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After

Feast of Sparks

Sierra Simone2019

6 of 6 directions open

More like it

Same tender register, still contemporary romance

1 more ↓

  • Rock Me

    Cherrie Lynn2010

    Candace visits her cousin's ex-boyfriend for a tattoo and begins a sexual relationship with him. The story focuses on their physical chemistry.

    pace0·prose-2·bleak-1

Denser prose

2 more ↓

  • Madame Bovary

    Gustave Flaubert1856

    A doctor's wife in provincial France seeks escape from her mundane life through expensive tastes and extramarital affairs.

    tender → tense

    pace0·prose+1·bleak+1

  • Paradise Logic

    Sophie Kemp2025

    A young woman follows advice from a magazine to become a perfect partner. Her quest involves surreal jobs and messages from the beyond.

    tender → epic

    pace0·prose+1·bleak+1

To recover

3 more ↓

  • Rock Me

    Cherrie Lynn2010

    Candace visits her cousin's ex-boyfriend for a tattoo and begins a sexual relationship with him. The story focuses on their physical chemistry.

    Same tender register, still contemporary romance

    pace0·prose-2·bleak-1

  • This Man Confessed

    Jodi Ellen Malpas2014

    A woman prepares for her wedding to a possessive billionaire while discovering new secrets about his past. It is the final book in a trilogy.

    tender → tense, still contemporary romance

    pace0·prose-2·bleak-1

  • Hardline

    Meredith Wild2015

    A software executive and a billionaire navigate a relationship complicated by corporate takeover attempts and sexual power dynamics.

    tender → tense, still contemporary romance

    pace0·prose-2·bleak-1

Faster

3 more ↓

  • Victory at Prescott High

    C.M. Stunich

    A high school girl seeks revenge against the boys who bullied her while navigating a complex relationship with all of them at once.

    tender → propulsive, still contemporary romance

    pace+1·prose-2·bleak0

  • Chased

    Clarissa Wild2018

    A wealthy man buys a blind woman and keeps her captive to satisfy his desires. The story follows his obsession and her forced isolation.

    tender → dark, still erotica

    pace+1·prose-2·bleak+1

  • Quantum Radio

    A.G. Riddle2023

    A scientist at CERN discovers a signal from a parallel universe. He must flee a conspiracy while exploring the implications of the data.

    tender → propulsive

    pace+1·prose-2·bleak0

Slower

3 more ↓

  • Ulysses

    James Joyce1914

    Three characters wander through Dublin on a single day in 1904. Each chapter uses a different literary style to mimic thoughts and sensations.

    tender → playful

    pace-2·prose+1·bleak0

  • Absalom, Absalom!

    William Faulkner1936

    The rise and fall of Thomas Sutpen is recounted through multiple, conflicting memories. The prose uses extremely long, complex sentences.

    tender → elegiac

    pace-2·prose+1·bleak+2

  • Either/Or

    Søren Kierkegaard1992

    A collection of papers presents two life philosophies: the aesthetic pursuit of pleasure and the ethical commitment to duty.

    tender → meditative

    pace-2·prose+1·bleak0

Heavier

3 more ↓

  • Wuthering Heights

    Emily Brontë1846

    Two families on the Yorkshire moors deal with the arrival and subsequent revenge of an adopted orphan. The story is told through nested narrators.

    tender → bleak

    pace-1·prose0·bleak+2

  • A Farewell to Arms

    Ernest Hemingway1929

    An American ambulance driver and a British nurse conduct a love affair during the Italian campaign of World War I.

    tender → elegiac

    pace-1·prose-1·bleak+2

  • Tess of the D’Urbervilles

    Thomas Hardy

    A country girl is sent to claim kinship with wealthy relatives. Her life is derailed by a sequence of social betrayals and rigid moral standards.

    tender → elegiac

    pace-1·prose0·bleak+2