If you haven’t heard, The Ripped Bodice is putting on an awesome reading challenge this summer. And there are prizes! You can click the link to their site for an explanation of the rules, plus a printable copy of their bingo board. Or! You can check out their helpful tweet:
RIPPED BODICE SUMMER READ-ALONG BINGO IS LIVE!!!!
Download your bingo card and read more books this summer!#rippedbodicebingo pic.twitter.com/na9zdFGuPN— The Ripped Bodice (@TheRippedBodice) June 11, 2017
We’re playing along in our Goodreads group and offering suggestions when we can. You can also follow The Ripped Bodice on Twitter for reading recs. However, for those who aren’t fans of social media (I don’t blame you), we thought compiling a list of recommendations here would be helpful. Plus, any suggestions from the Bitchery are always welcome.
In the suggestion list, we’ve left off a couple of the easier categories like the Romance Novel Free Space, Elaborate Proposal Scene, Rake or Rogue in the Title, and Conflict Could Be Solved With One Conversation. I feel like those might be way easier to find.
For the recs, we’re pulling from books that have been mentioned here on SBTB, are well-known, or have been recommended to us!
Published pre-1980
Georgette Heyer! We have some recommendations from an older Heyer sale post.
Plus, I highly recommend you check out some of Carrie’s reviews. She frequently reviews classic romances.
Miss Buncle’s Book by D.E. Stevenson ( A | BN | K | AB )
Lady Audley’s Secret by Mary Elizabeth Braddon ( A | BN | K | AB )
Heroine named Rachel
This one is tough to search for and you might have to get lucky while searching through your TBR!
From our GR group:
Mclaudia suggests To Have and To Hold by Patricia Gaffney ( A | BN | K | G | AB ). She also says it’s a great book, but advises that readers check reviews for issues around consent.
Three suggestions by Willaful:
Archangel by Sharon Shinn ( A | BN | K | G | AB )
Twelve Days by Teresa Hill ( A | BN | K )
Cat used the All About Romance site and found Daughters of the Bride by Susan Mallery ( A | BN | K | G | AB ).
A hint of magic
I’m interpreting this as romances that aren’t full on fantasy or paranormal. Let’s go with magical realism!
I can’t recommended Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen enough ( A | BN | K | G | AB | Au ). It’s on my Keeper Shelf.
For an option with more of a central romance, there’s A Little Night Magic by Lucy March ( A | BN | K | G | AB | Au ). I also think the Kate Daniels series by Ilona Andrews would qualify; the series starts with Magic Bites ( A | BN | K | G | AB ).
Rag and Bone by KJ Charles ( A | BN | K | G | AB ) has hints of magic too.
Non-mammal shifter
The easiest way to mark this square off is to go dragons!
I started the Dark Kings series and I’m enjoying it. Dragon shifters who own a scotch distillery! The first book is Darkest Flame by Donna Grant.
Dragon Bound by Thea Harrison ( A | BN | K | G | AB | Au ), Dragon Actually by G.A. Aiken( A | BN | K | G | AB ), The Smoke Thief by Shana Abe( A | BN | K | G | AB ) are all great dragon shifter romances as well.
Or you know…take a page out of Elyse’s book, get crazy with it, and read Passions of the Wereshark!
Viking
The obvious recommendation for this would be the Call of Crows series, which Sarah loves! The first book is The Unleashing ( A | BN | K | G | AB | Au ).
Elyse has also read and enjoyed romances with vikings. There’s The Warlord’s Wife by Sandra Lake( A | BN | K | G | AB ) and a time travel romance titled Beautiful Wreck by Larissa Brown( A | BN | K | AB )!
Hero has a pet that’s not a dog or cat
This one can be a bit tough, especially to find specific suggestions. Characters who work with animals in some capacity are a good lead! Oh and…horses!
Shacking Up by Helena Hunting – hero has exotic pets!
Mr. Ridley by Delilah Marvelle – raven pet! ( A | BN | K | AB )
Hero smells like some kind of tree
It’s hard to pinpoint a book that I know for certain has this, but some general tips are to gravitate toward books with outdoorsy heroes! To help narrow things down, Google Books will sometimes let you search inside books for terms and phrases. I frequently use this for a “word hunt” challenge I do on Goodreads.
