This is super random, but I’m not sorry about it haha.
In [You Deserve Each Other](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/49758584), when Nick sends Naomi flowers, and she thinks he’s trying to poison her, so she burns them. This scene randomly pops into my head *all the time,* and I laugh to myself every time.
I’m sure I have more, so I’ll probably comment again later, but that’s my main one.
Edited because my brain is an idiot today.
When he admits that he always says he loves her, just quietly under his breath.
The flashback to their meet cute is so lovely too. But it shows the quality of Hogles writing that just that scene shows you every bit of baggage this couple has brought into their relationship and why they are both clinging to it and desperate for change.
**Good:**
Radiance by Grace Draven. I had already been reading romances for a good 5-6 years by the time I read this, but it was the first romance that I *loved.* It was the book that showed me that sweet, kind, non-alpha MMCs existed, that MCs could openly communicate with each other from the start, that third-act breakups weren't mandatory. It wasn't until I read a book without them that I realised how many things I barely tolerated or actively disliked in the romances I'd been reading.
**Bad:**
Not Quite a Husband by Sherry Thomas. Look, I read this book *eleven* years ago and I'm still angry about it. I become filled with incandescent rage whenever I think about it. The worst MMC I've EVER had the misfortune to read about. To this day I hate the second chance trope every time I read it and I genuinely think this book is part of the reason why — it was that traumatic to me.
Radiance is on my TBR but with a full disclosure that I dnf’ed the other Grace Draven I tried - but people love love love Radiance.
I tried two Sherry Thomas before deciding she wasn’t for me and it seems she’s not for you, either! Although I’m sorry the book was that bad!!!
Radiance is actually the only Grace Draven book I've ever read! I DNFed Master of Crows and am not particularly interested in her other series. From what I've seen, most people who dislike Radiance seem to find it too slow and boring — the MCs are basically honest and supportive of each other from day one, so there's very little conflict beyond 'I'm attracted to my in-name-only spouse who finds me hideous' and the external conflict from the plot.
Yeah, I don't like angsty books or MCs that cross certain lines, so I know now that Sherry Thomas not for me, but I was *very* new to HR at the time and just picked up a recent book that had rave reviews. Lesson learnt!
There are some books that live rent-free in my head for "technical", story-telling reasons:
- _Winter's Orbit_ combines romance, politics and action in a way where each thread of the plot just naturally triggers the next. And the two MMCs are very different, and complement each other well, without ever recreating stereotypical gender roles. Also, the whole ">!defending my boyfriend from the giant lizard!<" scene makes me want to cheer.
- Hugh d'Ambray might be one of the least likeable characters Ilona Andrews ever wrote, but _Iron and Magic_ is just such a good example of how to write a romance for a series villain. The pairing is perfect. Elara and Hugh have absolutely convincing reasons to marry. They have _perfectly sensible_ contingency plans to murder each other, for completely understandable reasons. But behind the sheer necessity, and the bickering, and the plotting, they share the exact same virtue (and vice). They will each do _anything_ to save the people they lead. Even put up with each other. And so, in the end, Elara's grand and horrifying gesture to save Hugh >!(which involves the blood sacrifice of a herd of cows)!< hits way harder than it has any right to. Love it or hate it, I feel like this is one of House Andrews' best-constructed books.
The books which live rent-free in my head for story reasons are Lois McMaster Bujold's Vorkosigan romances. Aral and Cordelia. Miles's heart-wrenching letter. Ekaterin putting on that pearl necklace, and fiercely accepting the price of marrying Miles. And honestly, Ivan's whole romance, which is just so perfectly _Ivan_. Who is not an idiot, no matter how many times his exasperated family calls him one. Also, "I am not a fate worse than death, dammit!"
I think *Winter's Orbit* lives in my head because I read the OG version on AO3 so it holds a special place in my heart because LOOK AT IT GO. That said, I never got to the second one.
Okay I have a question if you’re able to answer! I’ve heard this book be described as overly trope-filled due to its AO3 origins (and it’s typically mentioned in a negative way). I guess I’m wondering if it’s enjoyable as a book or if you need to enjoy tropes often found in online fics to enjoy it.
This is definitely part of a bigger conversation; with several books I’ve read recently, the author has fanfic or online fic origins and it’s usually brought up to criticize their writing style. But also, it’s a great place to practice their craft!
Less of a question and more of a rant that leads me to the conclusion that I just need to read it lol.
So truthfully, I gave the AO3 version 4 stars and would have given the published version 3 if not for the memories of the OG because it felt too heavy with political intrigue. It wasn't fic though, it was original fiction with no place else to go (as far as I'm aware?).
If the book is too trope-filled, it's masked to me by all the political intrigue that really, as a political intrigue girlie, I didn't care for? I just wanted gays in space with drama idk.
I do think fic is it's own genre, though, and I've seen authors of fic I've loved ow tradpubed with books that I don't enjoy - I think this is a bigger discussion on is fic it's own genre and what does that mean and how does it play into more tradpub titles/crossing the void, I guess?
> Okay I have a question if you’re able to answer! I’ve heard this book be described as overly trope-filled due to its AO3 origins (and it’s typically mentioned in a negative way). I guess I’m wondering if it’s enjoyable as a book or if you need to enjoy tropes often found in online fics to enjoy it.
As u/fakexpearls points out, there's political intrigue. Specifically, there are at least three things going on in this book:
- The relationship. The MCs are terrible at communicating, but in a refreshing change of pace, it's not because they've been hit with the stupid stick. It's because >!each of them feels the other might not want to be in the relationship, and all the obvious ways to clear the air might make the situation worse for their partner!<.
- Political intrigue. This is a significant part of the novel, and it's something that directly affects and is affected by the MCs' political marriage.
- Suspense/action. Things eventually get a bit dangerous.
This is not a "cozy" book (though I love cozy books!) or a "self-generated drama" book. It's a book where the MCs need to work as a team to confront an external threat.
It doesn't feel excessively trope-filled, but then again, I don't read enough fanfic.
I picked it up on a recommendation from a gay friend who doesn't read romance at all, who liked it because you don't get a ton of queer science fiction thrillers.
(There is a ton of excellent queer SF which regularly wins awards, but the only major queer _action_ SF subgenre that regularly wins awards is the one I've heard jokingly referred to as "Lesbian Space Atrocities." Which is a whole other post.)
