Ever wondered where can you find more books for your very specific catnip? That’s what The Rec League is for! And we’re calling on you, Bitchery, to submit your very niche trope and archetype Rec League suggestions!
First off, you can see a list of previous Rec Leagues here to familiarize yourself with the feature and/or see what we’ve covered previously.
I’d also suggest looking at our Book Finder to see which broad themes we already have resources for. Finding an enemies to lovers historical romance with a spy is child’s play; we want to emphasize Rec Leagues for romances or books which aren’t easily Google-able, like “Supernatural Heroine/Human pairing.”
If you have an idea for a future Rec League, just comment with it down below! Please, no actual answering of Rec Leagues with book suggestions here.
You can upvote great ideas by pressing the little heart button next to each comment.
Unapologetically morally grey or villanous character as the hero or heroine who does not get redeemed?
I can appreciate a good redemption arc but had enough of the pure heroine taming the ‘dark’ hero trope. Don’t tame them, just let them be themselves.
Bonus points if both characterd have antagonistic tendencies.
@Viktoria
Try Meghan March’s The Mount Trilogy. First book is Ruthless King. “Hero” is a criminal and remains one.
Apologies for the above post.
Suggestion: Bad boy who returns to his home town.
Historical romances that are not set in (a. England, (b. Scotland, (c. Paris (though any part of the rest of France is fine), or (d. the USA? With all due respect to those final locales that many of my favorite books are set in, I feel those are the ones you end up seeing the most often in historical romance and I would really appreciate something different. It’s big world out there-let’s explore it!
Romances written by authors that are not American or British? @fairywine is right- it’s a big world out there and just like any other genre I’m sure there are some great authors from all over the place. Call it Romance in translation maybe?
I agree with @fairywine that’s a great idea! I’m up for non-European settings and also would be very happy with a rec league of Central and Eastern-European historicals (Austro-Hungarian Empire, Poland, Russian territories, Transylvania etc.)
Fish out of water, learning curve and competence porn, kindness.
I’m forever looking for well-written and well-researched medieval romance. The problem seems to be that it’s either well-written and well-researched, but it’s literary fiction with no romance. Or it’s romance, but the main couple is called something like Skylar and Bradley and there are more anachronisms and americanisms than you can shake a stick at.
I grew up on stuff like Elizabeth Chadwick (the sexist a-hole heroes now make my blood boil), Judith Merkle Riley’s medieval books (still OK, but when I read her books in English, rather than translated, the americanisms realllly stood out), and The Pillars of the Earth (so rape-y). I’ve recently tried Mystery of the Templars, which I believe was recced here, but it’s self-published and really not very well edited – shame, because time-travelling Templar knight meets feisty 21st century lady and struggles with his vow of chastity really sounded so much like just the thing I want to read.
I’ve read and dearly love the Cadfael books, but I need something else for my medieval romance fix.
Plus size heroes? I love that we’re seeing more plus sized heroines, but it is a bit :/ that they seem to continually be paired with straight-size heroes. Also historical romance with working class characters, because I am very bored of rich people
@Viktória oh my god I would LOVE a romance set in Austria-Hungary. The closest I’ve seen was the Blood Rose Rebellion, which unfortunately was badly researched upon just not being good. A real salt in the wound moment for sure. :T
*on top of, that is. I can type, I swear…
Also definitely seconding a Central/Eastern Europe rec league!
Paranormal/supernatural/superheroine/heroes where the female character has powers that are usually given to the male character and vice versa. For example the woman can shift or has super strength and the man is an empath or healer etc.
Also: paranormal etc romance with contrasting powers.
Or alpha heroines with beta heroes
– Historical romances with immigrant heroes/heroines, especially ones coming outside of Britain or Ireland
– Historical romances set in ancient or pre-historic times with extra points for non-Roman Empire settings
@fairywine oh yes I can relate, my last experience with hard-hitting historical inaccuracy was “Czechoslovakian marionette makers” in a Julie Anne Long book set in the 1810s, never mind Czechoslovakia not existing for a century more. I just did not expect such an error there.
