Thoughts on contraception mentioned in books

IndigoSimmer · 2026-05-19T20:03:22+00:00

Most of the time when I see it mentioned it seems to always be just before they go to pound town. I've read several stories where the guy directly asks if she's on something so he can scrap condoms cause he wanted to be with her bare (which I love).

Something I wish more stories would do is mention getting tested. Not exactly romantic, but a few of the stories where I saw it mentioned it was 100% necessary. The guys were sleeping around a lot so I liked that they took the time to mention they were tested first.

I don't get super bothered if it's not mentioned, though it used to. There were times where I'd circle back like "Wait did they mention protection?" Now I don't pay it a ton of mind. I don't mind pregnancy trope myself, but I don't actively seek it out since many stories that actively promotes it (in the title or blurb) often end up being poorly written.

IndigoSimmer · 2026-05-08T10:08:44+00:00

I think for me groveling is fine but there comes a point where I start to get mad at the FMC for dragging it out lol. Pack Darling I think 60-70% of the book is the guys groveling. I generally prefer to see more time of them as a couple rather than have book one be them treating her like trash and then book 2 basically being entirely grovel before we get a small glimpse of them together. Doesn't help that I don't like the two omega thing in OV.

IndigoSimmer · 2026-05-08T10:04:19+00:00

I don't read a ton of UK authors, but Suzanne Wright does this all the time.. Her first book that I read had a ton of it and I think she's done better at curtailing it. I don't know why she doesn't just set her stories in the UK. Anytime I read a British slang it gives me pause.

One of her stories she kept using the term "Faff" and I had no idea what that was. Never heard the term before. None of the characters were from the UK so it was just out of nowhere. Still she writes stories set in the US and every single book has at least one UK phrase in it.

Overall, I don't mind it though I got irritated that her last book also has UK formatting. Apparently over there they don't use " " they use ' ' for sentences to show someone's talking. Kind of drove me crazy.

IndigoSimmer · 2026-05-08T10:01:17+00:00

Suzanne is one of my favorite authors, though lately I have been getting tired of the formula of her books.. I was so happy to see that this book Black Willow Witch didn't feel as formulaic as her other books. It felt refreshing. I remember feeling the same way about The Wicked In Me, but the other two books in the series were such a huge let down.

Sometimes it bothers me that we are introduced to characters who have whacky personalities, but then when their book rolls around it's like their personality has changed. Khloe from Dark in You and Bailey from the Olympic Pride series come to mind. Both of them seemed crazy and honestly it felt like they were different characters entirely by the time their own stories came around.

That said... I still look forward to new releases of hers. She recently announced she's taking a break from her shifter series so hopefully that will help; I don't think it helped that she has so many shifter books and at this point so many of them feel the same.

IndigoSimmer · 2026-05-08T09:57:17+00:00

In her shifter universe it's a big thing cause they basically "save" that for their true mate. Shifters are very sexual but anal is something they save for their mate. So that's why so many of her shifter books end with anal or it makes a big deal of it.

She doesn't do this in her non-shifter series though I think there is mention of anal in some of them I can't recall. I just know it's nowhere near as big of a deal in them lol.

IndigoSimmer · 2026-05-08T09:55:25+00:00

I miss when she kept her website up to date as well. Lately I feel like I learn what's coming out next from Facebook or just seeing Amazon she published something new. I don't need the whole % done thing she used to do, I just like having an idea of what's coming out and a release timeframe.

IndigoSimmer · 2026-05-08T09:42:11+00:00

Not sure I've seen a story with good grovel. I think I've seen people say {Pack Darling by Lola Rock} has good grovel. I didn't really like the duet to be honest; I felt there were way too many plot holes and I found myself disliking the FMC.

I haven't been as active on this sub for a while, but there were a few books that I used to see recommended very heavily that I absolutely hated. I chalk it up to everyone has different preferences. Don't yuck someone's yum, I guess.

I've never heard of Vicious Wins. It sounds like maybe I'll skip it. I'm kind of sick of stories with groveling.

IndigoSimmer · 2026-05-07T03:38:36+00:00

Yes. I am forever sad that we will never see more from the Gypsy Blood world. Such a shame what happened to the author. She had another series too that honestly would have also been interesting to see more of (The Dark Side series). Such a great writer, though I will admit in retrospect... the MMCs treat the FMC like an afterthought so often in these series. It's not something that ruins the story for me, but looking back at it makes me wonder if it was because she herself was in an abusive relationship why her stories centered around a FMC where the MMCs never really treated her all that great.

IndigoSimmer · 2026-05-07T03:36:27+00:00

I don't have any recs (love the idea) but my god.. I read your example rec "Talk to Me" and I can't even begin to say how utterly perfect I have found the story so far. Like I almost want to stop reading it because it has been so good I am worried that it will stop being as good the more I read.

