This Rec League request is for my lovely friend Emma. Being my pal has its perks!
We were playing our weekly game of Power Wash Simulator and talking about books. Emma mentioned this was one of her favorite tropes and to help her get over the hump of a bad week, I thought it’d be lovely to bestow some book recs upon her. However, this trope isn’t in my house of wheels.
We’re looking for lots of pining and yearning, especially if it’s a friends to lovers! Perhaps a long held crush or feelings that have felt one-sided for so long!
Sarah: The Devil’s Delilah, a vintage Loretta Chase Regency fits this pattern.
Shana: I can recommend the audiobook of The Love Con by Seressia Glass. Two cosplay fans who’ve been friends since high school. The hero is excellent at pining.
Sarah: Attachments by Rainbow Rowell fits! The hero is in charge of Y2K preparation in IT and reads all the office correspondence that gets flagged, then starts falling for one of the women who email back and forth to each other all day.
Take a Hint, Dani Brown, too!
Always Only You by Chloe Liese ( A | BN | K )
The Unhoneymooners would fit – and the classic, Dreaming of You by Lisa Keypas
And I want to say Seduce Me at Sunrise ( A | BN | K | G | AB ) would also qualify but it has been a LONG time since I read that one.
Oh – and A Lady by Midnight by Tessa Dare. Whoo he has it bad.
This is one of my very favorite tropes because often the character harboring the secret or enduring feelings understands how they feel, and understands their own emotional landscape as a result. Emotionally fluent characters are my catnip. I have lost a lot of my tolerance for hamfisted “I AM HAVING A FEELING AND I DON’T LIKE IT and it’s all YOUR fault!” character development.
Sherry Thomas – Not Quite a Husband, too!
and my ultimate fave: Heart of Obsidian by Nalini Singh ( A | BN | K | G | AB ) – but if you really want the full effect, reading the prior books helps immensely.
What recommendations would you suggest? Let us know below!
I thought I’d read more of these, probably I’ll think of some more later, but for now:
RED BLOSSOM IN SNOW by Jeannie Lin involves lots of pining, and I think the hero is basically just set on the heroine after they meet (in the previous book, THE HIDDEN MOON, if you want the full pining).
Denise Williams’s THE SWEETEST CONNECTION novella involves a lot of secret pining on both sides but especially the hero’s at the start.
Would THE COUNTESS CONSPIRACY by Courtney Milan also fit?
Alisha Rai’s Wrong to Need You fits this perfectly (it’s my favorite of her books). Jackson pines so beautifully, and his love language to Sadia is cooking and care.
This is definitely catnip for me.
I’d say THE COUNTESS CONSPIRACY definitely qualifies. And from Lisa Kleypas, also AGAIN THE MAGIC.
Cat Sebastian’s TWO ROGUES MAKE A RIGHT is great for an m/m historical.
A couple of older novels:
Julia Quinn’s When She Was Wicked has always been my favorite of her novels. Terrific pining from the hero.
Nora Roberts Rising Tides. It’s second of a trilogy, but you could read it as a stand alone. Also her novel The Heart of Devon MacKade.
@Pear: I think THE COUNTESS CONSPIRACY is a perfect example of this trope, absolutely!
Some more historicals:
-Julia Quinn: When He Was Wicked (Bridgerton book 6; hero has been in love with heroine since he first met her – the day before she got married to his cousin)
– Lorraine Heath: Waking Up With The Duke (hero’s best friend asks him to impregnate the best friend’s wife, hero has been secretly and guiltily in love with her forever), The Duchess Hunt (heroine is supposed to help hero select a wife, is secretly in love with him herself), and apparently also The Earl Takes All, though I haven’t read that one
– Sherry Thomas: Ravishing The Heiress (marriage of convenience, heroine in love with hero who still pines after his first love; it takes years for them to first become friends and then for the hero to realize he’s fallen in love with her as well)
– Eloisa James: An Affair Before Christmas (marriage in trouble, h&h (re)discover both each other and themselves)
And some Contemporaries:
-Talia Hibbert: The Roommate Risk (he’s been her best friend for years, but when they have to share an apartment for a while, things get complicated)
-Emily Henry: Book Lovers (not completely sure about this one), People We Meet On Vacation (classic friends to lovers)
When He Was Wicked by Julia Quinn is the only one I can think of not already mentioned.
Wow my connection is slow, lol.
Also A Civil Contract by Heyer.
I love this trope!
I’ll second Wrong to Need You and Two Rogues Make a Right. Both soooo gooood.
Two more that I love that fit this:
The Duke Who Didn’t by Courtney Milan
My Fake Rake by Eva Leigh
The Dukes Perfect Wife by Jennifer Ashley is the story of Lord Ian Mackensie’s older brother Hart, who is almost a villain in The Madness of Lord Ian Mackenzie, and his fiancee from his youth.
It’s not clear at first, but Run Post Run also qualifies.
