u/HistoricalRom_Review

I’m almost done with TSPWL and I have thoughts. I feel like my opinions are borderline super hater level.

This video also made me think of Benedict and the problem of bi representation. Audiences often invalidate bisexuality, if Benedict is with a man, he’s gay. If he’s with a woman, he’s straight. So often tv uses a threesome scene to show straight audiences bisexuality. Bisexuals hate this, however because audiences often see people monosexually how do you prove bisexuality. I’ve seen people say online they are glad Benedict “turned out straight in the end”. Saying that because Sophie is his end game, now he’s straight. I will give the show tons of credit for doing the coming out scene with Sophie correctly. Never invalidating his sexuality, not making it a 3rd act miscommunication resulting in him choosing the “correct answer”. I know Benedict isn’t a perfect representation, I don’t think any character will be the perfect bisexual, however what to you think about “The Bisexual Problem”.

If you’re gay or straight what do you hope to see or hope not to see going forward with Benedict and Francesca’s sexuality.

Edit: I don’t think Francesca is bisexual personally, however this video has a section about lesbians. Watch the video before you assume 😭

Hi, I would like to write a formal apology to the author Julia Quinn. I've read the Bridgerton series, I have trashed them. I read the Bridgerton series until Eloise's book and DNF. I was bitter to be honest and promised to never read a Julia Quinn book again. However, after a couple of years I was recommended a book, a Julia Quinn book from the Smythe-Smith series. One day as I was canvassing a thrift store book section (I made a video about it and I'm shamelessly plugging it) I came across one such book. The Secrets of Sir Richard Kenworthy, and though it wasn't rating very highly on good reads, I lowkey loved it.

Synopsis:

With less than a month to find a bride, Sir Richard Kenworthy is in a race against time. When he spots the unassuming Iris Smythe-Smith at her family's notorious musicale, he feels an unexpected spark. Though often overlooked with her pale hair and sharp wit, Iris possesses a hidden depth that captivates him. Yet, when Sir Richard's flirty charm leads to an unexpected proposal, Iris can't shake the feeling that there’s more to his story than meets the eye. Caught between her growing affection and lingering suspicion, she faces a tantalizing dilemma: should she trust her heart or heed her doubts?

My rating: 3.5/5 stars

Tropes:

• Marriage of Convenience
• Forced Marriage
• Hidden past
• Wallflower

Trigger Warnings:

• Open door sex scenes between FMC and MMC
• Teen Pregnancy
• Forced Kiss

Review with Spoilers:

The one thing I will give Julia Quinn credit for is that she writes great dialogue between characters, and I can even see her growth as an author from the Bridgerton series. I often joke that a Julia Quinn book has 3 things, sexual assault somewhere in the book, both characters have dead parents, a weird plot device that drives the characters together instead of actual character development. This book, however, only has one of these things, the weird plot device. Spoiler: Richard Kenworthy's secret is that his younger sister is pregnant and he plans to marry quickly to pretend the child is his.

I actually liked Richard because of this, as an older sibling myself I could see myself marrying suddenly to protect my sister. He reminded me a lot of show Anthony with a very dedicate idea of marrying a woman just to please his family. When Richard proposes to Iris, she says she'll need a week to think about it. Plus, the months it'll take to plan the wedding. This isn't a good timeline for a man with an actively pregnant sister, so he kisses her right there, in public. I actually found this very interesting because Richard doesn't really enjoy it, he tortures himself the entire book about this decision. Iris is also a great character; she's a wallflower with a dry sense of humor. She doesn't really think she is pretty enough, so she kind of agrees to this marriage. While Richard is trying to be a gentleman, and also not get her pregnant, so he refuses to sleep with her. This makes Iris feel as if she failed as a wife. She's relatable and this plot was great at building this sexual tension between them. I absolutely loved reading about a groveling man beat himself up while yearning for his wife in all ways. The best part is that he acts like an idiot about it the whole time.

I also liked the small details Julia has when writing siblings. Iris and her sister were deeply authentic to sisters, and Richard's sisters lowkey reminded me of my own. Fleur (Richard's sister) being pregnant, upset, locking herself in her room, while Richard loses his mind threatening to saw the door down. Really felt like an interaction I've had with my sister, minus the pregnant part.

