Okay, so, there's this little thing that's started to grind my gears. I read a LOT of romances, right, like a lot, as I'm sure most of us here do. And lately I've got kind of an itch to scratch, and NOTHING is doing it for me lately.

Like what happened to the Gone With the Wind/Forever Ambers? The bodice rippers? And I don't mean bodice rippers for that alone. I mean this long, drawn out (and what feels to be more realistic, at times, relationship) story about a heroine and her man? Occasionally a few other side pieces, lol. Something more about the psyche of the woman, her adventures being scandalous etc, but still with an overarching theme involving this one man. It doesn't have to be a bodice ripper necessarily.

For example, one of my favorites is No Tomorrow by Carian Cole. A MUCH longer book than average, like five hundred pages compared to the usual two-three hundred. It spans like a decade of them coming in and out of each others lives. Like, I want those details. I want the little things, I want to feel the actual ache of the heroine missing this person. It's become so formulaic in the stories I read. And while I love the comfort of a good formula, I feel like that formula can be stretched out beyond the standard.

I really wish to be able to find newer stuff with this format - instead of relying on decades old works. So if anyone out there has any recommendations, I would LOVE to know.

My favorite authors are Minerva Spencer and Alice Coldbreathe. I prefer Historical, but contemporary is totally okay too.