Some potential leads for outdoorsy, tree-scented heroes or books recommended in our GR group:
Under Her Skin by Adriana Anders ( A | BN | K | G | AB )
Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas ( A | BN | K | G | AB )
Her Naughty Holiday by Tiffany Reisz ( A | BN | K | G | AB )
In the Middle of Somewhere by Roan Parrish ( A | BN | K | G | AB )
All I Am by Nicole Helm ( A | BN | K | AB )
Queer YA/NA
After going through past reviews, queer YA books seem to be easier to find than NA, so we’d love some suggestions from that genre.
Labyrinth Lost by Zoraida Córdova ( A | BN | K | G | AB )
Draw the Line by Laurent Linn ( A | BN | K | AB )
Of Fire and Stars by Audrey Coulthurst
Dreadnought by April Daniels ( A | BN | K | AB )
Geek/Nerd elements
Thanks to our Goodreads group for these suggestions:
The Wrong Kind of Compatible by Kadie Scott ( A | BN | K | G | AB )
The Theory of Attraction by Delphine Dryden ( A | BN | K | G | AB | Au ), which Sarah loved and I believe is on sale!
Heat Wave by Merry Farmer ( A | BN | K | G | AB )
I’d also recommend the Slices of Pi series by Elia Winters, with the first book being Even Odds ( A | BN | K | G | AB ). Most of these recs are contemporary or erotic romance. Maybe we can get some historical romance suggestions with nerdy elements!
Baking/Sweets described in delicious detail
Baker characters seem like an easy why to mark off this square!
Buns by Alice Clayton
The Chocolate Thief by Laura Florand ( A | BN | K | AB )
Plus, there’s a huge list of romances where the character as a dessert-related profession.
Person in uniform on the cover
Characters who work in law enforcement or are firefighters!
Playing with Fire by Kate Meader ( A | BN | K | G | AB ) – I enjoyed this one and it has a firefighter heroine.
Unfortunately, a lot of the romances who have uniformed characters don’t feature uniforms on the covers. Just lots of dirty, white tank tops, it seems. Or shirtless dudes with guns, which isn’t exactly work appropriate. Also…I think a sports uniform would still qualify.
Melissa in the Goodreads group suggested The Captain’s Kidnapped Beauty by Mary Nichols ( A | BN | K | G | AB ). Which brings up a point that military uniforms also work!
Heroine inherits a business
I’m definitely stuck on this one, as most of the things I think of, there’s no inheriting going on for the heroine. I also think this is something more common in historical romances.
What do you think? Any suggestions?
Non-Regency set historical
Ah! An Extraordinary Union by Alyssa Cole! It was a previous book club pick and was much loved by us and the Bitchery. ( A | BN | K | G | AB )
The Duke of Olympia Meets His Match by Julianna Gray is one that fits and Sarah loved. ( A | BN | K | G | AB )
Most books by Deeanne Gist would probably fall into this category and I definitely recommend reading Tiffany Girl.
American historical romances seem like the easy way to tick this box off.
Sub-genre you’ve never read before (honor system!)
A lot of our readers pick up romances across the genre, myself included, which makes meeting this category rather difficult. Some suggestions aside from the typical subgenre labels (historical, inspiration, paranormal, etc.) could be menage romances, rockstar romances, or motorcycle club romances. Think of niches!
Heroine taller than the hero
We recently did a Rec League on tall heroines. Many of them aren’t necessarily taller than the hero, but tall in a general sense. However, there might be some suggestions lurking in the comments.
Heroine smells like a food item
See the “Baking/Sweets” category! A heroine who works in food will probably smell delicious.
Suggestions from the group:
Pretty Face by Lucy Parker. The heroine smells like vanilla because of her perfume.
My Best Friend’s Ex by Meghan Quinn ( A | BN ). More vanilla smells!
Nuts by Alice Clayton ( A | BN | K | G | AB )
Broke hero
So far, I’ve seen this interpreted two ways. The hero can be broke as in poor. Or he could be broke as in “broken.”
For the former, a historical seems best given how money often plays into romances with marriages of convenience or class differences.
For the latter, dark contemporaries would be the way to go, especially with anti-hero or mafia characters.
I interpreted as the first option, but I’m finding that it’s much easier to find a Rich Hero/Poor Heroine story than the reverse.
