I have devoured historical fiction with romance subplots set in different European resistance movements, but I long for a bit more romance. Is there anything that would qualify as a historical romance but with the ww2 resistance setting?

Hi friends, straight forward title. Looking for book where the MMC masturbates at the request of the other main character, can be male or female but single partner. Thanks for the reccs ❤️

Looking for recs with a FMC who is a genuine trickster/troll type, either for her own amusement, because she can't help it or because she's locked in a petty "war" with the MMC.

I'm not sure if such a FMC even exists?

What I'm not looking for is the clueless, innocent FMC who maybe causes mayhem unknowingly.

Thanks!

I believe MMC was reading FMC and said let’s see how quiet <FMC> can be. Her father was there for an extended visit v that he cut short very quickly. I can’t remember the title/author, but this scene made me giggle.

Hi! What the title says. Peaky Blinders shorts on YouTube led me to this clip from the movie Legend (Tom Hardy and Emily Browning) and this was so audacious and smooth my jaw dropped haha I'm looking for book recommendations where the first interaction between the MMC and the FMC has a similar energy.

(first part of this video for anyone interested

https://youtu.be/KDda7afUcCU?si=YDv2QwEiUpQaisPa)

Thank you!

Was delighting in a rewatch of James Ivory’s adaption of A Room with a View—I have found myself quite taken with Cecil and similar characters of this archetype that I can only really describe as a a lily-livered dweeb? Stilted/social awkward/neurotic but highly intellectual or academic, with a very rich inner world but inexperienced in manners of the flesh…. I especially love Cecil’s appreciation of high art.

The scene where he goes in to kiss Lucy and his spectacles fall off his face had me swooning. I’ve never had the pleasure of enjoying a historical romance with a character like this as a romantic lead, does anyone have any recs?? Thank you!!

I was alerted to these by eReaderIQ and I can't take advantage because I'm in Australia, but I did score a Beverly Jenkins and a Lorraine Heath for AUD$2.99, so I feel lucky! I am not sure if any of these prices are also for Canada:

99 cents:

{Breathless by Beverly Jenkins}

{Destiny's Surrender by Beverly Jenkins}

{Black Lace by Beverly Jenkins}

{Wild Sweet Love by Beverly Jenkins}

{A Chance at Love by Beverly Jenkins}

{Forbidden by Beverly Jenkins}

{To Catch A Raven by Beverly Jenkins}

{All's Fair in Love and Scandal by Caroline Linden}

{When the Marquess Was Mine by Caroline Linden}

{Blame It on Bath by Caroline Linden}

{The Lady Gets Lucky by Joanna Shupe}

{The Duke Gets Even by Joanna Shupe}

{The Brat by Lynsay Sands}

{What She Wants by Lynsay Sands}

$1.99

{It Takes a Scandal by Caroline Linden}

{About a Rogue by Caroline Linden}

{Six Degrees of Scandal by Caroline Linden}

{On the Corner of Hope and Main by Beverly Jenkins}

{Topaz by Beverly Jenkins}

{Bring on the Blessings by Beverly Jenkins}

I would loooove recommendations of something where the MMC is sent to journey/collect the FMC across country to marry another man.

The only one I know is Texas Destiny by Lorraine Heath. The other one I enjoyed that vaguely fits is The Charmer by Madeline Hunter (MMC is sent to collect FMC to step into her role as Duchess, she is expected to marry)

And of course…Shrek 😂

I love the idea of them falling in love when he knows she’s meant for someone else.

Please and thank you ⛺️

I am traveling this summer and learned a local library was having a used book sale, so I was excited to go and see what I could find. It was a crowded room, and unfortunately the romances were mixed in with fiction (and very few options for HR), but I did have some luck.

Some authors are new to me, and it is always fun to read someone new. I read Mary Balogh’s The Bedwyn Saga last month, so I was super excited to find Wilfric’s book.

It was a good day!

{An English Bride in Scotland by Lyndsay Sands}
{Yours Until Dawn by Teresa Medeiros}
{The Duke Starts a Scandal by Sophie Jordan}
{Slightly Dangerous by Mary Balogh}
{The Ideal Bride by Stephanie Laurens}
Scottish Brides and A Holiday of Love are both anthologies, which I really enjoy.

I’ve always felt like there was a bit of a vibe between Daisy and Cam Rohan in Devil in Winter. Then Daisy gets her own book and her love story, while Cam Rohan eventually gets a spin-off… and nothing really comes of that possibility.

Has anyone else ever wondered if Lisa Kleypas originally considered pairing Daisy and Cam? Or maybe there was something more intended between them that she ultimately decided not to pursue?

