Hi!
Putting the message out because I'm genuinely struggling to find what I'm looking for.
I LOVE romance, but I'm looking for a story set in a high stakes professional environment (finance, law, consulting, medicine, engineering etc etc). Billionaire CEOs are fine. Genre is flexible (thriller, fantasy, mystery etc)
My only real requirement is that the professional competence feels earned and real (not performative or "told"), especially the FMC. I'm looking for characters who show strategic thinking and understand power plays (as opposed to just using technical jargon, or acting impulsively with no consequences).
Bonus points for a romance between strategic equals – not necessarily the same level but equally matched cat and mouse/ mind games.
I've read Julie James – LOVED her books and can't find anything quite like it.
Not a huge fan of Ali Hazelwood, Emily Henry (these feel too cozy) also not a fan of dense high fantasy.
I'm very open to self published work, or even beta reading. So if anyone here writes romance with a background in finance/ law/ consulting or similar fields, I'd love to hear from you (or your recs).
TY
by eterivale