Looking for specific romance trope

[kentosbento]

Originally Posted by meeera

Mia Hopkins might interest you? Thirsty and Trashed.

If it's city woman/country man that you are interested in more specifically, Australian rural romance does this trope extensively.

Smart Bitches Trashy Books has a Rec League post on "he's not worthy" here which may also help.

Wow, what a smorgasbord. Thank you for the link, this looks very promising indeed!

[kentosbento]

Originally Posted by Dr. Drib

I was referring to post #4 (where some titles are mentioned that may be of interest to you), and also to the fact that the Burroughs titles mentioned are no longer available here at Mobileread. (This was before you made post #8.)

Thank you for your thoughtful response, and I hope that you locate what you're looking for.

Then I apologize. I truly get frustrated when people answer with a thoughtless redirection after the poster has already been through countless searches and are making a last ditch attempt to reach out and so my hackles were raised. Again, sorry about that.

[kentosbento]

Originally Posted by Catlady

Do you mean books in which the heroine haughtily thinks she's too good for the hero, or ones in which the hero himself thinks he's not worthy of the heroine?

The latter situation occurs in many romances, both historical and contemporary--e.g., the hero returns from war wounded in mind and/or body and feels unworthy of love, or he's a self-made man and she's one of the privileged elite. Some examples here.

For the former, Goodreads has a "heroine spoiled" shelf, which might fit your search.

I did not know this rec-league existed but now have plenty of suggestions to peruse!

Definitely looking for a modern setting on the latter, though I'm also very down for all the historical romances featuring it as well. Thank you very much!

[kentosbento]

Originally Posted by hildea

Trope hunt, that's fun!

The first one I think of is True Pretenses by Rose Lerner.
http://www.roselerner.com/bookshelf/...rue-pretenses/



I'll try to think of more. Are the genders important? I mean, are you also interested in books where he is to good for her? Or romances with two men, or two women?

Yes, I'm only hunting for novels where the hero feels undeserving of the heroine, hero is trailer trash, etc, etc. Only because I feel like I've seen too many "popular boy falls for mousey girl" type YA novels while on this hunt.

Thanks for the rec, (I feel like this is one of those books you know how it'll end by just the synopsis, tee hee.) I like that it's written in a male narrative.

[Catlady]

Originally Posted by kentosbento

I did not know this rec-league existed but now have plenty of suggestions to peruse!

Definitely looking for a modern setting on the latter, though I'm also very down for all the historical romances featuring it as well. Thank you very much!

You might try some books from Lori Wilde's Twilight, Texas and Cupid, Texas series for unworthy heroes--can't remember titles, but I recall one with a soldier with PTSD afraid to love the heroine, and one with a former juvenile delinquent returning to his hometown. There's also one where the heroine is a princess who falls in love with a cowboy.

[kentosbento]

Originally Posted by Catlady

You might try some books from Lori Wilde's Twilight, Texas and Cupid, Texas series for unworthy heroes--can't remember titles, but I recall one with a soldier with PTSD afraid to love the heroine, and one with a former juvenile delinquent returning to his hometown. There's also one where the heroine is a princess who falls in love with a cowboy.

All sound exceptional! I'll need to find these titles, many thanks!

[FizzyWater]

There are a couple categories in AAR's "Special Title Listings" page that might give you some options.

https://allaboutromance.com/readers-...istings-index/

Maybe "Across the Tracks" or "Tortured Heroes"? They even break down the options by romance sub-genres (e.g., historical, paranormal, contemporary).

[hildea]

Originally Posted by kentosbento

Yes, I'm only hunting for novels where the hero feels undeserving of the heroine, hero is trailer trash, etc, etc. Only because I feel like I've seen too many "popular boy falls for mousey girl" type YA novels while on this hunt.

There's also the Lynburn Legacy triology by Sarah Rees Brennan, starting with Unspoken. I wouldn't call it a romance (in my opinion that requires the romance to be so important that the book falls apart if you remove it), but there is a romance between the main protagonists, and

Spoiler:

it ends with happy-for-now, probably happy-ever-after

It's a gothic story, in our world but with magic. Kami Glass has lived her whole life with her loving family in an English village. Jared Moore has lived in poverty in the US, with his mother who is convinced that he killed his father. Both of them have had an imaginary friend their whole life, someone they know only as a voice in their head, to whom they can confide all their secret hopes and fears. That's cute and comforting until they meet and realise that the friend isn't imaginary after all...

There are a couple of free prequel short stories you can check out (but only read the "...before I met you" stories before you start the books, unless you like spoilers). The prequels are written from the point of view of minor side characters, here's how they describe our heroes:

Originally Posted by The Spring Before I Met You

There were certain kids at school who could only be described as mad, bad, and dangerous to teach, and Jared Moore was their king. Mariel had only seen him from a distance, wandering around in a leather jacket and a scowl, and she had made sure they stayed distant.

Originally Posted by The Summer Before I Met You

The second girl had climbed out with the first but then proceeded to perform an elaborate goodbye dance with every member of her family. When the two girls stood together, they really did look like something from a movie. The second girl looked like the goofy sidekick, short and a little plump, more colorful and less dignified than her friend. She was wearing a hat that looked like a daisy, yellow on top with a plastic white-petaled brim, and a yellow skirt covered in daisies.

I really, really like this triology (and all the other books I've read by Rees Brennan).

[FizzyWater]

Originally Posted by hildea

It's a gothic story, in our world but with magic. Kami Glass has lived her whole life with her loving family in an English village. Jared Moore has lived in poverty in the US, with his mother who is convinced that he killed his father. Both of them have had an imaginary friend their whole life, someone they know only as a voice in their head, to whom they can confide all their secret hopes and fears. That's cute and comforting until they meet and realise that the friend isn't imaginary after all...

This sounds very interesting....going to have to look for it when I get home (I'm at work at the moment).

[kentosbento]

Got a really great handful of recs on my reading list now, thanks everyone!
How about any romances with some really gritty heroes with poor grammar, bad manners, overall just poor hygiene? I know I'm asking for weird character types and feel a bit of shame in doing so.

[FizzyWater]

Originally Posted by kentosbento

How about any romances with some really gritty heroes with poor grammar, bad manners, overall just poor hygiene?

Poor hygiene doesn't spell "hero" in my mind. But hey, it takes all kinds. Maybe there are a few out there...

[kentosbento]

Originally Posted by FizzyWater

Poor hygiene doesn't spell "hero" in my mind. But hey, it takes all kinds. Maybe there are a few out there...

I guess the more general term should've been love interest?

[meeera]

Originally Posted by kentosbento

Got a really great handful of recs on my reading list now, thanks everyone!
How about any romances with some really gritty heroes with poor grammar, bad manners, overall just poor hygiene? I know I'm asking for weird character types and feel a bit of shame in doing so.

Maybe The Taming by Jude Deveraux? Tillie Cole's Raze? Or try some highlander romances.