Desperately Seeking: Smitten Heroes

Devil in Spring by Lisa Kleypas Book CoverHi friends! Back with a quiet feature of ALBTALBS – where I (and anyone else can!) look for recommendations from the community. It’s pretty self explanatory … but I am desperately seeking them! I’m in a Mood what with recovery and such, and … I just want books with a strong strong strong romance/pursuit from the start.

Merriam Webster defines smitten as: deeply affected with or struck by strong feelings of attraction, affection, or infatuation

Which … yeah. I want your favorite books where the hero is taken from the start. He’s head over heels for the his love interest, whether overtly or not – but he’s now pursuing her, courting her … or him! M/F or M/M … or other pairings are welcome. I just want a romance where one of the characters is gaga for the other(s) from go. If you have F/F recs I’d love to hear them too. F/F is definitely a genre I’m not very familiar with, but I’m very glad to see there are more stories being written in Romanceland/more visibility.

Off the top of my head … Devil in Spring by Lisa Kleypas would be one such book. In fact … I’ll list them, in no particular order.

Devil in Winter by Lisa Kleypas
Devil in Spring by Lisa Kleypas
Lost in Your Arms by Christina Dodd
Heart of Obsidian by Nalini Singh
Dangerous Lover by Lisa Marie Rice
Not Proper Enough by Carolyn Jewel
Scandal Never Sleeps by Shayla Black & Lexi Blake
Lord Ruin by Carolyn Jewel
The Pages of the Mind by Jeffe Kennedy
A Hunger Like No Other by Kresley Cole
Lover Eternal by J.R. Ward

There are of course more and I’ve read more – but I’d love to hear what books you’d put on this list! Thanks!

21 thoughts on “Desperately Seeking: Smitten Heroes

  1. Brandi B

    A few I’ve read this year—Be Mine by Savannah Frierson. Heroes are head over heels for the heroine and have been for awhile. (Contemporary; 3 heroes, 1 heroine—boys don’t touch each other🙁). Erstwhile and Crux by HE Trent. They’re sci-fi, MMF. One of the heroes is immediately into the heroine. Touched by an Alien by Gini Koch (Sci-fi, m/f). Hero falls insta love with heroine.

    Reply
    1. Limecello Post author

      OOoooo thanks Brandi! SF isn’t my usual genre but I’m willing to give anything a try, especially for smitten heroes! 😀
      I thought about including The Satin Sash on this list but am thinking in the future I might do a “asking for the best menage” romances post 😀
      For Touched by an Alien – is the “insta love” believable? :X I avoid most the ones I see these days/DNF because I don’t believe the relationship – it’s a tough balance with the PNR “fated mates” thing for me too – some are FANTASTIC (obviously since I added the Cole to my list) but some I’m like >.>

      Thank you again! <3

      Reply
      1. Brandi B

        I forgot another one I read just this month—A Girl Like Her by Talia Hibbert! Contemporary m/f. Hero is such a caring person. He cooks the heroine food! They bond over comics! It’s so good.

        Reply
    1. Limecello Post author

      Hi Teresa,

      Thanks! I’ve got a number of Kennedy Ryan’s books in my TBR 😀 I’m excited to give them a try, especially after her RITA nom and all the buzz! 🙂

      Reply
  2. dholcomb1

    London’s Best Kept Secret is Anabelle Bryant’s latest. He sees her and must have her, and he orchestrates a financial difficulty for her father, marries her by paying off the debts, and then fixes her father’s situation. It’s all a secret and it wears on his heart so much, he won’t touch her. She, too, has secrets. Which one will be revealed first or will it be too late for the love and HEA?

    I read the netgalley.

    denise

    Reply
  3. Manda Collins

    Some Laura Griffin recs.

    1.Twisted (Hero is smitten but reluctant but also reminds me of Hotch–the character–on Criminal Minds)
    2.Unspeakable (Heroine is an FBI agent trying to make her bones, he’s a true crime author rich guy)
    3. Exposed (Hero is younger than her and has to be the chaser)
    4.Deep Dark (He’s a good but older but she’s an adult, and she’s elusive)
    5.Stone Cold Heart (Hero is all in before she is)
    6.Untraceable (Hero is totally into her, she’s not ready for commitment.)
    7. Snapped (Hero is kind of a condescending ass at times, but he’s into her. She’s kind of TSTL at times but she gets over it )

    Reply
  4. Lil Marek

    Not new, but Jennifer Ashley’s The Madness of Lord Ian MacKenzie. Come to think of it, practically all her MacKenzie books have the hero smitten from the get-go and in pursuit ever after.

    Reply
  5. Erika Kelly

    My entire series — The Bad Boyfriends — has heroes in hot pursuit. The one that’s coming out in a few weeks — THE CARELESS BOYFRIEND — has a badass extreme athlete hero who’s loved the heroine his whole life (but she was with his best friend). If you’d like an ARC, I’d be happy to get one to you!

    Reply
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