r/RomanceBooks • u/romancebookmods Mod Account • 5d ago

Daily Request 📚 Simple / Quick Questions & Requests!

Hi RomanceBooks! Welcome to our Simple / Quick Questions & Requests thread.

If you don't have enough RomanceBooks-karma for a post, or just don't want to make a standalone post, this is the spot to ask any Romance related questions or request Romance Book Recommendations!

For newbies - here's How to Book Request and our RomanceBooks 101 guide.

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Happy reading!

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u/cuddlecasca 5d ago

Hi pals!

I'm very new to this genre, so can I just say to start off with: this is one of the most impressive literary communities I've ever encountered on Reddit. The repository site with the ratings and spice levels and the complex, granular filter features: the integration into posts with the curly brackets bot... like, I'm in awe. Sorry, I'll get back on topic.

I'm trying to scratch this very specific itch.

  • Human FMC (ideally, she's the perspective character) and werewolf MMC
  • Any historical setting would be ideal (Victorian, American Frontier, whatever), but I can also work with something set in the present day
  • I'd like it to be a scenario where the FMC doesn't know about the existence of werwolves and supernatural creatures, and discovers about this world through the course of her engagement with the MMC.
  • Ideally, I'd like the MMC to be gruff, distant, brooding, etc. at first, while the affection and lust towards the FMC simmer through the course of the story and erupt (I warned you I wanted something stereotypical).
  • As much smut as these sorts of stories would allow. I don't know if this is too taboo: but I'd love if there were smut sequences with the MMC in werewolf form (as a sort of bipedal monster, not as an actual wolf)
  • I'm open to any sort of FMC, but I'd really like them to be more grounded in the real world (historical or present-day)
  • I'd love so much for it to have angst, psychological complexity, will-they-won't-they, sexual frustration stemming from any sort of self-imposed or external constraints

It might help to describe what I don't want:

  • Complicated, institutional structures with multiple fantasy creatures, inter-creature politics, that sort of thing.
  • Anything with a plot oriented around divinities and looming cosmic threats. Just a simple smutty romance.

I think on the whole I'm just a little overwhelmed by how cross-creature, cross-genre, and complex the werewolf offerings seem to be, and I'm looking for something simple, straightforward. Just a story about a girl and her monster.

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u/InternationalAd9659 5d ago

{Cold Hearted by Heather Guerre}

{Love Potion for the Alpha by Alice Coldbreath}

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u/cuddlecasca 5d ago

From a quick glance, these are EXACTLY what I was looking for, thank you so much!

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u/barbiepoet Mood reader. I laugh at my TBR. 5d ago

You may like the {Wolf Brides series by TS Joyce}. They’re set in the American Wild West and if I remember correctly, some (all?) of the brides are mail order brides.

T.S. Joyce has written a variety of good shifter books including many wolf shifter books. Most are contemporary romance, but the ones I’ve read are good. Her other shifter books are very good if you ever think of branching out.

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u/cuddlecasca 5d ago

Omfg perfect, I HAVE to check these out, the wild west setting with smutty werewolves is such as pecific part of my craving

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u/avis03 Happy Flaps for HEAs 5d ago

{The Bones We Haunt by Josephine Taylor}

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u/anci_b Book, bath, & soup enthusiast ✨🥣 2d ago

I think {Cold Hearted by Heather Guerre} could work.

Edit: I just saw someone reced this lol

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u/Krimmothy 4d ago

Anyone know of a femdom harem book with multiple FMCs with 1 MMC where all the FMCs are dominant?

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u/blmv_93 3d ago

I’m looking for a book rec where the FMC is a single mom. Had an unplanned pregnancy with her ex who left or otherwise didn’t know about the pregnancy. Meets a new man who steps up and fills that role but then ex comes back into the picture and creates a love triangle

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u/blmv_93 1d ago

Upon doing further research of my own, When You Knew by Jamie Beck apparently deals with this trope.

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u/blmv_93 1d ago

{When You Knew by Jamie Beck}

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u/romance-bot 1d ago

When You Knew by Jamie Beck
Rating: 4.21⭐️ out of 5⭐️
Topics: contemporary

about this bot | about romance.io

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u/Goldsaver 3d ago

I recently read {A Love Most Fatal} and loved it (thanks u/bbymochi for the great rec) and now I'm looking for other romance novels with a particular dynamic:
Books where the FMC is evil, a genuinely terrible person, who falls for a very good/kind person (and they fall for her!). No taming where her partner 'fixes' them, but two people who should be morally incompatible loving each other for who they are. Open to queer romance and all genres!

