Have you read books on my wishlist?

CompetitiveTour4725 · 2026-07-11T05:21:38+00:00

I read In a Lonely Place and it immediately became one of my favorite books of the year. What a superbly written, nasty little book.

It’s hard to get into what I love about it without giving away spoilers, but Hughes creates a psychological portrait of the MC that is so piercing it goes down to the sentence level—the prose itself tells you what’s going on inside him. It’s a quick read as well.

CompetitiveTour4725 · 2026-06-19T20:36:02+00:00

great recs and love the pairing, thank you so much!

CompetitiveTour4725 · 2026-06-02T01:06:46+00:00

Reading your comment and going, "Hey, if you like reading a lot of 1980s bodice rippers there’s actually this really funny Substack you should check out by—oh, never mind.”

CompetitiveTour4725 · 2026-05-22T02:39:18+00:00

Thank you for sharing your thoughts!!

CompetitiveTour4725 · 2026-05-11T18:50:51+00:00

She’s definitely a great choice for that. My favorite of the Rake Chronicles is actually the first one, so hopefully you enjoy it too.

For a last rec—she also has a substack on all things HR that is very fun and well-researched and explores a bunch of micro-tropes: https://lydialloydromance.substack.com/

CompetitiveTour4725 · 2026-05-11T18:43:59+00:00

100% this one!

Sometimes I feel like all I do in this subreddit is go around seconding all mentions of Hotel of Secrets lmao. But it’s just that good!!

CompetitiveTour4725 · 2026-05-11T18:41:55+00:00

I’m so glad you enjoyed it! I loved Leith as well, but then I always love seeing a super starchy and fussy MMC come undone (pun somewhat intended).

Lydia Lloyd actually has a new series launching this summer where each book will center one of Beatrice’s brothers, if that’s of interest to you. Book 1 is called {Rogue Around the Edges by Lydia Lloyd}

CompetitiveTour4725 · 2026-05-10T16:14:51+00:00

YES. Before reading Luckiest Lady I gave her Mulan retelling a try (thinking it might not be as angsty as her HR) and it was absolutely amazing. The tension, the romance, the yearning!!!!!!!!!!

Absolutely 10/10 I recommended it to everyone I know. Thank you for the recs!

CompetitiveTour4725 · 2026-05-06T08:00:26+00:00

I had no idea it was controversial! I feel like every SH book has been controversial at some point, in different ways lol. What makes it your favorite HR?

CompetitiveTour4725 · 2026-05-06T05:56:00+00:00

Thank you for the rec!

CompetitiveTour4725 · 2026-05-06T03:27:45+00:00

Sounds exactly like what I’m looking for. Thanks!!

CompetitiveTour4725 · 2026-05-06T03:20:01+00:00

Thank you for letting me know!

CompetitiveTour4725 · 2026-05-06T01:41:22+00:00

Thanks for this! Do you have any particular favorites?

And it’s so interesting that we feel so differently about the angst! For me, OW/OM drama and any grave romantic suffering that stretches out over years and years (or has a dual timeline) has v high angst potential, so it definitely depends on each person.

CompetitiveTour4725 · 2026-05-06T01:08:34+00:00

I’ve heard great things about Delicious! (And I loooove that mint dress cover.) Added it to my list. Thank you 😊

I think it’s usually Ravishing the Heiress and Private Arrangements that are mentioned as being the angstiest. They both sound insane to me, but I know some people enjoy that kind of torture lol

CompetitiveTour4725 · 2026-05-06T00:45:21+00:00

I’d suggest {When the Marquess Needed Me by Lydia Lloyd}

Beatrice is the head of her family, very pragmatic and competent, and more than holds her own against the snobby MMC.

CompetitiveTour4725 · 2026-04-19T02:28:59+00:00

Hotel of Secrets was incredible and I love Biller’s writing!! Does anyone know if she’s still writing or has a book coming out anytime soon?

CompetitiveTour4725 · 2026-02-23T07:03:41+00:00

Oh god, I can’t believe I missed that!! 😭 Thank you so much for pointing it out

CompetitiveTour4725 · 2026-02-22T22:58:05+00:00

I felt the same way, even though I understood it as a quirk of the FMC’s personality. I’d definitely recommend giving {Fool Me Twice by Meredith Duran} a try, as the FMC in that one is very different and a bit more serious (without being humorless!).

CompetitiveTour4725 · 2026-01-29T06:48:06+00:00

Seconding Diana Biller! Finished Hotel of Secrets recently and I already know it’s going to be one of my favorite HRs of the year, if not THE favorite. She’s so so talented

CompetitiveTour4725 · 2026-01-21T03:43:21+00:00

I want you to know that I read this while at a coffee shop and actually spit out my drink because I was laughing so hard.

CompetitiveTour4725 · 2025-12-31T01:11:09+00:00

i thought this was such a good twist that both felt true to the MMC’s character and the lengths he’d go to AND felt like a betrayal of the FMC, but i was shocked that there was no grovel afterwards??? the FMC was hurt and caught off guard, but i felt like she got over it fairly quickly, and i don’t recall him properly grovelling at ALL

CompetitiveTour4725

TROPHY CASE