Family is really important for me in real life and I appreciate seeing different family dynamics in my romances. Sometimes the family is that pillar of unwavering support and strength that the hero and heroine need, in others - the family is what causes the tension between the MCs. Give me real, vibrant families who mess up but also learn and grow and change in the same way the main characters in the story. 

I will list some romances where the family and how it was presented/its role in the story has stuck with me. The families in them function in different ways but for me they are all memorable and they added a lot to the main romantic arc in the story.

I'm starting with Laura Florand's La Vie en Rose series where she explores a wide variety of family dynamics - a single (distant) parent, big loving families, sibling rivalry but also support and encouragement. She entwines her characters' stories in the larger historical context of descendants of WWII heroes (and traitors). Seeing the way the past has shaped the present and and how it affects the next generation adds a whole new layer in these romances. 

In her novella Snow-Kissed she examines a marriage in trouble which is rarely found in romance and the other novella in the series, Sun-Kissed has two older characters with grown-up falling in love. 

Alisha Rai's series, Forbidden Hearts, is a family saga type of romance. It's the complex and volatile relations between two families that lay at the center of the stories. We see revenge, guilt, childhood friends and enemies all making the romances between the MCs more than a challenge. 

Penny Reid's Winston Brothers is a series of romcoms about a a family of 6 brothers and 1 sister. I very much like how the author plays with stereotypes and readers' expectations in these books. 

Jill Shalvis also writes great families in her contemporary small-town romances. I love the banter, the true friendship, being always there for each other and at the same time not hesitating to call the other person out on their mistakes. Wilder series focuses on three brothers running a company organising mountain adventures, Cedar Ridge is another series centred around siblings which I greatly enjoyed. 

Next I want to share some of my favourite romances with  found families. I'd say found families are by far more common in queer romance but they also happen in m/f romances. 

One such example for me would be the three heroines in Kate Calyborn's Chance of a Lifetime series. They are more than close friends, they are each other's family (their relationships with their bio families are complicated and the women give each other the love and support they need and lack from their bio families). 

I also think of the queer characters in KJ Charles's Society of Gentlemen and Sins of the Cities series form their own families. Most of them are not completely rejected by their bio families but they have to hide their true selves and who they love. They can only be themselves with their friends and can fully rely on them and this makes them a found family in my eyes. 

Nathan Burgoine creates a remarkable found family in his Christmas novella, Handmade Holidays. It's during the holidays that the lack of family hurts the most and having close friends to share your joy (and sorrow) with again and again through the years is a remarkable, precious thing. 

My last recommendation is a romance with a mix of bio and found family which I consider absolutely amazing. This is Dear Mona Lisa by Al Steward and Claire Davis, contemporary m/m romance with two older men finding love, one of them facing coming out as gay to his college-aged daughter. We see different family connections at play in this longish novella, there is hurt and pain caused by homophobic parents, but also love and support by colleagues and friends. It's very moving, both heart-breaking and heart-warming. 

I could continue with more recommendations but I'm curious to see what your favoruite romances with memorable families are. What kind of family dynamics do you enjoy reading the most?

I have a soft spot for romances with beta heroes and I'm always looking to read more of those since it seems they are still outnumbered by far by the alpha heroes. In this post I want to share what makes a beta hero irresistible for me and also to recommend some of my favourite romances with beta heroes as part of the #rombklove event on Twitter this May.

There was an interesting discussion a while back on Twitter re the terms alpha, beta, gamma heroes and their possible alternatives. Romance author Olivia Dade came up with the term cinnamon rolls for sweet, kind beta heroes and I really like it. She has compiled two pretty extensive lists of romances with cinnamon heroes on her website which I greatly recommend (List #1 and List #2). While I like the term 'cinnamon hero', I'm still using 'beta' in this post because I think it is a bit broader than 'cinnamon roll', at least, in my mind not every bet hero is a cinnamon roll.

It makes me happy to see beta heroes appearing in all subgenres of romance, not just contemporary. They are precious to me, the kind of people I want to have around me in real life. Sadly, I see many readers who don't appreciate beta heroes and seen them as weak, indecisive, not manly enough. This all is connected to the issue of what we as society see as suitable masculine behaviour - any men showing an emotional side, treating their partners with respect and admiration, experiencing self-doubt, lack of confidence in certain situation, being tender and fragile, needing and enjoying touches and cuddles and quiet intimacy - are very often scorned at, even by romance readers. 

As I counterpoint to this toxic view of masculinity, I very much want to see such heroes in romance. They feel most real, nuanced and easily relatable to me. They represent the kind of people I would enjoy having in my life, so I go around recommending romances with beta heroes all the time.

I want to start with a couple of sports romances where the heroes were successful sports stars and the same time, loving and caring beta heroes.

Saving Hearts by Rebecca Crowley - a goalkeeper en route to retirement, dealing with anxiety and mental health issues by gambling (rather doing complex football games scores predictions). It was the heroine who drove the romantic relationship forward - she proposed a no-strings sex arrangement, she was the more experienced, she pursued him while he wooed her by taking care of her, helping her with her own issues, supporting her. There was so much tenderness and fragility about him and I found that really moving. 

Irresistible You by Kate Meader - Remy is a retiring hockey player who wanted to start a family, was ready to be a stay-at-home dad while his wife pursued her professional career. I loved the way he cared for her, his attentiveness and his admiration for her as professional, his full support for her pursuing her career made me admire him. 

Beat heroes in m/m romance

An Unseen Attraction by KJ Charles - I'd say both Clem and Rowley are beta heroes in a way. Clem was socially anxious due to his dyspraxia but he was much more in control in his personal life. He was the one who initiated and led things in their romantic relationship. Rowley was gentle and kind, enjoying all the care and support Clem gave him. I appreciate that the author allowed him to be afraid and distressed when his life was in danger. 

I would also say that most of Alexis Hall's heroes fall in the category of non-alpha, Edwin in Waiting for the Flood in particular strikes me as a true beta - gentle, somewhat introverted, grieving the loss of love in his life, feeling lonely, melancholic, longing for a close, intimate connection with another person.

The next I want to move to historical romance and I just have to mention Malcolm from An Extraordinary Union by Alyssa Cole. He was competent at his job but also admitted how much better Elle was. He was not only not intimidated by how smart she was, he admired her for that, her intelligence and competence were a turn on for him. He was in awe of her and did his best to support her, stand by her without taking over her life/her mission. He did his best to prove he was worthy of her love and he openly admitted how little he knew of her life, how difficult, nearly impossible it wax for him to step in her shoes (because of all the privilege he had as a white man) but he was ready to listen, to learn and that made him irresistible in my mind.

Under Her Skin by Adriana Anders has a very interesting beta hero. He is a giant of a man with some anger management issues and violent outbursts in his past but he was also taking care of all the stray animals around and he was most tender and supporting of the heroine who was dealing with the aftermath of horrific abuse. Their relationship was a first for both them in many respects. being together they discovered new aspects of their personality and sexuality. He felt comfortable showing a gentler, softer side of him, one that he had always kept hidden because everyone expected/wanted him to be big and strong and rough, no one looked for gentleness and tenderness and surrender from him. It was a very moving, emotionally charged romance.

The last beta hero I want to mention is Ben from Beginner's Luck by Kate Clayborn. On top of being gentle and caring and supporting and admiring the heroine, he was also kind with his family and friends. I loved the way he cared about the important people in his life - his father, the troubled disabled teen he took under his wing, trying his best with his mother and step-father, being loyal to his friend.

I could continue with more beta heroes that I loved but I'm also looking to discover new ones and would appreciate any recommendations you want to share.