parallels)

Stories of Your Life and Others, Ted Chiang (he's a better ideas guy than a writer, though Hell Is The Absence of God made my skin prickle all over)

Gods of Jade and Shadow, Silvia Moreno-Garcia (fun, very much a throwback to my YA days of fairytale retellings, though obviously less European)

Four Roads Cross, Max Gladstone (it turns out I was a LOT more fond of Tara than I initially realized - plus this book had a good Pratchett-esque pacing and reliance on characterization)

Get in Trouble, Kelly Link (reading this after the Chiang was instructive - Link is such a better storyteller, better at prioritizing the human over the concept)

Gods Behaving Badly, Marie Phillips

Soulless; Changeless; Blameless, all by Gail Carriger (this series is basically a romance novel with some fantasy plot thrown in for fun; extremely charming and funny)

Black Leopard, Red Wolf, Marlon James (got about 1/3 of the way through and had to wave the white flag; will try again because I like the plot and the worldbuilding; the tone is just so hard to get through)

Pew, Catherine Lacey (a strange book, I'm still thinking about it; a good Southern book, though)

Nuremberg Diary, GM Gilbert (it took me two months to finish, and was worth it)

River of Teeth, Sarah Gailey (I wanted to like this one a lot more than I actually did; would have made a terrific movie but ultimately was not a great novel. Preferred Magic for Liars.)

Mexican Gothic, Silvia Moreno-Garcia (extremely fun, though more trippy than Gods and the plot didn't work as well for me - though it was very original)

The New Voices of Fantasy, Peter S. Beagle (collected anthology, with some favorites I've read before Ursula Vernon's "Jackalope Wives", "Hungry Daughters of Starving Mothers" "The Husband Stitch"; others that were great new finds "Selkie Stories are for Losers" from Sofia Satamar and "A Kiss With Teeth" from Max Gladstone and "The Philosophers" from Adam Ehrlich Sachs)

[cricketnationrise]

quarantine reads part 4

part 1 | part 2 | part 3

76. The Countess Conspiracy by Courtney Milan: book 3 of the brothers sinister romance series. you absolutely DO NOT need to read these in order. i certainly didn’t. also. its a romance novel. there is sex.

77. Joy: And 52 Other Very Short Stories by Erin McGraw: short story collection. some of these are less than a page long. ideal reading for only having like 5 mins.

78. One Good Earl Deserves a Lover by Sarah MacLean: did i get this from the library because of the title? yes. is it a fantastic story? also yes. book 2 in the rules of scoundrels series. romance novel. there is sex.

79. The Invisible Library by Genevieve Cogman: magical library world at the heart of multiple universe has agents that retrieve unique works. featured universe is a sort of victorian england plus elves and werewolves and vampires and dragons and magic and this book is FANTASTIC. still need to get the others because IT IS A SERIES BUCKLE UP BUTTERCUP

80. The Rogue Pirate’s Bride by Shana Galen: book 3 of the sons of the revolution series. look i like romance novels. i especially like that you don’t have to read them in order. its a romance novel. there is sex. also PIRATES and the leads saving each other’s lives.

81. The Queens of Animation: The Untold Story of the Women Who Transformed the World of Disney and Made Cinematic History by Nathalia Holt: non-fiction look at the history of disney animation via the women who worked there. lots of details i didn’t know. chapters are movies rather than years.

82. The Man Who Loved Books Too Much by Allison Hoover Bartlett: bit of a misnomer since the guy is straight up stealing rare books with credit card fraud. he just thinks he’s being gentlemanly by amassing these books. it started off as a feature article and it shows.

83. We’re Here, We’re Here by KM Szpara: tor.com short story, 2 members of a boy band fall in love. management doesn’t like that so starts to control/manipulate the implants they put iN THEIR VOICE BOXES AHHH

84. The Night Soil Salvagers by Gregory Norman Bossert: tor.com short story, cool story telling form with in-world songs/poetry/recipes, very poetic writing

85. The Sisters Brothers by Patrick deWitt: two brothers are hitmen get hired for a job. one of the brothers is really excited, the other starts to contemplate a different life, gold rush era california/western USA, horses, violent, seriously at least one person is killed in every chapter. at one point they burn down a whole lodge. cw: harm to animals, murder, starvation

86. The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin: classic piece of writing about the Black Male experience in the united states

87. The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper by Phaedra Patrick: lonely old man goes on scavenger hunt to find the meanings behind the charms on a bracelet he finds in his dead wife’s closet. travels all around UK and paris and makes friends near and far.

