#there's one book i deeply wanna recommend but due to moral quandaries i just don't think i can

[mermaidsirennikita]

Virgin Romance Heroes: A Starter Pack

Although I completely 100% believe that virginity is a construct, I still enjoy a virgin romance hero. Because a virgin romance hero is a hero who is often less likely to feature a lot of the alpha male bullshit posturing you find in romances featuring devirginized heroes.

Though... one could definitely make an argument that this depends more on who you choose to read.

I actually can't explain why I love a virgin romance hero on a serious intellectual level, but I once heard a podcast refer to these books as "breaking in ponies" books, and I feel like that's probably somewhat close to the truth.

(There is at least one book I'm highly anticipating on the horizon featuring a virgin hero, but like. Not out yet.)

Contemporary Virgins

I actually only have one because contemporary virgin heroes are usually in like. College. And, with some rare exceptions, I don't do college romance heroes.

The Bride Test by Helen Hoang

Hero is on the autism spectrum and is incredibly antisocial, hence the virginity. His mom brings a single mother back from Vietnam to be his bride, and he's like "absolutely not", but they end up in a forced proximity situation. What makes this book so interesting to me is that the heroine really doesn't have the full story at first, which leads to a lot of mixed messages--and as a result? His virginity loss is not great for her, but he doesn't even super realize she didn't have a good time and has to learn and make it up to her. Refreshing. Also, Helen writes a good fucking fucking scene.

Historical Virgins

Unclaimed by Courtney Milan

This one has a hero who's genuinely a very good person, which is often difficult for me to deal with, but it works here. He proclaims his chastity (until love, i.e., marriage) to the world, and a very annoying man decides to undo him by hiring a sex worker, our heroine, to seduce him. This is a soft book, and an emotional book, and it's also about a woman constantly trying to stumble into this man's arms so he comes to his senses and fucks her. As a job. It's quality.

Thief of Shadows by Elizabeth Hoyt

Maybe the best virgin hero book... ever? I maintain? Winter Makepeace, TM, the man, the myth, the legend, is an orphanage master by day and a vigilante by night. Vigilantism is his fucking, to paraphrase Kendall Roy. Until the night he ends up chased to his doom by an angry mob and rescued, with a massive leg wound, by sexy aristocratic widow Isabel. Though she doesn't see his face, she does see his penis, and it is large. He escapes into the night, but oops, Isabel is now supposed to reverse My Fair Lady Winter so he doesn't lose the orphanage!!! Winter is a real "sex didn't super matter to me until I noticed this one bitch" virgin, and by God, I love that. He and Isabel both cry when she blows him for the first time. He tells her, his mouth literally hovering directly above her clitoris, "well I'm sure I'll figure it out somehow". He's also 26 to her 32, which I enjoy.

Something Fabulous by Alexis Hall

M/M roadtrip romcom historical, in which the flamboyant, too much Bonny is experienced (and will let literally anyone eat his ass, legend) whereas his sister's surly, cold fiance duke guy Valentine is a virgin. It's also heavily implied that Valentine is demisexual. They go on a romp of a romance as they try to hunt down said sister fiancee girl, during which Valentine is like "maybe I do wanna fuck? Maybe I wanna specifically fuck Bonny?" Because it's Alexis Hall the spectrum of sexuality and "what sex is" and "what even is topping and bottoming anyway" is super good. Valentine refers to Bonny's asshole as a hungry flower. Bonny is like "PLEASE. STOP."

Hotel of Secrets by Diana Biller

A hero in the vein of Winter, except he's very much chosen to be celibate because a) trauma and b) he's a spy and he's frankly far too competent and busy to worry about fucking. Until he meets our sexy hotel-running heroine, and someone is trying to kill her and she doesn't seem NEARLY as concerned about it as she should be, in his opinion. Features the lovely "competent man slowly unraveling because of local woman" vibe, which is one of the best vibes. She teaches him about sex. He walks in on her masturbating and is like "keep going". It's so, so good.

Band Sinister by KJ Charles

Another M/M historical, in which a very proper and practical boy next door type does in fact have to go next door after his sister ends up in the clutches of a queer found family. It's like "what if instead of getting a cold Jane Bennet broke her leg and what if instead of Mr. Bingley and Mr. Darcy you had a gay rake and all his friends, a couple of whom he fucks sometimes". This book not only has some really lovely deflowering content (including Latin verbiage) but explores polyamory in a way I super enjoyed.

In Which Margo Halifax Earns Her Shocking Reputation by Alexandra Vasti

A roadtrip historical with heavy Tessa Dare vibes, featuring a slutty disaster heroine and her brother's best friend, a practical man who's been in love with her from a far for yeeears. To the point that he is, in fact, a virgin. The pining brother's best friend can feel really contrived if it's not done well, but it's done perfectly here. It's an excellent opposites-attract romance, a perfect "uptight meets wild", and they do fuck nasty in the woods. So there's that.

