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After

The Scoundrel in Her Bed

Lorraine Heath2019

6 of 6 directions open

More like it

Same tender register, still historical romance

1 more ↓

  • One Night for Love

    Mary Balogh1999

    An Earl is about to remarry when the wife he thought died on a Napoleonic battlefield appears at the altar.

    pace-1·prose0·bleak0

Denser prose

3 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+2·bleak+1

  • The Corinthian

    Georgette Heyer1940

    A wealthy dandy helps an heiress disguised as a boy escape an unwanted marriage. They travel across the English countryside together.

    tender → playful, still historical romance

    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+2·bleak+1

To recover

3 more ↓

  • Again the Magic

    Lisa Kleypas2004

    A wealthy woman and a former servant reunite twelve years after their forbidden affair. He returns as a rich man seeking retribution.

    Same tender register, still historical romance

    pace0·prose0·bleak-1

  • The Forbidden Lord

    Sabrina Jeffries1999

    A woman seeking her missing brother encounters a man she believes is a dangerous lord, but who is actually an undercover investigator.

    tender → warm, still historical romance

    pace0·prose0·bleak-1

  • The Duke

    Gaelen Foley2011

    A Duke hires a courtesan to help him investigate a murder. They enter a fake relationship that becomes complicated by their actual feelings.

    Same tender register, still historical romance

    pace0·prose0·bleak-1

Faster

tender → propulsive

3 more ↓

  • Savage Prince

    Meghan March2018

    A powerful man in the New Orleans underworld becomes obsessed with a woman and pursues her despite the danger of his lifestyle.

    pace+1·prose-1·bleak0

  • The Professional: Part 2 (The Game Maker, #1b)

    Kresley Cole

    A Russian enforcer continues his pursuit of a graduate student across Europe. The focus is on their sexual power dynamic and his mafia duties.

    tender → tense

    pace+1·prose-1·bleak-1

  • 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.

    pace+1·prose-1·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+2·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+2·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+2·bleak0

Heavier

3 more ↓

  • 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·prose0·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·prose+1·bleak+2

  • Brokeback Mountain

    Annie Proulx1997

    Two ranch hands begin a secret sexual and emotional relationship in 1963 Wyoming. The story follows their occasional meetings over twenty years.

    tender → elegiac

    pace-1·prose+1·bleak+2