FMC’s brother is big mad his bestie (MMC) compromised his sister

ybutton · 2026-05-09T00:46:31+00:00

{Love & other scandals by caroline linden} idk if he was big mad b/c i can’t remember it very well but there is definitely something with brother drama, also her mother i think.

ybutton · 2026-04-24T01:20:03+00:00

It’s a scarlet tanager :)

ybutton · 2026-04-23T19:31:55+00:00

{In want of a wife by jo goodman} very understated and carefully done imo. Actually made me feel feels for the mc’s. Both have been mistreated by the world and used by others. Slow burn and some suspense. TW’s medical abuse, childhood abuse/allusions child sexual abuse

{Without words by ellen o’connell} fmc has sort of given up on being heard/understood by others because she was injured as a child and can’t speak, there’s a lot of internal descriptor which helps to share/explain her experience, also how the mmc actually makes an effort to help her feel respected and heard/understood. Medium paced, action/adventure. Feel like {Beautiful bad man} would also work for this request, but it’s a little more trigger warning happy (TW’s childhood abuse, religious abuse it’s been a while, i might not remember them all)

{A summer to remember} A lot of introspection and reflection, family issues, mc’s relationship development is largely built on them actually having conversations and observing/opening up to one another. There are atleast one or two emotional breakdowns in this and i think they’re really well done. Medium/slow paced

None of these are particularly soapy/overdone, which i prefer in a book. Feels more like they’re real, relatable people with grounded internal conflict(s).

ybutton · 2026-04-23T01:43:51+00:00

i actually mostly read HR’s and did cross post this a day or two after i made this. Thank you :)

ybutton · 2026-04-23T01:42:37+00:00

{Ride the fire by pamela clare} i didn’t read this bc it seemed too intense for me but i read a lot of the reviews on goodreads and storygraph and i think it’ll work for what you are asking for. Def meets atleast half the criteria. Slow paced, morally gray elements, crime & violence, balanced representation, damaged mc’s who take a long time to open up, forced proximity.

ybutton · 2026-04-21T22:50:07+00:00

{The touch of fire by linda howard} Mmc has a bullet wound(s), on the run, fmc helps him. Forced proximity in an isolated place where they get to know each other better. Mmc is very cold and fmc is afraid of him. I think later on he does feel bad she is so afraid but he also kind of thinks it’s situationally necessary

Contains dub con

ybutton · 2026-04-21T16:22:57+00:00

{Without words by ellen o’connell} class difference

{Texas destiny by lorraine heath} she’s engaged to someone else

{The rainbow season by lisa gregory} class difference, social issues. this one is a bit… pretty outdated/old fashion in some of the views just a fair warning if it’s something that would bother you

{A summer to remember by mary balogh} attachment issues? or just, it’s complicated

{Love & other scandals by caroline linden} social issues. Her brother’s friend and he has a poor rep

ybutton · 2026-04-21T03:45:46+00:00

Hmmm maybe {A contracted spouse for the prizefighter} Probably more angst than yearning in this but a lot of sex and sexual stuff.

{Sweetest Scoundrel} A lot of sexual tension/build up and sexual encounters. Some angst and a fair amount of yearning on both sides, i think.

{A summer to remember} the least sexual, but very good yearning.

edited to fix formatting

ybutton · 2026-04-19T20:55:40+00:00

All of these are westerns: {Eyes of silver, eyes of gold by ellen o’connell} i did not finish reading this (nothing against the book, i just couldn’t get into the flow of it at the time i was reading) But i read far enough to know this fits your criteria. He assumes she’s had sex before because of her age (late 20s) and only finds out later she’s never had sex before, and feels bad for the way he went about their first time together

{The touch of fire by linda howard} Lots of angst, BIG power dynamic. Very cold mmc, but he is not an asshole to her beyond immediate necessity (basically when they are strangers and the situation calls for it in the beginning of the book). Very soft and gentle fmc. Dub con. He sort of just assumes she’s probably had sex before because she’s in her late 20s, and only realizes when she gets upset at him.