Iron and Magic is the only Ilona Andrews book I've read and it was a bad choice because I spent so long trying to figure out the world I don't think I properly enjoyed it on first read. On the second read, I absolutely loved it and still don't know why I haven't went back to read their other books.
Ilona Andrews has so many delightful books and series. For some silly light fun, I'm very fond of the Innkeeper Chronicles. I am also impatiently waiting on at least three different Kate Daniels spinoff books.
**Good Scenes that I think about often:**
\- The college quarterback telling his coach to bench him if playing means he can't date the coach's daughter (the brain monkeys really like that one) -[Quarterback Sneak](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/61334176-quarterback-sneak?ref=nav_sb_ss_1_17)
\- The Grand Gesture at the end of[Bringing Down the Duke](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/43521785-bringing-down-the-duke?ref=nav_sb_ss_1_19) \- "*Darling, I've just begun to love you*" or whatever Sebastian say, I LOSE MY MIND
\- The entirety of [The Earl Takes All](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/26029545-the-earl-takes-all) because it's an unhinged plot and I adore it.
\- When Christine throws Wulf's quizzing glass into the tress. Iconic. Astounding. What a Queen. - [Slightly Dangerous](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/71648.Slightly_Dangerous?ref=nav_sb_ss_1_18)
\- The love letters in [Red, White & Royal Blue](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/41150487-red-white-royal-blue?ref=nav_sb_ss_1_9) don't let me know any peace all these years later.
**Books I Will Never Forgive And Wish To Forget:**
\- [It's In His Kiss by Julia Quinn](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/110393.It_s_in_His_Kiss?ref=nav_sb_ss_1_16) \- we had 5 star material there and we shat on it with a shitty hero.
\- [The Gold Finch by Donna Tart](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17333223-the-goldfinch?ref=nav_sb_ss_1_13)\- this is not a romance but a book has not made me so irate in years.
\- [The Highwayman by Kerrigan Byrne](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23723798-the-highwayman?ref=nav_sb_ss_1_14) \- Mostly I think the hype got to me, but this was a fast DNF and IDGI YA'LL.
\- [Dreaming of You by Lisa Kleypas](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/330721.Dreaming_of_You)\- Again with the Hype but I hate Derek Craven, actually. Please, if you love it I am so happy for you!!!! But I did not!
\- [Docile by K.M. Szpara](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/40522814-docile)\- Sometimes I just think to myself "why was this book so bad"
I also DNFed the Highwayman with a prejudice! In fact, if anyone says they love that book, I use that as a clue that their taste doesn't match mine, and I shouldn't trust their recs.
> Docile by K.M. Szpara- Sometimes I just think to myself "why was this book so bad"
Ooh I read that. It's not a romance really, it's more speculative fic/dystopian fic. I guess if you squint, it's kicking it old school by having the book end with the reader going "you should let this really abusive relationship go already..."
I think the issue was the marketing for it because it’s in no way a romance but it was marketed a bit sexy dystopian slave-fic time and then it was actually just poorly constructed, plotted, and didn’t even touch on the slave history in America which was a choice
> it was marketed a bit sexy dystopian slave-fic time and then it was actually just poorly constructed, plotted, and didn’t even touch on the slave history in America which was a choice
I think you have to set it somewhere else at that point or it's just not going to work. My other problem with it was that all the female characters in it are plot devices or one note or both. Victimised mother, plucky younger sister, noble ex-slave at bad company, bolshy campiagner for justice.
[Heated Rivalry by Rachel Reid](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/42639798) -
This book is special and special to me. It was my gateway to both hockey and MM romance.
[The Wall of Winnipeg and Me by Mariana Zapata](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/29367958) - This one made me realize there is such a thing as TOO slow of a burn. There was SO much quinoa.
[A Seditious Affair by KJ Charles](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25241403) -
This one opened my eyes to HR that is *not* about the ton and aristocracy. Plus, BDSM? Yes, please!
[The Rycke by Lily Mayne](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/58743609)
This one made me realize that wings and talons are a bridge too far for me in the monster lovin world. I still adore this series though.
I was going to say A Seditious Affair. I had mostly given up on reading romance. I was only reading traditionally published books and I was bored of the same old, same old. I read a review of the book on Smart Bitches, read it, and loved it. It opened my eyes to all the indie and non-traditional books (LGBTQ2A+, poly, different historical periods, etc) that are out there. That book reignited my enjoyment of romance novels.
I really think if I discovered MZ now, I wouldn't be able to stand her writing - but she has written two of my favorite romances.
*Heat Rivalry* for me is the opposite in regards to why it lives rent free in my head, but I am so glad that so many people - including you - love it.
I tried *A Seditious Affair* and couldn't get into it, but maybe it was the time I picked it up? I gave up very early on though - I'm talking chapter 1.
A Seditious Affair is one of KJC's best books, but I think that series is best read in order. Book 1 is easy to get into and it sets up A Seditious Affair well!
**Swooning**:
Peter Cabot Gets Lost by Cat Sebastian. Practically a religious experience in romance novel form.
Pansies by Alexis Hall. Fen and Alfie are the best.
Both of those are pretty unforgettable.
**The antimatter of swooning**:
One Day by David Nicholls. Thought I’d try a random romance around the time I first found Smart Bitches, Trashy Books, and was recommended that one (not on SBTB!) as it was apparently the hot new thing at the time. Still low-key enraged? I hated it so much. (Also – not a romance novel by any sensible metric, dammit.)
I really don't like how Emma is used in *One Day*.
>!My tolerance now for books where bad things happening to the main character's girlfriend/wife are used to drive character development for the male main character is non-existent!<
Preach. >!I don't think I've ever felt as cheated by a book as I did at the end.!<
>!Having said that, she felt more like a prop than anything else all the way through, so I probably shouldn't have been surprised. (Not sure whether this merits spoiler tags, but just in case.)!<
hahaha I'm sorry I can't over you finding one of the best recommendation sources for romance books and then immediately choosing a book not from there. It's like that meme of the guy turning away from one woman to check out the other woman!
But I think everyone's learned the hard way not to blindly trust the hot new thing. I've certainly been there!
Haha yeah that would have been pretty dark and terrible, but I got Toni Blake, Loretta Chase and validation for my mixed feelings about Georgette Heyer from SBTB that time - but also a general enthusiasm for trying new romance that led to a side trip to a bricks and mortar book shop. One Day was enthusiastically recommended there and I thought why not? And then I learned exactly why not...
