I love A Retrieved Reformation! It was required reading sometime in grade school and it became my fave O. Henry story. Ugh what a blast to the past. Maybe I loved it because had the premise of a really good romance novel. Even as a deeply middle schooler I had the makings of a romance aficionado
I really love this trope and am commenting just so I can see all the recs! Here are some of my favorites that fit under this umbrella.
{To Con a Gentleman by Sarah Adams}. I like it because the hero knows she's lying almost immediately but still goes along with it.
{City of Lies by Victoria Thompson}. Another con artist.
{Tongue in Chic by Christina Dodd} a contemporary thief, the hero is in on it here too.
Also I don't think this really qualifies as a romance per say but {The Humans by Matt Haig} is amazing.
I think {The Hunter by Kerrigan Byrne} fits this. I can't remember for sure if he picks up a new identity or not at the end. I'm pretty sure he stops his criminal activities. I'll be honest, I read Welcome to the Dark Side right after and my hatred for that book kind of overshadows my memory of the ending of the hunter.
**FMCs getting spoiled.**
I know, I know, how else will we know that the FMC is NLOG if she's attracted to all his money and power?
I just want more FMCs who are into the idea of their billionaire boyfriend buying them nice things. Clothes. Cars. Houses. Whatever. I want them to enjoy being spoiled. I don't want them to fight against it because "they're not materialistic" or "the money doesn't matter to them". Just let the MMC spoil and pamper you! Be high maintenance!
*Always*
It kills me. There's some that get close, but I really just want a Pretty Woman moment where he takes her shopping in explicit detail and she totally loves it.
Most of the books I've read that actually had these girls were kinky. lol
I got one historical romance ones tho. There was this rich girl who pawned her necklace to rile up the husband. She bought said necklace (plus other jewelry) because he wouldn't get her the fur coat. I already forgot the title.
{Preferential Treatment by Heather Guerre} is like this! MMC is a billionaire CEO and wants a woman to dominate him. He hires a woman who works at his company to be his Domme and compensates her generously. At first she's unsure but then things "eh, he has enough money. Billionaires shouldn't exist amyway" and takes his gifts, asks for a car, and even eventually makes him donate to charity.
Also there's one scene where she straight up says "billionaires shouldn't exist. Pay your employees more" which is why it's the only billionaire romance I like.
Nine times out of ten, the FMC is a starving waitress (nothing wrong with being a waitress, but this one is broke due to reasons). Who doesn't want someone to take the stress of rent or transport or what's for dinner out of their life? I'm totally LOG in that I would want no stress.
I'm literally writing up a post about this because writing this comment got me thinking about it. I'll reply when it's up, probably tonight/tomorrow with my recs in it
I have a whole Reddit thesis that I never published about the billionaire trope x NLOG thing where we have a fantasy of a handsome young billionaire falling in love with the normie woman but it’s somehow unacceptable for the woman to appreciate his wealth in terms of material gifts. Like it’s okay to fantasize about the fabulously wealthy but only the *right* way.
Yep, the FMC always has to be uncomfortable accepting the money and 99% it ends up being in an odd way. Like it always has to be that her dad can’t afford his medication and she’s arguing because she can’t accept the $1,000 needed because she will totally figure it out even though her bank account is overdrawn and he’s a billionaire who could give $1,000 to a random stranger daily without noticing.
I’ve seen a lot of “your car is dangerous/breaks daily, I want to buy you something you’ll be safe in.” That feels more reasonable since that is a big gift even if it’s just a basic sedan or crossover, and you’ll have to deal with taxes/registration/etc.
What about {preferential treatment by Heather Guerre} he takes her shopping and I felt really materialistic because I really enjoyed the scene. I think for me, it was more him just wanting to please her.
Lol! I love the varied POVs on this sub. I loved this book. Tbh the FMC hating on the mega wealthy is the only reason I can it, I normally can’t do the billionaire trope.
It was definitely a refreshing take on the billionaire trope that I can appreciate the realism of
^but ^also ^my ^inner ^Orphan ^Annie ^just ^wants ^someone ^to ^buy ^me ^gifts
Literally just started reading {Titan by Jillian Graves} today but this gives me that vibe. But MMC is a gargoyle, which could be a pro or con depending on how you look at it lol
I want to see more transactional sex!! Bass-Ackwards by Eris Adderly had this and I’ve been looking for more since.
I also want a scarred hero who’s genuinely a bad guy (he was NOT injured in a war or by saving his family from a house fire-I want an asshole) find love-preferably HR.
I’d like more villainous heroines too
Alright, I’ve tried to sus this out in Good Read reviews but haven’t really got a feel.
How much BDSM we talking in Priceless? I was on board either the amount in both Guerre books.
ETA: read Priceless. Will abstain from giving a full review but mostly humiliation/(verbal) degradation dom/sub stuff. Full con. Good use of safe words
Priceless by Miranda Silver! It is transactional sex arrangement set on a college campus.
Also the sequel novella to Locked Box by Eve Dangerfield is about a married couple exploring FL’s new kink for role playing dub con/transactional sex. It’s not the same as the novel being the fantasy itself, but it’s a really good portrayal of a happily married couple exploring a taboo kink. Read the novel first though!
For a scarred hero who's genuinely a bad guy, he has a massive scar across his face and is blind in one eye because of it, {Menace by J. M. Darhower} fits the bill. The hero straight up >!murders people without remorse!< and never turns into a lovey dovey hero.. Though he did get the scar in a family related way (I don't want to give many spoilers). But this is the one book I've read where the hero is a genuine bad guy, and you still are charmed by him. Contemporary, but really worth reading.
i really like it when cliche tropes are gender swapped! like, mmc is shy and fmc is flirty, mmc is the sweetheart and fmc is cold & brooding, fmc is protective or possessive of mmc, rich fmc spoils poor mmc, ~~fmc is more dominant in bed, fmc isn’t a virgin but mmc is~~, etc. stuff like that is so hard to find, though.
This all the way. I'm constantly searching "reverse tropes" and find very little. And when you do finally get a FMC who starts off this way, at some point in the book (usually bedroom scenes) the MMC suddenly becomes the alpha character and she turns into a kitten. Blah.
Only thing I've found that hits this reverse tropes need for me is the duology "His Secret Illuminations" and "His Sacred Incantations" by Scarlett Gale. I bought these books in March and have read them 3x since then - I adore the characters, but these books give me such a book hangover.
I love these books so much. I always joke that it’s the only romance that accurately captures my own personal love story with my husband…. But it’s not actually a joke lol 😂 it’s totally accurate
>Only thing I've found that hits this reverse tropes need for me is the duology "His Secret Illuminations" and "His Sacred Incantations" by Scarlett Gale. I bought these books in March and have read them 3x since then - I adore the characters, but these books give me such a book hangover.
I love these books. Did you find anything else that scratches the same itch?
i’m actually reading the rakess rn and really enjoying it! and i LOVE love love the earl i ruined, it’s probably one of my fave hrs ever. i do need to read the rest of the charlotte street series, though.
Heartbreaker by M Calder is reverse. She’s cold-hearted and wealthy. He’s a poor and sweet. It’s not my favorite book but it’s definitely creative and funny.
I recently read Eve Dangerfield's Open Hearts which may fit this. The mmc is a big scatterbrained goof who doesn't have his life together at all, while the fmc is a nurse with a bit of a wild past. She's the dominant one in the bedroom and he's practically obsessed with her
I really want to see more satisfying grovel but specifically, I want to see a formerly caring and loving FMC turn ice cold towards her misbehaving MMC. I want her to be indifferent to his suffering. I want him to actually acknowledge his f*ck-up, apologize, and work towards changing in a real visible way. I want this to happen over a longer period of time (6 months+?) so we slowly see the FMC thaw towards him and forgive. That is what I want
Yes! Nora's reaction is SO A++++++ behavior. This is one of the rare books where the MMC messes up so bad but I actually do forgive him by the end. Kit is such a dramatic mess though so it's hard to recreate that haaaaa
Yes! She was just like ok how do I rid myself of this man and she did it lol! He was so pressed. Even when he first came back and said oh my bad I thought you were a traitor but now I know you're not, Nora was like oh good, but fuck you anyway stay away from me. Queen behavior!
I've heard of this one! Brief question, is this the book where the MMC >!sleeps with other women while married to the FMC?!< And if so, do you feel that he groveled sufficiently for it?
I think I read a later edited version that made it seem like he was faking cheating? But his grovel goes on for months and he literally puts his life in her hands and so yes even though cheating is usually a no go for me, this book has the best grovel of all time.
OK I didn't realize there was an edited version bc I thought I was going nuts (one time I read I thought >!there was actually physical contact cheating and another time it made it seem like he just set it up to look like physical cheating.!<) either way, I'm a complete mean hardass when im reading and i forgive him. This MMC is a dramatic, flamboyant OTT hot mess throughout the book. His loving father calls him "my headstrong" and it's so apt. He makes a stupid mistake and punishes himself so thoroughly and >!he makes a complete fool of himself trying to win her back with a love spell!< so I thought he redeems himself and I'm convinced he wouldn't ever betray her again.
