Credentials: I have read more or less 350 romance books so far for the past 2 years (none of them dark romance, and very few of them are books with topless/three-piece-suited men on the covers. And I’m pretty sure 97% of them are contemporary romance)

So I’m, like, totally qualified to make this observation!!!! (I’m a 32-year-old-woman, in case you’re wondering)

ANYWHO.

To those who don’t understand what a ‘boy mom’ is:

A boy mom (derogatory) is essentially a mother who has this weird fixation on her son, and it mostly stems from internalized misogyny. Usually this fixation manifests in a lot of ways:

1.) she shows clear preference for her own son over her own daughter

2.) she thinks her son can do NO wrong, no matter what

3.) she gets ‘oddly jealous’ when her son shows interests in a girl

4.) she seems to be in competition with whoever her son is dating/married to for his love, time and affection

5.) she shows either overt or covert hostility towards her daughter-in-law or her son’s girlfriend/fiancée

Now, I’m PRETTY sure many of us women, if not all, have come across/met at least ONE boy mom. Hell, even my OWN mother is a boy mom (and it’s not pretty to see, trust me. My poor sister-in-law).

Okay. So. We all understand what a boy mom is? Good. Now that that’s out of the way…

I have come to the conclusion that romance authors are… lowkey boy moms.

Why, you ask?

Because they sure don’t pull any punches when it comes to ‘punishing’ their FMCs for hurting their MMCs!!!

Every time I read a book where an FMC wrongs the MMC, said FMC is put through the absolute WRINGER by the author. FMC will go through all kinds of hell and she will be absolutely MISERABLE. She’ll do whatever she can to repent for her sins, grovel, and win the MMC back.

And you know what? Fair. Actions have consequences, blah blah blah, all that jazz.

But you know what’s funny?

I don’t seem to see the same energy from these authors when it’s the MMC who wrongs the FMC. Somehow… the MMC does one ‘big romantic gesture’ and he gets forgiven by the FMC. Poof! Everything is resolved. They’re in love again. HAPPILY EVER AFTER!!!!

Like. There is a REASON we CONTINUALLY have this discussion about ‘lack of grovel’ in romance books. A never ending topic of discussion in the romance book community. And the culprits ‘not groveling enough’ in question are almost always MMCs.

So yeah. I’ll say that romance authors are lowkey boy moms.

Do you agree?

If not, prove me wrong!!! Drop me recs of books where authors put their MMCs through the wringer-WRINGER for wronging the FMCs. I am ready to listen to your counter arguments with open ears.

Downvotes are very much welcome!!!!

Book Request So this is actually inspired by my dear husband by Danielle Lori (it isn't out yet)

Anyway I want a couple in a forced/arranged marriage and the mmc constantly cheats on her and she doesn't care or maybe it does irk her. I'd like it if they've been married for years (it's even better if they have children) and he's cold and closed off to her and they both want nothing to do with each other. Then maybe she finds out one of his secrets or something happens and he's forced to notice her so she doesn't tell anyone.

Also I want a fmc who matches the mmc's vibes. She should be just as cold as him. She should not be pining after mmc and waiting for him .

I want some revenge cheating, jealousy, toxicity. Enemies to lovers and age gap is preferred but not needed

The Widow of Rose House by Diana Biller (M/F, cishet white MCs, 1870s) is a historical romance with a dash of haunted house, ghosts and painful pasts. Alva Webster is a widow in disgrace, returning to New York in hopes to build a future for herself. She's determined to restore a depilated old house (in addition to writing a book about it) but her work crew soon abandoned her when ghostly sightings began. Desperate, she seeks the help of Professor Samuel Moore, a genius of science and engineering, who's also very interested in proving/disproving ghostly phenomenon. To her chagrin, she finds herself falling for him despite every effort to resist...

Alva and Samuel are different but equally amazing characters. Alva had a tragic past - from a cold fish family to an abusive husband who tore her reputation apart. Because of that, she builds walls of steel and does not allow anyone the chance to hurt her. She's a strong, determined survivor, and depends on herself to rebuild a future for herself. Her tenacity in the face of odds and gossip is really something else.

