mermaidsirennikita

[mermaidsirennikita]

honestly, when you read what some historical romance writers write for their indie releases versus trad.........................

you see why the subgenre is having so many problems in trad

#romance novel blogging #and it's not on the authors... it's on the publishers #i'm talking about VERY talented writers #and it's gonna be interesting to see what happens if old guard authors who've been quiet for a while come back #re: adjustments etc #and to be clear there are def strong trad HR releases #but it's interesting to visibly see the constraints publishing clearly puts on the subgenre #even as they arguably push the boundaries w other subgenres #if not with works they push to publish originally then with indie books they pick up and publish

[mermaidsirennikita]

Sorry if you've already answered this but i'm looking for books where the heroine asks the hero to teach her how to be good in bed/with men, the last thing I read was the Joanna Shupe book and i'm obsessed

I've got some recs for sure!

How to Marry a Marquess by Stacy Reid. This one, in theory, has the hero teaching her how to like, charm men, but it quickly turns into a seduction lessons situation because he is.... bad..... at making it normal lol

One Good Earl Deserves a Lover by Sarah MacLean. In this case, the heroine is set to marry someone, but wants to understand what ~the act~ is like beforehand and sort of know how what she's doing when she does get married. She's very scientifically minded. The hero very reluctantly agrees, but on the condition that he won't touch her and it'll all be verbal. THAT..... was a mistake

When the Duke Was Wicked (Rum on Lips TM) by Lorraine Heath is another one where he's originally trying to help her find a good husband (though this is less about charming them than it is about teaching her how to recognize the signs of a man actually loving her, but it quickly devolves into teaching her Other Things. Which he's very annoyed by, as in just walking around muttering angrily at himself basically

In Want of a Viscount by Lorraine Heath. The hero in this one is basically teaching the heroine how to Do Things without risking pregnancy, which is DELIGHTFUL.

Beauty Tempts the Beast by Lorraine Heath has a hero who's very literally teaching the heroine how to please a man so that she can become a successful mistress/courtesan, in exchange for her teaching the ladies in a brothel he came to accidentally own to be respectable

For a contemporary rec:

A Holly Jolly Ever After by Sierra Simone and Julie Murphy. A down on her luck actress gets her costar in a sexy Christmas movie (yes) to teach her how to like... enjoy herself... after a dull marriage in which her husband didn't take care of her.

#romance novel blogging #romance novels #book recs #my favorite thing is a romance is a man grumbling to himself bc That Escalated Quickly That Got Really Out of Hand

[mermaidsirennikita]

MARIE ANTOINETTE

dir. Sofia Coppola

#marie antoinette

[mermaidsirennikita]

Hi, hello, the level of repression on college campuses is beyond dangerous

#palestine #columbia protests #this is terrifying

[mermaidsirennikita]

Reign | Prince Francis in every episode part I [1x01-1x08]

#my baaaaaaby #reign

[mermaidsirennikita]

very much enjoying a fight scene between the heroine's fiancee and her brother (best friends) in When the Viscount Wanted Me by Lydia Lloyd wherein one of them calls the other "you ORPHAN" as an insult lmao

#romance novel blogging #it's a very pathetic fight where they're just like scrambling #like a couple of wet cats #except it's rich boys

[mermaidsirennikita]

Oh I didn't say they saw all the episodes, I'm assuming they've seen the first six just based on the way they were talking about the season. I don't think they're lying or doing so for attention, they don't seem involved in the Bridgerton fandom, they were just answering some of the questions people asked them (which they've since stopped doing because Polin fans are annoying). I didn't know the part about this information coming from somebody close to the show or the casting call this is news to me. Look who knows maybe Sophie or Phillip will show up in the last 2 episodes and we'll get our set up for season four. But based on hearing Francesca gets a lot of focus this seasons and apparently little is done with Eloise and Benedict tells me they are probably setting up Francesca as the new lead. And considering I find it very unlikely this show would do a sapphic romance as the main storyline makes me think Michael isn't getting genderbent. But this was my thinking I could be totally wrong, maybe it's just sloppy writing on their part. It wouldn't be the first time. And to clarify I don't have a problem with any of this, although I won't lie I do question the ability of this show to do a queer romance well.

Yeah, I get you. To me, it would truly be surprising if she had the main love story for s4 if it is a sapphic romance, but who knows, a lot could happen in whatever the reviewers haven't seen (yet).

I personally would love to see a wlw romance in a show like this.... just maybe not this show, because I don't particularly trust them either. And I mean, I think WHWW is easily the strongest book in that series, right? It gives them good stuff to work from. But if you genderbend Michael, you do basically lose all of the conflict in that story. I don't even really know what would keep them apart in the show if you have Michaela versus Michael, lol. Because a lot of Francesca and Michael's guilt about moving on is rooted in Michael not only getting Francesca, but EVERYTHING John had, which a woman wouldn't.