Character on the run
Characters can be on the run of the law, a terrible ex, or maybe is just a runaway bride!
Under Her Skin by Adriana Anders ( A | BN | K | G | AB ) could fit for this category too. Be warned that this romance is rather dark.
Sins & Needles by Karina Halle ( A | BN | K | AB )
A book in Anne Bishop’s The Others series ( A | BN | K | G | AB | Au ) as the main character is in hiding.
Beach read, set in a beach town
Jude Deveraux’s Nantucket Brides series is cute and light. It also has some ghosty elements. ( A | BN | K | G | AB | Au )
Mary Kay Andrews does a lot of beach-setting books as well!
Austen retelling
Goodreads has some great lists, including Jane Austen retellings in adult and young adult categories.
Some individual suggestions:
For Darkness Shows the Stars by Diana Peterfreund ( A | BN | K | G | AB | Scribd ) – a YA, scifi novel based on Persuasion.
The Secret Diary of Lizzie Bennet by Bernie Su and Kate Rorick – based on the Emmy-award winning YouTube series. ( A | BN | K | G | AB )
Fitzwilliam Darcy, Rock Star by Heather Lynn Riguard ( A | K | G | AB | Scribd ). It spawned this bananas awesome guest review!
An anthology
The Sight Unseen anthology just came out, where the authors of each story are kept secret. Sarah did a recent podcast with some of the authors. ( A | BN | K | AB )
The Knitting Diaries ( A | BN | K | G | AB ) is a sweet anthology that Elyse liked!
Gambled Away ( A ) is an anthology with historical settings across the world.
Whew! Are you playing along this summer? What categories have you stumped and what would you recommend for other readers?
Non-mammal shifter – I’ve read and enjoyed many dragon shifter books and just last week read one that I would recommend, called Not His Dragon by Annie Nicholas. The heroine comes from the foster system and doesn’t know her own background, but she has these freaky, sharp, strong nails, and opens a shop where she gives deep scratching massages to various shifters whose fur itches. I thought that was pretty inventive. This one does feature the usual PNR fated mate/instant attraction trope though.
In the same category, I’d also recommend Under Her Skin by Margo Bond Collins. The heroine is a snake (or lamia) shifter, which is pretty unique in romance literature.
In the broke hero category, I’d recommend The Fortune Hunter by Diane Farr. The hero is completely broke and systematically goes about trying to marry an heiress. He ends up in an MOC with an intelligent, socially active heiress and totally falls for her.
In that same category, I’d also recommend True Pretenses by Rose Lerner. The hero is a Jewish con-man who courts and falls for a woman who needs to marry in order to gain control of her fortune so that she can use it to continue as the Tory patroness in their village.
@julie – another steampunk rec is Meljean Brook’s Iron Seas series. Alt Victorian where Europe was colonized by the Golden Horde. The Iron Duke is the first – the hero was too alpha-hole-ish for my taste but the world building is great and so is the rest of the series (Carrie S reviewed several, I think).
For non-mammal shifters:
Kim Dare’s avian mm bdsm shifter series is fun. Duck! is the first one – it’s a retelling of the Ugly Duckling with a hawk and swan shifter. The writing is a bit rough (her later books are much smoother) and the world building is weak. But if you like hot sexy D/s avian shifters, this is your book.
Amy Rae Durreson’s mm fantasy dragon shifter series is fantastic. The first one features a dragon waking from a 1000 year sleep and falling for a desert spirit / god. The romance is a little light but I enjoyed the world do much that I didn’t miss it.
Heroine inherits a business- Two of my favorite Jayne Ann Krentz books I think apply. First is “Perfect Partners”- one of my favorite books of hers. Also I think “Absolutely Positively” would qualify as well.
Heroine smells like food- “Miss Whittier Makes A List”- by Carla Kelly the heroine is stuck on an English Navy ship during the Napoleonic Wars and uses vanilla snitched from the galley as her perfume.
Person in uniform on the cover – “Get Lucky” by Suzanne Brockmann. It’s one of my favorite books of hers and the original cover (which she hated) had the “hero” in his dress whites on the cover.
@clee – thanks! Do I need to read the Iron Seas series in order, or can I skip to a later book?
For the Pre-1980 Category
Two very oldies but very goodies.
