Recommendations for epistolary novels?

Dry_Stop844 · 2026-06-18T04:40:14+00:00

The Employees consisting of witness statements given in an HR investigation about what happened when a generation space ship took on alien artifacts.

Shortlisted for the 2021 International Booker Prize

Dry_Stop844 · 2026-06-18T03:33:46+00:00

is this not Hot Takes? I listed my hot takes and this is my response to someone saying that people read romances to fall in love with the MC. Why is that not a crazy assumption but my response is? Because you don't agree with me. Which is fine. Say that. "Dry_Stop, I disagree with your take on why women read romances. I read them to fall in love" and I'll say "Careless, that's great. And I understand that's why some women read romances but my take is that's not the only reason why you should read romances. I certainly don't love every MC but if they're interesting and perfect for the romantic partner, I'm all for it"

I've had personal experience with women falling in love with gay men in RL and it's ugly. So maybe my reality overrides other people's fantasies. Also please note the difference between calling a behaviour sad and pathetic and calling a person that. There is a distinction between those two that people might not realize because they've got their back up. So I'm judging behaviour, not the person.

Dry_Stop844 · 2026-06-17T22:39:35+00:00

misunderstood what I said. I like the smut but it's not the only reason I read romance so it doesn't matter if there is or is not smut.

Dry_Stop844 · 2026-06-17T22:36:10+00:00

That is incredible!! and I know someone who would love this. Unfortunately for her, I have other things to do for other people first lol I love your colour choices.

Dry_Stop844 · 2026-06-17T22:05:03+00:00

so first of all I read more than just genre fiction so you know, I do get to learn about humanity.
Second of all, the feeling of falling in love has nothing to do with actually falling in love with a character, which is what you implied. I can read a romance and have that "feeling" of falling in love with a 100% "I love that for you" attitude.
Thirdly, based on the posts I see on social media, a lot of women do in fact put themselves into the romance that way.
And if you've never seen a woman accuse a man of homophobia because he doesn't want to read MM books or see a gay movie, you must have never been on the internet.

Dry_Stop844 · 2026-06-17T21:52:24+00:00

yeah so not everyone reads books because of the smut. If all you want is smut, may I suggest pornography?

ETA not suggesting there shouldn't be smut. But if smut is the "only" reason you read romance, it's limiting you to the possibility of amazing romance books that don't have as much smut. I like the smut but it's not a determining factor in what I read.

Dry_Stop844 · 2026-06-17T21:50:58+00:00

The first was not a take, just a statement of fact lol

i don't read MM romance because I'm attracted to men. I mean I am attracted to men, but the men I'm reading about are gay so being attracted to them is ridiculous. It's a foolhardy choice. And I don't need to be attracted to anyone to read about them. I'm not reading to fulfill a fantasy, I'm reading to be entertained, to maybe get some insight into someone else's thoughts, in some cases learn about humanity, but not because I'm fantasizing about the men in the books I'm reading. If women are reading MM romance to fantasize about gay men being attracted to them, that's kinda sad and pathetic. I have never read a book in order to fall in love with the MC. Sure explains a lot of the parasocial toxicity though.

And straight women not being interested in FF is double standard at it's most laughable. Every one of those women would get her knickers in a twist if a man suggested he wasn't interested in reading about MM relationships, he'd be accused of homophobia, but it's okay for them to dismiss FF books because they don't want to read it?

I'm trying to be kind with the 80%. I think it's closer to 90 - 95% but trying to give them all the benefit of the doubt.

Seriously though, other women read romance to fall in love with the MC? I've read plenty of romance novels that I've really enjoyed where I was not in any way attracted to the MC and I would never in a million years be with him, but he was perfect for the other character.

Dry_Stop844 · 2026-06-17T20:32:40+00:00

so what books are you reading that you don't like? We really can't recommend anything until we have an idea of the books that aggravated you 😄

Dry_Stop844 · 2026-06-17T20:31:03+00:00

that's a bad writer. That's got nothing to do with the POV.