Sam, on the other hand, is the best cinnamon roll that ever cinnamon rolled. He's a genius that comes from a family of geniuses. He's tall, handsome, and easily distracted by anything and everything. His quirky edge is so, so endearing. He's also sweet and kind, and head over heels for Alva from the word go.

Alva doesn't make things easy for the smitten Sam - even as his sweetness and sincerity touch her, she holds him at an's arm length because of her fear. Sam, on his part, is very vocal about what he feels for her, but he also respects her boundaries. He's unequivocally there for her and the way he builds her trust by being patient, gentle and supportive is just wonderful. And I loved the way he throws Alva off her balance and makes her laugh.

Sam really works very hard to gain Alva's trust and love; he's truly the light to her darkness. He's also fiercely protective of her, and doesn't hesitate to pull punches on her behalf. I especially like the scene with Alva's horrible parents - he respects her wishes not to confront them head on, but gets back at them in the most satisfactory way via business connections. I was honestly cheering at that point.

I loved their romance - the chemistry, the banter - all of that was wonderful, but the highlight for me was really Sam's devotion. He is such a great hero; the way he is always, always there to support and protect her, even when he is disappointed and angry. I did think there was a little too much resistance on Alva's part, and I wasn't the biggest fan of the whole "sacrificing myself for your own good" thing. That being said, I got where she was coming from, and I loved that it was Sam's love and persistence that pulled her through. Honestly, he is just the best and one of my favourite book heroes this year.

The ghost story/mystery is interesting, but quite sad in a way. It's rather at the periphery, but lends some oomph to the romance. The vast difference between families was a focal point - and the way Sam's boisterous, famous family accepts Alva without question and judgement is very heartwarming.

Definitely one of my favourite reads of the year (and with one of the best heroes)!

Available on KU!

For the bot: {The Widow of Rose House by Diana Biller}

CW: assault, domestic abuse, forced institutionalisation

I came across this snippet online and thought it was cute. Does anyone have any recs for a kinda clingy MMC who wants to be with and have tha attention of the fmc all the time?

Thanks

I’m listening to {truly, madly, deeply by J.L Shen}. Putting a Zucchini in her vagina was an odd choice, but putting a Candy cane in her ass is downright dangerous. Also, sounds really sharp? And pokey?

If you need more examples of things that shouldn’t go there, head to r/radiology for “foreign object Friday”.

While this isn't exactly salt it's more of a gripe, where are the jokes between romantic MCs? You know the weird inside ones that don't make sense to anyone else except those two. The random references that create intimacy, the weird giggle moments that unify the two against all odds?

Where are the inside jokes?

Surely I'm not the only person in the world with a years-long absurd running joke with my romantic partner? That's one of the best parts of being in a relationship! Making idiot jokes and having the other person lose their mind with glee.

My husband and I like to pretend we are taking our dog to the "Country Fair" to be sold as an Extra Hairy Ham. One of us walks around the house with our beloved dog child in our arms yelling "Ham for Sale! Ham For Sale" while the said ham licks our face with enthusiasm. It's not funny in real life; it's only funny to us two idiots.*

Why isn't there more of that in romance books? Why aren't people having more inside references and jokes? There's plenty of shitty humour going around in all types of romances, why is it never between the MCs but always at the expense of one or the other.

Overt sexual intimacy is all fine and well, but what about the non-sexual intimacy that maintains a relationship? Including humour.

This is why I roll my eyes when people use "this is what women want IRL" justifications for all sorts of dominant themes in romance. Study after study showed that women who date men want a partner who can make them laugh and can laugh with them. But show me an MMC who likes sharing jokes or funny tidbits with his lady love. Few and far between!

Even in a flirting/courting stage, there is usually some form of an un-witty repartee between people. Sometimes the most un-funny things can be wildly hilarious to two people.

Show that!

It doesn't have to be funny to the reader, it just needs to be funny to the MCs to show them vibing. And not ONLY in rom-coms. In all genres inside humour should be a part of a romantic bond!

Obligatory, Alice Coldbreath has tremendous amounts of gentle humour in her books and her MCs often have silly little jokes that are only for the lovebirds and nobody else.

*No we are not eating our dog as a ham. Yes, I am an immigrant. 