Katharine by Anya Seton. There’s no sex but it’s a great classic. A medieval love story based on historical fact. Someone needs to turn this book into a movie. All of Anya Seton’s novels are historical love stories. She did a lot of research for each book. The Winthrop Woman and Green Darkness are also good reading.
Shanna by Kathleen E. Woodiwiss – gorgeous tropical scenery and gorgeous characters. Girl meets boy, the girl has the hots for the boy, sleeps with the boy, but refuses to admit she’s in love with the boy. (His short shorts might have something to do with it.) Oh, and pirates. Someone will want to read this with a side of rum and a pirate’s cuirass clamped between their teeth.
Immortal Queen by Elizabeth Byrd – historical fiction with a love story. It’s about the life of Mary Queen of Scots and how she literally ended up losing her crown and eventually her head over a man. (She fell in love and made some stupid decisions. She did that with her first husband as well. Excellent writing. Great book. But you just want to smack Mary upside the head and yell “What were you thinking?”)
Thanks Amanda and Julie! That went completely over my head, what with English not being my first language! 😉
I agree, sounds very much like financially broke (which to me it did anyway, even without knowing what the AF stood for.
Nerdy Heroine:
Minerva in “A Week to Be Wicked” by Tessa Dare. Francine!
@Julie – they’re pretty stand alone. I think the first two work best read in order. Riveted (#3) is my favorite and it’s definitely stand alone. Carrie S reviewed it.
Here’s the authors guide to the books – I think it has a link to an overview of the world building as well.
http://meljeanbrook.com/books/the-iron-seas/
I didn’t know we had a GoodReads group!?
@ReneeG: We do! Come hang out!
For the hero / heroine smells like something, I know there’s a PNR series where each mated pair had unique scents – like the guy smelled like charcoal and the woman smelled like garlic bread (or whatev). Can’t remember if other people could smell them or if only their mated could smell them. I never read the series but I loved reading the reviews on DA – the scents just kept getting sillier and sillier. But I can’t for the life of me remember anything useful like a title.
For a little bit of magic I’d recommend just about any Jill Barnett, but Bewitching is one of my faves. Also Christina Dodd’s So Enchanting has a heroine who attracts animals with her emotions but doesn’t really have power over them, so its just a wee bit of magic. Also Jo Beverley (I think) Forbidden Magic, where she can make wishes (st a price) on a statue, but there’s no other magic.
In the new Jill Shalvis she inherits a diner.
@clee oh yes Riveted has all my squee. That said, @Juilie it kind of helps to read the Iron Duke first because she sets up the bigger worldbuilding there and only briefly sketches it in the later books
Hero’s pet not dog or cat – Tessa Dare’s A Night to Surrender (Spindle Cove #1) He has a pet lamb named Dinner. It’s a great book.
A couple of suggestions for Heroine Taller Than The Hero: A Civil Campaign, by Lois McMaster Bujold (which also features a totally awesome proposal scene – maybe the best EVER!) with a tall heroine and a hero that is very undertall. It is part of the author’s Vorkosiverse, series (which is actually SF). Also the Dinner Party!!!! (Insanely funny!!!)
Another excellent book for this is The Tower by Jean Johnson, which has a Fantasy setting. I do love this author’s books, and I consider her Fantasy books to be excellent holiday reading.
Non-mammal shifter – I read two of Nina Bangs’ dinosaur shifter books for the VF book club – Eternal Pleasure and Eternal Craving. The heroes don’t transform into dinos, but they get a shimmery aura that can affect the real world, so that’s close enough for me!
For more dragons, I recommend Isabel Cooper’s Highland Dragon trilogy.
Viking – already mentioned, but I second Anna Richland’s Immortal Viking series
Hero Smells like a Tree – one of the stories (maybe Katherine Ashe’s?) in the Scoundrels of Summer anthology smells like cedar. Definitely the new sandalwood!
Geek/nerd elements – Level Up by Cathy Yardley, How to Tell a Lie by Delphine Dryden, A Week to be Wicked by Tessa Dare, Luck is no Lady by Amy Sandas, I Thee Wed by Celeste Bradley, A Scandal to Remember by Elizabeth Essex, How to Dance with a Duke by Manda Collins, The Cryptographer by Alice Wallis-Eton.
