
Bookedhopelessromntc started reading...
25w

A Dance with the Fae Prince
Elise Kova
She knew her hand in marriage would be sold. She had no idea a fae prince was the buyer. Katria swore she'd never fall in love. She's seen what "love" means through the cruelty of her family. So when she's married off to the mysterious Lord Fenwood for a handsome price, all Katria wants is a better life than the one she's leaving. Feelings are off the table. But her new husband makes not falling in love difficult. As their attraction begins to grow, so too do the oddities within her new life: strange rules, screams in the night, and attacks by fae that Katria never thought were real. When she witnesses a ritual not meant for human eyes, Katria finds herself spirited away to the land of Midscape. Surviving the fae wilds as a human is hard enough. Katria must survive as a human who accidently pilfered the magic of ancient kings - magic a bloodthirsty king is ready to kill her for in order to keep his stolen throne - and her new husband is the rightful heir in hiding. The power to save the fae is in her hands. But who will save her from a love she vowed never to feel? A Dance with the Fae Prince is a complete, stand-alone novel, inspired by the tales of Psyche and Eros, as well as Cinderella, with a "happily ever after" ending. It's perfect for fantasy romance fans looking for just the right amount of steam and their next slow-burn and swoon-worthy couple.

Bookedhopelessromntc commented...
25w
Check out author D. J. Russo and her Femme Fatale Monster Romance books! 📚💚
I love a supernatural romance, but usually when I see a F/M human x monster/creature/beast/supernatural being pairing, the monster is almost always the MMC!!! I mean no disrespect to all the human girl x 100 y/o fae, 100 y/o vampire, angel, werewolf, demon, fish-man etc etc. I have read and loved many, and I know there are 500 beauty and the beast retellings for a reason.
But I want to see a man pining over a terrifying woman!!! I want a reversal of the usual situation where the FMC falls for the man because of or in spite of his monstrosity, and the MMC learns to accept/feel deserving of love.
I don’t mean situations where the FMC is only supernatural in a hot way (i.e. the little mermaid where she’s pretty and non-threatening throughout). I do have a soft spot for when the MMC is supernatural but the human FMC is objectively scarier, but that’s not exactly what I mean either.
I will also accept queer recs with monster girls or trans/nonbinary folks, though I have a few of those already (Ex. Someone You Can Build a Nest In (sapphic)).
So please, give me your favorite scary/monstrous girls! I am BEGGING someone to come in here and say, “Oh what a terrible oversight, here are 10 recs that do this exact thing!” If I get enough maybe I’ll make a list. 🙏
I’ll add the few recs I have so far in the comments.

Bookedhopelessromntc started reading...
40w

Unwrap Him
Nyla K.
'Twas the night before Christmas. A secret was looming. The lust in my heart had become too consuming. Make no mistake, no blood do we share, But my guardian was the man whose cross I did bear. With his icy coal eyes, and peppermint lips, Under mistletoe I stood, no chance to resist. For it was on none other than this cold silent night, That I gave into wrong, and it felt so damn right. ** Unwrap Him is a guardian/ward MM novella, previously part of the Twisted Christmas Anthology. It contains taboo themes and an age gap. Please proceed with caution. **

Bookedhopelessromntc TBR'd a book
43w

If It Makes You Happy
Julie Olivia
My new next-door neighbor seems to have everything figured out. Small town golden boy? Check. Single dad extraordinaire? Check. Hot baker forearms? I didn’t notice them, I swear. I, on the other hand, don’t–at all–have anything figured out. Trust me, I didn’t think taking over my mom’s dream bed and breakfast in Copper Run Vermont was going to be easy. It should be a good place to heal after my divorce. But apparently my scones belong in the garbage with my small talk skills. As pointed out by none other than Cliff. Cliff is inescapable. He knows exactly what people need–always. His charm, the way he wears flannel, and even his pastries, make not wanting to be friends with Cliff and his daughters pretty hard. Friends? I can make friends. That’s safe. Except I’m leaving in three months to pass the inn off to my little sister and get the promotion in Seattle I’ve been working towards. So ask me why I’m thinking about kissing my hot neighbor.

