I read The Shadows Between Us a couple months back and really enjoyed it, it makes me happy to see someone else mentioning it since it was such a good romance, very addicting, and the cover is beautiful.
Loving these recs! I've only read the Jennifer Ashley from your list, and really enjoyed it. My favorite unique romance is "Wild at Heart" by Patricia Gaffney, which I think is out of print, but should be available as a physical copy in used book stores. It has a pretty unique setting for historicals, and I loved the hero.
The House in The Cerulean Sea is one of the best books I have ever read. 🥺😍 it was a spark of hope in 2020 when it sometimes felt hard to see the good in humanity. I love it so much. And Ian, amazing. I read that because of you 🥰
Hmmm, I've read a few Katrina Jackson but not that one. It sounds interesting, as does The Climb (sexism aside). Cerulean Sea (the romance is secondary) is everything good that anyone has ever said about it and then some! And I don't say that lightly as I usually hate hype. But TJ Klune is a master of his craft so it was totally unsurprising to me as I've been a fan of his books since... 2014. I would also suggest that Wolfsong (be still my beating heart!) and the rest of his Green Creek series is unique for a Werewolf story in that apart from the fantastic characters and plot, it is really atmospheric and the writing is so beautiful and lyrical with lots of passages that are in stylised verse which runs throughout every part of the series including all the freebie short stories on his website. Lord Ian Mackenzie! Loved it, loved Beth and loved Ian and his odd Ming China habit! I've read more than 20 books with autistic MCs, including A Girl Like Her by Talia Hibbert and probably Untouchable as the FMC in that (sister to the one in book 1) is strongly coded that way. As for some (of the many!) unusual books I've read; >White Whiskey Bargain by Jodie Slaughter is (fantastic!) about rival bootlegger families in the Kentucky Appalachians and a steamy marriage of convenience between an Alpha Female and a Beta Male MC! >Also by Jodie Slaughter, All Things Burn where the FMC hires the MMC who is a hitman to take out her stalker ex? >How about a sci-fi romance with an insect-like alien Beta MMC, rather than a blue or green humanoid alpha? In Strange Love by Ann Aguirre the FMC has a talking dog and the couple have to fight in a Gladiator style competition? >What about Just Out of Reach by Xavier Neal where a convicted drunk driver who is on house arrest instead of being imprisoned meets the girl next door and really does learn the error of his ways? >Then there is Mayday: Tinder Love in the Golden Years by Kat Addams - an hilarious tale of two 70 somethings (with all that comes with that age!) coming together in the digital age and rekindling their high school love? >And what is a woman to do when she finds out that her scumbag ex, gave her an incurable, but perfectly manageable STD and then meets the new man of her dreams - Bombshell by Xyla Turner. I didn't love all of these (some I did), but they were all unique or unconventional and I thank the heavens for the indie authors who go out on a limb to give us something different to the norm. I don't regret a single one of them. TFS :)
also the Bromance Book Club is on my Kindle and that Jennifer Ashley book looks so interesting i have recently been diagnosed with high functioning autism so this will be interesting to see how it is in historical romance
I’m 20% into The House on the Cerulean Sea. I’ve been stalled for awhile. But I’ll be reading it for The Love in the Night Readathon. Extremely Upper Management is giving me anxiety. 😆
One of my favorite historical romances deals with a woman with mental issues and it is so beautiful. The Duke and The Baron by Jenn LeBlanc. I really hope you give it a read.
Liam Davis & The Raven by Anyta Sunday is a very good addicting romance and it has Aspergers syndrome rep. It's beautiful you should definitely check it out ❤️
Happiness for Beginners by Katherine Center is a expedition book like The Climb with romance element in it. I rated it 5 stars when I read it this year.
Another book where the love interest literally wants to kill the main character is Trial of thorns by Stacey Trombley. Its really good, you should check it out!