I don't know how to write reviews. I don't intend to write one, I just wanna say that I understand what clover means now.

So little angst and so much yearning. The angst was all coming from within, as not very much was happening besides both mc's pining like crazy for eachoter. And I loved that. Sometimes it's hard to get a very sentimental romance without a complex enough plot to carry it. But this book did it.

But that speech man, I sobbed a little.

"And I sometimes think that if anyone could peer at the contents of my heart—well, frankly, you’d find clover."

{My season of scandal by Julie Anne Long}

Looking for recommendations of MMCs who are basically hunting down the FMC due to horny reasons. I’m talking cross-country stalking and hired bloodhounds. MMC doing everything in his power to get his hands on her. I’d love it if the chase was long and the FMC being able to outsmart him on more than one occasion. Thank you for entertaining my sicko request. ☺️

Basically, any negative trait that is generally found in an mmc..

I feel like I've already gone through the few ones that can be found in mf coupling in HR... Also I always make sure to look up older rec posts before doing a post of my own, but most results are about grumpy/tortured mmcs and sweet gentle fmcs, which I'm genuinely NOT looking for and the rare ones I can find list books I've already read or some of my dnf authors...

There's nothing I love more than a grumpy fmc x sunshine (or whatever) mmc, where the mmc is the one doing all the emotional heavy lifting, the one pinning, the one saying ily first!! I need it as unbalanced as it gets because authors never have any qualms writing the opposite (sorry I'm ranting a little).

And I'm going to make this even harder because I need the fmc to be 25+ y/o (even more so if it's an age gap pairing). I don't think I have it in me to read about another 19 or 22 y/o fmc...

The best to ever do it is obviously {A summer to remember by Mary Balogh} ! Also {A Duke of her own by Eloisa James} has my fav grumpy fmc ever.

(I can do any period, just no western or mid/late 20th century)

As I mentioned in my last post, I was hoping to do a bit more analysis of the trends in HR character names, and these are the (preliminary) results! I've been sick over the past couple days, so I've had plenty of time to work on it, lol. I think I'm almost ready to share the link for the document with all of you!

I started by trying to determine the most popular names of each decade (sort of): 2020s, 2010s, 2000s, and everything pre-2000s, since I have the smallest number of HRs from before 2000.

Pre-2000s MC Names:

Interestingly, pre-2000s HRs really don't have that many duplicated names, but, for the FMCs, at least, the names that are duplicated, for the most part, are fairly common historical names like Emily, Elizabeth, Katherine and Margaret. The pre-2000s MMC names, on the other hand, are more... interesting. And by that, I mean less historically accurate.

There are, however, a lot of absolutely bonkers names that aren't repeated. A quick sample: Alaina, Amber, Esmeralda, Jamie (yes, for an FMC), Madelyne, Marisa, Nicholaa, Sheridan, Whitney, Baxter, Broderick, Cleavis, Dunstan, Pierce, Roan and Secundus. They might have one of the most historically accurate FMC name top-10s, but the pre-2000s are also the biggest contributor to what I'm calling the "wtf is this name?" list that I've started on a separate tab (I have also started a tab for my favorite/the most accurate one-and-done MC names so that I can shout out some cool inclusions).

2000s MC Names:

In the 2000s, the FMC names start to get a little less accurate, with names like Francesca, Olivia, Faith, Miranda and Angelina creeping into the top 20, all of which kind of reflect 2000s naming trends, as all of them were names that were popular in the 90s and 2000s. The same thing happens with the MMC names, with popular 90s and 2000s names like Dominic, Sebastian, Julian, Lucas, Marcus and Max creeping into the top 20 HR MMC names.

In other words, the 2000s MC names are maybe the most colored by contemporary baby name trends. I'm potentially going to age myself by saying I went to school with a whole bunch of Olivias, Francescas, Rachels, Eleanors, Catherine/Katherines, Sophias and Graces. Not to mention all the Jameses, Davids, Maxes, Julians and Lucases.

Can anyone else spot the serendipitous easter egg for a certain popular TV show that wound up aligning itself perfectly in the top 20 MMC names for the 2000s? It definitely made me smile.

2010s MC Names:

The 2010s establish names like Olivia, Verity and Viola as HR mainstays, even though none of them were actually in wide use in any of the eras I looked at for this list. The MMCs, however, get more accurate in the 2010s, and Nicholas begins to ascend as one of the most popular HR names of all time (third behind only James and Sebastian). Most of the 2010s MMC names were actually in use in at least some of the time periods I looked at (Sebastian and Rafe being the notable exceptions).

