Book requests for recommendations are strange

So, I'm in a few book groups. I used to be in more because I liked seeing what was being recommended, what people wanted to read, and trending. Then it got overwhelming and irrelevant, and I lost interest. I left most of them but stayed in a couple that I still enjoyed. In these groups, people are constantly asking for book recommendations. Some of them pique my interest, some of them don't. And then there are some of them that are utterly bizarre to me that I would not touch with a ten-foot barge pole.

I thought I'd share some of these recommendation requests (I'm paraphrasing) with you and also the surprising number of responses with people saying the books they recommend fit what the requester is asking for. Now, I haven't read any of these books, nor do I intend to, so I do not know if they exactly fit or if they're any good (which is highly subjective) but hey ho! I am also not recommending any of these books as they are not my thing, but if you do read them, read at your own risk.

"I'm looking for a very cold hero who has no emotion. He doesn't do hearts and flowers, and can be nasty to the heroine while fighting his feelings because he doesn't like to feel."

   

First off, (and this is a question I ask frequently) why? Why would you want to read about a nasty hero? Aren't heroes men you would want to fall in love with? Why would you want to fall in love with a man who is nasty to you because you cause him to feel and fights his feelings for you? I suppose there is a thing called and anti-hero or an alphahole where the men are jerks or assholes, but the women still fall in love with them. Alas, I am not one of those women. I like my heroes with qualities that I can admire and love, not someone who would treat me like crap.

 "Does anyone know of any books where there's a good jealous/possessive hero, and the heroine does a lot of things to piss him off? Like, she flirts or sleeps with other men, dressing up sexy in front of his friends to entice them, acting out at parties, etc.?"

   

Okay, to begin with, sleeping with other men is cheating, and there is no way I would condone or read cheating in a romance. It's a thing of mine. I know there are other people out there who are okay with cheating (I talked about cheating in romance here, but I am not one of them. If I find out a book has cheating in it, I won't read it. If I'm reading a book and find cheating while I'm reading, I will stop reading the book. I have zero tolerance for cheating, and my threshold for what I consider cheating is pretty broad, so even the slightest hint of it will put me off.

For example, I recently read a book where the heroine had met up with the hero again after being apart for ten years. Her boyfriend from ten years ago cheated on her, so she has sex with the hero and cheated on her boyfriend. Then she leaves the hero because her boyfriend calls just as they finish having sex, and she and her boyfriend get back together and eventually get married. We meet the heroine again ten years later, and she reconnects with the hero through pure happenstance. After she meets the hero again, she picks up a guy at a bar and has a quickie with him in the back seat of a taxi. That right, there is where the author lost me.

And aside from the cheating, why would I want to read about a heroine like that? She sounds like a right brat. And then it makes me wonder what a hero would see in her, and why would he want her after all that bad behavior?

Every time I see a request that makes me scratch my head, I share it with my book BFF. Then we both wonder why someone is asking for that kind of book, and some of them are oddly specific.

"I am looking for books where the heroine is suicidal. Or if she thinks she is fat and throws up every time she eats. No reverse harem books."

   

I was honestly confused by this one because suicide and eating orders are serious issues. I think when it comes to these issues, it would all depend on how the author treats the situation and handles it. If I came across a book like that and learned that about the heroine, I would probably read it if I'm already reading the book, but I do not think I would intentionally seek it out. Neither of those things this requester is asking for are pleasant, and I don't know how to articulate how I feel about it other than I would not deliberately seek it out even if I have sympathy and compassion for the character ( and people in real life) who is going through it.

Finally, this is one for the road because it is so specific I didn't know how anyone would be able to find a book that fits exactly, but some brave souls did offer up some recommendations.

"I am looking for books where the heroine was in a previous serious relationship or marriage (they can have kids or not) but after ending with her ex (for whatever reason) in the current time, her ex wants her back, causing all sorts of problems and "other man" drama for the heroine and the new man (the hero) in her life. I want the hero to be over the top jealous and possessive in love with the heroine, and there must be multiple scenes where he shows his alpha side to the heroine or those around her. There must be no cheating from either the hero or heroine, but misunderstandings are okay. It must not have dubcon or non-con. It must be in dual point of view. And it must have lots of the hero claiming the heroine is "mine" and lots of dirty talking."

