r/RomanceBooks

I’ve had such bad luck with romance books lately, with so many focused on sex, lust and no explanation whatsoever on how the couple fall in love. Where did the romance go? Are there any contemporary romances out there where feelings were developed and expressed before the couple are full on sleeping together?

I’ve read {Gravity by Tal Bauer} recently, and loved that the couple fell in love before they started sleeping together.

Would love any recommendations!

CR preferably, any pairing, just no RH, sharing or multiple partners please.

I recently came across «the pendulous weight of his potency» in The Highlander by Kerrigan Byrne and I am not ok 😭

Share your trauma with me. This is a safe space ♥️

Minor rant, and yes I know I'm not the first person to post about exactly this. I hate, hate and despise, when within the first couple of chapters, an author dumps the name of every single person the main characters are socially involved with.

We're already soaking up preliminary information about the main couple. We are learning who they are, the major points about them, their jobs, how they spend their days, and their overall personality.

We don't need to know that MMC's brother broke up with FMC's sister last year, AND that FMC's bestie works for MMC's dad, AND that there are five other guys who work on MMC's ranch who are all like brothers, AND FMC's aunt is a foster mom who has the hots for the school psychologist.

We get it. You want to turn this into a series. But I have the attention span of a spaniel in a barn full of squirrels, and I need a few goddamn minutes to get my bearings before I meet every single person in your charming small town!

And we're breathing in, and we're breathing out. We are breathing in peace and tranquility, and we are breathing out annoyance and undiagnosed ADHD.

/rant

In desperate need of Romance Book recs

I’ve been on a dark romance streak and yeah… I overdid it. the last book I picked up by Penelope Douglas was painful, and I should’ve known better, especially from that author. I'm figuring out my likes in my defence tho...

now I need a breather. like desperately. so if anyone has quirky recs with a solid plot, funny side characters, and just… good humans overall, I will be forever indebted.

please note: the MMC needs to be a total simp. idc if he starts off rude or grumpy, he has to turn into a soft, slightly embarrassing, devoted mess for her by the end.

and AND this is important — the FMC shouldn't be the “I’ll sacrifice everything including my last meal because I’m a saint” type. she can be kind, but she also basic survival instincts.

Brownie points for angst and/or yearning with HEA

some books I’ve loved with this vibe:

• Knockemout series + By a Thread by Lucy Score (she’s amazing)

• The Devil You Know by Elizabeth O Roark — perfect mix of humor, yearning, and angst (but didn’t care for the rest of the series cuz they had all kinds of wrong plots for me)

• The Wall of Winnipeg and Me by Mariana Zapata — dry humour and longing 🤌

• the classics: The Love Hypothesis (The hype died down but it will forever have my heart) , The Spanish Love Deception, The Hating Game (The tension was top notch), Red, White & Royal Blue

• Off-Campus series by Elle Kennedy — Loved every single book except the last.

I don't mind miscommunication, third act breakups (sucker for angst) as long as the MCs end up being mature about it or Slow burn (especially if there's intense tension and chemistry). Could be standalone or series (hopefully the arcs are interesting)

but pls avoid:

–accidental pregnancy (I’m very serious about this)

–blood relative of an ex (can be convinced… but unlikely)

–playboy-until-she-came-along (I know this wipes out half the genre but I stand by it — I want a man who’s decent from the start) feel free to recommend if you think I can get over it tho.

–No Ow/om drama unless to incite jealousy but make sure they're not playing with others' feelings

I’ve been making Pinterest mood boards for books I’m reading to better envision their world and somehow every single board has included Jacob Elordi 🫣

So we all have a “Nora Roberts” type author for our favorite tropes right? You know what I’m talking that author with a huge backlog who puts out about 1 or 2(or more) books a year. And every SINGLE book scratches that special itch in your soul(or loins whatever gets you there I guess)

Examples for me:

Vampires: Lynsay Sands (I like my vampires mostly flirty with humor)

Alien romance: Ruby Dixon (🧊🪐🪱for life!) also Ursa Dax

Over the top romantic monologues: Ursa Dax

Unhinged Main characters: Cassandra Gannon

What are some of yours?

How am I supposed to get my fix now? 😭😭

I absolutely DISLIKE fckboy MMCs!

But I saw a book "Melt for you by JT Geissinger". Which had a similar blurb of the playboy MMC training the FMC for another man she's in love with (her boss). But he falls in love with her instead and wants to keep her forever.

I REALLY NEED SIMILAR STUFF where he trains her in more experienced sex and seduction but falls in one sided love instead. The FMC of the JT book is a wallflower. And maybe a possible virgin. That fizzled my excitement for the book as i really don't enjoy all-knowing fckboy x absolutely innocent virgin. They just reek of hypocrisy for me.

