Big thanks to Reader Shimonishi for sending in this Rec League request, with a particular twist on the “fish out of water” trope:
I would love some help finding contemporary romances that are set in the U.S. but feature a non-American hero. I can’t figure how to search for these. There seems to be many romances with an American heroine in foreign countries. I really enjoyed : Kristan Higgins – The Perfect Match; and Christina Lauren – Sweet Filthy Boy and Dark Wild Night. Something about that foreign accent against the American setting.
Are there romances like Crocodile Dundee when Mick is in America. Coincidentally I was watching the movie The Prince and Me starring Julia Stiles. Yes he’s the Danish prince, but I love the part where he’s trying to figure out how to make sandwiches and how people are reacting to his accent.
Amanda: Shimonishi makes a great point that it’s usually the heroine’s with the “fish out of water” experience and not the heroes.
Sarah: I have been thinking and thinking about this, and I know there will be suggestions in the comments that make me go, oh of course, but I thought of one – which is so embarrassing to me. I should have more.
Amanda: I know! I feel like I should know one, because this sounds like such catnip for me. But I’m drawing such a blank.
Sarah: Delphine Dryden’s Science of Temptation series, book 3: The Principle of Desire. The hero, Ed, is new to the BDSM world, and the heroine introduces him to the club she’s a part of.
The whole series is great, too. I recommend all three.
Amanda: Though that one is more a hero experiencing new experiences rather than a foreign hero in a new country.
This one is tough! What recommendations do you have? Let’s help Shimonishi out!
@Amanda I mean, maybe I’m just being my extra-ass self, but the fact that said series doesn’t exist in this world feels like a crime against the romance genre.
TL;DR? I HAVE A MIGHTY NEED!
Ruthie Knox’s Madly might be a good one. Stuffy British banker, newly in New York City gets involved with a free-spirited Wisconsinite. They make a beautiful list and then follow it.
-The Sophia Ghaffari character in Suzanne Brockmann’s Troubleshooter series
– Old school Nora… the Born In series has an American hero in Ireland in the second book and an american heroine in the third
As for m/m, I definitely second Avon Gale’s Power Play, as well as the rest of that series. I adore all of the heroes. Also,
-Country Mouse by Amy Lane/ Aleksandr has an American in England