Regarding _The Madness of Lord Ian Mackenzie_, as someone on the spectrum... I still kind of feel ambivalent about that one. I agree with Jess about the family dynamics and some characterization, and I was kind of amused and intrigued by how neatly a lot of Aspergers traits map onto the classic alpha male archetype, but... I'm going to preface what i say next with the disclaimer that, as _New York Times Magazine_ autism special issue put it, when you meet a person on a spectrum, you meet a person on a spectrum. Everyone experiences it just a touch differently, and not everything is going to necessarily 100% apply to every person on the spectrum. So, when I say that it bothered me that Ian couldn't look Beth in the eye at all - in my experience, it's not natural, but it can be done, especially when it's with a person you like looking at... Take it with a certain grain of salt. But I will say that, in _Kiss Quotient_ , and _A Girl Like her_ by Talia Hibbert , female leads' Aspergers felt more real, and less like the author was trying to stick closely to the list of symptoms, most likely because both authors are on the spectrum and had their experiences to draw on... But, again, your millage may vary. Speaking of historical romances with male leads with Aspergers/ASD in general, I would recommend _To Charm a Naughty Countess_ by Theresa Romain. And yes, I know that, unlike Ian Mackenzie, the lead in this book is only supposed to have anxiety/panic attacks, and he definitely has that, but it doesn't explain the male lead's troubles with social cues and subtext, the way he *really* gets into his interests, and just some of the finer details of his interactions. Whatever Romain may have intended, it hit pretty close to home, and I suspect it would hit close to home for many other people on the spectrum.
I haven’t read it yet but A Song of Wraiths and Ruin by Roseann A. Brown sounds right up your alley for enemies to lovers who literally want to kill each other.
The Shadows Between Us was such a bad read for me. It’s was one of the most predictable-try hard not be like other girls kind of book. ))): but many people do seem to love it.
L H Cosway Painted faces has a really unique hero, playing with gender roles and what makes a man a man. Penny Reid's love hacked has a really interesting dynamic between a child psychiatrist and a hacker. Dara Joy's ritual of proof is such an interesting and unique Sci fi romance it defies explanation. G. A. Aiken dragon series is complex and has the Most fun, badass heroines. The most unique romances I have ever read, however, are by Robin McKinley. Both sunshine and chalice are some of my favorite books ever. All these books are oldies but goodies, so try them, you won't regret it.
@@vamps_rock I adore her dragon series, and they're certainly worth the time invested. They are better if read in order, though. I love unique romances, so those authors above are certainly among my favorite.
@@ashleyk131 there's a book by her I keep reading, still life with strings, because it's so different and emotional. I just like her so much as a writer...
@@ireneafonso4171 I only ever read in order, it makes no sense to me to do otherwise no matter what other people say. Have you read her shifter books? I love them all, but the Honey Badgers is superb. On to her witchy duology next for me.
Bailey I'm new to HR this year too and have read and loved; Wild Sweet Love By Beverly Jenkins, Band Sinister by KJ Charles, Agnes Moor's Wild Knight (very short) by Alyssa Cole, Eyes Of Silver, Eyes Of Gold by Ellen O'Connell, Carry The World by Susan Fanetti, which are all standalones and all very different (because HR is not all Regency and Victorian Dukes etc - far from it). These will all give you a taste of different types of story and a few different time periods. Something TOTALLY unique is Transcendence by Shay Savage which is a pre-historic romance. And as The Madness of Lord Ian MacKenzie by Jennifer Ashley, which Jess mentioned this in her vid, is one of the first I as a newbie read and loved just this year, you definately try that too. Check them all out on GR for the premises. 😊
I want to scream at everyone to read The House In The Cerulean Sea!!! One of my new faves of all time. So so good!
These seem like really good recs! A lot I hadn’t heard of! I’m planning on reading The House in the Cerulean Sea in November!
I read The Shadows Between Us a couple months back and really enjoyed it, it makes me happy to see someone else mentioning it since it was such a good romance, very addicting, and the cover is beautiful.
Loving these recs! I've only read the Jennifer Ashley from your list, and really enjoyed it. My favorite unique romance is "Wild at Heart" by Patricia Gaffney, which I think is out of print, but should be available as a physical copy in used book stores. It has a pretty unique setting for historicals, and I loved the hero.
The Bromance Book Club I thoroughly enjoyed - and it *actually* got me to start looking into Regency romance novels 😝
I'm interested in reading romances since I started following you! I usually read fantasy but I wanna try more genres
I just love your recommendation videos!!! Thanks for the new titles to add to my list.
The House in The Cerulean Sea is one of the best books I have ever read. 🥺😍 it was a spark of hope in 2020 when it sometimes felt hard to see the good in humanity. I love it so much.
And Ian, amazing. I read that because of you 🥰
I need to read the shadows between us. That sounds so good!
I'm planning to read When A Scott Ties The Knot really soon! I'm so drawn to the synopsis and I hope I really enjoy it. 😊
oooooh. I've added some of these to my list as a Romance Newbie. Thank you for sharing!
