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After

Not My Hero

Michelle Heard

6 of 6 directions open

More like it

Same tense register, still mafia romance

1 more ↓

  • Riding the Storm

    Sydney Croft2007

    A scientist travels to the Louisiana bayous to investigate a man who can control the weather. They are forced together during a violent storm.

    Same tense register, still romantic suspense

    pace0·prose0·bleak0

Denser prose

3 more ↓

  • Madame Bovary

    Gustave Flaubert1856

    A doctor's wife in provincial France seeks escape from her mundane life through expensive tastes and extramarital affairs.

    Same tense register

    pace0·prose+3·bleak+1

  • Paradise Logic

    Sophie Kemp2025

    A young woman follows advice from a magazine to become a perfect partner. Her quest involves surreal jobs and messages from the beyond.

    tense → epic

    pace0·prose+3·bleak+1

  • Mad Mabel

    Sally Hepworth2025

    An eighty-one-year-old woman with a history of killing people tries to hide her past when a curious young girl moves into the neighborhood.

    tense → dark

    pace-1·prose+2·bleak0

To recover

3 more ↓

  • Ivan

    Roxie Rivera2013

    A Russian mob enforcer is sent to collect a debt from a woman but chooses to protect her instead. He moves her into his home for safety.

    tense → earnest, still romantic suspense

    pace0·prose0·bleak-1

  • Fire Touched

    Patricia Briggs2016

    A coyote shapeshifter and her werewolf mate protect a human child returned from the fae. Their actions threaten to start a supernatural war.

    tense → propulsive

    pace0·prose+1·bleak-1

  • Hot Pursuit

    Julie Ann Walker2017

    A former SAS officer and an office manager flee for their lives while working for a covert motorcycle shop. It is a high-speed romantic suspense.

    tense → playful, still romantic suspense

    pace0·prose0·bleak-1

Faster

3 more ↓

  • Sidetracked (Mindf*ck #2)

    S.T. Abby2016

    As Lana continues her revenge killings, she is targeted by a new threat. Her boyfriend, an FBI profiler, tries to protect her from himself.

    tense → propulsive, still romantic suspense

    pace+1·prose+1·bleak+1

  • Savage Prince

    Meghan March2018

    A powerful man in the New Orleans underworld becomes obsessed with a woman and pursues her despite the danger of his lifestyle.

    tense → propulsive, still romantic suspense

    pace+1·prose0·bleak0

  • The Professional: Part 3 (The Game Maker, #1c)

    Kresley Cole

    A Russian enforcer and a graduate student conclude their high-stakes sexual relationship. The story focuses on power dynamics and mafia danger.

    tense → propulsive, still mafia romance

    pace+1·prose+1·bleak0

Slower

3 more ↓

  • Ulysses

    James Joyce1914

    Three characters wander through Dublin on a single day in 1904. Each chapter uses a different literary style to mimic thoughts and sensations.

    tense → playful

    pace-2·prose+3·bleak0

  • Absalom, Absalom!

    William Faulkner1936

    The rise and fall of Thomas Sutpen is recounted through multiple, conflicting memories. The prose uses extremely long, complex sentences.

    tense → elegiac

    pace-2·prose+3·bleak+2

  • Either/Or

    Søren Kierkegaard1992

    A collection of papers presents two life philosophies: the aesthetic pursuit of pleasure and the ethical commitment to duty.

    tense → meditative

    pace-2·prose+3·bleak0

Heavier

3 more ↓

  • Tess of the D’Urbervilles

    Thomas Hardy

    A country girl is sent to claim kinship with wealthy relatives. Her life is derailed by a sequence of social betrayals and rigid moral standards.

    tense → elegiac

    pace-1·prose+2·bleak+2

  • Brokeback Mountain

    Annie Proulx1997

    Two ranch hands begin a secret sexual and emotional relationship in 1963 Wyoming. The story follows their occasional meetings over twenty years.

    tense → elegiac

    pace-1·prose+2·bleak+2

  • Bright Side

    Kim Holden2014

    An optimistic college student moves to Minnesota for a fresh start while hiding a terminal diagnosis from her best friend.

    tense → tender

    pace0·prose+1·bleak+2