Hi everyone.

It's been a while since I popped up here. Life, you know, but I'm hopeful the amazing people of this community can help me scratch an itchy I have.

I'm after a story that starts with a rescue of some kind - the FMC crosses the MMC's path in some fashion right at the beginning and he shields/protects/cares for her and it leads to romance and the inevitable HEA.

A bit specific, I know, but I think I'm in need of a hero today.

Thanks!!

This is a very specific case came into mind but when I was rereading { Unlovely Bride by Alice Coldbreath } where it isnt about Garman (MMC) and Lenora (FMC) but rather with Lenora and her former suitor which I forgot the name of.

Basically Lenora upon losing her looks by pox assumed that all her suitors would no longer want her anymore and that their admiration for her only runs that shallow. It turns out one of her suitors and the object of MMCs jealousy actually doesnt even care that she lost her legendary beauty and still looked at her as if she was an angel from the heavens.

Now that was an interesting concept which I hope there is some book around it where FMC falls from grace regardless in what manner and she loses her popularity, status and all that and yet MMC doesnt care either way

So i'm looking for something like that.

Preferences:

1. No Cheating please
2. HEA

Any recommendations ? If it doesnt fit the preferences and/or it has trigger warnings. Just let me know. Thanks !

Ben is hands down my new fav MMC. I need more!!! Does he make a cameo in any other books?!

From {A Substitute bride for the Prizefighter}

This book was all around a lot of fun. I was meh about the first one, so this was a great surprise to have not just a lively and entertaining backdrop but more importantly and MMC that was so devoted and thoughtful in all the little things, I fell in love with him long before Lizzy did!!! The raging jealousy was done so well, he cared so much for her. Too precious this man.

My only qualm was that Sebastian didn’t get recognition for >!being the badass guardian dog that he is, fending off Daphne with impeccable perfection. He was also such a good boi!! !<

From what I can remember, the FMC is in love with her best (male) friend but she is engaged due to an arranged marriage by her parents. She tells her fiance her dilemma and he allows her the chance to win her lover's heart. If she does, he will break the engagement. Spoiler: I'm pretty sure by the end of the book, >!the best friend falls for her and asks for her hand in marriage but she has already fallen for her fiance and declines, but her fiance already left town!<

This is a no spice romance, and I think it is by a lesser known author. Someone like Maggie Dallen, Kasey Stockton, or Patricia Halverson. Probably a KU book, but it was well written.

I wanna read a historical romance which is not written like a historical romance. As in, I want it written in a modern way, maybe with modern words etc. and modern phrasing and maybe even riffing on some of the HR tropes or concepts or scenarios. Something like "and then Lord Barnaby walked in. Well. Time to flash a bit of ankle, just like Mama showed me".

Idk if I'll even get recs, but still excited to see if I do!

Edit: Fantasy historical is fine too! Or any other genre, as long as historical romance is there.

For Halloween, I was wearing a devil costume and my (dirty) mind was floored with stupid puns lol. Might as well share them.

Tonight The Devil will let the Marquess hit it ! {The Devil is a Marquess by Elisa Braden}

The Marquess might not be a Devil tonight but he will definitely finish in one (very NSFW 😈) (same book as above)

Devil in winter ? More like Devil in fall. {Devil in Winter by Lisa Kleypas)

Devil in disguise ? No, disguised in Devil actually ! {Devil in disguise by Lisa Kleypas}

In bed with the Devil ? Not until 4 AM bitch, we're going clubbing tonight ! {In bed with the Devil by Lorraine Heath}

Tempting a Devil... With cheap piña coladas ! {Tempting a Devil by Samantha Kane}

Between the Devil and (her) desire (to dance all night) {Between the Devil and Desire by Lorraine Heath}

Have one ? Share them with the class !

A thread for any and all conversations! You don't have to stay on the topic of historical romance, but please stay within the general rules.

It's Friday! Let's catch up on what's been going on in our lives. Did you have a good week? Read anything good? Do anything nice?

Chat with us!

