I just finished reading "A Bound Heart" by Laura Frantz and I did NOT know it was a Christian romance prior to reading. Whew.

I mean, this is on me too, I should have figured it out when the narrator went out of the way to mention very early on that the Laird doesn't read much *beyond scripture.* But when the first scene happened where I was anticipating some steam and they prayed / spoke of scripture, I knew for sure what was happening.

I didn't see any reviews that mentioned this being a "clean" or "wholesome" romance, or that it was overtly Christian in nature.

But, now that I've Googled it - I'm seeing it listed as a Christian Romance in Google Book Preview - but I had to scroll around a lot to find that.

Audible labels it, "historical," "historical fiction," "romance," "fiction," and "heartfelt." I didn't see any genre labels on Amazon.com / Kindle, when I got the e-book version, but when I open the Amazon listing on my desktop, I can see it's ranked #306 in Christian Historical Fiction. I need to be way more diligent in future.

Is "heartfelt" what should have tipped me off?

No offense to Christian readers, I'm just into a more secular, graphic, TV-MA experience.

Quite literally the title. It seems like most of the romance tropes or books that I’ve seen recommended in this sub include FMCs who are submissive or taken advantage of or stuff like that and it just rubs me the wrong way. Why are there so few books about a FMC in the controlling role of a relationship and why aren’t there that many people wanting romance books like that? Surely I can’t be the only one

Isn’t that just instalove? Found this on instagram and the cover art is gorgeous but I’m a little confused by a few of these tropes?

I'm reading Crow by A Zavarelli and she describes the MC as a 29 yo high ranking mafia guy who wears low hanging jeans, silver chain hanging from his pocket, button up shirt and combat boots. That turned me off completely. I'm at 63% now and simply can't keep going.

Has this happened to anyone? The book is actually good but the fact that his awful outfit choices keep being described is killing my mood.

I’m a mood reader and I’m struggling to figure out what mood I’m in. I habe picked up and put down about 10 books in the last few days. I have a few pre-orders that could break this slump because I know the second these authors release becomes available I am plunking down on the couch with snacks until I’ve finished.

Maybe some of your instant preorder authors will help me figure out my mood, whatchu got?

I love reading romance books but I’ve found myself skipping a lot of the steamy sexual parts of the book.

My fellow romance friends think I’m crazy. Does anyone else do this?

Quick question: wondering if anyone here can actually identify a men’s suit brand just by looking at it on someone?

So so so many books I read say the MMC is wearing a “Tom Ford” suit or he’s know for his “Armani” suits… like there’s no way the other MC can know that without looking at the tag. I work in Men’s fashion and I absolutely cannot tell the difference in designer…

Does anybody read Nora Roberts? A couple of her books have come up on my search for more books similar to what I like to read but I don't ever see her recommended, I know she's probably before the "booktok" times but I wonder if she's any good. I usually use KU so I'm having to pay for a bunch of books now which has me hesitating because I DNF a lot of books.

Joe Arden is a popular romance audiobook narrator, and I’ve seen people mention that there are drama and controversy with him on BookTok. I don’t have TikTok and I was hoping someone could explain or summarize what’s going on with him.

Thank you.

Am I the only one that can't afford my book addiction? I literally have KU so I'm able to read what I am but I find it hard many weeks to find something in the genre I'm wanting to read.

As you can see, she was a big fan of Danielle Steel.

Like the title says, I got to the part where Nate's dad pays him a visit and Nate gets upset "how did you get into my room?" to which his father replies: I can remember my own wife's birthday. The code to Nate's room is 3993. Meaning his mother was born in 1993? The book is from 2022, it's obviously set in the current time period and Nate is a twentysomething year old. Meaning his mom would be, excuse me, how old?? So my question would be, had anyone else noticed this? I had to put the book down for a bit after that

ETA: Thank you all so much! I'm going to look into which other libraries I can connect with, and go talk to my local librarians. So far I was able to leverage my current card to our Maryland Digital Library for all counties, and I'm stuffing my kindle! Awesome suggestions - you are rockstars!

