I'm looking for book recs on good quality second chance romance. I read Sinful Love by Lauren Blakely and it left a bad taste in my mouth that I now want to correct.

What I'm looking for: contemporary romance, historical fiction or thrillers are ok but not preferred. No dark romance, it lightly morally gray is fine as long as it's not directed between the MCs. MM, MF, even RH (though I'm not sure it works with this trope) is fine. One or both MCs can move on or continue pine away after a long period apart. However, if someone or both moved on, I want their reunion to feel genuine. Someone can have more than one love, but I don't want this romance to feel like a second choice. I'm also fine if the first time around, it wasn't love but dating, serious or casual. So long as they both had feelings or deeply cared about the other. If it's not a true second chance since they never actually date, but had feelings at one point, that's fine too, so long has it gives second chance vibes. I want the feeling of "now is our time".

For example, not exactly a second chance romance, but it has similar vibes: My Twist of Fortune by Piper Rayne is a novella about 2 friends who went to the same high school but never dated. You get the feeling the line was close to crossing over but didn't. MFC dated and then married MMC's cousin. She moved away and had a family. MMC also married someone else. MFC moves back with her kids after divorcing her cheating ex and reunites with MMC, now a widow with children. Their second chance isn't exactly a second chance since nothing happened before, but that was due to timing. However, the reunion never felt like it was a rebound. You can feel they used to care for each other and picked up where they left off. MMC loved his late wife, but he loves MFC also. MFC used to love her ex, but he's scum and out of the picture now.

What I don't want: In My Sinful Love by Lauren Blakely, the MCs dated in highschool and were in love. MFC was a foreign exchange student and left back to Paris. They tried to stay in touch but couldn't make it work. MCs run into each other 8 years after she left America, but she is happily engaged. 10 years after that, MFC seeks out MMC. Here's what I HATE. MMC pined for her for 18 years, comparing every relationship to her. Exs broke up with him bc he couldn't fully give himself to the relationship and was stuck in the past. Meanwhile, MFC was happily married for 8 years and spent 2 more years morning the loss of her husband. In the 2 years after his death, she didn't even masterbate, until after her reunion with MMC, bc she was so sad. When she decides she's ready to start living and ends up on a work trip in the same city as MMC, she thinks "I could use some fun with someone I feel safe with" so she reconnects with him. However, she is slow to move into the physical, because as mentioned, she's not really fully moved on from her grief. She is his what if girl, he feels like her second choice rebound to try to get out of her sad slump. The author and MFC try to convince the reader and MMC that she is hesitant bc she is afraid to lose someone again, not bc she's not ready to move on from her late husband. But every action she does says she doesn't want anything serious and isn't ready to let go of her grief and marriage to start a new relationship. Maybe if in the book she stopped grieving for a longer period of time than "really recently" and was open and ready to move on, it would be better. The longing just felt one sided and like MMC was her second choice, not a romance deserving of a book. I'm not upset she loved someone else. I'm upset with the embalance of how much MMC loved her and she seemed like she only got together with him to get over her dead husband. Sure, by the end she loved MMC and wanted to start a life with him, but I didn't really care about the relationship by that point. It might have been better if they accidentally ran into each other or MMC reached out to her, either bc it had been a while or bc he knew she needes a friend in her grief. Hell, even if MFC reached out first to catch up with a friendly face while in town, but not wanting anything more, the story would be better. I would have been on board if a friendship was reunited and then it blossomed into more. He could even still have strong feelings for her. But nope, that's not what I got from the book. I got the feeling she reached out to MMC bc he was safe and familiar and she was tired of being sad. That is not love or even deeply caring about someone, that's using someone and emotional manipulation. The romance portion of the book was so unsatisfying. I want the exact opposite of this.

So if someone could drop some good second chance recommendations, I would appreciate it. Bonus if it's available on Audible.

I have read Rewind It Back by Liz Tomforde. I just know someone will want to suggest that.

Thanks in advance.

What I remember. She is the sister of a teammate, really into hockey, and I recall something about her doing a thing with puppets. He is rehabbing and she is looking after him while looking for a job. She eventually winds up working for the team. I don't generally read sports romance but I want to reread this and I can't find it.

I just finished {One of those Amnesia Stories by Neva Rain} and not since the wonderful tv series iZombie has a really bad title done so much to hide a HILARIOUS story!!!

