Looking for "fated mate" book with a plain heroine

[Ez]

Hi, all! So if you’re in this group, you’ve come across (repeatedly, I’m sure) the whole “fated mate” thing. I know it’s not everyone’s cup of tea, but I actually love soul mate/destined partner plotlines and have since I first got into reading L.J. Smith as a teenager. But, anyway, I’m digressing from what I wanted to ask!

Have any of you come across a fated/soul mate book in which the heroine is plain and the hero has a hard time accepting it? I know I’m making it seem like the hero would be a shallow jerk, but I think it’d be kind of cool to read about a heroine who wasn’t necessarily the type of woman the hero would have actively pursued in the past, but he starts to see her as beautiful as the novel goes on and he falls for her. I haven’t come across this myself. I’m looking for something where the hero might not think of the heroine as attractive at first, but it develops as he gets to know her. The reason I’m specifically looking for destined partner type of book is because I want the hero to have the knowledge that she’s the woman he has the best chance of happiness with, but I’d also be interested in hearing about any other paranormal romances with that kind of plotline.

Any book recommendations you might have for novels with this (or a similar) storyline would be much appreciated (if they even exist).

Thanks in advance if anyone can help me out!

[Martina the Book Fairy]

Katie MacAlister's "Dark Ones" series (at least the first two books) seem to have that set-up. Not so much because the women are plain, but because they're . . . annoying. The books are along the more humorous type of PNR.

[Jim son of Jim (formerly PhotoJim)]

It's not PNR, but the Buchanan series book three, Sizzling by Susan Mallery, is very much along that story line. Be forewarned that you have to read the books in order to get the storyline. This isn't a bad thing. In fact the series is one of the better written romance series I've come across.

[Ez]

Martina wrote: "Katie MacAlister's "Dark Ones" series (at least the first two books) seem to have that set-up. Not so much because the women are plain, but because they're . . . annoying. The books are along the..."

Thanks for the rec! Unfortunately, I think I'd probably skip them because I can't deal with annoying heroines and I'm still undecided as to whether or not I like Katie MacAlister. I tried her book "Hard Day's Knight" and I couldn't even finish it, but I'm giving her book "Steamed" a shot because I'm into steampunk so that will probably be the deciding factor.

[Ez]

Photojim wrote: "It's not PNR, but the Buchanan series book three, Sizzling by Susan Mallery, is very much along that story line. Be forewarned that you have to read the books in order to get the stor..."

Thanks! I'm not a big fan of contemporary, but I might give the series a shot. I read the description for this one and the 2nd one in the series and they both sounded interesting.

[Regina]

Have you read the Troubleshooters series by Suzanne Brockmann? It is contemporary romance with a thriller/mystery background. In book #15 there is that set up exactly. I think you could start with #15, if you are okay playing catch up with who some of the characters are. With the storyline and characters with the set up you want it isn't important to read the prior books in the series.

[Ez]

I haven't read any of that series yet. Thanks! I'll have to check it out!

[Jessie]

Harper. Rebecca York has a couple series out that are pretty much just what you are looking for. The Moon Series starts with Killing Moon

and the next series she has begins with Beyond Control

I have read most of the Moon series books and I adore them! There are each about different pairing of souls and usually there is some type of murder mystery type thing going on, but they are great!

[Ez]

Thanks for the recs, Jessie! I'm definitely going to check out "Killing Moon."

[Jessie]

Cool! I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. Let me know what you think!

[Christy]

Goooooood question....The fated mate part is what is tripping me up.

The Shadow Queen by Anne Bishop would be my suggestion but it is #7 in the series and it isn't one of those that you can skip around in. If you haven't read the BJT series, though, I totally recommend it.

[Mhollie]

Rhage & Mary in

[Tobin]

Acheron has a plain heroin, also Lover Unbound - Jane is pretty plain (pun intended)

[Mhollie]

Vane Kattalakis & Bride McTierney in Night Play (Dark-Hunter, #6)
Bride, I would not say is plain, but she does have a weight problem and it does not hinder Vane in any way. Vane is probably one of my favorite Were Hunters. He loves Bride for herself not what her body looks like. Don't you just love men like that? He is soooo sexy. Yummmm!

[Ez]

Christy wrote: "Goooooood question....The fated mate part is what is tripping me up.

The Shadow Queen by Anne Bishop would be my suggestion but it is #7 in the series and it isn't one of those th..."

I've read the rest of the Black Jewels series. I love it. :) I actually have "The Shadow Queen" on my bookshelf, waiting to be read.

[Ez]

Mollie wrote: "Vane Kattalakis & Bride McTierney in Night Play (Dark-Hunter, #6)
Bride, I would not say is plain, but she does have a weight problem and..."