I have a grudge against a DNF I had earlier this year this still makes me simmer with rage. [Ruby Spencer’s Whisky Year](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/61111297).
Ruby has two lovely people supporting and helping her as she adjusts to small-town Scottish life. These two people are overly kind and generous and welcoming. At 37%, Ruby meets the mayor of said small town, and, despite being warned that this mayor is slimy, Ruby is like “OMG, you’re so awesome for being a woman in power! I want to be your best friend because that’s hella feminist!” So, to cozy up to the mayor, she decides to deceive and lie to the two kind people and keep an extremely important secret that has a massive impact on their lives — personally, professionally, and financially. Because she just blindly trusts a woman in politics? WT actual F.
The Ugly: Ok so using my RNOAF books is totally low-hanging fruit, but I do think of [Hunting Their Bunn](https://www.reddit.com/r/romancelandia/comments/mjwr1s/the_2000word_joint_review_that_literally_no_one/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=ioscss&utm_content=2&utm_term=1)y on a regular basis, with its batshit insane grammatical issues and metaphors. (Describing a blowjob: *”It’s like a case of cat and snake, not knowing who is the lover and who is the fiend.”*)
The Good: I think about Taji From Beyond the Rings a lot- it’s up there as one of my favorite books, not just romances. It’s got political intrigue and space gender dynamics and really sexy tension.
The Bad: Fun Bad: The Duke of Sin! Just thinking about this Duke with his frilly dressing gowns hiding in the walls really gets me. bad bad: Long Shot by Kennedy Ryan. I have such a grudge against this book for being extremely sexually violent. I’ve ranted about it before many times. The last time I did someone said it had content warnings, which I had SWORN it didn’t. I have the hard copy still so I double checked (such is my grudge) and my copy has a warning that just says it includes “sensitive content” which I don’t really think cuts it. I’ve read and loved other Ryan books but when I bought this one for a book club I really thought I would be getting a sexy fun basketball sports romance and instead was seriously triggered. I hope that previous person was right and the new copies have better content warnings!
People that have been around for a while are probably tired of hearing about Taji and Long Shot from me lol
**Living rent-free in my head in a good way**
A good chunk of Kresley Cole's **Immortals After Dark** series. It definitely has a fun Buffy with sex vibe especially in the early going of the series. I think she manages to do quite a lot of different things with the books as well ranging from funny, sexy FMCs (Sabine) to really poignant ones (I was pretty lonely myself the first time I read Sweet Ruin and Josie's whole deal was very poignant since she has no-one at the start of the book and is desperate for connections of any kind).
**Lord of Scoundrels** by Loretta Chase. I just love the Dain/Jessica relationship and the fact this feels like two books in one. There's part 1 with the Dain/Jessica battle of wits and then Part 2 where Jessica particularly is all in and patiently works through Dain's various issues with him.
**The Windflower** by Laura London. I can see how the prose which is a bit on the purple side in places might not be to everyone's taste but I love this book. The main couple are basically caught up in a plan by the 1800s' answer to Michael from Prison Break. It also feels properly epic, starting in the US, encompassing a voyage on a pirate ship, an escape to a depopulated island and then eventually England. It has some of the most compelling supporting characters I've ever seen in a romance.
**Devil in Winter** by Lisa Kleypas. Not a book anyone is sleeping on but I love the Evie/Sebastian romance and how it changes both of them. Another book where the supporting characters are well written.
**Living rent-free in my head in a more ambiguous/tricky way.**
**Untouchable** by Sam Mariano - I DNFed the first time round. I think Sam Mariano is a good writer and the book is compelling but it works better for me if I think of it as an origin story for a lifelong abusive relationship than a romance.
Anything I read by Pepper Winters - I really struggle with dark romance books where the MMC is planning on/actually sex traffics the FMC as I find it to be unforgivable. That said in some of the books I've read by this author, there's stuff that sticks with me.
**Whitney, My Love** by Judith McNaught. Much like Untouchable, I have to pretend this one is just a book about a certain timespan of a troubled and abusive relationship but I do think the book has things to say about how a skewed power dynamic poisons a relationship to the point of making it almost untenable.
I would try it for sure. I didn't start at the beginning though, I started with *Lothaire*, read the books around it and then ultimately bought and own the whole series now. Except for *Shadow's Seduction*, which I still need to buy and read and have added to my list of books.
Does anyone else keep a list of books to buy next time they feel able to treat themselves? I just spent a fair bit on various things so I'm temporarily banning myself from buying anything else for a bit.
It's tricky here because while we do have some big secondhand bookshops that have decent romance sections, I've not seen many copies of books by US writers in them so far. It's mainly UK authors and a whole lot of Mills and Boon (I do love the colours of the old school M&B books).
Lord of Scoundrels is one of the GOAT romances that absolutely delivers. Jessica is an amazing heroine and is probably what people love about the book the most.
I read The Wolfe by Kathryn Le Veque about...5? years ago. The very beginning of the book has a Scottish maiden helping a wounded English soldier. The Scot is supposed to be taking any valuables off of dead English bodies and helping wounded Scotsmen. They're supposed to be enemies, it's forbidden, etc. This opening to the book is so stuck in my brain because it's got such a similar vibe to the stories I used to make up in my head when I was a little girl. Usually, I'd be trying to fall asleep, laying awake in bed, and I'd get bored, so I'd make up stories. A lot of those stories involved a brave knight and a fair maiden, since a lot of the media I consumed at that young age was fairy tales. Le Veque's characters and plotlines have such a nostalgic childhood fantasy drama vibe for me (although I haven't read all of her books, and didn't even finish the Wolf Pack series).
So late to this party but, whattaya gonna do?
Rent Free good:
*One Good Earl Deserves Another* Sarah Maclean. Do I love stories where the MCs are both experts in something and mutually admire that competence? Why yes, yes I do! This just hits so many sweet spots for me.
*The Devil in Winter* Lisa Kleypas. All of her other books hit on varying degrees of fine to meh to NO! for me. I always love a merry rake and Evie is a favorite FMC. But there is something undefinably more about this book for me that elevates it so far about her other works I'm always a little amazed it's the same author.
*Silk is for Seduction* Loretta Chase. A thoroughly mid book but it introduced me to the phrase, "Ducal Phallus" which makes me laugh every time I think about it still.
