The Bowery Presents
PUT YOUR BEARD IN MY MOUTH
Hole
let's talk about Bridgerton tea, my ask is open
Show & Tell
ojovivo
★
d e v o n
roma★
bliss lane
No title available
𓃗
taylor price
NASA
KIROKAZE
No title available
One Nice Bug Per Day
Kiana Khansmith
gracie abrams
Noah Kahan
seen from Libya
seen from Germany
seen from Tunisia
seen from Malaysia
seen from Mexico
seen from South Korea
seen from Netherlands
seen from Malaysia
seen from United States
seen from Malaysia
seen from Malaysia
seen from Philippines
seen from Malaysia
seen from Türkiye
seen from Philippines
seen from Malaysia
seen from Australia
seen from Türkiye
seen from Singapore
seen from Malaysia
@notadryseatinthehouse
LISTEN TUMBLR
There was only ONE GOOD SUBREDDIT in ALL OF REDDIT and it was r/RomanceBooks, so I’m here to talk about historical romance, contemporary romance, dark romance, fantasy and science fiction romance, monster fuckers, and alien smut. No judgment, no beating around the bush (unless you like that kind of thing 👉👈), and no holds barred.
Romance’s Rich Bro
A romance reader’s variation on Checkhov’s Gun
If you introduce a powerful, wealthy, entitled man in the first act of a romance story, at some point he needs to be on his literal knees begging for someone’s forgiveness.
Otherwise his power, wealth, and entitlement are irrelevant aspects of the story and shouldn’t be included.
Thank you.
I’m gonna reblog this because it’s still true and I haven’t seen it NEARLY enough.
that's my fucking girl
actually hilarious that colin bridgerton returned to london absolutely determined to be in his slut era. he said if there is one thing i am it is a whore. and then one (1) kiss with penelope later he was like neverMIND i am a MARRIED MAN i am MONOGAMOUS life is about LIFELONG PARTNERSHIP ACTUALLY
You have any recommendations where the hero hates everyone except her? 💕 Historical’s included if any.
Hmm...
Managed by Kristen Callihan. An all-time favorite contemporary romance. Hero is the uptight, strict manager of a rock band. He does love the guys as they're his longtime friends, but he's very snappy and standoffishness by nature. He hires the heroine as the band's photographer/social media manager, but he has insomnia and can only sleep when she's in the bed with him. So they become platonic nap partners. Naturally. Has a particularly incredible scene when he jacks off while smelling her dirty underwear and dodging her question from the other side of the door, before handwashing said underwear and hiding them underneath his mattress.
Hotel of Secrets by Diana Biller. Historical. The hero is less about hating people and more about being an extreme loner who doesn't want to get close to people. He's an American spy on a case, the heroine is this social butterfly who's trying to save this Viennese hotel her family has owned for generations. He saves her life, like, thrice. Also, he's a big ol' virgin and she is... not. SO good.
The Truth About Cads and Dukes by Elisa Braden. Historical. Again, he's more standoffish and he does love his siblings, just is exceptionally bad at expressing his feelings. The hero marries the heroine after his brother ruins her (in a non-sexual manner) and it's really largely your standard marriage of convenience book, but done very well with an excellent love confession. Heroine is plus size, which is nice. Maybe my favorite Rescued from Ruin book? I really like all the times his lust cannot be contained and he just tackles her.
How to Marry a Marquess by Stacy Reid. Historical. BIG this vibe. The hero is kind of ostracized by society because he claimed his illegitimate daughter and is raising her without shame. He's very FUCK ALL Y'ALL about it, but the heroine, who is this very proper miss type, is his longtime friend and he adores her. She's been in love with him for forever, but he doesn't think she can deal with being an outcast so he won't make a move. Which is why she asks him for lessons in seducing some TOTALLY RANDOM GUY she's FOR SURE IN LOVE WITH. Very hot, and leads to some fabulous angst towards the end.
What I Did for a Duke by Julie Anne Long. Historical. Super this. Hero is a jaded snappish duke pushing 40 who finds a local rake in bed with his fiance. He decides to exact revenge by seducing said rake's innocent, virginal sister (who's like, half his age). She's super smart, so she catches on immediately, but she wants her friend who she's into to make a move, so she kind of allows him to court her... But then he becomes genuinely fond of her and it gets real.
After Dark with the Duke by Julie Anne Long. Begins as light ETL, becomes more like this. 40-something war hero duke is staying at the same boarding house as 20-something scandalous opera singer while he's writing his memoirs. She bugs him, he offends her, in penance he offers to teach her Italian to help with her singing, and they develop a very sweet friendship that quickly shifts into major sexual tension.
Marrying Winterborne by Lisa Kleypas. Historical. Rhys Winterborne definitely has like, FRIENDS, but he's also kind of super grumpy and sort of socially awkward, lol. He adores Helen and would move heaven and earth for her, even if he's bad at giving flowers. Benefits from reading Cold-Hearted Rake first, as they begin as a secondary romance in that one. People will tell you Chasing Cassandra is this even more, and I guess it is, but... Idk, maybe I should reread that one because it didn't super do it for me, and I think Tom Severin would've been better off with a different heroine.