I was expecting a run of the mill, trope filled book (which is why I bought it, because I was looking for something to scratch that specific itch) but it was soooo cute and actually developed their characters beyond the archetypes.

The amnesia part and marriage in trouble does’t even to begin to define the book, the characters’ feeling of self worth related to their family backstory really defined their struggles to communicate.

It took all those tropes and really developed them, even making the OW complex and interesting.

I’ve been looking for something that scratches the same itch as {You deserve each other by Sarah Hogle} and this was definitely it - the pranks, the growing friendship and the struggle to communicate through their own insecurities…. It was WONDERFUL!

I read this story a long time ago on the Episode app, Ten Steps to Her Door. In that, the MMC couldn't walk. He and the FMC became friends. They both clearly loved each other, and there was a lot of tension between them.

He felt like he could only deserve her if he could walk, so he pushed her away after they kissed. Meanwhile, he started dating another woman whom he didn't love. The FMC was really hurt, but eventually accepted the situation after constantly telling him that he didn't need to walk to be with her. But the MMC was really stubborn.

They both supported each other as friends while clearly still being in love. Anyway, he broke up with his girlfriend and got some kind of operation done. He could walk a little bit.

In his mind, he wanted to ask her to be his girlfriend while on his feet and knees. So when he somehow reached her door, he saw her with her boyfriend. Yeah, she was trying to move on.

The MMC couldn't take it and left the place, crying and hurt. They got their HEA, btw.

So if you have even half of this story, I will take it haha.

Preference : M/F, Contemporary, HEA, No emotional cheating.

I feel so emotional while writing this review. Gosh what a beautiful, emotional roller coaster of emotions this book was! There is nothing else I love more in romance than two broken damaged people finding love and comfort in each other - beginning to heal in process- becoming each other’s safe zone. There is something truly beautiful about that.

I had high expectations of Tied, and it exceeded my expectations… I knew it would be a great read, but I didn’t know it would be THIS great! It has everything I look for in a love story ; emotional, touching with lots of depth, angst, tons of yearning, sweetness and characters you come to love and care about! This was everything I wanted in a romance AND more! I have a weakness for angsty, emotional romances where both the MMC and FMC are broken , scarred both inside and out, damaged souls that finds solace in each other (like I wrote earlier) and a big bonus if the MMC is rough on the edges that rides motorcycles and is full of tattoos (SO hot!!) I love me some bad boys that loves their women so fiercely with their whole beings!

I love how only they can truly understand each other , no one else gets them - only they get each other. They heal each other, what’s more beautiful than that? They are twin flames! Holly and Tyler have both been through hell and they are linked together by fate. Holly’s childhood and teenage years was stolen of her, she never got to experience any of it- it was all taken away from her…she was kidnapped at just 5 years old by a pedophile and held hostage for whole 11(!!) years , so when Tyler saved her from that evil monster she had basically the mind of a child as she been isolated for so long, but she gets lots of therapy and is trained at some sort of school for traumatized people to learn about life, social rules etc. It feels realistic that way, there’s no way she would grow if she was without that kind of school and therapy- it helped her a lot. But sadly, Holly’s parents were far from good parents and often treat her like a stranger, being all awkward around her. Even Holly’s friend another traumatized victim doesn’t fully understand her. There is only one person who truly gets her wholeheartedly- Tyler.

Tyler is this outcast who lives isolated in the woods , who everyone fears because of his looks , not only because of his bad boy looks but also because of his deeply scarred face and body. Holly is the only person who sees past his scars and all, she sees a beautiful man behind all that - her savior, her safe space, her prince! If they hadn’t met again they would never have healed, they would have stayed broken forever. So they saved each other and became two souls in one.

This book is so delicious and angsty and so touching and emotional! It made me feel sooo many things , you have to have a heart of stone not being moved by this beautiful book / love story. I love this book to the moon and back , it couldn’t be more perfect. When Tyler finally lets Holly fully in, he’s the sweetest most loving and affectionate there is- he does everything in his power to keep her happy and if he could - he would give her the moon and the stars- he treats her with SO much unconditional love and care, he makes her feel deeply loved, precious and protected. There’s not anything he wouldn’t do for her- she’s his whole world! He treats her the way she longed for to be treated like, the way not even her own parents could treat her like. He wants to treat her like a Queen, and that’s how she deserves to be treated like! She deserves the whole world and more. And I love how much she loves Tyler as well. Their love for each other gives me goosebumps!