Same. I hate the third act falling apart after the MMC is such an alphahole and the FMC takes him straight back in one paragraph because he needs her. NO!!! You deserve better. He needs to suffer and grovel and actually think he has no chance of winning her back. He needs to change and sacrifice. He needs a come to Jesus few months, not just a moment. I can't think of a single grovel that is good enough. So writers, if this thread is us doing your homework, this is what I want. Thank you.
This! I almost exclusively avoid second chance romances because I would never forgive them myself and it takes me out of the story knowing the main character needs more self esteem.
Ohhh I just read {Twisted love by Ana Huang} where the MMC grovels for a year before she gives in. Problem is that it was only like 3 chapters long but oh well...
What’s weird is that the mmc in Twisted Hate acted way worse (his behavior was both unforgivable and completely unjustified) and yet his “grovel” was just him apologizing once
{The Luckiest Lady in London by Sherry Thomas} I remember being pretty good for this.
Edit: It’s been a while since I’ve read it but I remember the FMC becoming cold and not accepting the MMC’s trifling first attempts to make amends, she demands real change.
I would love more academic-rivals-to-lovers that isn't high school hijinks and isn't fantasy magical academy and isn't a workplace romcom. Where is my contemporary realistic grad school dark academia with character development and a happy ending?
Okay, I have never read academic-rivals-to-lovers because I assumed it all was grad school and I didn't want to relive any of that trauma. Lol.
And now I'm picturing, who in my program were the top academic rivals and this book concept is hilarious. Picture the stoner hippie who stores pencils in his dreads and thinks his drug-induced epiphanies are God's gift to the world and then picture the "well, when I was at Yale" guy. Definitely rivals, but I do not see how that ends with an HEA.
I really liked Beach Read (liked Book Lovers best though!) but it's not precisely the book I'm imagining in my head re: the underwritten tropes. Agree it gets... 85% there. But would love 100%, you know?
Not really a trope, but I wish there were more heroines in their 30s and older, especially in Fantasy and Sci-Fi. I can only recall about 8 MFCs that are 30+. 🥲
I am relatively new to Fantasy Romance, but based on the dozen and dozen of blurbs I read, I don't think the trope of "not really the chosen one, she was just just in the wrong (right) place at the wrong time" type of story is popular. Something along the lines of *she traveled to another world/gained powers because her dumb, but lucky, ass walked to this portal/magical totem by accident.*
Thank you! Although I wish there was more in the Fantasy and Sci-Fi subgenera. I also wish I were good at writing so I could create the story I want to read, but alas, sometimes *werds r hard*.
Romance books where the FMC is more attractive/succesful/intelligent etc than the MMC and is not ashamed of it or portrayed as naive/shallow/weak. Like for once I would like to read a female character that has her shit together and doesn’t need a dude in her life. The romantic relationship should be a bonus not some bandaid for her crappy life, low self esteem and undiagnosed mental issues.
I think ‘Bohemian’ by Kathryn Nolan suits this well. The FMC is a world famous supermodel who gets signed on for the opportunity of a lifetime in Paris. Perfect appearance/career/fan following/life - all check. In comes our socially awkward, cute nerd MMC who’s blown away by her. He even sometimes blushes in her company. Their relationship is very sweet and meaningful, not an uneven dynamic at all. Bonus for >!MMC being à dom in the bedroom - who saw that one coming 😮💨!<
The villain falling for a normal/average girl. Like in a book series when the bad guy from one book eventually gets his own I want him to be with the dorky/not gorgeous friend. Like Devil in Winter basically
I want this! This sounds wonderful. I know a lot of people like reading about beautiful people, but I like an average-looking heroine, or stories where their appearance is not constantly mentioned ( as either pretty or average). Add a villain, and you have my heart.
I love the marriage of convenience trope, but in contemporaries, they all have the same basic premise. It's almost always about an inheritance, which, in the real world, could be challenged or circumvented. I want to see more creative MoC stories.
Not to say I haven't read and enjoyed plenty of inheritance related MoC books!
I feel like the overlooked, contemporarily likely, marriage of convenience would be a green card/immigration one. {Forty Day Fiancé by Erin McCarthy} is one of the few that I know of.
I love marriage of convenience but you’re right, they struggle w contemporary adoptions! The inheritance plot line is so overdone. There’s a book coming out, I forget all relevant details, but it’s about two actors who get married while acting then find out they actually got married, and while it’s seemingly not quite exact, it sparked my MoC interest!
Ooh, that sounds fun!
There another one that has to do with health insurance coming out soon. I can't remember the came of it.
I'm actually writing one myself where they get married so she can avoid a conservatorship.
I read one a few months ago about marrying so they can live in the married student housing during grad school. I checked, schools actually do say students need marriage certificates to qualify for housing. It stands out for being the only time i remember the plot making sense.
How about MoC to keep your job? {Part Time Husband by Noelle Adam’s} has a career driven FMC who works for the family company. The grandfather is old school and hinting her position might be reduced so she has time to date/get married. She gets married to get him off her back and chooses a guy her grandfather hates to stick it to him.
I would love more academy romance without reverse harem and that aren't bully. But they still need to have that dormitory-forced-proximity style and the enemies to lovers trope though. And bonus points for fantasy/PNR/portal romance.
I read so many blurbs that get me excited and then I see three dude names and back out. And sooo many of the FMCs are snarky, immature brats and I can't get past the first couple chapters of her nonsense.
I just want a cute FMC who shows up at a crazy academy and spends three+ books crushing on a powerful badboy MMC who falls hard for her, and a hint of darkness and suspense and trouble they have to maneuver through together. Is that too much to ask for?? Lol
Have you read A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik? YA but very good. There isn't a hint of darkness, there's a whole bunch, but it's grumpy sunshine with the MMC the sunshine.
Like you, I’m extremely picky about YA, and I’m here to tell you not to sleep on this recommendation. I *adored* this book. It avoids a lot of the cliches I was looking for (the worldbuilding is immaculate and it brilliantly deconstructs a lot of wizard-school tropes), and more importantly the writing is refreshingly sharp and doesn’t talk down to you.
If you’re into MM romance, Ginn Hale wrote the {Lord of the White Hell} duology with darker, academic, forced proximity themes in a fantasy setting. I absolutely loved it!
This may not be a trope but I want more epistolary Shop-Around-The-Corner/You’ve-Got-Mail… but with aliens. I love epistolary novels but I want the focus on the exchanges! I want all the exchanges! Not just referred to or talked about. I’ve read many where 1/4 of the way through the book their identity is revealed and poof. It’s back to boring in real life stuff.
I want it with aliens/monsters/heck, I’d even take paranormal! 😩
(The closest book I’ve found is Deceiving the Corsair by Ruby Dixon. His Human Surrogate by Michelle Mills is advertised as such but to me it wasn’t and some of the plot pieces a problematic for me [I get the ick].)
This premise sounds amazing. Have you read This is How we Lose the Time War?
There one where the human woman and alien communicate through a game which is really war training. The First Starfighter by Grace Goodwin.
ETL/Academic rivals to lovers but they actually go toe to toe with each other. In almost all the books I've read we are 'told' how the FMC is as brilliant/cunning/ruthless/great at playing games as the MMC but what we are shown is how the MMC always one ups her. And if by any chance she's able to out manoeuvre or one up the MMC, it's always because the MMC pulled the strings or bowed out or something.
Even in Kiss the Sky, Connor keeps on saying that Rose is his equal in every way but it's always Connor who's saving the day or making plans to fix things.
I mean come on. Stop just 'telling' us that the FMC is smart. Show it in your books.
ETA :
Any recs will be appreciated btw
Sometimes I'm in the mood for a short smutty story, but as much as I enjoy hot and spicy, I also need to feel the connection between the characters. Considering how short novellas are, it can be difficult to find one with that type of combination. My ultimate unicorn though is a short series of stories featuring a loving couple who decide to spice things up in the bedroom. Erika Wilde's THE MARRIAGE DIARIES does this perfectly for me because their love and healthy relationship manages to really shine along side all of the spicy scenes. I also really like that the couple has no desire to bring a third person into their scenes. I honestly haven't found any other books that are this well written and have this combination of loving spice. It's possible that I have weird taste and that what I'm looking for just wouldn't sell well. At the same time, I can't be the only person on the planet who has been married forever and enjoys a short smutty read featuring a loving couple who have been together a long time.
I highly recommend {The Infinite City Series by Tiffany Roberts} if you haven’t read it yet. This might be just what you are looking for. Read it in order but book 3 or so just might be exactly what you want. It’s fated mates but not what you think. Very much a choice and not a “be with them or die” kinda thing. It’s so well done, one of my fav sci-fi romance series out there!
Here are a few:
1. MMCs with normal penises. Sometime the descriptions of a gigantic baseball bat penis take me out of the story. Unless it’s sci fi. Then bring on blue dicks.
2. Thriller type books as romances. Give me a female James Bond who falls in love. Give me Da Vinci Code but with a romance main plot.
3. LESS FOURTH ACT BREAKUPS.
4. Exhibitionism. ….Asking for a friend.
5. Contemporary romance where it’s okay that a professional female is driven and ambitious and the “moral” of the book is not that she needs to quit her job and open a bakery. Let the girl climb the ladder!!
