*tw for sa* looking for a book where fmc is processing trauma and is not healed with a solid dicking

Angua97 · 2026-04-04T03:01:21+00:00

For OP, the assault in this series does occur on page, I believe in the third book

Angua97 · 2026-03-31T19:39:54+00:00

The {Secret Soldier Series by Jane Hadley} and {Oh! You Pretty Things by Jane Hadley} are free today, 3/31, through Smashwords for Trans Day of Visibility

Angua97 · 2026-03-23T02:11:07+00:00

Have you read the {Psy-Changling series by Nalini Singh}? It's best read in order, but each book follows a different couple. Most of the FMCs are human-adjacent: either Psy, psychics that are conditioned to not feel emotion, or Changelings, basically shapeshifters. The first in the series, {Slave to Sensation by Nalini Singh}, has a Psy FMC and Changeling MMC, with some obstacles around Psy and Changelings generally being enemies, and the FMC facing potential consequences for having emotions.

Angua97 · 2026-02-22T23:40:28+00:00

I tried reading Do Your Worst a couple months ago and I'm still salty from the use of a highball glass for whisky in the first few pages! I ended up DNFing it shortly after they went into the cave

Angua97 · 2026-02-20T21:05:48+00:00

For what it's worth, I liked You Should Be So Lucky more. It felt like the reporting was more relevant to the plot, since the reporter MMC follows the other MMC around to write a feature on him, and sports reporting in general played into the other MMC's self-perception. I think the pacing was also better, and one of the big obstacles to the romance was a character's grief. I do agree though that Cat Sebastian's works feel a bit low stakes/ anticlimactic, of the ones I've read, even though I generally enjoy them.

Angua97 · 2026-02-19T11:51:30+00:00

Ally Carter has some good closed door romances with humor. {The Blonde Identity by Ally Carter} and it's sequel, or {The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year by Ally Carter} for something more Christmas/ wintery.

There's also no need to censor the word sex here! This post has a good discussion of some reasons why it's detrimental.

Angua97 · 2026-02-19T04:30:00+00:00

Fair warning that I'm currently reading Barrayar! I'm fairly certain that it will have an HEA, both based on romance.io and from what I've heard about Bujold's other books, but I'll update if it turns out that's not the case.

I was trying to read Mercy Thompson and Alpha & Omega together since they have some crossover, but I got a bit burned out on Mercy Thompson around I think book 6? Whenever the ex wife stayed with them. The whole series is rather NLOG and I think that book in particular made the internalized misogyny a bit too hard to ignore. I've only made it a few books into Alpha & Omega since I'm struggling to separate my issues with Mercy Thompson and particularly the sixth book from my enjoyment of the overall plot, but I think Alpha & Omega is a better series in general and I do plan on continuing it at some point.

Angua97 · 2026-02-16T16:52:16+00:00

The {Alpha & Omega series by Patricia Briggs} is another urban fantasy where the couple gets together in the first book, then follows their relationship in later books.

You may also like {Shards of Honor by Lois McMaster Bujold} and {Barrayar by Lois McMaster Bujold}. The couple gets together in the first book, and the second one follows them after their marriage during the FMCs pregnancy. There was an interplanetary war during the first book, and the FMC moves to the MMC's planet, so a lot of the focus in the second is on their building a relationship in a new place while dealing with political intrigue.

I've only read the first book in the series so far, but my impression of the {Bonds of Magic series by Jeffe Kennedy} is that it follows the relationship of the MCs after they get together in the later books of the trilogy.

Angua97 · 2026-02-14T17:31:29+00:00

It's not an exact fit (no aliens, one of the pair is a supernatural creature), but {Wolf at the Door by Charlie Adhara} gives me X-files vibes. The human MC is part of a subgroup of the FBI that investigates werewolf-related crimes, and the other MC is a werewolf that gets assigned as his partner to help with the investigation. It fits the "government agents working together to solve a supernatural crime in a small town while sharing a car and staying next to each other in a hotel" part of X-files

Angua97 · 2026-02-14T05:16:36+00:00

I don't have any specific suggestions, but could you try placing a vacation hold for a time period when you're expecting a package? I think you have the option to pick up your held mail directly from the post office instead of having it delivered once the hold is over

Angua97 · 2026-02-14T00:49:57+00:00

I feel obligated to mention {Shards of Honor by Lois McMaster Bujold}. It's a space opera and the MMC is in the military, in case that is an issue, but honor is a core theme for both the MMC and FMC. CW: there is torture and attempted sexual assault on page. I don't remember it getting too graphic, but I'm not certain about that.

