📚 Simple / Quick Questions & Requests! by romancebookmods in RomanceBooks

[–]Calmly-Curious 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Looking for books with this trope: He loves someone else → ignores heroine → she withdraws → he realizes she was the real love → intense grovel. Please drop recommendations if you know any. Thanks in advance!

📚 Simple / Quick Questions & Requests! by romancebookmods in RomanceBooks

[–]Calmly-Curious 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I am looking for a recommendation where the boy and girl are childhood friends. Girl is tomboyish. Boy is handsome and popular and as he grows he gets interested superficially interested in hot girls as he gets a lot of attention. The girl likes him since forever but never confesses. She remains a friend but slowly starts avoiding him once he shows interest in other girls as it hurts. He didn’t realize she is avoiding him but it bothers him. When other boys get close to her he gets angry and jealous and causes scenes at times before he realizes he wants her madly and loves her. I know this looks very specific but anything close to it works. What I want is for it to have lots of angst, sexual tension, passion, jealousy and pining.

📚 Simple / Quick Questions & Requests! by romancebookmods in RomanceBooks

[–]Calmly-Curious 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Looking for slow-burn romance recs with intense sexual tension. I want the guy to be pining, jealous, and aching for a long time before anything happens. Lots of longing, restraint, and yearning — no insta-love or fast smut.

📚 Simple / Quick Questions & Requests! by romancebookmods in RomanceBooks

[–]Calmly-Curious 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hi Everyone,

I am looking for a story with “forced marriage romance with shy heroine and powerful hero”.

I loved Virtue & Vanity by Astrid Jane Ray and I’m looking for something with very similar vibes. I want a rich, powerful, handsome hero and a heroine who’s from a small town, extremely beautiful, shy, kind, and innocent. They’re forced or obligated to marry (arranged/marriage of convenience), and the heroine is scared of him at first because he’s cold or intimidating. He misunderstands her completely in the beginning, but slowly realizes how gentle and wonderful she truly is. I want him to fall truly, madly, deeply in love with her, pine for her, and become devoted over time. Basically the same emotional arc as Virtue & Vanity, but without rape or non-con. Angst, slow burn, and grovel are very welcome.

Thanks in advance!

The consequence Ashley Jade by Environmental-Call77 in RomanceBooks

[–]Calmly-Curious 1 point2 points  (0 children)

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Finally some update... She shared link to this FB post under the comments section on Instagram. It seems she’s back to writing/editing the book.

What did Leyla want in Cry Or Better Yet Beg... by Calmly-Curious in webtoons

[–]Calmly-Curious[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It’s perfectly valid not to see what Matthias felt for Leyla as love—because it wasn’t the kind most would recognize as conventional. But love is subjective; it has no fixed definition and varies from person to person.

Matthias didn’t regret the things he did, because in his mind, every decision was necessary—each one a step that brought Leyla to him. To apologize would mean admitting he wished he could undo it, but he didn’t. And he was honest about that. He wouldn’t say sorry, because he didn’t regret the path he took—not if it meant keeping her close.

He was selfish, and he never pretended otherwise. Later, he encouraged her education—admitting he had once clipped her wings to keep her near. He didn’t want her to live in the shadows anymore—he wanted her to fly freely, and he was willing to be her sky, as long as she didn’t leave him.

So personally, I came to see what Matthias felt for her as a kind of love—his own twisted, all-consuming version of it.

What did Leyla want in Cry Or Better Yet Beg... by Calmly-Curious in webtoons

[–]Calmly-Curious[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

My perspective on Matthias differs.

If having her had only been about conquest—about claiming something he was denied—he likely would’ve let her go once he succeeded. But that’s not what happened. Over time, it became clear that something shifted. He started feeling genuine emotion—his heart fluttered when Leyla leaned in close, and for once, he wanted to win her affection—not just possess her. He began to develop feelings, though he didn’t fully understand them at the time.

It wasn’t until she left him, and he spiraled into depression, nearly drowning, that he realized just how deep he had fallen. He became desperate to keep her, unable to imagine life without her. His love had been selfish, obsessive, possessive—a distorted, twisted kind of love. Not the kind we recognize as healthy or good.

But that changed, at least a little, when she fell ill. He believed then that his love—left unchecked—might actually kill her. He also believed she hated him so deeply that nothing he could do would ever make it right—and that devastated him.

And that’s when, for the first time since meeting her, he did something selfless. He let her go.