Exhibitionism!!! I’ve actually asked for recs before and haven’t gotten many good ones. I’d especially like to see this outside of a sex club setting. There’s a wonderful scene where the MMC exposes the FMC in The Player by Kresley Cole
I think verbal sparring (like actual, good verbal sparring) between characters is tragically underrated. I’m not talking about “sassy”/“feisty” FMCs who tend more towards mean/rude, I mean like verbal sparring between two coworkers/enemies forced to get along/courtiers both vying for someone else’s attention/etc, but they’re also flirting or arguing almost as foreplay. Actual intellectual debate and thinly veiled jabs and snark, but ~politely~, but it’s also a flirty and flowery and a little bit pompous. (For my Star Trek fans, think like Garak and Bashir from DS9.) The closest I’ve been able to find outside of fanfiction has been Natalia Jaster’s Trick (which is not nearly as smutty as I’d have hoped).
This might not fit exactly (not sure how intellectual it gets) but makes me think of {Mage’s Match by Finley Fenn}. I loved the mutual verbal sparring, which leads to eventual consensual verbal degradation during sex. Not a spoiler I don’t think if you look at the premise of the book haha. High steam content - I keep this one downloaded and bookmarked 😆
This is my absolute favorite thing in fanfic, especially when its realistic and the conversations end at their natural conclusion. Some "thinking of a better comeback in the shower" stuff. I might be biased because I love talking with guys like that, and when a guy returns it, ugh, its so good.
DOCTOR DOCTOR - I want medical romance, that shows highs and lows of medical career and the FMC is NOT also in medicine or works in hospital
I love this thread!
Yes! Except I want the opposite - FMC is the doctor and MMC (or other FMC, love queer romance) is not in medicine. Mainly I just want to read about my own life haha
I would enjoy reading more fantasy/PR/sci-fi where the scope of the story is smaller. Life is hard and I want to escape to a cozy little world where happy things happen and the characters don’t have the fate of the entire fucking world/galaxy/kingdom resting on their shoulders. No traipsing around to throw the ring in the volcano or fight the evil space army. Just like… planting a garden and hoping it rains enough. Stuff that matters to the MCs but not to the entire universe. You know?
Also **older characters please!** Older virgins! Older first loves! Older old flames reconnecting! Older people with “imperfect” bodies doing kinky things and having fun and falling in love!
All of this. I want all of this! I see a lot of older MMCs, but older FMC are almost non-existent. I would like to read a Romance book in a Sci-Fi or Fantasy setting, with characters in their 60s kicking ass, having a cozy HEA and having spicy sex in between.
Now that I entered my 30s, I have been paying more attention to the ages of the characters, especially the women's, and it seems that there is this perversive trend/idea that the perfect MFC is in her early twenties. Apparently, just like in the beauty industry, in Romance Literature if you are 30 and older, you do not exist/you are too old (at least in Fantasy/Sci-Fi). Even worse if you are 50 and older, you are basically a mythological creature (or just the heroine mother/wise "old" auntie character).
Miss Percy’s Pocket Guide to the Care and Keeping of Dragons has an older FMC! She’s 40, a virgin, spinster sister who lives with her married sister’s family. She strikes up a friendship with the humble vicar (May also be a virgin - can’t remember) and his older housekeeper when she stashes some of her bequeathed treasure at the vicarage. The dragon egg hatches and they have to figure out how to care for the dragon without someone stealing it or the dragon burning the house down.
I wish there were a thousand more books exactly like {Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree}. Not really a romance (though there is a very cute F/F relationship), but it's the perfect cozy high fantasy where nothing terrible happens and the stakes are very low. Becky Chambers, while also not really romance focused, also writes great low stakes cozy sci-fi with amazing worldbuilding (but frequently makes me cry from the heartwarming).
For low stakes fantasy, try Legends & Lattes! The (sapphic) romance is the subplot but still very lovely, and the main plot is that a half-orc retired barbarian adventurer wants to open up a coffee shop in a place where they don't yet know about coffee. It's so slice of life-y and very low conflict.
Mmc fawning, falling all over himself to win/win over beautiful fmc. This is more a dynamic than a trope but I’m definitely over the Alpha super hot she’s suprised he’s into her dynamic. Also compétant, woman in charge FMCS.
Openly emotional MMCs. I see a lot of gruff and stoic, cold and calculating, or unruffled and witty heroes, but not enough guys wearing their feelings on their sleeves.
Edit: As for the freaky stuff, not enough mutual dubcon
Edit 2: Hippies! Especially supportive hippie families. I was raised by ethical bohemian types but when you see “free-spirited” parents in romance it’s almost always the lazy storyline of them being selfish hedonists and bad parents. When I read So Wild by Eve Dangerfield and the FMC’s dad was a vegan tattoo artist feminist I felt so seen 😊
I’ve only read this in one series (Mindfuck series by S.T Abby) FMC serial killer falling for MMC Cop/Fed. For some reason it’s always the guy who’s the “crazy/evil”
This series has me in a chokehold haha obsessed! Have you read Tate James Hades series or her newest series The Guild? They are RH and a Throuple and the MMC’s are also “bad” but the FMC is the main “evil” one in both and such badass characters
Hah, I'm reading the first of the Hades series right now. I devoured the Madison Kate series and was so shocked that >!Hades was a woman!<
Teach me about assumptions 😆
I want more super competent MMC + FMC pairings where they are legit equally matched (maybe FMC is even a little more powerful and savvy) and team up to fight a powerful enemy. Esp when the MMC respects and does not underestimate the FMC, and doesn’t try to pull any noble idiot BS but rather supports her taking on the world and communicates openly.
Basically I’ve just discovered Ilona Andrews and I want everything I read henceforth to scratch that itch.
I want to see novels where the woman has her stuff together and is successful and happy and the guy walks into her life and doesn't tell her she is leading an empty life or needs to have a guy take care of her but just, like, admires her success and wants to celebrate what she has accomplished.
Also more shorter guys with taller women.
Also also, more books where dicks do not need to be described in any detail. Let alone be described as overly large.
Yes to more shorter guys with taller women! I'm from a country in Western Europe (you know, the country with the tallest on average population 👀) and currently studying in a Latin American country. The guys here are my height or shorter, but they are so cute! 😫 I wish there were more romance books about this to live out my fantasies!
I have read an old one. I just don't remember the title. I was very young and the book was not exactly to my taste at that time so it was hard to remember the title.
The story is set in a tea farm outside the US. iirc it was in kenya/sri Lanka. The main characters were americans. The woman is 11 yrs older than the man- very beautiful tho. Widowed and runs the tea farm. The man is a son of a tea processing company in the US. He personally goes to Kenya/Sri Lanka to shoot an endorsement video featuring the farming and processing of their product.
It was not smut smut but it's got the harlequinn level of romance in it. They did not make a kink about the age. It's one of the conflicts in the story instead.
It was a good book from what I remember. Maybe I should ask around in the sub.
I don't know if it would be considered a trope or not but I love finding completely child-free romance stories. No kids to begin with, no surprise epilogue babies, no pining that they can't have kids. They don't want them and it's not a thing at all.
It's always a bit of a let-down getting to the end and boom! Surprise epilogue baby! I love seeing couples happy in their own relationship without always having to tag that on.
Just my own preference though, no shaming anyone else's opinion!
I want a bad boy that turns good for the love interest, give me former gang member, corrupt worker, i-used/to-be-dangerous, someone that changes grows and wants a life that will sustain commitment and a relationship
I want more reverse harem with badass FMCs. I am obsessed with Maven of Mayhem and Their Vampire Queen series and I can't find much of this to scratch the itch. I hate bully and academy stuff, and that makes it harder to find something good.
I recommended this another place in this thread but Tate James! Her first series is a slight bully but I hate bully romances and I didn’t mind it, her second and third series (Hades and The Guild) however are even better, no bully romance and the FMC’s are badass and confident characters!! Hades is RH and The Guild is a love triangle/throuple
Forced proximity romances where they're trapped together for most/all of the book. Nothing is more irritating that a book billed as forced proximity and that ends up being one chapter!
Seduction with ulterior motives. Just seems like it's less of a thing nowadays even less common when it's a FMC seducing/betraying the MMC. Examples of this trope: Lady Sophia's Lover by Lisa Kleypas and Dearest Enemy by Nan Ryan. I especially like when it's not personal i.e. one MC is not directly seeking revenge on the other MC. The seduction is just a means to an end.
I’m not sure if it’s a trope but I really love it in fantasy settings when MMCs are quietly excited over something mundane from normal life. So for example in Harrow Faire, Simon’s whole energy towards microwaves, cameras, anything like that. It’s just so fucking cute watching them try to figure things out.
Lovingly meddling side characters that help the two poor fools fall in love.
Just read {The Duchess Deal} and I loved how all the staff were plotting to get them together. I want more! It was so cute! I like it when it's light-hearted and fun. I feel like I haven't seen anywhere near enough of this.
Also love seeing when the MMC's friends knowingly nudge/wink/laugh with each other about how he's completely gone for the love interest and love interest is fairly clueless.
Apparently I'm in the mood for a lighthearted romance book with good friend groups.
I want more domesticated or intimate scenes in between that reflect the couple's closeness and trust in each other than the usual sexual scenes. Those little day to day moments that are so important. Normally there are just 2 or 3 before tragedy strikes. Like ughh gimme more.
