#or derek craven doing a minor stranglehold on a very bad lady

[mermaidsirennikita]

saw the "who's your most underrated Kleypas hero" question getting bandied about (again) today, and I must say, the only answers I'll accept are:

--John McKenna/Again the Magic (I'd argue that AtM is not the DEEP CUT newer Kleypas readers think it is; before I read it, it was definitely upheld as a classic of hers, but people who want the softer boys she writes in the Ravenels... may not like this one; however, McKenna fucks RIDICULOUS lbr)

--Alex, Lord Raiford/Then Came You (yes... he calls her a bitch.... and I'll be real this made me love him more... he carried her over his shoulder outta Craven's and bought her a bear I'm VERY confident in this choice)

--Kev Merripen/Seduce Me at Sunrise (thought he'd kill Win with his massive dick, tied her up and took her to his fuck cottage, is Heathcliff if Heathcliff wasn't horrible basically)

--Leo Hathaway/Married by Morning (fun bout wounded king, "haha" in the streets and "oh shit" in the sheets, notable for making Catherine ask him to touch her pussy in explicit and specific language)

#romance novel blogging #besides rhys winterborne............ ravenel heroes are kinda mid! i'll be honest! #'but what of five feelings tom' his book bored me i'll try it again someday #west ravenel is the greatest disappointment of my life #gabriel and keir struggled under the weight of their father's slutty slutty legacy #devon was fine. but only fine. #don't even talk to me about ethan #mostly bc i don't remember a single defining feature #i just think the ravenels is a perfectly fine series #but to me it is truly dumbed down kleypas #it's kleypas for people who can't handle sebastian kidnapping lillian #or derek craven fucking that sex worker #or derek craven doing a minor stranglehold on a very bad lady #or alex calling lily a bitch (THERE ARE REASONS) #or kev refusing to take responsibility for tittygate bc he was very down on himself and also bc his dick might kill her #or mckenna spending literal years plotting aline's downfall lmao #leo is honestly p normal but he WAS a sad alcoholic!!! #(never mind westcliff being like 'well she seems into when she's blackout and that's good enough for me') #i just think the ravenels was written with the idea of appealing to people who don't go hard w historicals basically #and that doesn't mean you can't like it! i like several! including the one everyone hates! #but even the ones i like.... aside from MW i feel like there's some magic missing #and i think the magic is a lack of inhibition #and don't get me wrong lol she published bad books before the ravenels #books much worse than the ravenels #but like. idk. i just don't know how you can read like the ravenels #then go back and read the wallflowers or DoY or AtM #and not notice... a quality difference