Thanks for the rec! I believe I read the very first book in the Dark Hunter series, but none of the others. I might have to work my way up to that one.

[Shelleyrae]

In one of the Carpathians Dark Melody by Christine Feehan the woman is pregnant by someone else from the start - I don't remember her physical description but that's a pretty big departure from all svelte and sexy.
Thats the only one I can think of off hand though.

[Ez]

Thanks, Shelleyrae! I'll check it out.

[Lisa X]

C.L Wilson's "The Land of the Fading" (Great Series!!!)

[Ez]

Lisa wrote: "C.L Wilson's "The Land of the Fading" (Great Series!!!)"

I've already read the Tairen Soul series and I love it! It's not exactly what I'm looking for because Rain always just accepted Ellie. (Well, that and because of what happens later in the series with Ellie. Not going into details because I don't want to spoil anything, but if you've read all of the books so far, you should know what I mean...)

[Lady Grey]

Harper wrote: "Hi, all! So if you’re in this group, you’ve come across (repeatedly, I’m sure) the whole “fated mate” thing. I know it’s not everyone’s cup of tea, but I actually love soul mate/destined partner pl..."

Try this book: The Rogue Hunter
The main character in it is frustrated by the fact the his lifemate doesn't look like the woman what he always imagined in his head.

[Ez]

Thanks for the rec, Lady Grey!

[Gemma]

I love books like this too; it's hard to find books where the hero doesn't think the girl is totally hot from the beginning...
Have you read Soulless by Gail Carriger? It made me fall in love with steampunk :) Not so much a fated mate thing, but the romance is really funny & sweet. The heroine is Italian & has a very large nose, which she mentions a lot, but it's brilliant (:
Katie MacAlister's Dark Ones is actually really good for the first four or so books, then they go a little stale. Her heroines are all 'disadvantaged' in some way, but the heroes like them just the way they are, so it's more about their 'insecurity issues'. They are pretty hilarious though (intentionally, unlike some of her other books).

[Ez]

I have read "Soulless" and I adored it! I was already kind of interested in steampunk before reading it, but now it's even worse. I have several steampunk books on my TBR list. :)

Speaking of "Soulless," I just got the second book in the mail the other day, but I haven't started it yet. I can't wait to read it.

[Gemma]

I wish there were more books in that genre, it's like a mash up of all my favourites (:
Changeless? I'm so excited to read that one, I think I'm going to go order it now actually... :L
The sypnosis for the third book came out recently, and it looks very dramatic, so I'll be interested to see what exactly happens in Changeless :S

[Ez]

Yeah, I thought "Soulless" was pretty much perfect. It had the perfect combination of romance, humor, paranormal, and mystery. The fact that it had a bit of steampunk thrown in there, too, made it even better. I haven't read the synopsis for "Blameless" yet because I didn't want to risk running across any spoilers for "Changeless," but I think I'm probably going to read it in the next few days. I hope it lives up to my expectations after how much I liked "Soulless."

[Gemma]

It didn't seem like a spoiler (at least I hadn't an idea what it meant), but after reading several reviews I have a vague idea of what happens in the doozy of a cliffhanger and I have to say I'm feeling quite horrified. :S
I'm kind of tempted to wait until Blameless gets released, just so I won't have to go through the agony of cliffhanger limbo, but I have zero willpower so I doubt I'll be able to stay away for that long...

[Ez]

I both love and hate cliffhangers. LOL. I don't think I'd be able to wait, although I'll probably kick myself after.

[[deleted user]]

Mollie wrote: "Vane Kattalakis & Bride McTierney in Night Play (Dark-Hunter, #6)
Bride, I would not say is plain, but she does have a weight problem and..."


I LOVE this book. It is one of my favorites of the series. Vane is so wonderful and Bride is great too. She really deserved him

[Ann aka Iftcan]

Ok, this is a real oldie--and not a fated mate book, but its still really good. A Civil Contract is set in the Regency time period (I THINK--been a while since I read it, but most of Georgette Heyer's books are either Regency romances or mysteries set in the 30's and 40's)

[WithaK]

I feel like that is EVERY Sherrilyn Kenyon book I've read. Rather the female is unsure of her looks but the Gorgeous God-like male thinks she is gorgeous.

[Rachel]

The IAD books by Kresley Cole, it's not about looks, but the fated pair always have some kind of obstacle to overcome, for example, in the first one, A Hunger Like No Other, Lachlain is a werewolf who has been hunting vampires all his life, and has spent the last decades (I don't remember exactly how many...50?) being burned alive by vampires only to have his immortality bring him back again and again. His fated mate? A half-vampire, Emmaline.