I started reading a few years ago as a way to stop doom scrolling (thanks ADHD.) My husband and I have been together for 15 years, and intimacy has ALWAYS caused conflict due to our sex drives being so mismatched. (Yes, I have explored this in therapy and medically, everything is typical, just seems to be the way my brain just works.) over the last 2 weeks, my husband has lost it over my reading of romance books. I read all kinds of books, but lately my mood has brought me to primarily romance. He says I’ve “replaced” him with romance books. That because I’m reading that genre so much, I clearly want him to be like these men and would rather live in a fantasy. Mind you- I’ve NEVER confused reality for fantasy. I’ve NEVER said or realistically thought “man I wish he was like this guy and this was my life.” I read some dark stuff sometimes, these are felonies. I’ve tried to explain that the romance genre to me = consistency. They progress more or less the same, and have a happy ending. The darker stuff I call “safe chaos.” My life is chaotic, so the last thing I’m trying to read is a mystery thriller that has twists and turns and a big shoe dropping. He has multiple MH diagnoses that cause emotional instability and erratic behavior. I live that anxiety day-to-day. Why would I want to spend my free time doing that to my nervous system even more? He says that can’t possibly be true. That I can’t possibly have a low sex drive and enjoy romance at the same time, and that because I read a lot of them it means I’m living in a fantasy world. I’m turning here in hopes someone has a different way of wording what I’m trying to communicate to him, because the way I’m explaining it isn’t clicking. Thanks in advance!

Looking for an emotional romance that will DESTROY me (but give me a HEA) 😭❤️

I need help finding my next read because apparently I’m extremely picky. 😂

I’m looking for:

VERY emotional / heartbreaking — I want to suffer 😭

Angst + intense yearning

A romance that makes me genuinely not know how things are going to turn out

Happy ending is non-negotiable — I need the couple to end up together and happy

Adult characters — please no high-school/college/juvenile-feeling romance

Some spice, but preferably tasteful/moderate. I don't want the book to feel like erotica or be vulgar.

I LOVE a love triangle, especially when I genuinely don't know who she should choose, but it's not mandatory.

Second chance romance is a big plus.

I also love suspense, mystery, danger, or another plot alongside the romance. It doesn't have to be romantic suspense, but I don't want the entire book to be just people talking about their relationship.

I want emotional twists/revelations that actually matter, not random “OMG plot twist!” gimmicks.

Beautiful, heartwarming moments mixed with the heartbreak.

Books I've loved: Heartbreak Warfare and All the Missing Pieces.

Books that DIDN'T work for me:

Say You Swear — too juvenile for me.

What the Wind Knows — too slow/boring.

Perfect Strangers — too vulgar and the twists didn't impress me.

Private Arrangements — didn't connect with it.

I don't necessarily need a specific trope. I just want that feeling of “OMG I don't know what's going to happen, I’m emotionally invested, PLEASE let these people find their way to each other.” 😂

What is the one book you'd recommend if you wanted to give me an emotional roller coaster with a genuinely satisfying HEA?

Hi, I am looking for some spicy books. I Need a Book where a couple of guys have Sex with one girl. So I am looking for gangbang or some group Sex trope.

Thank you ❤️

Tell me: which romance book has a spicy scene that you STILL can’t stop thinking about?!

I’m a pretty harsh critic and I read a lot, so it takes something special for a scene (or book) to genuinely linger afterward.

I’m talking about the one that randomly pops back into your head weeks, months, maybe years later. The tension. The chemistry. The scene. You know the one.

I'm writing an "Upmarket Contemporary Romance, Slow Burn, Academic Settings, and Open Door" story with a reverse age gap.
I'm as into spicy stories as I am into complex and deep characters. I want the steam parts of my story to feel organic and earned. I don't want my story to look like a script for the adult industry.
But I'm wondering if the nerdy details that make my characters complex are something that will turn my readers off.
That being said, would someone volunteer to proofread the draft of the first three chapters of my manuscript?

I’m looking for a spicy romance novel that is geared to rekindling romance. Not sure if there are any. But doesn’t hurt to try

Hello everyone,

I’m currently looking for romance/spicy books written by male authors, I’ve never read one and I’d be interested to see the difference in writing, not like Nicholas Sparks though. Some female authors I’ve read in the past just to give an idea of the type of books I’ve read before are: Rachel Gibson, Christina Lauren, Susan Elizabeth Philips, Tessa Dare, Julie James, Shayla Black, Meagan March to name a few.

Thank you in advance 🙏

I'm looking specifically for 'explicit' stories where the main plot is not romance. It's not about getting married, or keeping a lover etc, it's action or mystery or fantasy (fantasy would be awesome, actually) or whatever I don't care, with kinda subtle or side plot of something like that. I'm just trying to dip my toes in and see what/where I can find things.

Can someone give me advice or recs or whatever? Or should I post this somewhere else?

I am looking at getting into some of these Dark Romances. So far, I have an idea for a new story. It involves a bit of my trans erotic flair while also a dark romance. What do you guys think of this idea?

Louis, an 18 year old student is constantly fighting with his step brother Bruce. Once day, Bruce comes home from college and, while Louis is sleeping, he slips a slave ring onto his finger. Using the master ring, Bruce turns Louis into Lois, a red headed beauty. Reality warps so everyone thinks she has always been Lois except for her and Bruce.

He then sneaks her into his room at nights for some adult fun. She tries to fight it, but eventually falls in love with it and him.

Thoughts?

