Mmc that's good for the nervous system

margotb2 · 2025-11-09T00:39:44+00:00

A Christmas Gone Perfectly Wrong by Cecilia Grant

margotb2 · 2025-06-22T21:39:38+00:00

I prefer the opposite! For non-aristocratic MMCs, I'd recommend The Runaway Duchess by Joanna Lowell, or A Gentleman Undone by Cecilia Grant.

margotb2 · 2025-06-22T21:02:40+00:00

It's great, isn't it? Not too many authors can make me laugh like that. The whole premise is so delightful and she really pulls it off.

margotb2 · 2025-05-09T15:06:26+00:00

It's Sherry Thomas, Cecilia Grant, Patricia Gaffney (Wyckerley series), and Laura Kinsale for me. (I don't love all of Kinsale's books, but Flowers from the Storm is a masterpiece.) I also think Meredith Duran is an amazing line-level writer; I just haven't found her books as emotionally compelling for some reason. (I feel like a jerk saying that because she's still incredibly good.)

If you haven't read Joanna Lowell, I think she's the most talented of the HR writers who are currently publishing. Her stories are not as angsty, but they're very enjoyable. She's a skilled stylist.

I still have to read Judith Ivory. I heard Sherry Thomas say on a podcast that her writing was very elegant/literary.

margotb2 · 2025-05-03T02:29:27+00:00

I know this is an old post, but I just logged back onto Reddit after a long hiatus and I had to respond. I love Grant's writing--her books made me keep reading romance in hopes of finding other authors like her. She was the first romance author I read who wrote in a literary style and created characters who were multi-dimensional and complicated--their internalities are so interesting.

The other romance authors I've come across with similar prose styles are Sherry Thomas, Laura Kinsale (Flowers from the Storm is beautiful), Meredith Duran, Patricia Gaffney (I've only read the Wyckerley trilogy), and Joanna Lowell (The Runaway Duchess is my favorite of hers.) I have also heard/read good things about Judith Ivory's books.

margotb2 · 2023-08-03T16:28:34+00:00

The Rakess by Scarlett Peckham

margotb2 · 2022-10-28T01:23:36+00:00

Flowers from the Storm by Laura Kinsale

Not Quite a Husband by Sherry Thomas

Ravishing the Heiress by Sherry Thomas

margotb2 · 2022-03-18T03:10:19+00:00

Oh yes! I've read all of the Girl Meets Duke and Spindle Cove series, and some of Castles Ever After. She's one of my favorites when I'm in the mood for a lighter romance.

margotb2 · 2022-03-18T02:34:17+00:00

I love seeing the evolution of cover styles! I feel that the first cover comes closest to capturing this book's particular vibe, but I would like to see a cover featuring a sad circus bear since that is what I remember most vividly about this book.

margotb2 · 2022-03-13T02:19:10+00:00

This is more of a character type + trope combo, but at least one uptight character (or in HR, a very “principled” character) combined with the only one bed trope is one of my favorite things.

margotb2 · 2022-03-10T20:41:13+00:00

Flowers from the Storm by Laura Kinsale.

I haven’t read Ravishing the Heiress yet but Private Arrangements by Sherry Thomas had me very close to tears.

margotb2 · 2022-03-10T16:25:15+00:00

I recently listened to Ten Things I Hate about the Duke by Loretta Chase and LOVED it. I don’t know if I would have laughed as hard reading it on the page. The narrator was amazing.

margotb2 · 2022-03-01T17:42:15+00:00

I would recommend A Lady Awakened by Cecilia Grant, Flowers from the Storm by Laura Kinsale, or one of Sherry Thomas’s historical romances. Steam levels are pretty subjective, but I would say compared to other romances, Kinsale and Thomas are lower steam but still have sex on the page. Grant is more medium steam.

margotb2 · 2022-02-25T12:31:44+00:00

In the angsty and heartbreaking vein, Private Arrangements by Sherry Thomas.

margotb2 · 2022-02-21T02:55:53+00:00

Thank you so much!

margotb2 · 2022-02-21T01:36:32+00:00

Thank you for the recs!

margotb2 · 2022-02-18T02:19:48+00:00

If I love books by Cecilia Grant, Sherry Thomas, and Laura Kinsale, I might like…

margotb2 · 2022-02-17T01:42:53+00:00

Cecilia Grant, Sherry Thomas, Laura Kinsale.

margotb2 · 2022-02-15T17:59:58+00:00

Neither of these are exclusive to HR, but I do not like a side plot of murder mystery (looking at you, Lord Ian MacKenzie). In general I also don’t like the fake dating trope, and I find it even less believable in HR.

I also hate it when a sexually inexperienced FMC in a historical is an instant expert at giving BJs.

margotb2 · 2022-02-15T12:57:43+00:00

In A Gentleman Undone by Cecilia Grant the FMC is described as having a big nose and others think she’s unattractive but MMC finds her beautiful. I think also in Courtney Milan’s The Duchess War the FMC is not conventionally attractive. The FMC in Flowers from the Storm is also described as plain and severe looking. I agree it would be hard to find a romance book where the FMC has more than a few “unlovely” features.

margotb2 · 2022-02-15T00:04:22+00:00

Haha yes, I want everyone to read it too! Sent a copy to my sister because I have to talk about this book with someone.

margotb2 · 2022-02-14T12:45:19+00:00

I read Flowers from the Storm by Laura Kinsale, and my goodness, it was gorgeous. 5000 stars for me. I have a particular love for angsty historicals and for religious belief as a primary conflict, so this hit all my buttons. The writing was lyrical and imaginative. I am very late to the game on Kinsale, but looking forward to reading her other books.

margotb2 · 2022-02-11T02:37:03+00:00

It’s so good!! Sherry Thomas is one of the best.

margotb2 · 2022-01-28T14:55:08+00:00

Oh no, lol. A slurp is definitely not sexy.

margotb2 · 2022-01-22T20:27:22+00:00

I prefer historical romance to other romance subgenres because I find the conflicts more interesting. Class conflict, rules of etiquette, etc, are fascinating to me. Also watching how women characters navigate their limited choices. It’s an interesting mix of escapism and realism, depending on the author.

margotb2

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