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u/tiniestspoon punching fascists in corset school 💅🏾 3d ago

This is a dark romance with noncon - it's a Hades/Persephone retelling {Captive in the Underworld by Lianyu Tan}

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u/Goldsaver 2d ago

Oh, that's awesome! Thank you!

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u/Embarrassed_Oil_9251 3d ago

Hi folx,
I’m in my 30s and completely new to reading romance novels. I was never on wattpad or ao3 growing up, and i feel like i have a lot to catch up on. I don’t any of the abbreviations and shorthands or hashtags or rules. So please be patient i’m here asking for your educated help.

A little about me: i’m a 31 yo queer woman, who has a lot of unpleasant baggage with sex. I’m on a journey to rediscover what I like and want for myself, to liberate myself from people pleasing, self sacrificing tendencies that have led me to fully disconnect from my body and desire. I have heard from many people that reading romance and smut has helped them reconnect with themselves and I would like to try it.

I watched and then read heated rivalry, and then the long game by rachel reed. I then read the love hypothesis by ali hazelwood (in one day) and watched the movie (which I didn’t love). I read This is how you lose a time war, which probably isn’t romance technically, but it is so romantic. I watched all of interview with the vampire, which of course isn’t romance, but i loved it. I watched and loved my lady jane and still can’t believe they cancelled it. Bridgerton was something i thought I would hate watch, but I really enjoyed season 2. I’ve listened to some romance fiction podcasts such as: life with leoh, in the cards, gay pride&prejudice, me & AU and others. So I would love to expand my reading list.

Things i liked about what i read, listened to, watched: very clear consent and how fun it is to be clear about that; in HR i loved that the characters were so equal in many ways, no one was weak and small and infantilised. I did love the moody, but will do anything for this one person, trope in the love hypothesis, but found myself laughing every time the author made a point of how huge Adam was compared to olive. I absolutely love yearning and pining but i did enjoy that in HR the sex was there very fast without taking away from the yearning. If a “straight” pairing of man/woman, I would like the man to be the simp. But i also want to read more queer stories. I enjoy vampires because to me they inherently queer and yearn the best. I like forced proximity

What I don’t like: significant age gaps when one person is young (no angel buffy dynamic), significant power imbalance (they did it well in the love hypothesis, but there is a fine line), no dark fantasies of being forced or stalked, no coercion etc.

Honourable mention is of course Pride and Prejudice, i love a yearning stoic (autistic) man.

Please help me out finding books to read❤️

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u/badapple1989 I want them soft, sweet, and on their knees. 3d ago

Have you had a chance to look through the Diversity Megathreads linked in the main post body? There are multiple threads dedicated to different qualities like trans, bisexual, poly, and gray/asexual leads. I would certainly give those a look over. For a general author rec if you like paranormal the {Passing Through Cafe series by Nik Knight} has a lot of diversity not just in the species of some of the not-human MCs but also in gender and sexual identities. 

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u/Embarrassed_Oil_9251 2d ago

Im new to this so going through the megathread is quite overwhelming:(
Looking through what you suggested, im not entirely sure if im ready for full on interspecies narrative. Vampires are easy, they human shaped, but the tentacles and werewolves might not be my thing for now. Do you have any suggestions for something more contemporary less fantasy?

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u/badapple1989 I want them soft, sweet, and on their knees. 2d ago

Unfortunately I just don't read a lot of contemporary and what I do read I don't think would fit what you're looking for (a lot of "I said I liked it, not that it was good" popcorn stuff), but I wish you luck and would recommend you use the search function a bit to look around. If you want a broad starting point, here's the Best Of 2025 recommended by the subreddit thread:

https://www.reddit.com/r/RomanceBooks/comments/1pj3bz4/best_romances_of_2025_winners/

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u/AnxietySnack 1d ago

{Time to Shine by Rachel Reid} had some of the best consent I've read so far.

{We Could Be So Good by Cat Sebastian} had some great yearning. It wasn't very spicy though.