88. The Unlikely Escape of Uriah Heep by HG Parry: some people can read characters out of books. i repeat. CHARACTERS CAN COME OUT OF THEIR BOOKS. theres a whole diagonalley esq space that houses characters that can’t go back. chaos and danger ensue when uriah heep refuses to go back into his book. magic!

89. Reaper Man by Terry Pratchett: #11 in the discworld series, DEATH gets tired of doing all the things and decides to retire.

90. Death and What Comes Next by Terry Pratchett:  discworld short story

91. Love and Other Foreign Words by Erin McCahan: girls life is about to change when her sister is proposed to, very gifted, coming of age, crush on her teacher, endgame is her/her best friend who is a guy and has clearly been pining THE WHOLE TIME

92. Pioneer Girl: The Annotated Autobiography by Laura Ingalls Wilder:  i love the little house books and this was the first non-fictionalized account of her life i’ve read. the introduction by the editor was especially cool/helpful to read, lots of photos and drawings

93. Exhalation by Ted Chiang: this might be my favorite book of all quarantine. and i read a lot of books. a collection of short stories that all fucked me up, but in a good way? title story contains the sentence, “It’s no coincidence that “aspiration” means both hope and the act of breathing.” which like, how dare you sir

94. Wayward Son by Rainbow Rowell: book 2 in the simon snow series, which is a fantasy series created by rowell in her novel Fangirl. She then proceeded to write fanfic of this already fictional series. i’m in love with the meta. 3rd book out in 2021.

95. Salvage the Bones by Jesmyn Ward: set in mississippi before/during/after hurricane katrina hits, follows one family through the eyes of the daughter. tw: sexual assault, dog fighting, harm to dogs, death of dog

96. The Will of the Empress by Tamora Pierce: was still doing my Emelan reread. 4 protags reunite to help out Sandry as she goes to Namorn to deal with her estate and her cousin the empress. whether they will be allowed to leave is another story

97. The King of Attolia by Megan Whalen Turner: book 3 in the queen’s thief series, seriously, go back and read from the beginning. political machinations of the king from a (Mostly) outside POV. the gods are always closer than you think

98. The Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson: a very Spanish vibe fantasy novel. book 1 in a series. chosen one trope. new queen stumbles into the resistance. magic!

99. The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley: first book in a mystery series. a young teen girl is super into chemistry in 1950′s england countryside. someone is murdered in her garden. she tries to figure out what happened because her dad is still shell shocked. cw: kidnapping, harm to children

100. A Big Ship at the Edge of the Universe by Alex White: first in the salvagers trilogy. motley crew turns into found family on a space ship. in this world almost everyone has magic. older female protagonist. queer representation out the wazoo, SPACE. boots just wants to brew her beer and be left alone.

[cinema-tv-etc]

‘Bridgerton’ Isn’t Bad Austen — It’s An Entirely Different Genre

Critics and viewers have dinged the show for being a cliché-ridden period piece or a sloppy historical drama. But it’s neither: It’s Regency romance, and it’s spectacular.

By Claire Fallon

I was deep in a Regency romance binge a few years ago when I pitched a highly self-interested piece to my editor: an investigation into why this didn’t exist onscreen.

This was a creature apart from the Jane Austen adaptations and sedate period pieces I already enjoyed, or sexy but bloody cable costume dramas. A Regency romance is set in a fantasy version of British high society in the early 19th century, and the central action revolves around the courtship between a woman (often a well-bred beauty) and a man (often a rakish peer). They consummate their attraction in improbably acrobatic sexual encounters, and then they live happily ever after.

In the post-2016 election malaise, these novels became my anxiety palliative of choice. They piled up next to my bed and in my e-reader. But sometimes I wanted more, wanted to see the gossamer petticoats and lingering glances and gently unfastened bodices. The piece I pitched never materialized, but the object of my longing did. On Christmas Day 2020, Shondaland’s “Bridgerton” arrived on Netflix.

What ensued was both somewhat exhilarating — getting to see my Regency escapism come to life — and unnerving. My private indulgence, one generally viewed with dismissiveness if not contempt by non-romance readers, had become the target of a full-blown cultural discourse. “Bridgerton” was met with valid and vital critiques, especially over its treatment of consent, but also ones that made me wince: that it was formulaic, predictable, vapid, historically inaccurate, best suited for teens.

