I swear this request came through my email. Can I find it? Absolutely not.
For those who are unfamiliar, Jim and Pam are two characters from The Office and they have a romance that spans several seasons. They started off as really good work friends. For a long time, they could never get the timing right on their relationship.
Until they did. And it was wonderful. When I’m having a bad day, I like to watch the episode where they get married. It gives me a good kind of cry.
Anyway, we’re looking for romances that have a Jim & Pam quality.
Sarah: For someone who hasn’t watched The Office (raises hand) can someone explain what that means?
Amanda: Hmmmmm workplace friends to lovers probably with a beta hero?
Sarah:Got it!
Shana: My favorite office workplace is Austin Chant’s m/m romance Coffee Boy…but there’s a power difference between the two heroes, one is the supervisor on a political campaign and the other is an intern (and trans, yay!). I loved this quiet little romance. However, my recollection is that while Jim is technically higher in the office hierarchy than Pam, the difference seemed minimal. Is that true? It’s been a long time since I watched the Office.
Let’s Talk About Love by Claire Kann is a New Adult romance with an asexual heroine who falls for her new coworker. It’s set in a library, not an office. But the hero is both confident and supportive and the couple has some sweet awkwardness that reminds me a bit of Jim and Pam.
I feel like there’s some boy/girl next door energy with Jim & Pam that isn’t usually something I read…I hope other folks have ideas!
Amanda: I agree with that assessment, Shana, but it’s also not something I read.
Maya: Agreed, I think there’s also a bit of a slow burn element with Jim and Pam. Lots of longing looks across the receptionist’s desk!
Carrie: Lots of will they/won’t they, and sometimes they are with other people, and timing issues…
Shana: This sounds like an epic love story across a whole series.
Lara: Jim and Pam-style love stories would be a great subplot in a series of fantasy novels. The quietness of their love and affection would struggle to fill out a full plot…maybe?
Sneezy: Hmmm I’m not much help when it comes to slow burns, and I don’t remember any office romances I’ve read.
Claudia: Maybe a slow-burn pairing that takes place over several books in a series, with one subsequent book being about that couple, but I’m also struggling to come up with examples that are office romance and not enemies to lovers!
EllenM: Maybe a bit out of left field but all I can think of right now is the Wotakoi: Love is Hard for Otaku series. the MCs are childhood friends who work together and while they are dating, the romantic parts of the relationship progress quite slowly and there is kind of that will-they-or-won’t-they (kiss) element. also, the manga is episodic in structure as opposed to a simple linear narrative
Otherwise if the reader is open to non contemporary, Heroine Worship by Sarah Kuhn does have those comedy workplace vibes (only the workplace is a superhero HQ) although the romance is more enemies to lovers. Another suggestion is The Best of All Possible Worlds by Karen Lord—it’s basically a sci-fi workplace road trip friends-to-lovers slow burn and I remember it being kinda funny.
What books do you think would fit?
I don’t have any good recs off the top of my head (maybe fanfic? you been get s good feel of it from the tags), but I love a good slow burns and beta heroes (although looking back Jim definitely had some issues. Jon Kazinski himself seems adorable) and hope that someone has some good ideas.
One of the best tropes ever! I’ve got a slow-burn shelf, and the beta heroes from that would include “Lamb in Love” by Carrie Brown – it’s got a lovely mellow period flavour to it that really enhances the slo-o-ow development of the romance. Beth O’Leary’s “The Flatshare” would fit here too – although it’s tough to get the quite whole Jim & Pam feel in a single book.
Switching to m/m, there are a couple of terrific ‘tec examples of really solid romances. Gregory Ashe’s six-book Hazard & Somerset series strings the relationship out for EVER, and it’s marvellous (though much tougher than J&P). Cole McCade does something similar with her gritty Criminal Intentions series (13 short-ish books) which I love. On the gentler end of the scale, Nash Summers’s 3-book Asher series (starting with “When Red Cried Wolf”) is very sweet.
Sorry! Should read “Cole McCade does something similar with *his* gritty Criminal Intentions series”. I clearly need coffee.
I feel like the slow burn, will-they-won’t-they type relationship is a good description for Veronica and Stoker in the Veronica Speedwell series.
Maybe the Storm and Silence series by Robert Thier? Maybe that’s more enemies to lovers, though? I only read the first two, but I felt like the writing pace and the kind of slapstick style of escapades softened things.
Not a book, but what about the Netflix movie Set it Up?
I feel like the slow burn part and epicness could be satisfied by a lot of cozy mystery series (Lady Darby Mystery by Anna Lee Huber, Lady Sherlock by Sherry Thomas – although here Miss Thomas really makes us wait, Veronica Speedwell as mentioned before etc.) but I’m struggling to come up with real Pam and Jim feels.