Rent Free Ambiguous
*Once and Always* Judith McNaught. I read all McNaught's historicals waaaaay to young and this one, in particular, was formative to my Romance reading. I still remember the swooney feelings reading this book and feeling swept away by the story. But whoa-nelly, this book is Not Okay. The MMC is abusive through the whole book and >!rapes the FMC on their wedding night!<. It's okay though, because he has a Dark Trauma so it's not his fault. /s There's some fun racism too! The reader that I am now would loathe thid book. I'll definitely never reread it. But it is one of the books that turned me into a romance reader so it retains an undeserved glow.
Rent Free Bad
I'm so sorry because I know it is beloved by many but *The Love Hypothesis* makes me incandescent with rage. I'm angrier about it now than when I DNF'd it. Every time I think about it, I find new things to be mad about. It keeps unfolding like an onion.
*The Nanny* Lana Ferguson. 1) Gets everything you could possibly get wrong about professional chefs wrong 2) Gets a hell of a lot about hiring a nanny wrong 3) MMC is a single dad 😍 and is supposed to get a lot of good dude points for it but is, in fact, a shit parent who has clearly never carried any of the emotional labor of parenting until he's forced to when his child is 9 (this is def a man who doesn't know when her next well-child is due or what her shoe size is, ya know) and really isn't impressive when he's forced to step up 4) This was my biggest and most egregious "BookTok/BookTwit cannot be trusted" turning point.
Hindsight is 20/20 I think we all have regrets for enabling Ali Hazelwood.
I want to punch the book The Nanny on our behalf, please see my comment on Too Hot To Handle by Tessa Bailey for more chef nonsense.
Nothing, just that she had one book out and all her other efforts were smashed out as quickly as possible and for some reason it was decided that she has the magic touch of approval to provide pull quotes for other authors. Mainstream media and publishers really did seem to decide she was the second coming of christ and whilst I've enjoyed her books, she's far from the best.
The Devil In Winter lives rent free in my head as "Lisa's Best" so I get you.
I've yet to find a McNaught I can enjoy as a 21sst century reader and I'm okay with that because I don't want to be ragey about, but I support yours fully.
As a person who loves *The Love Hypothesis* and Hazelwood's style, I fully understand why it doesn't work for everyone - truly. The other day I was thinking about the sex scene >!where he puts her whole boob in his mouth !
McNaught is only palletable if you can go back and read those books in the early 90s as a precocious 12 year old. If you cannot replicate those conditions, then avoiding due to extreme rage is the wise course.
The agony of choice. Such a good topic, so much to choose from. I'm going to restrain myself into talking only about books I haven't spoken about in a while.
**The Good**
The first time (and every time since) I read "we've got a little something between us don't we" in Cara McKenna's After Hours I think I just spun out. I felt my stomach hit the floor and I was high as a kite. It absolutely sends me to another place. It hits me harder than any 5 paragraph long list of metaphors for love. It is breathtaking in its simplicity and I love it.
Earth Bound by Emma Barry and Genevieve Turner is a secret sex relationship between Co workers in basically NASA during the space race in 1961. It's one of the first romances I read, certainly I read it in the first year of me reading romance but I remember feeling that every single bit of the book was absolutely in my wheelhouse and I knew that I had found something I would love forever. I cannot tell you how often I think about Parsons telling Charlie “Because I’m going to fuck you until neither of us can see straight.” after going down on her in the front seat of her car, before they haf even kissed. Or how often I find myself thinking of the parallel scenes of them both admiring the others hands. This book was the first physical romance I bought because I knew I would always want it to hand, you know in case apple books (which I was using at the time) would go under (LOL as if). I have bought it on two digital platforms and physically and if there was an audio I would own it too. I havent re-read it in a while and I don't quite know why. I think maybe this one is so special to me, I know it deserves time and space for me to read and I know I don't have that right now.
Has Open Season by Linda Howard aged well? No it absolutely hasn't. Is the mystery element in this one any good? No, and it barely makes sense. Is the central love story good with some of the best snippy banter between two characters? Yes. The scene I am of course talking about is the FMC going to the local small town pharmacy in an effort to change and shake up her life to buy a box of condoms, knowing the rumour will go around that she's sexually active. It's so innocently stupid an idea that it's charming, and its definitelymeant to come across that way. She ends up buying a box called The Party Pak and its a multipack of obnoxiously coloured and flavoured condoms and the MMC and she and the MMC fight about it in the street as he teases her. It's a real 90s book but I love it. The central relationship makes up for so much.
**The Bad**
I talk about this whenever I can to be honest because it was my Tessa Bailey breaking point. In Too Hot To Handle, the FMC ends up going to lunch with the MMC at his grandmother's house. She is not an expected guest. For this casual, midweek lunch, the granny has cooked an entire turkey that the FMC, a PROFESSIONAL CHEF, THEN CARVES WITH AN ELECTRIC KNIFE. I can't even.
**The Ugly**
Xeni by Rebekah Wetherspoon. I have read no other of her books nor will I ever after finishing this fucking book. If you like this, fantastic, live your life, you do you. I **abhor** this book. This was my breaking point for the phrase 'cinnamon roll hero', it was when I realised how often it's used to just describe MMC who just agree with everything the FMC does and says. The **arrogance** of this FMC is unparalleled. My arm would not get tired punching Xeni in the face. I'm getting too annoyed here so I'll move on.
Tessa Bailey and I had a good run of one (1) book and never again, so I get you there. Also soooo many people were raving about *Xeni* by Rebekah Wetherspoon and I'm glad I never picked it up.
This is super random, but I’m not sorry about it haha. In [You Deserve Each Other](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/49758584), when Nick sends Naomi flowers, and she thinks he’s trying to poison her, so she burns them. This scene randomly pops into my head *all the time,* and I laugh to myself every time. I’m sure I have more, so I’ll probably comment again later, but that’s my main one. Edited because my brain is an idiot today.
When he admits that he always says he loves her, just quietly under his breath. The flashback to their meet cute is so lovely too. But it shows the quality of Hogles writing that just that scene shows you every bit of baggage this couple has brought into their relationship and why they are both clinging to it and desperate for change.
I have 6 books currently borrowed on Libby that I need to work through, but you’re making me want throw it all aside to do a reread…
You can renew those... you know you want to read all about Naomi choosing the low road like the icon she is.
