The Rec League: Kinky Cinnamon Rolls

The Rec League - heart shaped chocolate resting on the edge of a very old bookThis Rec League was sent in by Kim:

I’m looking for male/female romances where the H is an alpha in the bedroom, but not elsewhere. Like, he is dominant or kinky or likes to tie the h up, etc., but he is also a nice guy. Or at least, like, a normal guy. Also, preferably he’s not a cop or military or security, or anything like that. I feel like every dominant-in-bed hero is (a) an alpha asshole; (b) an alpha asshole…who is a billionaire; or (c) an alpha asshole to everyone ELSE, but treats the heroine like a “princess.” I just want to read about a nice, funny, normal, or maybe even nerdy(!) hero who also happens to be real bossy in bed.

Sarah: The Delphine Dryden series has several heroes of this type, though they’re all science folks not cops/military.

Amanda: That’s what I thought too! I think also Elia Winters’ Slices of Pi series ( A | BN | K | G | AB ), also nerdy + kink

Sarah: Kinky Nerds is a great subgenre of BDSM romance.

Claudia: Definitely Dephine Dreyden’s The Theory of Attraction, ( A | BN | K | G | AB | Au ) an erotic romance, fits this bill. Hero is not alpha, he is very sweet and also neurodiverse who asks heroine for help with a social event. They are both scientists so the nerdy element is there too. I read this one a while back but I remember enjoying it.

Which books would you recommend? Tell us below!

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  1. FashionablyEvil says:

    I thought I would have a lot of these books to recommend (because nice guys who are bossy in bed is totally my jam!) but scrolling through Goodreads has identified fewer books than I would have thought. That said, a few that might fit the bill:

    Alisha Rai’s HATE TO WANT YOU, the first book in her Forbidden Hearts series (which is excellent, btw) features a couple who have broader family drama, but meet up once a year for hot, steamy sex. Needless to say, the once a year thing stops being sufficient.

    Rai’s A GENTLEMAN IN THE STREETS is also high on the kink/eroticism scale—I’m pretty sure the heroine hosts exclusive sex parties—but the hero definitely holds his own.

    A slightly more unorthodox spin on the genre is MORNING GLORY MILKING FARM. Is the hero is a minotaur? Yes. Is he delightfully bossy in bed? Yes. Is it the hottest thing I’ve read in ages? Also yes.

    If you want to try m/m, KJ Charles’s books often have this dynamic, most notably A SEDITIOUS AFFAIR where there’s a gentleman who’s a sub and a printer/pamphleteer who’s a dom. Hot and higher on the kink factor, but part of the reason it works is that Silas (the dom) is just a nice guy.

    Looking forward to the rest of the recs here!

  2. Steph B says:

    Tessa Bailey’s Window Shopping! The hero is a Ted Lasso-type sweetheart *except* in the bedroom.

  3. Steph says:

    I feel like Rebekah Weatherspoon has this combination. Haven is the first one that comes to mind, but a lot of her heros are kinky and I can’t think of any of her main characters that are not really nice people (even if they are grumpy).

  4. Todd says:

    For M/F you might try Talia Hibbert’s The Princess Trap – he’s a prince who does like to dominate in bed and she’s rather surprised to discover she likes it. For M/M, try K.J. Charles Magpie Lord books – he’s a lord (exiled to China for being gay) and the other he is a powerful magician who enjoys his domineering lord.

  5. Viktória says:

    I managed to scrape together the following, no particular order. If I remember correctly all of these have nice guys, usually in a nerd-y or academic context who (if I remember correctly) are dominant in bed.

    How to Tell a Lie (Truth and Lies, #1) by Delphine Dryden
    Off the Clock (Pleasure Principle, #1) by Roni Loren
    30 Nights (30 Days #2) by Christine d’Abo (also, the first one fits the nice guy part but it lacks the kink the second one has)
    Before I Ever Met You by Karina Halle (this might be a bit vanilla and the guy is rich but he is a nice guy)
    Earth Bound (Fly Me to the Moon, #2) by Emma Barry

  6. Linastew says:

    Melanie Harlow’s TEASE – childhood best friends with anxiety and commitment issues who reconnect and end up in a fake engagement. H is a very sweet billionaire who likes to be in control in the bedroom.

  7. Linastew says:

    To clarify, the billionaire H is a self-made, nerdy type who did something with cryptocurrency. The sweet nerd/dom seems to really be a thing.

  8. Muffled says:

    Seconding @FashionablyEvil’s recommendation of KJ Charles’s m/m romances. The heroes are usually nice guys instead of alpha assholes. You could try “Slippery Creatures” to start with; “Think of England” is pretty good too.