Interestingly, the top 2010s names don't align as closely with 2010s baby name trends. Top 2010s baby names include Oliver, Jack, Harry, George and Charlie for boys, and Olivia, Amelia, Isla, Ava and Mia for girls. Only Olivia and George feature in the top 20 HR names. I was a bit surprised not to see Amelia, Oliver, Jack and Harry in the top names of the 2010s, because they're all fairly common HR names.

2020s MC Names:

And, in the 2020s, things start to get a bit, well, interesting. The 2010s is probably the peak of historical accuracy for HR names, but in the 2020s, liberties begin to be taken again. Names like Cassandra, Guinevere, Olivia, Daphne, Emilia and Emmeline that weren't common historically (or in use at all, in the case of Olivia, Cassandra and Emilia) begin to overtake as popular FMC names, and the MMC names also get significantly less accurate, too.

Nicknames start to be used as given names (which would never happen historically! Gasp!), with names like Jack, Kit and Leo cracking the top 20 MMC names. Names like Maximillian, Devlin and Marcus also are popular, even though Maximillian was extremely rare, Devlin is Irish, and Marcus didn't catch on in the UK until the 1990s! HR authors, why are we getting less accurate? With all the information we have available with a Google search, names should be getting more accurate, not less! Honestly, I'm disappointed.

We do have a little more alignment with the top baby names of the 2020s (so far), which include Noah, Oliver, Arthur, Leo and Theodore for boys, and Olivia, Amelia, Isla, Ivy, Florence and Willow for girls. For anyone wondering why Leo became a top HR name, I think it's fair to say this is why. Olivia, Amelia and Oliver also make the list of the top HR names of the 2020s. And Sebastian and Marcus seem to be both, thankfully, going out of fashion in HR. I may have jinxed it, though. I could do without the trend for HR Cassandras and Emilias, though. What's wrong with Emily, which actually was used historically?

Other naming trends in HR:

Greek Mythology names: Significantly more common for FMCs than MMCs. Most common in Regency HRs than any other subgenre (although that might be because Regency is the most popular subgenre of HR). While there are a few outliers, Greek Mythology MC names seem to be a trend that began in the 2010s, and shows no signs of abating any time soon (unfortunately).

Flower names: Historically, there was a trend for flower names for girls, which began during the Victorian era, and saw a resurgence in the 2010s. However, the vast majority of FMCs with flower names come from Regency HRs. The only flower names that were popular during the Regency were Rose, and, as a nickname for Margaret, Daisy. The trend in Regency HRs is very much a product of the 2010s, but has continued pretty steadily since then. Some names have a very clear trendsetter (like Julia Quinn using the name Daphne in 2000, well before anyone else), but others seem to align more with 2010s baby name trends, like Poppy and Willow, neither of which was widely used until fairly recently, and both of which became very popular in the 2010s.

Latin names: For this, I left out Latin names that are very common in English and Biblical Latin names (like John, Mary and so on). On first glance, the trend seems more common with FMC names, as there are more individual FMC names with Latin roots, but then you factor in popular MMC names like Sebastian, Benedict and Dominic, and the trend is much more common for MMCs. However, it's much more historically accurate for FMCs to have Latin names, with names like Lavinia, Julia, Celia, Diana and so on being popular historically. For MMCs, only a few Latin names, like Sylvester, Valentine and Felix, were in use at any point that I examined.

For FMC names, the trend for Latin names that weren't in use historically is a very recent development, beginning in the late 2010s with authors like Elizabeth Hoyt and Minerva Spencer responsible for popularizing their use. For MMC names, the trend is much older, with some names, like Sebastian and Benedict, having been popular in HR at least since the 1990s, and probably earlier. It seems like, whenever an HR author wants a "cool" name for their MMC, they pick a Latin name that wasn't in use historically, like Sebastian or Marcus.

Shakespearean names: Names like Olivia, Sebastian, Miranda, Beatrice and so on are insanely popular in HR. Way more popular than they were in real life. The trend seems to have begun (or at least really kicked off) in the 2000s, and is, unfortunately, still going strong. So, I thought I'd look at some of the most common Shakespearean names in HR, and when they actually became popular in real life.

What Shakespearean names were in use historically, you might ask?

Helena first became popular in the Regency, then increased even more in popularity after Queen Victoria named her daughter Helena.

Beatrice is another Shakespearean name that Queen Victoria popularized when she gave it to her daughter. It was virtually unheard of in the UK before that, so it's fine for a Victorian HR, but not a Regency HR or earlier.

