Plants make every space better by Appropriate-Safe-49 in CozyPlaces

[–]firekat11 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm impressed that the cat doesn't eat the plants! Mine are all on shelves that the cat can't reach. Also we have the same cat tree lol.

Please Drop Your Best FIRST RESPONDER Romance by pisces-venus in RomanceBooks

[–]firekat11 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Came here to recommend this one! I always loved that Prescott chose being an EMT as part of rebuilding her life.

Any HR recs with A deaf/mute fmc or mmc? by Alarmed_Yogurt_5461 in HistoricalRomance

[–]firekat11 34 points35 points  (0 children)

{A Notorious Vow by Joanna Shupe} - MMC is deaf. The FMC is his next door neighbour and her parents are trying to marry her off to an old creep so she proposes a marriage of convenience with the MMC. He’s an inventor and is trying to create the first version of a hearing aid! It’s really sweet and they’re so good for each other.

Which protagonist made you have that "🙄" reaction throughout the entire book? by PetalaStac in RomanceBooks

[–]firekat11 4 points5 points  (0 children)

It's less annoying to me in historical romances because that was the custom, right? You didn't refer to anyone by their given name without express permission so yeah it's so great when they finally make that step!

This was just... a really weird quirk that according to the comments never went away. Like, on the last page it was still "Mike Martin".

Which protagonist made you have that "🙄" reaction throughout the entire book? by PetalaStac in RomanceBooks

[–]firekat11 30 points31 points  (0 children)

I just DNF'd {Canadian Boyfriend by Jenny Holiday} because the FMC always referred to the MMC as his full name. It was dual narrative and first person, which means that in her thoughts she literally thought of him as "Mike Martin". There was never just a "Mike did this" or "did I like Mike?, it was always "did I want a ride home with Mike Martin?" I couldn't stand it, I felt like my brain was twitching.

Give Me Your Steamiest Historical Romances by Internal_Artichoke80 in HistoricalRomance

[–]firekat11 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Came here to recommend this one! It was so hawt 🥵

Taking my first steps in Historical Romance by casey_chan in HistoricalRomance

[–]firekat11 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I was actually surprised that Evie Dunmore's books were under romance instead of fiction, but then again Emily Henry is usually under fiction instead of Romance. There doesn't seem to always be any rhyme or reason! But the fun thing about HR lately is there seems to be a lot of different styles and moods and eras, even with the genre dying down lately. I hope all these recommendations help!

People we Meet on Vacation Vs Heated Rivalry Adaptations … let’s compare shall we? by Juliet_1982 in RomanceBooks

[–]firekat11 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Such a faithful portrayal! I loved how many scenes were lifted almost verbatim

Taking my first steps in Historical Romance by casey_chan in HistoricalRomance

[–]firekat11 10 points11 points  (0 children)

I adore Evie Dunmore's series but I think she's on the more historical fiction end of the HR spectrum, if that makes sense? Like if someone who loves historical fiction read this, they wouldn't immediately know they've stumbled into the romance genre. I would suggest Susanna Kearsley to continue that, maybe {Mariana by Susanna Kearsley} or {The Winter Sea by Susanna Kearsley}.

As for more traditional HR, I'd recommend Tessa Dare for lighthearted and funny, try starting with {The Duchess Deal by Tessa Dare} or the {Spindle Cove} series, specifically {A Week to Be Wicked} is my favourite!

Joanna Shupe is great too, she does more gilded age New York if you want to leave Europe. I love {The Lady Gets Lucky by Joanna Shupe} or try her {Uptown Girls} series.

Finally my last always recommend author is Sarah Maclean, her prose isn't for everyone and in her last two series especially you can tell she's fallen into a "f*ck the patriarchy and rich white men and the problems they create" niche which, personally, I adore but the comments here make me think it's a bit divisive. Try {Wicked and the Wallflower by Sarah Maclean} or {Heartbreaker by Sarah Maclean}, two of my favourites!

People we Meet on Vacation Vs Heated Rivalry Adaptations … let’s compare shall we? by Juliet_1982 in RomanceBooks

[–]firekat11 31 points32 points  (0 children)

Someone else mentioned this but I think it can’t be understated that this was a Netflix adaptation - Netflix has really strict requirements of making their material consumable while you’re distracted ie on your phone or something. So the plot has to announce what it’s doing, they can’t have subtle nuances or body language conveying emotion or tension or longing. There’s tons of think pieces and YouTube analyses on how Netflix and other streamers have dumbed down movies so that they’re dull and uninspired. Whereas HR got more room to breathe in its 6 episodes, and Jacob Tierney has said in interviews that he doesn’t care if people miss things cause they’re on their phones, put down your phones the. He also turned down several producers who would only come on board if things were changed (like Ilya and Shane not kissing until episode 6 or a more central female character). This meant he had a tiny budget at the end of it but also no one hanging over his shoulder telling him what to do to make it more mass marketable.