Bookedhopelessromntc TBR'd a book
43w

The Everlasting
Alix E. Harrow
From Alix E. Harrow, the New York Times bestselling author of Starling House, comes a moving and genre-defying quest about the lady-knight whose legend built a nation, and the cowardly historian sent back through time to make sure she plays her part–even if it breaks his heart. Sir Una Everlasting was Dominion’s greatest hero: the orphaned girl who became a knight, who died for queen and country. Her legend lives on in songs and stories, in children’s books and recruiting posters—but her life as it truly happened has been forgotten. Centuries later, Owen Mallory—failed soldier, struggling scholar—falls in love with the tale of Una Everlasting. Her story takes him to war, to the archives—and then into the past itself. Una and Owen are tangled together in time, bound to retell the same story over and over again, no matter what it costs. But that story always ends the same way. If they want to rewrite Una’s legend—if they want to tell a different story--they’ll have to rewrite history itself.

Bookedhopelessromntc TBR'd a book
43w

Good Spirits
B.K. Borison
“Good Spirits is an absolute knockout. A new Borison book feels like coming home in the best way. She's truly in a league of her own.” — Hannah Grace, New York Times bestselling author of Icebreaker The USA Today bestselling author of Business Casual, B.K. Borison is back with a whimsical new holiday romance—this time with a magical twist—that will have everyone falling in love with the Ghost of Christmas Past. He’s the Ghost of Christmas Past. She’s not exactly Scrooge. Ghost of Christmas Past Nolan Callahan intends to spend this holiday haunting like every other—get in, get out, return to his otherwise aimless existence as a ghost awaiting the afterlife. But when he’s faced with Harriet York, the sweetest assignment he’s ever had, he suddenly finds himself wishing for a future. Harriet York has no idea why she’s being haunted. She’s a good person—or, at least, she tries to be. A people pleaser to her core, she always does what’s expected of her. But as she and Nolan begin to examine her past, they discover there are threads that bind them together— and realize there might be more to moving on than expected. With the deadline of Christmas Eve fast approaching, will they find the key to their futures in each other’s pasts? Or will they stay firmly in the present, indulging in their unexpected, spirited connection? Filled with magic, mayhem, and cozy holiday charm, this swoony romance is B.K. Borison’s best yet!

I can't believe this series is over! I am going to miss the characters in this world, but I'm glad Fortuna finally gets the break that she needs.
Fortuna's character development, in my opinion, felt realistic. Progress is not always linear and no one is perfect.
Throughout the series, we see the battle within herself when it came to using her powers as a Nightmare. Wielding her ability to use another's fear to achieve her her motivations--from rescuing her brother, wading through the Unseelie faeries she despised, but was reluctantly committed to as queen, and protecting her loved ones. We see this each time she remembers Collith telling her to choose mercy.
The tears were flowing towards the the last quarter of Violent Awakening, I had to get up and get tissues! The found family aspect in this series was strongly written and I love how Fortuna was so welcoming with arms wide open with "collecting her strays," as Laurie called it.
I was so proud of how she handled the last chapters when it came to her romantic relationships (no spoilers).
The plot twists and reveals even Fortuna didn't see coming were simply excellent, especially the callbacks from the previous books and how they ended up tied to this finale.


Bookedhopelessromntc started reading...
44w

Endless Terrors (Fortuna Sworn, #5)
K.J. Sutton
Every child had a monster in their closet. Not every child opened the door and slaughtered it. To protect the ones she loves, Fortuna has left behind everything familiar and dear. She can't let down her guard. She can't rest. She can't stop moving. Not if she doesn't want her ever-growing abilities to be used as a catalyst for a monster's entrance into the world. After everything she's been through, Fortuna thought she knew death. She believed herself well-acquainted with betrayal. Then, in her determination to keep surviving, she stumbles upon one more secret. One more answer to a question she’s been asking for over a decade. One more truth that might actually succeed in completely shattering her.