I need a suggestion for my next read!! Give me a MMC that is quiet and reserved. Not grumpy/cold, just keeping it to himself. However, he’s actually a nice and caring guy and people close to him knows that. Also, I want him to have experience with women, so no virgin MMC please. I’m also not in the mood for traumatized men, so if he comes without dramas from the past even better lol

I’m having surgery in about two weeks. I’m going to be bed bound for at least a week after, and there’s only so much reality tv a gal can binge.

I’m a pretty voracious reader of all genres but there’s something about a good historical romance that hits the spot like nothing else does when I’m not feeling great. I have dabbled in regency romances since discovering Jane Austen in high school, but I’m open to other time periods too. I read/loved basically everything Julia Quinn wrote last year. A quick google was almost overwhelming with options. What’s next?

I’m okay with pretty much any spice level. I just want something fun in a “turn your brain off and go on this ride” way. Good banter, heartfelt yearning, and sultry eye contact all bonuses.

My all time favourite books of such premise :

1. {Annie’s Song by Catherine Anderson}
2. {To Kiss A Texan by Jodi Thomas}
3. {Tempest by Catherine Hart}
4. {Sweet Everlasting by Patricia Gaffney}
5. {To Have And To Hold by Patricia Gaffney}
6. {After Sundown by Shelly Thacker}
7. {The Way Home by Megan Chance}

Give me angst and emotional turmoil (just no cheating or OW please!). Any TW, I can stomach.

All historical settings are welcome! Would appreciate any other authors other than Lisa Kleypas.

Forgot to add more on the list :

8. {From This Day Forward by Victoria Thompson}
9. {Harper’s Bride by Alexis Harrington}
10. {Montana Born And Bred by Alexis Harrington}
11. {Summer Moon by Jill Marie Landis}
12. {Morning Glory by Lavyrle Spencer}

1. Convince Amazon you're in England (using a VPN)
2. Temporarily change your address to an English one (Just google a store or restaurant in a english city and borrow theirs).
3. Find the book you want (double check that its unedited).
4. Purchase AND MAKE SURE YOU HAVE UPDATES TURNED OFF SO THEY NEVER CAN UPDATE YOURS!!!!!

Okay, so. I'm a huge Lisa Kleypas fan. I've read most of her work many times over, but only recently have I started to delve onto her earliest books. And oh boy, is it rough.

Now, a lot of HR authors mention things related to British imperialism and erstwhile colonies in what I can only assume is some bid to lend 'exoticism' or 'authenticity' to characters, idk. I already find this completely unnecessary and in poor taste (and I'm not referring to the rare times it's dealt with in the serious, critical manner it deserves). But often you come across authors who let absolutely vile racism bleed into dialog in a way that adds absolutely nothing to the plot or the characters from anyone's perspective. Stranger in My Arms by Lisa Kleypas is a prime example. It's so FREQUENT, like literally every few pages, and so egregious??? And it's easy to see the difference between what can be written as the subjective, clearly racist views of a character on the wrong side of history, and trash prejudice that's passed off as some objective fact of observation and experience — and this is most definitely the latter. Like this screenshot here.

I don't know why this is surprising to me. Her earlier work is problematic in a whole bunch of ways and unfortunately not unique for the bodice ripper era. But this book just goes beyond the pale of even the most problematic ones I've read. I'm just really disappointed because I've been such a big fan.

It's really hard being a non-White, non-Western HR fan.

hi all, like the title suggests, i’m looking for some mellow, slice of life type books. i’ve been feeling really out of it in my life lately and while i usually enjoy reading more high stakes style books, i just haven’t been able to do it. in some ways it’s been a very good thing because i rediscovered historical romance 🫶🏼 i remember sneakily reading my moms hr books when i was in middle school and thinking they were the epitome of romance.

