I'm looking for something where the FMC is much much older than the MMC, with gentle femdom preferred but not a requirement. I'm fairly new to romance novels because I have a fairly specific group of tastes, and haven't had much luck finding things like this. Thank you!
This is a series I've been wanting to finish for more than a year but it got buried beneath all my projects. I finally dusted it off and I'm finishing the editing right now!
I’m looking for romance recommendations, but I’m having a weirdly hard time finding exactly what I want.
I want an actual romance/relationship and a real plot, not straight-up erotica, but I do want some sex in it. Ideally, the sex scenes are fairly detailed and written from the male POV (or at least include his perspective). I’m definitely looking for something spicier than The Rosie Project — I liked the romance there, but I want a book that’s more comfortable actually showing the physical/sexual side of the relationship.
The biggest thing is that I want the male character to feel like an actual, believable man. He doesn’t need to be some 6’5”, impossibly ripped billionaire/fae warrior/sex god who has never experienced an emotion until he meets the FMC. I’m looking for a guy I can actually relate to and enjoy reading as.
I’m totally fine with fantasy, sci-fi, contemporary, etc. Male POV is strongly preferred; dual POV is fine too. I don’t mind a good amount of spice, even fairly explicit scenes — I just want romance and plot to still be the point of the book, rather than the book existing purely for sex.
Basically: romance novel with a believable male protagonist + genuine emotional relationship + detailed sex from his perspective.
Any recommendations?
The Broken Mountain is an island of rock deep within a sea of endless sand. Shrouded in forgotten mysteries, the ancient fortress of the elves casts a shadow long enough to touch distant Ashura. Along it winds the path to Marduss’s lost tomb and for Naroh, a still penniless historian, it’s all he can do to keep from sprinting towards it.
Yet, crossing the Great Desert is not a thing to be taken lightly.
It is vast and empty, pitiless and uncompromising. There is nothing approaching kindness to be found between the dunes and spirits dance to blur the path ahead. Beyond that, a priest laughs, madness tugs at a relic-buyer’s grin, elven gangsters draw their knives, and a sister’s hatred burns like fire.
Survival will mean becoming more. It will mean the growth of a clan and relying on Eshi and Amna: two incredible women who have become so very important.
Then, there’s Issia Malash.
Focused and driven by a nameless hunger, the necromancer princess is on the hunt. Her patience is gone and it matters not that a tomb diver is well used to running.
For Issia is a woman who gets what she wants, no matter one’s willingness to give.
Tomb Divers 2 is 148k words of desert crossing, necromancer dodging, giant scorpion action. Harem fantasy novel with action, romance, and explicit sex. It’s been professionally edited and I’m super happy with how everything turned out. Thank you for your support!
US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0HCXV5TZP
UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0HCXV5TZP
CA: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B0HCXV5TZP
AU: https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B0HCXV5TZP
DE: https://www.amazon.de/dp/B0HCXV5TZP
ES: https://www.amazon.es/dp/B0HCXV5TZP
FR: https://www.amazon.fr/dp/B0HCXV5TZP
I'm looking for contemporary romance stories, but not urban fantasy. Not litrpg, or anything. Just a normal romance about a dude and the woman/women who love him. I suppose some rather extraordinary stuff could fit in there, like billionaire romance, or maybe something angsty with traumatized characters, but I'm hoping for stuff with an everyman male lead.
I feel like the majority of readers prefer a focus on the relationship aspect. The genre is called “ROMANCE for men” after all.
But could you recommend some books that have a great plot, which keeps you wanting to continue, while also featuring some spicy scenes without so much time being spent on feelings, cuddling, etc?
Thanks in advance!
Blackwell Link’s The Mythseeker is one of the best erotic books I’ve read in a long while.
I'm writing this review to draw more attention to this book because, despite its standout quality, I have yet to see anyone talk about it. Not wanting it to drown amid a sea of generic titles, I decided to wholeheartedly recommend it to all the haremlit fans here. If you're into the genre, chances are that you won't be disappointed.
Light spoilers for the whole book.
Here's the premise: Our main character Belromanazar is an ancient and powerful wizard. But long ago, he was just a simple novice, learning magic in a remote fishing village, dreaming of a bigger world. The Mythseeker is ostensibly the first volume of Belromanazar’s fictional memoirs, following Bel from his early days as an apprentice wizard to a fledgling adventurer, not knowing that one day he will be a legendary archmage.