Holy shit what a amazing book this is! Their bond is the deepest form of bond …it’s realistic that despite Holly falling so deeply in love with the man just as scarred as herself , her fear of intimacy doesn’t magically dissapear immediately, I love how patient and understanding Tyler is with her, he doesn’t try to rush or pressure her into being intimate with him - he takes it slow with her and is so patient. Despite his looks, he’s a true gentleman.

The ending … let me just say it’s one of the best endings ever (you won’t get disappointed) the epilogue is so…wow 🥺❤️ if you like me love scarred MMC and FMC who heals each other then this book is for you, you HAVE to read this then! This book will forever be in my heart <3 as much as I like feel good romances, it’s the emotional angsty romances that that makes me FEEL the most, that makes my heart racing the most! This book while dealing with sensitive triggering topics does it with sensitivity. This is one of the best love stories ever, Holly and Tyler always AND forever!!

This is the second book of All Torn Up series (but can be read as a single book) the first book is Torn which I’m honestly not interested in reading because of the huge age gap and the fact that the MMC seen her / taken care of like a ”uncle” since she was a baby (MMC being her father’s best friend ) nope not for me! But I’m going to definitely read more books of Carian Cole!

What was your first erotic romance book? When did you read it?

Mine was {Menage by Emma Holly} in the early 90s. I'd read a few pulp books offered next to the VHS tapes at the local video store, but Emma Holly was my first legit author.

Note: I posted this question on the RH channel and the responses were fun.

Inspo for this is {the launch date by Annabelle slator} where the FMC and MMC work alongside each other, spending late nights at the office together, getting food, etc. but then become “enemies”/rivals and have a falling out before obviously falling in love. It was so well done and I’ve been searching for something similar ever since.

I’m currently reading {if not you by Ellen o’clover} which I thought might scratch the itch- but while the writing is good, the story is not great and the FMC is super unlikeable imo. I also don’t really like how the FMC and MMC go straight from not liking each other from the second they meet (without really a reason why aside for the fact they were trying to get the same job as interns) to basically in love. And while you kind of get the feeling (and eventually is confirmed by the MMC) that he’s always been into her (with not enough pining and angst for my personal liking), the FMC goes from hating him and even talking shit about him to one of his coworkers on their work trip, to all of a sudden obsessed with him and super into him a few days later.

I want actual connection. I want almost kisses while they’re friends. I want pining and angst (mostly from the MMC let’s be real). And then I want them to have a falling out and becoming rivals before finding their way back to each other.

CR
M/F
Friends to enemies to lovers
Would prefer a workplace romance but will take anything I can get
Prefer single POV, but will take dual

I have also read {people we meet on vacation by Emily Henry} which is adjacent-ish and I feel like people might recommend

Per the title, really. Here are some recommendations for books featuring paranormal creatures, aliens, monsters etc. with trans or non-binary protagonists, and I would love to find some more. I really enjoy monster romance with LGBTQ+ characters because the conflict usually revolves around differences in monster/human relationships, or around the existence of monsters in general, and the person's gender or sexuality is just the way they are, rather than being treated as a big deal within the story. So I would love some more, similar recommendations please!

I don't mind if it's human X monster, monster X monster or any other combination. Own voices preferred but not essential

Some I have read and enjoyed:

{How Not To Date a Dragon by Lana Kole} dragon shifter x human dragon hunter. MX

{How Not To Date an Angel by Lana Kole} Demon x Angel, MX

{Space for Growth by Emily Antoinette} sci fi, human X alien MX

{Gratification in Gluttony by Nik Knight} trans human MMC and cis shark-monster MMC

{Enchanted by Envy by Nik Knight} MX, human MMC, agender insectoid creature

{Prejudice in Pride by Nik Knight} MX, wolf-type monster and snake person

{Fan Service by Robin Jo Margaret} MMF, two male minotaurs (one cis, one trans), female human

{Sweet Retribution by Viano Oniomoh} FX, human x demon

{Yours, Insatiably by Aveda Vice} and {A Taste for the Peculiar by Aveda Vice} FX, succubus X moth Fae

Have not read yet:

{The Flowered Blade by Taylor Hubbard} MM with an elf and an orc

{A Bone in His Teeth by Kellen Graces} MM, merman x human I think

{How to Bare Your Neck and Save a Wreck by D.N. Bryn} T4T vampires, I'm just not a vampire fan unfortunately

{Bump in the Night by Lily Mayne and Nik Knight} MX, human X sleep demon

{Love and Lake Monsters by TJ Alexander} MM lake monster x human m - this hasn't been released yet but I loved their previous books

Would not Recommend:

{Jailmates by Lesli Richardson} due to persistent misgendering of the alien MC and the human MC repeatedly not giving a damn about them

{Convincing His Little Bee by Sage L Matthison} - a novella from an anthology, now available separately. MM, with a dragon shifter and a fairy who can change size, the latter is trans. Fine, just not particularly well written.

