SBTB Goodreads Group discussion

Hi there,

I've been thinking a lot about this issue lately, for obvious reasons... It really cuts a bit deeper for me since I mostly read historicals and it's easy to fall into a rut of reading about white lords and ladies in their 20s.

Could we exchange recs for diverse romance? By diverse I mean to include books about/written by POC, m/m or f/f, non Christian MCs, older Mcs, etc.

I'll start with a couple of total shoo-ins in the historical category:

An Extraordinary Union

This was a 4.5 star read for me, just a tad marred by some eleventh-hour plot developments I didn't care for.

True Pretenses

5 stars, couldn't love the hero more. He's a Jewish con man who falls for a very proper Tory woman.

And ANYTHING by K. J. Charles -- I'm reading (and loving) the first in her Society of Gentlemen series. Sins of the Cities was another fantastic series, and book 2 is my favorite.

What are yours?

This is def a rec thread that I would be interested in - I really enjoy historicals.

Hamilton's Battalion: A Trio of Romances is wonderful set of three diverse short stories by Alyssa Cole, Rose Lerner and Courtney Milan. Even though they are not full-length stories, they are fully realized, brilliant, and very satisfying.

Alyssa Cole's historical American novels are exemplary and if you have not already read Beverly Jenkins, she is a favourite of mine.

Jeannie Lin writes pretty wonderful historical romances and fiction set in China.

For a nice, spicy regency m/m, All In with the Duke by Ava March.

There is a New York, Victorian age, Sherlockian, f/f short novella series by Debra Hyde (The Charlotte Olmes series). The first book is Of White Snakes & Misshaped Owls. *Perhaps more mystery than romance, but I like the relationship between Charlotte and Joanna.

I have recently stumbled onto (thank you Wocinromance.com) Vanessa Riley, who writes about people of color in Regency times. I am starting with her Unveiling Love serial series, which looks promising.

Good to hear about K.J. Charles - I have one one my kindle, but have not read it yet.

Also, I read a short story compilation that was historical-ish, but maybe more fantasy, To the Victor. The stories were mostly either m/m or f/f, and ranged from good to great, with only one that I felt was a real clunker.

The Night Watch by Samantha McLeod is about a poly (M/M/F/F) relationship, set in an unspecified medieval time and place.

❇Critterbee wrote: "Also, I read a short story compilation that was historical-ish, but maybe more fantasy, To the Victor. The stories were mostly either m/m or f/f, and ranged from good to great, with..."

Let me know how the Vanessa Riley series goes -- a totally new name for me, thanks!!!

Somehow I've been balking at the Hamilton short stories, although all three authors are favorites of mine... Glad to know you enjoyed it, I will check it out.

Thanks for adding to this thread!!

Also, I haven't read it (not out yet) but I am intrigued by the next Cat Sebastian -- non-binary MC:

Unmasked by the Marquess

Hamilton's Battalion really has quite little Hamilton in it, if that was what was stopping you from reading it. It is soooo good!

All three of the stories are standalone, but have light links to each other, and the writing is as great as you would expect from Cole, Lerner and Milan. My favourite was the Alyssa Cole story That Could Be Enough, but honestly all three stories were 5 star reads.

I've only read Vanessa Riley's The Bittersweet Bride, but I thought it was very well done, and I'm looking forward to reading her backlist. Ditto on Alyssa Cole - I've loved everything I read by her, including her new contemporary.

I still haven't read Hamilton's Battalion, which is ridiculous, because Cole and Milan are two of my favorite authors.

I've been on more of a contemporary kick lately, so I have lots more recs for that!

McIaudia,
Historicals with commoners as the protagonists are my ultimate romance catnip. Love this thread, thank you!

