Romances with shy\bookish heroines?

Fangirl comes to mind.

BookmarkUnicorn said:

I'm wondering if there are many romances with shy heroines? Don't get me wrong I don't mean passive/doormatish in their shyness, just..more introverted and bookish? Every romance I pick up lately seems to be about a spunky in your face sort of MC and while that is nice and empowering, as an introverted girl myself I'd love to find more heroines that are shy/bookish.

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I do love Melanie in Gone with the Wind (not a romance, though). In Mary Balogh's A Precious Jewel, the heroine is soft-spoken, gentle and likes books. She's also a working prostitute. The hero is definitely a beta, too.

And the heroine of my novel The Deepest Ocean is very introverted. She stands up for herself when she needs to, but otherwise she's not at all noticeable or in-your-face. The hero doesn't even realize he's falling for her at first.

I've read quite a number of historical romances with quieter heroines, but of course, I'm HORRIBLE about remembering exactly which ones (a function of reading too many ). Tessa Dare's Spindle Cove series has one (The third (?), Kate's story, i think), and I just finished Douglas, Lord of Heartache by Grace Burrowes. The heroine is strong in her choices, but chooses to live quietly. I would call her introverted but not necessarily shy. The hero isn't an obvious alpha, but I'm not sure if he qualifies as a beta. (I'm not 100% clear on the distinctions as I find them blurred more often than not.)

I like an introverted heroine, the discovery of still but deep waters is satisfying, as a reader.

Not sure if this counts, but my (as yet unpublished) second novel features an MC who is not exactly shy, but quiet and modest, and she devours books. She isn't passive, though. She stands up and rescues herself, where possible. If she can't, then when rescue comes, she's fighting alongside the hero. (He's definitely an alpha male, so I can't help in that regard.)

My soon-to-be-published Women's Fiction (not Romance, but a love story) has just such an MC (three female MCs): The Small Fortune of Dorothea Q, out in October! The question of introversion and the problems it raises for the individual is one of the driving themes of the novel.

The Aurora Teagarden series by Charlaine Harris comes to mind.

If you're willing to go back in time, Persuasion is my favourite Jane Austen novel, and its heroine is definitely on the quiet, bookish side.

There are lots of regencies with shy heroines... Romancing Mr. Bridgerton and Dancing at Midnight by Julia Quinn comes to mind. There's also Open Season by Linda Howard if you want a contemporary romance/romantic suspense.

Blatant Plug: My heroine in Operation Owl is super-bookish (but not terribly shy)...and the hero is more of the nice guy type and less alpha-male . It's a contemporary rom-com.

The novel Devil in Winter by Lisa Kleypas came to mind when thinking about a shy heroine.

Someone else has already mentioned Tessa Dare's "A Lady by Midnight" as a shy heroine, but "A Week to be Wicked" has a very bookish heroine that belongs to a scientific society using her initials so that other members assume she's a man.

However, her most recent "Romancing the Duke", you'll come really close to your "Beauty and the Beast" retelling. Comes complete with a bookish heroine and scarred hero lurking in the shadows of the castle she just inherited.

You can look up romances by trope or theme or character type on All About Romance: http://likesbooks.com/lists.html
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My favourite romances have timid characters!

The best authors portray timid characters with a lot of depth. Being shy doesn't mean that you aren't a person with convictions and strength, and that you can get things done without being a pushover, or reverting your whole personality.

My personal favourite is... Sarah Maclean's "Nine Rules to Break When Romancing a Rake".

A Week To Be Wicked was one of my fave's too. And oh yes, Open Season. Some people said it didn't have as much action as her other books (true) but Daisy's character transformation was hilarious. These timid characters like to go with rogues...

I'd recommend His Brown-Eyed Girl by Liz Talley. I'm currently reading it and while the heroine isn't so much shy, she is smart and not a pushover. Also the hero is great and often funny with his lack of knowledge about certain things

Lucy Monroe's The Shy Bride is one of my favourite romances ever. But really, I think there are a lot of heroines who fit this category. It's not all that uncommon in the genre.

Another Blatant Plug: My heroine in Only You is quiet and rather reserved but isn't a pushover, while the hero is definitely not an alpha-male.

It's a contemporary romance and will be published on 17 October.

The leading lady in this book works at a book store, is quiet, but is also very strong in her own way. While the hero isn't a traditional beta, he isn't all uber alpha either and relies on her deep strength when shit hits the fan.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/1250052378/?tag=absowrit-20

PS- I love this whole series.

Mills and Boone have been around for ages.
Shy type of girl turning rich when she meets her future prince.

The term for that type of book is "Wallflower" romance. The heroines are a bit shy, not always the prettiest, so them winning the hero is that much sweeter. There was a recent RT magazine article about wallflower books. It gave a whole list of authors to try. Let me see if I can track it down and I'll link it for you.

ETA: I didn't find the article yet, but I found a RT forum thread on it for your reading list pleasure. Mind you, most of these are historical, but it's a good start.

Molly O'Keefe's Between the Sheets (contemporary) has a somewhat introverted art teacher heroine. And the hero, while not quite a beta, isn't a typical alpha either.

Other contemporaries with bookish heroines that come to mind include Kristen Ashley's Breathe, Cara McKenna's Hard Time, and Mary Ann Rivers' novella, The Story Guy (all featuring librarians).

Now I'm going to have to look up some of the other titles in this thread.

I normally don't read romance novels but I love pairings of young adult or adult characters where you have a girl or woman who's a little shy and quiet but of deep strength and a guy who definitely not an alpha male type. I'm hoping I can incorporate this kind of relationship in my WIP. Now you got me curious about what's a beta male.

Both my menage novels (Wicked Safari comes out in March) feature this type of heroine.

Bookish heroines aren't necessarily shy. Many of Amanda Quick's heroines are bookish and scholarly, but I would never call them shy.
A new romance, just published, with a bookish heroine, not precisely shy but not enthusiastic about social occasions, is My Fair Lily by Meara Platt.