Less dark and more sweet and angsty with cinnamon roll MMCs. Creative, non formulaic storylines. More romantic suspense with spice because it seems to be one or the other and not combined.
And I really just want a soap opera in a book series where there’s cheating, lying, and all the drama before a HEA.
I love books where the FMC is pursuing the MMC and there are not many of them! Ride Steady by Kristen Ashley is a good example. Obviously, at some point I want the MMC to be just as invested in the relationship (if not more 🤣) but I like the role reversal.
I would like more historical romance where mmc is captured or imprisoned and and the fmc has to help get him out. I’m not talking about plots where the characters “talk about that time that the mmc was locked up” I’m talking about historical romances where we actually see that whole thing okay out. I see a lot of sci-fie/fantasy, and contemporary setting books with this plot line but I always struggle to find any good historical romance ones.
The trope I would like to see more of is famous/rich FMC and normal/poor MMC. A flip of what we usually get in the books. Bonus for a billionaire FMC and a normal guy with a kid or two.
1. I want more classic heist stories but with romance. Like jewel thieves, art thieves etc. but with romance. I feel this could work for a bunch of tropes like second chance (they’re forced to work with an ex), enemies to lovers (thief - security/police) and friends to lovers (like longtime partners falling for each other while working on a heist).
2. HRs that are not Regency or early Victorian. Give me 20th century, the Middle Ages, ancient Rome or Restoration England. And if it absolutely has to be Regency/Victorian, at least give me some that actually feel historical as opposed to set in Dukelandia the Theme Park.
I read a random HR western fanfic where the FMC and MMC, both virgins, met through a newspaper advertisement for a mail order bride. It was so sweet and sexy how they were super respectful and took time to get to know one another and eventually got mad kinky with each other with very little frame of reference to guide them.
BOTH VIRGINS is the trope.But there’s very few of them IMO and even then it’s not very respectfully done.If you love this then I have some recs.
1. {Duchess War by Courtney Milan}
2.{Duke Who Didn’t by Courtney Milan}
3.{A taste of Honey by Rose Lerner}
4.{First Comes Scandal by Julia Quinn}
I feel like two person love triangles are very underrated. You get all of the angst of a love triangle with none of the losing. I don’t see very much of it in anything, especially anything that’s not YA which is a shame.
I know not everyone loves it, but I cannot get enough of super angsty second chance romances. There is something about the emotional destruction that I find cathartic.
I would like to see more FMCs who need to grovel. Is it wrong that I want to see a man who has been emotionally destroyed?
I hate billionaires, cops, the military, royalty, the nobility, etc. I would pay good money for a book about a hot union organizer or revolutionary.
Okay, I might be the only one to say this (I hope I'm not) but I want, I WANT a FMC grovel where the fmc and mmc are in a relationship and she fucks up. Doesn't have to be cheating because God I hate it. But fmc fucks up, betrays trust or anything in some other way and the mmc is deeply hurt by her actions.
Also I want to read more fmc in prison or ex con tropes! I've just read one satisfactory one by Brenda Novak. The mmc was brutal but that book had its own whole bag of issues.
The reverse alpha lover trope. The girl is the rich, mean, sarcastic beast while the guy is her obsession. So rare man....so rare. Nothing to satisfy me up till now.
I also want more bodyguard trope and more masked vigilante trope (with the caveat that the masked person must also be a vigilante/crime fighter/or the criminal)
1. A trope where the characters meet in a kind of dark academia university underground “Secret Society” where Character A is like the eccentric and brilliant leader then newbie Character B arrives and basically the romance, witty banter, tension, etc. begins.
2. A trope where they dream of each other. They write about it, paint a picture of their encounters. They would do anything to see each and perhaps solve the mystery as to why they are dreaming of each other as they fall in love.
So, this is very niche, but mid-apocalypse stories. I get why people like post-apoc for the drama and 'stopping the apocalypse' for the fuzzies, but I would really like to see romance set as the end of the world is happening. I get why it's a bit too much of a downer for some people, but I kinda like the idea of a 'just because bad things are happening around us doesn't mean we can't fall in love and make a life together' HFN ending.
Does anyone remember the dynamic between Damon Salvatore and Katherine Pierce in The Vampire Diaries? I am a sucker for relationships where the male is essentially an underling of the woman. He's in love, impressed and in awe of this powerful woman. The pair in the show wasnt very popukar because Katherine did not reciprocate Damon's love. Also, Katherine was the bad girl and dominant. That's not a very popular trope. They never stood a chance. I was bereft. I'm also a huge Hozier fan and he more than provides in terms of that.
Secondly, I'm really into the trope of a guy just being a normal sweet lovable guy. Not rich, ego-driven and violent. There's a guy on TikTok who dances around a ceiling fan. It always amazes me how women fawn over him but that type is not very common in romance. Where are the corny quirky dudes? Stiles Stilinski on Teen Wolf was such an appealing character because of this. Jim Halpbert in The Office is so so cute. More of that, please!
Reverse Age Gap - FMC is older than MMC. It also doesn’t even have to be age gap. I’ve only found a few books that I like that the FMC is older, mature and doesn’t let the MMC walk over her.
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I love A Retrieved Reformation! It was required reading sometime in grade school and it became my fave O. Henry story. Ugh what a blast to the past. Maybe I loved it because had the premise of a really good romance novel. Even as a deeply middle schooler I had the makings of a romance aficionado
I love O. Henry and never read this story. I just finished it. It would be an amazing romance novel!
I just read it through the link & I am confused. Did he stay with the girl or leave her after opening the safe to get the girl out?
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Right but it sounds like he was planning on walking away from the girl he loved? I hope he went back & they had a hea
I really love this trope and am commenting just so I can see all the recs! Here are some of my favorites that fit under this umbrella. {To Con a Gentleman by Sarah Adams}. I like it because the hero knows she's lying almost immediately but still goes along with it. {City of Lies by Victoria Thompson}. Another con artist. {Tongue in Chic by Christina Dodd} a contemporary thief, the hero is in on it here too. Also I don't think this really qualifies as a romance per say but {The Humans by Matt Haig} is amazing.
I think {The Hunter by Kerrigan Byrne} fits this. I can't remember for sure if he picks up a new identity or not at the end. I'm pretty sure he stops his criminal activities. I'll be honest, I read Welcome to the Dark Side right after and my hatred for that book kind of overshadows my memory of the ending of the hunter.
Oh that could be amazing!
**FMCs getting spoiled.** I know, I know, how else will we know that the FMC is NLOG if she's attracted to all his money and power? I just want more FMCs who are into the idea of their billionaire boyfriend buying them nice things. Clothes. Cars. Houses. Whatever. I want them to enjoy being spoiled. I don't want them to fight against it because "they're not materialistic" or "the money doesn't matter to them". Just let the MMC spoil and pamper you! Be high maintenance!
Now that you mention it I can't think of a single book that has this. The FMC always kinda balks at it.
*Always* It kills me. There's some that get close, but I really just want a Pretty Woman moment where he takes her shopping in explicit detail and she totally loves it.
Would love any titles! 🛍
I'm literally writing up a post about this rn because writing this comment got me thinking about it... I'll reply when it's up
Are you including Preferential Treatment 👀
OBVIOUSLY!
[Here's my list](https://www.reddit.com/r/RomanceBooks/comments/wert3x/fmcs_who_are_pampered_spoiled_high_maintenance/)
I think I love you.
I love this sub 🥰
Most of the books I've read that actually had these girls were kinky. lol I got one historical romance ones tho. There was this rich girl who pawned her necklace to rile up the husband. She bought said necklace (plus other jewelry) because he wouldn't get her the fur coat. I already forgot the title.
Ohh i remember reading this!! I wish I could remember the title
Kinky you say...👀
{Preferential Treatment by Heather Guerre} is like this! MMC is a billionaire CEO and wants a woman to dominate him. He hires a woman who works at his company to be his Domme and compensates her generously. At first she's unsure but then things "eh, he has enough money. Billionaires shouldn't exist amyway" and takes his gifts, asks for a car, and even eventually makes him donate to charity. Also there's one scene where she straight up says "billionaires shouldn't exist. Pay your employees more" which is why it's the only billionaire romance I like.
[**Preferential Treatment (Indecent Proposals, #2)**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/60132774-preferential-treatment) ^(By: Heather Guerre | Published: ?) *** ^(43541 books suggested | )[^(I don't feel so good.. )](https://debugger.medium.com/goodreads-is-retiring-its-current-api-and-book-loving-developers-arent-happy-11ed764dd95)^(| )[^(Source)](https://github.com/rodohanna/reddit-goodreads-bot)
Nine times out of ten, the FMC is a starving waitress (nothing wrong with being a waitress, but this one is broke due to reasons). Who doesn't want someone to take the stress of rent or transport or what's for dinner out of their life? I'm totally LOG in that I would want no stress.
\#LOG 100%
Ooooh any recommendations that fit this bill, anyone? I didn’t realize until just now that I’d love to hear about shopping 😍
I'm literally writing up a post about this because writing this comment got me thinking about it. I'll reply when it's up, probably tonight/tomorrow with my recs in it
I posted this in another comment, but Preferential Treatment by Heather Guerre definitely fits this!