Not a book, but the title of your post made me think of IT WAS ALWAYS YOU: https://www.hallmarkchannel.com/it-was-always-you
It’s a Hallmark movie where the hero has been in love with the heroine since they were kids, and she has always been annoyed by his teasing and carefree attitude without realizing he has feelings for her. She is also engaged to his brother when the movie begins. LOL.
If done right, this trope gives me all the good book happy feels. In Laura Florand’s A Crown of Bitter Orange from her “La vie en roses” series, it’s done so right that this book is my go-to re-read for getting me out of a funk and it works every time.
If I could recommend one of my own, Ian’s Image. Growing up, she would visit her grandmother, who lived next door to the hero’s family. Neither family thought it was a good match and made sure they went their separate ways. When reunited as adults, all the old longings and feelings were still there, but now there was no one to stand in their way except themselves.
The Princess Bride – As you wish
I’d say Emily Henry’s Beach Read fits the bill. Although in the two books of hers I’ve read (this and People We Meet On Vacation), it seems like more of the pining is being done by the non-narrator character.
I think Cat Sebastian’s A Duke in Disguise fits this trope too:
If anyone else had asked for his help publishing a naughty novel, Ash would have had the sense to say no. But he’s never been able to deny Verity Plum. Now he has his hands full illustrating a book and trying his damnedest not to fall in love with his best friend.
I remember a lot of pining on Ash’s part.
I also thought of Jim and Pam from The Office which certainly has “it was always you” vibes. Was there a Jam-themed Rec League once, or is that wishful thinking on my part?
I’d add that Ali Hazelwood’s romance heroes have ALWAYS been pining for the female MC – Love on the Brain, the three novellas published this year, and Love Hypothesis.
Sarah MacLean specializes in “I have been carrying a torch for you FOREVER” heroes and heroines. Sometimes it’s even mutual. Bombshell has protagonists who have been separated for two years and snap back together when he comes back to town. Daring and the Duke’s hero and heroine were in love as teenagers, and he has loved her ever since. And her latest, Heartbreaker, has the hero admitting that he has been aware of the heroine and thinking about her for actual literal years, but could never quite figure out how to approach.
In a Jam by Kate Canterbary is totally and completely this trope! She doesn’t believe it when he finally tells her, but he has the receipts (so to speak). Such a wonderful fake-marriage-but-really-want-it-to-be-real romance!
I thought I would mention some classic romance/romantic novels from the 19th and early 20th century that use these themes of friendship into love and/or unrequited love finally being requited.
My favourites are Emma and Austen’s Persuasion – Wentworth’s letter at the end of Persuasion is just so lovely and so perfect. Her Mansfield Park is also a story of friendship changing to love (and lots of pining by Fanny since she falls for Edmund long before he notices her), but the romance here definitely is very, very secondary to Austen’s very sharp critique of the moral, social, and personal costs of the unthinking pursuit of status, wealth, and pleasure.
Other older novels that deal with romantic longing and/or friendship changing to love are L. M. Montgomery’s Blue Castle and of course her Anne of Green Gables series; Alcott’s Rose in Bloom and An Old-Fashioned Girl; Baroness Orczy’s The Scarlet Pimpernel. Georgette Heyer had many novels that featured heroes and heroines who start out friends and are in love by the end – off the top of my head I think these titles fall into this theme – Spring Muslim (Hester/Gareth); Fredericton (Fredericton/Alverstoke); Venetia (Venetia/Damerel); Black Sheep (Abigail/Miles) and The Unknown Ajax (Anthea/Hugo).
Moving to more recent publications: Jackie Lau has a couple of books where friends (or former childhood friends) fall in love: Not Another Family Wedding and His Grumpy Childhood Friend. Sarah Mayberry has a couple of friends and unrequited longing:Her Best Friend and Anticipation.
Savor the Moment, by Nora Roberts is a great example. It’s third in the quartet (first and fourth are excellent romances, third tries and falls far far short on this trope). It’s worth reading the series, since the first two do help set up the third, but it’s not necessary. I feel like NR has some other great pining (definitely the 2nd in the Chesapeake Bay saga, as already mentioned) but no other titles jump to mind immediately.
A bunch of contemporaries – this is apparently kind of my jam, though I didn’t realize: Rookie Move by Sarina Bowen (which I think was recently on sale). High school sweethearts, second chance romance, he’s always loved her. Kennedy Ryan has some that definitely fit the bill, she loves an angsty, drawn out saga with lots of pining (and really great spicy scenes). I think of all her books, Queen Move is definitely the best. Kristen Callihan’s The Game Plan (the hero has been in love with his friend’s girlfriend’s little sister forever), and also The Hot Shot (great friends to lovers). Jenny Holiday’s It Takes Two (heroine’s always loved her best friend’s older brother, part of a great series). Sally Thorne’s 99% Mine. Abby Jimenez’s The Friend Zone. I feel like Mhairi McFarlane definitely has some that fit this bill, Don’t You Forget About Me comes to mind. Ashley Winstead’s Fool Me Once (great second chance romance).