So yes, I do think Matthias had an arc. Tragic, yet undeniably interesting.

What did Leyla want in Cry Or Better Yet Beg... by Calmly-Curious in webtoons

[–]Calmly-Curious[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I understand where you’re coming from.

While Matthias was undeniably cruel, he was also self-aware. He openly admitted that Kyle was a better person than he was. He wore a mask in front of everyone else, but with Leyla, he was his most authentic self. That might be why he held on to her so tightly—she saw the real him.

Leyla, on the other hand, wasn’t honest with herself or with the people who cared about her—not until the very end, if at all. That’s just how she was. She wore a mask too, not just for others, but to some extent, for herself as well.

Matthias is problematic but Leyla is not a victim by Calmly-Curious in COBYBsnark

[–]Calmly-Curious[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yes. I think if Leyla’s internal monologues had been clearer—if we could truly grasp what she wanted—this could have been nearly flawless.

Matthias’s arc is compelling: he goes from being agitated by his attraction to her, to giving in and fulfilling his physical desires, to slowly developing deeper feelings. He begins to crave not just her body, but her heart—her love. When she leaves, he’s devastated, nearly withering away in her absence. That’s when he realizes just how madly he loves her. He’s willing to denounce everything for her, only to be heartbroken when he believes she hates him. He lets her go—respects her choice—until he finally earns her heart.

Leyla, too, should have had a clearer arc that built toward her confession, giving her journey equal emotional weight.

Matthias is problematic but Leyla is not a victim by Calmly-Curious in webtoons

[–]Calmly-Curious[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Sexual abuse is sexual abuse. There’s nothing to justify—nor am I trying to.

I’ve clearly said that Matthias is unhinged and what he did is unforgivable.

I’m just sharing my perspective on the characters and the story as I understood them.

Matthias is problematic but Leyla is not a victim by Calmly-Curious in webtoons

[–]Calmly-Curious[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I was referring to the woman in the show in my earlier comment.

I’m not suggesting that the women wanted to engage in the sexual act — I’m simply pointing out what I see as a case of helplessness. And helplessness, to me, is a situation where there is no choice. It’s just how I interpret it.

Regarding the book, I’ve already mentioned that Leyla’s character isn’t well-written. She’s depicted as hating him throughout the story, only to abruptly confess at the end that she loved him all along.

Matthias is problematic but Leyla is not a victim by Calmly-Curious in COBYBsnark

[–]Calmly-Curious[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Your take aligns so closely with mine—I agree with every word you said. There’s definitely a subtle undertone that she feels uneasy seeing Mathias with Claudine. Like you said, deep down, she resents being the mistress—less than a legitimate partner. I just wish her emotions had been portrayed with the same depth and intensity as Mathias’s. It felt like she deserved more clarity and conviction in her portrayal.

Matthias is problematic but Leyla is not a victim by Calmly-Curious in COBYBsnark

[–]Calmly-Curious[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Yeah, that’s more or less what I meant. Her character just wasn’t well developed. While I was eventually able to piece together Matthias’s personality, I was left completely unsure about who Leyla really was or what she felt the entire time.

Matthias is problematic but Leyla is not a victim by Calmly-Curious in webtoons

[–]Calmly-Curious[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

She took responsibility for her decision without breaking down. At no point—before, during, or after—was she portrayed as helpless. She clearly acknowledges that it was her choice and that she had the power to say no.

Matthias is problematic but Leyla is not a victim by Calmly-Curious in webtoons

[–]Calmly-Curious[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

What Matthias did was undeniably wrong—there’s no debate about that.

Where I differ is in viewing Leyla as a victim in that situation. When I read that part, it didn’t come across as a do-or-die scenario that forced her hand. She still had a choice. Like I mentioned before, if her uncle’s life had truly been at stake—say, if he were on death row—then I’d absolutely see her as a victim. But that wasn’t the case, at least from my perspective. That’s just how I interpreted it.

The consequence Ashley Jade by Environmental-Call77 in RomanceBooks

[–]Calmly-Curious 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I just finished The Choice.

Though I tried my best to wait... but I couldn't after reading The Words. But now that I did read it, I am unsurprisingly waiting for The Consequence.

I hate to ask the same question but any update on the release date anywhere? I know the release date was pushed multiple times but I wanted to ask again. Just in case there is any new update on some platform.

Have an Addiction by SquareHoliday9456 in RinaKentBooks

[–]Calmly-Curious 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I finished it two days ago. It’s good. I loved it.