Bookedhopelessromntc finished a book
44w

This Could Be Us
Kennedy Ryan
Soledad Barnes has her life all planned out. Because, of course, she does. She plans everything. She designs everything. She fixes everything. She’s a domestic goddess who's never met a party she couldn't host or a charge she couldn't lead. The one with all the answers and the perfect vinaigrette for that summer salad. But none of her varied talents can save her when catastrophe strikes, and the life she built with the man who was supposed to be her forever, goes poof in a cloud of betrayal and disillusion. But there is no time to pout or sulk, or even grieve the life she lost. She's too busy keeping a roof over her daughters' heads and food on the table. And in the process of saving them all, Soledad rediscovers herself. From the ashes of a life burned to the ground, something bold and new can rise. But then an unlikely man enters the picture—the forbidden one, the one she shouldn't want but can't seem to resist. She's lost it all before and refuses to repeat her mistakes. Can she trust him? Can she trust herself? After all she's lost . . .and found . . .can she be brave enough to make room for what could be?


Bookedhopelessromntc started reading...
44w

This Could Be Us
Kennedy Ryan
Soledad Barnes has her life all planned out. Because, of course, she does. She plans everything. She designs everything. She fixes everything. She’s a domestic goddess who's never met a party she couldn't host or a charge she couldn't lead. The one with all the answers and the perfect vinaigrette for that summer salad. But none of her varied talents can save her when catastrophe strikes, and the life she built with the man who was supposed to be her forever, goes poof in a cloud of betrayal and disillusion. But there is no time to pout or sulk, or even grieve the life she lost. She's too busy keeping a roof over her daughters' heads and food on the table. And in the process of saving them all, Soledad rediscovers herself. From the ashes of a life burned to the ground, something bold and new can rise. But then an unlikely man enters the picture—the forbidden one, the one she shouldn't want but can't seem to resist. She's lost it all before and refuses to repeat her mistakes. Can she trust him? Can she trust herself? After all she's lost . . .and found . . .can she be brave enough to make room for what could be?
Mate (Bride, #2)
Ali Hazelwood
Ok Serena and Koen’s banter is so delicious.

Bookedhopelessromntc finished a book
44w

The Paradise Problem
Christina Lauren
Christina Lauren, returns with a delicious new romance between the buttoned-up heir of a grocery chain and his free-spirited artist ex as they fake their relationship in order to receive a massive inheritance. Anna Green thought she was marrying Liam “West” Weston for access to subsidized family housing while at UCLA. She also thought she’d signed divorce papers when the graduation caps were tossed, and they both went on their merry ways. Three years later, Anna is a starving artist living paycheck to paycheck while West is a Stanford professor. He may be one of four heirs to the Weston Foods conglomerate, but he has little interest in working for the heartless corporation his family built from the ground up. He is interested, however, in his one-hundred-million-dollar inheritance. There’s just one catch. Due to an antiquated clause in his grandfather’s will, Liam won’t see a penny until he’s been happily married for five years. Just when Liam thinks he’s in the home stretch, pressure mounts from his family to see this mysterious spouse, and he has no choice but to turn to the one person he’s afraid to introduce to his one-percenter parents—his unpolished, not-so-ex-wife. But in the presence of his family, Liam’s fears quickly shift from whether the feisty, foul-mouthed, paint-splattered Anna can play the part to whether the toxic world of wealth will corrupt someone as pure of heart as his surprisingly grounded and loyal wife. Liam will have to ask himself if the price tag on his flimsy cover story is worth losing true love that sprouted from a lie.