One that spreads out to close to ten years and longing slow burn with bad timing is a significant part is One Day in December by Josie Silver and even more is Love, Rosie by Cecelia Ahern but I’m not sure these would qualify either.
I’ve never seen The Office, but this description reminds me of The Hollows urban fantasy/paranormal romance series by Kim Harrison. From the first book in the series, I “knew” who the heroine would end up with, yet over the course of the series, Rachel has six or seven love interests with varying degrees of intensity and closeness. Yet every time she encounters the slowly evolving hero, sparks fly. He’s not a beta, it’s not a workplace romance, but that intangible sense of “wait for it” kept me with the series through its many moments of over the top melodrama.
Here are the keys of the Jim-Pam relationship. It is a sloooooow burn (years), but Jim is clearly in love with Pam. He holds off on doing anything because she is in a relationship. The humor — they joke with each other (and play jokes on others) constantly. They have a lot of inside jokes and are always in sync. They are absolutely best friends, with Jim recognizing that he wants more (but can’t have it) and Pam oblivious to Jim’s romantic feelings until he finally tells her. Even then their timing keeps being off — it takes a long time before they are both in a place to get together. It’s one of my favorite relationships. Also, after they get married they have troubles — I liked that too — it was very real. Two people deciding whether to fight for love even if it means giving up other things they want.
I loved The Best of All Possible Worlds, and have had the sequel forever but haven’t gotten to it.
Maybe Simon and Violet in Courtney Milan’s Countess Conspiracy? There’s more going on than missed timing, but that’s part of it.
It seems to lend itself to side characters in series who then get their own book so the arc can be longer than a single volume.
It’s not set in a workplace, but Lucy Sullivan is Getting Married by Marian Keyes may fit the bill. Two lifelong friends, male pining for female, she’s oblivious, both date unsuitable people on way towards each other. It’s one of Marian Keyes earlier books so the writing isn’t as good as her later books, but it’s still really fun and I reread it often!
Yes! Simon and Violet in Countess Conspiracy is a Jim-Pam relationship all the way.
Beta Test (#gaymers Book 2) by Annabeth Albert first comes to mind. Its about two new hires to a video gaming firm – a business major and a graphic designer. What I liked is that the story lets them work and do their jobs while not having to be in competition with each other.
Of course, the Redstone series by Justine Davis is all about working together, although not really an office environment.
And then there’s Hooray for Holopticon by Carol Van Natta. Its not quite a romance, perhaps more of an office comedy. As the office computer computer might say it: “They bite bureaucracy on the nose / And come out smelling like a rose.”
Wait for It by Mariana Zapata. It’s a slow burn, I think the MCs are neighbors (it’s been awhile since I’ve read it). He is a lot more beta than most of her heros. I love a slow burn, and thought this one was really good.
@Heather T – I’m currently reading “The One For You”, the fourth and concluding book in Roni Loren’s “The Ones Who Got Away” series. It pretty much adheres to your excellent “who are Jim & Pam” explanation, to the extent that for days, I’ve been picturing John Krasinski as Ash, the beta with the eternal longing in his eyes. I’ve skipped ahead a lot, because Loren is so very good at making me unsure of how in the world she’s going to get Ash and Kincaid to their HEA, if that’s even possible (SPOILER:
She does; much crying, on their part and mine, but she does). But I’m currently back to the beginning, with a self-commitment to reading the entire book all the way through.
Eye Candy by Jessica Lemmon fits. The main characters are coworkers and good friends.
I feel like “Evie Drake Starts Over” is a bit in this category too. There’s definitely lots of inside jokes and a slow burn until she gives the go-ahead. Plus, they’ve both got to get their stuff together separately before they can have their HEA. It’s a very comforting read.
*Parks self in thread* Ahh, a favorite trope.
Lady Elizabeth’s Comet by Sheila Simonson. Slow burn at its best. It takes a while to warm up to the heroine. But it’s totally it.
I was considering mentioning Evvie Drake too. It has a realness to it that is consistent with The Office.
Starry Eyes fits this category as well. It’s YA so is obviously about a younger phase of life (and not in an office), but they started off as friends, are very bonded like Jim and Pam, and the hero is a beta. It’s one of my favorites.
It’s not easy to find a friends-to-lovers office romance with a beta hero. It seems that if you can find a book that has the first two, it’s rare that the hero isn’t an alpha. (Ahem, any romance authors looking for new content ideas??)
I tried Wotakoi, but quit halfway through book 2 because I got sick of all the remarks about the heroine’s small breasts. Do those stop after a while?