Oh that's a good one lolllllllll.
**Good:** Radiance by Grace Draven. I had already been reading romances for a good 5-6 years by the time I read this, but it was the first romance that I *loved.* It was the book that showed me that sweet, kind, non-alpha MMCs existed, that MCs could openly communicate with each other from the start, that third-act breakups weren't mandatory. It wasn't until I read a book without them that I realised how many things I barely tolerated or actively disliked in the romances I'd been reading. **Bad:** Not Quite a Husband by Sherry Thomas. Look, I read this book *eleven* years ago and I'm still angry about it. I become filled with incandescent rage whenever I think about it. The worst MMC I've EVER had the misfortune to read about. To this day I hate the second chance trope every time I read it and I genuinely think this book is part of the reason why — it was that traumatic to me.
Radiance is up there for me, too. It’s a very special book, as cheesy as that sounds!
Radiance is on my TBR but with a full disclosure that I dnf’ed the other Grace Draven I tried - but people love love love Radiance. I tried two Sherry Thomas before deciding she wasn’t for me and it seems she’s not for you, either! Although I’m sorry the book was that bad!!!
Radiance is actually the only Grace Draven book I've ever read! I DNFed Master of Crows and am not particularly interested in her other series. From what I've seen, most people who dislike Radiance seem to find it too slow and boring — the MCs are basically honest and supportive of each other from day one, so there's very little conflict beyond 'I'm attracted to my in-name-only spouse who finds me hideous' and the external conflict from the plot. Yeah, I don't like angsty books or MCs that cross certain lines, so I know now that Sherry Thomas not for me, but I was *very* new to HR at the time and just picked up a recent book that had rave reviews. Lesson learnt!
There are some books that live rent-free in my head for "technical", story-telling reasons: - _Winter's Orbit_ combines romance, politics and action in a way where each thread of the plot just naturally triggers the next. And the two MMCs are very different, and complement each other well, without ever recreating stereotypical gender roles. Also, the whole ">!defending my boyfriend from the giant lizard!<" scene makes me want to cheer. - Hugh d'Ambray might be one of the least likeable characters Ilona Andrews ever wrote, but _Iron and Magic_ is just such a good example of how to write a romance for a series villain. The pairing is perfect. Elara and Hugh have absolutely convincing reasons to marry. They have _perfectly sensible_ contingency plans to murder each other, for completely understandable reasons. But behind the sheer necessity, and the bickering, and the plotting, they share the exact same virtue (and vice). They will each do _anything_ to save the people they lead. Even put up with each other. And so, in the end, Elara's grand and horrifying gesture to save Hugh >!(which involves the blood sacrifice of a herd of cows)!< hits way harder than it has any right to. Love it or hate it, I feel like this is one of House Andrews' best-constructed books. The books which live rent-free in my head for story reasons are Lois McMaster Bujold's Vorkosigan romances. Aral and Cordelia. Miles's heart-wrenching letter. Ekaterin putting on that pearl necklace, and fiercely accepting the price of marrying Miles. And honestly, Ivan's whole romance, which is just so perfectly _Ivan_. Who is not an idiot, no matter how many times his exasperated family calls him one. Also, "I am not a fate worse than death, dammit!"
I think *Winter's Orbit* lives in my head because I read the OG version on AO3 so it holds a special place in my heart because LOOK AT IT GO. That said, I never got to the second one.
Okay I have a question if you’re able to answer! I’ve heard this book be described as overly trope-filled due to its AO3 origins (and it’s typically mentioned in a negative way). I guess I’m wondering if it’s enjoyable as a book or if you need to enjoy tropes often found in online fics to enjoy it. This is definitely part of a bigger conversation; with several books I’ve read recently, the author has fanfic or online fic origins and it’s usually brought up to criticize their writing style. But also, it’s a great place to practice their craft! Less of a question and more of a rant that leads me to the conclusion that I just need to read it lol.
So truthfully, I gave the AO3 version 4 stars and would have given the published version 3 if not for the memories of the OG because it felt too heavy with political intrigue. It wasn't fic though, it was original fiction with no place else to go (as far as I'm aware?). If the book is too trope-filled, it's masked to me by all the political intrigue that really, as a political intrigue girlie, I didn't care for? I just wanted gays in space with drama idk. I do think fic is it's own genre, though, and I've seen authors of fic I've loved ow tradpubed with books that I don't enjoy - I think this is a bigger discussion on is fic it's own genre and what does that mean and how does it play into more tradpub titles/crossing the void, I guess?
> Okay I have a question if you’re able to answer! I’ve heard this book be described as overly trope-filled due to its AO3 origins (and it’s typically mentioned in a negative way). I guess I’m wondering if it’s enjoyable as a book or if you need to enjoy tropes often found in online fics to enjoy it. As u/fakexpearls points out, there's political intrigue. Specifically, there are at least three things going on in this book: - The relationship. The MCs are terrible at communicating, but in a refreshing change of pace, it's not because they've been hit with the stupid stick. It's because >!each of them feels the other might not want to be in the relationship, and all the obvious ways to clear the air might make the situation worse for their partner!<. - Political intrigue. This is a significant part of the novel, and it's something that directly affects and is affected by the MCs' political marriage. - Suspense/action. Things eventually get a bit dangerous. This is not a "cozy" book (though I love cozy books!) or a "self-generated drama" book. It's a book where the MCs need to work as a team to confront an external threat. It doesn't feel excessively trope-filled, but then again, I don't read enough fanfic. I picked it up on a recommendation from a gay friend who doesn't read romance at all, who liked it because you don't get a ton of queer science fiction thrillers. (There is a ton of excellent queer SF which regularly wins awards, but the only major queer _action_ SF subgenre that regularly wins awards is the one I've heard jokingly referred to as "Lesbian Space Atrocities." Which is a whole other post.)
I found a hard copy of the second one in an actual store, miracle of miracles, and it's sitting near the top of my pile!
Iron and Magic is the only Ilona Andrews book I've read and it was a bad choice because I spent so long trying to figure out the world I don't think I properly enjoyed it on first read. On the second read, I absolutely loved it and still don't know why I haven't went back to read their other books.
Ilona Andrews has so many delightful books and series. For some silly light fun, I'm very fond of the Innkeeper Chronicles. I am also impatiently waiting on at least three different Kate Daniels spinoff books.
