LI's Romance Book Guide
31 stories
Into the Velvet by help-me-think-of-one
help-me-think-of-one
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*EDITORS' CHOICE 2021*After falling for her senior year teacher, Louise learns a harsh lesson on what adulthood isn't. Louise has some trauma to unpack. Heartbreak's a bitch, and her first relationship had been anything but normal. Thinking herself mature for her age, her affair with Mr. Cain started swooningly well. Except things ended quite abruptly. It's a lot for a seventeen year old to handle. But who's really at fault for what happened? Who even is Mr. Cain, and what is he hiding? From the wreckage of her naivety and self-esteem, can Louise save her friendships and rebuild herself? Our love songs aren't telling the whole truth. How can this be? In this tale of vulnerability, adolescence and painful reckoning, the arrogance of youth demands a price. * "'You're what, Louise?' he asked. 'You're sorry? What am I supposed to do here? How can I turn this around? How can I tell you that everything you want and feel is reciprocated, when I have to go back to work and pretend none of it happened?' 'I don't know the answer!' I cried. 'Neither of us do.' I threw my hands up in defeat. He caught them before they could fall. 'But how do I go back to living without your words?' His voice became a whisper. He squeezed my fingers tightly, closing his eyes and bringing them to his chest. 'I need how you make me feel, Luiza. I need it to feel alive. I won't stay away. No one's made me feel this good before. And I can't stand myself for wanting what I want. What do I do?' I was a violin bow on the verge of splintering. Every inch of me pulsed with an ache that began from the marrow of my bones. Fate had brought us here. At this crossroads of ours, there were a hundred different choices to make. A thousand different lifetimes to choose from, stemming from and decided entirely by my next choice. And in the end, I chose incorrectly. I held his face between my hands, feeling the echoing pulse of his skin. I brought his face to mine. I kissed him."
The Plague Doctor's Daughter by rskovach
rskovach
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[2021 WATTYS Winner] Giovanna joins a handsome nobleman to save a friend from an arranged marriage, but they discover a plot that may have victims of Venice's Black Death rising from their graves. * * * As a child, Giovanna Visconti learned the arts of bloodletting and elixir brewing from her father with an intent to simply support his work, not take it over. But when he falls ill from the pestilence that's been ravaging Venice for months, she reluctantly dons the beaked mask of the plague doctor. Vowing to protect her father however she can, Giovanna hides him away and sees her first patient--the handsome, but alarmingly feverish Matteo Barozzi. Although she successfully treats this son of a high-ranking official, in a careless moment Giovanna fails to properly conceal her identity. The only reason she isn't tossed into a dank jail cell is thanks to the young man's honor and feelings of indebtedness. The association between the charming aristocrat and the clever commoner should end there, but when Giovanna's dearest friend goes missing right after her betrothal to the Doge's son and amid strange reports of nighttime attacks, violent commotions, and inexplicable behaviors in the community, the only person Giovanna can turn to for help is Matteo. Together, they must carefully navigate Venice's increasingly deadly canals to uncover a sect peddling false cures and a smuggling plot involving the highest levels of government or risk the entire Republic falling victim to something even worse than the plague: the risen dead. Historical Fiction with Fantasy Elements THE BORGIAS X FOREST OF HANDS AND TEETH * * * WATTYS 2021 winner for Historical Fiction and special HQ prize for "Catchiest Hook" AMBYS 2022 winner for Best Zombie story Content Warning for adult situations including assault and death.
The Painter's Apprentice by AdelynAnn
AdelynAnn
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[This story is now FREE] Florette moves to Versailles, only to discover a group of Fae are destroying France. Allying with the battled-scarred Destan, she has to save the kingdom. ***** Florette, a painter's apprentice, is finally welcomed to the palace of Versailles. Ready to work, she notices that several of the courtiers are too beautiful to be human. Soon a battle-scarred warrior, Destan, tells her the truth: a faction of Fae have left the faerie and are slowly destroying the French monarchy. Determined that France must not fall, Florette is forced to use her skill to smuggle messages about the Fae inside her own paintings. Can she trust the rugged warrior at her side? And can Florette save France from creatures beyond mortal control?
Waters of Oblivion by rskovach
rskovach
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Sometimes you just might have to die to live again. ***** When art historian Reine Baldwin meets Gabe Moran, a charming journalist, she has no idea their blossoming love will shatter her comfortable life. But a series of clues lead Reine to discover that she's not alone in knowing that she was born centuries ago and-worse yet-there are many things she apparently doesn't even remember. Reine has to face a forgotten past and a forgotten ex-husband (the handsome billionaire Max Baldovini), who-like her-is immortal and cannot truly die. Should she trade her ordinary life with Gabe for the love of Max, a man who's worshipped her for half a millennium? The choice should be easy, until Reine starts to remember things that Max is desperate to make her forget. [[word count: 100,000-150,000 words]]
Mine, Bitten by inkzerospace
inkzerospace
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For years, Lilith “Lily” McDermott was kept in the dark from the McDermott family secret. Now, her estranged father has asked that she join him on an exploit. Despite her father’s peculiar practices and unusual interest in the unknown, she yearns for an adventure outside her dull and ordinary life, and gladly partakes in the excitement. When Lilith first arrives in the beautiful, untamed wilderness of the Carpathian Mountains, she is alive with feeling and a sense of belonging, but her journey takes a sudden dangerous turn when perilous truths begin to unravel and the dark Carpathian hills reveal a deadly secret of its own. In the midst of darkness and betrayal, Lilith finds herself at the mercy of a dangerous and unworldly creature, baring fangs and a ravenous thirst that seems to yearn for her blood alone. She is frightened yet drawn by the creature that appears as a man but hunts as a predator. Can she find love in a world filled of darkness and insatiable desires? Cover done by Neeavila.