All in all, it’s a rather straightforward fantasy adventure coming-of-age story with sex scenes. What really stands out is how the book is structured. As the main character’s “memoirs” focus on his romantic relationships, each chapter focuses on a different heroine, or multiple heroines. There are time skips of varying length between chapters and they collectively cover a few years of in-story time. Bel starts out as a rather clueless young adult and, over the course of the story, becomes a capable wizard and a talented lover. He’s a damn fine protagonist, likeable and has a clear motivation that shapes the narrative. He’s earnest and romantic and always trying to get more out of life.
The pseudo-memoir style also opens up a lot of space for both intimate scenes and worldbuilding. The setting is a pretty standard, D&D-inspired fantasy world, but it gets fleshed out pretty well, thanks to how the plot constantly moves forward. Every chapter introduces new places, new characters and new concepts. This grants it a real sense of scale; you always feel like you’re only glimpsing a small part of a bigger, more exciting epic.
On the other side of things, the sex scenes are also really good.
Blackwell Link is originally an erotic romance writer (there are a few non-fantasy stories of him online) and it shows. Despite the high number of heroines, each sex scene in the book has a real sense of intimacy. The main character is not collecting a battle harem for the sake of it, he just naturally builds one by being an adventurous lover. They’re all well-written, with a frank, yet charmingly romantic prose. Magic and the fantastical nature of the characters play a role in almost every encounter, making the scenes feel actually unique.
The heroines themselves all feel fleshed out and every one of them affects the story in some way; either through the main plot or through how they shape the main character’s development. Some of them are explicitly soulmates for Belromanazar, while others are simply casual, one-time lovers. There’s a seemingly innocent elven noble, a curious mermaid, a shy “dragonblooded” sorcerer, and multiple other adventurers - a lot of variety within the cast.
However, the djinn Zhahllalia (who is briefly mentioned in the back cover blurb) is the true standout here. She’s the heart and soul of the book and a big part of the reason there’s a plot in the first place. The narration is absolutely head over heels for her and tries its best to make sure you are too. If you like cute yet capable heroines with strong personalities, you’re in for a good time.
In conclusion, it's a 10/10 masterpiece. Right now, there are very few books out there quite like The Mythseeker. It has charm, it has heart and it truly tries to do something unique. If you think all haremlit books nowadays feel the same and want some bite to your wish fulfillment, don’t sleep on it.
I lost a book I had in my tbr which was written for the male demographic I think of a female alpha in college who was bullying an introverted male (omega?). I had around 1k reviews on Goodreads? Pls help!!
It’s one of those days where a random picture leads to a request.
Due to Amazon taking a frickin’ month to deliver the last volumes of Vixen War Bride and life being a general mess recently, I haven’t had time to put together much in the way of reviews. So here’s something a little different: Arachnophiliac’s “Annals of the Abandoned,” brief reviews of the books I couldn’t be bothered to complete for whatever reason.
Life is too short to waste on books that are uninteresting. But rather than hate on things I didn’t finish – hate being just as much a waste of time – it’s more edifying to critically examine why different books failed to capture my interest.
A book’s inclusion here does not mean that it is necessarily bad, merely that it wasn’t to my taste or failed to hold my attention. A piece of media doesn’t need to be awful for me to drop it; it just has to be less interesting or emotionally engaging than the myriads of other options. Nor does it mean that it would fail you. Everything here reflects merely my own tastes. Let’s begin…
The Abandoned:
In no particular order of either time or merit:
Blackwood Milk Farm by Eden Redd: This book was the literary equivalent of ‘porn with plot.’ While the premise was intriguingly lurid, the execution was rather bland and the prose lifeless. What plot there was serves only to loosely connect sex scenes, and their frequency quickly became tedious rather than titillating. I dropped this out of sheer boredom. RFM exists on a continuum of spice and story, and I begrudge none their preferences, but I need a little more narrative and personality than was on offer here.