Melissa and The Vicar by S.M. LaViolette

A recent new favorite of mine, this is another "jaded sex worker meets virgin" book, but in this case Melissa is just on a vacation because she has a stomach ulcer and needs to de-stress, and Magnus is the local curate who sees her and goes "WOULD". The sexual tension is sizzling. She's seen it all; he's a very lovely man and also a very spoiled brat. She fucks him on a couch and leaves For His Own Good, it cuts to eight weeks later and it's like "THIS MAN HAS BEEN IN HELL. HE JUST RIDES HIS HORSE AROUND LOOKING FOR HER AND HIS EYES ARE ALWAYS RED AND HE CAN'T EAT". It was basically pure heroin, if there's anything I like more than a virgin hero it's a virgin hero who gets left immediately after his deflowering and chases a woman down to be like "you!!! took!!!!!! my precious flower!!!!! marry me or fisticuffs at dawn madam!!!!!!!!"

But also this book does a very nuanced take on historical sex work and its pros and cons for sex workers; Melissa's past is very heavy, and she was sold into the sex trade at 14, so read with caution.

Spookedy Bump in the Night Virgins

Dark Needs at Night's Edge by Kresley Cole

Insane virgin vampire meets sexy lady ghost when his brothers lock him in a New Orleans mansion to detox. This book sounds insane, and it is, but I recommend it all the time because it's so emotionally beautiful and incredibly, incredibly romantic. Conrad's POV sections literally change tenses when he and Neomi really start talking. She doesn't just introduce him to sex; she soothes his mind. And also, she's a fucking fantastic heroine, one we rarely see--unashamedly sexual, tender, selfish, and selfless. A truly complex woman meeting a truly complex man-monster-thing, and taming him. Also, practically breaking his poor untried dick with that bounce and twist thing.

Pestilence & Death by Laura Thalassa

These are book 1 and book 4 in Laura Thalassa's Four Horsemen quarter--the virgin installments, as it were, but the books really should be read in order if Death is gonna make any damn sense. These books are "four horsemen of the apocalypse come to Earth and fall in love". There's a lot of death and destruction. There's also a scene where Pestilence's heroine is like "me deflowering you doesn't mean we're getting married bro" to which he goes "I GAVE YOU MY ESSENCE!!!!" Death gets a blowjob for the first time (during which the heroine is like "this is for you, world") and then immediately has to go pace in the backyard because how is he gonna end the world when he could be getting his dick sucked instead???? Problems.

Mating the Huntress by Talia Hibbert

The reveal of the hero's virginity is towards the end of this one, but like. You should really know going in, because it's much funnier when you're fully aware. She's a werewolf huntress. He's the werewolf who's identified her as his mate and is like, comically determined to please her sexually, as werewolves are. (Where is the Kresley Cole virgin werewolf hero? Doesn't exist, Kresley Cole werewolves are like "oh I am giving a woman an orgasm IMMEDIATELY" upon coming of age.) It's a fun sexy spooky romcom.

Dark Skye by Kresley Cole

The one with the fucksheet. No, the hero in this one is an angel (or he thinks he is but he's actually a demon, it's a thing, point is he has wings and they sure can increase velocity.... during) and his heroine is a sorceress he's been tracking for literal centuries. Because dammit, she may have sort of crippled him and he may have gotten her family killed, but they're MFEO!!! Kind of interesting in that the hero was basically raised in a religious cult and is super fucked up about the heroine being proudly a virago. He has to learn how to check his biases, but by the end he is pulling out the ceremonial sheet with the hole in it through which they're supposed to fuck for the first time, and like... I.... found it........... hot.....?

Heart of Iron by Bec McMaster

Another werewolf virgin, and this one has a good reason for staying one, because if he fucks the heroine she might catch werewolfitude! Semen spreads werewolfitude! A grumpy virgin hero and a flirty virgin heroine in a steampunk setting, with much will they/won't they. Actually has them initially resolve their lust in non-penetrative sex, which was refreshingly "DUH". But then you get into the mating bond werewolf shit and it is... good.

Thornchapel by Sierra Simone

Technically, by book 3 nobody in this series is a virgin, but Sierra Simone really goes for it, as always. We have not one but two male virgins in this series, and they hate each other, and they wanna fuck each other, and they also wanna fuck their friend girl who they're mutually in love with. You get several virginity losses in this series, the most glorious of which is probably Auden's. Because Auden is a virgin, and he's also naturally very sexually dominant, which means he's always coming in his pants while involved in Casual BDSM Scenes With Buddies, and I think that's glorious. It's kinky, it's queer, it's MMF (with an FF pairing in the series as well) everyone is like "Auden do you wanna have sex with us now" and he's like "not until I've EARNED you" and they ask him to elaborate he goes "no".

Fantastical Virgins

A Touch of Stone and Snow by Milla Vane

An epic fantasy romance with a hero and heroine who are both virgins. And they used to be friends, but now it's weird because of like, betrayals and identity and the overwhelmed urge they have to fuck the shit out of each other. The great thing about Milla Vane is that there's always an element of ritualism to her sex scenes, which kind of like. Adds to it.

The King's Spinster Bride by Ruby Dixon

A delightful arranged marriage novella in which both the hero and heroine are virgins, but she's like, nine years older than him? He's been wanting to marry her since he was a kid, and like--he may not be experienced, but he has done his book learning, and is ready to please. As Ruby Dixon heroes are (see: Ice Planet Barbarians, for a fuck ton of alien virgin heroes).