@Emily C I love the idea of romance in translation! I second the idea wholeheartedly
I want more like Cotillion! I love that Freddy is very unapologetically himself and doesn’t try to be like anyone else and you just get all these small moments of him being very competent. Like he doesn’t necessarily show “masculine” traits and is perfectly comfortable with himself and also remembers that people need toothbrushes when they elope.
Alternatively, someone like David Morgen in The Final Throw, a roguishly charming asshole that you start suspecting to be playing a deeper game.
The Joy of “No”: romances that start with a typical setup with h and old-style Alpha-H; h is infatuated with H; she gets to know him better and in the end says “no”. Bonus if she finds a non-Alpha HEA as well.
For quite a lot of romances I’ve imagined my own ending where the h tells the H that he can get lost and then she gets to live her own sweet life without that overbearing A cutting her down to suit himself. I’d love to read more of that, without having to think up my own endings.
This is not against Alpha-Heroes per se – I do enjoy Alpha-Heroes who are nonetheless able to tread women as persons (examples: see Courtney Milan romances.)
I’m just so sick and tired of the kind of Alpha-Heroes where abusive behaviour is all excused with “but he loves her, so it’s OK”. And I’d love to read more romances where they get what they deserve.
SPOILER WARNING
Only example I've found so far: Cotillion by Heyer.“Unlikeable” heroines – the ones who are crabby or bossy or outspoken etc. All the traits that are oh-so-OK in the hero but somehow make the heroine unlikeable.
Also, Slow and immersive romance.
Horror-romances or horror novels with a satisfying romantic arc please! Paranormal romances abound, but I’m having problems finding ones that are really grounded in the horror genre. I’m thinking of books along the lines of Simone St. James, Jenn Bennett’s Roaring 20s series, or Amanda Stevens’ Graveyard Queen books.
I don’t know, I’m finishing my PhD in lockdown and have such overwhelming anxiety at all times now it’s nice to be able to process those feelings with horror novels, but also “resolve” them with an HEA. Some horror comes up in the book finder, but it is hard to tell which books won’t pile on with a sad ending on the basis of their back copy!
Thanks so far for your suggestions! We have done a few of these already:
Angry Heroines
Villains Redeemed
Fish Out of Water Heroes (We also have this theme in the Book Finder!)
Competence Porn
Heroines who violate cultural taboos for women on things like cursing, talk about sex, and behavior, bonus points if they have a close female friend group… Cassie in Max Monroe”s Banking the Billionaire cones to mind
Book series with a strong female friend group as a central support throughout the series, including welcoming “in-law” women, especially if they are not all cis hetero white women
Found family series centered on a community that isn’t just “we met and we like each other”: I see this in books where there’s a community around an interest or a place or a cause
Angsty books where one of the main characters believes their love interest isn’t interested/available, but *not* based on misunderstandings that would be fixed in five minutes if anyone spoke to each other or stopped leaping to conclusions. Also cannot be because the main character has low self-estemm and just can’t believe they are loveable
Books where one of the main characters becomes friendly with/friends/supportive of their love interest’s ex. Especially important if love interest has a kid with the ex. No evil-charicature ex-partners wanted.
Paranormal/urban fantasy series where the main character doesn’t become more and more super-powered as the series continues. Best if the main character succeeds in part because of brains and skills that aren’t super-powered and don’t involve being able to be injured over and over. So more Mercy Thompson before Coyote shows up than Kate Daniels.
Fish out of water urban fantasy where female main character is the one out of sync. Faith Hunter’s Soulwood series is the one I think of first. More like Nell, please.
Also: romances with kink communities where there is genuinely informed consent
Romances where there are kids as real characters you invest in, not just plot devices
I’ve got one!