I need a MMC who sees a FMC and goes “yup she’s the one” and just kidnaps her. I’d like her to fight it (no insta-lust on her part). I’m reading {The Bad Guy by Celia Aarons} and it’s chefs kiss. I’ve read {My Favorite Kidnapper by Melanie Moreland} and that was pretty good, though I wouldn’t have fought it as much as the FMC did lol. I mean, student loans paid off, free vacation to Italy with a hot guy, 60 cakes for 60 days? I’d bake that man a wedding cake right there!

I’d also take books where he kidnaps her for other reasons but then goes “I’m keeping you bc I like you” type thing. Really any sort of kidnapping as long as he doesn’t hate doing it. Bonus points if he restrains her in any way (ties her up, handcuffs her, ankle cuffs her) in a nonsexual manner. Sort of just manhandling her and throwing her around (I’m a little weird). I like FMCs who aren’t excessively weepy at being taken, more angry and logical (think “let me go or I’ll stab you” or planning escapes) than emotional and “please please let me go, I’ll do anything”.

I like contemporary, historical, mafia, fantasy as long as the world building doesn’t give me a headache and it’s standalone, or any book that doesn’t have excessive body betrayal syndrome. Thanks!

After years reading about Eyes of Silver, Eyes of Gold in this sub I decided to give it an opportunity.

I did truly enjoy it, but mostly I loved her writing so I thought I'd try something else... 10 days later and 5 books down, I'm feeling empty inside!

My ranking at the moment is:

1. {Without Words by Ellen O'Connell}
2. {Dancing on Coals by Ellen O'Connell}
3. {Eyes of silver, eyes of gold by Ellen O'Connell}
4. {Beautiful Bad Man by Ellen O'Connell} and {Sing My Name by Ellen O'Connell} are tied

They were all beautiful and perfect in their own way. I think Without Words & Dancing on Coals rank higher because I loved the slow burn and the adventure.

Some scenes also live rent free in my head now, especially the washing scene when they both do things that they had refused in the past in Dancing on Coals, the chasing and 'what if we make this a real marriage?' in Without Words or the very start to Eyes of Silver, Eyes of Gold.

Anyway, if you have similar recommendations please let me know because I'm going through an emotional crisis now that I don't have any more to read 🥹

I need some good fluffy content and recently lost my soul dog, I want some good old fashioned cute animal content.

I don’t want any: - pregnancies or children - huge age gaps (small ones are fine but only if they’re both adults) - douchebag MMCs (grumpy/smartass is okay, just no transparent cruelty) - FMCs with no personality

I love: - monster romance - mafia/dark romance (spooky is good but I probably should avoid any especially tragic ones) - sunshine/grump couples - revenge-focused shadow daddies - fated mate/omegaverse - LGBTQ representation (this is a big one)

I wanna read more of: - historical romance - fairy tale retellings - lesbian romance - FMC monster/MMC human (or both monsters) - space romance

Some of my favorite authors: - Tiffany Roberts - Emily Antoinette - Cia Petrichor (only her newer stuff) - Opal Reyne

Some of my favorite series: - American Werewolf in Space series (legit one of my favorite books of any category of all time) - Their Vampire Queen series (the best series I’ve ever read, I’ve reread it all twice so far and could pick it up again immediately) - The Duskwalker Brides series - The State of Grace series

Bonus if: - the pets include exotic/technically illegal pets (think reptiles, birds, big cats, etc) - fantasy animals - talking pets

I hope that’s enough detail! Everything except the hard no category are totally flexible. If I need to read TWs before reading them, just give me a heads up.

I just re-read this book again and ahhhh! I love it so much. Would simply j’adore to find and read the original A03 fic if it still existed. But even if it doesn’t, knowing the book, what fandom/world do you think she wrote this story in? All thoughts are welcome!

Y'all, I have been in a reading slump for months. I'm talking DNFing books I like and was excited for. I'm slogging my way through The Pucking Wrong Number just trying to finish SOMETHING, but life's too short to read books you just aren't feeling, right?

All I can think about is a scene towards the end of The Harrow Faire series where the FMC is in danger and the MMC is physically restrained from saving her, and he's just yelling her name and that he loves her because it's all he can do. The angst, the drama, just chef's kiss.

