u/MorganAndMerlin

Two that I know I’ve read, off the top of my head, are {Lady Beast’s Bridegroom by Jude Knight} and {Someone to Wed by Mary Balogh} but I honestly can’t remember much of either.

I’d really love a FMC who was scarred from something-or-other accident/event, is probably subconscious about it, and hasn’t had any romantic attention because of it, until now.

What else is out there?

I’m halfway through {This is All I Ask by Lynn Kurland} and I love the writing. It’s got more to it than Tessa Dare or Julia Quinn, and at some points reads almost more like Historical Fiction than straight romance, but the plot line is 100% a romance book plot line. I also really love the medieval setting and medieval terminology.

The only thing that I’m not loving is that so far about 80% of the conflict arises from miscommunications. She sees an action and decides XYZ is why he’s doing that. He turns around and does ABC because he doesn’t want to admit any weakness and this and that and the other. There are occasional actual plot points that do not stem from miscommunication but they are rare.

Any suggestions for my next read?

I’m looking for more books where he buys a wife or accepts her as a payment of debt.

Some similar books with the plot idea I’m looking for:

{An Earl Like You by Caroline Linden}: he has inherited the family title and lands but found out his father has mortgaged everything and they have nothing. In exchange of satisfying the debt, he agrees to court and marry a working man’s heiress daughter, who has no idea that her marriage has been concocted by her father.

{Harper’s Bride by Alexis Harrington}: a no good piece of shit offers his wife and infant daughter to pay for the supplies he needs to continue on with his mining ventures.

Anything else that’s like these?

I *think* the manor house was decrepit and falling apart and that he was trying to restore his family’s heritage. Or maybe the land was given to him by the king for his service and he was just taking his pick from the locals?

I *want* to say it’s older (circa 2000 or earlier) but I can’t say that with any certainty.

Any ideas?

On mobile, I used to be able to type in the spoiler code/tag and then it would put up the black bars that you have to click to see what it says. It no longer appears to do anything

&gt;!Example spoiler text!<

I really want to read about soul mates who find each other over and over throughout time. Maybe sometimes the circumstances of their lives prevent them from being together and maybe in some lives they live happily.

But I really want it to be clear that they are the same souls reincarnating. I’ve been finding a lot of time travel (like Outlander) but I want actually distinct lives throughout different time eras with the same souls searching for each other.

Anything like that out there?

If it matters, I heavily prefer historical and/or fantasy with preferable little to no present day, but obviously we’re talking about multiple time lines so it’s likely at least one or two will be fairly contemporary.

I’ve only recently started reading westerns and it surprised me how much I’ve enjoyed them. By happenstance, I’ve read a few books by different authors that feature some kind of “other brother” dynamic. I don’t know if it’s more common in westerns for some reason or if I’m just somehow finding them. But I felt like doing a themed review, so here we go.

{Texas Destiny by Loraine Heath}. This was the first western I read and I was hooked. I reviewed the entire series here: https://www.reddit.com/r/RomanceBooks/s/hkOt0HUN2J

But the gist of book one is that older brother Dallas has sent for a mail order bride then goes and breaks his leg, so he has to send middle brother Houston to go get this girl. It’s a three week journey back to the homestead and middle brother and mail order bride have a hell of a time together. 100% recommended. No cheating. See linked post for full review because my thoughts haven’t changed.

{His Secondhand Wife by Cheryl St John}. Wild brother has married some hapless girl, gotten her pregnant, then gotten himself killed. So responsible, brooding, scared Other Brother Noah steps up and marries her for reals and brings her back to the farm. Very angsty and emotional. A lot of homesteading/slice of life, which I really enjoyed. Also a 100% recommendation. And again no cheating since first brother is dead (and kind of an asshole). I’ve picked up other Cheryl St John books because of how much I loved this book but this one is still the best I’ve read from her.

{The Irish Bride by Alexis Harrington}. This bond is different than the other books in this list. Although it is a western frontier setting, the theme of the book is more about immigration than the struggle of the Other Brother, though Farrell does have some internal struggles reconciling the perfect brother with being the one who handed her off to the Other Brother she has to marry. There’s some off-page sexual assault against Farrell right at the start. She whacks the Lord’s son and escapes but he is determined to have her. At the same time, some other events are going down in the village that lead to Other Brother needing to escape to protect his family. To protect everyone, it’s determined that Farrell will marry him and they will escape to America together. She learns to trust Aidan and (of course) everything works out. No cheating. It was an entertaining book and I liked how it felt more about the plot line than a “normal” romance where sometimes the plot line is contrived a bit to propel the love story forward. This plot line felt very “natural” and so it has a historical fiction vibe while still being a romance at its core. I think this is my second Alexis Harrington book and I liked this one better than the first (which was Harper’s Bride). I’ll definitely pick up other books from her in the future.

{Parting Gifts by Loraine Heath} Maddie has no other choice but to seek employment at the local brothel. She has traded her coat and her shoes for food and has nothing left but her body. On finding out that Maddie is a virgin, the Madam auctions her off to the highest bidder. Respectable Charles buys her and takes her away. He then reveals that he wants her to be his wife and mother to his three children. The love of his life has died and he wants a mother for his children but he doesn’t not want a full romantic marriage with Maddie. She accepts because her other choice is to go back to the brothel. So they get home and she meets Other Brother Jesse who has smoldering eyes, broad shoulders, and an intensity she can’t get away from. The line of cheating in this book is a little complicated because Maddie and Charles actually are married but he has made it very clear that their marriage is not a full, real marriage, however Maddie is committed to being a good wife and mother. Jesse also very much respects and loves his brother so it’s an odd dynamic here that is technically wrapped up in the end but I’m not sure I’m convinced. Over all, I did really enjoy the angst of the forbidden angle and obviously I’ll keep reading from Ms Heath. Her westerns appear to be the best so far.

Tell me your thoughts!

Maybe she’s a widow and can’t do the hard labor like fixing the fence and he does it for a meal and bed?

{Texas Splendor by Lorraine Heath} had this

Anything else out there?