A Non-Virgin girl (maybe who's still inexperienced with other things pertaining to desire and seduction) will be amazing. (No rape in her past pls. I'm tired of SA being used like that)

And NO OW. I can't stand it. Absolutely no ow once he falls in love or starts sleeping with the FMC. I love safe angsty reads.

OM drama would be nice when the MMC will see her with the man she actually wants and is training for. I WANT IT. I want him to feel the jealousy and i want the FMC to feel that he's not made for commitment and maybe say that to his face as well because he was a playboy. I'm cravingggg male yearning, longing and obsession. 😭😭

(Honestly, if the book is amazinggg and safe then maybe a virgin girl would work too. I just don't usually prefer it)

The book starts with the MMC POV and him rescuing her from death. She's blind because she was punished so harshly before and they took her eyes out. What was this book?

I am looking for books like {The Unwanted Wife by Natasha Anders}

Basically I want:

- Arranged marriage OR misunderstanding after marriage

- Cruel/bully husband

- NO CHEATING

- preferably with grovel and a believable reunion.

Thank you!!

I wanna read a book where the MMC is extremely popular, attractive, rich, famous, or any stereotype of that caliber. Everyone falls for him and wants him except the girl he’s been friends with for X amount of time (could be recent or longer, such as from childhood). She just thinks of him as every other guy and he likes her (could be a super recent thing or longer). He tries to impress her in the only way he knows by flaunting his looks and riches but it doesn’t work and instead she’s just like “umm what r u doing? U look ridiculous.” Or something.

BUT HERES THE IMPORTANT PART!! Perhaps she doesn’t like him back because she thinks it would never happen since he’s out of her league (not in looks but monetarily). But it would be an extra bonus if she is generally average and not a supermodel, though not insecure about it if you get what I’m saying. OR I want her to not be into him just because she doesn’t think he would be her type, because she wants a lowkey relationship with a guy who cherishes her fully, and she just never had the idea that MMC could deliver. And maybe he has mommy issues or a lot of baggage and she has considered it before but was like LMAO NAHHH

Yes this request is super specific, and I doubt there’s anything that hits the head perfectly, but PLEASE if there is anything similar recommend it to me. I’m desperate and wanna read something like this SO BAD!

Thank you😘

I am looking for books like {The Unwanted Wife by Natasha Anders}

Basically I want:

- Arranged marriage OR misunderstanding after marriage

- Cruel/bully husband

- NO CHEATING

- preferably with grovel and a believable reunion.

Thank you!!

Hi everyone!

I’m looking for something I saw in an Instagram reel and am wondering if there are any books that exist lol

I’m looking for a book where MMC is dangerous, deadly, morally grey, all the dark and brooding things. For some reason he is in love with the FMC who is a bumbling klutz and a risk to their safety.

So for example, if they’re trying to sneak into a house, she has knocked over all the pots and pans. If they’re running from the bad guys, she has accidentally tripped the MMC. Etc etc.

I’m open to really any genre, so please tell me your best recommendations! Thank you in advance!

So I read the book Salvation by Noelle Adams and what I really really REALLY liked about this book is that scene 1 the hero and heroine meet each other for the first time and he immediately tries to protect her from a dangerous situation. It was extra good because there was nothing really in it for him, she's just a random woman to him at this point but he still chooses to help and protect her the best way he can because that's the kind of person that he is.

I would like to read other books like this. He could be protecting her from another person/people or maybe just a situation where her safety is at risk (blizzard/storm, broken ankle while hiking, car broke down in the middle of nowhere.)

I'm not looking for the type of MMC who regularly does horrible monstrous things and decides to make an exception for the heroine because he feels drawn to her. I'm looking for a hero who is a decent person and helps her because he's constitutionally unable to just walk away from a woman or vulnerable person in trouble if he can help.

Extra special bonus points if she is wary or afraid of him at first and he reassures her that he wants to help her, not hurt her. I wish every single romance novel had a scene where the hero gently tells the heroine "I'm not going to hurt you."

Not looking for abusive heroes or hero-on-heroine noncon (but I'm fine with villain-on-heroine noncon (which happens in Salvation just FYI in case you decide to look up the book)) OK if he's grumpy/reluctant as long as he protects. Edit: It's also OK if he tries but fails to protect her due to being outnumbered or for some other reason.

Especially love suspense, survival, and contemporary romance. I don't like anything with non-human characters. Thank you!

EDIT: I realized I myself actually already another book that fits this and it's only right to share since others might be interested. Moonshine: A Post-Apocalyptic Romance by Kat Bostick. At the beginning of the book the heroine is spotted by two men with bad intentions. While fleeing from them she runs smack into the hero, a total stranger to her, and begs for him to help her, which he does. Slow burn.