Many of the critiques, understandably, seemed rooted in unfamiliarity with the genre’s conventions, or in the expectation that “Bridgerton,” which is based on a series of books by Julia Quinn, would resemble a “Pride and Prejudice” remake. “You don’t get it!” I wanted to shout. “That’s not what this is!” The historical romance has finally gone mainstream — and that means a whole new audience is learning how to read a genre so long relegated to the margins. Sometimes that can be a bumpy ride.

With its bounty of sherbet-hued satin gowns, scandal rags full of malicious gossip, unblinkingly earnest romance, and on-screen lovemaking, “Bridgerton” seems to defy easy categorization for many critics, journalists and viewers — and even Regé-Jean Page, who stars as the smoldering Duke of Hastings.

“It’s a little bit of Jane Austen meets ‘Gossip Girl’ with maybe ‘49 Shades [of Grey’],” he told The Wrap in a December interview. Critics and viewers, at their wits’ ends trying to make sense of this sexy, gossipy, frothy Regency costume drama, also tried to characterize it in terms of beloved on-screen classics: “Pride and Prejudice,” “Downton Abbey,” and, yes, “Gossip Girl.” These comparisons convey some bafflement, an uncertainty about how to categorize a show that isn’t really a realist historical drama, nor an edgy satire, nor a campy soap.

Though it’s true that Austen was the inspiration behind the whole subgenre — the first Regency romance novelist, Georgette Heyer, was emulating Austen’s work — it has evolved into a well-established genre with its own tropes, conventions and standards.

“There’s a way that those kinds of incredibly popular adaptations of Austen will make you, I think, expect that you’re watching a certain kind of thing, and romance novels are not trying to do the same thing at all,” critic Aaron Bady said in a phone conversation. “If you go in watching ‘Bridgerton’ and say, ‘I think I’m watching Jane Austen,’ you’re going to be disappointed. It feels a little Jane Austen-y, but it doesn’t work like a Jane Austen novel.”

Nor is period romance merely a form of realist period fiction. In her review of the show, Patricia Matthew, an associate professor of English at Montclair State University, placed it in a long artistic tradition of Black women depicted in Regency settings. But ultimately, she said in a phone interview, “Nobody’s reading Julia Quinn because they’re looking for disquisitions on historical precedent.”

Bursting though a romance novel may be with carefully researched, period-accurate details about Vauxhall entertainments, Almack’s vouchers or ribboned chemises, these novels really aren’t about the Regency era, or at least not primarily.

“Historical romance does a different kind of work than historical fiction,” Sarah MacLean, a popular historical romance author, told me during a phone call. “The work of the romance novel is not to tell the story of the past. It is to hold a mirror to the present.”

By building a love story between the primary couple, one that is guaranteed to end “happily ever after” or “happy for now,” a romance novel not only provides escapism and the heart-pounding rush of vicarious passion, but a space in which to explore how romantic relationships can and should be, and how women can find fulfillment and happiness. And that means these stories have little to do with how the marriage market of Regency high society actually functioned; they’re about what readers — predominantly women — want to see in their lives today.

“The appeal of the time period for readers is very much about being able to distance readers from certain kinds of social issues and then reframe them as a reflection of society now,” MacLean explained. In the 1970s, novels typically featured brooding alpha males who took what they wanted sexually ― a narrative device, MacLean argued, for the fictional heroines of the time to have plenty of sex without being seen as loose and deserving of punishment. Historical romance novels today often feature heroes and heroines having what seem like rather anachronistically tender exchanges about consent.

Ella Dawson, a sex and culture critic, sees period romance as a way to provide a balm — an experience in which violence and trauma are, if not absent, superseded by a reassurance of ultimate well-being — while also walking readers through more thorny questions.

“Romance as a genre is really interested in consent, in diversity representation, in political issues,” she said. “Romances are so infused with these issues that I [am] really passionate about, and they explore it through this really fun, romantic, swoony, but still very intellectual, thoughtful, accessible lens.”

As odd as it felt to see a straightforward romance adaptation dissected as if it were a failed attempt at matching Jane Austen, it makes sense. Because the genre is generally regarded with such disdain in mainstream culture, it occupies a rather marginalized niche. A non-romance reader is unlikely to have a firm grasp of many things about the genre, outside of well-worn jokes about throbbing members and Fabio’s flowing hair, and though romance is among the bestselling genres in the book industry, it’s rarely adapted for TV or film.

Why has this omission persisted for so long? “I can’t imagine that it isn’t a huge amount [due to] patriarchy, in the sense that for the same reason it gets disdained on the page, it gets disdained on the screen,” said MacLean. To this day, the people deciding which films and shows to finance are almost entirely men. Shonda Rhimes is that rare exception — a woman with creative control over a TV empire, and a fan of the Quinn series.