Bookedhopelessromntc finished a book
45w

Beasts of War
Ayana Gray
In this epic conclusion to her New York Times bestselling series, Ayana Gray delivers a heart-pounding fantasy adventure filled with mythos, monsters, and mortal heroes who are astoundingly human. Once a prisoner to Fedu, the vengeful god of death, Koffi has regained her freedom, but she is far from safe. Fedu will stop at nothing to hunt her down and use her power to decimate the mortal world. Koffi knows when Fedu will during the next Bonding, a once-in-a-lifetime celestial event. To survive, Koffi will have to find powerful new allies quickly, and convince them to help her in the terrible battle to come. Once a warrior-turned-runaway, Ekon has carved out a new life for himself outside Lkossa, but the shadows of his past still haunt him. Now, alongside unexpected friends, Ekon tries to focus on getting Koffi to the Kusonga Plains before the next Bonding. If he fails, Koffi will be consumed, either by her own dangerous power, or the terrible fate Ekon is doing everything he can to prevent. Ekon devotes himself to protecting Koffi, but the lingering threats from his own past are more urgent than he knows. As Koffi and Ekon race to the Kusonga Plains—and try to garner the help of Eshōza’s ancient gods along the way—they must face a slew of dangerous beasts old and new. In the end, destiny may unite Koffi and Ekon for the last time—or tear them apart for good.

Bookedhopelessromntc finished a book
46w

Alchemised
SenLinYu
In this riveting dark fantasy debut, a woman with missing memories fights to survive a war-torn world of necromancy and alchemy—and the man tasked with unearthing the deepest secrets of her past. “What is it you think you’re protecting in that brain of yours? The war is over. Holdfast is dead. The Eternal Flame extinguished. There’s no one left for you to save.” Once a promising alchemist, Helena Marino is now a prisoner—of war and of her own mind. Her Resistance friends and allies have been brutally murdered, her abilities suppressed, and the world she knew destroyed. In the aftermath of a long war, Paladia’s new ruling class of corrupt guild families and depraved necromancers, whose vile undead creatures helped bring about their victory, holds Helena captive. According to Resistance records, she was a healer of little importance within their ranks. But Helena has inexplicable memory loss of the months leading up to her capture, making her enemies wonder: Is she truly as insignificant as she appears, or are her lost memories hiding some vital piece of the Resistance’s final gambit? To uncover the memories buried deep within her mind, Helena is sent to the High Reeve, one of the most powerful and ruthless necromancers in this new world. Trapped on his crumbling estate, Helena’s fight—to protect her lost history and to preserve the last remaining shreds of her former self—is just beginning. For her prison and captor have secrets of their own . . . secrets Helena must unearth, whatever the cost.

Bookedhopelessromntc finished a book
46w

Mate
Ali Hazelwood
A Human hybrid and an Alpha Were claw against the bonds of fate in the highly anticipated companion novel to the New York Times bestselling Bride. Serena Paris is orphaned, pack-less, and one of a kind. Coming forward as the first Human-Were hybrid was supposed to heal a centuries-long rift between species. Instead, it made her a target, prey to the ruthless political machinations between Weres, Vampyres, and Humans. With her enemies closing in on her, she has only one option left—if he’ll have her. As Alpha of the Northwest pack, Koen Alexander commands obedience. His authority is so absolute, only a fool would threaten his mate. It doesn’t matter if Serena doesn’t reciprocate his feelings, nothing will stop him from keeping her safe. But power-hungry Vampyres and Weres are not the only threats chasing Serena. Sooner or later, her past is bound to catch up with her—and Koen might be the only thing standing between her and total annihilation…

Crime and Punishment
Fyodor Dostoevsky
Crime and Punishment
Fyodor Dostoevsky
I like how Luzhin is the classic red-flag guy who wants a "traditional woman" as his wife, yet pursues strong-willed women. He goes after Dunya only because he thinks her destitution will make her a submissive wife to him.
It’s also interesting how opposite Luzhin and Razumikhin are as Dunya’s love interests. Luzhin seeks Dunya as her benefactor, while Razumikhin embodies the more stereotypical “love-at-first-sight” kind of guy.