Paranormal romance with the Fated Mate trope, but they actually sit down, talk about it, and agree to be friends or have casual sex or SOMETHING besides the “you’re MINE and no I will not explain” trope.
Also more queer historicals that aren’t set in Regency or Victorian London.
Ok, one if my favorite tropes is both rare and terribly transgressive: female therapists who get involved with their male clients. Yes, I know it’s a dreadful thing when it happens in reality, but I love the push-pull of emotions and the “oh no, what am I doing?” element when it happens in romance or romantic suspense. I’ve only read a handful of romances that feature this trope (well, duh) and in almost all of them there’s some very fine line that stops the situation from being at the full-on “girl, you’re gonna lose your license” level—usually something along the lines of the hero not actually being the therapist’s patient, but he’s working undercover or he was a client but isn’t any longer. And I’m absolutely uninterested in therapist-client romances with the genders reversed.
Another of my favorite tropes is a man falling for his late brother’s (or late best friend’s) widow. I’m not sure if there’s been a Rec League on that trope. Extra points if the hero has always been attracted to the widow but naturally never revealed his feelings when his brother/friend was alive. I have to say, when the genders are reversed (a woman falling for her late sister’s/best friend’s widower), the trope doesn’t interest me much. However, one of my favorite books so far this year is Marley Valentine’s WITHOUT YOU which is a very interesting twist on the trope: a man (who has always identified as straight) falls for his late (gay) brother’s boyfriend. I hadn’t read an m/m romance featuring the “falling for widower” trope before, but would be interested in knowing if there are any others.
Heroes and heroines with unsexy jobs- e.g. administrators, accountants, city clerk. No lawyer/ doctor/ architect/ owner of charming small business. HR professionals fall in love too!
Here’s one I have trouble sort of parsing out from reviews- I love a good romp. No genre preference, but something soap bubble light, so goofy it keeps me giggling, conflict more likely to be slapstick than anything else. Ideally with some sort of odd animal adding to the chaos (goat, camel, iguana, whatever)
@Sarah J- Great idea! I’m dipping my toe into horror lately, especially gothic, but fear for the unhappy or uncertain endings. I like the idea of knowing the fears will be resolved.
I’d love to read some heist romances: think Ocean’s 11 with more kissing.
You all are doing great!
@Georgina: We have a heist one! Enjoy!
@Amanda Thank you, I shall!
Weirdly, I searched for “rec league heists” before I posted and it didn’t turn up.
Also, can we have a war romance thread? I know there are a lot of them and also featuring different periods but it is very hard to filter them, it would be lovely to hear which ones the Bitchery recommends. If war romance is too broad, it could be world war I-II or the Napoleonic wars etc.
@Katharina: I’ve almost asked for a Surprise! That’s Not the Hero rec league a few times but of course if you know about it it’s not a surprise but if you don’t get recs you may never read the books. Conundrum! Anyway I second your motion.
I also second all the ones for non-Western European historicals and, like C, would like historicals that do not feature the aristocracy or the obscenely wealthy. It seems like it is always that or they are from St. Giles and never that they are just regular folks who are carriage makers or bakers or whatever. I wish Rose Lerner was still writing.
It occurred to me that, depending on how long ago the original Rec League for a specific trope/plot element ran, there may have been a number of new books featuring the trope published since that time, so it might be worth “revisiting” previous Rec Leagues—maybe with the request to limit responses to books published since year the original Rec League ran.
Contemporary intercultural stories, specifically white women with African-American men. I’m new to contemporary romances, but have loved stories like The Wedding Date and A Princess in Theory. But I’d love to see a story that address the culture clash and real issues with interracial relationships, without being a downer – right now one of the best examples of white women and Black men is Get Out. There has to be some realistic but happy stories out there!
