This Rec League request came from JoVE on our SBTB Patreon Discord:
I’m staying with friends. Their daughter (17) would like to avoid all sexual violence in books, including consent violations. I figured people here would understand what that means (their experience is people define sexual violence too narrowly). I know she likes fantasy but possibly other stuff. Any suggestions?
Elyse: Legends and Lattes. The sequel comes out next month I believe.
If she’s looking for contemporary The Cane Brothers series by Meghan Quinn. ( A )
The Nanny by Lana Ferguson ( A | BN | K )
I’m thinking Jackie Lau is pretty safe to recommend?
Sneezy: Ya, Jackie Lau is super safe for that
Plus there’s all that wonderful food.
Sarah: Murderbot, obvs! ( A | BN | K | AB )
Shana: I can’t think of any fantasy books with zero consent violations but I always recommend Cathy Yardley’s Fandom Hearts ( A | BN | K | G | AB ) for excellent consent
Which books would you recommend? Let us know below!
Definitely the Bitterbynde Trilogy by Cecilia Dart-Thorntpn. The romantic tension simply aches through the story, and there is nothing violent, far from it. And it’s a really good read. Everyone falls in love with the hero. 🙂
This book might be a bit too raunchy for a 17 year old, but THE MIDSUMMER BRIDE by Kati Wilde. There are language barriers between the MMC and FMC, but before every physical interaction, they find a way to confirm that the other is ok with it.
Ali Hazelwood’s STEM novellas and books I think would work as well – explicit consent, not just once, but repeatedly throughout each encounter.
Maybe AJ Sherwood? HOW I STOLE THE PRINCESS’ WHITE KNIGHT AND TURNED HIM TO VILLAINY is very good not just about physical consent, but acknowledging someone’s boundaries (i.e. the white knight has made vows to a really unpleasant princess, and he’s trying to be a good person while also not being an oathbreaker). M/M, with minimal sexytimes until the later novellas.
What a really interesting, challenging request. And what’s making me really sad is that I can think of a few books I’ve read recently where it’s the FMC not respecting the boundaries of the MMC. Ugh.
@Sarah – I’m going to challenge your recommendation of The Murderbot Diaries for this request. The existence of ComfortUnits/sexbots means the shadow of sexual slavery is present in the world and the implied treatment of ComfortUnits in Artificial Condition could be particularly disturbing. The books are amazing, but if this reader doesn’t want to encounter references to non-consensual sex at all, they’re not a good match.
Maybe the Rory Throne duology by K Eason? There is an arranged marriage if that counts as a consent violation and Rory is a prisoner of an evil empire for a large part of the first novel.
Both Kate Canterbary and Julie Kriss handle consent beautifully. However, both (particularly Canterbary) feature very explicit sex scenes. I’m not sure how explicit the 17-year-old is interested in reading, but I would definitely recommend those authors for great consent rep. Also seconding the Kati Wilde recommendation: although the universe in which the characters live could be termed “barbaric”, all of the Dead Lands books have wonderful consent rep.
Emily Nagoski writing as Emily Foster, granted they’re contemporaries but very particular about consent
@Ely: I actually disagree with the Ali Hazelwood rec, as one of her books starts with the heroine kissing the hero without his consent to keep up a lie to her best friend.
Fantasy/horror author Seanan McGuire (AKA Mira Grant) has pledged never to include sexual violence in her books. I’ve only read on the horror side so I can’t speak to her fantasy series, but it’s absolutely true in the horror novels I’ve read. (Rolling in the Deep, Feed, etc.)
Oh wow this is terrible but I can’t think of anything.
Like, ok. I like KJ Charles and Alexis Hall for consent, specifically. However… idk, I think the worlds they write in always have at least the threat of violence?
Even something I think of as phenomenally cozy, like Legends and Lattes, or that most recent Rachel Reid, I feel like there’s always a character who is reluctant to trust, who does not always expect that their boundaries will be respected, whose backstory has some kind of awful. I am not even sure how to phrase it. Just. There’s always some sort of potential for coercion or power imbalance or something, and even when it is navigated flawlessly, and everything goes swimmingly, I for one am still always hyper aware of potential pitfalls in a way that I guess…idk. I guess now that I think of it, nothing feels safe? So. Yikes. If I personally needed to read something where there was no potential for sexual violence… I, I don’t think there could be people in it. Glaze chemistry books? They are very soothing. Idk. I’m going to go do some calming breathing now. Good luck everyone!