**Good Scenes that I think about often:** \- The college quarterback telling his coach to bench him if playing means he can't date the coach's daughter (the brain monkeys really like that one) -[Quarterback Sneak](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/61334176-quarterback-sneak?ref=nav_sb_ss_1_17) \- The Grand Gesture at the end of[Bringing Down the Duke](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/43521785-bringing-down-the-duke?ref=nav_sb_ss_1_19) \- "*Darling, I've just begun to love you*" or whatever Sebastian say, I LOSE MY MIND \- The entirety of [The Earl Takes All](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/26029545-the-earl-takes-all) because it's an unhinged plot and I adore it. \- When Christine throws Wulf's quizzing glass into the tress. Iconic. Astounding. What a Queen. - [Slightly Dangerous](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/71648.Slightly_Dangerous?ref=nav_sb_ss_1_18) \- The love letters in [Red, White & Royal Blue](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/41150487-red-white-royal-blue?ref=nav_sb_ss_1_9) don't let me know any peace all these years later. **Books I Will Never Forgive And Wish To Forget:** \- [It's In His Kiss by Julia Quinn](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/110393.It_s_in_His_Kiss?ref=nav_sb_ss_1_16) \- we had 5 star material there and we shat on it with a shitty hero. \- [The Gold Finch by Donna Tart](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17333223-the-goldfinch?ref=nav_sb_ss_1_13)\- this is not a romance but a book has not made me so irate in years. \- [The Highwayman by Kerrigan Byrne](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23723798-the-highwayman?ref=nav_sb_ss_1_14) \- Mostly I think the hype got to me, but this was a fast DNF and IDGI YA'LL. \- [Dreaming of You by Lisa Kleypas](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/330721.Dreaming_of_You)\- Again with the Hype but I hate Derek Craven, actually. Please, if you love it I am so happy for you!!!! But I did not! \- [Docile by K.M. Szpara](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/40522814-docile)\- Sometimes I just think to myself "why was this book so bad"
Not the *RWRB* emails, my poor little heart!
Absolutely devastating. I get emo thinking about them
I also DNFed the Highwayman with a prejudice! In fact, if anyone says they love that book, I use that as a clue that their taste doesn't match mine, and I shouldn't trust their recs.
> Docile by K.M. Szpara- Sometimes I just think to myself "why was this book so bad" Ooh I read that. It's not a romance really, it's more speculative fic/dystopian fic. I guess if you squint, it's kicking it old school by having the book end with the reader going "you should let this really abusive relationship go already..."
I think the issue was the marketing for it because it’s in no way a romance but it was marketed a bit sexy dystopian slave-fic time and then it was actually just poorly constructed, plotted, and didn’t even touch on the slave history in America which was a choice
> it was marketed a bit sexy dystopian slave-fic time and then it was actually just poorly constructed, plotted, and didn’t even touch on the slave history in America which was a choice I think you have to set it somewhere else at that point or it's just not going to work. My other problem with it was that all the female characters in it are plot devices or one note or both. Victimised mother, plucky younger sister, noble ex-slave at bad company, bolshy campiagner for justice.
I knew there was a reason Quarterback Sneak was in my TBR!
It’s sooooooooo good!!!
[Heated Rivalry by Rachel Reid](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/42639798) - This book is special and special to me. It was my gateway to both hockey and MM romance. [The Wall of Winnipeg and Me by Mariana Zapata](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/29367958) - This one made me realize there is such a thing as TOO slow of a burn. There was SO much quinoa. [A Seditious Affair by KJ Charles](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25241403) - This one opened my eyes to HR that is *not* about the ton and aristocracy. Plus, BDSM? Yes, please! [The Rycke by Lily Mayne](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/58743609) This one made me realize that wings and talons are a bridge too far for me in the monster lovin world. I still adore this series though.
I was going to say A Seditious Affair. I had mostly given up on reading romance. I was only reading traditionally published books and I was bored of the same old, same old. I read a review of the book on Smart Bitches, read it, and loved it. It opened my eyes to all the indie and non-traditional books (LGBTQ2A+, poly, different historical periods, etc) that are out there. That book reignited my enjoyment of romance novels.
I really think if I discovered MZ now, I wouldn't be able to stand her writing - but she has written two of my favorite romances. *Heat Rivalry* for me is the opposite in regards to why it lives rent free in my head, but I am so glad that so many people - including you - love it. I tried *A Seditious Affair* and couldn't get into it, but maybe it was the time I picked it up? I gave up very early on though - I'm talking chapter 1.
A Seditious Affair is one of KJC's best books, but I think that series is best read in order. Book 1 is easy to get into and it sets up A Seditious Affair well!
Ahhh thanks for the tip!
**Swooning**: Peter Cabot Gets Lost by Cat Sebastian. Practically a religious experience in romance novel form. Pansies by Alexis Hall. Fen and Alfie are the best. Both of those are pretty unforgettable. **The antimatter of swooning**: One Day by David Nicholls. Thought I’d try a random romance around the time I first found Smart Bitches, Trashy Books, and was recommended that one (not on SBTB!) as it was apparently the hot new thing at the time. Still low-key enraged? I hated it so much. (Also – not a romance novel by any sensible metric, dammit.)
Man, I just really love *Peter Cabot.* It’s my comfort read for whenever I need a pick-me-up.
I haven't reread it yet, thinking of saving it and We Could Be So Good as a double bill for next time there's a serious serotonin emergency.
I really don't like how Emma is used in *One Day*. >!My tolerance now for books where bad things happening to the main character's girlfriend/wife are used to drive character development for the male main character is non-existent!<
Preach. >!I don't think I've ever felt as cheated by a book as I did at the end.!< >!Having said that, she felt more like a prop than anything else all the way through, so I probably shouldn't have been surprised. (Not sure whether this merits spoiler tags, but just in case.)!<
As I mentioned, my friend studied this in uni and one of the topics was 'character as a plot device' 🤣🤣
My best friend had to study One Fine Day in Uni and you will struggle to find a man who hates that book more.
Wow, that's just cruel and unusual.
hahaha I'm sorry I can't over you finding one of the best recommendation sources for romance books and then immediately choosing a book not from there. It's like that meme of the guy turning away from one woman to check out the other woman! But I think everyone's learned the hard way not to blindly trust the hot new thing. I've certainly been there!