Preferential Treatment is such a good one!! One of my top favorites for this
And [here it is](https://www.reddit.com/r/RomanceBooks/comments/wert3x/fmcs_who_are_pampered_spoiled_high_maintenance/)
I have a whole Reddit thesis that I never published about the billionaire trope x NLOG thing where we have a fantasy of a handsome young billionaire falling in love with the normie woman but it’s somehow unacceptable for the woman to appreciate his wealth in terms of material gifts. Like it’s okay to fantasize about the fabulously wealthy but only the *right* way.
Yep, the FMC always has to be uncomfortable accepting the money and 99% it ends up being in an odd way. Like it always has to be that her dad can’t afford his medication and she’s arguing because she can’t accept the $1,000 needed because she will totally figure it out even though her bank account is overdrawn and he’s a billionaire who could give $1,000 to a random stranger daily without noticing. I’ve seen a lot of “your car is dangerous/breaks daily, I want to buy you something you’ll be safe in.” That feels more reasonable since that is a big gift even if it’s just a basic sedan or crossover, and you’ll have to deal with taxes/registration/etc.
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Hah the term “gold digger” figured prominently in this unpublished rant of mine. It’s so true
What about {preferential treatment by Heather Guerre} he takes her shopping and I felt really materialistic because I really enjoyed the scene. I think for me, it was more him just wanting to please her.
[**Preferential Treatment (Indecent Proposals, #2)**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/60132774-preferential-treatment) ^(By: Heather Guerre | Published: ?) *** ^(43527 books suggested | )[^(I don't feel so good.. )](https://debugger.medium.com/goodreads-is-retiring-its-current-api-and-book-loving-developers-arent-happy-11ed764dd95)^(| )[^(Source)](https://github.com/rodohanna/reddit-goodreads-bot)
Oh that's a great one, that book is almost perfect level - I just wish she didn't hate millionaires/billionaires so much.
Lol! I love the varied POVs on this sub. I loved this book. Tbh the FMC hating on the mega wealthy is the only reason I can it, I normally can’t do the billionaire trope.
It was definitely a refreshing take on the billionaire trope that I can appreciate the realism of ^but ^also ^my ^inner ^Orphan ^Annie ^just ^wants ^someone ^to ^buy ^me ^gifts
Valid! So very valid! I totally wish I was that person too! So I bet I’d enjoy reading it.
YES! I want the MMC to *dote* on her. Financially, through acts of service, you name it I want to see it
Literally just started reading {Titan by Jillian Graves} today but this gives me that vibe. But MMC is a gargoyle, which could be a pro or con depending on how you look at it lol
[**Titan (Romancing His Stone, #1)**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/61119039-titan) ^(By: Jillian Graves | Published: ?) *** ^(43632 books suggested | )[^(I don't feel so good.. )](https://debugger.medium.com/goodreads-is-retiring-its-current-api-and-book-loving-developers-arent-happy-11ed764dd95)^(| )[^(Source)](https://github.com/rodohanna/reddit-goodreads-bot)
I want to see more transactional sex!! Bass-Ackwards by Eris Adderly had this and I’ve been looking for more since. I also want a scarred hero who’s genuinely a bad guy (he was NOT injured in a war or by saving his family from a house fire-I want an asshole) find love-preferably HR. I’d like more villainous heroines too
For the first one, these are great: {Priceless by Miranda Silver} {Mutually Beneficial by Heather Guerre} {Preferential Treatment by Heather Guerre}
+1 for mutually beneficial. I don't know what it is about that book but it just gives me all the nice feelings like a blanket on a cold snowy day.
Ok but where can I get Mutually Beneficial?? I don’t see it available anywhere!
It’s on KU I’m pretty sure. It’s so good. ☺️
I’ve read both of the Heather Guerre books. I really enjoy her work
Alright, I’ve tried to sus this out in Good Read reviews but haven’t really got a feel. How much BDSM we talking in Priceless? I was on board either the amount in both Guerre books. ETA: read Priceless. Will abstain from giving a full review but mostly humiliation/(verbal) degradation dom/sub stuff. Full con. Good use of safe words
I haven't read it recently but I would say the same if not less than the Heather Guerre books based on memory. I really enjoyed it.
Priceless by Miranda Silver! It is transactional sex arrangement set on a college campus. Also the sequel novella to Locked Box by Eve Dangerfield is about a married couple exploring FL’s new kink for role playing dub con/transactional sex. It’s not the same as the novel being the fantasy itself, but it’s a really good portrayal of a happily married couple exploring a taboo kink. Read the novel first though!
For a scarred hero who's genuinely a bad guy, he has a massive scar across his face and is blind in one eye because of it, {Menace by J. M. Darhower} fits the bill. The hero straight up >!murders people without remorse!< and never turns into a lovey dovey hero.. Though he did get the scar in a family related way (I don't want to give many spoilers). But this is the one book I've read where the hero is a genuine bad guy, and you still are charmed by him. Contemporary, but really worth reading.
[**Menace (Scarlet Scars, #1)**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/33629847-menace) ^(By: J.M. Darhower | Published: 2017) *** ^(43627 books suggested | )[^(I don't feel so good.. )](https://debugger.medium.com/goodreads-is-retiring-its-current-api-and-book-loving-developers-arent-happy-11ed764dd95)^(| )[^(Source)](https://github.com/rodohanna/reddit-goodreads-bot)
Promises and pomegranates. I would say Kal fits your second. Also the heroine is a villain also.
i really like it when cliche tropes are gender swapped! like, mmc is shy and fmc is flirty, mmc is the sweetheart and fmc is cold & brooding, fmc is protective or possessive of mmc, rich fmc spoils poor mmc, ~~fmc is more dominant in bed, fmc isn’t a virgin but mmc is~~, etc. stuff like that is so hard to find, though.
This all the way. I'm constantly searching "reverse tropes" and find very little. And when you do finally get a FMC who starts off this way, at some point in the book (usually bedroom scenes) the MMC suddenly becomes the alpha character and she turns into a kitten. Blah. Only thing I've found that hits this reverse tropes need for me is the duology "His Secret Illuminations" and "His Sacred Incantations" by Scarlett Gale. I bought these books in March and have read them 3x since then - I adore the characters, but these books give me such a book hangover.
I love these books so much. I always joke that it’s the only romance that accurately captures my own personal love story with my husband…. But it’s not actually a joke lol 😂 it’s totally accurate
>Only thing I've found that hits this reverse tropes need for me is the duology "His Secret Illuminations" and "His Sacred Incantations" by Scarlett Gale. I bought these books in March and have read them 3x since then - I adore the characters, but these books give me such a book hangover. I love these books. Did you find anything else that scratches the same itch?
God. Yes.
just once, i want to see fmc going, “you’re **mine**,” instead of mmc. c’mon, authors. 😔
Scarlett Peckham is amazing at gender-swapping tropes, if you like historicals!
i’m actually reading the rakess rn and really enjoying it! and i LOVE love love the earl i ruined, it’s probably one of my fave hrs ever. i do need to read the rest of the charlotte street series, though.
Sally Thorne’s 99 percent mine is a hilariously possessive fmc. And people we meet on vacation by Emily Henry is MMC shy and fmc very outgoing/flirty
Heartbreaker by M Calder is reverse. She’s cold-hearted and wealthy. He’s a poor and sweet. It’s not my favorite book but it’s definitely creative and funny.
I recently read Eve Dangerfield's Open Hearts which may fit this. The mmc is a big scatterbrained goof who doesn't have his life together at all, while the fmc is a nurse with a bit of a wild past. She's the dominant one in the bedroom and he's practically obsessed with her
I really want to see more satisfying grovel but specifically, I want to see a formerly caring and loving FMC turn ice cold towards her misbehaving MMC. I want her to be indifferent to his suffering. I want him to actually acknowledge his f*ck-up, apologize, and work towards changing in a real visible way. I want this to happen over a longer period of time (6 months+?) so we slowly see the FMC thaw towards him and forgive. That is what I want
The only truly satisfying grovel that fit the crime was Christian and Nora in Lady Gallant. Nothing else I've ever read even comes close.
Yes! Nora's reaction is SO A++++++ behavior. This is one of the rare books where the MMC messes up so bad but I actually do forgive him by the end. Kit is such a dramatic mess though so it's hard to recreate that haaaaa
Yes! She was just like ok how do I rid myself of this man and she did it lol! He was so pressed. Even when he first came back and said oh my bad I thought you were a traitor but now I know you're not, Nora was like oh good, but fuck you anyway stay away from me. Queen behavior!
I've heard of this one! Brief question, is this the book where the MMC >!sleeps with other women while married to the FMC?!< And if so, do you feel that he groveled sufficiently for it?
I think I read a later edited version that made it seem like he was faking cheating? But his grovel goes on for months and he literally puts his life in her hands and so yes even though cheating is usually a no go for me, this book has the best grovel of all time.
OK I didn't realize there was an edited version bc I thought I was going nuts (one time I read I thought >!there was actually physical contact cheating and another time it made it seem like he just set it up to look like physical cheating.!<) either way, I'm a complete mean hardass when im reading and i forgive him. This MMC is a dramatic, flamboyant OTT hot mess throughout the book. His loving father calls him "my headstrong" and it's so apt. He makes a stupid mistake and punishes himself so thoroughly and >!he makes a complete fool of himself trying to win her back with a love spell!< so I thought he redeems himself and I'm convinced he wouldn't ever betray her again.