Dreaming of You by Lisa Kleypas. Historical. I think this absolutely counts, lol. Like, does Derek have one friend who isn't under his employ? Yes. But they're not as tight by the time the book begins because reasons, and he meets Sara Fielding when she shoots some guy to save him, and while he tries to be grumpy to her, he's quickly like "I've known Sara Fielding for five minutes and if anything happens to her I'll kill everyone in this room including myself".
My Darling Duke by Stacy Reid. Historical. Heroine pretends she's being courted by a recluse duke in order to help her sisters find husbands, but then recluse duke shows up in society for the first time in years to be like "and exactly what is happening rn". He's a recluse because he was super injured years back and is now a wheelchair user; he's very bitter about his disability. He makes the heroine continue the charade for a minute for his own reasons, but falls for her. I really liked how this book explored sexual dysfunction and like, having sex in a way that isn't the standard romance novel HE TOOK HER CONQUERINGLY manner.
Sworn to the Shadow God by Ruby Dixon. Fantasy. Gamer girl gets teleported to this fantasy world and becomes the sorta servant to the literal God of Death. Everyone hates him so he hates everyone. It's honestly very funny and sweet. He has this thing going on with him wherein he can't like... tell the truth... so everything he says is the opposite of what he means. This girl gives him head fairly on in the book and he's like "YOU'RE TERRIBLE AT THAT" (translation: you're great at that) during, and I think she bites his dick? He has a lot to work through after that. She thinks he hates her, but he actually adores her.
The Taming of a Highlander by Elisa Braden. Historical. Another, "he technically loves his family" guy. The hero was considered the golden boy of the family, but he was tortured and lost an eye after being wrongfully imprisoned for months, so he's not doing great. The heroine catches him attacking one of the people responsible for what happened to him, so she offers to marry him to keep from having to testify against him.
Shadowheart by Laura Kinsale. Historical. Hero is a total villain and persona non grata throughout Italy; heroine does initially dislike him, but quickly falls in love and she's like his treasured possession. Soft noncon in the beginning. The sex scenes are otherwise are super great, very femdom.
Just read When She Belongs by Ruby Dixon and that hit this mark beautifully. Alien/human sci fi romance, he’s a scrapper living on a remote asteroid who’s basically half-cyborg, she’s a human former slave looking for a place to settle. VERY good romance and spice scenes. Extremely sweet, feet-kicking banter.
My current favorite romance trope is when the two characters are absolutely fucking bonkers about each other. Like, completely, utterly, unquantifiably, irreparably obsessed with each other. So obsessed that it transcends the boundaries of healthy vs toxic relationships and lives on its own in a world of its own making, where the only two people who exist are the main characters, and all other people in their lives are relegated to background scenery that occasionally gets in the way of their obsessive staring/screaming/whispering/fucking. Where both of them have experienced psychotic breaks, the symptoms of which are only hungry, bottomless passion and the treatment - for there is no cure - is only touch. They are broken for each other, shattered in such a specific way that only the jagged edges of their lover can fit into the gaps of the pieces that have fallen away. Where all hopes, dreams, fears, anguish, and ambition has been completely and wholly replaced by the grabby, desperate need to be near one another. Where they are so fully at the other’s mercy that no pretense, performance, or social conditioning can hold up in the face of it; they are laid utterly bare because there is no hiding any longer. Their lover sees only them, can only see them, their true self, and nothing else will do. They can ONLY be their barest selves, because they have been flayed open, and the masks they have worn their whole lives lay ruined on the floor of the bedroom.
Hi!! Do you have any fantasy romance recs? I loved IAD
Hello fellow IAD reader!! Sorry for the lateness, blame Thanksgiving.
I do have fantasy recs!
A Heart of Blood and Ashes by Milla Vane--this one has a high fantasy setting, the hero is trying to avenge his parents who were killed by this evil king figure. He almost kills the heroine, the king guy's daughter--but she's the heir to throne and wants her dad dead too. So they agree to work together... and marry for an alliance. SO HOT. So angsty. So emotional. This is the book where she famously gives him a handy using her dead brother's blood as lube. It's GOOD.
The Winter King by C.L. Wilson--the hero is the prince of a winter-magic kingdom, and he inherits when the prince of the sun-kingdom kills his parents and brother. He takes revenge, conquers the sun kingdom, and the book begins with him solidifying a treaty by marrying the daughter of the sun king. The sun king tricks the hero into marrying the daughter he loves least, and the heroine has to give the hero an heir within a year... or else. This is for the Zutara girlies, it's a man with a heart of ice with this defiant princess, perfect enemies to lovers, with a dash of... Elsa?
The next book is The Sea King, which has the first heroine's sister being doggedly pursued by like... Prince Aquaman. From a matriarchal country. Where he was literally trained in the art of pussy. (TW: this one has sexual assault on the page, not by the hero.)
