Our latest Rec League comes from Frini. Thanks for sending it in!
I’m looking for book recommendations that have a heroine struggling with something like impostor syndrome. Like, she needs validation about her life/work/looks. It can be a second chance romance, enemies to lovers…it’s all good 🙂
Anything on that front?
Susan: Oh no, this is the character trait that most reduces me to gross sobbing.
If you’ll excuse the fifteen volume manga: Library Wars: Love and War by Kiiro Yumi is set five minutes into the future, where the Japanese government has brought in new, aggressive censorship laws and libraries have militarised to protect access for the public. The protagonist, Iku Kasahara, is the first female combatant in the Library Defence Force, and I love her. She’s earnest and enthusiastic about her work but struggles to see how to be good at it, and seeing her friends and love interest help her build up her skills and confidence over the course of the series gets me where I live. … I’m not saying that this series got my through my librarianship degree, but I am saying that I reread it a lot while I was studying.
For something shorter than a fifteen volume manga series: Catherine in The Lady’s Guide to Celestial Mechanics by Olivia Waite (That Carrie reviewed!) has this as part of her storyline; she’s used to being disregarded as “not a scientist” by her late husband and his collaborators, and “not an artist” because her medium is embroidery rather than paint, and her story arc involves her accepting that she’s an artist, patron and someone worth listening to on her own merits! (edited)
(Seriously, I can keep going. Princess Princess Ever After, Howl’s Moving Castle, Behind the Scenes!!, The Ancient Magus’ Bride…)
Tara: My rec for this is Eyes Like Those by Melissa Brayden. One of the leads has anxiety and it makes her question whether she’s good at her job. She’s a writer on a family drama and her love interest is the show runner.
Amanda: I think maybe Roomies by Christina Lauren could fit. The heroine is definitely having an identity crisis about her career and the role her famous uncles play in her job success.
Shana: Well, I read two recently. I loved If I Never Met You by Mhairi McFarlane and the heroine definitely doesn’t appreciate her own talent at work (she’s a lawyer), or see what a great romance catch she is (the story starts with a break-up). She figures out both over the course of the book, and watching her discover her own unrecognized power was really pleasurable. There’s some validation from colleagues and the hero but she does a lot of processing on her own, which I appreciated.
A Taste of Her Own Medicine by Tasha Harrison is a less angsty book overall, but has a much more intense imposter syndrome character arc for the heroine. I personally found her self-confidence issues hard to read, but they sound pretty perfect for this request. The heroine is trying to start her own business and pretty much everyone but her can see how great her work is. There’s some chapters from the hero’s POV so the reader can clearly see how she’s undervaluing herself. She also initially doesn’t believe the hero could possibly be interested her.
Which books would you suggest?
I feel like this is something that Mary Balogh does really well in her books especially when it comes to someone taking on a different class role. I think my personal favorite is the Arrangement with a blind hero and the heroine who’s basically a poor relation that helps him to take control of his and her life. Its one of my absolute favorites because there are characters from the other Survivor books there to help her and him.
Since Diana Wynne Jones is mentioned above, her Magids books do this really well especially Deep Secret, trying to save the world at a sci-fi convention and one of my favorite of her romances. Rupert and Maree both have some imposter syndrome going on but by the end, they sort it all out.
This is oddly hard even though I actually think this is a trope I read a lot but its the kind of thing where its there so I don’t see it.
The title character in Lights Out Lucy by Elicia Hyder gains confidence in herself by training for roller derby tryouts. Very fun, and I loved all the personalities of the roller derby team members or hopefuls.
Sofie in Met It Shine by Alyssa Cole has to overcome her fears of speaking out on civil rights and defying her father’s strict expectations for ladylike behavior. Highly recommended. In Cole’s The Reluctant Royals series, both Portia in A Duke by Default and Nya in A Prince on Paper have confidence issues from, respectively, ADHD and toxic family dynamics.
I Love You, Luke Piewalker by Eliza Gordon has a main character who’s very uncomfortable with intimacy and secretly begins to write romance as part of her therapy. The character really needed to grow a backbone more quickly, and her best friend annoyed me, but it was still a decent read.
Trix in Making Up by Lucy Parker definitely fits the bill. An emotionally abusive ex eroded her confidence, but she has a chance to earn a dream role in an aerialist show after one of the leads is injured. Her love interest, makeup/special effects artist Leo, might be my favorite love interest in the London Celebrities series. In the same series, Lily from Pretty Face struggles to be taken seriously as a stage actress due to her looks and soft voice.
Ugh—Let It Shine not Met It Shine.
I feel like Sophie Kinsella heroines meet this requirement. They are usually feeling like frauds or inadequate about their jobs. Or something happens with their jobs that they take the blame for or someone at their job is gaslighting them and they can’t see it yet. Everything usually works out for them in the end though. This is kinda vague so I’m not sure if this is what you’re looking for.
Hang on, let me go write a book about myself.
Crazy On You by Crystal Bright.
— The MCs were both child stars in a Barney-like tv show. But while the hero goes on to grown up success as a wildly popular country singer, the heroine struggles in her chosen field. She writes R&B songs for others, but can’t quite make the jump to her own musical success. Forced Proximity storyline as their record labels wants them to write some songs together to use her writing cred to finally get him awards. Some resentment on both their parts.
Illegally Yours – By Kate Meader
— Heroine is a whiskey sommelier. She is also African American in a largely white, male field so she deals with microaggressions and people not taking her seriously. She has some self esteem issues. I actually loved the hero in this one because he is 100% in her corner and is really invested in her success and wanting her to realize how great she is.
Coincidence of the Coconut Cake- by Amy Reichert
— Heroine is the chef and owner of a newish restaurant. So a high failure rate business. She has a lot of insecurities around that. Hero is a food critic who comes into her restaurant on a bad night and gives her a terrible review. They meet later but she doesn’t know he’s the horrible critic and he doesn’t know it was he restaurant he just thrashed. Lots of food porn and book is a love letter to Milwaukee (where it is set).
Deacon (Book #2 in the Gideon’s Rider’s series — By Kit Rocha
— Ana is the only female of the Gideon’s Riders and she feels the pressure that comes with that. Her need to be perfect and watch every step to prove that she got there on merit is one of her inner conflicts in the story.
Truly by Ruthie Knox?
@TinaNoir – Ooh, Illegally Yours sounds great, and I am absolutely checking out Coincidence of the Chocolate Cake. Antagonism plus food porn plus Milwaukee!
@linastew – I definitely second Truly.