#the raven prince elizabeth hoyt
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there's nothing quite like watching a hero strip and lift sheep out of the water one by one in a blatant bid to confirm his virility to the heroine.
And by virility I mean by way of chest hair... and armpit hair, which she does SPECIFICALLY notice.
#apparently he looks like a jacked Poseidon while coming out of the water#continuing my selective hoyt reread with The Raven Prince#i'm a huge fan of the HR boss/secretary dynamic#and elizabeth hoyt is so good at writing very... earthy heroes and heroines#elizabeth hoyt#historical romance#romance novels
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extremely niche post but Edward de Raaf would 100% be a wolf witcher and Harry Pye would be a cat witcher and if you disagree you are wrong
#the witcher#also inspired by the accidental warlord and his pack#by inexplicific#GO READ ITTTT#princes trilogy#elizabeth hoyt#the raven prince#the leopard prince#edward de raaf#harry pye
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𝐈𝐓'𝐒 𝐆𝐈𝐕𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐁𝐑𝐈𝐃𝐆𝐄𝐑𝐓𝐎𝐍 𝐄𝐍𝐄𝐑𝐆𝐘 𝐐𝐔𝐎𝐓𝐄𝐒.
All quotes are taken from different books people recommended to me that have similar energy to the bridgerton series and book franchise. Some of these are suggestive, per usual for historical romance diction. Change names, locations and pronouns however you see fit.
Romancing the Duke by Tessa Dare
For God’s sake. Don’t do that.
This is property. Don’t you understand how rare that is for a woman? Property always belongs to our fathers, brothers, husbands, sons. We never get to own anything.
Don’t tell me you’re one of those women with radical ideas.
Of course one kiss changes things. If it's done right, a kiss changes everything.
Listen to me. When a man wakes, he wakes wanting. He wakes hard and rude and aching with need.
Yes. In you. Hard, deep, fast, and completely. Now don’t wake me at this hour again unless you’ve found the perfect retort to that.
But now it’s gone all wrong. Because you’re here in this bed. But I’m here, too. And God help me, Izzy. I don’t know how to leave.
You're not going to ruin my first kiss. I won't let you.
You're pushing me away because you're afraid.
I'm not pushing you away. I believe I just offered to marry you.
There’s no castle big enough to keep a man like me from being aware, every moment, of a woman like you.
Do you understand what I’m saying to you?
When a Scot Ties the Knot by Tessa Dare
Madaline Eloise Gracechurch... I've come here to marry you.
What I'm saying isna romantic. It's raw, primal, and entirely crude.
There's more than one way to share pleasure.
I dinna care about the color of your frock, lass. I'm only going to take off you again.
Quickly, say something unfeeling. Mock my letters. Just do something, anything reprehensible.
Your men, my servants … they could be watching us.
I’m certain they’re watching us. That’s why we’re going to kiss.
..."What burden do you have?
The burden of duty. I led those men into battle.
There was a time when I enjoyed a great deal of female companionship.
Are you saying you were faithful to me?
I mean to make you mine, mo chridhe. Touch all of you. Taste all of you. Learn you from the inside out. Once I've held you like that, I'm not going to let go
Do you feel it? It's only the beginning, mo chridhe.
They’re merely a guard against anything accidental happening.
To Have and to Hoax by Martha Waters
...if you are going to insist on losing faith in someone the moment you see the slightest possibility that they have wronged you, you are going to have a very frustrating life.
I think I’m far too interested in too many things to excel at one single pursuit.
It seems that everything I have heard about you is true.
I am in need of some assistance and I think you are just the man to provide it.
If you’re determined to risk your wife’s reputation rather than have any sort of honest conversation with her…
I’ve never forgotten anything about you, Violet. About us.
But need I remind you that you are a marquess? At some point, you’ll have to produce an heir.
ou’re a reasonably handsome man, if one likes that sort of thing.
I want to be the man who deserves you, because you deserve everything.
I’d rather spend my days arguing with you than in calm conversation with anyone else in the world.
I only hope she can ever forgive me for taking such a damned long time to fully appreciate her.
If I should ever hear you refer to our son as your heir, I will ensure that you never see him.
I've nowhere to be this afternoon. I didn't see any reason to rush the proceedings.
The Raven Prince by Elizabeth Hoyt
I’ve heard some people say my temper is rather . . .
I wouldn’t want to intimidate you, Mrs. Wren.
A garden always has a point.
I am not a nice woman. But despite these facts, my word is gold.
I won’t marry you.
Why not? You were eager enough to fuck me.
I knew we had an attraction. Then you left and I realized you were taking what you felt for me and giving it to another woman. A woman you didn’t even know.
Why did men think that saying something louder made it true?
When a man betrays a woman in such a way, it breaks something in her that I’m not sure can ever be repaired.
I must have an heir. Do you understand? I must marry a woman who can bear children.
I'm not a whore, I'm a courtesan. There's a difference. Whores do it for the money, courtesans do it for the art.
It's never too late to start over and find yourself.
In order to love someone fully, you must first learn to love yourself.
To Catch an Heiress by Julia Quinn
Caroline, do you value your neck?
To call that writing, madam, is an insult to quills and ink across the world.