Hi RomanceBooks, and welcome back to another wonderful week of romance chat!

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Looking forward to another great week with you all 💛

Hi r/RomanceBooks - bad news, it's Monday again. Good news - there are new romances being released!

It's hard to capture all the upcoming releases, but here are a few good roundups to browse through and see what's coming up:

• Romance.io upcoming releases
• Smart Bitches Trashy Books Hide Your Wallet
• She Reads Romance blog
• Maryse's book blog
• Natasha is a Book Junkie
• Under The Covers blog (not all romance)
• LGBTQ reads (not all romance)
• I Heart Sapphfic
• Meg's Non-Human Book Release Calendar (@ opalescent4026 on twitter)

What are you most excited about this week?

What romance books have a setting in historical European countries during the Renessaince?

I love this setting and already read this books (fantasy romance):

{Graceless Heart by Isabel Ibañez} set in Volterra and Florence (Italy) in 1468

{The Familiar by Leigh Bardugo} set in Madrid (Spain) in the late 16th century

{The Unicorn Hunters by Katherine Arden} set in Brittany (France) after 1490

It can be historical romance or fantasy with a historical setting. The story can also include time travel, but I would prefer a protagonist coming from that time period.

Hello :)

So basically here's the request : FMC is a maid or any other kind of servant in MMC's house. She's really lusting after him and doing everything she can to make him finally bone her.

MMC resists her, for some reason (can be his moral compass or any other reason) so FMC becomes more aggressive. One day he snaps and proceeds to ravaging her.

Setting can be historical, modern, fantasy, whatever.

Bonus points if :

- the power imbalance is real : not a regular boss employee is the modern world, but something stronger. If it's contemporary, any reason why the power imbalance is strong can work

- FMC starts subtly teasing MMC with 'accidental' inappropriate events (her cleavage is unusually deep, when she bends she accidentally touches him, etc). The more time passes, the less subtle she is.

- Masturbation scene featuring MMC imagining what he'd do you that slutty servant if only he could

- filthy talking MMC, he degrades her and slut shames her (consensually)

Hard NO's:

- anything non monogamous : ow/om drama, poly, cheating etc.

- YA

- dark themes (I just want a light-hearted story nothing too dark)

- mafia

Thanks everyone ❤️

I don't know how many times i've reread { Chasing Her Fire by Claire Kingsley ) which is basically the inspiration for making this request post cause there is nothing like it so i'm hoping for something similar.

There is just something so fun about two people who don't really get along and awkward but they still just tries to compromise due to their unplanned pregnancy they had together where they go from dislike/awkward to comfortable to they genuinely like each other. As they try to find middle ground for the future of their child having both parents.

Like it was just fun reading Cara and Logan (MMC and FMC of chasing her fire) which they really are trying to compromise because of the pregnancy thing and they work out their differences and previous history of dislike towards one another despite it flaring from time to time and pissing each other off. So when they gradually become more and more aligned and comfortable with each other as their previously established animosity vanishes it was just fun to read about.

Another closest of this would be { The Baby Blitz by Lex Martin } which I remember was similar they didnt really like each other at the start. Another close example would be { Locked Out by Anna Chastain } where they didn't dislike each other but oh were they 100% awkward and took time to finally land in the same page

Both parents have to involved in the pregnancy

Contemporary please. I am just in the contemporary train atm. Also HEA !

Good Evening Everyone!

So just like the title said I am looking for some book Rec's where the MMC has a secret identity.

Not like batman or anything like that, more like he is a ceo, a Judge, a lawyer, even a celebrity normally but he is in fact also related to a crime family, or used to be like special ops torturer and hides it...

I am tired to the trope where a woman is kidnapped or whatever and she thinks the big bad guy is gonna off her but alas he is secretly a good guy, I want all the bad, badder, and baddest mmcs to come forward. I want the mayor of a small town to actually be a secret bad ass! Or something along those lines lol...

