Bodice Ripper Readers Anonymous discussion

hi i was wondering if there are recommendations for books where hero uses mean or twisted means to get heroine under his controle through marriage or other ways , i've just read Run where hero make heroine loses her work and close to lose everything so that he could have his way with her. i remember Monster had the theme

I'm currently reading an recent HR with that kind of theme. More of a "lying rake to nab naive virgin" trope, though. YMMV. I'm finding the hero way "meaner" than the norm in recent HR, but still a snagglepuss beta in comparison to some of the vintage ripper heroes.

Simply Love by Catherine Anderson
Lothaire by Kresley Cole

This one isn't a BR, but it fits the request: Breathless by Anne Stuart

Also, Embrace and Conquer sort of fits and is definitely more of a BR. It's one of my favorites. Morgan isn't exactly what I'd call an anti-hero, but he does do some shady things to get the heroine.

i think simply love is good , if u liked run by eve vaugn then u may like The Darkness of Perfection the hero was a real son of a bitch who should ve been hanged , he kidnapped and bullied heroine into marriage. also This Other Eden fits th theme

A rose in winter, h let's H be auctioned off to a disfigured relative of his to be closer to her.

Jiha wrote: "i think simply love is good , if u liked run by eve vaugn then u may like The Darkness of Perfection the hero was a real son of a bitch who should ve been hanged , he kidnapped and ..."

You should've read the story this one was watered down from. Her dad and brother "trained" her for her marriage to the H. People were seriously pissed off reading that one.

Eterushi wrote: "A rose in winter, h let's H be auctioned off to a disfigured relative of his to be closer to her."

20+ year old spoiler, for anyone who doesn't already know (view spoiler)[the hero actually IS the disfigured relative, or he's pretending to be disfigured anyway. It's pretty silly and obvious/unlikely, but it's one of those books I read in my teens and loved. I forgive KEW her purple prose :) (hide spoiler)]

Re: Darkness of Perfection. I heard that was Twilight fanfic. I've never read Twilight, but I saw one movie and don't see how this came out of that. Of course 50 Shades doesn't make sense to me as Twilight derived either. Seems like Twilight fanfic was a place where you wrote whatever you wanted to write and just named the characters Bella and whatever dude's name was...

KatieV wrote: "Re: Darkness of Perfection. I heard that was Twilight fanfic. I've never read Twilight, but I saw one movie and don't see how this came out of that. Of course 50 Shades doesn't make sense to me as Twilight derived either. Seems like Twilight fanfic was a place where you wrote whatever you wanted to write and just named the characters Bella and whatever dude's name was..."

I've read a couple, though I'm loath to admit it. >.< Some were decent enough if you could get past the Twilight references. I eliminate no sources in my search for wtfery, though I put my foot down on the Harry Potter fanfiction. ;D

This one was called The Perfect Wife and was just too messed up to ignore. >:D

Julz wrote: "KatieV wrote: "Re: Darkness of Perfection. I heard that was Twilight fanfic. I've never read Twilight, but I saw one movie and don't see how this came out of that. Of course 50 Shades doesn't make ..."
what perfect wife ? thanks all for the suggestions , i tried a duke but no gentleman as Karla said but i didn't find hero that mean , simply love and this other eden was great ,i think will try a rose in winter and i liked darkness of perfection , not decent and stupid plot i admit but it has a disturbing crazy element that takes a romance from ordinary and boring to intense and has action

Julz wrote: "I've read a couple, though I'm loath to admit it. >.< Some were decent enough if you could get past the Twilight references. I eliminate no sources in my search for wtfery, though I put my foot down on the Harry Potter fanfiction. ;D"

Shoot. I used to WRITE quite a bit of Supernatural fanfiction, so no judgement on reading it. I'm even MORE guilty ;) I know there were alternative universe supernatural ff's, but seemed like there was more of a drive to keep things in-character and in the universe rather than writing an entirely original story and just using character names. Although that judgement may be totally skewed based on what I read.

Nardinragab wrote: "what perfect wife ? thanks all for the suggestions , i tried a duke but no gentleman as Karla said but i didn't find hero that mean , simply love and this other eden was great ,i think will try a rose in winter and i liked darkness of perfection , not decent and stupid plot i admit but it has a disturbing crazy element that takes a romance from ordinary and boring to intense and has action"

The Perfect Wife being referred to was Twilight fan fiction. It was apparently the original (and more twisted) version of what became The Darkness of Perfection.

