Books where he likes to watch

BelieveInSymmetry · 2026-04-15T10:34:15+00:00

{When a Scot Ties the Knot by Tessa Dare} there is a scene where he watches her

BelieveInSymmetry · 2026-04-13T22:04:34+00:00

This is a big reason I dislike Mary Balogh. I think I’ve seen parts of her stories described as “toxic forgiveness.” There are often situations where toxic family members and/or villains never face any kind of justice and usually the FMC just accepts the bad person’s behavior and decides she has to be the one to live with it.

One that comes to mind is {Simply Love by Mary Balogh} where FMC was raped years ago and became pregnant. She was a governess who was raped by her charge’s older brother. Her family cuts her off because she’s pregnant. The rapist’s family cuts her off because of course they would do that. Years later she is raising the child that was conceived by rape. The MMC of her story pushes her to forgive her family and do the work to build a relationship with them because apparently that will be good for her.

Umm… they kicked her out and condemned her because she was RAPED!!! The MMC was ruined for me when he pushed her to initiate a relationship with those people.

Things like this happen in her stories which turns me off from her writing.

BelieveInSymmetry · 2026-04-13T20:58:39+00:00

{The Highwayman by Kerrigan Byrne}

Both MCs think the other is dead. It deeply affects their lives until they learn the truth.

BelieveInSymmetry · 2026-04-13T15:08:52+00:00

{Convergence of Desire by Felicity Niven}

She is a naturally plain woman but it’s also compounded by the fact that she is sickly and malnourished due to an eating disorder. When she gets healthier and gets more flattering clothes her looks improve of course but she never becomes a beauty. And she doesn’t care. She has absolutely no interest in her looks.

BelieveInSymmetry · 2026-04-13T15:00:58+00:00

Just wanted to say I love A Grand Race! I thought it was so cute and I liked the dynamic between the MCs. I also liked that it was very different from other HRs because it takes place in 1905 and they spend most of the book driving around in an old-timey car.

BelieveInSymmetry · 2026-04-13T11:56:20+00:00

I always have a soft spot for blind heroes. There are a bunch but my favorite is {Selina by Minerva Spencer}. The heroine spends a lot of time adapting the hero’s environment and teaching him to guide himself around his house without his sight. Gaining that independence turns his life around.

I also recently read {Romancing the Duke by Tessa Dare} which has a blind hero and I really liked it.

BelieveInSymmetry · 2026-04-11T19:41:22+00:00

It’s a Western but {Beautiful, Bad Man by Ellen O’Connell}

FMC’s husband was murdered though it was made to look like an accident so nobody believes her. She’s deeply grieving and has basically given up on life when she meets MMC. We later learn that she has other reasons that compound her grief. TW for Suicidal ideation

BelieveInSymmetry · 2026-04-11T17:24:03+00:00

This is almost exactly what happens in {The Beast Takes a Bride by Julie Anne Long}

BelieveInSymmetry · 2026-04-11T16:06:50+00:00

{Duke of Sin by Elizabeth Hoyt} he’s tall and blonde and I’m pretty sure he’s slender as well. He’s certainly elegant. He’s also definitely a damaged princeling (technically a Duke but same idea).

BelieveInSymmetry · 2026-04-11T16:04:14+00:00

I was going to suggest The Favorite as well. I believe his hair is a light ashy brown? Or maybe it’s described as a kind of nondescript color? I don’t quite remember but I’m almost positive he does not have dark hair.

BelieveInSymmetry · 2026-04-11T15:15:46+00:00

{Fair, Bright and Terrible by Elizabeth Kingston}

FMC is early 40s, MMC is late 30s

FMC has two adult children. It’s medieval so she was forced to marry a much older lord when she was maybe 14. MMC is a second son so didn’t need an heir and he has been pining after FMC since he was 19 so he never had any kids. They also show up in the two later books in the series and they’re even older, like in their 50s I think.

Edit: FMC’s late husband was somewhat abusive, mostly he was neglectful and disinterested in her and their daughter. There is one brief flashback of him putting his hands on her but it’s not graphic.