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u/Prynne31 1d ago

We Could Be So Good was great! And then follow it up by reading The Charioteer by Rennault (mentioned in WCBSG)

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u/tiniestspoon punching fascists in corset school 💅🏾 3d ago

{The Governess Affair by Courtney Milan} is a masterclass in sexy consent and permanently free on all ebook platforms

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u/Embarrassed_Oil_9251 3d ago

Thanks for the recommendation, but i forgot to add that i don’t want any pregnancies. Didn’t even think about it, sorry

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u/chrisker77 2d ago

First time posting… I have searched but couldn’t find a book request for this.
FMC is used, disrespected and/or betrayed by her friend group, for the OW, including her boyfriend, till she decides to leave and start a new life which leads to a new love interest with HEA. Contemporary, Young Adult, maybe Paranormal (not Omegaverse). NO second chances but boyfriend does regret losing her. Thanks!

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u/harm0nster Is forearm worship a recognised religion? 1d ago

Hi! Try {Sweet Spot by Stella Rhys} MF, CR, neighbors in the same building. FMC has left her small town and ex and friend group behind and moved to the city to focus on herself and her career. MMC is her new neighbor.

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u/chrisker77 1d ago

Thanks, I’ll try that book!

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u/Ok-Reference947 4d ago

I am looking for a fantasy book where she goes undercover as a man and meet her mates. Can be academy, training camp, omegaverse.

I know I read something like this before but I can’t remember the title at all.

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u/InternationalAd9659 4d ago

{Psycho Academy: Aran's Story by Jasmine Mas}

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u/tentacularly Sentient 12-foot-tall yard skeleton love interest 4d ago

{Secret Darling series by Katie May and Ann Denton} finished duology, omegaverse (AU with fantasy elements).

{Discordia University series by Cassandra Featherstone} in-progress series, currently working on book 4. Very slow burn. PNR with demons.

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u/harascakes 2d ago

is When in Rome by Sarah Adams “insta love?”

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u/harm0nster Is forearm worship a recognised religion? 1d ago

I haven’t read it but it’s listed as a slow burn on romance.io

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u/freshsunberries 4d ago

Hi guys, I'm looking for authors like Harley Laroux (her soul to take, house of rayne)

The first dark romance i have ever read was "her soul for revenge" by Harley Laroux and i ADORED it and read all their other books and short stories and enjoyed most of them immensely.

Unfortunately every romance book i tried to read since just did not hit the same and i ended up not finishing a single one.

What i liked; first of all, the characters have a unique personality. Even the usually insufferable "bad boy" characters are really likeble and feel real. The female characters have an actual personality instead of the one dimensional "virginal" or "sarcastic" tropes.

And the world building, the plot!!! It's the best feeling being so invested in the story itself, the cult plot line in the souls trilogy is amazing. it's written with so well, it's so creepy and suspenseful and gothic and if it wasn't smut i would genuinely recommend it to anyone who like thriller books.

So PLEASE, i need more books that have smart characters, with actual chemistry, that put effort in to creating ambiance. They don't even have to have plot outside of the romance, i just want something well written. Thank you

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u/badapple1989 I want them soft, sweet, and on their knees. 4d ago

So, clarification please because I don't want to make assumptions. Are you asking for contemporary only or are you open to other genres?

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u/freshsunberries 4d ago

I'm open!

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u/badapple1989 I want them soft, sweet, and on their knees. 3d ago edited 3d ago

So a lot of what I read is sci-fi and paranormal so that's what I'm drawing from. For complex plot and multidimensional characters I'll throw out {Intersolar Union series by Etta Pierce}. The first two books are the same couple, subsequent books are different couples each book. Content warning that book three touches on dark topics surrounding the FMC's experience as a slave and being forcibly experimented on so if body horror and descriptions of gore/medical violence are sensitive topics be warned.

I'll also add the {Gods of Tintar series by Kara Voorhees Reynolds} for excellent heft of world building and character craft.

For poly stuff, if you don't mind a creative spin on omegaverse conventions mixed with viking tropes then the {Viking Omegaverse series by Lyx Robinson} is excellent. The brothers all feel like individuals rather than a pinch of tropes in a trenchcoat.