   

Phew! Talk about specific. It actually sounds pretty good, and this is something I might be enticed to read if the right book came along. The only thing with a book like this or a book recommended based on this request to me is it would be already very spoilery. Seems like I kinda already know what's going to happen so why would I want to read it?

Okay, I thought the last one was it, but I couldn't resist sharing this one. I was exhausted just reading the list of requirements. I have no idea how anyone could match up a book request so specific but bless those ladies in the group, some of them tried.

"I'm in the mood for paranormal, sci-fi, urband fantasy, omegaverse, or fantasy books or series that has fated mates, power matches, soul bonds, etc., but I want both the hero and heroine to be over the top jealous and possessive. I want the heroine to be especially jealous of the hero's past experiences and relationships. I also want the heroine to be a virgin and for the hero to not be, and that should be a major conflict between them because the heroine is super jealous of not being the hero's first. I want the heroine to be hurt and emotional and angry that he was in sexual and even emotional relationships knowing his mate was out there and not saving himself for her. Angsty, emotional writing is a plus. It doesn't need to be the only thing going on in the book, but it needs to be the major thing that causes conflict between them. It can't just be a thing that was brought up and mentioned in passing and for the heroine to just accept it. I want her possessiveness to be out of control. I want lots of things to set it off like she finds a condom in a drawer. I want her reminded of it over and over. Other woman drama and cheating is fine. I have no triggers. MM, MF, RH, menage are all fine. I prefer the book to be written in first person. Steam is needed. I do not want "fade to black", sex must be on the page. I need detailed sex scenes, but it's fine if there aren't a lot of sex scenes so long as the ones that are there are detailed. Power struggles in the bedroom are a plus. Standalone or duet preferred for MF and MM books, but longer series for RH are fine too. Also, no male pregnancies."

   

You tired yet? Think you could fulfill this crazy wish list? Based on what was recommended, I can say for sure that I know some of the books recommended would not fit the request exactly. For example, in Kiss of Snow, yes, the heroine is younger and a virgin, but there's not much jealousy. They are mates and utterly devoted to each other. The hero was just waiting for her to grow up. As for Brought to Heel, I know Delta James writes somewhat dark romance with dubcon. I didn't see anything about dubcon or non-con in the request, but I can't imagine a heroine who is that jealous and possessive would be unwilling to have sex with the hero. I haven't read the other books recommended, so I don't know how they fit. As you can imagine, there were only a few recommendations to this request. It's just too difficult to find a book that fits all the things that have been asked for.

Finally, finally, finally. I saw this one and just had to share it because, dude, that is NOT a romance. And yet people responded because there are (of course) books like that out there, but please, for the love of all that's holy, do not call it a romance.

"I am requesting books where the hero doesn't get the heroine in the end. Can be paranormal or contemporary. It could be maybe be screwed up too bad, or maybe she found her happy ever after with someone else, or maybe she died. I'm not really looking for a series where he'll win her back in the next books or so, but I'm willing to read those too."

   

Y'all, this request got SOOOOO many recommendations. The whole premise of the book request is a pet peeve of mine. If they do not end up together at the end, it is not a romance. It should not be marketed as a romance, it should not be branded as a romance. The one must-have rule in a romance is that they end up together at the end. That's the whole point of the happily ever after. That's the crux of a romance. And yeah, I know many people who don't read romance recommend Nicholas Sparks. Please! Nicholas Sparks does not write romance!

Anyway, I could go on and on since these kinds of requests pop up multiple times daily. One group has over 16,000+ members in it. As you can imagine, with that many people in it, there are a lot of requests. Bless the kind souls who try to help and respond to them.

Don't get me wrong. I have seen some requests where I've thought the parameters of what's being asked might be of interest to me, and I've taken down the names of several books from them, but my reading tastes are rather tame and do not seem to fit the norm of what's being enjoyed right now.

Have you requested a book recommendation recently or responded to one? What have you asked for or recommended?


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