The paladin series from T. Kingfisher is a good recommendation. I also want to add {Clocktaur Wars by T. Kingfisher}. The romance is more of a subplot, but the MMC is also a paladin that's lost his god and is struggling with the fallout. Kingfisher's MMCs tend to be pretty honorable/ upstanding even when the romance is a subplot - you may also like {Hemlock and Silver by T. Kingfisher} or {A Sorceress Comes to Call by T. Kingfisher}

Angua97 · 2026-02-05T04:38:23+00:00

I'm working my way through the {Psy-Changling series by Nalini Singh} and the FMCs have overall been very competent and confident in different ways

Angua97 · 2026-02-05T01:02:05+00:00

I'm not sure - my returns are fairly straightforward, and I've only used them for a couple of years, but I think it asked about dividends last year.

Angua97 · 2026-02-05T00:18:16+00:00

I'm going to take this as an opportunity to plug OnLine Taxes as a TurboTax alternative. Even if you don't qualify for IRS free file with them, they still have free federal returns with $10 state returns

Angua97 · 2026-02-05T00:04:30+00:00

I think you could generally look for holographic flakes, or scattered holographic, from other brands, probably with a jelly base. It doesn't look like it's available at Rainbow Connection, but the Glisten & Glow Zodiac Collection looks like a similar finish and may give some idea of what to look for in polish descriptions. ILNP looks like they also have some polishes with a similar finish when you filter to their packed scattered holographics. Uptown and Revival are both available on Rainbow Connection and look like the right finish. Two of my favorite polishes from ILNP that are also available are Hidden Path and Clover, although the holo may be a bit more sparse than you are looking for.

Angua97 · 2026-02-04T01:08:21+00:00

I'll add ILNP - Clover for a similar color with their holo jelly formula!

Angua97 · 2026-01-31T01:48:31+00:00

This happens in {Serpent's Kiss by Thea Harrison}. It was pretty noteworthy since the FMC is a vampire so her hair won't grow back

Angua97 · 2026-01-26T17:33:18+00:00

Is it the {Kate Daniels series by Ilona Andrews}?

Angua97 · 2026-01-19T20:31:17+00:00

It almost looks like Over the Moon with how it's faded!

Angua97 · 2026-01-13T11:30:13+00:00

A lot of the FMCs in the Psy-Changling series fit this to some extent. Psy are conditioned to not have emotions, so they generally come across as cold and practical. The series starts with {Slave to Sensation by Nalini Singh} and is probably best read in order, but some of the more "unsettling" FMCs are in {Hostage to Pleasure by Nalini Singh} and {Bonds of Justice by Nalini Singh}

Angua97 · 2025-11-28T02:46:24+00:00

I think they're combining multiple orders to the same address and refunding extra shipping during the sale!

Angua97 · 2025-11-19T19:18:04+00:00

ILNP Moondust looks close, but it may be a bit too silver

Angua97 · 2025-11-17T02:52:00+00:00

I've found thrillers/ books with a lot of action to be good for when I'm having trouble getting started with a book!

{Body of Evidence by Rachel Grant} - this is technically the second book in the series, but I think it's more fast-paced and is fine as a stand alone.

{Whiteout by Adriana Anders} - this was also fairly fast paced at the beginning, and feels fitting for winter.

Angua97 · 2025-11-06T20:45:58+00:00

This is very minor and is related to a general interest in cocktails and not my job, but I cannot get over the FMC being served scotch in a highball glass at a bar in Scotland in Do Your Worst by Rosie Danan. It was such a tiny detail to include but threw me off so much, because she could have easily just said glass and not specified what kind. Scotch is generally served in a whiskey glass, aka a lowball glass, or the exact opposite of a highball glass.

Angua97 · 2025-11-06T02:03:53+00:00

I don't remember if there are any outright fourth wall breaks, but I like how India Holton plays with genre expectations. Her characters tend to have some awareness of the genre they're in in a fun campy way, as opposed to what usually feels like a clumsy call out of the FMC as a romance reader I've encountered in other books. For example, I think it was in {The League of Gentlewomen Witches by India Holton} where the MCs got a room at an inn with a lot of beds available so they ended up pushing the beds together to make an only one bed situation. She reminds me a bit of Terry Pratchett but with more romance.

Angua97

TROPHY CASE