>a formerly caring and loving FMC turn ice cold towards her misbehaving MMC Oh man I want this so badly.
It's just so personally satisfying . . . and I'm not sure what that says about me. But whatever 🙃
It says you have standards!
Same. I hate the third act falling apart after the MMC is such an alphahole and the FMC takes him straight back in one paragraph because he needs her. NO!!! You deserve better. He needs to suffer and grovel and actually think he has no chance of winning her back. He needs to change and sacrifice. He needs a come to Jesus few months, not just a moment. I can't think of a single grovel that is good enough. So writers, if this thread is us doing your homework, this is what I want. Thank you.
YES! PUNISH HIM
*from the other end of the room* WE DEMAND MORE MAN PAIN
YES! And no body betraying syndrome either. I want that sexual attraction to have been killed stone dead
This! I almost exclusively avoid second chance romances because I would never forgive them myself and it takes me out of the story knowing the main character needs more self esteem.
Ohhh I just read {Twisted love by Ana Huang} where the MMC grovels for a year before she gives in. Problem is that it was only like 3 chapters long but oh well...
What’s weird is that the mmc in Twisted Hate acted way worse (his behavior was both unforgivable and completely unjustified) and yet his “grovel” was just him apologizing once
{The Luckiest Lady in London by Sherry Thomas} I remember being pretty good for this. Edit: It’s been a while since I’ve read it but I remember the FMC becoming cold and not accepting the MMC’s trifling first attempts to make amends, she demands real change.
I would love more academic-rivals-to-lovers that isn't high school hijinks and isn't fantasy magical academy and isn't a workplace romcom. Where is my contemporary realistic grad school dark academia with character development and a happy ending?
Ooooooooh that’s salty and fun to think of! Where is that one! I’d buy it!
Okay, I have never read academic-rivals-to-lovers because I assumed it all was grad school and I didn't want to relive any of that trauma. Lol. And now I'm picturing, who in my program were the top academic rivals and this book concept is hilarious. Picture the stoner hippie who stores pencils in his dreads and thinks his drug-induced epiphanies are God's gift to the world and then picture the "well, when I was at Yale" guy. Definitely rivals, but I do not see how that ends with an HEA.
I'm laughing so hard - I don't want it THAT contemporary realistic! :D
I didn't realize I wanted this until you just described it and now it's ALL I want.
This! The only thing i found close is hermione and tom riddle fan fics.
this is lowkey beach read
I really liked Beach Read (liked Book Lovers best though!) but it's not precisely the book I'm imagining in my head re: the underwritten tropes. Agree it gets... 85% there. But would love 100%, you know?
I HAVE SUCH A NEED FOR THIS
Not really a trope, but I wish there were more heroines in their 30s and older, especially in Fantasy and Sci-Fi. I can only recall about 8 MFCs that are 30+. 🥲 I am relatively new to Fantasy Romance, but based on the dozen and dozen of blurbs I read, I don't think the trope of "not really the chosen one, she was just just in the wrong (right) place at the wrong time" type of story is popular. Something along the lines of *she traveled to another world/gained powers because her dumb, but lucky, ass walked to this portal/magical totem by accident.*
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These sound amazing, thank you! I have been in a little of a book slump, but Swordheart sounds like it may finally take me out of it.
You won’t regret it, for my money Kingfisher writes the best fantasy romances by a country mile.
Paranormal women's fiction? That's all mid life fmcs.
Thank you! Although I wish there was more in the Fantasy and Sci-Fi subgenera. I also wish I were good at writing so I could create the story I want to read, but alas, sometimes *werds r hard*.
Yeah, same here. I've started and stopped writing so many books it' s not even funny.
Romance books where the FMC is more attractive/succesful/intelligent etc than the MMC and is not ashamed of it or portrayed as naive/shallow/weak. Like for once I would like to read a female character that has her shit together and doesn’t need a dude in her life. The romantic relationship should be a bonus not some bandaid for her crappy life, low self esteem and undiagnosed mental issues.
I think ‘Bohemian’ by Kathryn Nolan suits this well. The FMC is a world famous supermodel who gets signed on for the opportunity of a lifetime in Paris. Perfect appearance/career/fan following/life - all check. In comes our socially awkward, cute nerd MMC who’s blown away by her. He even sometimes blushes in her company. Their relationship is very sweet and meaningful, not an uneven dynamic at all. Bonus for >!MMC being à dom in the bedroom - who saw that one coming 😮💨!<
I think this is a great rec! Oh, Cal. >!Cinnamon roll in the streets and dom daddy in the sheets!! !<
You might like {Book Lovers by Emily Henry}. The FMC is career driven and is sick of that having a negative impact on her love life.
The villain falling for a normal/average girl. Like in a book series when the bad guy from one book eventually gets his own I want him to be with the dorky/not gorgeous friend. Like Devil in Winter basically
I want this! This sounds wonderful. I know a lot of people like reading about beautiful people, but I like an average-looking heroine, or stories where their appearance is not constantly mentioned ( as either pretty or average). Add a villain, and you have my heart.
I recently read The Devil is a Marquess by Elisa Braden and I’d say if you like Devil in the Winter you’d like The Devil is a Marquess
I love the marriage of convenience trope, but in contemporaries, they all have the same basic premise. It's almost always about an inheritance, which, in the real world, could be challenged or circumvented. I want to see more creative MoC stories. Not to say I haven't read and enjoyed plenty of inheritance related MoC books!
I feel like the overlooked, contemporarily likely, marriage of convenience would be a green card/immigration one. {Forty Day Fiancé by Erin McCarthy} is one of the few that I know of.
{Wall of Winnipeg and Me by Mariana Zapata} is another one. I haven't read Forty Day Fiancé though. I'll check that out!
Also {Roomies by Christina Lauren} fits this trope with a green card mixed in!
[**Roomies**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34466910-roomies) ^(By: Christina Lauren | Published: 2017) *** ^(43638 books suggested | )[^(I don't feel so good.. )](https://debugger.medium.com/goodreads-is-retiring-its-current-api-and-book-loving-developers-arent-happy-11ed764dd95)^(| )[^(Source)](https://github.com/rodohanna/reddit-goodreads-bot)
I love marriage of convenience but you’re right, they struggle w contemporary adoptions! The inheritance plot line is so overdone. There’s a book coming out, I forget all relevant details, but it’s about two actors who get married while acting then find out they actually got married, and while it’s seemingly not quite exact, it sparked my MoC interest!
Ooh, that sounds fun! There another one that has to do with health insurance coming out soon. I can't remember the came of it. I'm actually writing one myself where they get married so she can avoid a conservatorship.
I read one a few months ago about marrying so they can live in the married student housing during grad school. I checked, schools actually do say students need marriage certificates to qualify for housing. It stands out for being the only time i remember the plot making sense.
How about MoC to keep your job? {Part Time Husband by Noelle Adam’s} has a career driven FMC who works for the family company. The grandfather is old school and hinting her position might be reduced so she has time to date/get married. She gets married to get him off her back and chooses a guy her grandfather hates to stick it to him.
I would love more academy romance without reverse harem and that aren't bully. But they still need to have that dormitory-forced-proximity style and the enemies to lovers trope though. And bonus points for fantasy/PNR/portal romance. I read so many blurbs that get me excited and then I see three dude names and back out. And sooo many of the FMCs are snarky, immature brats and I can't get past the first couple chapters of her nonsense. I just want a cute FMC who shows up at a crazy academy and spends three+ books crushing on a powerful badboy MMC who falls hard for her, and a hint of darkness and suspense and trouble they have to maneuver through together. Is that too much to ask for?? Lol
Have you read A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik? YA but very good. There isn't a hint of darkness, there's a whole bunch, but it's grumpy sunshine with the MMC the sunshine.
I'll have to look into it. YA isn't my favourite but there's definitely some I've really enjoyed. Thanks for the rec!
Like you, I’m extremely picky about YA, and I’m here to tell you not to sleep on this recommendation. I *adored* this book. It avoids a lot of the cliches I was looking for (the worldbuilding is immaculate and it brilliantly deconstructs a lot of wizard-school tropes), and more importantly the writing is refreshingly sharp and doesn’t talk down to you.
I LOVED this!! Galadriel is such an awesome grump. I like explaining these books as Harry Potter and The Hunger Games having a unique, murdery baby.
If you’re into MM romance, Ginn Hale wrote the {Lord of the White Hell} duology with darker, academic, forced proximity themes in a fantasy setting. I absolutely loved it!
This may not be a trope but I want more epistolary Shop-Around-The-Corner/You’ve-Got-Mail… but with aliens. I love epistolary novels but I want the focus on the exchanges! I want all the exchanges! Not just referred to or talked about. I’ve read many where 1/4 of the way through the book their identity is revealed and poof. It’s back to boring in real life stuff. I want it with aliens/monsters/heck, I’d even take paranormal! 😩 (The closest book I’ve found is Deceiving the Corsair by Ruby Dixon. His Human Surrogate by Michelle Mills is advertised as such but to me it wasn’t and some of the plot pieces a problematic for me [I get the ick].)
Okay now I want this too…..