Not that I knew who you were until last month. But now that I've got you, I'm not letting you go.
Touch me and die.
It's just that I don't think friends tie friends to the bedpost.
You became my business when you took up residence in my house.
I need you. To-night. Right now. I need you.
I just don't care that he isn't offering a reward. In fact, I'm glad I'm much happier here than I was with any of my guardians.
We are here to discuss your foolhardy behavior.
You don’t want me to be your friend.
For the last time, I cannot be your friend. I could never be your friend. Because I want you.
That’s not the point. You are my wife. I swore to protect you.
You can’t save the entire world.
Minx by Julia Quinn
You don't always have to kiss a lot of frogs to recognize a prince when you find one.
I don't know why people persist in believing women are inferior, when it is quite clear that men are the more feeble-minded of the two.
If I wanted Belle,I would have asked her to marry me.
Believe me, Henry, when I get angry, you'll know.
If this morning wasn't enjoyable, at least it was...shall we say...interesting.
You're a terrible rake, Dunford. Belle told me.
I was mistaken to think I could ever be enough of a woman to please you, to ever think that I could learn what it means to be anyone else but me.
I chose not to follow your advice. Ned is a very nice person. Handsome, personable—a perfect escort.
I very specifically told you to stay away from Ned Blydon.
Hush up, minx. You’re a funny one, but you’re certainly more likable than unlikable.
It takes a minx to tempt a rogue.
#meme#roleplay memes#sentence meme#( cali meme. )#rp memes#rp prompt#rp musings#roleplay prompt#◟ ⋆ memes › roleplay sources.
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Any HR with gothic vibes you would recommend?
Yes!
Anne Stuart is known for writing darker, more gothic-y historicals. I've only read A Rose at Midnight so far, but I know her Rohan series is recommended for this a lot. I loved A Rose at Midnight. It's set shortly after the French Revolution (set in England, largely) and the heroine literally begins the book wanting to kill the hero. She does poison him! He just survives lmao. But yeah, the beef is real, it's pretty dark (TW for noncon, dubcon, forced sex work, general Reign of Terror violence) and there's a general sense of violence and mystery and secrets.
Elizabeth Hoyt plays with the Gothic a lot. I'd recommend:
The Raven Prince. Really a sexy Jane Eyre, the heroine is the hero's secretary and ends up putting on a mask and pretending to be a sex worker at a brothel he frequents in order to sleep with him. (To be very fair to her, he was only visiting the brothel because he was avoiding their intense sexual tension.) But yeah, he sweeping around his manor, he's doing the high drama. it's GREAT.
The Leopard Prince. This is more "we're out on the moors, the natural world is here, the are murders and mysterious sheep kilings" Gothic. The heroine inherits an estate and moves there, only to begin an affair with her gruff steward, who's basically on the brink of being framed for murder. It's HOOOOOT.
All of the Dolphin Sex Cult books in Maiden Lane kinda have this vibe, but TW because the cult is heavily involved in pedophilia. The heroes and heroines are trying to stop it. These books consist of:
Duke of Sin. Insane villainous hero, hides in his walls watching the heroine (who's his housekeeper and has been planted in his house in order to steal blackmail material he owns from him) for like... 3-4 months. She doesn't even know he's there. He's truly wild. But he is trying to... avenge his sister... because their father was in the Dolphin Sex Cult? It's complex.
Duke of Pleasure. In this one, the hero is a king's bastard, actively trying to take down the Dolphin Sex Cult. The heroine is a street urchin who's often dressed as a boy in order to stay safe; she's also a vigilante. He recruits her to help him, while also teaching her to pass as a lady. This one involves the infamous "ummmm people are about to catch us, quick suck my dick for cover" and she just doesn't stop when the people go away and swallows.
Duke of Desire. This one is really intense and dark. The hero kidnaps the heroine to prevent her from falling prey to the villains, and forces her to marry him for the same reasons. She's like "I can deal with this, but I want a baby" which he refuses because he has a lot of sexual trauma related to the cult (TW for childhood SA).
The Ghost of St. Giles arc in Maiden Lane is also on that wavelength--it's all about this masked vigilante who skulks the night. Turns out the identity is shared by several different guys!
Thief of Shadows. The Winter Makepeace book. Our hero is a schoolmaster/orphanage master guy, and he runs around as the Ghost, while by day a rich society widow tutors him on how to solicit donations from patrons and do polite society right. Said widow catches on to his game, and they begin this intense passionate secret affair while he's also dealing with Ghost stuff.
Lord of Darkness. The next Ghost is a quiet widower who married again a few years ago in order to save a young woman he barely knew from ruin when she got pregnant out of wedlock and her lover died before they could make it legal. She miscarried right after the wedding, and wants a baby now, so she's back in town wanting to finally consummate the marriage. He agrees, but he's withholding the Secret while they try for a baby.
Duke of Midnight. Georgian Batman with heavy Gothic tones. Our hero is a tortured duke whose parents were killed in front of him, and ever since he's desired REVENGE. The heroine is a lady's companion with a dark past who's trying to regain her former station and free her imprisoned brother, and she catches on to his vigilante activities and is like "mmm you're gonna help me or I'm gonna tell everyone thaaanks".
