I need more badass hacker heroines storylines. as one of their favorite books, and they share The Dukes Tattoo: A Regency Romance of Love and Revenge, Though Not in That Order, The Bestselling Fantasy Books of All Time, The Nobel Prize In Literature Winners You Need to Read, Should You Buy That? Wills mother has hired her to help care for Will, in the hopes of lifting his perpetually dour mood, but the intrusion is not a welcome one at least at first. A dark, twisted tale told almost exclusively as a flashback, Rebecca follows the nameless protagonist and her speedy marriage to a mysterious but charming stranger, Maxim de Winter, whom she meets on a business excursion. So I just finished reading Heavy by Cate C Wells about a hacker heroine with autism and the president of a motorcycle club. Medical researchers, nerdy humor, mistaken cues, and missed romantic opportunitiessign me up! His risky lifestyle catches up with him when, attacked and injured, he is forced to seek sanctuary in the basement of a stranger. As much a cautionary tale as it is a romance novel, Anna Karenina is a richly imagined portrait of both the agonies and ecstasies of love. They are not modern, being published in the 70s/80s, but they are very fun, and Amelia Peabody is quite brilliant! Remedial Rocket Science Relive the flutters of first love in Perkins wonderfully cheesy tale of crushes, complications, and croissants. Felicite lives in New Orleans, a tense place to be while the France is transferring its colony Louisiana to Spain (1770s). She is a recent. The glue that holds these families together (and our beloved heroine) is Emma Woodhouse. I go to Newnham College, which is very strongly connected to the issue of female suffrage, and it was great to read a historical romance where Votes for Women is an integral part of the plot. From Janie's list on Will they ever be together, or will the seemingly insurmountable obstacles between them keep them apart? Trigger warnings for attempted rape scenes. Charlie Eason is used to men underestimating her. The setting is relatively usual, and Blake has meticulously researched the topic she makes it obvious that she knows her stuff here. DM me! If you want to enter the world of the Borgias and Medicis, this isthebook to read. Then along comes Shane Brennan, a prizefighter determined to get under her defenses. women in mathematics. When she comes across Ryam, a jaded blue-eyed warrior, she hires him to help her get back to her family and warn them of the impending danger. She was lying on the operating table when she had difficult labor. Though Jane Eyre might be poor, obscure, plain and little, her love story is anything but. Editors note: this post previously contained 25 bookswe have removed one since learning one of the main characters is an ex-Nazi. Forbidden desire takes center stage in Rush, the first book in bestselling author Maya Banks Breathless trilogy, which follows the exploits of three very handsome, very successful, and very debauched business partners. Lady Meriel de Vere is a noble-born Norman, but circumstances force her into pretending to be a Welsh commoner. But life isnt as unemotional or predictable as code, and things soon boil over with the intriguingly demanding Parsons. Oliver is a beta male while Mattie is decidedly an alpha. If youre looking for retro erotica with a disarming feminist twist, look no further than Delta of Venus, a collection of 15 short stories written by Anais Nin in the 1940s. A Mr Darcy-come-Robin Hood hero, he rescues an urchin girl from a brawl and employs her as his maid an act which will alter the course of his life for the next twelve books. The best romance novels with brilliant, brainy heroines By Stacy Travis Who am I? A charming and affectionate portrayal of the love life of a neurodivergent woman, The Kiss Quotient is a breath of fresh air we doubt youll have read a romance quite like this before. This is the second book in the Secret Scientists of Love series, and the enemies to lovers journey of Letty and Grey hits all the right notes with swoony banter and hot chemistry. It's set in Penny Reid's Green Valley universe but you can read it as a stand-alone. The Main Heroine Likes the Extra. Naturally, the fallout is chaotic. Written at a time when most romantic heroines were preternaturally pretty, the headstrong, wilful, yet utterly average Jane is a subversive breath of fresh air or should we say Eyre? Her fathers character is basically the whole reason this book is on this list. They decide to give things a shot after their first meeting, but, despite their deep love for one another, they face lots of challenges along the way; after all, its hard to keep up a relationship when one party is constantly dropping in and out of reality. She takes a seat on the school bus and finds herself next to Park quiet, understated, and impossibly cool. authors picked Meanwhile, inoffensive beta hero Jack Langdon stumbles into her path of destruction. ), By: Emma Barry, Genevieve Turner | 244 pages | Published: 2016 | Popular Shelves: romance, historical, historical-romance, romance-historical, ebook | Search "Earth Bound by Emma Barry". To be fair to Joshua, the feelings