The Enchantment of Lady Ice by greenwriter
greenwriter
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The Ice Lady... She is not the most charming. In fact, she is too cold, too frank, and too flat. Worse, the only home she has known all her life has been taken away from her and she has to find a way to keep it. Upon her mother's strong suggestion, she has to at least try to seduce the next Lord of Langworthy. The Cursed Friend... He is charming and rich. He is handsome and smart. Women wanted him. If only he was not cursed. For now, having everything leaves him with nothing to do but be the friend to help the future Lord of Langworthy escape from Lady Ice. When these two completely opposite individuals cross paths, sparks fly. (This story is a standalone prequel title in the Everard Family series.)
His Lady in Breeches by greenwriter
greenwriter
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"They may see you as how you try to be, but what I see is what you try not to be." SHE IS A BASTARD... Maxine Theobald hid from the rest of society to protect her father's name. But as she grows tired of her role-playing games every year during the famous Theobald weekend parties, she starts to question how she has been living her life. She starts to wonder about the other part of her that she was deprived of--her mother and why she left her. A DISGUISE... Having finally found the courage to search for the one thing that she believes can help her understand her true nature, Maxine cuts her hair, puts on her breeches, and runs away from the only home she has ever known. She travels to the affluent town of Wickhurst and found herself employed as the valet of the famous rake Nicholas Everard, a game she will later find to be quite dangerous. SOMETHING DIFFERENT... Maxine set out into an adventure with none but one goal, yet found herself stumbling upon an unlikely find for the search of something else--romance. Still set in the fictional place of the Town, this fifth book in the Everard Family series follows one heroine who has chosen to defy the norm and her own fears in an attempt to understand her own nature, the first step to a discovery of not just about her lineage, but of love so unexpectedly, irritatingly and undeniably powerful. (This story is a standalone title in the Everard Family series.)
The Billionaire's Mask (Book #1) - Unedited Version by margarettegrey
margarettegrey
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Highest Rank: #8 in Romance "You must never enter Master Brandon's bedroom, nor his study. He's not a very patient man. He allows no one in his room. You can do whatever you want in the house, but never go inside his personal space unless you are permitted to do so. Do you understand?" He is mysterious and brilliant, wealthy and prominent, but no single person has seen him in person. Well, no one should see him-that's one of his many rules. No one can touch him either; that's another rule. Except for me because I have broken every rule. Now I'm extremely drawn to him. He is peculiar in many ways, and his beauty is beyond physical. But the Master has demons of his own, and chased by his brutal past. Suddenly, we've become the reflection of each other's nightmares. I realize that the Master and I are not so different. Is this newly found bond just another uncertain fate that could deepen our wounds, or is it finally going to be our redemption?
The Dandelion System by flowersforleah
flowersforleah
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A new system of marriage for the prince has been made in the kingdom Taraxac: The Dandelion System. When Karlina Dearcage makes a deal with the manipulative Princess Oda to be her pawn in The Dandelion System, she has a bad feeling about it. There are ominous rumors of the mysterious prince whom the public never sees, the other contestants are just as driven as her for different reasons, and the Queen herself has some tricks up her sleeve. Nevertheless, she meets the strangely childish Prince Otto and the other personality, Oscar, who shares his body, and realizes she wants to help both of them out of her own will. As Karlina learns of the dark secrets of the Royal family and the other girls' feelings about it, she finds herself questioning the innocence of The Dandelion System. *** #1 in royal (2/11/21) #1 in royalty (4/21/20) #1 in retelling (6/13/19) #1 in medieval (1/22/20) #1 in revolution (4/16/20) #1 in dark fantasy (1/1/21) #2 in rebel (10/20/19) #2 in contest (8/22/19) #2 in competition (6/19/20) #2 in fantasy romance (10/8/21)
Hunted [Wild Hunt Series: 1] by WriterKellie
WriterKellie
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#1 in Paranormal & #1 UNIQUE ranked story on Wattpad! When a monster called the Smiling Dark comes clawing at Tay Wilson's door, she quickly learns a demonic pet of the faerie kingdom is the least of her problems. The riders of the Wild Hunt are searching for brides, and more than one of them has his eyes set on her. *** Hunger Games meets ACOTAR *** *** PREORDER LADY OF THE WILD HUNT TODAY *** Tay Wilson is about to leave her Alaskan homesteading family for an internship working with a famous special effects designer in New York City when an accident leaves her and her friend alone to rescue a lost calf. Finding that calf as a fast-moving snowstorm closes in on the homestead is the last thing she wants to do, especially after having spent the last month stalked by an enormous, terrifying darkness sporting a volcanic smile and a serpentine tongue. Unfortunately for Tay, the entire legion of the Wild Hunt has come to whisk her soul away to their dark faerie kingdom, where she and several other women will be released into the Malumbrian Oaks, a forbidding forest of blood magic and secrets, to participate in the centuries-long sport of demonic and faerie lords hunting for brides. Captured, awaiting the Hunt, Tay discovers that her father is not the good-for-nothing oil rig worker of her mother's claims; he was once a Lord of the Wild Hunt, making her a halfbreed and eligible to compete in the games as the second only Lady of the Wild Hunt. To win, Tay must make it back to the castle with at least one bride of her own, while evading capture from every other Lord in the hunt and surviving the perils of the towering forest. All of this is difficult enough, but to get the help she needs to even survive until the start of the Hunt, she's forced to ally with and begins falling for Chiro, reigning Prince of Demons and Faeries. When Chiro chooses to join the hunt, the game of capture and evasion gets a lot more interesting.