If you want something on the kinkier side, Sierra Simone's Ivy Leavold trilogy (which must be read in order) is a kinky Jane Eyre, basically, with very Gothic overtones. Sierra looooves the Gothic. It's super hot and really fun.
Scarlett Peckham's The Duke I Tempted has a Gothic "I married a mysterious man and he has secrets I must discover" vibe. Of course, his secret is that he's submissive in bed, but there are other things too! The Earl I Ruined has similar vibes, but less so.
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Elizabeth Hoyt's Princes Trilogy series (they're erotic cuz I'm a trash) can be a headcanon of the Vinsmokes romantic relationships to their S/O... (｡>﹏<｡)and DUDES THE RAVEN PRINCE LOOKS LIKE MY FANFIC TO BE HUMAN
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Elizabeth Hoyt Series
// Edward de Raaf //
The Raven Prince (Princes Trilogy #1)
#elizabeth hoyt#the raven prince#the raven prince elizabeth hoyt#gothic aesthetic#regency england#regency romance novels#georgian era#georgian romance#raven aesthetic#raven moodboard#my edits
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Elizabeth Hoyt - The Raven Prince
(Princes #1)
There comes a time in a lady's life...
Widowed Anna Wren is having a wretched day. After an arrogant male on horseback nearly squashes her, she arrives home to learn that she is in dire financial straits.
When she must do the unthinkable...
The Earl of Swartingham is in a quandary. Having frightened off two secretaries, Edward de Raaf needs someone who can withstand his bad temper and boorish behavior.
And find employment.
When Anna becomes the earl's secretary, it would seem that both their problems are solved. Then she discovers he plans to visit the most notorious brothel in London for his "manly" needs. Well! Anna sees red—and decides to assuage her "womanly" desires...with the earl as her unknowing lover.
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Historical Romance Recommendations Pt 2
Now that I’ve read more HR books, I’ve decided to expand on my original list (you can find here).
Warning for potential spoilers
Marriage of Convenience:
Devil in Winter by Lisa Kleypas
The Duchess Deal by Tessa Dare
When a Scot Ties the Knot by Tessa Dare
Compromised Into Marriage:
Secrets of a Summer Night by Lisa Kleypas
Devil in Spring by Lisa Kleypas
The Duke and I by Julia Quinn
The Viscount Who Loved Me by Julia Quinn
Do You Want to Start a Scandal by Tessa Dare
Undercover Duke by Sabrina Jeffries
The Truth About Cads and Dukes by Elisa Braden
The Heiress Hunt by Joanna Shupe
Lovers That Start Off Antagonistic:
To Love and to Loathe by Martha Walters
It Happened One Autumn by Lisa Kleypas
No Good Duke Goes Unpunished by Sarah Maclean
Married By Morning by Lisa Kleypas
Bound By Your Touch by Meredith Duran
For the Duke’s Eyes Only by Lenora Bell
Childhood Friends:
A Rogue By Any Other Name by Sarah Maclean
A Rogue of One’s Own by Evie Dunmore
Because of Miss Bridgerton by Julia Quinn
Seduce Me at Sunrise by Lisa Kleypas
The Duke Who Loved Me by Jane Ashford
Friends to Lovers:
My Fake Rake by Eva Leigh
The Duke Who Loved Me by Jane Ashford
Second Chance Romance:
The Day of the Duchess by Sarah MacLean
The Sins of Lord Lockwood by Meredith Duran
Female Leads That Are Widows:
When He Was Wicked by Julia Quinn
Waiting for a Scot Like You by Eva Leigh
Wicked Intentions by Elizabeth Hoyt
Thief of Shadows by Elizabeth Hoyt
Cold-Hearted Rake by Lisa Kleypas
Devil’s Daughter by Lisa Kleypas
Devil in Disguise by Lisa Kleypas
Books Where the Lead Has a Job:
Forever Your Earl by Eva Leigh
Scandal Takes the Stage by Eva Leigh
Temptations of a Wallflower by Eva Leigh
The Rules of Scoundrels series by Sarah MacLean
Tempt Me at Twilight by Lisa Kleypas
Marrying Winterborne by Lisa Kleypas
Self-Made Heroes:
Dreaming of You by Lisa Kleypas
Again the Magic by Lisa Kleypas
Secrets of a Summer Night by Lisa Kleypas
Scandal in Spring by Lisa Kleypas
Tempt Me by Twilight by Lisa Kleypas
Marrying Winterborne by Lisa Kleypas
Chasing Cassandra by Lisa Kleypas
The Wallflower Wager by Tessa Dare
Regarding the Duke by Grace Callaway
A Portrait of a Scotsman by Evie Dunmore
Books That Involve a Mystery:
The Duke Dynasty by Sabrina Jeffries
Do You Want to Start a Scandal by Tessa Dare
A Lady’s Guide to Mischief and Mayhem by Manda Collins
Series Centred on Female Friendship:
The Wallflowers series by Lisa Kleypas
A League of Extraordinary Women series by Evie Dunmore
Girls Who Dare series by Emma V Leech
Girl Meets Duke series by Tessa Dare
Books Where the Female Lead Isn’t a Virgin:
Bringing Down a Duke by Evie Dunmore
Forever Your Earl by Eva Leigh
The Raven Prince by Elizabeth Hoyt
When He Was Wicked by Julia Quinn
Thief of Shadows by Elizabeth Hoyt
Never Judge a Lady By Her Cover by Sarah MacLean