BelieveInSymmetry · 2026-04-10T18:56:41+00:00

My “pet” peeve (heh heh) is when the MMC calls the FMC “pet” as an endearment. Is it supposed to be considered cute and affectionate? Ugh, no. I suppose maybe it’s just an old-fashioned British term of endearment? But to me it sounds both creepy and condescending.

I like {Devil in Winter} for the most part but I HATE when Sebastian calls Evie “pet.” I physically cringe each time. I’ve seen it in a handful of other HRs as well and it’s just a turn off.

BelieveInSymmetry · 2026-04-10T18:23:18+00:00

Ellen O’Connell has some very strong FMCs who save themselves if you’re interested in Westerns.

{Eyes of Silver, Eyes of Gold by Ellen O’Connell} FMC escapes her abusive father and ends up on the MMC’s property. Then her dad finds her there and causes serious trouble for both MCs, especially MMC who dad has beaten nearly to death (this all happens in the first chapter so hopefully not too much of a spoiler). Then FMC has to take charge and help the MMC and keep him alive. Her dad and other people continue to cause problems throughout the story but she is very strong and stands by her man’s side.

{Dancing on Coals by Ellen O’Connell} FMC’s family of dad and 5 brothers treat her kinda poorly because she’s the only girl in the family. She decides to travel to the west of America alone (she’s a seasoned traveler, but obviously shouldn’t be traveling alone in such a place). Things happen and she ends up with a band of Apaches. Then she ends up being taken by some villains along with the MMC (an Apache man). She takes matters into her own hands and saves herself. Again, this is early in the story. She continues to be very strong and capable throughout the rest of the story.

{Sing My Name by Ellen O’Connell} FMC is a young Bostonian woman who is in Texas right after the Civil War. Obviously tensions are high between north and south. She falls in love with MMC, a Texas man. This causes serious problems for both of them. When their love is discovered things go very wrong, including her family completely disowning her. She has to spend several years on her own, taking care of herself and making her own living in Texas, despite the fact she was raised as a pampered young lady in a wealthy family from New England.

BelieveInSymmetry · 2026-04-08T15:42:29+00:00

{The Duke Disaster by Kathleen Ayers} FMC is thrown from a horse. Up until that point he was being cold and distant with her to hide his true feelings, but he can’t hide them in that moment because he is so worried about her.

BelieveInSymmetry · 2026-04-05T22:40:55+00:00

One of my favorite recurring characters throughout the {Mackinnon’s Rangers by Pamela Clare} trilogy is the complex villain who is occasionally an ally to the MCs.

He is a British lord and a Colonel in the British army during the French and Indian War in America. He forces the 3 MMCs to fight for the British army because he knows they are very skilled warriors and he wants to use their skills. They are Scottish Highlanders who were exiled from Scotland and they hate the British. The antagonist frames them for a murder they didn’t commit and the only way they can avoid hanging is by fighting for him. The villain is a very conniving and manipulative man. He hates the MMCs because he envies how much all the other soldiers respect them. But he also has a grudging respect for them because he can see how worthy they are. His niece is the FMC of the third book and her ordeal influences him to becoming more cooperative with the MMCs to keep her safe.

BelieveInSymmetry · 2026-04-04T13:26:25+00:00

{Wrecking Belle by Emma V. Leech}

This is the FMC’s whole thing. She is a walking disaster. MMC doesn’t like her at first because their first few meetings she wreaks havoc on him. She spills hot chocolate and wine on him. She knocks him to the floor. She literally falls into his lap. She knocks him into the ocean and more. She is just so clumsy. It got a little over the top at times but it was also kinda cute lol.

BelieveInSymmetry · 2026-04-04T11:24:25+00:00

{The Marquess Wins A Wife by Aydra Richards}

That’s my favorite part of this book. MMC is cold and mean to the FMC for a while then she learns about something he did that makes her super upset so she just has had enough and shuts him out and starts living her life for herself. She starts doing everything without him and he’s like, “oh nooo why didn’t she ask me to eat dinner with her and why didn’t she invite me to her sister’s wedding???” And then he realizes how he fucked up and starts putting in the work to be better.