The main real obstacle then is... homophobia? I guess? And I'm sorry, a season of gayngst as your queer rep is NOT the look.

So they'll basically be making up their own thing, again, which I don't trust them to do. It's hard to get excited about it. If this was a stronger show, I'd be very "YES! A WLW ROMANCE!" but..... eh.

I mean, either way, I probably will have to sit and watch it because I do love WHWW and I've gotta see how it plays out whether you get a Michael or a Michaela. But either way, I expect THE WORST. Though, if Masali Baduza is playing Michaela (or Michelle, or Molly, or whatever) she's STUNNING.

#and if she's playing sophie like a lot of people seem to want to believe #YIKES! @ that book plot even more #bton for ts

[mermaidsirennikita]

it's out today! it's your time age gap girlies (and guys and people who are neither or both)

ARC REVIEW: My Season of Scandal by Julie Anne Long

4/5. Releases 4/23/2024.

Vibes: age gap, rake/virgin, plucky heroine, and "I'm not good enough for you"

Heat Index: 5.5/10.

Inexperienced but determined Catherine Keating is in town to find a husband--and she's staying in the same boarding house as the famous rake and politician, Lord Dominic Kirke. Catherine and Dominic strike up an immediate camaraderie, and he knows everything she needs to know about high society. The catch: the more time Dominic spends helping Catherine as she looks for a partner, the more they want each other. But Dominic knows his scandalous reputation and secrets mean he's not right man for her. Right?

I love Julie Anne Long's Palace of Rogues series, which basically mashes a bunch of great characters together in this kinda kooky boarding house (a boarding house that has an incredible knack for helping residents find love). You always get the newbies, and the recurring cast of characters--including the heroes and heroines of the first two books. This was a sweet, fun addition that really doesn't have a lot of plot, but showcases solid character development and a lovely "jaded man meets sunshiney girl who makes him feel young again but is also Too Pure For His Wretched Hands" dynamic.

I do think that other installments are a bit more plot-heavy, and the degree to which this was really kind of just two people really liking each other slowed the story down at points. However, if you're looking for a low-conflict, cute romance, this will absolutely do the trick.

Quick Takes:

--Julie Anne Long loves an age gap, and while this was definitely on the softer side for her--Catherine is twenty-two and Dominic is pushing thirty-six, which is really not much to blink at compared to those found in What I Did for a Duke and After Dark with the Duke--but it felt like a bigger part of the story, somehow? Maybe more of THE CONFLICT versus a framing piece?

Because what Dominic struggles with most--and this is a hero-forward story, I'd say; Catherine is lovely and well-done, but Dominic is easily the one with the most conflict--is really being too corrupted and weary and Bad for Catherine. (Is he Bad, though? I would say that he's a deeply good man, if one with a past, and Catherine also knows this from the beginning.) It's pretty classic, and it's rooted in him having a lot more life experience than she does. I love that he kind of acted as her mentor--he wasn't actively trying to help her make a match (it's not one of those) but he does assist her with the general rituals and ways of high society.

--You know, for all that it was light on plot, there are some things here that you don't often see in historicals. Dominic is a politician, and that's a big part of his character and what he does. This is definitely one of the more politically aware historicals I've read.

And... I don't know that I can reveal the OTHER thing this novel does that you don't often see in historicals. But let's just say... rakes don't often have to face consequences for being rakes. Dominic's problem doesn't exactly link to his active rakehood, but it is the kind of reality that, again, historicals frequently seem to avoid. (Which isn't a bad thing, by the way--but these touches of realism matter.)

--Like I said, the conflict is, overall, Dominic resisting Catherine. After a certain point, he knows he wants her. He knows she wants him. They get along. There are obstacles, but none of those obstacles are so extreme that they can't just get hitched ASAP.

This is what I would call a slow burn, and I can struggle with those, but I actually liked it here. So I imagine it will be a crowd pleaser on that level.

--It's always great to see the collection of side characters in this series. But I've gotta say... I'm especially interested in how Long is slowly unfolding a secondary love story between Dot, the ditzy and hilarious and territorial maid, and Christopher Pike, the footman she believes is moving in on her turf. Dot also learned about what the word "phallus" means in this installment. Long live Dot!

The Sex:

There are a few solid scenes--most of which do not involve penetrative sex, but rather some fingering, grinding, handies. You do get p in v, but it does take quite a while to get there. It's good, but it kind of felt like they waited until the last minute.

I'll also be honest: while Long has always been on the fluffier side with her sex scenes, they are explicit and hot. However, looking back on a book like What I Did for a Duke and more recently After Dark with the Duke, I see a bit more heat... and I kind of miss that. Don't hold back!