Older Heroines:
Nine Rules to Break When Romancing a Rake by Sarah MacLean
Daring and the Duke by Sarah MacLean
A Rogue by Any Other Name by Sarah MacLean
Raven Prince by Elizabeth Hoyt
Scandalous Desires by Elizabeth Hoyt
Thief of Shadows by Elizabeth Hoyt
Devil’s Daughter by Lisa Kleypas
Devil in Disguise by Lisa Kleypas
Lead is a Writer:
Dreaming of You by Lisa Kleypas
Suddenly You by Lisa Kleypas
And Then He Kissed Her by Laura Lee Guhrke
With Seduction in Mind by Laura Lee Guhrke
Rake Romances:
Devil in Winter by Lisa Kleypas
To Love and to Loathe by Martha Walters
A Rogue of One’s Own by Evie Dunmore
When He Was Wicked by Julia Quinn
Dreaming of You by Lisa Kleypas
Married by Morning by Lisa Kleypas
Devil’s Daughter by Lisa Kleypas
Nine Rules to Break When Romancing a Rake by Sarah MacLean
Forever Your Earl by Eva Leigh
Scandal Takes the Stage by Eva Leigh
The Good Girl’s Guide to Rakes by Eva Leigh
Wicked Intentions by Elizabeth Hoyt
The Devil is a Marquess by Elisa Braden
Bound By Your Touch by Meredith Duran
The Lady Gets Lucky by Joanna Shupe
Non-Rake Romances:
Thief of Shadows by Elizabeth Hoyt
My Fake Rake by Eva Leigh
Temptations of a Wallflower by Eva Leigh
Lord of Darkness by Elizabeth Hoyt
Age-Gap Romances:
What I Did For a Duke by Julie Anne Long
Any Duchess Will Do by Tessa Dare
Governess Romances:
The Governess Game by Tessa Dare
What a Difference a Duke Makes by Lenora Bell
Married By Morning by Lisa Kleypas
Political Plots:
A Lady’s Code of Misconduct by Meredith Duran
Confessions From an Arranged Marriage by Miranda Neville
League of Extraordinary Women series by Evie Dunmore
Amnesia Plots:
Regarding the Duke by Grace Callaway
A Lady’s Code of Misconduct by Meredith Duran
When the Marquess Was Mine by Caroline Linden
Devil in Disguise by Lisa Kleypas
Inter-Class Romances:
Again the Magic by Lisa Kleypas
Secrets of a Summer Night by Lisa Kleypas
Marrying Winterborne by Lisa Kleypas
Chasing Cassandra by Lisa Kleypas
Devil in Disguise by Lisa Kleypas
Wicked and the Wallflower by Sarah MacLean
Brazen and the Beast by Sarah MacLean
An Offer From a Gentleman by Julia Quinn
Girl Meets Duke series by Tessa Dare
Any Duchess Will Do by Tessa Dare
Would I Lie to the Duke by Eva Leigh
Thief of Shadows by Elizabeth Hoyt
Dearest Rogue by Elizabeth Hoyt
Duke of Sin by Elizabeth Hoyt
Duke of Pleasure by Elizabeth Hoyt
What a Difference a Duke Makes by Lenora Bell
Love is a Rogue by Lenora Bell
Girl Bachelors series by Laura Lee Guhrke
The Duchess Hunt by Lorraine Heath
The Duke Heist by Erica Ridley
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https://loveinquotes.com/i-wont-marry-you-she-repeated-why-not-you-were-eager-enough-to-fuck-me-anna-winced-i-do-wish-you-would-stop-using-that-word-edward-swung-around-and-assumed-a-hideously-sarcastic-expression/
I won’t marry you, she repeated.Why not? You were eager enough to fuck me.Anna winced. I do wish you would stop using that word.Edward swung around and assumed a hideously sarcastic expression. Would you prefer swive? Tup? Dance the buttock jig? ― Elizabeth Hoyt, The Raven Prince
#Elizabeth Hoyt#Elizabeth Hoyt marry-me quotes#Elizabeth Hoyt quotes#marry-me quotes#The Raven Prince#The Raven Prince quotes#LoveQuotes
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Get to Know Me Tag
I was tagged by @igglemouse (whose save I’ve been loving recently)
also this is very late, sorry
My favorite color: all of them, really, but if I had to choose, grey (with pink and purple on the side)
I'm currently reading: The Raven Prince, Leopard Prince, and Serpent Prince by Elizabeth Hoyt (I’ve read them before; been wanting to get back into reading and reach my goal of at least one book a month)
Last song I listened to: a lot but Hiatus by King Sis
Sweet, savory or spicy: I have a big sweet tooth but have been really feeling spicy
What I'm currently working on: in terms of sims, a lot of saves, but I'm focusing on bringing an old family back to life this year (they are my babies), as well as starting some stories I have in mind. on real life, I've been wanting to get back into writing and, hopefully in the near future, complete a book
uhhh... i don't really have anybody in mind to tag, so its free for anyone
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My Intro to the Earl of Swartingham
*Man rides haphazardly down rode, almost runs into female lead, obviously falls off etc, asks her why she was in the rode and then proceeds to ignore her by crooning at his horse*
“That’s right. Dance around like a virgin at the first squeeze of a tit, you revolting lump of maggot-eaten hide,” the man crooned to the animal. “When I get hold of you, you misbegotten result of a diseased camel humping a sway-backed ass, I’ll wring your cretinous neck, I will.”
