I seem to be picking up a slew of romances where pheromones dominate, and the characters fall in lust, not love. Aren't there any romances where the characters actually get to know each other over some time before they get in bed? Looking for love and respect and affection and longing in this list, not just hot sex.

Please add your recommendations. I hope this genre isn't a dying breed. :(

PS: There are a number of entries now on this list that don't seem to meet the requirements. BDSM and erotica are not what I am looking for. More books where the characters do NOT have sex before they fall in love and confess so to each other, please?

PPS 10Feb2018: Does anybody know how to clean up a list? As one of the readers rightly points out, this list is all about body and lust, and not 'slow romance' at all.
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875 books · 2,033 voters · list created December 17th, 2013 by HEAjunkie (votes) .
488 likes · 
Lists are re-scored approximately every 5 minutes.


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Comments Showing 1-23 of 23 (23 new)

dateUp arrow    newest »

message 1: by SF (new)

SF Check out the list "Romance That Gradually Build". I've discovered some of my favorite books on there. I'll add a few of those to this list as well.


message 2: by HEAjunkie (new)

HEAjunkie SF wrote: "Check out the list "Romance That Gradually Build". I've discovered some of my favorite books on there. I'll add a few of those to this list as well."

Thanks so much, SF! I wish I had spotted the other list before creating this one. :) And thanks for adding your recommendations.


message 3: by Jamie (new)

Jamie Campbell Can I get a recommendation (aside from Jane Eyre - which I am currently reading in actual book form) from this list written in the first person from the Female lead's POV?


message 4: by HEAjunkie (new)

HEAjunkie Jamie wrote: "Can I get a recommendation (aside from Jane Eyre - which I am currently reading in actual book form) from this list written in the first person from the Female lead's POV?"

Hi Jamie, I have been racking my brain but can't think of any. And since I haven't read many of the books on this list, it doesn't help. I'll keep your request in mind though. :) Thank you for dropping by!


message 5: by Marita (new)

Marita Jamie, I can easily recommend all three of Mariana Zapata's books on here: Under Locke, Kulti and Lingus. Kulti was definitely my favourite.


message 6: by Jamie (new)

Jamie Campbell Thanks!


message 7: by Jamie (new)

Jamie Campbell Marita, thanks again. Just finished Kluti. Chose it because of the sport setting. Just voted for it too.


message 8: by BookLovingLady (deceased Jan. 25, 2023...) (last edited Mar 27, 2016 01:41AM) (new)

BookLovingLady (deceased Jan. 25, 2023...) @Rashmi Basu
I hope this genre isn't a dying breed. :(

Apart from some of the wonderful classics, have you tried any of the Georgette Heyer books yet? They are such fun and definitely of the 'slow romance' type :-)

@SF
Thanks for mentioning Romance That Gradually Build, as I hadn't seen that one yet :-)


message 9: by HEAjunkie (new)

HEAjunkie Booklovinglady wrote: "@Rashmi Basu
I hope this genre isn't a dying breed. :(

Apart from some of the wonderful classics, have you tried any of the Georgette Heyer books yet? They are such fun and definite..."


Nope! Already looking forward to them. :D Which one do you reco I should start with?


message 10: by BookLovingLady (deceased Jan. 25, 2023...) (last edited Apr 10, 2016 03:11PM) (new)

BookLovingLady (deceased Jan. 25, 2023...) Rashmi wrote: "Nope! Already looking forward to them. :D Which one do you reco I should start with? ..."

My personal favourite is still The Grand Sophy, closely followed by, in no particular order really, Frederica, Arabella and Faro's Daughter. But it is all down to personal liking, I guess, as she wrote so many excellent ones, and there are several other ones I like a lot too :-)


message 11: by HEAjunkie (new)

HEAjunkie Booklovinglady wrote: "Rashmi wrote: "Nope! Already looking forward to them. :D Which one do you reco I should start with? ..."

My personal favourite is still The Grand Sophy, closely followed by, in no ..."


Thanks! :) I go raid my bookstore!


message 12: by BookLovingLady (deceased Jan. 25, 2023...) (last edited Apr 14, 2016 12:20PM) (new)

BookLovingLady (deceased Jan. 25, 2023...) Rashmi wrote: "Thanks! :) I go raid my bookstore! ..."

Don't know where you are located, but it might be worth trying to get used copies, as there tend to be plenty of them around, both paperback and hardback editions.


message 13: by aleli ✿ (new)

aleli ✿ The feels :( its like, its all about body and lust.


message 14: by Anthea (new)

Anthea want to add Anti-Stepbrother by Tijan to this list but scared to mess it up. Can someone do it for me please?


message 15: by Rina (new)

Rina I am looking for a specific book and I hope you can help me find it's name.
It is about a girl/woman that used to do gymnastics, but one day in an important competition she crashes her knee, and her career is over. But then she becames a physical therapist and helps a (i think it was rugby or baseball) player bc he has injured his arm.
It was a beautiful story to read, so I hope you can help me find it and maybe read it because it's super cute.
Pd: The guy is kind of an asshole at the beginnig bc of his injury but we will just ignore that.


message 16: by HEAjunkie (new)

HEAjunkie Mar wrote: "I am looking for a specific book and I hope you can help me find it's name.
It is about a girl/woman that used to do gymnastics, but one day in an important competition she crashes her knee, and h..."


I can't immediately recall this one but sounds kinda familiar so I'll keep digging. In the meantime, you might also post this on the group called What's the Name of That Book???(https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/...)

Sorry, I'm new at this html thing so that URL might come out wonky. I'll keep you posted if I find anything that fits. All the best! :)


message 17: by HEAjunkie (new)

HEAjunkie Mar wrote: "I am looking for a specific book and I hope you can help me find it's name.
It is about a girl/woman that used to do gymnastics, but one day in an important competition she crashes her knee, and h..."


See if this thread helps any:

https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...


message 18: by Rina (new)

Rina HEAjunkie wrote: "Mar wrote: "I am looking for a specific book and I hope you can help me find it's name.
It is about a girl/woman that used to do gymnastics, but one day in an important competition she crashes her..."


omg Thank you so much, I will give it a look, maybe I'll find it


message 19: by Verde (new)

Verde Is it possible for a moderator to go through this list and remove the books that do not belong here? There seem to be many not aligned with the requirements of a slow burn.


BookLovingLady (deceased Jan. 25, 2023...) @Verdefeather
First of all, it's not a moderator you want but a librarian :-)
Second, if you're willing to name the title of the book and its current position on the list, I'm willing to have a look and maybe remove the books you mention...


message 21: by HEAjunkie (new)

HEAjunkie Booklovinglady wrote: "@Verdefeather
First of all, it's not a moderator you want but a librarian :-)
Second, if you're willing to name the title of the book and its current position on the list, I'm willing to have a loo..."


LOL @ librarian!
Thanks for offering to help, Booklovinglady! Please remove books if you know how to... I agree with what Verdefeather says but don't know how to remove books from a list.


BookLovingLady (deceased Jan. 25, 2023...) @HEAjunkie
I know how to remove the book titles :-) but as there are over 600 books on this list it is a lot of work and as I haven't read most of them, I'm not willing to remove any as long as someone doesn't provides me with titles and current positions that have to be removed ... (bit by bit is okay, it doesn't mean one has to go through the whole list at once).


message 23: by Micka22 (new)

Micka22 checked - skip


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