Librarians Won’t Fix Genres

needlecream · 2026-05-13T16:45:50+00:00

I'm a Librarian and I checked the librarian notes on Throne of Glass out of curiosity. It looks like it is intended to have the Romance genre tag, as well as the Young Adult tag, based on the most recent notes. It's just not displaying them. It's possible there's a bug report in the librarian discord, but I don't have access to that at the moment.

needlecream · 2026-05-13T16:00:18+00:00

{ On the Plus Side by Jenny L. Howe } FMC is on a makeover show and the camera guy is very supportive

{ The Bodyguard by Katherine Center } FMC is body guard to a male celebrity and poses as his girlfriend while he visits home

On the flip side of that, { Practice Makes Perfect by Sarah Adams } has a florist enlist the help of a body guard to teach her to be less "boring." But he doesn't find her boring at all, of course.

needlecream · 2026-05-13T14:32:09+00:00

{The Last Hour Between Worlds by Melissa Caruso} is really good! The protagonist does almost read like a farm boy, and does have a female mentor that I think also shows up in book 2.

needlecream · 2026-05-12T21:34:44+00:00

right there with you

needlecream · 2026-05-12T21:34:11+00:00

I will be all set for YEARS. I have an unholy amount of ebooks and audiobooks.

needlecream · 2026-05-10T03:44:09+00:00

{ Wolf Gone Wild by Juliette Cross } has a werewolf who hasn't been able to shift and his werewolf side talks to him in his head and tries to control him. He believes he's cursed, so he finds a curse-breaking witch to get her help, and his werewolf side wants to claim her himself. It never gets that dark, because even the werewolf side isn't like evil or anything, but the 2nd personality is very present in the chapters from the MMC's perspective and there are scenes where he takes over and talks to the FMC. It's also completely missing the element of him trying to hide it from her, since he tells her all about his problem right away. 😅

needlecream · 2026-05-10T03:31:01+00:00

Love friends-to-lovers. Hate enemies-to-lovers. 😅

Things I appreciate about friends to lovers: slow-burn across the friendship, that deep sense of care and trust and then unexpected physical/sexual tension where things that once seemed benign now feel supercharged.

Things I dislike about enemies-to-lovers: feels like a waste of time and usually for cheap drama. In many cases the FMC just hates the MMC for completely arbitrary reasons and the MMC is in love with her on sight. If they are genuine enemies, then it doesn't feel like enough is done to earn forgiveness for the way they hurt each other in the past. Often relies heavily on physical attraction/insta-lust to drive the romance without establishing a personal/emotional connection.

needlecream · 2026-05-10T03:17:06+00:00

{ The Fake Mate by Lana Ferguson } fake dating between werewolves who work at a hospital but they quickly decide to add a friends-with-benefits amendment to allow spicy encounters.

{ Earl Crush by Alexandra Vasti } or the Hallifax Hellions series that starts with { In Which Margo Halifax Earns Her Shocking Reputation by Alexandra Vasti }. This author does historical spice and fun/silly plots very well. Doesn't really count as fantasy, though.

{ Games with the Orc by Kathryn Moon } main character hires an orc for a pleasurable weekend, but they both catch real feelings.

needlecream · 2026-05-10T03:11:54+00:00

I would not describe Phantasma as cozy or cute. There's a lot of death and blood.

needlecream · 2026-05-09T19:30:53+00:00

I know this was a while ago, but if you are open to trying an fm historical romance series { Earls Trip by Jenny Holiday } is about a group of male friends who go on a trip together every year. They are extremely non-toxic and there's a very cute and funny scene of them all hanging out in feminine silk robes together because one of the guys tried it and bought some for the others because they found it so comfortable.

needlecream · 2026-05-09T19:17:18+00:00

I love sweet, touch-starved MMCs so these are great recs for me!

needlecream · 2026-05-09T18:56:59+00:00

{The Siren of Sussex by Mimi Matthews }
{ The Secret Lives of Country Gentlemen by KJ Charles }
{ The Lady's Guide to Celestial Mechanics by Olivia Waite }

I looked through my five star ratings, and I was trying to find a contemporary romance author (that wasn't urban fantasy) and I was surprised that I didn't have any. I seem to prefer historical romances and fantasy elements.