“Madam, good day.”
*Felix Hobble his poor estate manager*
The earl had a disconcerting tendency to growl.
The earl scowled at the page in front of him, his pockmarks making the expression especially unattractive. Of course, this was not necessarily a bad sign. The earl habitually scowled.
He ducked with newly practiced ease as the earl picked up a pottery jar and flung it over Felix’s head at the door.
-The Raven Prince by Elizabeth Hoyt
(My, my, cranky, growling, scowling, pottery throwing male lead. I did not realize I was in the mood for an ass to be reformed but I’m going to sit and enjoy the set downs that are sure to come from his NEW SECRETARY AKA FEMALE LEAD YEEEES)
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Do you have favorite tropes that are hr specific?
ooh good question.
Purposeful ruination: It gets the plot moving and I do like this variation on the enemies-to-lovers trope.
Books with this trope: Marquess of Mayhem by Scarlett Scott (he purposely compromises her with the aim of fucking with her war criminal half brother EL CORAZON OSCURO who does get a book of his own), Beyond Scandal and Desire by Lorraine Heath (compromises her to get to his half-brother who is engaged to her), The Chief by Monica McCarty (she gets herself compromised on purpose), Secrets of a Summer Night by Lisa Kleypas (heroine and her friends scheme to engineer a compromise)
Lower-class hero (or a hero of lower-class origins) who hates himself because he thinks he isn't "worthy" of the heroine or whatever and will SULLY her with his FILTHY PAWS
Heroes/books with this trope: Nicholas in Her Husband's Harlot by Grace Callaway, Rhys Winterborne in Marrying Winterborne by Lisa Kleypas, McKenna in Again the Magic by Lisa Kleypas, Dom Kilburn in A Rogue's Rules for Seduction by Eva Leigh
The Repressed Aristocrat: A gentleman in the streets, a freak in the sheets— to clarify, he's either actually repressed, or acts like he is in public.
Heroes/books with this trope: Granby from The Design of Dukes by Kathleen Ayers, Stone from Always Be My Duchess by Amalie Howard, Lockwood from The Duke Gets Even by Joanna Shupe, Harrison from The Truth About Cads and Dukes by Elisa Braden, Westcliff from It Happened One Autumn (how repressed he actually is is debatable but I'm basing this off his "once a week is enough" thing), Carlisle from The Viscount Always Knocks Twice by Grace Callaway
A Knowing Virgin: If she has to be a virgin, then let her be a knowing one. It could be because he had An Education of sorts, or maybe she just has a "natural sensuality" that's inevitably commented upon by the hero. Ultimately, if she breaks the hero simply by performing a middling handjob, she's a winner.
Heroines/Books with this trope: Jess from Lord of Scoundrels by Loretta Chase, Rosalind from A Recipe for a Rogue by Kathleen Ayers (her late rake dad left behind a bunch of dirty books), basically every Grace Callaway heroine who inevitably performs her first blowjob like a champ
Kidnapping: I don't care who does it but if an author writes it well enough I'll love them.
Books with this trope: Outrageous by Minerva Spencer (the heroine kidnaps the hero to make him stop harassing/kidnapping her brother and his wife), The Last Crimes of Peregrine Hinds (m/m, he's soooo down to be kidnapped), Lord Holt Takes a Bride by Vivienne Lorret (her besties kidnap him), The Lady Who Came in from the Cold by Grace Callaway (listen, she needs to set her husband straight somehow), and of course, It Happened One Autumn by Lisa Kleypas.
An immediate, aggressive proposition: When you know, you know, plus again, it moves the romance along
Books with this trope: Surrender to the Devil by Lorraine Heath, I'm pretty? sure The Theory of Earls by Kathleen Ayers has this
Workplace relationships: This might be the one where my feelings differ the most in that my bar is a lot lower in HR than contemporaries (or alternatively, if it's well written, I'll read anything). But idk I'm more fine with powerful men "taking advantage" of The Help in historical than in contemporaries. This is what happens when The Sound of Music imprinted on you early, I think.
Books with this trope: Duke of Depravity by Scarlett Scott, The Duchess Hunt by Lorraine Heath, The Raven Prince by Elizabeth Hoyt, A Nobleman's Guide to Seducing a Scoundrel by K-J Charles, Married by Morning by Lisa Kleypas, Millionaire Marquess by Scarlett Scott
Age gap romances: I just really like these and it goes both ways (I'm forever looking for well-done older women romances)
Books with this trope: The Chasing of Eleanor Vane by Sierra Simone (he's her betrothed's uncle), Wicked Again by Kathleen Ayers (she's 49, he's 40), My Dirty Duke by Joanna Shupe (he's her dad's best friend), What I Did For a Duke by Julie Anne Long (hero is around 20 years older than the heroine), A Recipe for a Rogue by Kathleen Ayers (he's like twice? her age?)