anyway, i’m a big fan of mary balogh and alice coldbreath because i feel like their novels aren’t very high stakes. i enjoy the way both authors delve into the minds of their characters and focus on the evolution of their romance. i enjoy the spice though i wish there was a bit more sometimes. reading low-stakes lately has been very comforting and relaxing, soooo, if anyone has any additional recommendations please drop them 🙏🏻

for reference, here are some of my favs:

of course, 1. {Slightly Dangerous by Mary Balogh} 2. {The Arrangement by Mary Balogh} 3. {A Bride for the Prizefighter by Alice Coldbreath} and related {A Foolish Flirtation by Alice Coldbreath} 4. {An Inconvenient Vow by Alice Coldbreath} 5. {The Unlovely Bride by Alice Coldbreath}

thx 🤍

This is kind of specific but I thought I'd try here and see what I found.

I'm tall and so am more sensitive to some of these tropes. It seems like whenever there is a tall female main character

1. She hates her height and feels "big/awkward", woe is me, she'll never find anyone. Self esteem issues etc.

Then...

2. The male main character "fixes" her by showing that he is bigger than she is, thus she is "smaller" and all her problems are solved.

Edit: It is fine for me if the MMC is taller, my issue is when the MMC's height is used to fix the self esteem issues of the FMC.

I realized one of the reasons I love Outlander and ACOTR is the emotional angst and upheaval the FMC goes through when falling in love with (or being sexually attracted to) a new MMC (when she’s already committed or been in a relationship recently). I’m having trouble finding something like that since it isn’t really a love triangle or any genre that I can figure out how to search for lol thank you!

Any HR fans in the 757? Because if so, the thrift store USA on Little Creek has been bumping lately!. This is one weeks haul, and I left a lot behind! I don’t know if they liquidating someone’s estate or what but it has been great. I know there’s probably not many of us, but I wanted someone else to appreciate this like I do!

So this is a very specific request that might not exist but I am looking for a FMC who is a lady and a MMC who is a commoner.

I want the FMC to have been married to a titled guy, probably a marriage that had no love in it, just an arranged or marriage of convenience. Husband dies and FMC is left a widow with some money or property of her own so that she does not need to remarry.

I want the MMC to be a commoner who works for her, either already while she was married or after she becomes a widow.

Most of all, I want them to respect the class difference and power imbalance. The fact that she is his employer. That she does not want to make his life difficult for sleeping with her. So it has to be a slow burn and angsty with tons of pining.

If this book does not exist, someone please write it 😄 and role reversal recs are welcome aka FMC works for widowed MMC and he respects and understands the power imbalance and does not just seduce the FMC like in most books.

In real life, I absolutely detest road trips. I just want to be at my destination, the food options are terrible, and I get carsick at every slight curve in the road. However, I have found HR roadtrip books to be among the most fun. Prompted by an earlier request about carriage crashes, I am asking for your roadtrip recommendations.

I’ll start with my recommendations:

{Lord Holt Takes a Bride by Vivienne Lorret} Probably my favorite. They just keep losing clothes and possessions all along the way and it’s so funny.

{A Week to be Wicked by Tessa Dare} I happened to read this in close proximity to Lord Holt, which was a funny coincidence. Also has lots of amusing mishaps and hijinks.

{Waiting for a Scot Like You by Eva Leigh} This is one of my top HRs because it has a mature FMC (40!!!!) and the steamy scenes are excellent.

{The Lord I Left by Scarlett Peckham} is a great arc for the previous books’ antagonist, and the mill scene is so hot.

{A Duke in Shining Armor by Loretta Chase} Roadtrip is only part of it but it’s a fun part and Loretta Chase is one of the best at lighhearted romp-y HR.

{Scandal Wears Satin by Loretta Chase} also has a road trip for part of the book and I appreciate that she made it fun without a one bed trope.

{A Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee} (MM, fairly closed door). I appreciate that this book is real about road trips. The characters are filthy, hungry, and exhausted and do not have energy or inclination for sexy times.

{You’re the Duke that I Want by Lenora Bell}. This book is cute, if gimmicky (an HR retelling of Grease). The roadtrip isn’t the main focus though.

What books am I missing?

So ...