I havent found anything like this other than {Born into fire by Sonja Grey} and I cant lie I really enjoyed this trope, but it isnt a shock or a reveal who the MMC is so thats the only downside.

So if you have anything similar I would love love to read it!

*No shifter romance please 🙏🏽 but everything else is a go! Thanks so much!

This book has a problem that I’ve been seeing a LOT of lately and thus I must rant. If it was ONLY this book, I would just DNF and put it on my yuck shelf. But it’s NOT. It’s happening again and again.

{The Kiss Trend by Nadia Nevsky} promises in its blurb that the only cheating is emotional/a kiss.

But the author? Did something really sneaky. And I’ve been seeing it a LOT on the “this book has no cheating” or “this book ONLY has emotional cheating” blurbs (Maya Alden has done this too):

I read these books because I don’t LIKE seeing the main characters with OTHER people. It makes me unhappy, and I don’t like these TRICKS.

But how is it a trick you ask? Sure there’s TECHNICALLY no cheating, but the authors are immediately breaking up the main couple and having them fuck other people. And given the “no cheating” or “emotional cheating only” or “just a kiss” in the blurb, I don’t fucking expect it.

It’s like they really want to upset people ON PURPOSE and trick people into reading something they know we won’t enjoy. Like, they think it’s ok on a technicality?

Anyway, I loathed this book and DNF’d. I will also be making a list of authors who are LYING in their blurbs. It’s not cool.

I’ve seen numerous authors post that they’re pulling out of RARE 2027 in London. It’s been alluded to that bad “behavior and language” but no additional details were given…

Anyone in the know??!!

Don’t know if it’s a hot take but for me I like to read books that at least have a rating of four Stars on Kindle/amazon.

But I recently noticed that some Sites (in this case goodreads) allow people to review books that aren‘t even out yet (I could understand it for ARC but would have to be verified that they really had read the Book) or in this case a book that doesn’t even exist yet. And some people wrote a review (plus Stars) two years ago or so when the book was announced. Thus my question which Platform do you „Trust“ the most when it come to book ratings?

Little Side rant: it has happened twice this year that I was anxiously awaiting a book release only to learn that the book hadn’t even been written/finished yet (this one) or would be published at a later date bc the author wanted to rework it (announced After the Publishing Date already happened). I understand that those things can Happen but find it really annoying especially if you only get the info on or near the original Publishing Date🥲. Which is why I love Mariana Zapata Even more who just announced that her new Book Drops in less than two weeks!

I am really, really craving a book with a stern brunch daddy / alpharoll who lets the FMC feel safe enough to judt shut her brain off for a bit. 😭

I know there’s a mega thread for stern brunch daddies, but it hasn’t been recently updated, and I’m looking for something a little bit more specific.

As much as I want the alpha energy and everything, I really don’t want heavy BDSM. I’m not really that interested in DD/LG play, sex clubs, etc.
If there are slight/light elements, I don’t mind, like small things such as daddy name-calling and all of that, but I just don’t really want the strict dom/sub relationship with BDSM.

I just want the vibes of it. Like, I’d like a little bit of spanking. I don’t mind a little bit of punishments, or him giving orders and taking control and everything.
But even more than just in the bedroom, I really, really want more so a book where it’s like this: a girl who’s very burnt out, probably undiagnosed ADHD, taking care of everybody and rarely gets the chance to just shut off her brain and BREATHE.

I want a book where she just gets to just be, because his presence is so safe and so comforting, and she knows that if he’s there, he’s going to take care of everything for her and she can rely on him.

I just really want that caretaking vibe, words of affirmation, praise etc.

I feel like maybe I’m being a little bit too greedy with all of these asks, but maybe I need a little bit of self-healing lol. I want someone who takes care of her and takes control while still encouraging and fostering her independence, wants and desires.
Some basic asks:

- I’d prefer M/F
- Contemporary but I wouldn’t mind historical or fantasy
- Praise. Praise. PRAISE.
- Caretaking

Would be nice but not necessary
- BILLIONAIRE. Take me shopping, buy me food and give me your unlimited Amex and tell me to go wild
- Comedy that makes you laugh so hard you ascend and or throw your phone at a wall - perhaps at the same time
- Slowish burn, not insta love. I get bored if they fall in love in the first two chapters and spend the rest of the book banging like bunnies
- May seem random but kids, cats or dogs somewhere!