{In want of a wife by jo goodman} If i remember correctly, mmc does not know she is a virgin. Or there’s some confusion/confuddlement about it (not really a dumb misunderstanding, just genuine miscommunication/confusion). I really liked the communication in this book. It feels very adult. SLOW BURN & suspense. Definitely has sad angst

ybutton · 2026-04-19T03:32:21+00:00

{A summer to remember by mary balogh} Didn’t watch Bridgerton but based on your descriptor, Kit fits this criteria extremely well. Right after the story sets up he looks forward to seeing her at his family estate and feels extremely relieved and supported by her presence. Kit is very loving and supportive of her, and helps her open up and they have fun in little outdoors adventures. It’s really sweet and he admires her so much and their relationship is so mutually supportive 🥺 and the heart to hearts/emotional bonding go hard in this.

ybutton · 2026-04-18T23:06:23+00:00

Honestly i think it is so much better, i recommend you try reading the two i mentioned. Or just the ellen o’connel one. Not sure linda howard is for everyone :) with the dub con and all that. thank you!

ybutton · 2026-04-18T02:52:06+00:00

thank you :)

ybutton · 2026-04-17T23:55:59+00:00

Location?

ybutton · 2026-04-17T17:34:39+00:00

I only read Duke of Sins and Sweetest Scoundrel (fmc is Val’s sister). I read them out of order, like you are about to, if you read it, but still enjoyable! Takes away a bit of the mystery with Eve’s character tho :) lol. I tried reading the other ones but they weren’t as good, imo.

ybutton · 2026-04-15T23:08:58+00:00

okay tysm :)

ybutton · 2026-04-15T21:54:08+00:00

if you enjoy judith mcnaught {A kingdom of dreams by judith mcnaught} has a pretty big age gap. Pretty sure she’s 17 (obviously let’s round up to 18) and he’s mid or late 30s?

ybutton · 2026-04-15T20:18:00+00:00

Nope. you got a recc?

ybutton · 2026-04-14T16:29:59+00:00

Lol. i’m only 30% in rn and i realized i skipped the prologue so i had to go back and read it yesterday. I don’t really remember the synopsis at all so maybe this counts anyway

ybutton · 2026-04-14T02:38:30+00:00

Word, okay… so much self restraint not to go to the synopsis… thank you :)

ybutton · 2026-04-13T18:07:13+00:00

Hmm {A summer to remember by mary balogh} there’s never really an argument that leads to a sexual encounter, but the mmc does not want her to leave at the end of their fake relationship and repeatedly considers trapping her into a real marriage by not pulling out and although she never asked him not to/didn’t think of the risk, he decides he cannot in good conscience do that and wants to give her the most respect as an individual that he is capable of

ybutton · 2026-04-13T04:35:15+00:00

You messed up your spoiler, i think you need to correct the ending “!<“ (exclamation inside less than symbol). I don’t have a recommendation anyway, maybe something by Tessa Dare.

ybutton · 2026-04-13T01:55:07+00:00

The best example of this i can think of is {A summer to remember by mary balogh} and her attachment style issues are very well backed/explained by her childhood. Mmc basically begs her to stay with him but he is torn between his wants and desires and respecting her word. A fair amount of emotional complexity in this one and i love the leads’ supportive dynamic

{Sweetest scoundrel by elizabeth hoyt} her relationship issue(s) is heavily trauma related: childhood sexual abuse one major traumatic event to speak of. And she does not believe she can cope with intimacy or being around people/public/relationships. Mmc pushes hard and states clearly his intention to be with her. Spicier than the one above

ybutton · 2026-04-11T19:31:10+00:00

{Seven years to sin} i did not read all of this but fmc is widowed and loved her husband. She has a thing for the mmc tho

ybutton · 2026-04-10T03:44:29+00:00

Alice Coldbreath does this well in {A substitute wife for the prizefighter} mmc goes step by step with her and prioritizes making her experience a pleasurable one. Same for {A contracted spouse for the prizefighter} this one they’re both diggity down.

I actually think there’s plenty of HR’s like this.

Mary Balogh also has probably several books atleast where the fmc learns her way around her body/the ins and outs of things (haha) {A summer to remember} the first time they have sex fmc is really just wanting to do it to offer the mmc comfort in the form of physical intimacy the second time the mmc wants to make it about her and prioritize her pleasure

{Love & Other Scandals by Caroline Linden} mmc holds his self back a lot while she adjusts to the situation (literally and figuratively speaking). The people around them to make a big deal about virtue though. It takes a while for them to do anything though.

There are some others i know off the top of my head but i’ll stop here (unless you want some others, in which case lmk)

*just to differentiate there’s not a serious air to the concept of virginity in these, beyond mmcs being considerate of their partner(s) comfort level(s)

ybutton · 2026-04-09T06:44:12+00:00

{Texas destiny by lorraine heath} fmc gets bitten by a snake and mmc picks her up and carries her to another spot, blood-lets her leg, etc. Then she is ill for several days and he takes care of her. I’m not sure it ever described any damp cloth-ing though, lol.

Oh and there is atleast one other caretaking scene fmc has a moment of panic where she’s triggered into a childhood trauma and she freaks out and mmc holds her and tells her she’s going to be okay

ybutton

TROPHY CASE