Five Golden Coins by M. E. Thorne: I’ve actually enjoyed Thorne’s other work, but this was a miss for me. Unlike Hearthomancy, the MC was too bland to latch onto: no real personality, motivations or goals, nor showing any distress over finding himself in a video game dungeon with no memory of his past or identity. While finding yourself in a game world might be enough for LitRPG fans to self-insert, it isn’t enough for me, nor was the world unique enough to hold my attention. It felt like reading a dispassionate Let’s Play of the world’s most derivative MMORPG. If anyone has read it and it gets better, let me know and I might grant it a second chance.
A Touch of Enchantment by Derek Desmond: I’ve heard accusations that this was written with AI, but I will not attribute to AI what can be explained by amateur writing. It started off well enough, but the overly florid prose made reading tedious. Such narration is fine – welcome even – when setting the scene, but when action beats pause to examine the poetic artistry of a lamp falling to the ground, you’re just being overdramatic. That and the odd continuity errors made it an easy drop. I’m no stranger to dull verbosity; I once slogged my way through Atlas Shrugged after all. But this was even more of a chore to read.
Boundless by Miranda Saphire: I picked this up based on a monstergirl rec and made it about 60 pages in before something else – I forget what – caught my attention and I never bothered going back. Perhaps the rather, um… extended list of content warnings at the front gave me subconscious pause. Call me coward if you will, but I’m not feeling brave enough to get back into a book with such listed delights as pegging, bondage, spanking, edging, and (I quote) “male character growing breasts.” If I’d gotten the content warning ahead of time, I doubt I would have even started, but if anything listed tickles your testicles, more power to ya.
Ranger of the Outer Rim by Travis Crowe: To quote Peter Griffin “It insists upon itself.” It’s a story that seems to be trying hard to be gritty while not having the writing chops to make it impactful. I was not sure why I should care about the main lead or want to see him succeed, nor was I entirely sure what his goals were other than to be grim and broody. It’s far from awful, but again, I just have more interesting things to read and the promise of an eventual harem isn’t enough to slog through bland writing.
Lamentations of the Turnip Farmer by Snekguy: Might trigger a few readers here, so let me preface: Snekguy is a skilled and creative writer, and I enjoyed his short story in the Anthology, and frankly, this is written well for what it is… but it is not for me. I found the MC to be a rather dull character, a man once again with no motivation or goals, nor personality beyond blandly sarcastic. I’m not even sure what the plot is outside of a single repeated joke. I’m neutral on orc girls, and slice-of-life is not my preference, but if either is yours, you might enjoy. For me, I would have liked it more as a short story.
Innocent Devil’s Harem by Kaizer Wolf: This one was free, so I gave it a try. But as they say, easy come, easy go. It’s not bad, but also doesn’t really do much beyond basic harem formula with passable prose. The male lead was alright, but the world and setup failed to entice. Thinking on it a little more, part of the problem is pacing. There isn’t much mystery to the MC nor does tension have time to build: things are revealed and conflict settled too quick. That’s likely in order to get to the real point of building the harem, but if your plot and characterizations are second thought to collecting girls like Pokémon, your book is not for me.
…And the Not-Quite Yet:
These I actually intend to finish at some point, so they are not yet truly abandoned. For now, though, it’s still technically DNF.
Harsh Starlight by M. E. Thorne: Poor guy made this list twice in addition to getting a separate long form critique from me. It’s nothing personal, man, I promise. If it’s any consolation, the fact that I’m willing to try more of your writing puts you in a class above most here. And I actually made it 2/3rds through this one before newer and shinier books distracted, further than any of the others listed. If I was more familiar with WH40K I think it’d be more engaging, but there is at least some solid plotting and worldbuilding, the MC has clear goals, and he is active in getting there. As far as pulp sci-fi harem goes, it’s pretty good, and I would actually recommend checking it out. Now that it’s finally in paperback, it’s likely to earn a more permanent place in the library and get off this list for good.
WYLAMG: Velise by Cebelius: Seriously? This one should have been right up my spider-loving alley, and I had high hopes for it. It’s very well written, though it goes into a bit more politics and society than I like. But it’s also Kindle exclusive, which is a recurring theme for many of these. Both this and the previous entry were victims of how I subconsciously treat digital books, which is unfortunate. Again, newer physical books came in and this got shoved aside. I keep forgetting I even have it, to be honest.