The cons:

The ending plot was very weak. It's honestly a through line with all the Julia Quinn books and in the Bridgerton show as well (I'll say this as a MASSIVE Bridgerton show fan; guys I have collectors Bridgerton sibling themes tea tins). Sometimes it can feel great, an easy happily ever after solved by love, but it felt too forced in this book. Richard's pregnant sister lied and said the father was dead. In reality he was alive, but a common man, and marrying this man would ruin the family. Richard keeps the secret that his sister is pregnant from Iris, and she understandably doesn't want to raise the child. Last 20 pages is Iris convincing Fleur to tell the father and marry him. The last five pages is just a sex scene of them consummating the marriage for the first time. It felt very unfinished and way too quick, I would have even liked a longer book if it got resolved in a satisfying way.

Thank you, guys, so much! I am new to writing reviews, and I absolutely have enjoyed posting my book content on reddit, tiktok, twitter, and instagram. I may have 15 tiktok followers, but I appreciate all of them!

Hello, I've reviewed my thrifted historical romance on this subreddit before. However, I've decided to create an account dedicated to my reviews. There are a lot of bad romance books, especially historical romance, so I'm excited to make this my new hobby. I have other account dedicated to book stuff in my account bio!

Synopsis (spoiler-free):

A street-born aristocrat rescues an amnesiac lady, employing her as a housekeeper while falling for her, leading to betrayal and a quest to regain her trust.

My rating: 4/5 stars

Tropes:

• Amnesia
• Bully FMC
• Titled x Untitled
• Fake identity
• Forced Proximity
• Employee x employer

Trigger Warning in the book:

• Discussions of Sexual assault
• Discussions of childhood sexual assault
• Mentions of domestic violence
• Mentions of murder
• Open door sex scenes between FMC and MMC (2)

Spoilers!!

Initially, I was not excited to pick this book up, however it's one of the last books in my thrifting haul. I really don't like amnesia stories and I especially don't like revenge stories. After reading this, I think it's official that Lorriane Heath is my favorite HR writer I have found so far.

Drake, our MMC, is enacting revenge on Ophelia, our FMC, (stay with me it's not what you think). Ophelia bullied Drake growing up for being a "street rat" raised by a duchess. I saw a massive amount of reviews of books saying that they didn't like Ophelia because of her coldness. However, I honestly loved it. I saw her flaws and complexity as refreshing, especially in a genre that often writes either one note FMC or the "I'm not like other girls" trope. So, after Drake saves Ophelia from a suspicious accidental drowning, he discovered she doesn't remember anything. He uses this opportunity to tell her that she is a maid - his maid. What Drake doesn't know is that Ophelia was beaten as a child for even talking to him, and was sexually assaulted as a child. She was convinced that her lack of purity made her unworthy of a husband. This makes her have a complex relationship with men, and especially Drake, who she secretly does have a crush on from the beginning. This is my favorite part of every Lorriane Heath book: the characters. No matter how bonkers the plot or setting is, I end up falling in love with the characters she presents. The characters develop from two people who think that their perceived flaws bar them from love into people who realize that love is there even if you have flaws.

Now remember how I said this is a revenge story, if you're looking for a more dark romance, you will be 100% disappointed. Even though Drake is trying to enact revenge by making her work as a maid, he spoils her massively. As you find out, Drake also secretly likes Ophelia in a 'I like her but won't admit it to myself' kind of way. So, anytime she struggles with a chore, or is a tiny bit uncomfortable, he buys her whatever she wants and accommodates her. He is regretful of lying to her about her identity the entire time, and spends most of the book yearning, groveling, and being tortured. Which, personally, is my favorite type of man. Even in the end of the book when she is upset after regaining her memories, he sits in his house sad, missing her scent.

Cons:

This book is slow, which I personally don't mind because I found it indulgent, like wine and chocolate covered strawberries. However, if you are picking up this book for the stereotypical fast paced very smutty historical romance, this isn't it. Once More my Darling Rogue also has the dreaded, hymen mention. When they first canoodle, he knows she isn't a virgin just because of the way she feels. It was a lame tactic, as he could have found out another way. Luckily is wasn't lingered on, and besides for that, the writing of a sexual assault victim was pretty solid in characterization.

I will end this review on my favorite out of context quote of the book.

"To make matters worse he was preparing the damned creamed eggs for her."

I’m looking for a fem dom book. Bonus points if it’s historical romance. I want a fem dom, and a pathetic sub man. Like yearning, she’s the only air he breathes situation. Any recs?

I’ve been wanting to make a TikTok/instagram account dedicated to reviewing romance books. However I don’t even know where to beginning or if people even want to watch that. Does anyone have any ideas?