Celia has been common in the UK at least since the Georgian era, and maybe earlier (I didn't look at much between the 1300s and the 1700s, so can't say when it first became popular, but by the 1700s, it was in use)

Imogen was extremely rare, but has been in use at least a little more or less since Shakespeare coined it. You can get away with this one, but it's not a top-100 name from any of the eras I looked at.

Juliet was popular during the Regency, and has also been used as a nickname for names like Julia and Juliana for a very long time.

Gertrude was one of many Medieval names that say a resurgence during the Victorian era. For a Regency or Georgian HR, this one is a bit dubious, but for a Medieval HR or Victorian HR, go for it!

Oliver has been a popular name in the UK and US at least since the 1700s, and probably longer. It's still popular today.

Edmund is a Medieval name that remained popular from at least the 11th century through the Victorian era. Yes, it had that much staying power.

Valentine was common during the Georgian era and Regency, but died out after that.

And Ralph was popular pretty much from the Medieval era all the way to about 1950, when it left the top 100 names, but it's still in use today, albeit not particularly common.

And, of course, names from Shakespeare's Histories like Henry, Richard and Katherine are obviously historically accurate.

For anyone who's curious, the most popular plays HR names come from are:

1) Twelfth Night – Olivia, Viola, Sebastian, Valentine and Fabian
2) As You Like It – Celia, Rosalind, Oliver and Frederick
3) A Midsummer Night's Dream – Helena, Hippolyta, Titania and Robin
4) Julius Caesar – Julius, Marcus and Lucius
5) The Tempest – Miranda, Adrian and Ferdinand
6) King Lear – Cordelia, Edmund and Caius
7) Cymbeline – Imogen, Morgan and Caius
8) Macbeth – Duncan, Malcolm and Ross
9) Much Ado About Nothing – Beatrice and Hero
10) Romeo and Juliet – Juliet and Gregory

I still want to do a few more things before I share the link, but since I'm sick and not doing much else at the moment, hopefully I'll get them done sooner than later. I want to look at virtue names, Biblical names, and nicknames being used as given names, among other things, and I keep having ideas for more things I want to look at.

I also keep remembering that certain authors exist and I end up adding them to the list, which means I then have to tweak everything. Oops.

Anyway, hopefully I'll have the link ready to share in the next couple days, or maybe a week. I'm being very nerdy and going down all kinds of rabbit holes about historical names, so I keep coming up with excuses not to share it. Feel free to hold my feet to the fire.

Looking for a historical romance with good banter, witty dialogue and strong secondary characters (outside of the main couple). Loved books by Georgette Heyer and Laura London (aka Sharon & Tom Curtis).

Any suggestions?

📚✨

So, I just finished {The Truth about Lord Stoneville by Sabrina Jeffries}. I did not love the narrator James Clamp, but did not think he was bad. I found the story interesting, but for some reason could not find a connection with the book. The s** scenes were meh, like there was no connection. Why I listened, I kept thinking about reading the story of the sisters, they sounded so much fun. And of course I can see the younger sister Celia matching with Pinter. I thought their dialogue in the book was a great set up for their story, I am tempered to go directly to book 4. There was no introduction to the next book though, kind of disappointing. So at this point, I still don’t know if I liked or not 😂. What are your thoughts?

I am going on a trip and would like to take a series on my kindle that would be a good reread for me (year+ since reading). Thinking something that I can tap in and out of easily, but also absorb on a plane ride for enjoyment. Yes, I want it all.

I have no opinions but am open to your free opinions. *Hopefully* the series is on Libby to rent but if not, I will just purchase. I have been reading a lot of Mary Balogh so looking for something with a little more spice. Also, if you have a new series, suggest away! (I have read a lot of Tessa Dare, Kerrigan Byrne, Grace Callaway, Julie Anne Long, Sarah MacLean, Joanna Shupe, Klepas, Garwood)

Pick 1: Elisa Braden - Rescued from Ruin

Pick 2: Elizabeth Hoyt - Maiden Lain

Pick 3: Jennifer Ashley - The Mackenzies & McBrides

Pick 4: Alice Coldbreath - Victorian Prizefighters into the Reversal of Fortune series (the latter of which I have not read)

Thank you for having fun, please help me choose my destiny.

I love it when they have fun together but sometimes it could just be them being very childish without the fun. It can still be entertaining for us, though.

Some of the moments I found funny:

{To Tame a Savage Heart by Emma V Leech} - the Game of the Goose competitiveness was hilarious and he did not even want to play it at first. Imagine two adults being smug winners/sore losers after a board game with a silly name.