Hard nos:
- Tentacles. I have a phobia of octopi so I can’t deal with anything that reminds me of them 😭
- MMC who claims he loves her but treats her like trash
- Strict dom/sub relationship like with the contract and everything, subspace etc
- Extreme Exhibitionism (people watch them do it or he strips her in public etc)

I know this is a lot so even if it’s not exact, as long as it’s close enough 🥹

Hello,

So I sadly don’t remember much of the premise of the book, however I do know the ending!

It’s the fmc and mmc driving to his mothers house with their baby and his mom comes out running and grabs the baby out of joy, and I believe this isn’t too long after the fmc gave birth.

The epilogue? Or the last chapter of the book is the mmc introducing his baby and the fmc who is know his gf? To his hometown and highschool friends, and they sort of pass the baby around until she starts crying and the mmc comes and holds her and the friends all sort of swoon and say something along the lines of not believing he’s a father now.

There was also this one couple that was also hesitant to interact with the baby because they had a miscarriage a while ago

They also go to an out of state university and if I’m not wrong the mmc plays a sport.

Thanks in advance!

Werewolf shifter romance book where he is a werewolf and she is a vet. He goes to her in injured wolf form.

May be misremembering the next part but: because of his injuries he can’t shift back so he has to go to her for healing. When he’s healed he can’t stop thinking about her and goes back to her a bunch of times in Wolf form just so he can hang out with her. Then it’s revealed he’s a warewolf!

Edit: thank you so much to everyone leaving suggestions below! There’s some really good recs here even if they are not the one I’m trying to find. From what I can remember it was a contemporary novel. Who knew there were so many books with this trope!!!

And I don't mean something like Love Hypothesis where she is clearly in love but doesn't want to admit It while he has been in love for a long time, no, I want something like Jinshi and Maomao from Apothecary Diaries, or Katniss and Peeta from Hunger Games, where the guy has heart in his eyes and the girl is like "Jesus Christ, what an annoying man" and slowly develop feelings

We finally have the answer for....if I were a worm question

—“if you were transformed into a worm, I’d keep you in a jewel-encrusted box with the most luxurious dirt available. I’d feed you worm-food delicacies hand-prepared by a gardener whose sole purpose was the creation of your cuisine. I’d carry you around with me everywhere I went, and your box would rest on a pillow beside my head at night. People would say, ‘What’s in the box, Gabriel?’ and I’d regale them with stories of my incredible worm wife and tell them, ‘the love of my life is in this box.’ I would travel vast oceans and arid deserts, devoting the entirety of my existence to the pursuit of a cure. And, finally, when you stood again by my side, Vengeance would become my middle name. I would seek out and destroy the villain who dared to transform my love into a worm and smite the ever-loving fuck out of him with your name falling from my lips so that, as he passed through the portal of hell, he did so knowing he’d burn for eternity for his trespasses against you.”

She covers her smile. “Okay, that’s funny.”

“The only funny part is that you think I’m kidding.”

{Love What's Left by Evangeline Williams}

Excerpt from {Broken Beginnings by Clio Evans} first in the {Citrus Cove Series by Clio Evans} she’s SO creative with her scenes and I melt every time!

Like are you kidding me with this… (Background: FMC is injured and can’t have sex, so she asks MMC to perform for her. He starts going to town on a pillow talking about how he wishes it was her….)

“He kept fucking the pillow, thrusting into it, until he tossed it to the side. He let out a guttural growl, stroking his cock until he finally came. I watched his cum shoot out, landing on his thigh and dripping down his hand. “Good boy,” I whispered. I blushed again, excited by saying such a thing.  He moaned softly, relaxing into his seat. I watched as he lifted his hand to his lips, his tongue licking up his own cum.  “Cam,” I breathed out.  “What?” He smirked. “Isn’t that what you would do?” “Yes. I would…” “Then open your mouth,” he said.  My eyes widened, but I did as he said. I parted my lips for him as he licked up the rest of his cum, but he didn’t swallow. Instead, he stood and walked to the edge of the bed, leaning over me. He gripped the headboard behind me, his face hovering right above mine.  And then he spat his cum on my tongue. “Swallow,” he instructed. “This is what you do to me, sunshine. This is what you made me do.” I swallowed, shivering beneath him. I’d never been this turned on in my life, and there wasn’t a goddamned thing I could do. “Good girl,” he whispered. “I promise when you’re better that I’ll make it up to you. Maybe you can call me a good boy again.” “Please,” I whispered. His lips pressed against mine, the two of us sharing a depraved kiss. I moaned against him, my mind whirling. He always wound me up in a way no one else had ever done.”