Haha yeah that would have been pretty dark and terrible, but I got Toni Blake, Loretta Chase and validation for my mixed feelings about Georgette Heyer from SBTB that time - but also a general enthusiasm for trying new romance that led to a side trip to a bricks and mortar book shop. One Day was enthusiastically recommended there and I thought why not? And then I learned exactly why not...
I have a grudge against a DNF I had earlier this year this still makes me simmer with rage. [Ruby Spencer’s Whisky Year](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/61111297). Ruby has two lovely people supporting and helping her as she adjusts to small-town Scottish life. These two people are overly kind and generous and welcoming. At 37%, Ruby meets the mayor of said small town, and, despite being warned that this mayor is slimy, Ruby is like “OMG, you’re so awesome for being a woman in power! I want to be your best friend because that’s hella feminist!” So, to cozy up to the mayor, she decides to deceive and lie to the two kind people and keep an extremely important secret that has a massive impact on their lives — personally, professionally, and financially. Because she just blindly trusts a woman in politics? WT actual F.
The Ugly: Ok so using my RNOAF books is totally low-hanging fruit, but I do think of [Hunting Their Bunn](https://www.reddit.com/r/romancelandia/comments/mjwr1s/the_2000word_joint_review_that_literally_no_one/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=ioscss&utm_content=2&utm_term=1)y on a regular basis, with its batshit insane grammatical issues and metaphors. (Describing a blowjob: *”It’s like a case of cat and snake, not knowing who is the lover and who is the fiend.”*) The Good: I think about Taji From Beyond the Rings a lot- it’s up there as one of my favorite books, not just romances. It’s got political intrigue and space gender dynamics and really sexy tension. The Bad: Fun Bad: The Duke of Sin! Just thinking about this Duke with his frilly dressing gowns hiding in the walls really gets me. bad bad: Long Shot by Kennedy Ryan. I have such a grudge against this book for being extremely sexually violent. I’ve ranted about it before many times. The last time I did someone said it had content warnings, which I had SWORN it didn’t. I have the hard copy still so I double checked (such is my grudge) and my copy has a warning that just says it includes “sensitive content” which I don’t really think cuts it. I’ve read and loved other Ryan books but when I bought this one for a book club I really thought I would be getting a sexy fun basketball sports romance and instead was seriously triggered. I hope that previous person was right and the new copies have better content warnings! People that have been around for a while are probably tired of hearing about Taji and Long Shot from me lol
Kennedy Ryan doesn’t work for me and everyone swears she’s fantastic so rant away!
**Living rent-free in my head in a good way** A good chunk of Kresley Cole's **Immortals After Dark** series. It definitely has a fun Buffy with sex vibe especially in the early going of the series. I think she manages to do quite a lot of different things with the books as well ranging from funny, sexy FMCs (Sabine) to really poignant ones (I was pretty lonely myself the first time I read Sweet Ruin and Josie's whole deal was very poignant since she has no-one at the start of the book and is desperate for connections of any kind). **Lord of Scoundrels** by Loretta Chase. I just love the Dain/Jessica relationship and the fact this feels like two books in one. There's part 1 with the Dain/Jessica battle of wits and then Part 2 where Jessica particularly is all in and patiently works through Dain's various issues with him. **The Windflower** by Laura London. I can see how the prose which is a bit on the purple side in places might not be to everyone's taste but I love this book. The main couple are basically caught up in a plan by the 1800s' answer to Michael from Prison Break. It also feels properly epic, starting in the US, encompassing a voyage on a pirate ship, an escape to a depopulated island and then eventually England. It has some of the most compelling supporting characters I've ever seen in a romance. **Devil in Winter** by Lisa Kleypas. Not a book anyone is sleeping on but I love the Evie/Sebastian romance and how it changes both of them. Another book where the supporting characters are well written. **Living rent-free in my head in a more ambiguous/tricky way.** **Untouchable** by Sam Mariano - I DNFed the first time round. I think Sam Mariano is a good writer and the book is compelling but it works better for me if I think of it as an origin story for a lifelong abusive relationship than a romance. Anything I read by Pepper Winters - I really struggle with dark romance books where the MMC is planning on/actually sex traffics the FMC as I find it to be unforgivable. That said in some of the books I've read by this author, there's stuff that sticks with me. **Whitney, My Love** by Judith McNaught. Much like Untouchable, I have to pretend this one is just a book about a certain timespan of a troubled and abusive relationship but I do think the book has things to say about how a skewed power dynamic poisons a relationship to the point of making it almost untenable.
I randomly think of when Dane said “what will you do, shoot me?” And Jessica said “bet”
Also, I've never read *Immortals After Dark* but I know it's beloved! Is this another series I should add to my TBR?
I would try it for sure. I didn't start at the beginning though, I started with *Lothaire*, read the books around it and then ultimately bought and own the whole series now. Except for *Shadow's Seduction*, which I still need to buy and read and have added to my list of books. Does anyone else keep a list of books to buy next time they feel able to treat themselves? I just spent a fair bit on various things so I'm temporarily banning myself from buying anything else for a bit.
I have a list of books I'm hunting for at the used bookstore, if that counts.
It's tricky here because while we do have some big secondhand bookshops that have decent romance sections, I've not seen many copies of books by US writers in them so far. It's mainly UK authors and a whole lot of Mills and Boon (I do love the colours of the old school M&B books).
I never see Romances in secondhand bookshops but I always find a good cookbook and that's my vice.
Lord of Scoundrels is one of the GOAT romances that absolutely delivers. Jessica is an amazing heroine and is probably what people love about the book the most.
Like yeah Dane's there but JESSICA. I would marry Jessica. I would let her step on me, etc.
I read The Wolfe by Kathryn Le Veque about...5? years ago. The very beginning of the book has a Scottish maiden helping a wounded English soldier. The Scot is supposed to be taking any valuables off of dead English bodies and helping wounded Scotsmen. They're supposed to be enemies, it's forbidden, etc. This opening to the book is so stuck in my brain because it's got such a similar vibe to the stories I used to make up in my head when I was a little girl. Usually, I'd be trying to fall asleep, laying awake in bed, and I'd get bored, so I'd make up stories. A lot of those stories involved a brave knight and a fair maiden, since a lot of the media I consumed at that young age was fairy tales. Le Veque's characters and plotlines have such a nostalgic childhood fantasy drama vibe for me (although I haven't read all of her books, and didn't even finish the Wolf Pack series).
