This Rec League comes from the comments in our latest Hide Your Wallet. Thanks to Merle for inspiring this one:
I’m very wary of “man & woman compete for something and also fall in love” plots, because all the ones I’ve read end up with the man getting the prize and the woman getting the man. Because apparently only a man needs a job, a promotion, etcetera– a woman needs nothing but Mr. Right. If any of y’all read those listed here, please say if they end this way.
Amanda: We’re going to put everything in a spoiler tag since I’m sure the inclusion of books counts as a spoiler for their endings.
Amanda: Sadly, the only ones I’ve read end with a sort of compromise.
Sarah: Battle Royal by Lucy Parker ends that way, sort of.
The Spangler with the snowboarder and skiier aren’t competing directly if I recall.
Shana: If I Never Met You sort of has that ending…in that the man loses, and the woman wins the thing he wanted, but didn’t think that she was good enough for. But she doesn’t get everything she actually wants so it’s not perfect.
Lara: This is a (depressingly) tough one. I can only think of compromise situations and it’s making me want to burn down the patriarchy more than usual.
Maya: I have one!! Desperate Measures by Katee Robert. It’s the first book in the Wicked Villains series which uses characters that seem kinda familiar if you are into Disney movies.
The book starts out with Jafar murdering Jasmine’s dad because he sold her into marriage with some riffraff (not so much a street rat) called Ali and then Jafar and Ali fighting over Jasmine like she’s some prize to be won (also because they think marrying Jasmine will cement their control over Jasmine’s dad’s crime syndicate. Apparently the mob (and her dad) wasn’t into Jasmine being their #girlboss). It ends with Jasmine stabbing Ali in the throat and then letting Jafar know that actually she was going to be the one running her father’s criminal enterprise. Jafar chooses love and being Jasmine’s #2 instead of being exiled or stabbed a bunch.
Amanda: Welp gonna bump that one up my TBR.
Which romances would you recommend? Keep in mind that reading the comments could give way to spoilers!
Wouldn’t The Hating Game sort-of qualify? It sidesteps the issue a little bit but winning the girl is more important than winning the job for the hero.
Rosaline Palmer Takes the Cake fits the bill here.
Shipped by Angie Hockman sort of fits. It did provoke a lot of anger at the sexist boss for me though.
Sarah Mayberry’s HER FAVORITE RIVAL—the book THE HATING GAME aspired to be (none-too-successfully, imho).
I also thought of The Hating Game!
I know in Jessica Clare’s “Playing Games” series which are set in reality tv show competitions there are at least a few where the heroine wins. I know Body Games is one. I think Bedroom Games is another but not 100% certain. Also possibly Partner Games but again I’m not 100% sure.
Beach Read by Emily Henry sets up a contest of sorts but IMO it’s a scenario that allows for both MCs to “win” and I seem to recall that’s how it turns out.
A historical romance that fits – Fortune Favors the Wicked by Theresa Romain. The MCs are both hunting for stolen coins, with the Royal Mint offering a reward. I remember liking this book but I cannot remember how the thing with the coins was resolved.
A Taste of Heaven by Penny Watson – got it through one of SBTB’s books on sale links. Cooking competition, she’s an amateur paired with a professional who hates that there are amateurs in the competition.
The Bride and the Buccaneer by Darlene Marshall might have this. It’s been a long time since I read it. It’s a romp – two rivals are left a treasure map and have to cooperate to find the gold – while also trying to double cross each other and deal with a lot of sexual tension. As I recall, she is much more cutthroat and amoral than he is. But I don’t remember how the competition part ends up.
@FashionablyEvil beat me to it- Rosaline Palmer Takes the Cake by Alexis Hall fits perfectly.
Thanks for the rec league! If nothing else, maybe if enough of us start talking about this, we can inspire some authors. I think I read 1(!) years ago, part of a knitting series, in which h & H were rival journalists who constantly challenged each other to dares. She got the job, I think, but he found another great opportunity. No memory of title or author.
Practice Makes Perfect by Julie James ends with the two rivals taking their ball and going home / leaving the competition.
It’s about two lawyers competing for one partnership. It’s an early Julie James – no on page sex, unlike her later books. I enjoyed it at the time but looking back on it, I think that while they both behaved badly to each other, he did more humiliating things to her. So yeah, not a ringing recommendation
Practice Makes Perfect by Julie James
I don’t have any good recs, but I just want to chime in to say I’m enjoying the discussion, particularly because last year I was struggling to write a fanfic where part of the spark that drew me to the characters is that they had such a knockdown, drag out rivalry, but I had a hard time coming with a resolution that felt satisfying I think some because of the problems mentioned here and some b/c I’m not a competitive person so it was a mindset that is alien (but interesting!) to me.
How about “The Lady Always Wins”, by Courtney Milan? I’d have to re-read (oh noes) but I’m pretty sure it qualifies EXACTLY.
Nalini Singh’s “Branded by Fire”, book 6 in her Psy-changling paranormal romance series, kind of works here. Mercy and Riley are lieutenants in friendly rival packs, and if they start a romance, there’s concern about who is more dominant and if Marcy will be yanked out of her pack and position of authority and into his. Spoiler, her pack leader refuses to let her go and it cements a stringer peace treaty between the two packs.
Big ups for the Katee Roberts recommendation. In fact, that whole series is good.
The Rivals by Vi Keeland, which I feel like I’ve recommended here before. It’s peak enemies to lovers, in that their sexual relationship begins before they leave the “enemies” stage of things. Although SPOILERS: the hero reveals that he actually conceded the “competition” (kind of, the heroine would have won anyway) as part of his groveling.
Helena Hunting has written a couple – Meet Cute and Kiss My Cupcake meet the criteria I think.
Better at Weddings Than You by Mina V. Esguerra has a classic enemies to lovers hallmark set-up with competing wedding planners but the hero recognizes that the heroine’s work is better than his and just admires her competence.
Block Shot by Kennedy Ryan has competing hyper-competent sports agents but the heroine always comes out on top.
both have excellent audiobooks
Following.
Loved Battle Royal, I liked the ending a lot, and have Rosaline Palmer but not very far into it yet.
Lucy Parker also has Headliners, the TV presenter pairing where they have to work together (and it relies on that at all stages), but it fitting the Request might be borderline.
There’s a couple books that I wonder whether they fit the bill – where the conflict isn’t a straight up competition, but that the plot results in someone coming out ahead, such as Courtney Milan’s the Heiress Effect.
I’d actually say that Battle Royal makes it very clear that the heroine won the bulk of victory and that the compromise picks up about 20% of the hero’s work to make the final product perfect.
It also makes clear that they’re both continuing down their own paths with occasioinal collaboration rather than merging all interests which I really appreciated.
Simmer Down by Sarah Smith might fit the bill. Competing food trucks duking it out over a coveted parking spot compete in a food festival, whoever wins gets to keep the spot. Heroine is Filipina, good representation and the food descriptions made me hungry.
For the paranormal fans, Kelly St Clare’s Shifter Wars trilogy has a back and forth that has real world implications for the two teams. Good chemistry, family tensions, sexy hero. The H goes her own way vs both the hero and her family. Good story spread over the three books,
Via email from Abby:
“Both “Shipped” by Angie Hockman and “The Hating Game” by Sally Thorne end with the heroine securing a promotion for which she competed with the hero.”
@gek: I just read Kiss my Cupcake. Unfortunately it does not qualify.
Dating You Hating You by Christina Lauren may count, though its ending may also disqualify it. I think YA also has a fair bit of this though nothing comes immediately to mind.