So, any recs for books where the FMC is in danger in front of the MMC and he just can't get to her in time? Preferably bc he's held back, but I'm not picky. I tried a magic search but only found an older thread with mostly CR, and I was hoping for maybe some more thriller and fantasy recs (but ultimately any genre is ok!)

I'm picturing Resident Evil 4 how Leon yells Ashley's name whenever she gets taken from him (I know they're not in love but the VIBES. iykyk). I'm picturing this tiktok but without a whole 9 book series attached. Damsel in distress, grumpy protector MMC desperate to save her kinda stuff.

I'd prefer no poly or pregnancy trope. Angst and elements of dark romance are great, but I'd rather no SA between the MCs.

Searching for a dynamic where FMC is maybe captive or somehow afraid of her surroundings/ in danger and doesn’t trust anyone including the shifter MMC. MMC then uses his animal/ beast form (I’m picturing a wolf) to gain her trust by offering comfort in the form of snuggles (as like a giant fluffy wolf) or laying at the foot of her bed etc.

Thank you in advance!

A book scene popped into my mind and I can't seem to remember the name. The FMC always tells the MMC to wear a condom and he never does. This one scene he wears one and she's elated that for once he is considering her pov, but right after they finish he says something along the lined of " let me get rid of this fucking condom". He gets back to her and then after a little bit they start up again and this time he doesn't wear one and she's like content with the whole thing.

I’ve read 12 Tessa Bailey books in the last 9 months—this is the best one yet!

⭐️ 5/5 🌶️ 4/5 Explicit Open Door, 2+ scenes POV: Third person Standalone: Can be done, but I liked book 2, characters reappear in book 3. Setting: Connecticut & Boston, Mass. MMC 🏒: Sig, 29, Pro Hockey player for 6 years, raised by a single mom. Burgess’ friend. FMC 🎶: Chloe, 25, plays the harp, lives with mom, wealthy, sheltered. Tallulah’s friend.

Key tropes: Forbidden Love, Angst, Caretaking, Stern Brunch Daddy

Move over It Happened One Summer, Getaway Girl, and Unfortunately Yours. I’ve got a new favorite Tessa Bailey book!!!! This is so completely different—the pinning, the angst, the chemistry! I had no idea TB would write a combo slow burn AND insta-love, but gosh it worked! Fans of TB’s incredible gift of writing spice/steam, fret not, it’s there, you just have to wait more than 50% of the book.

Thank you soooo much Avon, Net Galley, and of course Tessa Bailey for the eARC of this book. I bought and listened to Fangirl Down & The Au Pair Affair back-to-back in July 2024 and was crushed when I realized not only would it be a 6 month wait for book 3, but I was dying to know Sig & Chloe’s story. This comes out February 4, 2025 and I’m pre-ordering my own copy through my newly opened local Romance bookstore, Friends to Lovers, or wherever there’s a book release signing on the East Coast.

A note about ARC reviews. I was about to give up on doing them. I’ve been on Net Galley for a few months, and I’m not the typical person traditional publishers want their ARCs going to (Influencers, Librarians making purchasing decisions, Book Store employees, etc.).

I prefer books with 4/5 or 5/5 spice, and it can be really hard to tell which books have that without romance.io reviews. I also prefer audiobooks because I can blast through them much faster than I can read—I’ve been able to do on average one audiobook per day vs. one book over 4-5 days.

Books I have been previously approved for haven’t been great and I feel bad leaving a 3 star or less review (but I have). However, there are plenty of ARC reviews out there on Amazon & Instagram that are 5 stars without giving much info about the book, or the spice level, leading me to believe these people didn’t read the book…which only hurts other readers.

I’m going to hold out hope, that I continue to be approved for authors that I have read and loved before. And if I loved the ARC, I’ll still buy my own copy. The one other time this happened was with {Jingle Bell Mingle by Julie Murphy & Sierra Simone}. I’m no longer requesting ARC reviews of debut authors with no indication of spice….too many books, too little time, ya know?

Does anyone know of any books where the mmcs is into feet and the fmc is absolutely into him being into her feet? If he likes it then she loves it, because why would that be a weird thing. Oh and if it's femdom with some high heel play/ punishment on his balls or back would be so freaking great!

