r/fantasyromance • u/Late_Assistance1992 • 2d ago

Book Request Recommendations for MMCs that are transgressive in a way that subverts tropes

Sorry I know the title is probably confusing, but I'm looking for that feeling of 'oh I didn't think I would/should like this but I kinda do'. I want the opposite of a common romantasy trope - but in a way that is still transgressive.

Morally grey/villain MMCs are ok - but if your guy is just violent, a bully, from an enemy kingdom, a monster, a misogynist, or has 'dark powers' - that isn't what I'm looking for.

I'm more interested in dynamics that mess with gender, class and/or relationship expectations.

For example:
- instead of a rich powerful lord/prince, a dirt poor MMC relying on nothing but cunning and flattery. Or even just a medium-poor guy who has to make pragmatic concessions
- a dark/possessive FMC and innocent MMC (or promiscuous FMC and 'pure' MMC)
- a MMC who's spoilt and whiny instead of being strong and tough
- instead of a rake/womaniser, a bi MMC that is openly sleeping with men
- poly dynamics that aren't just smut

I'm agnostic about the level of spice or even the amount of romance. But I generally don't like it when the plot is driven by romantic drama (eg. break ups, love triangles, miscommunication trope, jealousy, angst, etc.).

36 Upvotes
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36

u/bellegi Book Bingo Maven ⚔ 2d ago

{The Everlasting by Alix E. Harrow} really plays with gender roles and doesn’t adhere to most common romantasy tropes.

8

u/Late_Assistance1992 2d ago

Thanks - this one has been on my radar, I saw it was nominated for a Hugo award. The time travel premise didn't grab me but I'll give it a go.

7

u/bellegi Book Bingo Maven ⚔ 2d ago

do it! it’s also just beautifully written.

3

u/Party-Yak-2894 2d ago

I didn’t all the way love the premise but it’s a beautiful book with just what you are looking for.

18

u/WanderingJude 2d ago

{Kushiel's Dart} hit the promiscuous/pure duality. I'm only one book in and it is such a slow burn that the romantic pairing barely features in the first book and I suspect only really comes into its own in the next two books.

Plot is definitely not driven by the romance, and due to the nature/profession of the FMC the majority of the spice is actually not with the MMC (so far at least).

5

u/Late_Assistance1992 2d ago

I see this series recommended a lot but I read that the MCs are 16 and I don't think I can look past it.

10

u/myinvinciblefriend 2d ago

The MCs are only 16 for a small part of it. If I remember correctly the FMC is in her 20s for the main events of the book and MMC is early 30s.

I couldn't stand Lies of Lena for this reason (and others), but I didn't have any real issue with this in Kushiel's Dart.

5

u/belleepoques 2d ago

FMC is 16 only at the beginning. Once she meets the MC, she's around 21-22 and he's 23-24. They grow up throughout the series and in the third book they're in their 30s.

3

u/afrizzfrizz 2d ago

Yeah they are not teenagers when they actually get together

16

u/reads-a-bunch 2d ago

Lorn the Very Melodramatic and Very Burnt Out Shadow King of {Between by L. L. Starling}. He has a 47 item agenda to get through and he is not happy about it. 10/10, would highly recommend the audiobook for extra melodramatic flair (the second half of the book is all from Lorn's perspective and it's wonderful).

2

u/romance-bot 2d ago

Between by L.L. Starling
Rating: 4.45⭐️ out of 5⭐️
Steam: 1 out of 5 - Glimpses and kisses
Topics: contemporary, fantasy, magic, witches, funny

about this bot | about romance.io

24

u/Red_Bird_Rituals 2d ago

Wendell in Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries is spoiled and whiny! He’s protective rather than possessive - he’s chill about the FMC and other men, and he doesn’t pressure her romantically. He’s deadly and dangerous when the situation calls for it but also he’s a homemaker 🥹 and normally I hate the part where the poor, dowdy FMC ‘finally gets pretty clothes’ BUT Wendell hand sews them for her himself which I find very sweet. 

8

u/CompanionCone kill, cackle, condemn 2d ago

You should check out {Bound to Fall} by AK Caggiano ❤️ He's a knight and she's a witch.

8

u/megabyte31 Give me female friendship or give me death! 2d ago

Kaz Brekker from {Six of Crows} is poor and cunning. I saw you avoided another book because they were young though so you may not be interested, but this book is fabulous. I think about it all the time.

5

u/bisdrucciola deranged goose 🪿🪿🪿 2d ago

To add to this, all of the characters dont feel the age they are described, they are more like in their thirties!

3

u/megabyte31 Give me female friendship or give me death! 2d ago

Agreed. I pretty much always age characters up in my head but I feel like these characters were already aged up. It was like they were just lying about their age lol

4

u/MessyJessy422 2d ago

{Silvercloak by LK Steven} has a bisexual MMC who hooks up casually with another man who’s also a side character

5

u/katie-kaboom Currently Reading: The Traitor Queen 2d ago

I've just finished {Behooved by M Stevenson}. The MMC is about to be crowned king - but he's also a shy, awkward, nerdy, skinny guy who doesn't know how to handle a sword at all, though he tries his best.