If you're wanting a mean hero, A Rose in Winter won't fit that bill. The hero wasn't mean aside from the deception. I enjoyed it tho.

I went back and looked at TPW. Gah! It's worse than I remember. Never mind. Don't associate me with that. LOL!

you know i had a look at The perfect wife , who is rmcrms5 anyway ? did this book earn him any money ?is he even a native English speaker ? because i'm not and i think if i tried to write a novel in English i will do better with the language than that .In fact i prefer the darkness of perfection , hope someone will still give recommendation ,

KatieV wrote: "Nardinragab wrote: "what perfect wife ? thanks all for the suggestions , i tried a duke but no gentleman as Karla said but i didn't find hero that mean , simply love and this other eden was great ,..."

hehe ok thanks Katiev now i got that warning i m nolonger going to read a rose in winter

rmcrms5 is the pen name for the same author who wrote Darkness of Perfection. She just made the storyline more palatable and published.

Julz wrote: "rmcrms5 is the pen name for the same author who wrote Darkness of Perfection. She just made the storyline more palatable and published."
really! that s amazing , i didn't think there s any similarity in the writing style between this and that , thought the perfect wife looked really dull and stupid thanks for the information julz

Okay, here's a rec. It's definitely a bodice ripper and not for everyone (view spoiler)[heroine is brutally gang raped and later has consensual sex with another man (hide spoiler)], but the hero definitely went too far. Devil's Embrace

Also, Crimson Rapture. The hero is a pirate who decides he wants the heroine and just takes her, despite her feelings. He pisses me off too. As does the hero from A Pirate's Love. Both fit the theme though.

ok thanks Katiev you're really good that sounds crazy enough

u could try
Uncommon Vows hero took heroine prisoner to push her into submiting to his will , u may also likeSold he didn't plan it but he ended up buying and keeping her forcibly

what about an unforgettable man by penny jordon hero lent heroine money to use it against her later

Lisbon by Valerie Sherwood.There are two heroes and Rowan fits the bill.

Best book I have read this year.İt is a Bodiceripper and there was not a HEA for me .Well,I love mean ,lying cheating manipulative heroes than normal heroes .Snifff!

FeliciaKarenB wrote: "Lisbon by Valerie Sherwood.There are two heroes and Rowan fits the bill.

Best book I have read this year.İt is a Bodiceripper and there was not a HEA for me .Well,I love mean ,lying cheating manip..."
ok thanks FeliciaKarenB that really fitted but i hated the sad ending , and the hero , God he crossed th too far limit

FeliciaKarenB wrote: "Lisbon by Valerie Sherwood.There are two heroes and Rowan fits the bill.

Best book I have read this year.İt is a Bodiceripper and there was not a HEA for me .Well,I love mean ,lying cheating manip..."
FeliciaKarenB would plz accept my friend request , i'm dying to look at ur shelves

maybe you should try forced by Julia Ban , the story needs another book but the beginning strongly has that theme , heroine got trapped into a contract that made her hero's assistant for two years, he took her to his country and when he couldn't convince her to renew the contract or marry him , he faked a robbery and held the threat of jail over her head and forced her to cancel her wedding to another man just one week before the ceremony
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...

Ok thanks Raji, I read Forced by the Greek Tycoon and the next part. It's good with that theme. That hero was horrible. I don't know what he did on purpose and what just happened but that hero was a monster in manipulation I hated that I'll have to wait for the final part of the story. I'd like to get more suggestions.

KatieV wrote: "Okay, here's a rec. It's definitely a bodice ripper and not for everyone [spoilers removed], but the hero definitely went too far. Devil's Embrace

Also, Crimson Rapture...."

Hi Katie, do you know if kindle version of Devil's Embrace has been "sanitized"? Wondering if I should buy an old paperback copy. I like my BRs to be gloriously non-p.c.

Nardinragab wrote: "hi i was wondering if there are recommendations for books where hero uses mean or twisted means to get heroine under his controle through marriage or other ways , i've just read Run..."