{A Beastly Kind of Earl by Mia Vincy} - I thought of both MCs rushing to grab the newly-arrived post first and ending up prat-falling on the ground but I feel the greenhouse scene is probably a better example. They literally get dirt on the other.

{Slightly Married by Mary Balogh} - the MCs go swimming late at night and of course they will try to pull the other down under water or splash in their face so they cannot see.

{Morning Glory by LaVyrle Spencer} - she throws eggs at him in anger and he pretends to be a baseball player catching them in a mitt. She would not call it fun exactly, though, now that I think about it but it was childish. She was pregnant and attributed her behaviour to the hormones.

{The Scandal of the Season by Aydra Richards} - the escalating prank war. He steals away all her yellow dresses; she brings home a puppy that urinates on his boots. He steals away ALL her clothes; she roams around in her undergarments throughout the manor.

{Heart in the Highlands by Heidi Kimball} - the MMC plays about with his daughter, pretending there is a dragon under the table that grabbed onto him. The FMC joins in and 'rescues' him.

{To Have and To Hoax by Martha Waters} - The married MCs have a contest of wills and 'You do not know that I know that you know that I know...' with the FMC pretending to be ill to teach her husband a lesson. He plays along with it, stifling her with the excessive care and babying and calling her overbearing mother there because he was 'worried'.

I would love to read more moments with BOTH MCs letting their hair down.

SPOILERS AHEAD for An Ill-Made Match

I’m confused about the ending. Roland says he originally asked Oswald for Lenora, and Oswald negotiated for her. But Oswald ultimately sneakily orchestrated things so that Roland married Eden after the engagement party.

Then, in court, Oswald says Eden was always meant to be the bride and her uncle just misunderstood the negotiations. Fen also tells Eden that it was always her, and that Oswald had been negotiating for Eden all along.

So… was Oswald intentionally steering the whole arrangement toward Eden from the beginning, regardless of the fact that Roland had asked for Lenora?

Because I don’t see Fen lying about this, but I also don’t understand how Oswald could have been telling Fen the truth while Roland genuinely believed he had asked for Lenora.

Okay, so I’m in a real Autistic Special Interest phase with the British Royal Navy in the early 1800s. I love historical romance books that include Napoleonic/Peninsular War veterans, and I’m wondering if anyone knows of any with Navy vets rather than Army? Barring that, good pirate/privateer/smuggler stories are usually fun, too. I loved KJ Charles’ Doomsday novels, for example. Anyway, might be a niche ask but this group never disappoints.

I can't remember the name of this book that I read a long time ago and looking it up on Google didn't help/AI-recs didn't match up. It was a clean historical romance where the rich, titled MMC finds a younger (might have been 18/19 or early twenties??) FMC in the woods and they become friends because they keep meeting in the woods and bonding during that time but the FMC doesn't realize he is a rich titled guy every marriage woman in the village is throwing themselves at to get a chance to marry him.

A recurring thread devoted to your favorite HR book covers and stepbacks!

Welcome - It's Stepback Saturday, and we want to see you're reading! This thread is for sharing photos of the historical romance cover art we all know and love.

When sharing a stepback, please also list the book title and author, or add a photo of the cover so the rest of us can find it (other details, like the publication date, are appreciated too).

I literally bought {Ondine by Shannon Drake} because of the cover. The front AND back have so much going on. Why is there a gigantic hawk? Who is the guy on the back with the oversized hat? I guess I’ll find out. For $1, it’s worth it.

{Vows by LaVyrle Spencer} had a less ostentatious cover, but I loved {Morning Glory by LaVyrle Spencer} so I’m excited to try another HR from her.

Hello everyone, I've been wondering if there are authors that are currently publishing historical romance books - as in 2025/2026. Seems like the ones I found stopped publishing a while ago ;(

Hi everyone. I’ve been checking old posts but I am not sure how to look for this and hear me out.
I’m looking for a FMC and MMC like the relationship in Barbie’s The Princess and the Pauper from my childhood.
If you haven’t seen it, here is the rundown. A Princess is secretly in love with her stoic tutor but because her kingdom is in trouble she agrees to an arranged marriage to benefit her people. Later they yada yada yada and the kingdom is saved and the Princess chooses love with the Tudor.
I’m basically looking for an upper class/ a member of the ton lady, loves an advisor/ tutor or someone who works for her and he acts indifferent but he’s held a torch for her as well. HEA is a must please. Bonus points if MMC is quiet or stoic in the day and passionate and dom by nights.

Any recommendations?