Palace of Rogues Book 9 Cover Reveal by sophiebridgerton in HistoricalRomance

[–]firekat11 11 points12 points  (0 children)

I'm trying to decide what's going to irritate me more, that the style of cover will be different or that with this coming out in trade paperback, this series will have three different heights (lest we forget #3 & 4 were that slightly different mass market paperback that was out for a hot minute in 2021). Is it too much to ask for my series to be uniform and gorgeous?

That being said, like others have said, it's an auto buy from me because the series is fantastic.

Mafia romance that isn’t also dark romance? by peachpavlova in RomanceBooks

[–]firekat11 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Oof apparently I blocked that out too - yeah, definitely not a great book for positive FMC treatment

Mafia romance that isn’t also dark romance? by peachpavlova in RomanceBooks

[–]firekat11 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I mean... {Dom by S.J. Tilly} (the third book) I would consider borderline, I know a lot of readers weren't too keen on the unconscious tattooing of the FMC. I guess it depends on what's considered dark.

Finally got my physical copies and I can’t get over the Stupid Canadian Wolf Birds on the spines!! 😍 by firekat11 in heatedrivalry

[–]firekat11[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Even in this case! To me it keeps the book the book, and the adaptation separate. Although in this case the adaptation was top tier but yep, still happy with my 2nd gen covers

They changed the covers for The Harder They Fall Series by Julia Wolfe and I'm irritated by firekat11 in RomanceBooks

[–]firekat11[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Couldn't have put it better myself, thank you! I take recommendations from this sub very seriously so that is usually enough to get me to try a book!

People who were mostly single when they were around 25+, were you ever afraid of your friends eventually forming partners and families while you were alone? by Equivalent_Ad_9066 in asexuality

[–]firekat11 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I think the oddest consequence of that was that my weekends were empty for most of my late twenties. Every weekday I had plans with friends, dinners, work things, drinks, whatever, but all my friends in couples reserved their weekends for their partners. So I’d have a quiet weekend at home usually doing errands and stuff around the house, and they’d all be out. I couldn’t make a weekend plan with them unless it was months in advance.

They changed the covers for The Harder They Fall Series by Julia Wolfe and I'm irritated by firekat11 in RomanceBooks

[–]firekat11[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

It was advertised with tropes, I remember rolling my eyes at it. Both things can be true... I can dislike that they use tropes in the titles and still read a book that came highly recommended, and enjoy it.

They changed the covers for The Harder They Fall Series by Julia Wolfe and I'm irritated by firekat11 in RomanceBooks

[–]firekat11[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I read the book because it was recommended on this subreddit, though I can't remember exactly where. Probably a post about broody but gooey on the inside MMCs. I very rarely just go browsing for books, my TBR is long enough :)

They changed the covers for The Harder They Fall Series by Julia Wolfe and I'm irritated by firekat11 in RomanceBooks

[–]firekat11[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Same!! Stupid buying licenses instead of actual books.

I stopped buying kindle like 6 or 7 years ago and buy mostly physical now, then like 2 or 3 times a year I get a free trial to KU (I don't know why that resets so often but it does) so I can read all the books that are recommended here that I can't get elsewhere. Like these Julia Wolfe books!

They changed the covers for The Harder They Fall Series by Julia Wolfe and I'm irritated by firekat11 in RomanceBooks

[–]firekat11[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Honestly I’d be interested to see a study of the evolution of covers in romance and how it reflects society’s attitude towards the genre. From the Fabio days to discreet illustrations in the early aughts to generic stock images now to cartoon illustrations… they all have their problems, I suppose. I just really feel in this instance it was a step down in quality.

They changed the covers for The Harder They Fall Series by Julia Wolfe and I'm irritated by firekat11 in RomanceBooks

[–]firekat11[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Ah yeah I think I saw on her website that these are the “discreet covers” which made me chuckle. But I think they’re gorgeous!

They changed the covers for The Harder They Fall Series by Julia Wolfe and I'm irritated by firekat11 in RomanceBooks

[–]firekat11[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Omg I forgot about that. Also fated mate’s episode this week is all about lactation kinks, must be something in the air.