I might have just found my new historical erotica author obsession in Golden Angel. Golden Angel reminds me a lot of Annabel Joseph with the Bridal Discipline series: BDSM set against a Regency backdrop, and shorter stories at 250 pages that pack a psychological punch. Maybe it's the power dynamics of BDSM but these BDSM stories, when they flesh out the characters, can provide new psychological insights into your tried-and-true H+h archetypes!
Philip marries Cordelia, a widow who comes with a spoilt and badly behaved stepdaughter, Gabrielle. Cordelia hasn't had much confidence since her previous husband didn't treat her as his equal, and of course, was a bad lover (usually how you can tell the bad men from the good men in romances lol). Cordelia also lets Gabrielle walk all over her, enabling some of her spoiled child tendencies because 1) she doesn't know how to assert herself and 2) she also loves Gabrielle, often sees her as a sister due to their age, and is a bit of a softie- she can understand why Gabrielle may be rude, or if she is being demanding, give in to her wishes because it isn't a big deal to her.
When Philip marries her, he wants to treat her the way that she should be treated, and he wants her to have a good relationship with Gabrielle. At first, he mostly wants to make sure Cordelia lets Gabrielle know who is in charge, and that Gabrielle cannot act like a brat to get what she wants. However, he starts to feel like Cordelia cares more about Gabrielle than him when she seems to take her side instinctively, or hide things from him. Cordelia does this without thinking that she is hurting Philip.
Philip's Rules reminded me a lot of what I enjoyed about Elizabeth Thornton's The Passionate Prude, which was renamed To Love An Earl because the book also focuses on a hero feeling like the heroine will always take the side of their sibling/family member.
Philip's Rules also reminded me of Carolyn Jewel's The Sinclair Sisters series, in a way that I almost shudder to read Gabrielle's book. There is couple B in Gabrielle and Philip's friend, Felix. And yes they stole the show - I was way more interested in their antics, but they reminded me of Emily and Bracebridge in The Sinclair Sisters series because Emily is in love with Bracebridge but Bracebridge is in love with her sister, an admired woman for her character. Gabrielle thinks Felix loves her sister, who is also considered universally lovable.
Philip's Rules is run amok with happily married couples from a previous series, Domestic Discipline Quartet, so I've already got my eye on that series.
Both Philip's Rules and Birching His Bride are currently free on the Kindle store.