Consort of Fire by Kit Rocha--the first heroine is sent to marry this dragon god, and she must kill him or die. The twist: she and her handmaiden (who's super dangerous) are long term lovers. Twist twist: she and her new husband feel an instant chemistry. Twist twist twist: her husband her lover also have an angry sexual tension. It's hot, it's intense, and it's FFM. Beginning of an ongoing series.
Ruby Dixon's Aspect and Anchor series is GREAT. The first three books have modern women in our world end up in parallel fantasy words, where they must act as the "anchors" for these "aspects" (basically: supernatural gods). The first one is Bound to the Battle God, and it's such a good defiant heroine/stern hero book. There's a scene where the heroine is under the influence of an aphrodisiac and he has to boredly get her off. I live for it.
collection of a specific dynamic that gets me every time
adding a few more
I am 68% of the way through Lucy Score’s Things We Left Behind because I’m a fucking sucker for finishing the goddamn series when I even remotely care about any of the characters and look this is a well written book and all but THREE BOOKS OUT OF THREE where there is a kidnapping or kidnapping-adjacent situation what the fuck even are these books?
I love Imogen so much, but Sesily. Sesily!
Well I love this. I haven’t read any Sarah Maclean but maybe I will now??
Sunday’s are for reading. 📚 Time to finish this series of books. 🥹
I actually really loved this book. I didn’t think I was going to because I didn’t care much for the leads, but it was so devastatingly slow and sweet and such a good exploration of healing. Nesta went from my least favorite character in the series to one of my favorites.
I wish age gap discourse hadn't spiraled the way it has because I want there to be a safe space to say "Men in their 40s who date 25 year olds aren't predators, they're just fucking losers"
... honey you just described a predator LOL
No, I said what I said. But thank you for providing an example of how this topic has become insufferable on the internet.
i am honestly burningly curious about how a 40 year old man who fucks around with college grads is not a predator
"College grad" is not a developmental stage, nor is it what I would describe a 25 year old as. I was 4 years out of college at 25. My mother had two children at 25. You can be a fucking congressman at 25.
There's a difference between a man who is immature and buys into misogynistic views of beauty and aging and one who is a predator. Also, many actual predators? Not losers and able to move through society pretty freely being seen as cool and the ideal, so conflating the two isn't helpful.
This is going to be my final response to any attempt at discourse. You're welcome to continue amongst yourselves.
also sometimes a 40 year old and a 25 year old just weirdly find each and it's a perfectly normal relationship - like all human relationships are complex and situational, it's so rarely an either/or thing let alone just one thing only
if a 40 year old dude only dates 25 year olds, DiCaprio style or something adjacent to it, then yeah he's a loser
if a 40 year old dude meets a 25 year old through social event or friends or whatever and they happen to hit it off and make a go of it, and this isn't some sort of reoccurring pattern for the guy, that's just a relationship with an age difference
being predatory means something specific, and man I agree w/ OP and really wish people just stopped ascribing it to any and all relationship dynamics they personally might not like
predator and groomer - two words that need to go up on the "can't use till you learn their meaning" shelf
Holy shit this. I’m not like some big proponent of age gaps or anything, but I think we need just a wee bit more criteria than “he is 15 years older than her” to determine if there’s predatory behavior going on here. Like, for example, actual predatory behavior. While I do think that two people in very different stages of life might struggle with values alignment from time to time, it’s not (by itself) an indicator that there’s grooming or abuse going on.
I feel like I’ve had to ask this question before, but what age does a woman have to be before people stop assuming she’s being mind-controlled or manipulated?? We don’t want teenage girls reading books about toxic relationships because they can’t tell fiction from reality, apparently. We don’t want 25-year-old women to date older men because they won’t know if they’re being mistreated, apparently.
How old does a woman have to be before we just start trusting her?
And yes, I KNOW these relationships CAN be extremely toxic, just as relationships between any two people can be extremely toxic, but it’s infantilizing and patronizing to just make the assumption based on age alone. Every young woman isn’t a victim by default.
personally I think this should be hanging in the Louvre.
"When done poorly, groveling turns into humiliation, which has meanness at its core: it’s inflicted as punishment, it’s putting someone in their place, it’s designed to shame. The kind of groveling I like to read about is different. It’s self-inflicted. Good groveling is an act of atonement that’s fueled by fear but tinged with hope. Good groveling is about a character (usually the hero--more on that later) knowing he’s made a mistake and being willing to do anything to fix it; it’s realizing a quick burst of pride isn’t worth as much as a lifetime of love. A good grovel starts with a private “Oh shit” moment of recognition, but it often leads to acts of reparation or public declarations of love."
The six stages of a satisfying romance grovel
WHAT is wrong with you. It is so attractive
red, white & royal blue
i thought, this is the most incredible thing i have ever seen, and i had better keep it a safe distance away from me. i thought, if someone like that ever loved me, it would set me on fire.
for @kaneselwyns, the henry to my alex.