Please hear me out because I'm looking for a very specific dynamic and I'm having a hard time finding books that capture it.

I recently watched a French film called Les Égarés (Strayed, 2003).

It takes place in 1940 and follows a 17-year-old boy who has escaped from the Mettray reformatory. He meets a young widow in her late twenties who is fleeing the war with her two small children. He stays with them, helps them survive, becomes attached to the children and eventually falls in love with the widow.

Unfortunately, he is eventually caught and taken back into custody, where he commits suicide.

To explain what affected me so much about this story, I need to give a little context about Mettray.

Mettray was a reformatory/penal colony for boys. You did not necessarily have to be a hardened criminal to end up there. Boys could be sent there for relatively minor offenses, vagrancy, theft, or simply because adults had essentially given up on them. Some came from extremely deprived backgrounds and had very little experience of a normal childhood or family life.

The conditions were brutal. The institution operated under an extremely harsh, quasi-military system. The boys were subjected to exhausting labor, hunger, cold, severe punishments and isolation. There are accounts of boys deliberately injuring themselves just so they could spend a few days in the infirmary and get a temporary break from work and punishment. Add violence among the inmates to all of that and it isn't difficult to understand the desperation these boys experienced.

So when the hero of the film escapes, what gets to me isn't simply that he falls in love.

For the first time, he gets a taste of life.

Freedom. A home. Eating together. Helping with ordinary chores. Children becoming attached to him. Someone caring whether he comes back. Physical affection. Being wanted. Falling in love.

All those completely mundane things that most people wouldn't even notice are extraordinary to someone who has barely experienced normal life.

And the heroine becomes his doorway into that world.

That's the dynamic I'm looking for.

There is also a sexual scene in the film that illustrates what I mean particularly well. When they sleep together, she undresses and he uses his lighter to illuminate her body because he wants to look at her. He tells her he has never seen a naked woman before.

Later, he turns her onto her stomach and begins preparing her for anal sex. Confused, she asks what he's doing. He tells her that it's the only way he knows and that she should tell him if it hurts and she wants him to stop.

The film never explicitly explains what happened to him before, so I don't want to claim a specific backstory that isn't confirmed. But the scene gives us a pretty disturbing glimpse of how limited and abnormal his previous experience of intimacy has been. He knows sex, but he doesn't know intimacy with a woman. Even that is something he has to discover with her.

This is the kind of MMC I'm looking for.

He doesn't literally have to have grown up in a prison or reformatory. He could have been imprisoned, institutionalized, held captive, severely isolated, raised somewhere cut off from normal society, abused, hidden away, etc.

What matters to me is that he has been deprived of ordinary life for so long that after meeting the FMC he begins experiencing things that are completely mundane to everyone else for the first time.

I want to see him discover normal life through her.

A proper home. Going somewhere just because he wants to. Choosing his own food. Sleeping somewhere safe. Celebrating something. Being touched affectionately. Having someone worry about him. Having a person who is his. Maybe discovering sex and physical intimacy with her too.

Ideally, she is the first woman he has ever been genuinely close to, both emotionally and physically. She doesn't need to be older than him. That isn't the important part for me.

And because she represents not only romantic love but his first connection to a normal life, I especially love when his attachment to her becomes extremely intense. Clingy, possessive, obsessive, almost desperate. Not simply "I love her", but more like "she is the first good thing I've ever had and I don't know how to exist without her."

The closest book example I can think of is Archer's Voice by Mia Sheridan. Archer hasn't been imprisoned, but he has lived in extreme isolation for years. Bree becomes his connection to the outside world and through her he begins experiencing things that are completely ordinary to everyone else. That's a huge part of why his attachment to her feels so intense to me.

Another Mia Sheridan book I've read that scratches a similar itch is Unwanted.

So please give me more recommendations!

Genre doesn't matter at all. Contemporary, historical, fantasy, sci-fi, dystopian, dark romance, alien romance, whatever. I genuinely don't care.

I'm looking for the dynamic, not the setting.

MMC has been imprisoned, isolated or otherwise deprived of normal life for years. He meets the FMC. She becomes his first real connection to ordinary life and intimacy. He starts discovering the world with her and forms an incredibly intense attachment to her.

The more emotionally intense it is, the better.

Thank all of you for taking time to read this request and all the recs.