Childhood sweethearts: I just really like the idea of people finding love young but Things keep them apart (maybe it's the Persuasion lover in me). I distinguish it from one party having a childhood crush on the other because that's unrequited and this... very much isn't.
Books with this trope: Again the Magic by Lisa Kleypas, The Legend of Lyon Redmond by Julie Anne Long, Bed Me, Baron by Felicity Niven (okay so they weren't "together" but they had feelings for each other at different points during their youth)
More niche tropes:
That thing where they're having hate/farewell sex but they know she's gonna end up pregnant anyway (ex: Bed Me, Baron by Felicity Niven)
A deranged blond man (ex: Valentine from Duke of Sin by Elizabeth Hoyt, Godric from Outrageous by Minerva Spencer, Nikolas from Prince of Dreams by Lisa Kleypas)
Heroines with objectively dumb schemes and plenty of hubris (ex: Constance in The Earl I Ruined by Scarlett Peckham Lillian Bowman in Secrets of a Summer Night and It Happened One Autumn, Margo and Matilda Halifax in Alexandra Vasti's Halifax Hellion series, Emma Kent in The Duke Who Knew Too Much by Grace Callaway)
Taking about their first sexual experiences..... while having sex (ex: The Rogue Not Taken and Bombshell by Sarah MacLean)
Characters getting turned on via music/instrumental playing (ex: both The Theory of Earls by Kathleen Ayers and M Is For Marquess by Grace Callaway have heroes who deffo get hard watching their heroines play the piano, and there is piano sex stuff, and Always Be My Duchess has a cello-playing duke who also plays her like a cello)
Sad old people (possibly reuniting)
That thing where there's a hot older person living their best life in the background and I frantically look them up on the interwebs to see if they have a book and am usually disappointed that they don't :(
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Hide your wallets, it’s that time again! #TBQsBookDeals
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Historical Romance (MF) | https://amzn.to/3bt6lPG
$0.99 ✦ A Merry Mountain Christmas by Trish Milburn
While vacationing in a small Montana Christmas-themed village, she offers to help out the hero, a local shop owner, and use her marketing skills.
Contemporary Romance (MF) | https://amzn.to/3CCU7jh
$1.99 ✦ Just Like This by Cole McCade
Opposites attract. Art teacher + grouchy football coach.
Contemporary Romance (MM) | https://amzn.to/3GCTOaV
Putting these lists together takes time. If you appreciate this content, please consider buying me a Ko-Fi. http://ko-fi.com/danielletbq
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Reads of 2020: The Good, the Bad, and the Meh
Reflecting on what I read this year, and I thought I’d share my thoughts with you. I noticed that I read a lot of bad or middling books in 2020, and I didn’t read as much as I usually do (I’m guessing it’s because I finished my PhD, moved to a new state, and had a lot of mental health struggles). So, in no particular order, here’s a recap of what I managed to accomplish:
The Good: Books I Loved
Fiction
Piranesi by Susanna Clarke
The Empire of Gold by S. A. Chakraborty
A Choir of Lies by Alexandra Rowland
The Countess Conspiracy by Courtney Milan
After the Wedding by Courtney Milan
The Masqueraders by Georgette Heyer
Unveiled by Courtney Milan
The Governess Affair by Courtney Milan
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
Spin the Dawn by Elizabeth Lim
Poetry
The Unstill Ones by Miller Oberman
Non-Fiction
Hope in the Dark by Rebecca Solnit
Humankind by Rutger Bregman
Bullshit Jobs by David Graeber
The Unidentified by Colin Dickey
Rebel Angels: Sovereignty and Space in Anglo-Saxon England by Jill Fitzgerald
The Professor is In by Karen Kelsky
Utopia for Realists by Rutger Bregman
Borrowed Objects and the Art of Poetry by Denis Ferhatovic
God: A Human History by Reza Aslan
The Meh: Books I Enjoyed, but Am Not Raving About
Fiction
Ring Shout by P. Djèlí Clark
Warbreaker by Brandon Sanderson
A Touch of Stone and Snow by Milla Vane
Lacrimore by SJ Costello
Mirage by Somaiya Daud
Fortune Favors the Wicked by Theresa Romain
Butterfly Swords by Jeannie Lin
Domu: A Child’s Dream by Katsuhiro Otomo
The Sea by Villadsen Rikke
Echo North by Joanna Ruth Meyer
Once Upon a Marquess by Courtney Milan
Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge
The Bourbon Thief by Tiffany Reisz
The Watchmaker of Filigree Street by Natasha Pulley
Unclaimed by Courtney Milan
Talk Sweetly to Me by Courtney Milan
The Heiress Effect by Courtney Milan
The Red Tent by Anita Diamant
The Monster of Elendhaven by Jennifer Giesbrecht
Non-Fiction
The Fall of the Faculty by Benjamin Ginsberg
Know My Name by Chanel Miller
Cranioklepty by Colin Dickey
The Bad: Books that Let Me Down
Fiction
The Cruel Prince by Holly Black
Bride by Mistake by Anne Gracie
Not Quite a Husband by Sherry Thomas
Paladin’s Grace by T. Kingfisher
Unravel the Dusk by Elizabeth Lim
In Search of Scandal by Susanne Lord
The Raven’s Tale by Cat Winters
Wicked Intentions by Elizabeth Hoyt
A Dangerous Invitation by Erica Monroe
Prosper’s Demon by KJ Parker
Death in an Ivory Tower by Maria Hudgins
Gawain by Gwen Rowley
Non-Fiction
So What are You Going to Do With That? by Susan Casalla
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What are your favorite different class romances?