I've read both run and monster and liked them.... i can suggest youBorn to be Bound and Born to be Broken the third book will be released in august.... there's also All for Maddie where the hero was a big manipulator and jerk...... i'll add Fiendish: A Twisted Fairytale well in this one the hero was a psychopath and i can't say it's a romance since there's not the typical HEA in the end but personally i loved it.......many triggers ahead if you decide to read them i must precise

KatieV wrote: "Okay, here's a rec. It's definitely a bodice ripper and not for everyone [spoilers removed], but the hero definitely went too far. Devil's Embrace

Also, Crimson Rapture...."

Oh Devil's Embrace definitely. The H's reasoning was "Well I want her as my wife so I will take her". No other ulterior motive like revenge against someone or something as is the usual Bodice Ripper MO. In that sense, the H was a one-dimensional simpleton.

Ok thanks all, gonna have a look at those. devil's embrace is crazy dark. I remember I didn't like Crimson Rapture.

Nardinragab wrote: "Ok thanks Raji, I read Forced by the Greek Tycoon and the next part. It's good with that theme. That hero was horrible. I don't know what he did on purpose and what just happened but that hero was ..."

ٌRetribution, the final book of Forced story is already out on sale on Smashwords, Nardin and on preorder for Kindle. If you liked shattered dreams and was ok with it then you may like this one too. Neither Retribution nor Shattered dreams worked for me. But at least I bought the book with 50% off
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3...

Sorry for the late reply. I don't know if there is a difference between the original and the Kindle version of Devils Bride.

I mean Devils Embrace... the Catherine Coulter book.

KatieV wrote: "I mean Devils Embrace... the Catherine Coulter book."

Thanks Katie!

You can try it's kind of short but free now,

Underestimated was a really good trainwreck with one of the most controlling, abusive jerk heroes I have ever encountered though it is contemporary, not a bodice-ripper.

Stormfire of course is THE "classic" bodice-ripper where hero went too far. Way too far. Though imho the last third of the book was meh.

I second the rec for Devil's Embrace.

And of course both books by Teresa Denys would fit the bill to a tee: The Silver Devil and The Flesh and the Devil

FYI.

Teresa Denys, author of the two "Devil" books is dead and the books are out of print. Someone has scanned them and put them on the internet.

The same is true for "Stormfire."

Hi, all. Thanks for reviving this thread. I did read stormfire and undersestimated and loved them very much. The tycoon's barbarian slave was good too..hope there are more suggestions.

Nardinragab wrote: "Hi, all. Thanks for reviving this thread. I did read stormfire and undersestimated and loved them very much. The tycoon's barbarian slave was good too..hope there are more suggestions."

Crime Lord's Captive
I'm reading actually "Possession" by Jaimie Roberts, H bought h from her parents when she was 14 and she's supposed to become his when she'll turn 18.... Well, for the moment I'm not very excited about it, h being TSTL as can be predicted, but I don't know maybe you'll like it.

Going to try this one as well, thank you very much Vellini

Nardinragab wrote: "Going to try this one as well, thank you very much Vellini"

you mean the two (sorry I didn't put a link for Possession cause the list for this word was too long and I didn't find it )

Haha, ok thanks for the clarification. I did think it was one book

I Lemonade there is a plain rape scene by hero because he didn't want heroine to marry another, also in The Tycoon's Barbarian slave book one hero buys heroine whose tribe were some primitive ppl, he buys her from some scientific institution then he uses something to give her electric shock and rapes her. If you're ok with some old Harlequine you may try To love, honor and betray by Jennie Lucas the hero went to a terrible extent lying and manipulating to keep his wife from her family and I found the plot remarkable.

Enslaved full story has several elements with the theme. He buys her in the first place and uses maen and cruel ways to keep her.

obsession series by Eve voughn. The hero did so many many things to force heroine to have an affair with him and he tmpered with her contraception bills to force her into marriage.

Enslaved, Lemonade, Stormfire and Wild Sweet Witch are my top ones. I loved all of them for different reasons.

Wild Sweet Witch???? would you provide link to it?

Silver Jasmine by Janet Louise Roberts

So far, won at cards, then married.

Mel wrote: "Silver Jasmine by Janet Louise Roberts"

How did you find Silver Jasmine Melita? Was the story interesting?