Love your recs! Please do more arranged/ marriage of convenience romances. Thank you
When a Scot Ties the Knot is so stinkin cute. ♥️🍂
Hmmm, I've read a few Katrina Jackson but not that one. It sounds interesting, as does The Climb (sexism aside).
Cerulean Sea (the romance is secondary) is everything good that anyone has ever said about it and then some! And I don't say that lightly as I usually hate hype. But TJ Klune is a master of his craft so it was totally unsurprising to me as I've been a fan of his books since... 2014. I would also suggest that Wolfsong (be still my beating heart!) and the rest of his Green Creek series is unique for a Werewolf story in that apart from the fantastic characters and plot, it is really atmospheric and the writing is so beautiful and lyrical with lots of passages that are in stylised verse which runs throughout every part of the series including all the freebie short stories on his website.
Lord Ian Mackenzie! Loved it, loved Beth and loved Ian and his odd Ming China habit! I've read more than 20 books with autistic MCs, including A Girl Like Her by Talia Hibbert and probably Untouchable as the FMC in that (sister to the one in book 1) is strongly coded that way.
As for some (of the many!) unusual books I've read;
>White Whiskey Bargain by Jodie Slaughter is (fantastic!) about rival bootlegger families in the Kentucky Appalachians and a steamy marriage of convenience between an Alpha Female and a Beta Male MC!
>Also by Jodie Slaughter, All Things Burn where the FMC hires the MMC who is a hitman to take out her stalker ex?
>How about a sci-fi romance with an insect-like alien Beta MMC, rather than a blue or green humanoid alpha? In Strange Love by Ann Aguirre the FMC has a talking dog and the couple have to fight in a Gladiator style competition?
>What about Just Out of Reach by Xavier Neal where a convicted drunk driver who is on house arrest instead of being imprisoned meets the girl next door and really does learn the error of his ways?
>Then there is Mayday: Tinder Love in the Golden Years by Kat Addams - an hilarious tale of two 70 somethings (with all that comes with that age!) coming together in the digital age and rekindling their high school love?
>And what is a woman to do when she finds out that her scumbag ex, gave her an incurable, but perfectly manageable STD and then meets the new man of her dreams - Bombshell by Xyla Turner.
I didn't love all of these (some I did), but they were all unique or unconventional and I thank the heavens for the indie authors who go out on a limb to give us something different to the norm. I don't regret a single one of them. TFS :)
Please please please do a bookshelf tour! Even a short one would be nice
I’ve heard such good things about the house on the cerulean sea!!
also the Bromance Book Club is on my Kindle and that Jennifer Ashley book looks so interesting i have recently been diagnosed with high functioning autism so this will be interesting to see how it is in historical romance
I’m 20% into The House on the Cerulean Sea. I’ve been stalled for awhile. But I’ll be reading it for The Love in the Night Readathon. Extremely Upper Management is giving me anxiety. 😆
I'm so excited for book three in the bromance book club series!
Immediately went to my library to see what I could read from your recommendations!
I currently have the shadow between us and can’t wait to read it!
Have you read The Bridge Kingdom? It’s really good and is enemies to lovers!
When you said it was a K2 romance I had to google it because I thought 'not another sub-genre I never heard of' haha. Thanks for the recs!
Can you please explain me? K2?
@@dilyakhismatullina434 Haha, its the second or third highest mountain in the world.
I need to get my hands on a TJ Klune book. Are his novels considered adult? Wondering about Wolfsong especially
One of my favorite historical romances deals with a woman with mental issues and it is so beautiful. The Duke and The Baron by Jenn LeBlanc. I really hope you give it a read.
Liam Davis & The Raven by Anyta Sunday is a very good addicting romance and it has Aspergers syndrome rep. It's beautiful you should definitely check it out ❤️
I so want to read When a Scot Ties the Knot. Sounds like a sweet read.
Happiness for Beginners by Katherine Center is a expedition book like The Climb with romance element in it. I rated it 5 stars when I read it this year.
I have decided to read The house in the cerulean sea. 👍
Private Eye sounds so interesting!
You should read billionaire book club by Max Monroe it's pretty similer to bromance bookclub, you might enjoy it.
I need to read The Climb!
I don’t read much fantasy these days but I should really read The Shadows Between Us. ♥️🍂
Please, make a video about good books of enemies to lovers.
Can you please start listing the books in your info.