I clearly couldn't pause my read through of this series. Seriously goddammit. I tried really hard to push pause and pick up another book...

But it was Asa Makepeace.

And then Val... Talking of which. Talking of which!

Knuckle-biting, air-punching, moral-tickling glee!

I may keep a journal of his wtf moments.

It's once again, GAME DAY!!!! Yay!

This week we are playing "For the Rest of Your Life!"

For this game we are going to toy with a hypothetical situation and see everyone's answers.

So for fun: A life changing scenario occurs, and you have to leave your home, life, maybe the earth entirely, etc forever. You will only be able to have access to one book for the rest of your life (and it's a historical romance). You have only moments to pick what it will be! What do you choose, and why?

We can't wait to see and comment on everyone's choices!!!

Tell us what HR you are currently reading/listening to or have finished lately? Tell us as much or as little as you want. We just want to hear from you!

What do you think so far? Any great, hilarious, heartbreaking, heartwarming, etc moments? If you have finished, what rating would you give it? Give us the deets!

Fill free to spill all the tea, but remember to mark any spoilers!

This thread repeats every Wednesday.

Hi HR Lovers,

I started Lord Holt Takes A Bride yesterday. I just read the part about the MMC’s great aunt. Is that an older book? Do i need to read this author’s series in a particular order? If FMCs parents are featured previously, I do prefer to read in chronological order. I cant seem to find my answer on Goodreads or older posts here, please help!

{ The Beast Takes a Bride by Julie Ann Long } Spoilers ahead, so beware if you haven't read it yet.

Well dang if that wasn't the kind of book I've been waiting for for so long! I have posted a couple times in the last year or so asking for book recs that have a similar dynamic to Colonel Brandon and Marianne Dashwood from Sense and Sensibility, and I haven't found anything even close. I think this may be the closest I'm going to get though and I am pleasantly surprised with this one even though it wasn't perfect.

Firstly JAL is a queen and I love the beautiful way she writes and how she can somehow take my least favorite tropes and make them into my favorite books (What I Did For A Duke is a prime example of that, as I hate love triangles and revenge plots, but somehow adore this book). I also really don't love marriage in trouble or second chance tropes, but this book made me rethink that.

Firstly, Alexandra was a quality FMC who wasn't as impulsive and immature as Marianne Dashwood which I super appreciated. She didn't hate Magnus or find him repulsive, all she wanted was to have a choice in who she'd marry and to feel like she wasn't trapped.

Magnus was a more possessive Colonel Brandon who found out a way to get Alexandra and foolishly thought she'd be willing. He had a lot of insecurities and a deep desire to be wanted and chosen which fed into his decision to marry Alexandra despite it not quite being what she wanted.

Rave: I loved that Alexandra and Magnus were both flawed yet likeable people. They both made mistakes and it was impossible to cast blame in just one direction. Both of them seemed pretty mature for their ages too (for example Alexandra didn't do dumb shit like Marianne when she lost Willoughby, she was levelheaded and intent to break off whatever romance she had with Paul prior to her marriage, despite her messing up and kissing him back). Alexandra was 5000% more likeable than Marianne in every way and probably one of JAL's strongest FMCs.

Rave: Also JAL really brought it in for some tense and chemistry filled scenes, like she always does. The flashback to the ribbon scene was great and the tension was absolutely palpable in so much of their dialogue and even just, like, their nonverbal reactions to one another. Nothing like some good ol' sexually charged eye contact.

Critique: I did think that the flashbacks took up so much more of the book than I expected, which was okay and very needed, but I also felt like we needed some more present day scenes of Alexandra and Magnus rebuilding their relationship as their reconciliation felt a little too sudden for me. Something in the pacing was just a bit off.

Rave: The side plot of the newlyweds at the boarding house having super loud sex was absolutely hilarious, especially all the older men discussing sexual prowess or the decrease of it with age and the women wondering amongst themselves if the Corporal found "it." Those scenes reminded me of why I love JAL's writing so much.