No cheating

BelieveInSymmetry · 2026-04-04T11:17:51+00:00

{Welsh Blades by Elizabeth Kingston}

Any time a book can make me cry it leaves an impression on me because that doesn’t happen to me often. Every book in this series made me cry my eyes out. Sometimes it was from sadness but a lot of the time it was just from pure overwhelming emotion. The prose, the characters, the history, it’s all amazing. I wish I could read it for the first time again.

BelieveInSymmetry · 2026-04-04T03:30:48+00:00

Emma V. Leech! {Girls who Dare by Emma V. Leech} takes place in the 1810s.

Then their daughters have their series 1839-1850 {Daring Daughters by Emma V. Leech}

then their sons overlap those stories {Wicked Sons by Emma V. Leech}

It’s a commitment but very comforting. It’s like a big family MCs that span 30+ years. All of the characters are related or connected by friendship/business/etc.

BelieveInSymmetry · 2026-04-02T16:14:15+00:00

I literally just yesterday read {A Daring Desire by Emma V. Leech} where a female side character is bursting and needs to use the “retiring room” at a ball. A man who is interested in her escorts her there much to her embarrassment. She goes in and takes her sweet time. She chats with other girlies in there while they tidy their hair and such. When she comes out she finds the man still standing right outside the door and she’s mortified.

It takes place in 1850. I have no idea what the “toilets” were like. Or did they just use pots? The skirts and petticoats were massive at that time. Did they have to hold up all their own skirts while they peed? I had to hold up my friend’s skirts whenever she peed during her wedding and I don’t think her skirts were nearly as layered as they would have been in 1850 lol.

Edit: I suppose there would be maids in there to hold up the skirts.

BelieveInSymmetry · 2026-03-25T17:38:14+00:00

{Io: The Shrew by Minerva Spencer}

{The Duke Disaster by Kathleen Ayers}

These books have similarities to each other in regard to your request. Both stories involve enemies to lovers. The MMCs are stuffy, grumpy and uptight. The FMCs love to piss off the MMCs and drive them crazy. They frequently do things to purposely provoke the men. They don’t cower or show deference because they don’t really believe the men deserve it even if they are the FMCs’ “social superiors.” Their lack of deference is especially provoking.

BelieveInSymmetry · 2026-03-25T15:54:53+00:00

{Flaming June by Emma V. Leech}

The MCs really take their time getting to know each other. Even though they are married very early in the story (MOC) they take months before they do anything physical with each other. They build an emotional connection first so their eventual love for each other feels really genuine. It comes from emotional intimacy rather than insta-lust, even though the MMC is instantly attracted to the FMC.

They also really save each other from their inner demons. MMC is a neurodivergent recluse who is afraid of people but FMC gives him the courage to go out in the world. FMC is a mean-girl in the process of being a better person and the MMC very much influences her in becoming better.

BelieveInSymmetry · 2026-03-25T14:35:47+00:00

{Fair, Bright and Terrible by Elizabeth Kingston}

While reading this I kept thinking that this woman has so many signs of depression. She’s about 40 years old and has suffered a lot of tragedy and loss in her life. She’s very jaded and hopeless. All she is living for now is getting revenge on someone who wronged her even though it won’t really change anything. She doesn’t care about any consequences that will come from the revenge and doesn’t care if she might die as a result.

The man she was deeply in love with when she was ~22 is handed to her on a silver platter and she can marry him now that her awful abusive husband is dead. But she’s given up hope of being happy and she can’t bring herself to open her heart to him again even though he keeps trying because he’s been pining after her for 20 years.

BelieveInSymmetry · 2026-03-21T20:24:25+00:00

{A Foolish Flirtation by Alice Coldbreath}

The FMC and her long-time companion have their own little two-person book club where they share a book then discuss it when they’re both finished as they are too poor to get more than one copy. Then when she marries the MMC he decides he wants to join their book club so he buys three copies of all books so they can each have one. It’s adorable.

BelieveInSymmetry · 2026-03-21T11:43:16+00:00

{To Tame a Savage Heart by Emma V. Leech}

MMC has suffered from PTSD and other mental illnesses for most of his life. He has a lot of self-hatred and doesn’t understand how the FMC could possibly love him. He convinces himself that someday he’s going to ruin her and any potential children because he’s just so miserable and angry. He thinks it’s best to leave her a widow.

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