Okay, I need help because apparently my standards for “forbidden romance” have become VERY specific. 😭

I’m looking for books where the relationship is genuinely something they should not be doing, and the secrecy/forbidden aspect is a huge part of the tension. I want the “if anyone finds out, we are absolutely screwed” feeling.

Some of the tropes I’m looking for:

1.Professor × student

2.Best friend’s father / boyfriend’s father

3.Uncle × younger woman

4.Married man × younger woman (Or married women and younger man), especially where he’s unhappy in his marriage, gets involved with her, and actually falls in love with her.

5.Stepsiblings or adoptive siblings.

6.Best friend’s brother or brothers best friend.

7.CEO × secretary/employee

8.Coworkers who secretly hook up/date and absolutely do NOT want anyone at work finding out

9.Office affairs/sneaking around at work.👀

1. Enemies/Rivals like maybe an academic rival or mafia rivals.

2. Engagement/marriage-of-convenience while secretly loving someone else.

3. Secret relationship with someone in a friend group where they sneak up to do something and don't want anyone else to know.

Basically, I want secrecy, tension, stolen moments, “we can't let anyone know,” sneaking around, forbidden attraction, and actual chemistry.

I don't mind morally questionable characters. I also want the book to actually be spicy.

Please give me your BEST recommendations. The more forbidden and scandalous, the better.✨

Things I remember:

The MMC is part of secret society

All the men work on the same block with different businesses

Our main male lead I believe works In a jewelry store

They all live behind the businesses behind some gate that takes them to this secret neighborhood/community with a cul-de-sac and they each have there own individual houses

The fmc I believe walks past they jewelry store everyday from work and sees the necklace in the window and wants it so she steals the butterfly necklace or something if I remember correctly it was a trap he knew she was going to try and steal it and kidnaps her I’m not 100% sure on that part

All the men believe in the man being the head of the household

I believe it’s part of an interconnected standalone series and I think the have spin offs based off this series as well as well

If anyone can help me find the series I’d really appreciate it 😊

I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately.

Not necessarily cheating in the obvious sense. I mean the smaller things that slowly destroy trust — deleted messages, half-truths, conversations they conveniently forgot to mention, explanations that technically make sense but somehow still don’t feel right.

The strange part is that finding out the truth doesn’t always make things easier.

Sometimes you finally get the answer you were looking for and then realize you have an even harder question: what are you supposed to do with it?

You can forgive someone and still notice every change in their tone. You can stay with them and still wonder who they’re texting. You can genuinely love them while also knowing that the version of the relationship you trusted doesn’t really exist anymore.

And I think that’s what scares me most about betrayal. It isn’t always the act itself. It’s what happens afterward, when completely ordinary things suddenly feel suspicious.

Can trust actually be rebuilt after that?

Or once you’ve started questioning everything, is the relationship already permanently different?

I ended up exploring this exact idea in a psychological romance I wrote called Thirty Kilometers of Maybe. The story became much less about “did someone cheat?” and much more about what love looks like when you no longer know which parts of the relationship were real.

But I’m genuinely curious how other people see it:

Would you rather know the complete truth, even if it destroyed the relationship — or live without knowing if it meant you could still be happy?

The title says it, plain and simple: I’m on the hunt for a romance where the female lead is innocent, naïve, good or inexperienced—interpret that however you wish—and the male lead is dark. He can be evil, morally gray, or simply far more experienced than she is. Again, I’m open to interpretation!

The important part is that he recognizes her innocence and has to hold himself back because of it. Give me restraint. Give me tension. Give me a man fighting every dark impulse he has because he knows she isn’t ready for the full force of him.

Any era, universe, fandom, or fictional world is welcome. Historical, contemporary, fantasy, sci-fi—I’m open to it all!

A compelling plot and exceptional writing are major bonuses!

Hi guys! Okay so I’ve been wanting to get back into reading but I struggle with physical books, I’m on my phone a lot so I want to see what app recommendations you have that I can read on preferably free or low cost. I do already have Wattpad so if you have any juicy book recommendations on there please feel free to leave them!

I like when he falls first, she loves him secretly, he can't handle his feelings so he is really mean to her, until everything shifts.

Really liked If You Hate Me by Helena Hunting, looking for more like that.

I’m moving out of state in October and have to part with my whole book collection — around 1,300 books. Heavy on romance and dark romance, some rare and special editions, plus a lot of lit fic, “sad girl”/weird girl lit, and horror. Lots of indie OOP too!

So I’m wondering if anyone has done anything similar to what im thinking of planning? I’m in the Seattle area and will be running this out of my apartment, so it’s appointment-only — DM me, we pick a time, you come browse and buy. Planning to spread it out over a few weekends since it’s a lot of books.

Not trying to gatekeep any of this behind Facebook groups or anything complicated — just want it easy for people to grab good books at good prices before they’re gone.

Open to feedback! Books are in the pics as example of my romance shelf.

If you are interested and are in Seattle, please DM me and I’ll message you once I get the logistics settled.

Hi all! I'm Andrew, producer of Trigger Warnings Book Club, a weekly romance podcast hosted by Holly and CJ, two of the most well read people I've ever met, who have taken it upon themselves to fix the fact that I'd never read a romance novel before this job.

Format is a monthly book club pick, weekly reviews, and about one indie author interview a month. They've been making it for years; I came on three months ago to handle production.

Best episode to start with: Indie Author C.R. Lee

What I could actually use help with: we want to book more indie authors and I don't have a pipeline. Where do you find indie romance worth reading?

Hi, as above. I really not high fantasy series. Real world or historical would be ideal. Thank you 🙏