Soooooooo, I work in publishing on the self publishing side. I will obviously have stronger opinions because I see cover artists as people, very specific people I know and like.

With that said I'm really struggling to deal with the rise of AI covers, even from large publishing houses who I KNOW have artists on staff.

I bring this up because I just dropped a client who didn't want to take my advice to invest in a proper cover, done by an actual artists, prior to launching her book. I just don't want to have to push marketing with every 5th comment about the use of AI again. I dont want to have watch the writing scrutinized for AI use.

To be frank, the books.... particularly romance where the audience is almost entirely women that have AI covers do not sell as well and are plagued by AI discourse over the content of thr story.

This problem seems especially bad in historical romance. Do you pass on books that have obviously identifiable AI use on the cover? Was I dramatic dropping an author because the idea of another book launch where no one wants to talk about the actual book, just the AI use?

Has anyone noticed how Amazon adds these trope filled subtitles to some books?

I've attached some examples here. I don't see this happen with every book and I wonder if it's publisher specific (both these books are Avon). I'm not sure why they bug me lowkey but they do. I think because it gives AI overview? Like I read the summary I know what the tropes are.

I feel very "Old Man Yells at Cloud" and I wonder if it's just me or if others have opinions as well.

Audible just announced that Jonathan Bailey will be leading a celebrity filled narration of Bram Stokers’ Dracula which comes out in October. Now I’m in neeeed 🥵.

I’d be A-Okay without the vampires or paranormal aspects, so! Give me your morally grey to pitch black MMC’s who have that Dracula-esque about them.

- Obsessively devoted and not in a healthy way lol (territorial/possessive)
- So very lonely
- Seductive
- Aristocratic and polished

Good writing is always a major plus! Any era is fine.

I’ve been yearning for a MMC that is celibate for a long time (maybe he’s Demi, maybe he’s got other priorities) but everything changes when he meets FMC. I want someone a relationship that people are SURPRISED to see. Maybe they figured he’d “do his duty” someday with a ton marriage but never imagined he would be…obsessed/into someone.

Examples:

{Slightly Dangerous by Mary Balogh}

Wulfric’s family is surprised and pleased that he is into Christine (he has been celibate for I think 10 months since his mistress passed away)

{Manic Pixie Dream Earl by Jenny Holiday}

Effie’s friends are kinda surprised but happy to see him fall for Julianna. (He’s a virgin)

I really want that reaction from family or friends!! This is an important part (and literally the only reason I didn’t say M/M — so if you have a queer story like this, I am interested!)

No cheating please!

Thank you

Im looking for a book where FMC is just done with him. Completely over his behavior, attitude, what have you.

Perhaps she starts out this way being disgusted by his actions or personality and is won over. Perhaps she is already married or being wooed and is turned off by something he does.

I want FMC to be won over eventually but I'd like MMC to actually have some regret and internal conflict. I would also like FMC to not just cave at the first apology either.

This is sort of half discussion, half me mining for author recommendations.

I tend to go in hard on an author when I like their work and as such tend to read a full catalog before branching out into a new author. I’d like to more casually dabble with authors here and there and so I have the following questions!

It makes no difference to me if you have only ever read a couple of romance authors. I want to know who is your favorite (maybe your top two?) and what you love about their writing.

Is it sense of place? how they draw you into the moment? the world building? character development? the flowery language or that their writing is clean and precise?

My own example is that I love Lisa Kleypas for her world building, connected stories, and smooth character and story arcs. I really enjoy Julia Quinn’s confident, straightforward prose, with tight storylines and bright dialog. Maybe a little outside the genre, but I also enjoy Nancy Mitford for her humor, her vivid characters, and the way she creates atmosphere and setting.

Whatever it is for you, I want to hear!

My favorite baseball team is giving me “strong start, but imploding after the all star break in the dumbest ways possible” vibes (though they won their most recent game, so the roller coaster continues).

Which makes me want to catalog: what’s that one book that started off so strong and promising, only to implode later on? Doesn’t have to be “third act nonsense”, but will happily take those.

