This Rec League is from Rylie, who sent in a Rec League that nearly stumped us:
I’m hoping the Bitchery can help — do you have recommendations on contemporary romance novels with butlers? I’ve searched reading lists with various search terms, but all I seem to come up with are historicals or romances with maids, nannies, etc.
Shana: Well, the obvious choice is Listen to the Moon by Rose Lerner. The hero is a valet who has a chance to work as butler, but only if he can bring a wife with him. Cue: marriage of convenience with a hot maid. It’s the rare historical where both the protagonists are working class. John is definitely the buttoned up type, so it’s delightful to see succumb to his attractions for his new wife.
Sarah: This is the only title my brain is coming up with and I’m so frustrated with my cerebrum.
OH! I THOUGHT OF ONE, but sort of not – Sandra Antonelli’s series features a heroine butler, and it’s more mystery/adventure than romance, but she is fiercely good at her job.Claudia: I suppose hot housekeepers would be cheating…
I am also blanking out on hot valets/butlers besides the superb Listen to the Moon. The first book in Antonelli’s series (At Your Service) is definitely my favorite (Chelsea buns!) and has more romance, but I agree that the series as a whole is more mystery/adventure.
Amanda: I know we had a “working class” historical romance rec league. There could be some suggestions in there.
Claudia: OK, how could I forget… KJ Charles’ A Gentleman’s Position — hot (and cunning) valet.
Sarah: OH good one, Claudia!
Shana: Yes, that’s a great one Claudia.
Can you think of any we missed? Let us know below!
The only contemporary with a butler that I can think of is Running Hot by Jayne Ann Krentz, where the female lead was a butler in the previous life she’s trying to escape.
A few came to mind. Dying to Please by Linda Howard. Lady in Black by Christina Dodd, and I think Royal Holiday by Jasmine Guillory would fit the bill. I don’t know if the first two stand the test of time because they are older books, but the third is very good.
The Wizard’s Butler, Nathan Lowell. Not a romance, but a modern butler ito a wizard.
Couple of m/m suggestions – Cole McCade’s off-beat “His Cocky Valet” (ignore the title, the book was written, I think, during Cockygate). Also Edie Danford’s Professor Adorkale.
Susan Napier’s “Savage Courtship” features a female butler, whom the hero sort of inherited with a property from his uncle an who, in addition, is taller than him. Ms. Napier really liked to play with the typical category romance tropes…
In 1935, Eric Hatch’s “My Man Godfrey” was a contemporary. Not so much anymore…
Celia Lake has a series set in a magical post-WWI England. The hero of On the Bias is the valet/butler of one of the other ongoing characters. I’ve enjoyed this entire series and the most recent book just released.
Susan Napier, Savage Courtship. Its a contemporary category romance. Vanessa, the heroine is a Butler.
I read an older HI that featured a female butler that I enjoyed, but the author and title are lost. Meljean Brook has a novella in “Must Love Hellhouds” featuring a female butler that I really enjoyed
I’ve never read it, but I remembered the title of an older Harlequin American Romance that would seem to fit the bill — The Butler & the Bachelorette by Lisa Bingham:
https://www.fictiondb.com/title/the-butler-and-the-bachelorette~lisa-bingham~4839.htm
At your service by Sandra Antonella is a contemporary with a female butler to a retired spy… a little bit of a slow burn with some mystery/thriller elements.
Tsumiko and the Enslaved Fox by Forthright. Very slowburn and with fantasy elements. Tsumiko inherits an estate from a family she never heard of, which comes with a butler – the enslaved fox. Forthright’s narrative meanders a lot but is strangely addictive.
There’s also Blue Morning by Shoko Hidaka. It’s a BL manga series, the 8th and last vol is out in English. The action takes place at the turn of the century, between a young master and his butler. Hidaka’s art is very elegant and her stories, subtle.
Sorry, sorry! I missed the “contemporary” part of the rec ^^; Tsumiko still fit the bill, but not Blue Morning, the turn of the century being the turn of the last century…
Another MM romance with a valet is Barely Regal by E. Davies. It’s part of a five-book shared universe series that came out this summer. While it can be read as a standalone, it’s probably best read as part of the series. This one has BDSM/Daddy tropes as well.
@Qualisign:
My Man Godfrey is a book??? Apparently, this escaped my notice, and I’m pretty good at which old movies were made from also old best sellers.
Now I really want to read it, since I loved the movie on which it is based, but I am thwarted because it is very much out of print which means I’d have to scan it in to e-text. I hope one of these publishers which publishes old books will pick it up.
I second Tsumiko And The Enslaved Fox. Addictive and oddly soothing, with an incorruptible main character (Tsumiko).
I dunno, has anyone searched for Jeeves fanfic? 😉
It doesn’t fit the criteria really. But in the ya romance Shadows Between Us, one of the main character’s widowed friend wants to get with her butler. They give a bit of time to see the fruitation of their relationship.
Okay, I’m about to go deep here with a book many people might not have heard of, as it’s queer BDSM fiction from the ’80s and ’90s. The Marketplace series by Laura Antoniou features a character named Chris Parker who is the connecting thread between all the novels. He is the butler in the first book. In other books he is the main character but has, um, butler-y elements to him? There is also at least one other butler who appears in a later book.
However…this is pretty heavy BDSM, and is also pansexual. Bi, gay, pan and genderqueer characters abound. Plus she had trans characters (who get happy endings!) back in the ’90s when that was a Big Deal even in queer erotic fiction. So if you’re not into that, it will not work for you.
The very first book is a bit rough around the edges but her writing quality really soars with the second one. So if this DOES sound like your catnip, or intriguing, I might suggest that you start with The Slave and read The Marketplace second. You’ll miss a little bit of worldbuilding but won’t get thrown by some of the stuff that’s a bit jarring in the first novel.
Connie Willis’s To Say Nothing of the Dog is sorta sci-fi, sorta fantasy, and the definition of contemporary may vary. There is a butler and there is a romance, but even though I wouldn’t call it a romance novel, I would call it delightful especially if you like some humor in your reading.
Between the Sheets by Robin Wells is a contemporary (2008) with a heroine who was a butler. She was the butler for the White House and left in disgrace because of a scandal (that wasn’t her fault)
Also, Off Limits by Vanessa North – ff contemporary. One of the heroines is the concierge for a private lesbian club and the other heroine is a member. It’s angsty, fluffy goodness.
@Qualisign:
To give you an idea of how out of print this book is hard covers are going for $2,500 and paperbacks for almost $60 on Amazon.
What, there’s no fanfic shipping of Bruce Wayne and Alfred Pennyworth? It sounds like it would be cheaper to consign that book than to get a copy of “My Man Godfrey.” “My Man Pennyworth” does have a ring to it.
@Qualisign: There are 611 fanfics tagged Pennyworth & Wayne at Ao3.
https://archiveofourown.org/tags/Alfred%20Pennyworth%20*a*%20Bruce%20Wayne/works
I came here to recommend the Leopard Prince by Elizabeth Hoyt but I double-checked and the dude is a steward, not a butler :/
Royal Holiday by Jasmine Guillory features a royal secretary maybe? I don’t think he’s actually a butler it’s the closest I can think of and was a delightful read