There are maaaaany interclass romances I love, so I'll keep it to a few highlights:
Basically any interclass romances by Elizabeth Hoyt--Thief of Shadows, Duke of Midnight, Dearest Rogue, Duke of Sin, Duke of Pleasure, The Raven Prince, The Leopard Prince, and more come to mind.
Lisa Kleypas's interclass romances--Dreaming of You (Sara isn't a high-ranking lady, but she's definitely more gently bred than Derek), Seduce Me at Sunrise, and Again the Magic, among others.
Joanna Shupe does great ones--The Devil of Downtown and The Prince of Broadway are great.
Lorraine Heath's interclass romances like Between the Devil and Desire, The Duke and The Lady in Red, Beyond Scandal and Desire, and The Scoundrel in Her Bed, among others, are fab.
Any Duchess Will Do by Tessa Dare. Gotta love it!
S.M. LaViolette does a great job. Joss and The Countess, siiiigh I may need to reread ASAP tbh.
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The Leopard Prince. By Elizabeth Hoyt. New York: Forever, 2007.
Rating: 2/5 stars
Genre: historical romance
Part of a Series? Yes, Princes Trilogy #3
Summary: When the devil meets an angel...
Country bred Lucy Craddock-Hayes is content with her quiet life. Until the day she trips over an unconscious man—a naked unconscious an—and loses her innocence forever.
he can take her to heaven...
Viscount Simon Iddesleigh was nearly beaten to death by his enemies. Now he’s hell-bent on vengeance. But as Lucy nurses him back to health, her honesty startles his jaded sensibilities—even as it ignites a desire that threatens to consume them both.
or to hell.
Charmed by Simon’s sly wit, urbane manners, and even his red-heeled shoes, Lucy falls hard and fast for him. Yet as his honor keeps him from ravishing her, his revenge sends his attackers to her door. As Simon wages war on his foes, Lucy wages her own war for his soul using the only weapon she has—her love…
***Full review under the cut.***
Content Warnings: blood, violence, sexual content, rape threat
Overview: I think I’m going to have to put down Elizabeth Hoyt for a while. This is the fourth book of hers I’ve read, and unfortunately, I’ve only enjoyed one of them (The Raven Prince). At first, I thought this book was going well - the premise was fairly intriguing, and I thought Hoyt did a good job crafting our hero, Simon, to be an 18th century rake. As the story progressed, however, I found the relationship dynamic to be fairly uncomfortable, and Lucy, our heroine, is about as interesting as a dishrag. I’m giving this book 2 stars because I truly did see some interesting things in here - I just really wasn’t a fan of the overall romance.
Writing: Hoyt’s prose flows really well and communicates ideas in a straight-forward way. I’d say that it’s about what you would expect out of a romance novel without intending any malice - Hoyt knows her audience, and I think her writing fits in well with the genre.
However, I think Hoyt’s shoe-horning of the fairy tale themes worked just as poorly in The Serpent Prince as in both The Raven Prince and The Leopard Prince. The themes of the tale did not parallel the events of the book as a whole, which made the whole thing feel like a gimmick rather than an integral part of the story. As with the other two novels, I wish Hoyt had done more to make the two narratives parallel one another.
Plot: Most of the plot of this novel revolves around Simon, our hero, tracking down and killing (via duel) the conspirators who were responsible for is brother’s death. To be honest, I thought this aspect of the book was a good one, as it provided a more serious, grave balance to Simon’s otherwise witty, light-hearted attitude. I would have liked to see it more purposefully crafted, though; personally, I didn’t find it particularly suspenseful, mostly because we don’t see Simon planning out his plots or Hoyt focusing on how his inner emotions and turmoil differ from the façade he shows the world. Though I really liked the conflict between Simon’s vengeance and his friendship with Christian Fletcher (whose father was part of the conspiracy), I wanted to see each duel build on the previous one, with Simon becoming more and more intense and obsessive, and to some degree, he does do that, but I think Hoyt could have made the progression seem more deliberate.
I also think that perhaps too much focus on this plot made the pace slow to a crawl after the first 150 pages or so. At this point, Lucy agrees to marry Simon, so the romantic tension for the rest of the book comes in the form of dull moral arguments. Lucy also doesn’t really have her own character arc or plot to compliment Simon’s, so she spends most of her time waiting for him to come home so the two can bang. Her POV isn’t all that interesting, and though she has some sweet moments with Simon’s sister-in-law and niece, they don’t really serve much purpose other than to reveal to Lucy what Simon’s feelings might be.