Some ones I’ve encountered (probably unpopular opinion):

{Without Words by Ellen O’Connell} - everything after the FMC officially met the MMC’s family was borderline a horror novel. The way the MMC hand-waved every horrible action they pulled off made me nearly chuck my phone across the room. #sheshouldhavestayedwiththedoctorsinColorado.

{An Indecent Invitation by Laura Trentham} - older brother’s best friend? Cool! Spies uncovering a mystery? Even better! the MMC fell in love with the FMC simply because he realized she had breasts? 😒

This happens in books like:

{The Serpent Prince by Elizabeth Hoyt} - the FMC finds him completely unclothed and left for dead in a ditch.

{The King's Man by Elizabeth Kingston} - the FMC nurses him back to health and does not know why the king's 'butcher' was near their (enemy) Welsh lands.

{Romancing the Scot by May McGoldrick} - the MMC opens up a basket that was delivered to him and has the unconscious FMC locked up in it, just clinging on to life.

{On Bended Knee by Celeste Bradley} - the FMC takes the unconscious MMC to her place to nurse him after he is injured by a ram he attempted to fight off and fell under a collapsing pavilion. She did not find him as much as decide to have him brought to her home because everyone else was furious at this intruder destroying their festival.

{Thief of Shadows by Elizabeth Hoyt} - technically, since the book starts with the MMC unconscious in the middle of the road in his Ghost attire when the FMC rescues him but I am sure they have met before. It is her first time meeting the Ghost, though. I am not certain but the first on-page meeting of the MCs of the next book {Lord of Darkness by Elizabeth Hoyt} may have been in this book as well when the FMC faints at a house party and the MMC catches and carries the unconscious woman to another room to recover. There's a hilarious moment in the next book when her first sight of her husband in two years has her think that he looks ancient and has died in his chair.

{Unmask Me if You Can by Shana Galen} - again, not their first meeting since the MCs met and danced together once years ago off-page but that is such a different lifetime ago for both. She also does not recognise him (and he is wearing a mask) when she brings him back to her home in the mountains to nurse him after he got stabbed.

{The Earl is on Fire by Vivienne Lorret} mentions it in its blurb so I assume it will be something like The Serpent Prince with regards to first meetings.

What else can you think of?

I went thrifting for some clothes and found this gem for 99 cents! Almost didn’t go to the book section at all but I’m so glad I did!

I want to read a book wheres shes like super obsessed with him and he doesnt know how to deal with all that.

Like i read books on how hes obsessed with her and all but i want her to be like seriously attracted and obsessed with him.

Im not that picky on genres.

I like historical romances and reverse harem both.

Pretty chill about the kinks too.

But yeah this shouldnt be like one chapter thing. I want this to be a serious topic in the book. Like her being obsessed as hell and he knows.

I dont mind stalking trope i like cutesy romance.

I recently read one alien romance that was similar it was (Never cuff an alien by v k ludwig)

I want that type of trope

Like shes head over heels but he cant give into that type of thing.

Like some forbiddeness that makes it hard for him to give in

Okay now im being really specific ill let you girls decide what i will read

I’m so tired of FMC coming to terms with not being able to get pregnant, learning that the MMC will love her and not care about that, and then they end up magically pregnant anyways (almost always in the epilogue). I want a couple to end up happy either without children entirely or just with adoption.

No magic fixes, *he* chooses *her*. I think I’ve read only two books; from Cecilia Grant and Killian McRae. Would love to read more.

Hello everyone. I am looking for recommendations where I can find easily downloadable audio books by Barbara Cartland. Thank you.

I present for your consideration the stepback cover of {The Elusive Flame by Kathleen E. Woodiwiss}, which is either a) boldly minimalist, or b) lazy and half-hearted. It is WILD.

I have rarely seen a stepback with LESS visual information than the cover itself. I actually laughed when I opened the cover. I mean, I guess it does have a little blurb to give further context, so +1 points there, but I'm deductin -100 points for having the characters floating in some unearthly pastel limbo.

EDIT: I should have used more accurate language, this is a cutout cover, not a stepback per se. It has a little cutout window on the front that shows our couple.