Another book where the love interest literally wants to kill the main character is Trial of thorns by Stacey Trombley. Its really good, you should check it out!
I loved the climb soooooooo much
Regarding _The Madness of Lord Ian Mackenzie_, as someone on the spectrum... I still kind of feel ambivalent about that one. I agree with Jess about the family dynamics and some characterization, and I was kind of amused and intrigued by how neatly a lot of Aspergers traits map onto the classic alpha male archetype, but... I'm going to preface what i say next with the disclaimer that, as _New York Times Magazine_ autism special issue put it, when you meet a person on a spectrum, you meet a person on a spectrum. Everyone experiences it just a touch differently, and not everything is going to necessarily 100% apply to every person on the spectrum. So, when I say that it bothered me that Ian couldn't look Beth in the eye at all - in my experience, it's not natural, but it can be done, especially when it's with a person you like looking at... Take it with a certain grain of salt. But I will say that, in _Kiss Quotient_ , and _A Girl Like her_ by Talia Hibbert , female leads' Aspergers felt more real, and less like the author was trying to stick closely to the list of symptoms, most likely because both authors are on the spectrum and had their experiences to draw on... But, again, your millage may vary.
Speaking of historical romances with male leads with Aspergers/ASD in general, I would recommend _To Charm a Naughty Countess_ by Theresa Romain. And yes, I know that, unlike Ian Mackenzie, the lead in this book is only supposed to have anxiety/panic attacks, and he definitely has that, but it doesn't explain the male lead's troubles with social cues and subtext, the way he *really* gets into his interests, and just some of the finer details of his interactions. Whatever Romain may have intended, it hit pretty close to home, and I suspect it would hit close to home for many other people on the spectrum.
I love your sweatshirt!! 🥰
I haven’t read it yet but A Song of Wraiths and Ruin by Roseann A. Brown sounds right up your alley for enemies to lovers who literally want to kill each other.
Read love online ❤️
The Shadows Between Us was such a bad read for me. It’s was one of the most predictable-try hard not be like other girls kind of book. ))): but many people do seem to love it.
L H Cosway Painted faces has a really unique hero, playing with gender roles and what makes a man a man. Penny Reid's love hacked has a really interesting dynamic between a child psychiatrist and a hacker. Dara Joy's ritual of proof is such an interesting and unique Sci fi romance it defies explanation. G. A. Aiken dragon series is complex and has the Most fun, badass heroines. The most unique romances I have ever read, however, are by Robin McKinley. Both sunshine and chalice are some of my favorite books ever. All these books are oldies but goodies, so try them, you won't regret it.
I was going to sat Painted Faces too! I think L.H Cosway is great for unique characters
Irene Afonso I LOVED Painted Faces. I also love GA's Shelley Laurenston's books. The dragon books are for next year.
@@vamps_rock I adore her dragon series, and they're certainly worth the time invested. They are better if read in order, though. I love unique romances, so those authors above are certainly among my favorite.
@@ashleyk131 there's a book by her I keep reading, still life with strings, because it's so different and emotional. I just like her so much as a writer...
@@ireneafonso4171 I only ever read in order, it makes no sense to me to do otherwise no matter what other people say. Have you read her shifter books? I love them all, but the Honey Badgers is superb. On to her witchy duology next for me.
I've never read a historical romance. What would you suggest I try first to get my toes in the water of historical romance?
Julia Quinn, Sarah McLean, Lisa Kleypas and Tessa Dare are my favourite historical romance authors. Any book of theirs is amazing 😊
Bailey I'm new to HR this year too and have read and loved; Wild Sweet Love By Beverly Jenkins, Band Sinister by KJ Charles, Agnes Moor's Wild Knight (very short) by Alyssa Cole, Eyes Of Silver, Eyes Of Gold by Ellen O'Connell, Carry The World by Susan Fanetti, which are all standalones and all very different (because HR is not all Regency and Victorian Dukes etc - far from it). These will all give you a taste of different types of story and a few different time periods. Something TOTALLY unique is Transcendence by Shay Savage which is a pre-historic romance. And as The Madness of Lord Ian MacKenzie by Jennifer Ashley, which Jess mentioned this in her vid, is one of the first I as a newbie read and loved just this year, you definately try that too. Check them all out on GR for the premises. 😊
@@TruT100 Thank you for the recs!
@@vamps_rock Thank you! I'll have to check some of these out!
I loved The Bromance Book Club but I didn’t like the wife in the story. I don’t want to read the second book.