All I do on this sub is post complaints about audiobooks, but I have no one in real life to talk to about these books so thank you in advance for listening 💕💖

I love duet narration audiobooks - i listen to audiobooks all day while working. My job is physical and it helps pass the time. I wish i weren’t so picky, but unfortunately I am. I just listened to Face Off by Chelsea Curto. The male VA, Adam Gold, is 🤌🏻*chefs kiss*🤌🏻. He sounds like what I imagine a male hockey player might actually speak like. He wasn’t over emphasizing or over acting.

Today I started listening to Behind the Net by Stephanie Archer. The male voice actor is so hard for me to listen to. I feel like in another context he would be great, but he does NOT sound like a manly hockey player. The voice acting doesn’t match the descriptions of what he’s supposed to be speaking like in the book half the time. He straight up sounds like a musical theatre major who is trying to get the role of a hockey player in the big production. At one point i realized he kind of sounds like Mr. Schue from Glee when he’s trying to be hip with all the students. Now i can’t stop picturing him as Matthew Morrison. Or like a guy who would actually say “m’lady” in a non ironic way.

Anyone else feel this? Like i need a gruff hockey player to sound like one. I’m sure he’s great in other books!!! His voice sounds nice… just not the right fit in my opinion.

Rant over. 💖 if you have any duet narration suggestions with really great voice acting pls let me know (pls no teddy hamilton - i will get to that rant another day!)

I just finished Land of beautiful dead and completely blown away by it. No words can describe how good this book is. It’s definitely going on my all-time favorites list.

This is a post-apocalyptic story. Azrael—a man, a god, an evil force, or whatever you want to call him—descends to Earth and brings death with him. He raises the dead, turns them into his army of the eaters, poisons the rain, and turns death into eternity. He wages war against humanity and ultimately wins, leaving humans with barely any inhabitable land.

Lan, our FMC, has recently lost her mother and decides to gamble her life. She travels to the Haven, a place where Azrael resides with his beautiful dead, to make a desperate, likely futile attempt to ask him to put an end to the eaters. But instead of simply refusing, he offers her a deal to become his dolly in exchange for an audience.

I know, with the ugly cover and a somewhat mediocre premise, this book doesn’t seem that tempting to pick up, but oh my god, it completely changed my life. I love the characters so much. Unlike many romantasy novels published these days, Lan is strong-willed and actually has a backbone. I admire her unrelenting determination to stay true to herself.

Azrael is also an incredibly well-written character. I don’t have much to say about him except that if you want to write a compelling villain, you should take notes from this one. Every single character in this book feels consistent throughout. The author clearly knew exactly what she was doing.

Even though this book is 800 pages long, I didn’t skip a single line. Not once did I feel bored. It made me cry multiple times. I stayed up all night just to finish it. It’s a very slow-burn romance, but every piece of dialogue and every interaction feels intentional, smart, witty, and meaningful.

And this is enemies-to-lovers done right. Not like Powerless or Fourth Wing “enemies to lovers,” but actual, genuine hatred. The kind where they truly despise each other, and honestly, I would probably hate both of them too if I were in their world. But as the story progresses, you can really see why they slowly fall in love. The romance is executed beautifully.

What truly makes this book special for m is that it’s not just a romance. It made me question the meaning of life and death. Many of the conversations and the core concept itself are deeply thought-provoking.

This is the kind of story that stays with you long after you turn the last page. Genuinely life changing.

If anyone loves it like I do or have any recommendation for similar writing styles, please leave a comment.

FMC can kill either intentionally or unintentionally. And MMC helps her hide the body, hides her in his house, helps her run away or whatever.

I'd like if FMC is caught by the police or someone (anytime in the book) and where MMC will do absolutely anything to keep her out of jail and safe. Maybe he kills/kidnaps whoever witnessed the thing or fights tooth and nail to prove her innocence.

Now, MMC can confess that it was his doing and he's guilty but I don't want any of them to go to jail or receive any major punishment. So, absolutely no books where MMC ends up in jail for FMC's crime.

I want this to be the central (prefered) or at least second main focused theme of the book. Maybe, they can already be in relationship or be acquaintance or something.

Bonus,

1. FMC kills the person and panics/doesn't do anything to cover the crime. MMC shows up, cleans all the blood, hides the body, removes the murder weapon, clears the murder site etc.
2. MMC is criminal lawyer and fights her case knowing she's the killer.
3. MMC is a detective and helps her get away with it.
4. Both are on run after the crime was discovered.

What I don't want,

1. Bully, HR, OV, RH, Too much mdom, Single Parent, Child
2. Toxic dynamics: manipulative or unnecessarily cruel/bad MMC
3. Over-controlling and over-possessive MMC
4. Stockholm Syndrome or doormat FMC
5. Age-gaps more than 10 yrs