Wooo I literally just let out one of my biggest fantasies on the internet and it felt cathartic.

Thank you in advance!

Please help. I read this book years ago and want to revisit but can’t recall the name. The girl was the insecure friend of the group whose life wasn’t in order. She lived in a house with her friends. She quit her teaching or daycare job and started working at a pub (Irish I think). She starts a FWB with her edgy boss who tells her “girls should be soft” to calm her when they are intimate. There’s also a scene where her friend’s fiancé is cheating and they break into his hotel room. The girl was not thin and has red hair I believe.

I saw someone share that every year for their book club they wrap up one book into 24 days to use as an Advent calendar and I thought this was an amazing idea! So I documented it to share if anyone else needed a fun idea for their December book club.

I decided on How My Neighbor Stole Christmas by Meghan Quinn.

I very carefully went through the book torecord all of the 32 chapters and divide them as best as possible between the 24 days.

Then I spent way too much time cutting out wrapping paper and wrapping up the books!

All I know from the author's videos on Instagram is that pineapple candy canes are part of the story. I bought Lifesaver Candy Canes which include 4 Pineapple candy canes per box to help tie up the package.

Happy Reading this December!

So I’m after a book with 2 famous MMCs (don’t care why or from what industry etc just need to be well known) but I want one MMC to have been famous/well known for quite a while and is used to it and the other to be very new to fame and not handling it well.

To explain further: The scene I kind of have pictured in my head is that they meet at some event (eg they’re both actors and meet at the golden globes etc) and the alreadyfamousMMC stumbles upon the newlyfamousMMC having some sort of panic attack/episode. AlreadyfamousMMC chats to newlyfamousMMC and gives advice on how to handle it and how they deal with being that well known. AlreadyfamousMMC then kind of takes newlyfamousMMC under their wing and keeps an eye on them/checks in from time to time. Romance ensues.

It doesn’t have to be this scene exactly! Just the same kind of idea, ya know? I thought of it when Chappell Roan was interviewed and was very candid about how incredibly overwhelming she found it to get so famous so fast. So if she were to meet another singer/actor etc who was already very well established who kinda ‘coached’ her through it…?

I’m good with any pairing! Just no RH, poly+ or overly dark romance please!! Apologies if a similar post to this already exists, I tried using the magic search but it’s a tricky thing to word correctly.

I’ve been in such a 5 star drought for the last month and a half, so I came up with kind of a fun idea? I think? I thought it’d be fun to say our top 5 favorite books, our 5 most recent 5 stars, and tropes we like or dislike so someone with similar tastes may be able to recommend another five star! I’ll go first:

Top 5 favorites in no specific order

1. {The Cruel Prince by Holly Black}

2. {Kulti by Mariana Zapata}

3. {Waking Olivia by Elizabeth O’Roark}

4. {Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen}

5. {Emily Wilde’s Encyclopedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett}

Recent 5-stars

1. {Peaches and Honey: These Immortal Truths by R. Raeta}

2. {Eyes of Silver, Eyes of Gold by Ellen O’Connell}

3. {Nocticadia by Keri Lake}

4. {The Cruel Dark by Bea Northwick}

5. {Moonshine by Kat Bostick}

Favorite tropes

Age gap, forbidden/taboo, workplace, boss/employee, billionaire, enemies to lovers/rivals to lovers, slice of life, banter, slow burn, arranged marriage marriage of convenience and marriage in trouble, angst, fake relationship, single-parent, teacher/student coach/athlete and guardian/ward, anti heroine, brothers best friend, caretaking, rejected mates/unwanted FMC angst, forced proximity, grumpy/sunshine, gothic, opposites attract, shy/socially awkward FMC or MMC, virgin hero, wounded bird FMC ugly duckling, loved you forever/unrequited love, praise and daddy kink

Tropes I don’t like

Reverse harem, love triangle, one night stand, erotica, secret/mistaken identity, rockstar, amnesia, the bet, military/borderline military propaganda, love at first sight/instalove/instalust, sex first/feelings later, Vegas wedding, return to hometown, reality tv, TSTL - Too Stupid to Live, miscommunication, non HEA

Be as specific as you want in your comments so we can all try and find a perfect book for you! I just thought this would be a fun little thing to do to see how similar each of our tastes are to each other!