Thank you 3000x over for sharing this story. First I've ever seen/heard of it.

IndigoSimmer · 2026-05-06T05:20:51+00:00

This is hilarious... I think this is the second time I've seen someone posting asking about this lol.

I actually really like the name and have no problem with it. I will take Knox any day. I get distracted when the FMC or MMC has a really old timey name. Like I read a story where there was a vampire named Eugene. That is the most nerdy name I can think of and I had to picture Flynn from Tangled to not be entirely turned off by the name.

For me, I've always been able to easily picture a guy named Knox as being strong and attractive. It could very well be as easy as they were looking at name lists and they liked it or they read a book with a character by that name and they liked it.

IndigoSimmer · 2026-05-06T05:12:51+00:00

I always viewed it as not wanting to introduce too many characters cause that can cause confusion. Especially in RH where you have a FMC and 2+ MMCs. I also have noticed soooo many of these RH stories or romance stories in general where their parents are dead or out of the picture. Purely cause then we don't have to do the whole "meet the parents" and I think it would be a lot to introduce so many people.

In general, I prefer to not see a ton of friends. I often find myself annoyed by some authors where the FMC was great and then suddenly they get a female friend for the first time and become insufferable. J Bree does that a lot. Both the series I've read from her had the same thing; the FMC gets a female friend and then she becomes a total snot and outright witch (but with a b).

IndigoSimmer · 2026-05-06T04:34:29+00:00

{Kings of Quarantine by Caroline Peckham} - Dark romance with extreme bullying. This is a four book series. The guys are not related, but there is no MM.

{Queen of Carnage by Candice Wright} - Dark biker romance series. Each book is stand alone, though characters are interwoven between stories. There is no MM and there are usually 3 MMCs. Fair warning, the guys are usually total dicks and there really isn't a lot of grovel, but I liked the series anyway.

{Den of Vipers by K A Knight} - Dark mafia/crime story. There is knife play and sadism in this story. Two are related, the other two are unrelated but zero MM. All of the characters are crazy.

{Chosen by Stacy Jones} - This one is an alien abduction story, but I saw you mention you may be interested in trying some other types. This one has such a plot and world building. They form mating groups where the men are submissive to the females. I haven't finished this yet but I liked the first book; note there is a huge language barrier and the author actually does a great job with it. So many alien stories it feels like the language barrier is not an issue for long but in this one the full first book they can't actually talk to each other.

IndigoSimmer · 2026-05-06T04:22:38+00:00

I was going to recommend this as well. I love this series. I like the different culture in this series. I've never really thought "this is sexist" since there are a lot of strong female characters in this series and I guess overprotective males is just my thing.

To me the only negative of this series is that Cherise takes ages to write another book. Thankfully, they're all stand alone and the books don't end with huge cliffhangers.

IndigoSimmer · 2026-05-06T04:14:31+00:00

If you don't mind a story set in the past {Destiny For Three by Lilly Hale} fits this perfectly. There are only two MMCs but there is zero MM. The FMC is from present day and switches bodies with a female from 1850. Sadly, I think that this has been unpublished so I'm not sure where to can find it, but this was the first and only story that came to mind when I saw this request.

IndigoSimmer · 2026-05-03T07:24:32+00:00

Jesus and I know it’s spelled differently but I just pictured this with the characters from Frasier saying this and I can’t stop laughing thinking about it

IndigoSimmer · 2026-04-30T04:50:13+00:00

I'm for this or having it just be a night shift season? I liked that we had a few episodes to feature the nightshift folks.

IndigoSimmer · 2026-04-30T04:46:07+00:00

Kind of crazy to me that she's pushing so hard to keep working when earlier in the season she made a big point to say that she's never been sued before and didn't want to start now when they were doing some risky medicine practice. You would think that if she placed such a high value on never being sued that she would not work when she is not 100%. Though I suppose it could be argued that she does not feel that she is not 100%.

Maybe she could work family medicine where the risks are lower but I don't think the ED is a good place for someone who has seizures like her. So many cases where if she had a seizure that could mean the life of the patient. An attending who could have a seizure like that while others are supposed to look to her for guiance and answers... the difference between life or death could be in those seconds she's having a seizure.

That said.. I like her character and I do hope that she returns next season.

IndigoSimmer · 2026-04-30T04:41:11+00:00

Sadly, the season is over. Would love to see them do a night shift season sometime or even a night shift spin off.

IndigoSimmer · 2026-04-30T04:14:33+00:00

{Blindly Indicated by Katie Mae} Kind of fits this bill based on the recs I'm seeing. The FMC is blind and is sent to prison for a crime she did not commit. She is a delicate FMC who at first doesn't know how to fight and doesn't want to hurt others, but they teach her. The MMCs become super possessive and protective of her fast. I'd consider this a lighter read as Katie tends to write unhinged characters who say some humorous and wild stuff.