While it is quite a slow burn and a bit light on plot, My Season of Scandal is a fun and frothy rake/virgin romance. It leaves a sweet taste in your mouth, and it's ideal for when you need something lighthearted and low stakes.

Thanks to Netgalley and Avon for providing me with a copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

#romance novel blogging #book recs

[mermaidsirennikita]

Hey - I'm hoping to recommend a few romance novels to my partner to try and read together. Do you know of any that might be like Yakuza the video game series? Thanks in advance!

So, unfortunately I haven't read any Yakuza romance novels. However, mafia romance may offer something similar, and that's a pretty popular subgenre that I've started dipping my toe into. Admittedly, there's a lot of... bleh stuff out there, but! Based on the video game, I'd recommend checking out:

Kings of Italy by Mila Finelli. This 5.5-book series (one duology, three standalones, one novella) is so good, and it's one of the only mafia romance series that focuses on the Italian mafia, versus the Italian-American mafia. Which makes it much more high stakes, to me. This series is VERY racy (as most mafia romances are) and very fun. A good amount of action, murder, "muahaha-ing", assassin heroes, the works. Most of them are m/f, but one book and the novella are m/m.

Kresley Cole's Gamemaker trilogy is Russian mafia (the first book more so than the other two, though all the characters end up connected to the life). Kinda crazy heroes, much money, a good amount of violence, general intensity.

King's Captive by Amber Bardan isn't exactly mafia (though it's not... not) but it begins with a high-octane murder fest and goes from there. TRULY insane.

#romance novels #romance novel blogging #book recs

[mermaidsirennikita]

I don't know what this says about me but I was rewatching Knives Out.

My first thought was: I love this movie. It's so great.

My second thought was: what if Ransom and Martha fucked.

So, do you have any romance recommendations, hr or contemporary that include a murder mystery?

I love Knives Out, and I've shipped Ransom and Marta since day one. It ain't right, but it is.

Well, almost all Grace Callaway books have mysteries--some of which involve murders, some of which involve threats, etc. The Viscount Always Knocks Twice is definitely a murder mystery, as is The Duke Who Knew Too Much and M is for Marquess.

Elizabeth Hoyt has some murder mystery to a few of her books--the hero of Darling Beast is falsely accused of murder and must find the culprit; Duke of Midnight has a hero who's been trying to catch his parents' murderers for years.

The Cynster books often feature some MYSTERY. Devil's Bride is a murder mystery (A Rake's Vow is, somewhat hilariously, a mystery that's like "WHO STOLE THIS OLD LADY'S STUFF???"; high stakes!). All About Love is a total murder mystery romance.

Shadow Dance by Anne Stuart is a DELIGHTFUL old school historical in which the two heroes (there are two m/f romance plots in this one) are brothers on the run after the younger, illegitimate one is accused of their father's murder. They have to figure out who actually did it (I mean, they kinda know, but they need to prove it and decide whether or not to actually accuse that person) and in the meantime, one of them is dressed in drag and they're posing as husband and wife. As you do.

I don't read a lot of romantic suspense (not because I dislike it, but because I just haven't had a minute to get to it and really explore) but that's the subgenre where you'll find more contemporary murder mysteries in romance. The second book in Kennedy Ryan's All the King's Men duology has something of a murder mystery following a rather dramatic death.

#romance novel blogging #book recs #romance novels

[mermaidsirennikita]

Ok I saw someone who's seen the screeners for season three get asked about the Francesca rumors and they said there was no indication Michael was a woman and when asked who they think is going to be the lead next season they said probably Fran because there's no set up for Benedict or Eloise.

We’ll see. I would be surprised if someone saw screeners for all 8 episodes for a two-part season at once and was willing to tell y’all everything you needed to know weeks before the first part of show came out, but that’s just me! I've seen people indicate that they received screeners for four episodes, or six episodes, but not all eight.

The rumors about Fran aren’t based on someone seeing screeners but someone allegedly hearing things from people closer to the show, as well as a casting call for a female character that is allegedly meant to be prominent in s4, with sex scenes included. You'd think that would either be Sophie or some other important female character, right? But this character's description centers on someone devilishly charming~ with a flirty exterior that masks a sensitive, soulful interior. Doesn't sound like Sophie.

Someone is lying, right? OR someone saw every episode except the last one or two, and this character only showed up in the final ep (which is what the genderbending rumors have indicated) and the person watching the screeners is making assumptions about where the unseen episodes will lead.

I’ll just say this: I…… don’t care if they do it or not. I mean, tbh, I find watching fan reactions far more entertaining than watching the show. If the idea of a genderflipped ANYONE bugs someone, I’d tell that someone to be emotionally prepared for that or whatever lmao because I think this show’s team profoundly dgaf about what book fans think. Which honestly? Fair. The issue is less changes and more…. Writing quality. To me, it's kind of irrelevant; if they give Fran a female love interest, that dramatically changes the plot of WHWW and it's basically their own thing, albeit with some WHWW framing influence (John dying and the new love being his relative). But if they kept Michael male, I'm sure the resulting storyline would be nothing like the book anyway. S1 is the only story that seems to have retained much of a resemblance to the book. I mean, s3 remains to be seen, but Colin wasn't out there trying to give Penelope the She's All That treatment in the book.

