Bodice Ripper Readers Anonymous discussion

Hi guys, I’m on a cheating kick right now.

I’m looking for a book where the hero cheats on the heroine with another woman while still having sexual relations with the heroine. (Or even vice versa where the heroine cheats on the hero while still having sexual relations with him)

Usually in cheating romances, the cheating ends once the hero and heroine start sleeping together. Or the cheating resumes only when the MCs are estranged or fighting.

And I know this is difficult, but I’d love to see the cheating sex scenes described in a similar amount of detail as the love scenes between the MCs would be described.

It doesn’t need to be a bodice ripper per say (I actually don’t really like bodice rippers that much but I LIVE for the non-PC so here I am 😊. I’m sure this is the best place to ask. Love how non-judgmental it is).

Something that really fascinates me is when the MCs are open about the cheating, like it’s done really casually or the cheating is referred to in conversations with each other. (Like in Ravishing the Heiress, the heroine knows that the hero cheats, and she even had a casual conversation with him about it like it’s nothing). Not a requirement but AWESOME for me.

I feel the best situation for all of this to be happening in would be a troubled marriage HR.

(I think Velvet Promise might be one but I’m not really interested in trying that).

Thank you so much (love this place where we can be open about what we want to read 😂)

In Marni Mann’s book Lover, the two main couples are swingers so there’s detailed scenes with sex, there’s also cheating.
It’s been a while but Linda Kage has a book Price of a Kiss where he’s a gigolo and sleeping with others that we read, and she knows he’s doing it.

I’m not sure if that’s what you’re looking for though. I’ll keep thinking:)

I'm not sure if I have exactly what you are looking for but when it comes to casual cheating references, I've read some books recently where the hero thinks the heroine has cheated on him but she actually hasn't that was still really good! Brenda Joyce's The Promise. The Courtesan Duchess by Joanna Shupe's first page is basically what you're looking for but then there is no more cheating after that.

In Suzanne Robinson's Lady Gallant, one of my favourite historical romances, the heroine sees the hero cheat on her in a graphic scene but it's the only moment of cheating.

When it comes to bodice rippers, Brenda Joyce's The Conqueror, involves the hero marrying the heroine's sister and then sometimes sleeping with her.

You mention Sherry Thomas' Ravishing the Heiress and I found the couple in Private Arrangements a pretty nasty but fascinating couple.

Sorry for the late replies guys!

@Jac K, thank you So much for the suggestions! I’m actually looking for HR thought! I should have mentioned.

@Irene, thanks for the suggestions! I’ll be on the lookout! 😊

I think there might be a “Cheaters in Romance” (not exact name)group on GR. I’m not a member, but I thought of joining a couple of years ago. If I remember correctly. It’s a group for all sub genres of romance and at the time, I was thinking of joining, my focus would have been HR bec I don’t read CR and PNR etc.

Irene wrote: "I'm not sure if I have exactly what you are looking for but when it comes to casual cheating references, I've read some books recently where the hero thinks the heroine has cheated on him but she a..."

I love Brenda Joyce historical novels-The Promise and The Conqueror are incredible keepers!

To be honest, I have been reading some real life accounts from those times and I wish more historicals/ bodice rippers had heroes with their mistress for a good part of their story. I have become fascinated in understanding how did all these discreet affairs took place in those times with so much restrictive and
punishing culture for high society women.

Stormfire hero sleeps with OWs even quite late in the book. but that book is a beast and has so many dark elements that this isn't that big of a deal.

The Obedient Wife by Mary Balough has a hero that sleeps with his wife and his mistress.

@Andrea WOW I had NO IDEA! Thank you so much! Joined! I’ll have to sift through for the HRs. It’s so nice to find my people 😆

@Simona, “To be honest, I have been reading some real life accounts from those times and I wish more historicals/ bodice rippers had heroes with their mistress for a good part of their story. I have become fascinated in understanding how did all these discreet affairs took place in those times with so much restrictive and
punishing culture for high society women.”

Exactly! SAME. And to be honest I have nothing against but don’t a particular fondness for bodice rippers because while they are more historically accurate in terms of not shying away from PC, I also feel they are quite inaccurate with contrived-ness. I wish I could find HRs which stay in the path of
nonPC and not over the top innacurate. I still much prefer bodice rippers (for the non PC) than the newer releases so I’m very much in this camp.

I just love to see those constrictions and non PC stuff of the time period. Like, a reasonably realistic portrait of the time period with ALL the non PC that went down. Like the non PC thoughts and actions. With unapologetically gold digging debutantes and mistresses/illegitimate children, unhappy marriages, difficulty with infertility, women being controlled, and somehow with some romance mixed into all this. I know it sounds TERRIBLE but this group makes me brave enough to be honest about it LOL. (I’m so not like this in real life, just like to read about it for entertainment).