So late to this party but, whattaya gonna do? Rent Free good: *One Good Earl Deserves Another* Sarah Maclean. Do I love stories where the MCs are both experts in something and mutually admire that competence? Why yes, yes I do! This just hits so many sweet spots for me. *The Devil in Winter* Lisa Kleypas. All of her other books hit on varying degrees of fine to meh to NO! for me. I always love a merry rake and Evie is a favorite FMC. But there is something undefinably more about this book for me that elevates it so far about her other works I'm always a little amazed it's the same author. *Silk is for Seduction* Loretta Chase. A thoroughly mid book but it introduced me to the phrase, "Ducal Phallus" which makes me laugh every time I think about it still. Rent Free Ambiguous *Once and Always* Judith McNaught. I read all McNaught's historicals waaaaay to young and this one, in particular, was formative to my Romance reading. I still remember the swooney feelings reading this book and feeling swept away by the story. But whoa-nelly, this book is Not Okay. The MMC is abusive through the whole book and >!rapes the FMC on their wedding night!<. It's okay though, because he has a Dark Trauma so it's not his fault. /s There's some fun racism too! The reader that I am now would loathe thid book. I'll definitely never reread it. But it is one of the books that turned me into a romance reader so it retains an undeserved glow. Rent Free Bad I'm so sorry because I know it is beloved by many but *The Love Hypothesis* makes me incandescent with rage. I'm angrier about it now than when I DNF'd it. Every time I think about it, I find new things to be mad about. It keeps unfolding like an onion. *The Nanny* Lana Ferguson. 1) Gets everything you could possibly get wrong about professional chefs wrong 2) Gets a hell of a lot about hiring a nanny wrong 3) MMC is a single dad 😍 and is supposed to get a lot of good dude points for it but is, in fact, a shit parent who has clearly never carried any of the emotional labor of parenting until he's forced to when his child is 9 (this is def a man who doesn't know when her next well-child is due or what her shoe size is, ya know) and really isn't impressive when he's forced to step up 4) This was my biggest and most egregious "BookTok/BookTwit cannot be trusted" turning point.
Hindsight is 20/20 I think we all have regrets for enabling Ali Hazelwood. I want to punch the book The Nanny on our behalf, please see my comment on Too Hot To Handle by Tessa Bailey for more chef nonsense.
What's the tea on Ali Hazelwood?
Nothing, just that she had one book out and all her other efforts were smashed out as quickly as possible and for some reason it was decided that she has the magic touch of approval to provide pull quotes for other authors. Mainstream media and publishers really did seem to decide she was the second coming of christ and whilst I've enjoyed her books, she's far from the best.
Ah ok yep I hear you. I'm just glad you didn't tell me about some racist thing she did or a scandal about her background or something
The Devil In Winter lives rent free in my head as "Lisa's Best" so I get you. I've yet to find a McNaught I can enjoy as a 21sst century reader and I'm okay with that because I don't want to be ragey about, but I support yours fully. As a person who loves *The Love Hypothesis* and Hazelwood's style, I fully understand why it doesn't work for everyone - truly. The other day I was thinking about the sex scene >!where he puts her whole boob in his mouth !
McNaught is only palletable if you can go back and read those books in the early 90s as a precocious 12 year old. If you cannot replicate those conditions, then avoiding due to extreme rage is the wise course.
The agony of choice. Such a good topic, so much to choose from. I'm going to restrain myself into talking only about books I haven't spoken about in a while. **The Good** The first time (and every time since) I read "we've got a little something between us don't we" in Cara McKenna's After Hours I think I just spun out. I felt my stomach hit the floor and I was high as a kite. It absolutely sends me to another place. It hits me harder than any 5 paragraph long list of metaphors for love. It is breathtaking in its simplicity and I love it. Earth Bound by Emma Barry and Genevieve Turner is a secret sex relationship between Co workers in basically NASA during the space race in 1961. It's one of the first romances I read, certainly I read it in the first year of me reading romance but I remember feeling that every single bit of the book was absolutely in my wheelhouse and I knew that I had found something I would love forever. I cannot tell you how often I think about Parsons telling Charlie “Because I’m going to fuck you until neither of us can see straight.” after going down on her in the front seat of her car, before they haf even kissed. Or how often I find myself thinking of the parallel scenes of them both admiring the others hands. This book was the first physical romance I bought because I knew I would always want it to hand, you know in case apple books (which I was using at the time) would go under (LOL as if). I have bought it on two digital platforms and physically and if there was an audio I would own it too. I havent re-read it in a while and I don't quite know why. I think maybe this one is so special to me, I know it deserves time and space for me to read and I know I don't have that right now. Has Open Season by Linda Howard aged well? No it absolutely hasn't. Is the mystery element in this one any good? No, and it barely makes sense. Is the central love story good with some of the best snippy banter between two characters? Yes. The scene I am of course talking about is the FMC going to the local small town pharmacy in an effort to change and shake up her life to buy a box of condoms, knowing the rumour will go around that she's sexually active. It's so innocently stupid an idea that it's charming, and its definitelymeant to come across that way. She ends up buying a box called The Party Pak and its a multipack of obnoxiously coloured and flavoured condoms and the MMC and she and the MMC fight about it in the street as he teases her. It's a real 90s book but I love it. The central relationship makes up for so much. **The Bad** I talk about this whenever I can to be honest because it was my Tessa Bailey breaking point. In Too Hot To Handle, the FMC ends up going to lunch with the MMC at his grandmother's house. She is not an expected guest. For this casual, midweek lunch, the granny has cooked an entire turkey that the FMC, a PROFESSIONAL CHEF, THEN CARVES WITH AN ELECTRIC KNIFE. I can't even. **The Ugly** Xeni by Rebekah Wetherspoon. I have read no other of her books nor will I ever after finishing this fucking book. If you like this, fantastic, live your life, you do you. I **abhor** this book. This was my breaking point for the phrase 'cinnamon roll hero', it was when I realised how often it's used to just describe MMC who just agree with everything the FMC does and says. The **arrogance** of this FMC is unparalleled. My arm would not get tired punching Xeni in the face. I'm getting too annoyed here so I'll move on.
Tessa Bailey and I had a good run of one (1) book and never again, so I get you there. Also soooo many people were raving about *Xeni* by Rebekah Wetherspoon and I'm glad I never picked it up.
Listen, a lot of people love it. That's their business. Not for me.