Characters: Lucy, our heroine, is a country-born lady whose only intriguing personality trait is that she can see through Simon’s facade. At first, I thought I would like her; her dynamic with Simon seemed like it would be good, as she had the ability to see through his blather and wit and render him speechless with her perceptiveness. But the more I read, the more passive she seemed to become. Hoyt tells us that Lucy wants “more” to her life than being a vicar’s wife in a sleepy rural town, but she never really goes out on her own to look for this “more” and doesn’t really specify what this “more” is outside of Simon. Once she and Simon are married, she doesn’t do much; whenever Simon is out dueling, Lucy is either totally accepting (”I understand your reasons”) or moralizing that killing is wrong “because the Bible says so” and “he’ll destroy his soul.” To be honest, I couldn’t see why Simon was in love with her, as she seemed to have no ambitions or motivations, and only serves as a “redeeming” figure for all of Simon’s wrongs.
Simon, for his part, was a tad more interesting. He, at least, had goals and flaws, and was written in a way that really made me believe he was an 18th century rake. For the first 150 pages, his wit and refusal to let people in felt like a great setup, and I was really looking forward to an arc where he learns to share his real emotions with others. Even when the dueling got going in earnest, I thought the conflict between honor and revenge was a good one, and grappling with serious matters while trying to present as a non-serious figure was intriguing. That being said, there were some personality traits of his that I did not like with regards to his relationship with Lucy, but more on that below.
Supporting characters were generally pretty good in this book. I liked the conflict in loyalties that Christian Fletcher had with regards to his family, and I think Lucy’s father and his household staff were written in ways that made them seem like characters out of an 18th century comedy. Female characters were kind and sweet, and even when they weren’t serving much of a purpose, I liked their general air. I even felt sorry for Eustace, the vicar whose marriage proposal Lucy turns down.
Romance: For the life of me, I couldn’t see why Lucy and Simon loved each other. I really couldn’t. It started out promising: Lucy nurses Simon back to health after finding him unconscious in a ditch, and he’s taken with her in part because she can see through his witticisms. I thought this was a fantastic basis on which to start, but unfortunately, it didn’t seem to progress from there. It felt like insta-love: Simon loved Lucy because she was good and moral, and he was self-loathing enough to need someone to idolize and stay with him. But Lucy herself is an uninteresting character with only vague ambitions, and she only seems to love Simon because he’s a larger-that-life character that shakes her out of the country ho-humery. They never really grew as a couple, and even when Simon was emotionally vulnerable with her, she never seemed to be vulnerable back (at least, not in a way that felt mattered because Lucy has no real flaws or tragic past and she’s not hugely hung up on their class differences).
Within the romance itself, Lucy never has an arc of her own. She never really undergoes a transformation; her only flaw, it seems, it that she needs to learn to forgive her husband and see him as imperfect, but nothing in her story shows that she idealizes Simon or sees him as merely a ticket out of the country (which could also have been interesting - a culture shock plot, yeah?). I would have liked her to have a flaw or goal that Simon helps her with so that both characters contribute to the emotional satisfaction and growth in the relationship.
Lucy also never seems to challenge Simon in an interesting way, and most of Simon’s character development within the relationship happens in the last 50 pages or so. Even though Lucy can see through Simon’s wit, she never does anything meaningful to show her husband that he is worth something apart from avenging his brother. Oh sure, she says that she loves Simon for who he is, and they have a lot of life-altering sex (apparently), but most of Lucy’s role in the relationship seems to be that she’s “moral” and “good” and “sexually available,” which Simon interprets as Lucy being a kind of salvific figure. If Lucy had been a witty match for Simon, seeing through him and calling him out in the vein of “you’re not doing this for your brother, you’re doing it for you,” I think it would have been better. But she seems rather passive until near then end, when she does the only thing she can do: storm off in a huff and leave Simon (for all of a day, it seems).
I also think that Simon was way too insistent in bed. To be fair, he is a reformed rake and is utterly obsessed with sex, but that in itself wasn’t the problem (mostly because it felt consistent with portrayals on 18th century rakes in literary fiction). The problem was that it always felt like Simon was putting his sexual needs above Lucy’s emotional ones. He begs to have sex with her even when she doesn’t seem 100% into it (such as when she admits to being sore or hesitant on account of the first time being painful) or at inappropriate moments (such as the scene after Lucy is attacked and stabbed in public and all Simon can think of is “having her”). He begs her to show her body to him and promises not to hurt her, which made me think he was trying to pressure her into having sex more than the two of them deciding to do it together. If Simon’s arc had been more about letting go of his selfishness and putting Lucy’s emotional and sexual satisfaction above his own, I think it could have worked. It would have been consistent with the reformed rake archetype, but as it stands, every sex scene felt like Simon was in control, calling the shots and pressuring Lucy to do things, even when she eventually consents and enjoys the experience.
TL;DR: Despite the intriguing premise of Simon’s story, The Serpent Prince suffers from a passive, uninteresting heroine and uninspired romance, making the novel a rather disappointing conclusion to Hoyt’s Princes series.
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