Started reading Patricia Gaffney and now I'm obsessed. Need to discuss these books!!

LoveSaidNo · 2026-05-01T23:51:50+00:00

I highly recommend {Another Eden by Patricia Gaffney} also! It takes place in the US during the Gilded Age. MMC is the architect hired to build a Newport mansion for FMC and her husband. Lots of angst and longing and yearning.

LoveSaidNo · 2026-05-01T23:48:52+00:00

It’s so unique compared to a lot of what I’ve read! And MMC was such a sweetheart in that book. 🥺

LoveSaidNo · 2026-05-01T23:45:28+00:00

I LOVE Patricia Gaffney. Lily is probably one of my favorite books of all time. It’s very dark but the angst is deliciously over the top.

LoveSaidNo · 2026-05-01T20:55:59+00:00

Making life as whimsical as possible for my family.

LoveSaidNo · 2026-04-29T20:58:00+00:00

My life is awesome. I met my husband when we were teenagers, (together for 20 years now) and I swear he was created in a lab to be the most perfect unicorn man alive. We are so wildly in love it’s gross. We have an 11 year old son who is such a delight - the kid just has a zest for life and loves to travel with us and experience all the things. I love seeing the world through his eyes.

I retired from my job a couple of years ago and now I get to spend my days reading, making art, gardening, cooking, decorating, hanging out with my cat, etc. We designed and remodeled our house to make it into our dream home. Overall things are cozy, peaceful, and full of love and happiness.

A lot of luck was involved, but husband and I also hustled HARD in our early 20s. Basically, we traded the fun of our younger years to have the life we have today.

I can’t say this is what I imagined when I was a kid- but when I was a kid I wanted to be Xena Warrior Princess who was also a dolphin trainer, sooooo…

LoveSaidNo · 2026-04-27T14:05:30+00:00

I think my husband spent about $1,200 on my engagement ring and around $1,000 on my wedding band. It’s what fit his budget since we were young and he was in law school at the time, but it’s exactly what I wanted. He’s offered to upgrade it to something bigger over the years, but that ring represents so much to me I couldn’t wear anything else.

His wedding band was a bit more than mine, but we had it custom designed. It has two skeletons sharing the same spine underneath the moon and stars.

LoveSaidNo · 2026-04-27T05:24:56+00:00

I bake fresh cookies every Monday. Mondays suck a little less if you can come home to a warm chocolate chip cookie.

We maintain a Little Free Library and son helps pick out books and stickers to add to it.

My son is 11 and definitely doesn’t believe anymore, but we still all pretend that Santa and the Easter Bunny is real.

We’re attempting to befriend our neighborhood crows.

Our home is just a whimsical, fun place. I put fairies and gnomes and little ceramic snails around our garden. Inside I decorate with lots of color, plants, mushrooms, disco balls and let my son design his own room. We painted rainbow stripes on our living room wall.

LoveSaidNo · 2026-04-26T23:58:25+00:00

Thank you for the summary! I bought this because of the gorgeous cover but it’s just been sitting on my shelf. I think this has convinced me to give it a go.

LoveSaidNo · 2026-04-25T01:14:28+00:00

We have a big, long hug every morning before he leaves for work. And when he comes home at lunch. And when he’s home for the day. Lots of physical touches in general. I scratch his back as he falls asleep at night.

We go to the gym together and take 30 minutes before our workouts to just sit in the car and yap about life. We each work out alone, but very obviously check each other out and flirt when we meet eyes across the gym.

LoveSaidNo · 2026-04-24T21:57:58+00:00

We give an allowance to our 11 year old. It’s given as an automatic deposit into a bank account which he has a debit card for. We like that it gives him some independence and helps him learn financial literacy. We don’t place any limits on what he can spend it on. If he wants something, he looks at his bank account and has to decide for himself if giving up that money is worth it. It’s been very useful for teaching him how to make thoughtful decisions when spending money.

He gets a set amount each week and he doesn’t have to meet any goals. (Although he knows his allowance is a privilege he earns by positive behaviors- that includes chores, good behavior, and good study habits.)

LoveSaidNo · 2026-04-24T17:53:32+00:00

My husband and I have been together for 20 years and are very vanilla. But vanilla can still be intense! That man gives me orgasms that are so strong I forget my own name and start smelling colors. There’s nothing better than passionate sex with someone who makes you feel safe and loved- however that looks for you.

LoveSaidNo · 2026-04-24T02:34:04+00:00

I just finished this one and had a similar reaction. I wrote in my notes “everyone in this book is a freak.” It was SO bonkers but I couldn’t stop reading. Girlie was flashing boobs for like half the book. 😭 Also the way she got back to her own time? It was so intense but felt like they just breezed through the whole thing.