Practical obstacles to adapting romance also pop up. A novel stuffed with sex scenes and building toward a tidy happy ending may be tricky to adapt for network TV, which needs to keep things a bit cleaner — and keep the narrative drama going indefinitely.

And it’s not just the network TV standards and the tidy endings. The heightened reality and bodice-unclasping of the genre, Matthew said, rely on an intimacy between the reader and the page that’s difficult to translate to the screen.

“I think the plot lines are bananas. I think they’re so extreme that they strain credulity,” she said, laughing. “You have to believe that a sane man, an adult, would say, ‘Oh, I’m just not going to have children so I can spite my father.’ It only works if it’s you with a glass of wine, kind of throwing yourself over to the world of romance.” It’s awkward to sit with someone else, knowing they’re watching the same melodramatic story unfold, partaking in a pleasure that feels somewhat private, if not embarrassing. “We all have these fan worlds that when they’re exposed to other people that aren’t a part of that world we might feel protective of, or feel bashful,” she said.

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/bridgerton-netflix-romance-genre_n_60086fd5c5b6ffcab969dafa?utm_source=pocket-newtab

[christinaroseandrews]

Help me Romancelandia, you’re my only hope!

Okay, I’ve finally managed to get Hoopla and Overdrive installed (It was a challenge) which means I can finally read the “BIG NAMES” in  Historical Romance without losing the ability to eat (I’m poor and I won’t pirate books, EVER) and frankly I can’t afford what most traditionally published books cost these days. So if someone could only read ONE book by the following authors, what book would you recommend?

Eloisa James

Lisa Kleypas

Julie Quinn

Sarah MacLean

Tessa Dare

Elisa Braden

Grace Burrowes

Lorraine Heath

Loretta Chase

Cat Sebastian

Are there any authors I’m missing? Any of the above you would tell me to give a miss?

As a note, I read my way through pretty much all of the romance that was out there in my library system from 1988-1997 -- which means I’ve read a fuckton of Heyer, Hazard, Chesney, Roberts, Spencer, Steel, Small, Lindsay, Brandywine, Gellis, Edwards, Dailey, Devereaux, and more so many more... I used to read 1-2 books a day. So I’m good on Old School. I’m fairly good on contemporary and paranormal/fantasy (I am so picky there I don’t take recommendations from anyone I’ve been burned too many times). Of the above, I liked Bertrice Small, Marion Chesney, Jude Devereaux, and Rebecca Brandywine the best -- I hated Nora Roberts, Lavyrle Spencer, and Danielle Steel. Lindsay is hit or miss same with Roberta Gellis. More recently I’ve liked some Courtney Milan, Sophie Barnes, Christi Caldwell, Catherine Bilson, and Jean Wilde. Sex is fine. No sex is also fine. I’m sex positive which includes a choice not to have sexy fun times!

I won’t say no to recs outside of Historical but know that I’m mostly looking at the people who are held up as tentpoles and pillars of the romance community.The ones I see showing up over and over. I started reading a book from one of the people on that list and I was not impressed... at all.. and I wondered if I just happened to get the “bad one.” I mean, every author has a book out there that just isn’t as special as the others and it’s just bad luck when a new reader starts with that. I want to give these ladies a chance... so tell me... what book would you recommend!

[noqueenbutthequeeninthenorth]

romance recs!

For @missfaber​ and anyone else who wants some!

Caveats: I can give more tailored recs if you tell me what tropes you like, and also I basically only read historicals which are overwhelmingly (but not exclusively) white and hetero. Also, most of these can be found on Scribd if you have that service.

Authors you can’t go wrong with (and who will show up a bunch in the rest of my recs):

Courtney Milan - excellent prose, complex protagonists, love stories that feel earned, and just overall ... she’s the best, truly, chef’s kiss

Sarah MacLean - extremely fun and extremely sexy, her books are just bursting with life, full of fantastic lead and side characters, and every single one is a delight

Meredith Duran - her books have a gravity to them that I really appreciate; situations and characters are genuinely really difficult sometimes but so worth it

Some books/series I’d recommend if you like 

Dysfunctional families, close-knit siblings, and/or angst about bad parents: 

The Hellions of Halstead Hall by Sabrina Jeffries The Bareknuckle Bastards by Sarah MacLean The Turner Series by Courtney Milan The Royal Brotherhood by Sabrina Jeffries The MacLean Curse by Karen Hawkins Marriage Mart Mayhem by Callie Hutton