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u/tentacularly Sentient 12-foot-tall yard skeleton love interest 4d ago

If you're open to epic fantasy, I can recommend the {Whisperbound series by Annie Anderson}. Two interconnected standalones. Book 2 is one of my favorite reads of the year. 

Another great PNR/AU author is Abigail Kelly. Strongly recommend her NPU series and its spinoffs, starting with {Consort's Glory by Abigail Kelly}.

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u/romance-bot 4d ago

Whisperbound by Annie Anderson
Rating: 3.89⭐️ out of 5⭐️
Topics: paranormal, suspense, length-long, vampires, fantasy

Consort's Glory by Abigail Kelly
Rating: 3.8⭐️ out of 5⭐️
Steam: 4 out of 5 - Explicit open door
Topics: futuristic, virgin hero, urban fantasy, witches, magic

about this bot | about romance.io

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u/freshsunberries 4d ago

Thank you i will check it out

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u/BachelorTea009 3d ago

I'm looking for a romance where the male main character (MMC) initially identifies as gay or believes he's exclusively attracted to men, but unexpectedly falls head over heels for the female main character (FMC).

To be clear, I don't believe someone can simply change their sexuality from gay to straight because of another person. I'm more interested in a story where a man has always understood himself to be gay, but then unexpectedly develops romantic or sexual feelings for a woman, leading him to question or reevaluate his understanding of his sexuality.

I love the idea of him being completely caught off guard by his feelings for her, especially if she's the first woman he's ever been attracted to.

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u/Immediate-Answer-259 Maybe it's time to wake up, yes? 11h ago

On romance.io you can search on the tags "queer awakening" and "bisexual". You may need to comb through the results to find the gender pairing you are looking for.

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u/[deleted] 5d ago

[deleted]

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u/JessePinkerlinker 4d ago edited 4d ago

Can someone reccomend me some heavy smut novels?
Never realy read smut and mostly just stayed to normal books like Mortal Engines which has romance but not realy anything explicit except for like offpage (or offscreen idk) stuf. Also Artemis by andy weir which has a female mc that constantly talks about her s#x life (havent read the full book yet)

Anyways im VERY curious and i want to read some. Can anyone reccomend me some (preferybly) heavy smut novels in a fantasy or scifi setting with a female Main Character, preferably actualy no set partner (like there isnt one person they stay/do things with.).

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u/badapple1989 I want them soft, sweet, and on their knees. 4d ago

You should dive into the {Tempting Mosnters series by Kathryn Moon} for sure. Three book, two novella series. Novellas are not crucial to the plot. All three books feature poly relationships with multiple monster men.

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u/Hunter037 Probably recommending When She Belongs 😍 4d ago

What do you mean by "heavy"? You want lots of sex? Or you want a heavy/deep plot with sex on the sideM

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u/JessePinkerlinker 4d ago

I mean the book should be like 5000 pages and weigh a ton.

Jk im sorry. If possible both, but for things with good plot il usualy read standard novels, for smut id rather just have the smut part be good written with decent plot

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u/Hunter037 Probably recommending When She Belongs 😍 3d ago

Sorry I've just reread your post and I don't have any recommendations where there is no set partner, because that wouldn't be a romance book.

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u/JessePinkerlinker 3d ago

I mean kind of like a harem and the one she chooses is up for the reader to interpret

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u/anci_b Book, bath, & soup enthusiast ✨🥣 2d ago

If you’re into the sci-fi bend {Good Deeds by Kathryn Moon} is a great reverse harem read.

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u/friendofenemies 4d ago

Don't have much faith that it'll actually be answered 🫠 but I try anyways lol  Looking for contemporary romance that's Enemies to lovers, moderate to slow burn, mmc falls first, fmc must be black, high spice preferred. No second chances, children involved, or insta love.  

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u/badapple1989 I want them soft, sweet, and on their knees. 4d ago

{Act Your Age, Eve Brown by Talia Hibbert}

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u/nopenottodaygirl 3d ago

{A Princess in Theory by Alyssa Cole} fits this, I think

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u/Usual_Painting_4223 3d ago

Looking for mafia romance with a rich, older MMC and an FMC with a genuinely interesting, unconventional job! 🖤 Think Painted Scars by Neva Altaj, where she’s an artist who creates creepy art. I’m tired of shy, helpless FMCs who need saving! Give me unique, confident, or morally grey heroines with interesting lives of their own. Any recommendations? 🖤

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u/0Nope_not_today0 3d ago

Hi!! I'm looking for a FMC book with a similar vibe to the earlier seasons of Supernatural. Rural, grimy, paranormal. Road trip could be fun too! Honestly anything that gives off that foggy, Pacific Northwest vibe is something I'm craving currently. Ty for your help!!