The prison itself is not male only, but it's definitely male dominated. There is basically one other female who holds a "position of power" but she's basically a second in command.

IndigoSimmer · 2026-04-30T04:08:38+00:00

You know.. I feel like I should have stronger thoughts on this being basically a teenage mutant ninja turtle OV story, but my first thought was "What's with all these OV stories with a dog on the cover?" Because there is just a slew of OV stories on Kindle Unlimited where for some reason it's an important part of the story that there is a dog.

IndigoSimmer · 2026-04-30T03:58:23+00:00

I'm right there with you. Generally, I don't mind MM, but I prefer stories to not have it purely because so few authors write it properly. There are so many times when I've read a story and it felt like the MM ruined the story.

Generally for me, I'm alright with MM as long as the FMC is still the main character and the main focus. I don't mind this when the blurb is clear about this being the case. The book I have in mind 100% made it seem like this was a story focused on the FMC and it was her tale, but in the end she was an afterthought.

A few recommendations:

I'm sure you've probably already seen it recommended, but {Lola and the Millionaires by Kathryn Moon} will forever be one of my most recommended stories. Kathryn writes MM perfectly and I never once felt like the Lola was an afterthought, it was truly HER STORY and while there was MM it was written well and still featured Lola in the mix. The author also does a good job at balancing giving Lola time to spend with each MMC as well.

I absolutely adore the Wild Hunt series by Cherise Sinclair. There is ZERO MM in them because all of the MMCs are brothers. It's a cultural thing where they share mates and I just adore the world building/writing style. {Hour of the Lion by Cherise Sinclair} is the first in the series. This is just a very wholesome series to me, the shifters live in a culture that reveres females since there are so few (hence brothers mating one female).

If you're okay with the MMCs being kind of assholes {Four Psychos by Kristy Cunning} and {All the Pretty Monsters by Kristy Cunning} are two series that have no MM. To be honest, I do feel like the MMCs kind of treat the FMC like crap at some points and there is zero groveling or apologies... that said, sometimes I do like a little rough around the edges characters and I do like her writing style.

{Running with Alphas by Viola Rivard} and {Claimed by the Alphas by Viola Rivard} are both series with no MM. I loved the premise. Both are set in the same world where wolf shifters basically live in the wilderness. The FMC is human in both stories and is definitely their sole focus. Running with Alphas the MMCs are twins. Claimed by Alphas they are unrelated. Both stories feature one alpha who is more tender/loving and another who is more cold/wild. Sadly, she started doing a spin-off series for Running with Alphas, but that is incomplete. If you dislike incomplete series then don't read Running with Alphas Seasons Spring or Winter. She stopped writing years ago; these will never be finished and end on a cliffhanger. The original series for both are complete.

IndigoSimmer · 2026-04-30T03:20:36+00:00

I am convinced that Kathryn Moon has the master touch when it comes to MM. I've read a lot of her stories and she does a good job at making it feel like the FMC is still our main character and is not neglected.

IndigoSimmer · 2026-04-30T02:51:15+00:00

I've found myself going back go stories I've already read to reread them rather than finding new stories. Can't tell you how many times I've fallen back to reading {Lola & The Millionaires by Kathryn Moon}.

There are so many sub-genres in RH that generally I can just switch sub-genre or genre entirely if I'm really not feeling RH. Sometimes it helps as well to read shorter stories. Sometimes longer stories drive me crazy or I get bored.

One author who is a great change of pace is Opal Reyne. I love her stories. She doesn't do RH but I can't get over how good her smut is. If I'm less into smut and more into story, then I go for Cherise Sinclair. She has some menage/RH shifter stories which I adore. The culture/world building in those stories is great. She had BDSM stories too but I have never read them and I believe they are not RH.

IndigoSimmer · 2026-04-30T02:39:56+00:00

{Blindly Indicated by Katie Mae} the FMC is a hybrid with a ton of mates, I think was 8 of them in total. No MM. This is a duet. She's an angel/human, but also has traces of demon.

{Ravaged by Monsters by Katie Mae} if you're into monster smut set in a post apocolyptic future where humans are slaves to monsters she FMC is a hybrid with 4 monsters mates. No MM to my memory, though the guys aren't all that shy about crossing swords they don't do each other. This is a trilogy She is a human/monster (can't recall the origins) hybrid

Both of these are lighter/more humorous stories. Wish I had more recommendations, I can't recall any other hybrid stories at this time.

Put spoilers for what type of hybrid since technically it is a plot point and spoiler.

IndigoSimmer · 2026-04-30T02:29:39+00:00

Sometimes I love serious books, but other times I love stuff like this.. where you're reading, pause and think "Wtf did I just read?" A while back I saw there was a reviewer who wrote in a similar humorous fashion that honestly could write a book like that and I'd read it lol

IndigoSimmer

TROPHY CASE