u/JessonBI89

I want to see the MMC start by pining for an ex or a crush. She's not into it, she's moved on, she's done, she's over it, she's told him a hundred times if she's told him once. (But she's still very much alive and well.) Nonetheless she's his ideal woman, and he's convinced he'll never be happy with anyone but her. The FMC knows she's coming in second but sticks around in the hope of coming in first eventually. She can't help but resent the ex/OW for always being the MMC's priority, even if she doesn't want to be. No baby mama drama, please.

All over Reddit you'll find tales of people dumping or mistreating their partners because they don't earn enough money or spend enough of what they do have on presents. I'm looking for the opposite: Did you ever repel a romantic prospect after telling the truth about what you had? Maybe they had a different philosophy on money and didn't think there was room for compromise, or maybe (for those of you who are more acquisitive) your lifestyle wasn't to their taste.

Today I sampled another kinky story in which the FMC went from "Wait, BDSM is a thing?" to "OMG PLEASE COLLAR ME RIGHT THE FUCK NOW YOU ALPHALICIOUS BRICK OF MASCULINITY" within two or three chapters. It wasn't convincing, to say the least. So now I'm looking for an FMC who's nonjudgmentally aware of the lifestyle but just isn't into it. It's not revolting, not arousing, just something that people who aren't her do. If she meets a Dom MMC, he can't weaponize her body's reactions, her ignorance, or her sense of propriety, because she has none of those things. So the challenge for him is her complete and utter indifference. They can compromise later, to satisfy readers craving some kink, but her disinterest is at the core of the conflict.

Objectively, I get the appeal of an MMC who exists to take every possible burden off the FMC. But some of us weren't given enough opportunities to go it alone in our formative years and came out chafing at offers of help. So here's what I want: She works herself to the bone, little rest, no one to give her a break, but she loves all that and doesn't want to change a thing. Plus she's doing it well and has no dependents, so she's not hurting herself or others with her choices, even if she's tired and constantly has dirt under her fingernails or whatever. He has a hero complex and the resources to give her a life of comfort, so he's bewildered when she interprets his gestures as condescending and even sexist. Eventually he learns to back off a little and she learns how to collaborate. No single-parent MCs, please.

Likely this sort of thing could only happen in a shifter/omegaverse romance, but that's not mandatory. FMC has either already ended up in an RH situation or fears she will against her wishes. She's either already in love with someone else or longing for the right to find love on her own terms. The harem men are your standard hot protective indulgent alphas who are fantastic in bed, but she's still really not into this deep down and angry that some force greater than herself has put her here. The book ends with her escaping the harem and ending up with another character entirely.

Now I've always been an extremely skeptical person, so if I randomly got a fancy envelope from some shady rich dude personally inviting me to a night of erotic spanky-spanks at the exclusive Pulsating Vulva Club or whatever, I'd assume someone was trying to catfish me into either sex trafficking or door-to-door vacuum sales. Obviously the FMC has to go, or we wouldn't have a book. I'd like to see an example of the FMC not going (and not being dragged there kicking and screaming) and us having a book anyway. Ideally this will include a scene of the MMC waiting all night for her to show up and wondering if he really did fail that hard to tempt her.

Picture the archetypal book boyfriend. He's gotten every woman he's ever wanted, and he sees no reason why he ever shouldn't. Okay, THIS woman seems less interested than most, but maybe she's just playing it cool. He's not worried. He has the means and the taste to wine and dine to the nines. She'll have an excuse to dress up, she won't even have to reach for the bill, and she'll get a round or two in his penthouse sex pad that has many leather-bound books and smells of rich mahogany. Who could say no?

But she does. Because... well, using my hobbies as an example, she's meeting her friends at the pub for trivia night, or she's going to bed early to prepare for a morning hike, or WWE Backlash is on and there's no way she's missing that. The point is, she has a very busy schedule, and a date with him (HIM!) just isn't tempting enough for her to disrupt it. And the worst part is, she doesn't even care. She chose to keep her appointment without even thinking about it. That got him SHOOK.

This is the scene I'm looking for. Most importantly, I want the FMC to do this because she just wants to, not because she's already taken, or because she feels inadequate or traumatized or whatever. No bets, dares, or fake relationships.

For me, mutual instalust destroys the real sexual tension before it starts. I want to see one MC meet the other for the first time and be completely matter-of-fact about them. Not only do they act utterly uninterested, but we need to learn from their inner monologue that it hasn't even occurred to them to be interested. Not even one of those "Okay, s/he's hot, but..." cop-outs. Bonus points if someone else points out how hot MC2 is and MC1 still doesn't think anything of it. No paranormal, no historical, no bets or dares or fake relationships.

Usually in these scenarios, the FMC counts herself out because she's too plain, unfashionable, awkward, poor, or obscure for the MMC who's only ever seen with supermodels. I want an FMC who knows her own worth and counts out the MMC for being too cocky, flashy, spendthrift, domineering, unprincipled, and not even all that physically attractive in her eyes. I want him to be shook to the core when he learns how she feels and sees his usual tricks falling flat. I do NOT want another shrinking violet in denial paired with another tall poppy who can't change.

From the "Am I the Only One" review, re: Springsteen: "The man waves the flag like Hacksaw Jim Duggan!"