Also, I was watching in a Devonshire documentary that house parties were THE place for affairs. You have to make friends with the hostess first, hint to place your room near your lovers, those kinds of things. You may have watched this.

About Stormfire, thank you. I honestly was thinking of reading this, but I feel like it’s all over the place from reviews. This makes it more attractive to me.

Edit: also Simona since you’re a regular participator, how weird and unwelcome would it be if I made a thread asking for incest romances? I know it’s TOTALLY disgusting, but after having watched The Borgias showtime version (have you watched it?) I find myself so intrigued for fictional historicals like this.. (hides face in shame. I promise I’m just this fucked up when it comes when I unwind and read)

@Caroline Thank you! I see this on GR lists and I never knew the cheating takes place while having sexual relations with the heroine! Great!

@phoebe : I'm not a regular but I doubt your thread would be an issue. You can provide details on what kind of relationship you're looking for. But I doubt you'd find anything like Borgias in romance writing. You can find some step-siblings romance but Borgias were on another level of debauchery. Even first cousin relationship would be very hard to find. Even during bodice ripper era, incest was taboo. But plenty of modern books will satisfy your itch.

However, in Bertrice Small books, some of the side characters have incestuous relationships. But it's only mentioned in passing.

So the consensus is we need a dark bodice ripper subgenre that is historically accurate. For myself I would add, well written with solid characterization otherwise no matter how accurate your historical detail, it's going to fall apart if the writing is clumsy and the characters are one dimensional. Since the publishers cater only to the brainwashed masses, are there any indie writers that write what we here are looking for?

This link lists a ton of cheating books.

https://houseonblacklake.com/200-roma...

lady gallant?

@Simona Thanks! Definitely going for The Borgias sort of debauchery. I knew it would be a slim chance to get suggestions but I figured it’s worth the shot. I watched that show years ago and still I think about that romance so often. I went into the show like NOPE and came out like omg I can’t believe I’m rooting for them. (Facepalm). Also with Phillipa Greggory’s books, the relationship between Elizabeth of York and her uncle Richard III fascinated me. Also totally grossed me out before I went in but it grew on me.

Thanks for the reassurance lol :)

@Phoebe

The Rain Maiden is the book you're looking for. This family would make the Borigas look like saints lol

@Morena Hi! Sorry I didn’t get to reply yesterday!

EXACTLY! (Personally for me I don’t even need any bodice rippers, just for men to show dominance and control in a way that was period appropriate. They were a lot starchier you know? They wouldn’t blatantly disregard society norms and decorum WITH PRIDE the same way bodice ripper alphas have. But they still were despicable and controlling and manipulative in they own ways). Unfortunately for us, i think most indie writers veer towards the top historically inaccurate and modern to be published but I can’t know for sure. You know any?

Edit: basically to piggyback on what I said, I wish we could see more Wulfric (from Slightly Dangerous) characters with ALL the nonPC of the time period. You know, where we get to see just how bad these aristocrats were. ALSO just thought of this now, but have you watched The Duchess? I’m thinking somewhere along the lines of the duke of Devonshire (from the movie).

Sorry for spouting off my opinions! Just so happy I can share them somewhere and not worry about being nonPC.

@Caroline Thank you!! I will go by that list. The reason why I made the thread was to scope out the ones that have the specific themes/premises I’m looking for but those are A LOT of titles and I’m grateful!

@Jiha Thanks!

Edit: I found this in a review -

“The way hubby treated his wife was really hard for me to read,sleeping with OW woman in front of his wife and purposely doing it next to the room of her and making loads of noises so that she comes and sees he is doing it with them and also in one scene he says "Just don't stand there i have to finish what i started and ask her to close the door if she is getting disturbed"

Thanks!!!

@Ixtli OMG I LOVE YOU THANK YOU. (I can’t believe this!!!)

I love my un-pc sisters!! No judgement here!

@Eliza yay!!

Rogue's Mistress by Eugenia Riley describes the hero sleeping with his mistress in the first chapter. However, he doesn't cheat on the heroine when they marry. The heroine is 18 years old and the hero's ward.


Midsummer Magic by Catherine Coulter. The hero sleeps with another woman after proposing to the heroine (out of duty) and he sleeps with his mistress after he is married. There are brief descriptions of these scenes.

From the author and same series, (book 2) Calypso Magic. I haven't read this book yet, but the H/h are cousins. Is this considered incest?

Oh Missy on so embarrassed you’ve seen my depraved threads (hides face) 🙈

But thank you so much!

There's no need to be embarrassed. I like your requests because they challenge me to find books to recommend. :) I just recently read Rogue's Mistress and Midsummer Magic and thought it was a nice change that the authors described the intimate scenes with the hero and his mistress.

I love the threads where we ask for very specific things we want from books. I oftentimes find a new book I want to read and end up loving from there! It's also making me think about what tropes I really like...so thank you Phoebe!