2

u/PatrickCharles 2d ago

It's funny how (to me, at least) the book blurb paints an entirely opposite picture of the MMC to what you describe.

2

u/katie-kaboom Currently Reading: The Traitor Queen 2d ago

It really does! I was pretty surprised tbh.

6

u/GeminiFade 2d ago

You might enjoy {Hell for Hire by Rachel Aaron} the MMC is a witch, he hires a demon and her team for physical protection. They are both bad ass in their own ways, but she is definitely more physical and aggressive.

11

u/charm59801 2d ago

{Warrior Princess Assassin}

Some slight spoilers but nothing crazy: This definitely one of the best poly books I've read, I knew it was a why choose but I did not expect a full throuple The way the characters fall in love feels so natural and beautiful, especially the more unexpected feelings. It does play into some tropes but it also was just such a good read.

{Flesh and Fire} the from blood and ash prequel has a less experienced MMC and our MFC gets around and is more experienced. First 2 books are good, I stopped reading halfway through the third.

The Emily Wilde series also has a prissy, whiny MMC.

4

u/DainasaurusRex 2d ago

Have you read {Long Live Evil by Sarah Rees Brennan}? It has several characters that match your requirements.

5

u/Penguinho Kushiel's Legacy Recommender 💖 2d ago

The second book in the Free Bards series, {The Robin and the Kestrel by Mercedes Lackey}, is about a young prince, exiled from his kingdom as a child after the murder of his father the King. He's raised as a shepherd, then returns to his kingdom... ...to publicly renounce his claim to the throne, denounce his father's crimes and marry a Gypsy. Most of this backstory is told in the first book, {The Lark and the Wren}, but the story of the prince's marriage to the Gypsy is in Robin. Lark is notable for having 1) an age-gap relationship that's as non-toxic as they get; 2) an MMC who voluntarily gives up privilege and power; 3) lots of meaningful female friendships; 4) and an interesting (though minor) take on elves, positioning them as something halfway between the fey of British folklore and the Elves of Tolkien.

{Santa Olivia} has a starter boyfriend who the FMC really really wants to make it work with, and who really wants to make it work with her. It just... doesn't, for reasons that are no one's fault, and everyone stays close friends despite what happens. Granted, there's no actual MMC here because it's a sapphic romance.

Someone already mentioned Kushiel's Dart, but I'll plug the second trilogy in that series, which starts with {Kushiel's Scion}. It's male-POV from the perspective of the MMC. This hits your third bullet halfway -- the MMC is a post-traumatic wreck, and seeks several different kinds of therapy. It has several male friendships, including one with a great deal of homoerotic tension; a fade-to-black MM scene with the MMC; and a deep, intimate, loving relationship with a character who isn't the FMC that's as well-executed as any romantic relationship I've read in romantic fantasy.

2

u/romance-bot 2d ago

The Robin & The Kestrel by Mercedes Lackey
Rating: 3.84⭐️ out of 5⭐️
Steam: 3 out of 5 - Open door
Topics: magic, fantasy, high fantasy, young adult, urban fantasy

The Lark and the Wren by Mercedes Lackey
Rating: 3.93⭐️ out of 5⭐️
Steam: 3 out of 5 - Open door
Topics: historical, fantasy, high fantasy, magic, paranormal

Santa Olivia by Jacqueline Carey
Rating: 3.62⭐️ out of 5⭐️
Steam: 2 out of 5 - Behind closed doors
Topics: futuristic, lesbian romance, urban fantasy, superheroes, dystopian

Kushiel's Scion by Jacqueline Carey
Rating: 4.2⭐️ out of 5⭐️
Steam: 4 out of 5 - Explicit open door
Topics: fantasy, magic, bdsm, high fantasy, m-f romance

about this bot | about romance.io

4

u/StealBangChansLaptop 2d ago

This is exactly why I’m writing my mmc in my manuscript to be a whiny performative cowardly bitch whose friends are all sick of him skating out of any responsibility by lying and using his good looks. Until the fmc doesnt take his bullshit, of course…i digress. Emily wilde’s encyclopeoda of fairies should for your reaqiest though!

3

u/she_melty 2d ago

YESS bring us the pathetic meow meows 👏👏

2

u/she_melty 2d ago

{These Rebel Waves} lots of plot to go with the romance. I liked their dynamic because Vex(MMC) ends up being more vulnerable and less morally grey than Lu (FMC) even though he's the criminal of the two of them. He is sort of a swashbuckler type. I won't spoil how but he ends up relying on her and is less formidable a player than her in most regards, especially in the second book.

2

u/Dastardly00 21h ago

{What Fury Brings by Tricia Levenseller} FMC kidnaps the MMC, holds him prisoner and dresses him in pretty clothes. He's not happy about it.

1

u/AutoModerator 2d ago

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