mutual. If theres one thing you should take away from this one, its to keep your top secret love letters under lock and key. authors picked The answer: a good cozy mystery, of course! A devilishly debonair womanizer is suddenly interred in an insane asylum, having suffered a stroke. show more. In this story, its Rachel White: hard-working attorney, consummate good girl, and diligent maid of honour to her dazzling best friend Darcy who happens to be marrying the man that Rachel is in love with. A New York Times bestselling romance novel and a favorite among book clubs and celebrity book-lovers alike, The Proposal is a fun and flirty novel about a second chance at love. But when tensions run high, you know what they say: theres a thin line between love and hate. Something went wrong while loading recommendations. From iconic scenes like the balcony soliloquy, to legendary one-liners (A plague o both your houses, anyone? Weve compiled a list of our all-time favorite romance novels, from historical regency romance to contemporary novels tackling love in the digital age. This is excellent historical fiction, perhaps even better than it is historical romance. Can the two find any common ground, or will misunderstanding keep them at odds? A Perfect Equation Carefully yet wholeheartedly, over late night phone calls and countless mix tapes, Eleanor and Park fall in love. What it's about: After Care is a romance novel featuring characters in their 40s and revolves around Edie Williams, who is on a family vacation in Hawaii with her children. As his friend group starts to fray and the situation becomes increasingly tenuous, Simon will have to keep up with the pace of change, or risk the life he knows crashing down around his ears. Its 1987 and a hot summers day in El Paso, Texas, when Ari and Dante meet at a swimming pool. What we have here is a long, slow-burn-yet-sexy romance set in 1644, during the Civil War. *AAR top 100 romances of all time*New York Times Bestselling Author Penny Reids debut novelThere are three things you need to know about Janie Morris:1) She is incapable of engaging in a conversation without volunteering TMTI (Too Much Trivial Information), especially when she is unnerved,2) No one unnerves her more than Quinn Sullivan, and3) She doesn't know how to knit.After losing her boyfriend, apartment, and job in the same day, Janie Morris can't help wondering what new torment fate has in store. authors picked Its faced more than its fair share of backlash, derision, and parody, but its impossible to deny that few books have influenced the cultural zeitgeist as much as Twilight. Brainy/Genius Romantic Heroes flag All Votes Add Books To This List Previous 1 2 3 Next Louisa is a perfectly ordinary heroine without either impressive looks or impressive brains. Heroine is a very smart and awkward undergrad in her last semester, about to go off to get an MD-PH.D at Harvard/MIT. High school junior Simon has a lot on his mind; but when a stray email falls into the wrong hands and hes blackmailed by class clown Martin, hes forced to play along or hell be outed as gay, along with his increasingly flirtatious pen pal. This is a list of romance novels (largely JP shoujos) with heroines that DO NOT cry at every turn of a hat, heroes that DO NOT appear every single time a supposedly 'strong' heroine needs rescue, GOOD TRANSLATIONS (!!) When the Spanish authorities arrest Felicites father, she agrees to become the mistress of Irish mercenary Captain Morgan McCormack to free him. (Also, if you like dad jokes, there are some great awful math puns in Talk Sweetly to Me. The story of Noah and Allie is captured in three intertwined snap-shots: their teens, their early thirties, and old age. The setting totally makes the book. The Kiss Quotient In this book, watching Melody hold her ground in the face of wayward Jeremy made my heart happyshes funny, smart, and willing to put her heart on the line when it matters. Privacy Policy. 88517 books suggested | Bug? The romance between a billionaire hacker and new college graduate seeking funding for her internet start-up. Nemesis (n.) 1) An opponent or rival whom a person cannot best or overcome. Any romance novel recs with a genius hacker heroine? One of my faves :). Oh, and P.S., were totally team Edward. Frederica Marshall is one of the early suffragettes. In the backwoods of a beautiful and wild North Carolina coastal town, comes the tragic but triumphant world of the Marsh Girl, Kaya Clark. Her family are in dire financial straits, and she must use every tool at her disposal to save them. Diagnosed with incurable cancer at the age of thirteen, shes never had the chance to experience the thrilling awkwardness of being a teenager. Her task is to collect aura of a female lead and prevent each world from collapsing. A highflying mathematician, shes never put much thought into finding a romantic partner. 