<Description: an image of the exterior cover and interior stepback cover of the historical romance novel "The Elusive Flame" by Kathleen E. Woodiwiss (which is a great name). The cover depicts a dreamy antebellum mansionins soft greens, with our romantic couple seen clinching in the stepback window. The stepback cover, however, is stark and comedically empty; our romantic couple hugs in the lower corner of an othewise vacant pink pastel gradient background. It's as if the cover artist ran out of time, energy, and the will to paint.>

Tell us what HR you are currently reading/listening to or have finished lately? Tell us as much or as little as you want. We just want to hear from you!

What do you think so far? Any great, hilarious, heartbreaking, heartwarming, etc moments? If you have finished, what rating would you give it? Give us the deets!

Fill free to spill all the tea, but remember to mark any spoilers!

This thread repeats every Wednesday.

Whats the horniest book you have read. Im not talking about a book with sex from chapter 1-the epilogue.

Im talking about a horny book. Sexual tension, innuendo, yearning, small touches, excessive/ obsessive interest, masturbation with thoughts of.... like these characters are crazy into one another.

Im not saying no actual sex.... im saying im looking for a book with significant horny build up. ​

Yes, I'm apparently a glutton for punishment, but I have noticed lately that I enjoy the angst and hurt the FMC feels in moments when she sees the MMC's attraction for another woman. Ideally they are betrothed or married when this happens, not just unrequited love scenarios. Examples I love that helped me realize I enjoy this:

{Marry in Haste by M.A. Nichols} FMC sees her husband clearly appreciate the form and figure of his dancing partner.

{Ravishing the Heiress by Sherry Thomas} Millie sees Fitz looking at Isabelle and realized he loves her.

{An Affair Before Christmas by Eloisa James} Poppy walks up while her husband Fletch is heavily flirting with her friend Lady Nevill.

Persuasion is my favorite Jane Austen book and has this vibe as well. I've read a bunch of Persuasion adaptations, but if you know of any I'd like to hear about them.

There may be more that I've encountered, but those are off the top of my head. Any book suggestions for me? Please and thank you.

Are you an author? A blogger? Someone else producing historical romance content of some kind? This is the place to talk about your work and link us up! As per rule 4, please keep self-promotion to these threads unless directly requested.

Please check rule 2 for the definition of historical romance.

This thread repeats every other Wednesday.

I love Eloisa James and I know she isnt everyone’s cup of tea but more often than not she really works for me.

I just bought her new book, {The Last Lady B by Eloisa James} + was horrified to discover it’s written in first-person POV 😭😭 The cover is also such a shift from her usual style, the rest of the series.

I rlly don’t want to sound like a grouch but I was soooo looking forward to it, so I’m a bit baffled by the change in style. I’ve noticed first-person POV becoming much more common in contemporary romance, and I usually enjoy it there, but it feels so unusual for historical romance, especially from Eloisa James.

Has anyone read it - enjoyed it? Recommend pushing past the first few pages?

Also, is this becoming a bigger trend in HR publishing? With HR seemingly struggling compared to other romance genres, do you think publishers are encouraging authors to adopt things like first-person POV and more cartoon-y covers to appeal to a new audience?

UPDATE: I have read it and I enjoyed it! Still not a fan of first person POV but my faith in EJ remains.

I hadn’t seen this before today: A Waltz to Remember 27 October 2026

>! Stephanie Ware and … Bertrand Lamarr from the Westcott series !<

I finally got {Lord of Scoundrels by Loretta Chase}! It's alas the more recent cover, but I've been looking for any version of this I could find for ages, excited to read it!

I have never actively tried to convince myself to DNF a series, usually I push through when I like an author. There is little (possibly even no) excitement or engaging storylines in these books. Pippa and Ben's are the best ones in my opinion with Nicholas/Winifred's being the worst. I was excited for appearances from the Westcott series, but it was bland and not engaging. It is a kissing only book, which may be best since we met Winifred as a little girl. Devlin's story had a lot of background to set up which made his longer than it needed to be. I will still read Stephanie/Bertram's book and I assume Owen's will come out next year. I am hoping Stephanie's gives off similar vibes to A Foolish Flirtation by Alice Coldbreath, but we shall see. Also, was I the only one expecting the Dad's mistress to pop back up? The same line of her being escorted away to never be seen from again pops up in almost every book.