Passion's Proud Captive by Melissa Hepburne has several scenes where the heroine have sex with men (not at the same time) she has no choice but to sleep with (in order to save the hero). This book is pretty much centered around the heroine.

I'm about to get down on Rogue's Mistress....this book seems perfect!

Also I would like to add that The Secret Pearl happens to be one of my favorite books....and he is married when he meets and sleeps with the h....damn good book, although I think I am in the minority on this one.

The Secret Pearl is on my TBR list. :)

Like I said, it's not everyone's cup of tea, but I fell in love with it....matter of fact I night re-read it again this week.

@Missy thanks! you're so sweet (and accepting! gah! love this group)

going on my TBR! thank you!!

@Irene (hugs!)

@Eliza thanks! I found the reverse of this theme which is also TOTALLY my thing. h sleeps with H while married to another. But is the hero continuing on with his wife while, you know, being involved with the heroine?

Yes, but honestly I don’t blame him. He was in a bad situation.

Oh wait! Not sexually!

Eliza wrote: "Oh wait! Not sexually!"

Eliza wrote: "Yes, but honestly I don’t blame him. He was in a bad situation."

LOL forgot who you were replying to there for a second? ;)

Out of historical realm there is underestimated by Jetti Woodruff and Forced by Julia ban. I really liked the plot of the two but didn't like the length and erotic scenes in Underestimated (not just hero was a cheat but also heroine had other guy in separation). many ppl didnt like the style of Forced but those are native speakers .

I liked The Secret Pearl, except the hero was too damn nice. Kind of a beta hero.

I’m literally rereading it now, and yes, he’s a pushovers BUT geez everyone is so damn mean to him! Poor guy!

Fire flower by Edith Layton. Hero makes heroine his mistress and throughout the novel he is cheating emotionally, in love with his Puritan wife to be. Plus he is almost cheating sexually with another woman, only stops when he sees lice in her hair haha

Ew on the lice....

Edith, ya sold me.

Re: The Secret Pearl. I get what you mean, Caroline. I always have mixed feelings about heroes who never divorce their wife or leave their betrothed (Brenda Joyce's The Conqueror, Charlotte Featherstone's Sinful) because I want to believe the hero will risk everything on the line for his woman, just like the heroine would for her man!

However, I really fell for the duke because he had sympathy/pity for his delusional wife and his selfish half-brother, and I felt like I had been reading a lot of heroes who hated the world and never wanted to love because of it. There was such sweetness/innocence in the end to how much he wanted to protect her. He is a beta but it worked here for me!

Please bear with me feeling the feels. I recently read this so it's still fresh on my mind haha.

Phoebe, the book Dragon's Dream has an incestuous brother and sister but I'm not sure if it's a current relationship or was in the past. I've had the book well over ten years and still haven't read it yet.

Certainly not romance but Wideacre has incestuous siblings and it's an excellent novel. The teenage leading lady is warped.

Wideacre is messed up, but I wouldn't approach that book as a cheating romance novel. It's twisted.

Caroline wrote: "Wideacre is messed up, but I wouldn't approach that book as a cheating romance novel. It's twisted."

I stated that it wasn't romance.

after reading the blurb, I can honestly say Wideacre holds no appeal for me....but maybe one day I'll give it a try.

Wideacre is good, but it's got incest and all kinds of twisted sexual proclivities.

Sweet Savage Love by Rosemary RogersSweet Savage Love

The H is a complete man-ho and he sleeps with anyone after he's been with the h throughout the book. He even has sex with another girl while the h was in the next room.

Gross.

kookyquinn wrote: "Gross."
You must have taken a wrong turn somewhere and stumbled in here by accident.

Cheating is standard fair for bodice rippers.

The Rain Maiden would tick most of your boxes.

Cheating is gross IRL...BUT it's definitely standard for BR books.

Now, if you're talking about the lice/incest....yes that's freaking grossssssss.

kookyquinn wrote: "Gross."

What's gross is you passing judgment on people's reading tastes.

Reading is one of the safest ways to explore taboos, not to mention bodice rippers are damn good entertainment.

Bodice rippers are also NOWHERE in the same category as books or films that are actually f**ked up (snuff etc.) so please get off your high horse.

Irene wrote: "kookyquinn wrote: "Gross."

What's gross is you passing judgment on people's reading tastes.

Reading is one of the safest ways to explore taboos, not to mention bodice rippers are damn good enter..."

Thank you!

🙌🏾🙌🏾👏🏾👏🏾

How many time have we heard actors and actresses say that they’ve enjoyed portraying a villain, murderer, thief? Because it’s far removed from their real life?. Are actors and actresses “gross” for playing these roles? Are authors and screenwriters “gross” for writing what they write? When they don’t engage in the behaviors that they write about?