Non-Regency set historical – lots from Deanna Raybourn, Jenn Bennet’s Roaring Twenties series, Where There’s Smoke by Cindy Spencer Pape, Let it Shine by Alyssa Cole, any of Jo Goodman’s historical Westerns, Joanna Shupe’s Knickerbocker Club series.
Oo! Hero with pet that’s not a cat or dog – in All I Am, I think Wes has a pet sheep?
This is totally going to be my summer of book bingo; my local library also does a summer reading program for adults (with prizes!) that is also a bingo game.
My first thought when I saw Heroine named Rachael as a category was that Nora Roberts has a book with Rachel in the title! “Falling for Rachael”
For Queer YA I cannot recommend “When the Moon Was Ours” by Anna-Marie McLemore highly enough. Lush prose and great characters. If anyone is hunting good YA with non-white protagonists this is also one to check out.
Jayne Ann Krentz has a couple of heroine inheriting business plot lines, including “The Golden Chance” & “Perfect Partners” (there might be more).
This may be the thing that gets me to join GoodReads.
I’m considering trying to do it with only books I already own (and maybe library books).
Ooh! Ooh! I’ve got one! For the “hero has a pet which is not a cat or dog” I nominate “Lightning That Lingers” by Sharon and Tom Curtis, in which, I kid you not, the hero is a wildlife biologist stripper. He has a pet owl which had been too badly injured to go through rehabilitation. (Actually, he is also totally broke–he’s stripping to pay the bills on his family’s massive estate–so he fits two categories). Naturally, he falls for a prim children’s librarian, as one does. (Despite the crazysauce description, I really liked the book.)
@Janine: Whaddya mean “despite” the crazysauce description?!
*zooms over to Amazon to investigate biologistripper*
Character on the run: Baby, Come Back by M. O’Keefe. It’s the sequel to Bad Neighbor, but I think it can be read as a standalone too.
Broke AF hero: Steadfast by Sarina Bowen. It’s book 2 in the True North series. The hero has just been released from prison, has no money and no way to get a decent paying job.
I’m having so much fun discovering new authors and titles with this bingo game!
Georgette Heyer ticks so many boxes:
Broke Hero: A Convenient Marriage. If you’re after a broken hero, the heroes in Venetia and These Old Shades consider themselves irredeemable and unfit for their women.
Non-Regency Historical: These Old Shades, Devil’s Cub, Powder and Patch, The Masqueraders.
Character on the Run: The Masqueraders.
Person in Uniform: Depends on your copy, but my copy of An Infamous Army has uniforms.
And she did an anthology as well, but the title escapes me.
Beach town: The “Spindle Cove” series by Tessa Dare!
Heroine inherits a business: “The Scandalous Mrs. Wilson”: Heroine inherits a bath house in turn-of-the-century British Columbia
Some queer NA that I really enjoyed: Come What May by A.M. Arthur. Him and The Understatement of the Year by Sarina Bowen.
There’s a couple of Jayne Ann Krentz’s where the heroine inherits a business. One is a sporting business, I think. I can’t remember the name but that’s the one I was going to try to find. I don’t like inherit books but did like this one so I remembered it.
Queer NA/YA: Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe. I also second the rec for When the Moon was Ours.
For Queer NA, I’ll recommend Heidi Cullinan’s Carry the Ocean.
I hated good reads to the point I abandoned my account. Maybe I should try again? (or delete it?)
I wish people were recommending elaborate proposals which is much harder imo to find than pre 1980 romance. (It doesn’t even say 20th century. Jane Austen could fit!)
I also thought of It Had to Be You by Susan Elizabeth Philips for the Heroine Inherits a Business. (her dad’s football team)
Beverly Jenkins, and Carla Kelly write non Regency historicals. Several of Lisa Kleypas’s historicals are set in Victorian times or turn of the 19th into the 20th century.
For the Beach Read: I liked Maria Geraci’s A Girl Like You, which I think is in a beach town or maybe it’s just in Florida. (def beach scenes.)
Character on the Run I really enjoyed Shelter Mountain by Robyn Carr. heroine is running from her ex. (It kind of helps to read Virgin River first, but maybe not necessary.)
Not sure if it’s a romance but The Other Daughter by Lauren Willig is about a heorine named Rachel.