@Teev: I’ve run into the same issue with the “Virgin Heroes” Rec League. I can think of several books where the hero’s virginity is a bit of a surprise when it is ultimately revealed, but in each case it made me go back and reread certain passages more closely and I could see how the author was dropping hints as to the hero’s lack of experience. However, in every book I could think of, part of the enjoyment of the book was the revelation of the hero’s virginity and I didn’t want to spoil that for other readers. It’s like you want to recommend a particular book but you don’t want to disclose why you’re making the recommendation. Perhaps there should be a “Spoiler Alert” Rec League for plot elements like “that’s not the hero” or “hero’s unexpected virginity.”
I’d really love to find a historical where the young man falls for the chaperone of the woman he’s supposed to pursue. (Bonus points if he’s in some sort of covering arrangement for the gal’s real and forbidden relationship, but he’s willing because this will give him time with the chaperone.)
The site’s search can be a little finicky, so I always recommend using Google – “smart bitches rec league search term” or something like that.
Han Ora: Our Cross-Cultural Rec League might be helpful to you!
This one is a little esoteric, but I always like books where the setting is just a little alt-universe of ours so the author gets to play a little bit with ‘reality’ and imagine a little more ‘what if’. Not too much so that it runs over into straight out sci-fi, but different enough so you don’t necessarily have to be held to the customs or rules “our” reality. Some examples:
Thayer King has a series called the Bio-Expa series and it is set a bit into the future in a slightly alt-universe. The big cultural difference is that most people use a service called Bio-Expa to find a partner and get married. The custom of using the service is so pervasive that people who don’t use it are considered the outliers.
Susan Sizemore has a book called Memory of Morning that is set in an alt-universe version of Regency/Napoleonic England. There are some similarities to society but some marked differences as well — women can train as doctor, e.g. Also every 5-10 years or so they have something called an Open Season where all members of the empire, not just the nobility, can participate in balls and parties to seek spouses or mates across class lines. It was fun to read this different version of the ‘classic’ regency HistRom.
Adding in votes for Spoiler Alert-type romances, particularly the He’s Not the Hero, or anything where the author cleverly uses genre expectations to trick the reader.
Also adding to the votes for historicals with other settings or characters than the norm.
Romances that flat out break rules or subvert tropes, spoiler or not.
M/f romances with bisexual, non-straight-passing heroes.
Smaller or slighter heroes who don’t magically acquire thirty-six pounds of muscle.
Shifter romances that a) actually understand the non-human animal (i.e. none of these super-alpha-male werewolves) and b) either don’t used fated mates or subvert the fated mate trope, like @Varian said.
Oh and also seconding @Varian’s other request for queer romances not set during 19th century England.
And following on that: historical romances where an m/f couple really just can’t marry, and the narrative accepts this reality and finds an unconventional alternative.
Sibling’s/best friend’s ex/widow(er), regardless of gender.
Co-workers (including boss/employee) who are into each other but have worked together for years and years while ignoring the attraction because they are mature professional people and/or aware of power imbalances (in the boss/employee case). I really like Getting Together Would Be An Actually Bad Idea scenarios, but with boss/employee versions, the hero is usually the boss and usually abuses his power, and I’m not there for that. I want nice emotionally intelligent bosses angsting because they don’t want to be jerks.
People who have known each other for ages and were never single at the same time and now suddenly are single at the same time and oh NOES. The messier and angstier the better.
Revenge scenarios where the heroine is the one getting revenge that don’t involve the hero ever getting control.
Also two specific setups in the standard rich-noble-19th-century-England milieu:
a) Hero intends to marry a debutante but falls in love with a debutante’s mother (like come on, the moms are the ones their own age).
b) All those Bored Slutty Wives and Widows who exist to show how hot and experienced the hero is? The ones who aren’t allowed to be people and are written off as pathetic trash because they weren’t lucky enough to marry someone they loved (or even someone decent)? Stories where they get to be happy too.
@star and @trix, I second (third?) the “hero falls for the non-debutante: chaperone/mom/widow etc.” historical idea.