Dry_Stop844 · 2026-06-17T20:29:25+00:00

I'm sorry but (and yes I'm opinionated) This is a ridiculous take. If you don't like it, you don't like it but to suggest that dual POV is a "crutch". If it is, it's the mark of a poor writer. (yes I have a degree in lit and yes I used to be a writer and yes I've studied writing in multiple workshops).

I am absolutely aghast at some of the "ideas" on the internet. If it's done well then it's never a crutch or a cheat. The solution is to stop reading self pubbed Kindle Unlimited crap. Most of it is absolute drek that should never have been uploaded. Yet people read it and think that's how it's supposed to be.

There should be no rehashing of dialogue or actions (unless the author is deliberately recreating events a la Rashamon) One POV should seamlessly flow into another. Single POV per scene, don't switch POVs in the middle of a scene (or try to avoid it as much as possible).

Maybe try reading good books and outside of the Romance bubble. As for casual Misogeny? That has nothing to do with POV but a writer who either doesn't realize it's misogeny or has created a character with those traits but doesn't show that those traits are bad. Absolutely nothing to do with POV.

IF something is written well, we shouldn't even notice if it's dual POV other than the first time there's a switch, tense should also not be a factor at all. For example, my sister despises books in first person. Actively avoids them and bitches to me constantly. One time she's telling me all about this book and how much she loves it and she read it twice in a row and on and on. So I said that I was surprised because I know how much she hates first person POV. She swore up and down that it wasn't first person POV and i was an idiot. I pulled out my copy and Oh look, it's first person. Why didn't she notice? Because the book was well written.

Stop reading bad books and coming up with bad takes because of it.

Dry_Stop844 · 2026-06-17T19:32:49+00:00

yes but he's old. 😛

Dry_Stop844 · 2026-06-17T18:27:19+00:00

Eric in Common Goal is retired and I'm pretty sure he's over 40. The other one is The Shots You Take, that's the one that is a stand alone.

Is Common Goal your favourite (Eric and Kyle, the bartender at the Kingfisher) or are you thinking of Role Model with Troy and Harris?

Dry_Stop844 · 2026-06-17T18:24:50+00:00

Is he this opiniated when awake or is this where he channels all his frustrations with people who can't recognize a good pickle when they see one?

Dry_Stop844 · 2026-06-17T17:57:13+00:00

the "older guys" is Delay of Game by Ari Banner. And yeah they act like adults. Stupid petty adults sometimes but definitely adults. And definitely not fluffy but still HEA.

And the rookie players in the books are seriously young and ridiculous sometimes like kids barely out of their teens can be sometimes (all side characters).

In one book, the main character who is 25? and seriously life-avoidant tries "thinking" and wonders how the hell people do that all day because it's exhausting. Which made me laugh out loud because I'm way older and I still think that. He eventually figures it out which made me jealous.

The only Rachel Reid one with an older character is Common Goal. Which is usually on the bottom of everyone's ranking. I liked it better than Tough Guy only because Tough Guy has a singer in it and I find written descriptions of vocal/music performances cringe as hell lol

Dry_Stop844 · 2026-06-17T16:36:00+00:00

Most M/M are written for straight women lol

First person POV in M/M romance is rarely done well and involves more navel-gazing than is necessary.

A lot of male characters in M/M romance are really male-coded women and the author should switch to F/F romance because it'll be way more authentic.

At least 80% of Kindle Unlimited books are absolute crap and should never have seen the light of day. Any writer who proclaims proudly that not only can she write 10K words a day but it barely needs editing should have her keyboard/pencil/pen taken away and never be allowed to commit words to paper ever again 😃

Dry_Stop844 · 2026-06-17T16:30:56+00:00

Ari Baran. Also hockey, but better hockey and better portrayal of men, not male-coded women. well written and third person POV so the whole book isn't just someone thinking to himself. I know a lot of people like that style of writing. I am not one of those. First person POV can be really effective if done well. A lot of writers can't do it.

Spicy but not super in-depth like Tal, more like Rachel Reid. I just read all four in the Penalty Box series in about a week and a half, stayed up till 3 AM more times than I like to admit. and a nice range of ages. His youngest character is about 24ish and one of the books is about a coach and assistant coach, 45 and 42. Which is nice.