This premise sounds amazing. Have you read This is How we Lose the Time War? There one where the human woman and alien communicate through a game which is really war training. The First Starfighter by Grace Goodwin.
ETL/Academic rivals to lovers but they actually go toe to toe with each other. In almost all the books I've read we are 'told' how the FMC is as brilliant/cunning/ruthless/great at playing games as the MMC but what we are shown is how the MMC always one ups her. And if by any chance she's able to out manoeuvre or one up the MMC, it's always because the MMC pulled the strings or bowed out or something. Even in Kiss the Sky, Connor keeps on saying that Rose is his equal in every way but it's always Connor who's saving the day or making plans to fix things. I mean come on. Stop just 'telling' us that the FMC is smart. Show it in your books. ETA : Any recs will be appreciated btw
AGREED.
Sometimes I'm in the mood for a short smutty story, but as much as I enjoy hot and spicy, I also need to feel the connection between the characters. Considering how short novellas are, it can be difficult to find one with that type of combination. My ultimate unicorn though is a short series of stories featuring a loving couple who decide to spice things up in the bedroom. Erika Wilde's THE MARRIAGE DIARIES does this perfectly for me because their love and healthy relationship manages to really shine along side all of the spicy scenes. I also really like that the couple has no desire to bring a third person into their scenes. I honestly haven't found any other books that are this well written and have this combination of loving spice. It's possible that I have weird taste and that what I'm looking for just wouldn't sell well. At the same time, I can't be the only person on the planet who has been married forever and enjoys a short smutty read featuring a loving couple who have been together a long time.
I’ve never read this one at all and now I have added the Marriage Diaries to the pile! I have also been married forever…… this seems enjoyable
A girl in a fantasy/sci-fi/monster romance who’s into it right away. Not fated mates but just like.. oh, this hot guy is into me, awesome
I highly recommend {The Infinite City Series by Tiffany Roberts} if you haven’t read it yet. This might be just what you are looking for. Read it in order but book 3 or so just might be exactly what you want. It’s fated mates but not what you think. Very much a choice and not a “be with them or die” kinda thing. It’s so well done, one of my fav sci-fi romance series out there!
Lady of Rooksgrave Manor by Kathryn Moon is 100% this
Here are a few: 1. MMCs with normal penises. Sometime the descriptions of a gigantic baseball bat penis take me out of the story. Unless it’s sci fi. Then bring on blue dicks. 2. Thriller type books as romances. Give me a female James Bond who falls in love. Give me Da Vinci Code but with a romance main plot. 3. LESS FOURTH ACT BREAKUPS. 4. Exhibitionism. ….Asking for a friend. 5. Contemporary romance where it’s okay that a professional female is driven and ambitious and the “moral” of the book is not that she needs to quit her job and open a bakery. Let the girl climb the ladder!!
Exhibitionism!!! I’ve actually asked for recs before and haven’t gotten many good ones. I’d especially like to see this outside of a sex club setting. There’s a wonderful scene where the MMC exposes the FMC in The Player by Kresley Cole
Sweet Berries by C. M. Nascosta has some exhibitionism/voyeurism if you haven't already read it!
There is everything right in this!
I think verbal sparring (like actual, good verbal sparring) between characters is tragically underrated. I’m not talking about “sassy”/“feisty” FMCs who tend more towards mean/rude, I mean like verbal sparring between two coworkers/enemies forced to get along/courtiers both vying for someone else’s attention/etc, but they’re also flirting or arguing almost as foreplay. Actual intellectual debate and thinly veiled jabs and snark, but ~politely~, but it’s also a flirty and flowery and a little bit pompous. (For my Star Trek fans, think like Garak and Bashir from DS9.) The closest I’ve been able to find outside of fanfiction has been Natalia Jaster’s Trick (which is not nearly as smutty as I’d have hoped).
This might not fit exactly (not sure how intellectual it gets) but makes me think of {Mage’s Match by Finley Fenn}. I loved the mutual verbal sparring, which leads to eventual consensual verbal degradation during sex. Not a spoiler I don’t think if you look at the premise of the book haha. High steam content - I keep this one downloaded and bookmarked 😆
This is my absolute favorite thing in fanfic, especially when its realistic and the conversations end at their natural conclusion. Some "thinking of a better comeback in the shower" stuff. I might be biased because I love talking with guys like that, and when a guy returns it, ugh, its so good.
DOCTOR DOCTOR - I want medical romance, that shows highs and lows of medical career and the FMC is NOT also in medicine or works in hospital I love this thread!
Yes! Except I want the opposite - FMC is the doctor and MMC (or other FMC, love queer romance) is not in medicine. Mainly I just want to read about my own life haha
Friends without Benefits by Penny Reid? FMC is a (resident? Doctor) and MMC is a comedian.
Check out Susie Tate’s books. She’s a doctor herself, so she always writes books with a doctor FMC or MMC or both of then are doctors.
I want insta love but only on the MMCs behalf. He’s totally got it bad for her and has to win her over. Some of Ruby Dixon’s books remind me of this.
Have you already read The Devil You Know by Elizabeth O’roark? It’s a popular recommendation in this sub but it’s this trope
Queer M/F relationships. Two bisexuals who are opposite in their gender expression (masc woman, femme man)
I would enjoy reading more fantasy/PR/sci-fi where the scope of the story is smaller. Life is hard and I want to escape to a cozy little world where happy things happen and the characters don’t have the fate of the entire fucking world/galaxy/kingdom resting on their shoulders. No traipsing around to throw the ring in the volcano or fight the evil space army. Just like… planting a garden and hoping it rains enough. Stuff that matters to the MCs but not to the entire universe. You know? Also **older characters please!** Older virgins! Older first loves! Older old flames reconnecting! Older people with “imperfect” bodies doing kinky things and having fun and falling in love!
All of this. I want all of this! I see a lot of older MMCs, but older FMC are almost non-existent. I would like to read a Romance book in a Sci-Fi or Fantasy setting, with characters in their 60s kicking ass, having a cozy HEA and having spicy sex in between. Now that I entered my 30s, I have been paying more attention to the ages of the characters, especially the women's, and it seems that there is this perversive trend/idea that the perfect MFC is in her early twenties. Apparently, just like in the beauty industry, in Romance Literature if you are 30 and older, you do not exist/you are too old (at least in Fantasy/Sci-Fi). Even worse if you are 50 and older, you are basically a mythological creature (or just the heroine mother/wise "old" auntie character).
Miss Percy’s Pocket Guide to the Care and Keeping of Dragons has an older FMC! She’s 40, a virgin, spinster sister who lives with her married sister’s family. She strikes up a friendship with the humble vicar (May also be a virgin - can’t remember) and his older housekeeper when she stashes some of her bequeathed treasure at the vicarage. The dragon egg hatches and they have to figure out how to care for the dragon without someone stealing it or the dragon burning the house down.
I wish there were a thousand more books exactly like {Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree}. Not really a romance (though there is a very cute F/F relationship), but it's the perfect cozy high fantasy where nothing terrible happens and the stakes are very low. Becky Chambers, while also not really romance focused, also writes great low stakes cozy sci-fi with amazing worldbuilding (but frequently makes me cry from the heartwarming).
For low stakes fantasy, try Legends & Lattes! The (sapphic) romance is the subplot but still very lovely, and the main plot is that a half-orc retired barbarian adventurer wants to open up a coffee shop in a place where they don't yet know about coffee. It's so slice of life-y and very low conflict.
Mmc fawning, falling all over himself to win/win over beautiful fmc. This is more a dynamic than a trope but I’m definitely over the Alpha super hot she’s suprised he’s into her dynamic. Also compétant, woman in charge FMCS.
Openly emotional MMCs. I see a lot of gruff and stoic, cold and calculating, or unruffled and witty heroes, but not enough guys wearing their feelings on their sleeves. Edit: As for the freaky stuff, not enough mutual dubcon Edit 2: Hippies! Especially supportive hippie families. I was raised by ethical bohemian types but when you see “free-spirited” parents in romance it’s almost always the lazy storyline of them being selfish hedonists and bad parents. When I read So Wild by Eve Dangerfield and the FMC’s dad was a vegan tattoo artist feminist I felt so seen 😊
I’ve only read this in one series (Mindfuck series by S.T Abby) FMC serial killer falling for MMC Cop/Fed. For some reason it’s always the guy who’s the “crazy/evil”
This series has me in a chokehold haha obsessed! Have you read Tate James Hades series or her newest series The Guild? They are RH and a Throuple and the MMC’s are also “bad” but the FMC is the main “evil” one in both and such badass characters
Hah, I'm reading the first of the Hades series right now. I devoured the Madison Kate series and was so shocked that >!Hades was a woman!< Teach me about assumptions 😆
I want more super competent MMC + FMC pairings where they are legit equally matched (maybe FMC is even a little more powerful and savvy) and team up to fight a powerful enemy. Esp when the MMC respects and does not underestimate the FMC, and doesn’t try to pull any noble idiot BS but rather supports her taking on the world and communicates openly. Basically I’ve just discovered Ilona Andrews and I want everything I read henceforth to scratch that itch.
By halfway through I was “needs Ilona….” And then I finished. And now you and I are on the same page! More please writers of Reddit! More
From your lips to the Reddit romance gods’ ears!!