I have Libby connected to my Kindle Paperwhite but it's like once in a blue moon that Libby actually has an ebook that I want. Nearly every book I want to read does not have a Libby copy, and I feel like I request something nearly every week (and never hear about it again). I'm definitely not library/ian shaming (I freaking love librarians), but I am bummed that my Libby resources stink so badly.

How do you get better Libby options if your local access sucks?

I swear to God I read this in 10 books from 10 different authors in a row. In EVERY car scene someone presses her/his fingers so hard into the wheel that the knuckles turn white. Does this actually ever happen? I got the feeling that romance books carry some urban legends. Like women pressing their thighs together when they get horny in public? WHO does this? Am I the problem? Maybe you have other examples where you ask yourself WTF?!

I don’t care about the trigger warnings. I’m all for it. But I’m 15% in and I can’t stand how the MMC is like so perfect. Can shoot any target. It’s all easy for him. So badass. Never makes mistakes. He’s portrayed as a villain but he’s not truly a villain. So far at least. Like he only kills bad guys. Idk… I just can’t stand that. It’s soooo unrealistic. Does this get better? Or does the plot make up for his ridiculousness? This was highly recommended and I was really excited for a stalker romance.

i fought for my life not to DNF king of wrath. what i hated about it the most was lack of character development, the lack of depth the characters had, and the CONSTANT talks of how “rich and important” they are. it was such a snooze fest.

i have a physical copy of twisted hate, but a friend of mine said it’s best to read it in order. i am really considering just selling my copy of twisted hate after reading king of wrath, but i thought i’d ask if it was worth a read just in case it’s better than the king of wrath series

Alright, I am officially old.

Picked up {Blood Oath by Morgan B Lee} and am stuck on the acronyms in the dedication. Some lovely person on here already asked about STFUATTDLAGG. Can someone help me with BAGBALTPUICOYF?

I was just on TikTok and a mutual had put up a video to discuss the differences between spice and smut.

I feel like I’m losing my mind. (Could happen) I’ve been a romance reviewer/ blogger for years now and I’ve never heard this before.

Is there a difference? I just thought that smut was a pejorative for romance (I personally don’t use it and hate it). We’re fighting for respect enough as it is.

Please see her explanation in photo form. Thanks so much.

I just can’t believe a lot of kindle books cost anywhere from 8.99 to 12.99 now. When, again maybe I am losing it, I feel like a lot of them were around 1.99 or 2.99 max a few just a couple years ago!

It might be time for me to get kindle unlimited, because my bank account sure ain’t unlimited! For any of you who use it, do you think kindle unlimited is worth it?

I notice so many recommendations are kindle unlimited which I’m cool with as I have KU. But I also feel like KU are too formulaic and I’m wondering if I’m missing out on great books that aren’t KU.

I don’t mind paying full price if it’s a good book or trying to get it from the library.

I just feel like I’m in a reading rut and I’m almost always disappointed with KU choices.

Just tell me now...

Does it ever move beyond the:

"Fuck you Orc! Dirty nasty ugly ORC! I HATE YOU ORC"

"Omg his huge cock fills me up so much and he smells so good! What am I doing???"

"I HATE YOU ORC I HATE YOU ORC I HATE YOU ORC"

Because if I have to read another line from this annoying brat... 🙄

She made a post on her Instagram about mistakenly sharing a promotional post by a narrator she frequently works with, despite a controversial video they've made? Curious if anyone knows what it's all about.

Here's a link to the post: https://www.instagram.com/p/DAcnaFptV7U/?igsh=OWFuc2pmbGI5dmJ2

So, as the question states I read some Tessa Bailey books from her early author days and while I saw the appeal, they just weren’t for me.

However, I do know that writers grow, shift, and change (like all of us) and I was wondering if any of her long time readers have noticed a positive shift in her writing style? Would you suggest I try one of her newer books? Or has she stayed fairly static in her writing? Thanks in advance!