4 With a few key couples dominating the pages in the style of Anna Karenina, we see the action through their eyes and feel their struggle to maintain hope after endless sacrifices. show more. In Normal People, she captures the zeitgeist with the same subtlety and skill. A Long Petal of the Sea is a masterful historical romance novel, tinged with Allendes hallmark magical realism. A gothic novel of intense passion, betrayal, and bitter vengeance underpinned by the quiet beauty of Bronts lyricism Wuthering Heights is an iconoclastic masterpiece that has inspired film-makers, novelists, poets, and song-writers for generations. Jane, a destitute young orphan, arrives at the home of the mysterious Mr Rochester in search of employment, but finds far more than she bargained for. By rejecting non-essential cookies, Reddit may still use certain cookies to ensure the proper functionality of our platform. It comes with being a woman in engineering, but its worth it to join the space raceeven if she cant figure out whats behind the intense looks one tightly wound engineer keeps sending her. Her emotional thawing is gradual and believable a real pleasure to watch. Luckily, handsome doctor Carlos is there to sweep her away from the frenzy and into an epic rebound of food, fun, and fantastic sex. My personal favourite character is Barbara Grahame (one of Peggys ancestors) who has an awesome cat-and-mouse relationship with a wickedly humorous enemy English soldier. But if the pop culture phenomenon somehow passed you by, its never too late to give this kinky thriller a try. A onetime monk, he brings her to his castle and imprisons her until she agrees to be his mistress. So when Atlas appears in Boston, everything she has with Ryle is suddenly thrown into question. Most offensive among them is Rolfe, a lord who gains ownership of Ceidres family castle in return for his good service. A long, hot Italian summer provides the backdrop to an equally steamy romance in Call Me by Your Name, the story of a young mans romance with his familys lodger. The Amelia Peabody series by Elizabeth Peters. To his horror, he discovers someone has shaved him and given him a mortifying tattoo. Nothing else matters, and she is perfectly willing to expend her own life in the pursuit of this aim. This is how diplomacy should always work! Dripping with longing and regret, and steered by two deeply vulnerable characters, this novel remains immensely readable one of the best romance novels of the 21st century. This one interweaves three separate romances, in two different periods. Its as gorgeous as it was groundbreaking. Comedy Drama Fantasy Romance Slice of Life. Some might dismiss it as chick-lit, but The Notebook is a guaranteed tear-jerker every time. Trust book recommendations from real people, not robots . This In six weeks, can she turn a poor working man into one who passes for a viscount? . But when India erupts in rebellion, it tears the lovers apart, and their reunion in England four years later is filled with betrayal and heartbreak. Dante is an open-hearted know-it-all, still figuring out who he is. Through their parallel experiences of love and heartbreak, will these two young women learn to strike a balance between wearing your heart on your sleeve and concealing your true feelings? Their attraction is dangerous, forbidden and difficult to resist. Readers looking for a tentative slow burn and a strong female lead will find a perfect match in Roberts charming Vision in White. It soon transpires that her house is filled with the ghosts of her Colonial ancestors. For fans of historical fiction and lesbian romance, this rollercoaster of a novel will take you on exhilarating ride, filled with titillating insight into the raunchy underbelly of 1890s England and the thrill of forbidden love. By: Mary Frame | ? Its an intimate love story of deceptive simplicity: Marianne and Connell are two mismatched young people unlikely friends, unlikely lovers who share a profound understanding. When my boss sends me in his place to a professional sports banquet, I find the only empty seat next to Donovan Taylor, the San Francisco Strikers resident hottie with a bad reputation. A controversial presentation of Civil-War era America, Gone With the Wind explores the complexities of both romantic and platonic love. Contemporary Erotic Romance, Novella. Under a veneer of good-natured idiocy lies a master manipulator who does not intend to let the most interesting woman hes ever met out of his grasp. I also recommend McKinneysLions and Lace, which takes place in New York during the Gilded Age. and his ancient mythology series, but wished they had a more mature and romantic tone, look no further than The Song of Achilles. Joyous, hilarious, and deeply sexy, Perris novel is not just an exploration of sexuality and gender nonconformity, but a sparkling subversion of the romantic comedy form. Takes 30 seconds! Sixteen-year-old Aaron Soto is trying to recover from a family tragedy, supported by his friends and his girlfriend Genevieve. Theres only one thing keeping this gorgeous couple apartseveral centuries. 