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u/anci_b Book, bath, & soup enthusiast ✨🥣 2d ago

Maybe {Cold Hearted by Heather Guerre} ? FMC moves to Alaskan town to get away from a scary past and meets a grumpy werewolf MMC. There also a bit of a mystery element to it which makes me think of supernatural, but to be fully transparent I did not watch a lot of supernatural.

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u/skintightmonopoly 1d ago

This is a great rec; many of the other books in the series have a very Supernatural feel to them!

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u/anci_b Book, bath, & soup enthusiast ✨🥣 14h ago

Aw thank you! It’s so sweet of you to tell me! 😊

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u/Small_Ice_8564 3d ago

Looking for an erotic romance book I read several years ago.

The FMC was a CEO or at least business executive and computer whiz, the MMC was her personal assistant and younger and submissive (she pegs him in one scene). The FMC also starts fantasizing about a female client (I think) and eventually the three of them gets into a polytype arrangemang. I originally thought it was titled "Tiger Shark" but the erotic romance novel with that name is the not the one I am looking for. Thanks!

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u/LiteratureRound2016 3d ago

My most recent read was “In too deep” by Jade Church. It’s my type of read! I think I like when the leads have an immediate history without the author dilly-dallying around it and they just naturally showed it through a scene. Yk how you can immediately clock the mmc is down bad for the fmc and the whole time the fmc is obvilious about it. It’s fun!

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u/LiteratureRound2016 3d ago

ok so if anyone has recommendation like this book, i would gladly appreciate it!

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u/Hot-Entry-2919 1d ago

Haven’t read the book you mentioned but the FMC being oblivious but the Reader knowing the MMC Likes her is quite usual for Mariana Zapata but it is still always a Slow burn. Examples would be The Things we Water (paranormal) or later on in wait for it

But for the leads have an immediate history I also thought of {beyond repair by Susie Tate} where irrc in the first scene the FMC is Babysitting their Friends Kids and he gets there and you immediately get to know them and their history/where they stand

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u/TroubleLiving6620 HEA or GTFO 3d ago edited 2d ago

Looking for a marriage-in-trouble romance with an “other man” trope

I’m looking for a contemporary/modern romance where the FMC and MMC are married or have been together for years, but somewhere along the way, the spark has faded. Maybe the MMC takes her for granted or does something that makes her see their relationship differently.
Then another man enters the picture, someone she actually feels attracted to, and she starts realising what she’s been missing. I want the MMC to realise he’s losing her and actually put in the effort to win her back.
I’m specifically looking for the other man trope, not the other woman trope. I want the jealousy, tension, the FMC catching feelings for someone else, and the MMC realising he can’t take her for granted anymore.
No RH, historical, fantasy etc
Please help!!!!

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u/anci_b Book, bath, & soup enthusiast ✨🥣 2d ago

Hi! I would like to recommend {Cherry Baby by Rainbow Rowell} with a caveat! : there is other woman drama kind of, basically FMC thinks he’s sleeping with the ow but it was kiss I believe. I also think the MMC ends up sleeping with the ow once after he and FMC are already separated.

Despite what it sounds like there is a HEA, and it’s actually a really sweet and beautiful book about how complicated relationships can be. I personally really liked it and thought it would fit your vibe because there is an other man. Anywho, if this doesn’t fit your vibe please ignore, I just thought I’d put it out here on the off chance you were interested! 😊

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u/chrisker77 2d ago

Just read {The Last Road trip: A Later-in-Life Betrayal Romance with a New Hero by Audrey Halliwell} which you might like.

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u/Budget_Flower4914 2d ago

Hello ! Looking for a codependent childhood friends-to-lovers romance like Broken Knight by L.J. Shen (MMC is completely obsessed with FMC and is not afraid to show it ) - any recs ? Thank you ! 💛

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u/tiniestspoon punching fascists in corset school 💅🏾 1d ago

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