Stuff to second:
❤️Rose Lerner!!❤️- ALL her books; in Listen to the Moon (the butler & maid one) there is a south Asian cook & I want her to get her HEA so bad- Lerner has talked about writing this one in future....
❤️K.J. Charles❤️- still believe Think of England is one of the best titles for a romance novel ever.
❤️Cat Sebastian❤️ vicar & sea captain got to love it!
❤️Courtney Milan❤️- loved her astronomer heroine in Talk Sweetly to Me
❤️Alyssa Cole❤️- love her historicals especially Let It Shine (Jewish boxer & Freedom Rider heroine); her dystopian trilogy is such fresh approach & liked how it was a mix of m|f, m|m & age gap m|f. Signal Boost
❤️Jeannie Lin❤️- some of her books are set in the Tang Dynasty & wholly moley her covers:


Other authors that are worth a try:
❤️Beverly Jenkins- aka Queen Bev, Slayer of Words. She has a huge back catalog because she has been writing for YEARS. Recommend to just pick a book, then see you in a couple years 😉. My gateway book into her work was Destiny's Captive which is about a lady pirate that steals the hero's ship: epic meet-cute.
❤️Sherry Thomas- I believe she is Chinese-American- she plays around and has so much fun with language. One of her newer series is a gender bent Sherlock Holmes- A Study in Scarlet Women
❤️Alisha Rai- trying to remember, think she mostly writes contemporaries. She can put together lots of angst (which is typically a "no thanks" for me) but she smashes it together with humor & it's just fabulous. Lots of South-Asian rep Hate to Want You
❤️Lauren Willig- her Pink Carnation series is pretty typical Napoleonic War/spies/set in two time period/aristoratic historical romance. One in the series has a South-Asian hero and another has a heroine & hero in their 40s & 50s- The Passion of the Purple Plumeria
❤️Gail Carriger- steam punk lovely f|f Romancing the Inventor and m|m Romancing the Werewolf
❤️Libba Bray- Her Diviners series set in 1920s NY has Jewish, African-American, gay and lesbian characters. Subjects that are covered in the books are: Spiritualism, the Harlem Renaissance, flappers, Ziegfeld girls among others.
❤️Bonnie Dee- The Tutor- want a m|m retelling of Jane Eyre? Also The Copper- a constable breaks up an illicit orgy and arrests an aristocrat in bed with two other dudes. Nothing says true love like putting your sweetie in the clink.
❤️Yangsze Choo- her book The Ghost Bride deals with an impoverished heroine in China, that marries the dead son of a wealthy family as a "Ghost Bride". Kind of dreamy/ Is this reality? kinda thing going on.
❤️Mackenzi Lee-The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue young adult/ lgbtq/ romp across Europe
❤️Jessica Khoury - The Forbidden Wish Retelling of Aladdin where genie is a woman.
❤️Mary Balogh- Only Beloved the heroine is 39, I think & the hero is in his late 40s which for romance is geriatric, lol.
❤️Jordan L. Hawk- "Whyborne & Griffin Series" is about a museum linguist and a Pinkerton agent investigate spooky mysteries. m|m, horror elements Widdershins
❤️Taylor Jenkins Reid- The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo- an old Hollywood film star recounts her transformation from poor Cuban-American slum dweller to one of the most glamorous blonde bombshells in the world. Also African-American & lgbtq rep. Wouldn't necessarily categorize this as a romance but does have heavy romantic elements...7 husbands, I mean come on.
❤️C.S. Pacat- in their Captive Prince series a Warrior Prince is captured and made to be a pleasure slave in a neighboring kingdom & has to work with his enemy to survive & save his nation while remaining incognito. m|m loosely gladiatoral Captive Prince
❤️Meljean Brook- In her Iron Seas steam punk series Britain has been newly liberated from the Mongolian Horde (think an alternative history where they conquered all of Europe). They controlled their new subjects once upon a time with nanobots- which unfortunately turned some of them into zombies---stick with me here-- In a newly liberated London the heroine in her first book is a police inspector that is half Asian (this not a super comfortable identity to be). She has to navigate doing her dangerous job/ Victorian social restrictions/ and being a hated minority in a society still recovering from colonialism The Iron Duke. Also in another book a character comes from a secret Icelandic, matriarchal society- so you know, the usge.