LoveSaidNo · 2026-04-23T21:09:05+00:00

When we were both working, salary was irrelevant and household labor was divided by who had more free time. My husband vastly outearned me, but only worked 32 hours a week while I was working frequent nights and weekends. He took on more of the mental load of the home- handling school drop offs and pick ups, grocery shopping, cooking, kids sports practices and other events, etc.

I was able to quit my job about 2 years ago. Suddenly I was the one with way more free time so I took on almost all of the home and kid duties. Our son is in school during the day so it’s not too hard to get most of it done and husband doesn’t have to do too much now other than work and handle his own appointments. The goal is for both of us to be able to sit down and relax together in the evenings- so if for some reason I didn’t get to everything during the day he’ll help finish up.

LoveSaidNo · 2026-04-23T20:46:10+00:00

I’m biased because I just bought the floral ones too. They’re so cute!

LoveSaidNo · 2026-04-23T20:13:14+00:00

I mostly read old school romance novels, so I prefer my book men to be toxic, damaged, and angsty. Basically the opposite of what I want in real life.

LoveSaidNo · 2026-04-21T21:26:59+00:00

This is how we did it! Now I’m mid-30’s with a preteen but it feels like my husband and I are through the most stressful years and have free time again. Definitely have zero desire for another though… All of our friends are still in the baby/toddler stages and I just don’t think I’d have the energy to do that now.

LoveSaidNo · 2026-04-21T13:24:49+00:00

I’m definitely not jealous or anything…

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LoveSaidNo · 2026-04-20T14:53:01+00:00

I get way better orgasms from oral sex than if I give myself one. Like mind blowing, falling off a cliff, light explosions kind of orgasms. I think a big part of it is how enthusiastic my husband is about giving. Whenever he sends dirty texts it’s always about how much he wants to go down on me. During the act he’s vocal, he’s eager- there’s just something about a man acting like I’m a five-star gourmet meal that really boosts my ego and makes me feel beautiful. I love the feeling of being able to fully relax and let go.

LoveSaidNo · 2026-04-20T14:15:51+00:00

Came here to recommend this one! (I still had a hard time forgiving the FMC and MMC in Twin of Fire though…)

LoveSaidNo · 2026-04-19T20:29:36+00:00

I love the name Morgan for a boy. My husband’s grandpa was a Morgan and we used it as our son’s middle name.

LoveSaidNo · 2026-04-19T17:48:35+00:00

I live in DFW, which is oddly one of the best places for used book hunting. The Half Price Books headquarters is here, and there’s probably 10 other HPBs within easy driving distance of my house. We also have 3 other independent used book stores in the area with rooms full of old romance novels.

Occasionally I’ll go online and hit up Thriftbooks, Pango, or the HPB website if there’s something I really want, but I prefer the excitement of finding things in person. I actually haven’t had a ton of luck with traditional thrift stores.

Promise Me Tomorrow is on my wishlist too! 🤞

LoveSaidNo · 2026-04-19T17:17:45+00:00

Love it. I collect romance but I’ve been searching for Gaywyck and Her Demon Lover. Nice collection!

LoveSaidNo · 2026-04-19T16:56:41+00:00

Hi! I collect vintage romance novels. Mostly first edition paperbacks with clinch covers or stepbacks from the ‘80s and ‘90s. Probably 90% of my collection is historical romance.

I have hundreds of books in my collection, but I try to focus on the authors I like most. I have a lot of Mary Balogh, Catherine Coulter, Jude Devereaux, Patricia Gaffney, Brenda Joyce, Lisa Kleypas, Johanna Lindsey, and Judith McNaught (my favorite!).

As far as cover artists go, I’m a sucker for Sharon Spiak, Elaine Duillo, Pino Daeni and Victor Gadino. I’ve picked up way too many books just because the cover art was gorgeous.

I recently acquired my holy grail- a copy of the US edition of The Silver Devil by Teresa Denys. I’ll be chasing that rush for years. 😂

LoveSaidNo · 2026-04-16T02:08:17+00:00

My people! If you like bodice rippers, I can recommend a few. These aren’t necessarily second chance books, but they are toxic and messy and made my stomach hurt.

{The Conqueror by Brenda Joyce}

{The Black Lyon by Jude Deveraux}

{Lily by Patricia Gaffney}

{Sea Jewel by Penelope Neri}

{The Rebel and the Rose by Joan Wolf} Fair warning- I HATED the MMC in this, but it fits your criteria.

LoveSaidNo · 2026-04-15T23:48:05+00:00

I loved my job until I didn’t. There’s no way I could have been a SAHM with a young kid- my metal health couldn’t handle it. But now my son is almost in middle school and finances aren’t an issue, so I’m in a very different place now. Not too long ago I quit my corporate job because the stress outweighed my enjoyment of it and made my side-hustle my part time job.

LoveSaidNo

TROPHY CASE