@kkw—KJ Charles also came to mind for me (I read a piece on her blog about how she constructs consent in her scenes—she’s very thoughtful about it!), but I would not recommend her books for this particular reader. For example, JACKDAW opens with what I can only call some really aggressive hate-fucking. It’s eventually clear that both parties are consenting, but wow is it hostile. Made it hard for me to read the rest of the book (and I love KJ Charles.)
@Deborah: You are absolutely right. I was thinking of All Systems Red but moving further into the series, you’re right. I hadn’t recalled that part. Thank you!
If she wants magical historicals, Celia Lake is very careful with consent issues. She is also very mindful about making sure that the participants talk about what they want and in different books the primaries want different kinds of sexual interaction
Depending on the amount of steam they’re looking for, Alexis Daria’s You Had me at Hola has the intimacy coordinator on the show staff/great conversations.
Can’t Spell Treason Without Tea and A Pirate’s Life For Tea are very cute cozy fantasies. I don’t remember there being sexual violence in the Locked Tomb series but plenty of violence violence, I could be wrong though! Bitter Medicine and A Marvelous Light but they do both have some steaminess. I recently was feeling down and binge read the entire Lumberjanes series, so if they’re into graphic novels I’d recommend those. If all else fails there’s like 40 Discworld novels and they do actually hold up pretty well if I recall correctly.
I’m with KKW, I don’t think Legends and Lattes works here, if the request is for books where no one’s boundaries are violated by anyone—not just that the protagonists consent with one another. Tandri in the past has been seen as always sexually available, because she is a succubus. At least one Entitled Jerk is an entitled jerk to her at the coffee shop.
I wonder if there’s something here about what we look for in comfort reads. Often very gentle books have a healing vibe, where there is boundary violation or trauma in at least one character’s backstory, which may be part of why we find them comforting?
@DiscoDollyDeb Kate Canterbury’s books are great but if the reader is looking to avoid all sexual violence in books, I would caution that the backstory of the Walsh family does involve implied sexual violence.
I finished Talia Hibbert’s Highlight Suspicious and Unfairly Cute recently and it was pretty adorable and I think fits this bill. Also Rachel Lynn Solomon – both her YA and contemporary are always really good around consent.
Absolutely seconding Celia Lake! With a couple of exceptions for this particular reader: In the Cards contains a few of the heroine’s recollections of being a patient at a sanatorium, at the mercy of doctors and nursing staff… and Mistress of Birds contains recollections of one of the nursing staff during the Great War, basically being repeatedly drained as a source of power for the healers.
Otherwise, Celia Lake handles consent deliberately and with a delicate touch.
Seanan McGuire’s Incryptid books are a good choice here. Plus, they’re fun! I’d also suggest Kingfisher’s Clocktaur Wars and Swordheart for fantasy books without any rape threats.
I can’t believe I didn’t think of Celia Lake. Catherine LOVED her books so much. Thank you!
While McGuire has stayed true to her promise to never inflict sexual violence on her characters, there are instances of mental manipulation by way of magic that are not done with consent. The two most recent Toby Daye books (Sleep No More and the upcoming-this-month The Innocent Sleep) have this as a major plot point.
What about Robin McKinley? I love Beauty (her re-telling of Beauty and the Beast), and I think her original stories – Hero and the Crown and The Blue Sword – would also qualify, unless there is something I am forgetting. Also Sorcery & Cecelia: Or, The Enchanted Chocolate Pot by Wrede, and Shades of Milk and Honey by Kowal I think would also fit the bill.
Ali hazelwood for contemporary is very clear about ongoing consent. Courtney Milan in historical most particularly her most recent series that includes the devil comes courting. I actually love this topic.
@Amanda I’m completely blanking on which book you mean, but if that’s the case, fully agree with you! Argh I hate how hard this request is! It shouldn’t be!
@Amanda, @Ely
I’m pretty sure the book Amanda refers to is “The Love Hypothesis”.
Any of Patricia C. Wrede should work, but it’s all Young Adult. Not sure if that’s what she’s going for. It is fantasy though! Some is historical (Sorcery & Cecilia, Mairelon the Magician), some is princesses & dragons (Dealing With Dragons series) and some is Old West (Thirteenth Child series) and I haven’t read the Lyra series. Her Book of Enchantment short stories is a favorite, and some have a more adult tone. I can’t think of any that have sexual violence or a lack of consent.
And if you haven’t already, give her some Terry Pratchett!
Coming back to KJ Charles, I would suggest Band Sinister, which is a total comfort read to me. Philip teaches Guy about consent from their first kiss and about voicing his desires.