Revenge schemes gone wrong:

Beware a Scot’s Revenge by Sabrina Jeffries No Good Duke Goes Unpunished by Sarah MacLean Sins of a Duke by Stacy Reid Wicked and the Wallflower by Sarah MacLean

ANGST ANGST ANGST (and possibly in need of a TW):

The Duke of Shadows by Meredith Duran The Bashful Bride by Vanessa Riley The Secret Diaries of Miss Miranda Cheever by Julia Quinn A Woman Scorned by Liz Carlyle Fool Me Twice by Meredith Duran

Working women:

Scientists --  Talk Sweetly to Me by Courtney Milan The Duke’s Quandary by Callie Hutton A Lady’s Guide to Celestial Mechanics by Olivia Waite The Countess Conspiracy by Courtney Milan [***this is my favorite romance novel of all time***] Let Sleeping Rogues Lie by Sabrina Jeffries

Writers --  The Highlander’s Accidental Marriage by Callie Hutton A Summer for Scandal by Lydia San Andres The Suffragette Scandal by Courtney Milan

Other --  The Bittersweet Bride by Vanessa Riley [owns a flower farm] Proof by Seduction by Courtney Milan [fortuneteller] Brazen and the Beast by Sarah MacLean [runs a shipping business] Lady Be Good by Meredith Duran [thief aspiring to be more] Luck Be a Lady by Meredith Duran [runs an auction house] A Hellion in Her Bed by Sabrina Jeffries [runs a brewery]

A few faves that haven’t yet been mentioned:

The Day of the Duchess by Sarah MacLean [estranged spouses, second chances, seducing your spouse, it’s also kinda like the bachelor]

Caught by the Scot by Karen Hawkins [friends to lovers, ridiculous scheming, marriage of convenience]

To Pleasure a Prince by Sabrina Jeffries [beauty and the beast vibes, dyslexic heroine, making a deal]

The Marrying Season by Candace Camp [friends to lovers, marriage to save her reputation, heroine doesn’t believe in love]

The Lady’s Disgrace by Callie Hutton [friends to lovers, marriage to save her reputation, seducing your spouse]

Feel free to ask for specifics about any of these titles, or to tell me if there are any particular tropes or character archetypes or anything else you particularly want me to recommend to you.

Also, if you have anything you’ve read that you’ve loved, PLEASE let me know.

[mfred]

Tagged by @ramblingromance​ to list ten of my favorite heroes and ten of my favorite heroines from romance novels.

Well, here’s the deal. I have a horrible memory and forget everything all the time. But I’ll do my best to come up with some characters!

In no particular order:

Heroes

Ethan Dexter from the Game Plan by Kristen Callihan. Two words: quiet intensity.

Davy from Faking It by Jennifer Crusie. An exasperated con man, looking to go straight, but pulled in by the charms of the heroine.

Devil from Wicked and the Wallflower by Sarah MacLean. Drama city.

Zsadist from Lover Awakened by JR Ward. Also highly dramatic, even for a physically and emotionally scarred vampire. 

Tack from Motorcycle Man by Kristen Ashley. Highly alpha (over the top, really), very intense, older hero. Totally knows what he wants, and gets it. 

Picnic from Reaper’s Stand by Joanna Wylde. One of my most read books. Picnic is alpha, with a wicked sharp sense of humor. An older hero and a leader. 

Heroines

Mandy from Shade’s Lady by Joanna Wylde. What’s the the opposite of a ingenue? Mandy is world-weary, but tough and bright and also, importantly, joyful. 

London from Reaper’s Stand by Joanna Wylde. Older heroine, but not jaded. Tough and scrappy. Willing to look an alpha male in the eye and tell the truth, no matter what. 

Agnes from Agnes and the Hitman by Jennifer Crusie. At the end of her rope and ready & willing to wield a frying pan to save her dreams and her family. 

Jessica from Lord of Scoundrels by Loretta Chase. She’ll shoot you if she has to!

Lauren from Sweet Dreams by Kristen Ashley. Willing to be vulnerable. Embodies perseverance and loyalty. 

Kate Daniels from the Kate Daniels series by Ilona Andrews. Ok, this series is really romance adjacent (more urban fantasy than paranormal romance), but Kate is everything! She’s smart, strong, accomplished, damaged, burnt out, unwilling to trust but once she does, boy is she all in with Curran, her hero. 

I tag anyone who is interested in participating! Maybe @bookgeekgrrl or @herwitchinesss, if you have the time and inclination?