Captive Bride by Bonnie Dee: I debated putting this on the list as I am kind of still reading and do intend to finish, but it’s also nowhere near priority. The plot, prose and leads are all good, but despite having dual POV it’s also solidly RFW and not quite to my tastes. And per the theme, it’s Kindle exclusive, which means I forget about it easier.
The Analysis:
Now, in addition to being a pretentious critic, I’m also a mathematician, so I must analyze. Let’s crunch some numbers for the library, shall we?
RFM Paperback Titles = 47
- Less Completed (39)
- Less TBR (6)
Yields 2 DNF => 4% DNF, 13% TBR, 83% Completed
RFM Kindle Titles = 23
- Less Completed (13)
- Less TBR (2)
Yields 8 DNF => 35% DNF, 8% TBR, 57% Completed
Monoromance Titles = 42
- Less Completed (33)
- Less TBR (7)
Yields 2 DNF => 4% DNF, 17% TBR, 79% Completed
Harem Titles (Sequel Inclusive) = 28
- Less Completed (20)
- Less TBR (1)
Yields 7 DNF => 25% DNF, 4% TBR, 71% Completed
Of note, only 3/13 harem series have been continued past volume 1 => 23% Overall continuation Rate (alternatively, 3/7 or 43% when excluding titles that were DNF’d in volume 1)
Parting Thoughts:
The vast majority of stories here are Kindle exclusive, due to how I use my Kindle. Being convenient, I take it when I might have a few minutes to spare for reading. But that makes me treat reading on it as a filler activity rather than a deep-focus activity, something that I pick up and put down with little thought. As such, I tend to treat the material on it the same way, almost disposable.
Paperback has both a larger sunk cost and a physical presence, both of which prevent me from forgetting it for long. For a digital book I barely ‘see’ and spent maybe $2-3 on? That’s much easier to write off. For all the authors out there, make of that what you will.
Taken together, though, the biggest reason I DNF is boredom, typically stemming from lackluster writing. And the worst thing that any creative work can be is boring. Make me laugh, make me cry, make me think, make me curious, or even make me angry enough to hate-read, but make me feel something. Any work of fiction has only a narrow window to capture some feeling before I pursue something better. For me personally (whether harem or mono), it needs to be a relatable or fascinating MC and/or an intriguing plot/mystery. Just the promise of ‘there will be tits’ is not enough.
All this is just my situation, however. The genre is wide, and there is room for a lot outside of any individual preference. I would be curious to hear from others their reasons for dropping a book.
This is the weekly post to share what you have been reading. Share anything you have been reading, and any thoughts if you have them. This thread is not limited to romance. Any book is fair game.
Howdy. So, I've recently fallen in a rabbit hole of some sort. I've been looking at a lot of fan works surrounding the ship between Asriel and Dess from Deltarune. POSSIBLE SPOILERS FOR THOSE WHO HAVEN'T PLAYED THE GAME (like me😭)
So, there's this artist on instagram that does amazing art of them together and he perfectly nails the childhood friends secretly in love with each other trope. Here's some of them as an example (Credit to @heartbreak_juanito).
This is the kind of vibe I'm looking for. Childhood friends who grew up together and are very close to each other. I don't want a story that is overly horny/focused on the sex part of romance, I want real, touching emotional depth. Those feelings of nostalgia about the passing of time and growing up, of pure love for the most important person in your world.
My brothers, I want something that will make me cry.
Please mono romance only, no harem, no alphahole, no self insert, just a guy and a girl finally getting together.
(If possible, though not required, some punk/goth girl and soft boy dynamic like in the art. Again, not required.)
(Also please go support the artist on his socials, he does some amazing work.)
One of my favourite stories under the RFM flag is {His Secret Illuminations}. I loved the characters, the teasing happening across the entire novel, and the eventual spice coming at the end of the story. I enjoyed the sequel a lot too, but that's beyond what I'm looking for at the moment
I'm not opposed to sex scenes early on, but when a story waits until well after the halfway point to give me one, it can feel way more satisfying and intense to get
Any recommends? It doesn't have to be a published novel either. Web novels like on Ao3 are perfectly acceptable too.
This will probably be one of the most depressing posts I make.
I won't go into too much detail but I just got out of a very abusive and toxic relationship that consisted of multiple instances of cheating, gaslighting, manipulation, etc.