Either way. I like that book, and I'll always have that book, so to reiterate: do your own research if you wish, make your own predictions, I do not have a dog in this hunt. The only thing that would intrigue me would be if they genderflipped the story AND made it the central romance of s4. That would honestly surprise me, and I guess that it's the only thing that I'd really second guess. Not because I think the show wouldn't center a queer couple, necessarily, as a love story. I'd just, and I say this as someone who tries to read and review as many sapphic romance novels as I can, be surprised that this show would center a f/f pairing versus an m/m pairing. The lack of support for f/f compared to m/m across ALL media is like... notorious.

But if it's a subplot to a central m/f story--I could totally see that.

#bton for ts #lol i always feel like people want the showrunners' choices to make sense but you can't use that logic w this show #to ME benedict or eloise are clearly queer-coded and it would be more satisfying for an audience to see them find that romance #and i think that bc there's been that buildup it would be easier for audiences who are less into queer romance to get interested #if nothing else they know those characters and are invested in them #versus francesca who's a newbie really #HOWEVER. i also didn't think they'd wait until EPISODE 7 for kate and anthony to bang it out #and i use bang it out loosely #so #just abandon your logic and be open to anything #or do as i do and watch the chaos from afar while handpicking which scenes to view lmao

[mermaidsirennikita]

My kindle online shop says that the new Elizabeth Hoyt novel "No ordinary duchess" is coming out on the 10th of December. Do you think that's legit?

I don't want to wrongly get my hopes up for a new Elizabeth Hoyt novel🩷

Forever is actively advertising it in a way that I haven’t seen them go for before, but that could just be me missing it in the past. What I can tell you is that the book, in the past year or so, had a November release date (as in last year) and a March release date (as in last month). This isn’t necessarily because the book isn’t finished, though, there could be publisher issues at play.

I’m cautiously optimistic, but we’ll see!

#romance novel blogging

[mermaidsirennikita]

do you think if cait getting second chance?

Cait Corrain is a white woman in publishing so yeah, probably. Whether it’s under that name or not is another issue.

#books

[mermaidsirennikita]

ah, May

the month when I get to watch the new season of a book adaptation about a sweeping romance involving hot people wearing period piece clothing while having graphic onscreen sex with each other

#interview with the vampire #i! never! said! the romance! was healthy! #anyway i really love this pic bc it conveys absolutely none of what i referenced #but what it does convey.... is their respective personalities #and you know maybe the sex might be a lil different this season! idk! but either way i'm on board!

[mermaidsirennikita]

i'll be real i have an easier time beliving they'll genderbend sophie or give eloise a girlfriend because unlike sophie and sir phillip michael is actually a compelling character i think they'll want to take a crack at adaptating him

Michael is probably the most interesting dude in the books to me. Doesn't really matter though. They don't care about whether or not people think these characters are compelling.

Like--they don't care about the books. The series is a playground for them.

And I say this as someone who also doesn't care about most of those books; there's no venom behind that. It's just like... Kate is a very interesting character in the books, and they pretty much stripped her of her entire background re: her mother and a lot of her personality, too. The Featheringtons had about as much plot as she did last season. I don't see what would indicate that they have an interest in compelling characters in the books.

[mermaidsirennikita]

wait francesca is getting a queer subplot? what's going on?

Spoilers and context clues point to Michael being genderbent. Who knows what'll happen, could be bullshit, but the spoilers have been out for a bit, the showrunner has stated that there will be a queer couple playing out over "the next couple of seasons" (which lmao I PROMISE almost certainly = subplot over main plot), she's emphasized how excited she is for people to see Fran's subplot (GIVE US FLOWERS), and so on.

Like. Could be wrong! Wouldn't be the first time people leaked fake spoilers to let the world burn lmao. But if I was a betting woman, the combo of the rumors and the show's quality makes me think that if they're gonna have a queer Bton, it'll be the most low stakes option (a character nobody in the show-only audience cared about until this season, in a storyline that can play out as a significant subplot over the main plot).

But yeah. The rumors are all over social media at this point.

[mermaidsirennikita]

I'm hearing Francesca has a huge subplot this season and her relationship with John progresses very quickly while they are once again running in circles with Benedict and Eloise so yeah it's looking increasingly likely they're doing Francesca's story next season.

I suspect less "next season" and more "as a queer subplot over the course of a couple seasons" with Benedict or Eloise as the straight lead, but sure

#will be truly shocked if the show has a sapphic couple as the lead romance but who knows