The One For You by Roni Loren does this particularly well. It’s part of the series featuring school shooting survivors, so it’s a pretty intense read, but the mmc has been pining for the fmc for years, but doesn’t feel like he can tell her because of circumstances surrounding the traumatic event that they endured.
I think A kiss at Midnight / Eloisa James has some good pining – the hero especially!
Elizabeth Essex, AFTER THE SCANDAL. The hero has been pining after the heroine forever, although they’ve never spoken, which is why he notices her leaving the ballroom with a scaly guy. He ends up following them and rescues her from an attempted rape. A great book.
I think A ROGUE OF HER OWN by Evie Dunmore qualifies.
An oldie-THE COLONEL’S COURTSHIP by Monique Ellis.
A LITTLE BIT WILD by Victoria Dahl, back when she wrote historicals.
An EARL LIKE YOU by Caroline Linden and THE DESPERATE VISCOUNT by Gayle Buck, both have A Civil Contract/MOC type plot, with the heroine doing the pining for the hero.
IN MILADY’S CHAMBER by Sheri Cobb South is a mystery, but there is also romance and pining, as a Bow Street runner falls for the murder suspect.
NOTHING VENTURE by Patricia Wentworth. She’s a British golden age mystery writer, but this one is really romance.
RED, RED ROSE by Marjorie Farrell, another great oldie with slow burn and pining for DAYS, get out your handkerchiefs for sure.
A CERTAIN MAGIC by Mary Balogh. This is an old trad Regency that definitely fits within the trope. Piers and Alice have known each other since childhood and been close friends forever, even after they married others. Now they are both widowed, Piers needs an heir, and he asks Alice to help him find a new bride. I liked the romance, and I thought Balogh also did a great job with the villain. She’s not at all over the top, but she’s definitely young and selfish and knows how to be quite sexually alluring, despite all the rules that restrict how a young unmarried woman may present herself in Regency society. There’s nothing wrong with using whatever tools you have in your toolbox, especially in an era when women had so little agency, but she doesn’t care that in the end she will make Piers, and maybe even herself, miserable if they marry. Piers is a little slow off the mark, but in the end he sees the light. I’ve reread this several times as a comfort read.
A comment about this trope: Sometimes I find it romantic, but I don’t like it when the heroine has loved the hero since she was little more than a child and not allowed herself to be open to any other relationships while in contrast the hero has gone raking about. He gets to experience love and sex and adventure, while she sits pining in a corner keeping herself pure for him. If she (or he, although in historicals it’s more likely she) picks herself up and goes on with Life I’m more likely to like the story and believe in the romance. Otherwise I want to shake her and say, “how do you know he’s the only one for you when you’ve not truly tried to get to know anyone else?” She seems somehow stunted at a too early stage of life and hasn’t moved on, while he’s gallivanted all over the place.
I haven’t finished the book yet but Lisa Kleypas’ “Scandal in Spring” also has this from the hero’s side.
I don’t think anyone has mentioned Tempting the Bride by Sherry Thomas yet. Though I’m not sure that the hero would fit the bill as an “emotionally fluent” character, as he’s always behaved terribly to try to get his heroine’s attention.
Jennifer Crusie’s “Anyone But You” does this very well, with the bonus character of Fred the Dog helping things along.
Romancing Mr. Bridgerton with Penelope’s pining for Colin seems like The Classic Example of this trope.
I am finding this frustrating b/c I feel like I’ve read several other books where one character has a crush on their friend’s sibling and I JUST CAN’T REMEMBER THE TITLES.
Cate C. Wells’ “Against a Wall” fits, too. Cash’s cocky (and obnoxious) behavior was how he dealt with his feelings for Glenna.
Laura Kinsale’s Lessons in French is my favourite in this trope. He’s the dashing child of a French aristocratic family down on their luck -she’s the overlooked daughter of the neighbouring estate. He’s been pining since they were teenagers.
The first two books that popped into my head were Juliana Stone’s THE CHRISTMAS HE LOVED HER and Melanie Harlow’s FROM THIS MOMENT. In both books, a man has been in love with his late brother’s widow going back long before his brother died (the heroine, of course, has been unaware of her brother-in-law’s interest). Very frequently, books that features the “hero in love with his late brother’s or late best friend’s widow” are also books that feature the “it was always you” element. And there’s usually a significant amount of pining because the hero has stood by while his brother/friend was married to the woman he loves.
Olivia Parker’s To Wed a Wicked Earl fits this theme–he’s been in love with her for years and everyone (including the heroine) thinks he loves someone else.
Wrecked by Shiloh Walker is a fun read of this trope. Pining, tattoos, fun sexy times.
Everything I’ve read by Ali Hazelwood has this trope. The Love Hypothesis and Love on the Brain are her two big ones I think. Plus sexy science heroines who work in labs or at NASA!