Other resources that might be helpful:
Sil over at The Book Voyagers has some great recommendations especially for books about/written by POC. She does tend to lean toward contemporaries & young adult but there are some historical gems in there too.

Also WOC in Romance is a great resource, that is detrimental to the wallet.

**If you'd like some contemporary recs the field expands for characters/authors of color and especially lgbtq rep.**

Additionally if you need a break from reading a great period movie starring Gugu Mbatha-Raw is Belle.

It's about a mixed race daughter of a Royal Navy Admiral that is raised by her aristocratic great-uncle in 18th century England. It would definitely appeal to romance readers.

I have been on an Alisha Rai binge ever since reading Hate to Want You, so I'll second the rec for her stuff.

Nalini Signh is a favorite of mine if you're looking for paranormals, but her contemporary series is a lot fun too.

If you want some sweet YA romances with diverse characters, I highly recommend When the Moon Was Ours and anything else by Anna-Marie McLemore.

I just finished this one over the weekend, it got four stars from me:

His Convenient Marchioness

Hero is 50 and heroine 32, so a bit of a May-December romance with marriage of convenience thrown in. Not ground breaking but deftly done and a quick and enjoyable read. Since older MCs are harder to come by I thought it fit the spirit of this thread.

I'm following this because this is my goal this year, to read more diverse romances. I've read a lot of the authors on this thread, but I second the poster who hadn't read Hamilton's Battalion yet. For some reason I've been resisting it too, although I love every one of those authors. Maybe it was the Hamilton aspect that's a block for me. I'll definitely start it now.

The Arden St Ives books: How to Bang a Billionaire and How to Blow It with a Billionaire by Alexis Hall (who is a queer dude) turn Fifty Shades into gay billionaire drama, but the third book is still forthcoming. I just finished the second book yesterday, but I really love the voice of these.

Jae wrote: "The Arden St Ives books: How to Bang a Billionaire and How to Blow It with a Billionaire by Alexis Hall (who is a queer dude) turn Fifty Shades into gay billionaire ..."
Alexis Hall's Glitterland
is definitely on my radar!! As I understand it, it had been unavailable due to changing publishers or something like that, but it's coming up! Glad to know you liked his voice.

Edit to note that it looks available now... Hmm... Gotta check book budget!

Yeah he had pulled his titles from Riptide, but I think everything is back now and the billionaire books are a Hachette imprint anyway.

Talia Hibbert is a new discovery for me - I think I saw "The Princess Trap" recommended here a while ago, but it was actually my least favorite of her books that I've read now.

I *loved* "A Girl Like Her" though there was some angst about an abusive ex....but I really loved the characters and the way race and class and disability were handled.

KJ Charles does *great* reviews on goodreads - just look at her "read books" and the shelves she has for some wonderful books to put on your "to read" shelf.

Tracey Livesay, too! I read Love On My Mind in 2016 and really liked it. I didn't love the next one in the series, Along Came Love, quite as much, but I don't remember why. I do remember feeling like Livesay addressed some of the issues interracial couples face realistically but without being a total bummer.

Which is to say that I don't want authors (even or maybe especially POC authors) to pretend like there aren't issues when a couple is interracial, but I also don't want those issues to totally overwhelm the romance either.

I had bought an inspiration title off Kobo because I wanted to try the genre.

the title is, "The Truth Is The Light (The Blessed Trinity Series, #6)"

I liked the contemporary setting and the unfamiliar to me characters. Given that I had watched some Penn Jillett skeptic specials from that HBO series he had done, my mind frame was not in the best place for the book.

I want to restart reading it again.

I recently read Jasmine Guillory's The Wedding Date
.

Author of Colour, Heroine is a woman of colour, hero is white.
Loved it so much I ordered her next book at 50% of the way through this one. I know SBTB did a posdcast interview with Jasmine recently.