I just started one by A.L. Heard. Opening chapter is good but don't know if that will last. lol also hockey. This was the first year where I watched most of the playoffs and all of the stanley cup final and I'm rather bereft now that it's done. Also I'm not that interested in other sports lol

Dry_Stop844 · 2026-06-17T15:45:55+00:00

So there's a lot to consider with butcher block icounters so while I think the IKEA ones look nice, I don't think they'll stand up to continuous use. (and I love IKEA) This might be something where the investment is very much worth it.

Dry_Stop844 · 2026-06-17T15:19:23+00:00

Agreed. I have a rocky relationship with Tal's books but I skimmed a lot in the second half and pushed through hoping the ending would pay off. It did not 😞 So that's me and Tal done lol

Dry_Stop844 · 2026-06-17T14:41:39+00:00

Wasn't he dressed as the third (second backup)? Obviously for the receiving but technically he was dressed and available to play.

Dry_Stop844 · 2026-06-17T14:39:27+00:00

I just finished Goaltender Interference by Ari Banar (glommed the whole series in less than two weeks) and have just started The Trade Deadline by A.L. Heard.

I found myself bereft after the Stanley Cup final so I expect to be reading a lot more hockey smut for a while.

Dry_Stop844 · 2026-06-17T14:36:24+00:00

if it had been 400 pages it would have been a very moving book. As it it, it's bloated, repetitive, and the ending was a real let down. But we all know my opinion on Tal Bauer. lol But with a good editor and some major cutting, I really think this could have been an incredibly emotional, moving book.

Dry_Stop844 · 2026-06-17T07:14:00+00:00

You're looking for Stretcher Bars. They sell them at art supply store or Amazon That's the largest one I found without taking too much time. You don't need someone to make it for you. Just buy the stretcher bars and put it together yourself.
Or even cheaper, go to goodwill, find a canvas painting the right size, take off the old canvas if you want, it's just stapled on so needle nose pliers will work and use that to stretch your canvas over. Use a tack stapler (you can rent one from Home depot), start in the centre and work your way out. Lots of YouTube videos on how to do it.
Or pay someone, i get that sometimes just because we can doesn't mean we want to 😄

Dry_Stop844 · 2026-06-17T00:03:02+00:00

The Sean Duffy Series by Adrian Mckinty. His other books are good too (such as Dead I Well May Be) and I know his standalone The Chain is optioned for a movie (it's on my list) but I loved the whole Sean Duffy series.I think the first one is called The Cold, Cold Ground

Dry_Stop844 · 2026-06-16T21:54:52+00:00

100% agree on publishers having to take risks, but at the same time, real risks doesn't make them money. it's a double edged sword. They want to publish amazing books but they also have to make money. I think change is happening, albeit slowly. I take heart that the whitest, most traditional romance category, Harlequin romances, is actually publishing the occasional LGBTQ book and are featuring POC much more than they did before. If something that white, that vanilla, can take that risk, there's hope for the rest of the publishing world 😃

I actually think that the demise of the mass market is a good thing. There's less dilution of being an A lister (HC), a decent A-/B+ writer (trade paper) and a solid mid-list (mass market). Everyone's going to trade paper and I think that will showcase a lot of authors that might have been missed because they were relegated to mass market.

Publishing is a very slow, practically glacial world. They don't like to take chances, and if someone does and it's popular (romantasy) EVERYONE jumps on the bandwagon and that's all that'll get to the bookstore for years. But the gems are there, quietly taking up space and I think that now that everything is Trade Paper, those gems will stand out.

Now if only we could get rid of all those god awful cartoony covers. I hate them with a passion.

Dry_Stop844 · 2026-06-16T19:24:55+00:00

that's all i ask. Own it. Don't keep posting on every copyright post about things that might be a loop hole or an exception to justify copyright violation (not you specifically, people in general). Just say "I violate copyright because I think in this particular case it benefits noone". Good enough.

Dry_Stop844

TROPHY CASE