  9. Jessica Trent says:

    I’m not done yet, but at 70% I think I can say that IN A JAM, Kate Canterbary’s newest, might be a good fit! It’s a second-chance-ish childhood friends to lovers, and the hero is a sweet former nerd who grew into his body in the ten years since the heroine last saw him. He’s the guardian to his niece and is just the best thing for her, and is the town problem solver and a little grumpy but definitely not a jerk and WHEW he knows what he likes in the bedroom!

  10. cleo says:

    For the Love of April French by Penny Aimes – m/f queer romance. The structure of the book is kind of unusual so maybe read some reviews but I really enjoyed it.

    Sated by Rebekah Weatherspoon is another m/f queer romance (bi hero) that’s quite good.

    The Dom Project by Solace Ames and Heloise Belleau – also m/f with a bi hero. I read this when it came out quite awhile ago so I’m not clear on the details, but I remember that hero fits the request.

  11. Jenny says:

    “Dare You” by Mari Carr may fit – the H is a bar owner and the h is a single mom. They get together for monthly kinky times, but outside of that, the H is a nice guy.

    Although Anna Zabo writes m/m, many of their books fit this theme (especially “Cinnamon Roll”, although that title might be a bit too on-the-nose. I love it, though – it’s a comfort read).

  12. Nat says:

    Definitely agree about Alisha Rai’s Hate to Want You. I also just finished Tessa Bailey’s Getaway Girl, and the hero is a southern gentleman, total cinnamon roll awesomeness, and unleashes in bed.

  13. RoseRead says:

    Alexis Hall’s For Real might fit, in an unexpected way. It’s m/m and both characters are nice guys. The younger is inexperienced but is drawn to being a dom, and the older more experienced, more educated and more established person is submissive. It’s an interesting and affecting book. Explores a lot of expectations in terms of person’s role in a relationship based on age, education, profession, class. Recommend.

  14. Rose says:

    Hot Blooded – Heather Guerre – and he’s a vampire. So sweet!

  15. Jen says:

    Penpal by JT Geissinger might work. The hero is a nice guy and a roofer. There is kink and a lot of story. Could be good for spooky season

  16. Courtney M says:

    That Time I Got Drunk and Yeeted a Love Potion at a Werewolf by Kimberly Lemming. Hero is a puppy dog (nearly literally as he is the titular werewolf), but their first time together is QUITE kinky with the hero in charge.

    I also feel like there’s probably a Nalini Singh that’s close – maybe Silver Silence? Lots of cinnamon roll alphas in her Psy-Changeling series, and the heroes are always in charge in bed, but I can’t recall if there are any with heroes that are REALLY bossy in bed, and none with full-on BDSM.

  17. GradStudentEscapist says:

    I came her to say For Real as well @RoseRead, as well as So Wild by Eve Dangerfield. The H is alpha in the bedroom but the h is the wild dangerous one outside it, H is also a complete softie hopelessly in love.

  18. meme says:

    second the Eve Dangerfield- DEGREES OF CONTROL She’s leaving the country and wants a super hot hookup with a guy she wont have to worry about or take care of. He’s the usual ‘alphahole can’t feel feelings’ but it reads like a subversion of the trope because it’s presented as sad rather than heroic.

    ACT YOUR AGE is about normal office people figuring out a dom/sub daddy kink.

    OPEN HEARTS has the first Himbo hero I’ve ever read and I’ve been chasing them ever since. He’s a sweet dummy in the streets with a stable boy/Princess Bride (“as you wish”) fetish in the sheets.

    And an Alisha Rai I haven’t seen pop up yet is her BEDROOM GAMES series which is a super hot second chance romance that made me lol a few times at inversion of trope- like instead of super hot tv teens separated by fate they were horny nerds with acne experimenting with BDSM. He’s a Las Vegas mogul now but it still has a more grounded feel.

  19. Susan/DC says:

    I think “The Intimacy Experiment” by Rosie Danan may fit into this category. The hero is a rabbi so the assumption is that he will be less than aggressive sexually. The heroine had starred in adult films so is quite sexually experienced. Nonetheless, the manages to knock her socks off (so to speak). I don’t remember if any specific kink is involved.

  20. JudyW says:

    Ok, sticking with the m/f request I would add The Theory of Attraction by Delphine Dryden. You have an actual nerd rocket scientist hero. I suspect he’s a bit OCD and is strict with work AND in the bedroom.

  21. Katie C. says:

    I know I am late to the party here but the first two books in Tiffany Reisz’s Men at Work series fit the bill for sure – Her Halloween Treat and Her Naughty Holiday. The third kinda fits but a bit less. These are packed in my basement, but now I want to go find them to read them again!

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