I also love Sarah Addison Allen. (a little magic) and I enjoyed Lisa Kleypas’s Friday Harbor books.
My favorite Broke hero is Chase from Under the Lights by Shannon Stacey.(contemporary) I loved that book!
‘Person in uniform on the cover’
I read that as ‘Person in unicorn on the cover’. … I really need to get caught up on sleep.
Thanks for the recs!
I second the recommendations for Katherine and Green Darkness by Anya Seton for pre 1980 books. Green Darkness also would check the box for a touch of magic. I read both books as a teenager and I think both hold up for reading today. Barbara Michaels/Elizabeth Peters wrote quite a few books pre 1980 that I would describe as romantic suspense or Gothic. The time periods range from contemporary (1960s and 1970s) to various historical periods. My favorite was Patriots Dream which was published around the time of the bi-centennial celebrations in 1976 and I got it from the library shortly after it was published. There is also one set in Crete at an archeological dig that I remember enjoying.
As far as Viking heroes are concerned, I loved Sandra Hill’s books, which are very funny and also include some time travel.
For Non-Regency books: Many (if not all) of Eloisa James’ books are set in the Georgian period. There are a couple of Georgette Heyer’s books that are not regencies — These Old Shades and the Masqueraders are Georgian. There are references to the Jacobite Rebellion in both books as a fairly recent event. The Masqueraders has two couples. One of the heroes in the Masqueraders is also short (but so is the heroine).
For inherit a business try Jayne Ann Krentz’ Perfect Partners (1992.) Fearures quirky characters.
Nerd elements: Erin Nicholas’s Getting Out of Hand–Mason is a geeky scientist type who puts his efforts also to winning over his old hometown. Plus, it’s free: https://smile.amazon.com/Getting-out-of-Hand/dp/B01HN0V3OG/
Also her Completely Yours–the heroine is a video game designer into cosplay… https://smile.amazon.com/Completely-Yours-Opposites-Attract-Nicholas-ebook/dp/B01DSTTQBI/
geek/nerd = lady claire is all that; the countess conspiracy
broke hero = the first rule of scoundrels, a rogue by any other name
non-regency, as suggested = wicked intentions, which was my favorite BY FAR of the maiden lane…
non-regency/all have been solved with one conversation = mogul, joanna shupe
Non-regency:
The Mackenzie/McBride series by Jennifer Ashley–takes place during the Victorian era.
Good one, @Sue! Particularly the first of that series is much loved among the Bitchery, and features a hero who is on the spectrum. That would have made a good bingo square – h or H with a disability or mental illness.
Published pre-1980’s – most of Mary Stewarts fall in this category (maybe all? – not sure about the Stormy Petrel – but that is one of her weakest, anyway).
Non-Regency historical – Eloisa James’ Desperate Duchesses series is one of my favorites and is set in late 1700’s. I did not read these in order, and ended up re-reading them in order because there are overarching plot points.
Steampunk – Love Meljean Brook and Riveted and The Kraken King are my favorites, but I think you might need to read the 2nd one to appreciate some of the details in the Kraken King. I also enjoyed God Save the Queen by Kate Locke, although I never got around to reading the later books in the series.
Broke hero: “In for a Penny” by Rose Lerner! Lord Nevinstoke’s (Nev’s) father dies, leaving an estate with huge debts; heiress Penny agrees to marry him for the title. His insecurities and shock at the state of the estate when they get there (unhappy residents etc), plus the H/h’s learning to trust each other and themselves and work together to take on their responsibilities, make for a really touching romance.
Hero shorter than the heroine: The Mistress Deception and Savage Courtship, both by Susan Napier.
Heroine inherits a business: To Dream Again by Laura Lee Gurhke. I find this book very amusing, because it’s a historical retelling of “The Goodbye Girl.”
There’s a historical writer who did a series about broke heroes… argh, I’m spacing on the name. I remember being impressed that the hero of the first one was actually short of ready cash, which you almost never see in a historical.
Ah, I remembered. The broke hero series starts with The Wicked Wickerly by Patricia Rice.
Just remembered another possibility for non-mammal shifters – Virgina Kantra’s Children of the Sea series. The first trilogy has selkie / seal shifters. It’s quite good.
And if you like a little crazysauce in your romance, I believe Joey Hill has a mermaid series (mermaids are shifters, right?)