Would The Attachments by Rainbow Rowell fit in at least a little? There’s an office, there’s pining, and there’s a slow burn. The heroine is in a relationship at first and needs to come to the realization that she’s worth a deep and abiding love. The hero is this big sweetheart of a guy who doesn’t get how amazing he is and his experience of gaining self confidence is lovely to read.
What about A Duke in Disguie by Cat Sebastiian? My second favorite romance I read last year, and I think it totally fits the bill. Ash is a beta hero who has been in love with Verity for years, she’s oblivious, they have inside jokes and he even calls her by her last name, Plum, (just like Jim called Pam “Beasley” in the first few seasons). They totally both need to get their lives together first, and figure out how to make it work to get the timing right even after they both know they should be together.
Maybe this is why I loved it so much? This is my favorite trope in tv ships that’s for sure – Amy and Jonah on Superstore, Booth and Brennan on Bones (because while you think he would be a big bad FBI alpha, he’s totally a beta with her and I loved it). I am totally here for these recs!
Forgot to mention, while A Duke in Disguise is a historical, they also work together in her publishing house, so it’s also a workplace romance of sorts *grin*
I second Attachments by Rainbow Rowell!
I feel like Lauren Dane’s “Whiskey Sharp: Unraveled” would work for this. Hot, hipster, tattooed barbers with piercings are always *aware* of each other as they work together for a couple of years but are always in overlapping wrong-place-wrong-time. Then, he’s free and she’s considering a new relationship and this spurs him to make a play and they leap at each other to very fun results.
Would Peabody and McNab from J.D. Robb’s …in Death series fit here?
In some ways the relationship in the Robert Galbraith (aka J K Rowling) Cormoran Strike mystery novels fits this category. Strike and Robin are partners in a detective agency. Strike is ex-military police and somewhat alpha-ish in general but not in his interactions with Robin. With the series currently partway written, Strike has been pining for some time while Robin has been in a relationship with someone else. They are utterly comfortable in each other’s company at work, and each new book seems like it might be the one when they finally get together….
@Crcala thank you for the Marian Keyes rec! I started reading her in the mid 2000s, inhaled every word she published, then her themes got darker and hit too close to home… but her early stuff is delightful. Lucy Sullivan, Last Chance Saloon, The Other Side of the Story, Sushi for Beginners, and her essays in Under the Duvet. Time for a revisit.
TW/CW for anyone new to her – depression, addiction, trauma. She’s hilarious and a gifted storyteller, pulls you in, then something dark punches you in the gut. Tread carefully.
Agree with Attachments and Lucy Sullivan is Getting Married. Even Fangirl from Rainbow Rowell could fit too from the beta-hero-is-smitten-girl-is-oblivious perspective.
Can’t think of any other m/f pairings at the moment, but for m/m:
cute-work-place-romance: my fav is One Giant Leap by Kay Simone, also like the Annabeth Albert Gamers series.
Slow-burn-co-workers: The Road Home by Elsa Winters, Coffeeshop Kisses by Mia Lark, Everything In Between by Michele Notaro, All Kinds of Tied Down by Mary Calmes, and Winter Lessons by Amy Lane (teammates/friends on the last, not co-workers).
Also R. Cooper does great oblivious heroes – Medium Sweet, Extra Shot of Geek, Vincent’s Thanksgiving Date, her beings in love series… ooh and also Second Hand by Heidi Cullinan and Marie Sexton
Oh yes – R.Cooper! “Play it again, Charlie” is one of the great Yearning Books of All Time.
This is probably a huge stretch, but I’m thinking of the first three books in the Ilona Andrews Hidden Legacy series (paramnormal romance). Nevada Baylor and Connor Rogan are co-workers of a sort, trying to save the world together. But they start out as enemies then become more friendly over time and the finally become lovers over 3 books. The evolution of the relationship and partnership is wonderful and the world building is terrific.
Sarah Mayberry has a few workplace and friends to lovers romances. If you haven’t read her, she writes contemporary categories, often set in Australia, with real feeling characters and wonderful, non-alphahole heroes.
Anything for You is the one that comes to mind – it is a friends to lovers workplace romance but in this case the heroine is the one who’s been into the oblivious hero for years. The story starts after she’s decided to get over him and change her life (and then he falls for her).
Thanks to whoever recommended the Storm and Silence series. I just inhaled the first one and it’s wonderful!
They didn’t work together but were best friends and he had been in love with her for years. The book is Hot and Bothered by Jo Leigh, an old school Harlequin Temptation.
Another vote for Attachments by Rowell here and YES to the In Death series by Robb and the lovely romance between Peabody and McNabb is spot on Jim and Pam. If you’re into audiobooks, it’s the only way to enjoy that series. Susan Erickson is a kick-ass narrator who totally nails all the accents of Robb’s (aka Nora Roberts) characters.