Andrea K Host has a great sci-fi/fantasy series called Touchstone. The first book is called “Stray” – there’s lots of action and a sweet love story and I can’t remember any consent issues. They definitely fall into the ‘cozy fantasy’ end of the spectrum. And the whole thing’s epistolary, which is fun.
Definitely second the recommendation for Robin McKinley’s BEAUTY – it’s marvelous. If the 17 y.o. likes fantasy, what about Megan Bannen’s THE UNDERTAKING OF HART & MERCY or T.J. Klune’s THE HOUSE IN THE CERULEAN SEA? Both are lovely stories with interesting alternate worlds and sympathetic characters.
Thirding or fourthing Celia Lake recommendation! I’m also going to suggest Lois McMaster Bujold’s Penric & Desdemona series, although the transfer of demon Desdemona was due to the unexpected death of her first host.
I would disagree with the vote for Ali Hazelwood, at least as a blanket recommendation. I’ve only read a couple of her books, but one of her “things” is pairing up big tall dudes with tiny feisty girls, and I feel like there’s a vein of how he COULD be threatening (he’s not—but still, it’s mentioned in some way).
I would definitely avoid the one in the elevator. I’d say more but I don’t know how to do a spoiler tag, haha.
Blonde Date by Sarina Bowen; this is perhaps my favorite new adult romance novella. When the story begins, the heroine is angry and humiliated because while she consented to sex with an old boyfriend, she did not know that they were being viewed as part of a cruel fraternity prank. The novella covers a wonderful first date, and there is definitely consent.
I want to second the Celia Lake recommendation, but with a caveat. Lake is scrupulous about consent—usually verbal—between her characters. However, there are references in a few books to past experiences that were (at least) unsatisfying and may have been nonconsensual. No details, but if your radar is really sensitive, you would pick up on the references. Specifically, I can think of a conversation in MISTRESS OF BIRDS, and a vaguer reference in IN THE CARDS. There are also several instances in other books where a male character is concerned or protective when he thinks that a female character might have been mistreated by other men in the past.
For fantasy that isn’t specifically romance, how about Becky Chambers’s Monk and Robot series?
Maybe Finding Gene Kelly by Torie Jean? It’s been a while since I read this, but I remember the male MC being very respectful and considerate.
@Magpie: I’m another big fan of Andrea K. Höst’s Touchstone series. It has no sexual violence, but it has a considerable amount of fighting for one’s life (if that matters to JoVE’s friends’ 17 year old).
If she likes historicals, I think Olivia Waite’s The Care and Feeding of Waspish Widows would fall under this. I haven’t actually read the sex scenes, but for the rest of it I don’t remember a lack of consent. One of the characters is worried for a while that her feelings are inappropriate because she has feelings for a married woman, but she doesn’t act on those feelings while she believes that it would not be appropriate to do so. There is an antagonist/villain character who does not respect the wishes of a woman who has passed away.
I want to say at least some of Heather Rose Jones’ Alpennia series, which is fantasy with some historical vibes, would fit this request, but it’s been a long time since I read them so I’m not sure. They’re definitely closed-door but I think at least one of the characters has had some bad stuff in her past and I don’t remember exactly bad in what way. Maybe another reader has read these books more recently?
What about the Tea Princess series by Casey Blair? Super cozy comforting reads with very thoughtful approaches to consent in so many aspects and excellent demonstration of boundaries.
Seconding the rec for K.J. Charles’ Band Sinister: consent is a huge part of the central romance. There is explicit sex (and depictions of casual, friendly sex) and the main pairing is very sweet and kind-hearted.
What about Ashley Poston? She has the once upon a con series that might be fun for a teenager. My recollection is that there aren’t any consent issues but it’s been a little while since I read them.
Carla Kelly comes to mind but not sure if historicals are of interest.
I think that OFF THE MAP by Trish Doller, which I very recently read, doesn’t have any consent issues.
Penny Reid???
Eva Ibbotson? There can be oppression and maybe some violence, but I’m not remembering any sexual violence or non-consent. And her romances have such sweet happy endings.
I have to disagree with the Cecilia Dart-Thornton recommendation. I absolutely love the Bitterbynde trilogy, and the hero is wonderful, but one of the conceits of the trilogy is that there’s a lot of fairy tale retellings in it, and consent isn’t always a fairy tale’s strong point.
The one that has always disturbed me in particular involves a guy who basically uses something magical to seduce a woman who had previously very obviously wanted nothing to do with him. There’s also a situation where a selkie woman had been held captive by a man for years and forced to bear his children.
I absolutely recommend this trilogy overall, but I don’t think it’s safe for the request.