Right now I just really need things to take my mind off of everything, so I'm just looking for a book where the love interest is just very caring and kind, really supportive and genuinly cares for the protagonist.
It can be cozy slice of life or just going on adventures, but I just really want to feel and know that the love interest genuinly cares about the protagnist.
Ill be honest Im kind of new to this world so I'm kind of open to reading anything in terms of kinks or spice. I did read Velise a few months ago and it was alright, but not really my thing. So I guess I would prefer if they were still humanoid in areas where it mattered, if you catch my meaning.
Also clearly NOTHING with any sort of infidelty or cheating. Harems are alright as long as all parties are consenting and nobody is sneaking around.
Also, as for myself I am on the quieter side and find myself playing video games, reading books, or drawing in my free time if any characters fit that description.
I would really appreciate any recommendations you guys have or even what this sort of subgenre would be called.
I’m not sure if you’ve heard of this, but apparently there’s been a rise in "stay at home boyfriends".
Any book recs that exemplify this viral joke/macroeconomic trend? Doesn’t have to be a literal stay at home boyfriend.
I honestly can’t think of any.
Yes, I played dispatch.
What Im looking for is a monoromance or triangle with a male without powers.
He only has seen supers on tv and for one reason or another he gets thrown into the supers world (Hughie in the boys) or starts dating someone without knowing her masked persona.
He doenst get powers, hes not special, just a guy trying his best like Robert in Dispatch.
Sadly I havent found anything like that, almost every main character in these books is extra special so im okey with harems and any other recommendation with supers.
So far what I found is:
{Saving Supervillains by Bruce Sentar}
Main character has superpowers, is harem.
{Villain for hire by Jay Auri}
Main character has superpowers and is a villain, is harem.
{Superworld by Benjamin Keyworth}
This one gets close as the main character fakes his powers, not sure if it is monoromance or something else.
{Delivering Justice by Silas Sinclair}
Main characters is the only male super, is harem.
{The Hero Game by August Aird}
Main character gets superpowers, is harem.
{So Not a Hero by S.J. Delos}
Female main character, reformed villain. Looks like a monoromance.
{Super Sales on Super Heroes by William D. Arand}
Main character has superpowers, is harem.
{See These Bones by Chris Tullbane}
Main character has superpowers, I think romance is secondary in the book but im not sure.
Every series ends. These families don't.
Four bestselling harem series converge in one anthology, delivering family-focused epilogues that celebrate the lives built after the final page. The messy, warm, explicit reality of what "happily ever after" actually looks like when you're managing a harem, raising children, and still navigating the complicated bonds that hold everything together.
In Peter North's entry, Loghann makes his rounds before a family reunion centered under the branches of the dryad Ruhail. Montgomery Quinn's Calon reflects on his ANZAC past through stories shared with grandchildren, while unresolved history resurfaces. Rem Robotham's Jim supports Sera's transition into motherhood alongside a new cook at Hannigan's who needs some hard-earned harem wisdom. And Micky Carre's Mark faces an unexpected crisis on a routine trip — rescued by the family he built.
Four authors. Four worlds. Four men surrounded by the women and children who make survival worth it.
This is the epilogue every harem fan deserves.
Looking for recommendations where the guy has two girlfriends who are both cool sharing him. I prefer contemporary, but fantasy/scifi is fine too.
Just saying upfront, not trying to be sexist or demeaning in any way, got no problem with smart women in general. However I am specifically looking for the sort of "Me like cute small hooman, me make you mate. Protect hooman, smash threats!" dumb-instinct level of relationship logic. I want that fiercely loyal and protective streak, at a base instinct level. Caveman level intelligence.
I've read plenty of books with physically stronger women, yet most of them also make the women quite clever and intelligent. Those are fine for those stories and not complaining there, but I can't seem to find anything where the brawn > brains applies.
Open to monster girls, and have read many monster girl stories that have dodged this particular trope.
Stories I've already read with strong women:
I want a gender-flipped Tarzan & Jane story where the female is the strong capable survivalist type, and the male is the smart cultured one and they help compliment what the other lacks. In a wholesome context, I don't want any thinly-guised "male superiority" kink books that just degrade and debase women.