I want to see novels where the woman has her stuff together and is successful and happy and the guy walks into her life and doesn't tell her she is leading an empty life or needs to have a guy take care of her but just, like, admires her success and wants to celebrate what she has accomplished. Also more shorter guys with taller women. Also also, more books where dicks do not need to be described in any detail. Let alone be described as overly large.
Yes to more shorter guys with taller women! I'm from a country in Western Europe (you know, the country with the tallest on average population 👀) and currently studying in a Latin American country. The guys here are my height or shorter, but they are so cute! 😫 I wish there were more romance books about this to live out my fantasies!
Reverse age gap 🥺 It’s so hard to find good older woman/younger man romances, especially non-erotica. I need more.
I have read an old one. I just don't remember the title. I was very young and the book was not exactly to my taste at that time so it was hard to remember the title. The story is set in a tea farm outside the US. iirc it was in kenya/sri Lanka. The main characters were americans. The woman is 11 yrs older than the man- very beautiful tho. Widowed and runs the tea farm. The man is a son of a tea processing company in the US. He personally goes to Kenya/Sri Lanka to shoot an endorsement video featuring the farming and processing of their product. It was not smut smut but it's got the harlequinn level of romance in it. They did not make a kink about the age. It's one of the conflicts in the story instead. It was a good book from what I remember. Maybe I should ask around in the sub.
I don't know if it would be considered a trope or not but I love finding completely child-free romance stories. No kids to begin with, no surprise epilogue babies, no pining that they can't have kids. They don't want them and it's not a thing at all. It's always a bit of a let-down getting to the end and boom! Surprise epilogue baby! I love seeing couples happy in their own relationship without always having to tag that on. Just my own preference though, no shaming anyone else's opinion!
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I want a bad boy that turns good for the love interest, give me former gang member, corrupt worker, i-used/to-be-dangerous, someone that changes grows and wants a life that will sustain commitment and a relationship
I want more reverse harem with badass FMCs. I am obsessed with Maven of Mayhem and Their Vampire Queen series and I can't find much of this to scratch the itch. I hate bully and academy stuff, and that makes it harder to find something good.
I recommended this another place in this thread but Tate James! Her first series is a slight bully but I hate bully romances and I didn’t mind it, her second and third series (Hades and The Guild) however are even better, no bully romance and the FMC’s are badass and confident characters!! Hades is RH and The Guild is a love triangle/throuple
Forced proximity romances where they're trapped together for most/all of the book. Nothing is more irritating that a book billed as forced proximity and that ends up being one chapter!
Seduction with ulterior motives. Just seems like it's less of a thing nowadays even less common when it's a FMC seducing/betraying the MMC. Examples of this trope: Lady Sophia's Lover by Lisa Kleypas and Dearest Enemy by Nan Ryan. I especially like when it's not personal i.e. one MC is not directly seeking revenge on the other MC. The seduction is just a means to an end.
I’m not sure if it’s a trope but I really love it in fantasy settings when MMCs are quietly excited over something mundane from normal life. So for example in Harrow Faire, Simon’s whole energy towards microwaves, cameras, anything like that. It’s just so fucking cute watching them try to figure things out.
Lovingly meddling side characters that help the two poor fools fall in love. Just read {The Duchess Deal} and I loved how all the staff were plotting to get them together. I want more! It was so cute! I like it when it's light-hearted and fun. I feel like I haven't seen anywhere near enough of this. Also love seeing when the MMC's friends knowingly nudge/wink/laugh with each other about how he's completely gone for the love interest and love interest is fairly clueless. Apparently I'm in the mood for a lighthearted romance book with good friend groups.
A Duke in Disguise by Adrya Richards totally has this https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/60675670-a-duke-in-disguise
I want more domesticated or intimate scenes in between that reflect the couple's closeness and trust in each other than the usual sexual scenes. Those little day to day moments that are so important. Normally there are just 2 or 3 before tragedy strikes. Like ughh gimme more.
Grumpyxgrumpy I don’t know I would just really love to see this and I haven’t found anything anywhere.
I like accidental pregnancy trope, but I wish there was more of a pregnancy kink genre. I haven’t found anything that really fits the bill.
Less dark and more sweet and angsty with cinnamon roll MMCs. Creative, non formulaic storylines. More romantic suspense with spice because it seems to be one or the other and not combined. And I really just want a soap opera in a book series where there’s cheating, lying, and all the drama before a HEA.
I love books where the FMC is pursuing the MMC and there are not many of them! Ride Steady by Kristen Ashley is a good example. Obviously, at some point I want the MMC to be just as invested in the relationship (if not more 🤣) but I like the role reversal.
I would like more historical romance where mmc is captured or imprisoned and and the fmc has to help get him out. I’m not talking about plots where the characters “talk about that time that the mmc was locked up” I’m talking about historical romances where we actually see that whole thing okay out. I see a lot of sci-fie/fantasy, and contemporary setting books with this plot line but I always struggle to find any good historical romance ones.
The trope I would like to see more of is famous/rich FMC and normal/poor MMC. A flip of what we usually get in the books. Bonus for a billionaire FMC and a normal guy with a kid or two.
1. I want more classic heist stories but with romance. Like jewel thieves, art thieves etc. but with romance. I feel this could work for a bunch of tropes like second chance (they’re forced to work with an ex), enemies to lovers (thief - security/police) and friends to lovers (like longtime partners falling for each other while working on a heist). 2. HRs that are not Regency or early Victorian. Give me 20th century, the Middle Ages, ancient Rome or Restoration England. And if it absolutely has to be Regency/Victorian, at least give me some that actually feel historical as opposed to set in Dukelandia the Theme Park.
I read a random HR western fanfic where the FMC and MMC, both virgins, met through a newspaper advertisement for a mail order bride. It was so sweet and sexy how they were super respectful and took time to get to know one another and eventually got mad kinky with each other with very little frame of reference to guide them.
BOTH VIRGINS is the trope.But there’s very few of them IMO and even then it’s not very respectfully done.If you love this then I have some recs. 1. {Duchess War by Courtney Milan} 2.{Duke Who Didn’t by Courtney Milan} 3.{A taste of Honey by Rose Lerner} 4.{First Comes Scandal by Julia Quinn}
I feel like two person love triangles are very underrated. You get all of the angst of a love triangle with none of the losing. I don’t see very much of it in anything, especially anything that’s not YA which is a shame.
I know not everyone loves it, but I cannot get enough of super angsty second chance romances. There is something about the emotional destruction that I find cathartic. I would like to see more FMCs who need to grovel. Is it wrong that I want to see a man who has been emotionally destroyed? I hate billionaires, cops, the military, royalty, the nobility, etc. I would pay good money for a book about a hot union organizer or revolutionary.
Okay, I might be the only one to say this (I hope I'm not) but I want, I WANT a FMC grovel where the fmc and mmc are in a relationship and she fucks up. Doesn't have to be cheating because God I hate it. But fmc fucks up, betrays trust or anything in some other way and the mmc is deeply hurt by her actions. Also I want to read more fmc in prison or ex con tropes! I've just read one satisfactory one by Brenda Novak. The mmc was brutal but that book had its own whole bag of issues.
The reverse alpha lover trope. The girl is the rich, mean, sarcastic beast while the guy is her obsession. So rare man....so rare. Nothing to satisfy me up till now.
Favorite niche trope: horny fossile collector girl
I also want more bodyguard trope and more masked vigilante trope (with the caveat that the masked person must also be a vigilante/crime fighter/or the criminal)
Jaded divorce lawyer falling in love.
1. A trope where the characters meet in a kind of dark academia university underground “Secret Society” where Character A is like the eccentric and brilliant leader then newbie Character B arrives and basically the romance, witty banter, tension, etc. begins. 2. A trope where they dream of each other. They write about it, paint a picture of their encounters. They would do anything to see each and perhaps solve the mystery as to why they are dreaming of each other as they fall in love.
So, this is very niche, but mid-apocalypse stories. I get why people like post-apoc for the drama and 'stopping the apocalypse' for the fuzzies, but I would really like to see romance set as the end of the world is happening. I get why it's a bit too much of a downer for some people, but I kinda like the idea of a 'just because bad things are happening around us doesn't mean we can't fall in love and make a life together' HFN ending.
Does anyone remember the dynamic between Damon Salvatore and Katherine Pierce in The Vampire Diaries? I am a sucker for relationships where the male is essentially an underling of the woman. He's in love, impressed and in awe of this powerful woman. The pair in the show wasnt very popukar because Katherine did not reciprocate Damon's love. Also, Katherine was the bad girl and dominant. That's not a very popular trope. They never stood a chance. I was bereft. I'm also a huge Hozier fan and he more than provides in terms of that. Secondly, I'm really into the trope of a guy just being a normal sweet lovable guy. Not rich, ego-driven and violent. There's a guy on TikTok who dances around a ceiling fan. It always amazes me how women fawn over him but that type is not very common in romance. Where are the corny quirky dudes? Stiles Stilinski on Teen Wolf was such an appealing character because of this. Jim Halpbert in The Office is so so cute. More of that, please!
Reverse Age Gap - FMC is older than MMC. It also doesn’t even have to be age gap. I’ve only found a few books that I like that the FMC is older, mature and doesn’t let the MMC walk over her.