3 She hates him. Sensitive and intelligent, she has survived for years alone in the marsh that she calls home, finding friends in the gulls and lessons in the sand. On a trip to the Highlands with her husband Frank, Claire tumbles back in time to 1743, and finds herself caught between two very different lives, and two very different men. But he has a huge secret: hes actually biracial, with a black slave mother. A rare genetic condition causes Henry to jump uncontrollably along the timeline of Clares life. DM me! No matter what the critics say, its the definitive high school romance turned struggle against a vampiric death cult so why not revisit Twilight mania, and see what all the hype was about? Morganna is also totally not one of those people who immediately forgets her mission because of a man. Its set in an alternate reality where in 2016, a Democrat became the first female president of the US, and follows First Son Alex a twenty-something, biracial, modern-day Kennedy. Chef heroine has escaped an abusive relationship and returned home to start a food truck; falls for the gruff-but-kind chef next door. Albertallis feel-good novel is still able, however, to flirt with some bigger questions about homophobia and the experience of being a closeted teen in the American South. Trust real people, not robots, to give you book recommendations. Bonus if the heroine is a genius. A pair of English women hire Najja, an African assassin, to protect them. But her willpower and determination are what endear her to Felix, whos sort of an antihero and an arsehole but a very enjoyable one. How does he always get us? The attraction is instant. I love the friendships between the brainy female scientists at their secret lab and the humorEverett always brings the humor in big, satisfying doses. Randall is an extremely underrated Heyer hero, and hes absolutely one of my favourites. As tender and heartfelt as it is intense and passionate, Elio and Olivers love affair begins awkwardly, slowly, and tacitly, before building to unprecedented heights as the summer draws to a close. After being selected to compete for the heart of a Prince, America is forced to leave behind her home and the boy she secretly loves but cannot be with. pages | Published: 2014 | Popular Shelves: romance, new-adult, kindle, contemporary, contemporary-romance | Search "imperfect chemistry by mary frame", 88333 books suggested | Bug? And Im obsessed. Its a charming and sweet read, but, be warned its another Sparks tear-jerker. It takes a special author to cook these stale ingredients into an exciting new dish, and many dont succeed. Denys also has another book,The Flesh and the Devil,uniquely set in the 17th-century Spanish court. You cant go wrong when the son of Madame President falls in love with Englands dishy prince. Browse their picks for the best books about She worked hard and never complained. In my travels, Ive also come across some wonderful, truly unusual historical romances which deserve special recognition. Her life is suddenly anything but uneventful as she enters the violent politics of Renaissance Italy. However, as their small town lives in rural Ireland are eclipsed by the heady and confusing world of student Dublin, the ways in which they mould each other reveal a universal truth about the lasting impact that one person can have on another. Two writers, two beach huts, and plenty of whipcrack banter lets hope Henry is an author with a soft spot for happily-ever-after. ), and the ending that defined the romantic tragedy genre, any aspiring romance connoisseur should get this one under their belt. I want some action! As she grows closer to the Duke of Jervaux, Maddy begins to realise his playboy facade conceals hidden depths. Sign up for our weekly newsletter about historical fiction! When you buy through these links, we may earn an affiliate commission. The heroine, Milla, is determined to find her son who was . A good love story has drama, intrigue, laughs, and, if youre lucky, a little heat; while the very best romance novels can feel just like falling in love intimate and personal, yet huge and life-changing all at once. The book also explores, in great depth, the implications of Rhines decision to pass as white (for both himself and the black community). To her utter mortification, Quinn Sullivanaka Sir McHotpantswitnesses it all then keeps Its 1870 Nevada, and theres a lot of discussion about the black/white dynamics now that the Civil War is over. This book, as well as being a cute romance, was a very interesting look at the racial situation of the time. romantic love, why you should read it. Cry No More by Linda Howard. Opposites attract when a nerdy computer whiz meets billionaire playboy.The last thing Melody expects when she accepts a dream job offer is to run into her college one-night stand again. Stella loves logic. Bold, irreverent, and raw, The Fault in Our Stars is a witty tour de force about the thrilling and tragic business of being alive, and a heartbreaking (but never depressing) story about a love that lasts forever, within the numbered days.. Najja is a great heroine, and Burke writes some excellent sexual tension between her and Colin. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns. Another Rainbow Rowell novel met with critical acclaim, Eleanor & Park is an urgent, breathless, gut-punch of a love story about two teen misfits and one life-changing school year. Captain Mattie St Armand is not just a woman: shes the biracial bastard daughter of a pirate and a freedwoman, so she needs a nave white man to help deflect the authorities while she smuggles slaves from Florida to freedom in the Bahamas. With every launch, their secret affair grows thornier. Tragically, she died in a car crash in the mid-80s, so these are her only two books. When the unpopular businessman Gregory Matthews suddenly dies, the police immediately suspect his whole family. This refreshingly honest presentation of teenage sexuality was deeply controversial because of its raunchy subject matter its even been banned from several libraries but it remains a classic. I want some action! From my experience, it does a good job of capturing that kind of smart driven personality (Worth noting that Emily Foster is a pen name for Emily Nagoski, Ph.D, bestselling author of "Come as You Are" and "Burnout," so her knowledge of academia makes sense). Smart women (in STEM, no less) will always be catnip for me as a reader because I love the inner conflict between hard-fought career goals and wanderings of the heart. A great addition to the world of unusual historical romances! why you should read it. Convincing Anh that Olive is dating and well on her way to a happily ever after was always going to take more than hand-wavy Jedi mind tricks: Scientists require proof. Thats what happens to Lara Jean, a sixteen-year-old girl whose life is turned upside down when letters shes written to all the boys shes ever loved letters that the recipients were never supposed to see are sent. New books are added every day. Donovan is nothing like the player I expected. Self-assured, confident, and more than a touch rebellious, the beautiful and charismatic Sophy sweeps through London like a breath of fresh air. as one of their favorite books, and they share What begins as a casual fling becomes something more, and Mackensie has to ask herself if shes willing to step out from behind her cool and collected facade and seize her own happiness. | Source, Not sure if you'd like this because the hero is super alpha, but I've recently read Nobody's Baby But Mine by Susan Elizabeth Phillips. Lucy and Josh have so much chemistry that it manifests as anger, frustration, and, yes, hate. BUY INDIE Soul Song: A Dirk & Steele Novel By Marjorie M. Liu And the feeling is mutual. It takes a good look at the conflict between the Ascendant English aristocrats, many of whom oppressed their native Irish dependents, and the Irish loyalists who strove to eject the English. 535 books The entire concept of her training and occupation makes this one of the more unusual historical romances! 1 Early on heroines tended to be normatively slim with perky breasts. This wonderful, wonderful book delivers two romantic heroines for the price of one: Christabel, the 19th-century poet who pays the . why you should read it. We think you will like They are witty, fun romps about a turn of the century, independently wealthy, self-made egyptologist/archeologist. show more. heroine Trixie Nguyen is determined to make her sex toy business a successand prove her traditional Vietnamese . Amazon | Goodreads | My Review Been There Done That Ransom is dictatorial and autocratic on the outside, with his own core of sweetness under it. Thank you for signing up! This is no easy task for a wealthy, successful woman like Stella, who also happens to have Asperger's. Probably the best romance novel of 2019, Casey McQuistons queer, royal love story didnt just take the New York Times bestseller list by storm, it broke the internet. Will Traynor is living a lonely life. And Pride and Prejudice is by far the English humorists most famous story. Who could have imagined that this steamier-than-a-sauna novel would go on to sell over 125 million copies! Will Sebastian do whats right to save Jessicas reputation, or is he really as unscrupulous as she always suspected? Raunchy and compulsively readable, youll be rushing (pun intended) to find out what happens next in this erotic page-turner. Witty dialogue and steamy sex scenes ensue, but how long can the fun last before they want more than just mind-blowing passion? She also isnt a virgin, another unusual aspect to this book. I also have for you this list of great Regency romances. Jenny Hans sugary sweet novel not only spent 40 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list, it was also adapted into a blockbusting movie. Luckily for you, Aciman released a sequel last year so you wont have to say goodbye to Elio and Oliver just yet. finding true love with the least likely person. Warning: it was published in 1978, so there are bodice ripper elements. Its the book that led a generation of teenage girls to genuinely debate whether vampires or werewolves were hotter, and that launched an entire renaissance of paranormal romance books. Maybe One More Time by Christina C. Jones. This list was created and voted on by Goodreads members. Its also absolutely brimming with emotion its so well-written that I find reading some parts of it physically painful, because of how much it affects me. 24 Unusual Historical Romances. As an author who writes the underdog-always-wins stories, this attracted me immediately, as did Owens writing, which puts the reader front and center into the ostracized heroines life.