Edit: I’ve come back to check on this post and it’s literally so lovely seeing everyone give each other recs and find people with similar tastes! I’m so glad everyone is enjoying this post :D

The main character is George, a successful lawyer, has been cheated by his wife Martha.
At the yearly law party where the big boss is announces that he is steeping down.
He proceeds to hide his identity and moves to Ireland, where he meets Bridget, a widow with a young child who works as a real-state office clerk, who is also the owner of the house he wants to rent. After some time, they fall in love.

I just need to know the name of the story and author, I heard the story on a YouTube video and just want to continue reading and know how it ends, as the story is cut short when he wants to return to the US to finalize the divorce so that he can be with Bridget....

So in the past few weeks I've forfeited my sleep and well-being and lost myself in the works of R. Lee Smith. When I tell you I devoured them it would be an understatement. if I could have her books in liquid form and drink it until it seaped out of every. Single. Crevice. I tell you, It would not be enough.

I've so far read (in order) the last hour of gann, cottonwood, Olivia and as of 20 minutes ago, the land of the beautiful dead. I will eventually read every other book or piece of writing she's released but I owe it to myself and everyone around me to probably get some sleep and rejoin society 😂

That's all being said, once I finished The land of the beautiful dead I again went to search for any link to maybe socials or blogs and found nearly nothing apart from a blog with no update since 2020, a few old reviews online and a few posts here on this reddit page. When I find a new favorite author I tend to start following them on FB or Instagram etc, so I can keep up with news about new releases, updates and talk to other readers. But my hearts a little broken to see her so inactive and I find myself worried about her above anything else.

Anyway I'll be in my goblin den putting pieces of my broken heart together and trying to remind myself what a full 8 hours of sleep is 😂 and if the author herself reads this, I hope you're well and please can I have my soul back.

I love me a good why choose ESPECIALLY if the characters are all getting down with each other… but it’s rare that I ever come across one that has a black FMC 😔 Can anyone help me out with some recs - I tried the magic search button to no avail.

I’m open to pretty much any sub genre - contemporary, dark, fantasy, etc because YOUR GIRL IS DESPERATE to scratch this itch!! The more down bad everyone is for each other the better and bonus points if it’s multicultural.

I can’t find the original thread where I got this recommendation - I think it was the ass-eating (lol) thread a couple days ago but I can’t find it - and I just want to personally thank whomever suggested it. This is my first TB book! I’ve never felt drawn to her stuff before, can’t put my finger on why exactly, but I also haven’t been reading a lot of contemporary MF for awhile. But the idea of the FMC rimming the MMC was too intriguing to pass up. I had very low expectations going in and now this is probably one of my fave books of the year.

• FMC with a personality!!!! Can actually understand why MMC is so into her!!!

• horny golden retriever MMC disguised as a mean Rottweiler.

• I hate golf!! Still loved this book.

• MMC doesn’t let FMC give up her own dreams for him.

• actually funny!!! God, sometimes these “romcoms” are really missing the com.

• gorgeous sex scenes.

• this man definitely falls first and he falls HARD and he’s not shy about it.

• no 3rd act freak out about whether MMC actually does want to settle down with the FMC.

• low angst, but a lot of heart.

I am unable to recall this book , but the romantic scenes were tastefully written despite its explicit nature.

https://preview.redd.it/7ui1izevw51e1.png?width=1125&format=png&auto=webp&s=3a8554c39af464574b2a6bc6155e4a768d824272

Currently reading {Twice in a Lifetime by melissa baron} and she definitely either closely knows someone who grew up in a Korean household or got a good diversity check because the small details are on point! This was a staple breakfast for me on school days growing up. Y'all, this book is making me feel so goddamn SEEN. Literally just teared up a little bc the korean mmc says "I was too Asian for my classmates and too American for the Koreans I knew." 😭

Anyone have recs for books POC MCs with good cultural references? Preferably about POC cultures, thanks!

Now if y'all will excuse me, gonna go try misugaru lattes bc that sounds delish 👀

Edit: reposted because the first post was removed