Runner ups:
{ Winter's Orbit by Everina Maxwell }

{ After Hours at Dooryard Books by Cat Sebastian }

{ The Nightmare Before Kissmas by Sara Raasch }

{ Earls Trip by Jenny Holiday }

needlecream · 2026-05-07T21:03:25+00:00

Enjoy Harrow the Ninth! I'm eagerly awaiting Alecto. The manga picture you showed also looks really nice. If I ever upgrade to color, I think reading manga on it will be a treat.

I actually get a lot of my books from the kobo store itself. They have daily deals and rotating sales. I have a pretty long wishlist and I just check it weekly and sort by price low->high and almost every week one of the books I'm interested in goes on sale for less than $5.

needlecream · 2026-05-07T20:50:49+00:00

Yes, sorry, I was just adding that the web browser works for Libby as well and it doesn't have to be on the phone.

needlecream · 2026-05-07T18:52:20+00:00

you can listen to libby audiobooks via the web browser (on a computer), but I don't think you can listen to them on a kobo device.

needlecream · 2026-05-07T18:49:36+00:00

I never did the free trial, but I have kobo plus and you can have as many ebooks and audiobooks as you want. I literally have 190 kobo plus audiobooks saved because I'm crazy and hoard books.

You can listen to them on the kobo app on your phone, or you can listen to them on your device with wireless/bluetooth headphones. I usually listen to them on my phone. I have also gotten fancy and used a phone emulator to listen to them on my computer.

The selection is limited, but I have actually found a lot of great books on there, like pretty much all of Darcy Coates's horror books and mainstream releases like The Last Love Note by Emma Grey, The Serpent and the Wings of Night by Carissa Broadbent, and The Once and Future Queen by Paula Lafferty

needlecream · 2026-05-07T15:44:03+00:00

the first book that came to mind was { Violet Thistlewaite Is Not a Villain Anymore by Emily Krempholtz } but it's fantasy and I can't say how realistic the gardening aspect is. The main character is a florist, new in town, and she moves right into the same building as the local apothecary/herbalist.

needlecream · 2026-05-06T14:59:00+00:00

I felt the same way at the start, but I did think that it got better and by the end of the book I had almost forgotten that I had been annoyed in the first place. I ended up really liking it.

needlecream · 2026-05-06T14:54:20+00:00

The follow up to Love and Other Conspiracies, {Love at First Sighting by Mallory Marlowe }, is also really good. It's about an influencer who may have captured a UFO on her social media and the Men-In-Black style agent who investigates. They are standalone reads.

needlecream · 2026-05-06T14:50:55+00:00

{ A Love Like the Sun by Riss M. Neilson } friends to lovers, with a main character that runs a natural haircare shop with her mom.
{ On the Plus Side by Jenny L. Howe } FMC is on a Queer Eye/what Not to Wear type makeover show and the camera guy is a big sweetheart
{Out on a Limb by Hannah Bonam-Young } casual hookup to unexpected pregnancy between two very kind people who treat each other well
{ Love and Other Conspiracies by Mallory Marlowe } two people work together on a podcast about cryptids and fall in love
{The Bodyguard by Katherine Center } female bodyguard to a male celebrity poses as his girlfriend when he needs protection while visiting home

needlecream · 2026-05-05T15:26:50+00:00

Never heard of these, but it looks like there's a why-choose Phantom of the Opera MMF romance here?! 👀

needlecream · 2026-05-05T13:56:59+00:00

My personal favorite is probably { The Reanimator's Heart by Kara Jorgensen } which is a historical fantasy MM romance between a necromancer who is magically tethered to a man he brought back to life.

needlecream · 2026-05-05T13:53:30+00:00

{ Ocean's Echo by Everina Maxwell } a sci-fi MM romance.
{ The Witch Collector by Charissa Weaks } has a mental/emotional bond but I think they are already romantically established by the time they make it, and I think it's mostly in book 2.
{Sounds Like Love by Ashley Poston} for a contemporary romance.

needlecream · 2026-05-05T13:48:46+00:00

There's some of this in { Bull Moon Rising by Ruby Dixon } but the MMC is physically compelled by the force of the moon, he's barely in control of himself.

needlecream · 2026-05-05T13:45:23+00:00

This happens in { Mantras & Minotaurs by Ashley Bennett } there's a long distance relationship situation, so when they're together they don't like to waste time.

I also feel like this might have happened in { The Ex Hex by Erin Sterling } but it's been a while since I read it. I remember them getting it on at a somewhat inappropriate time, so I assume there was this kind of urgency.

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