Critique: SO much time was spent on the side characters. I do like most of them (sorry, I can't stand Dot though), but I feel like it detracts from the main couple to give other characters so much page time. Did we really need the loud newlyweds subplot to lead to 2 very long almost sex scenes for Delilah and Angelique with their husbands? I normally wouldn't complain about that, but I felt like it detracted from the story and I hated that it took time away from Magnus and Alexandra that we needed. Also, like, they had their own books!! Why do we need gratuitous scenes of them in another couple's book?!

Rave: Magnus. I love a clever strategist MMC. The ending made me think of the ending of What I Did For a Duke a bit. The ol "give her what she thinks she wants so she realizes she wants me." I adore it.

Critique: I really wanted some more scenes of Magnus's POV and to have his character fleshed out a bit more. I felt like JAL wanted to make him a Valkirk type but she didn't quite do that, as he wasn't stern or didn't have that quiet judgy silver fox thing going on. He just felt a little more bland and not super unique. Alexandra stole the show as a main character, but Magnus didn't have to be so bland.

All in all, I think this rates somewhere 4⭐ for me. I really really liked it despite the flaws but it wasn't perfect.

Anyways, curious to hear if anyone is else has thoughts on this or if you are also dreading the possibility of having the Dot/Pike book? Good lord, reading something from Dot's POV would be absolutely torturous.

Hello! I have already posted this to some other subs but nobody seems to know what I am talking about. Other details I remember:

- MMC is a politician

- FMC's younger sister hates the MMC because she thinks he is too old for her sister

- It is a marriage of convenience

- The nephew plots against the couple and tries to seduce FMC's sister (I do not remember if he manages to)

- MMC invites his friends to stay at their house so he can protect the FMC

Hi Everyone,

This is a follow up to my post the other day about Lisa Kleypas and her revising/rewriting her books, and sneakily re-releasing them.

In the link, you'll see a paperback copy of {Lady Sophia's Lover by Lisa Kleypas} which was originally published/released in 2002. You'll see the copyright page on this paperback shows and tells that is has been revised/altered in 2021.

https://imgur.com/giHYK1r

So don't just assume that a paperback is the original. Always check that copyright page.

Looking for a book that I remember oohing and ahhing over the ending of. It would be a classic or older romance, because I'm pretty positive it was before spice and steam was allowed in books. All I remember is that at the end, when mmc kisses fmc, it doesn't actually say they're kissing. Instead it uses em-dashes, as in she keeps trying to speak but it's cut off because he's kissing her. I totally missed it the first time I read it, which made the excitement super fun when I figured it out (or possibly had it pointed out to me?) on a re-read.

At first I thought it was a Georgette Heyer, as all her books end with a kiss, but all the ones I've checked so far - the ones I own and/or suspect I've read more than once - have not had this. She also tends to just state that they're kissing. Then I was thinking North and South by Gaskell, but while this ending does have a super clever kiss implication, it's not the one I was thinking of. I didn't think it was Jane Austen, as her cleverness runs in a different direction, but I checked my top reads just to be sure and it's not. Daddy Long Legs is episolatory so it's not that. Not the Scarlette Pimpernel. Don't think it's Thomas Hardy. Wouldn't be a Bronte because I detest those and would remember the pain of appreciation. I'm back to thinking maybe it's a Georgette Heyer and I just can't find it among all her many novels. Does anyone with a classic literature bent remember this?

Hi guys, my friend has been in a car accident and she needs something like similar she is going through like she got in a car accident and he is nursing her and making her feel better. I don’t know I blanked out nothing came up in top of mind but if you guys have something please respond

Hey everyone! I'm looking for HR recommendations that have a similar vibe to Amy Harmon's novels, like What the Wind Knows or The Outlaw Noble Salt. I love how her stories pull in real history and historical figures and have so much depth in the characters and relationships.

Not really into the typical Regency-era romance that's mostly steam (not opposed to sexual content). I'd love something where the historical setting actually matters to the story and the romance feels real and emotional. Any suggestions? Thanks in advance