Hello!
I'm looking for a book that'll stress me the fuck out. I want both main leads to be hypercompetent and experts in their own fields. I want external threats whether this be people or environments. Contemporary, Historical, Apocalyptic, or Sci-Fi or anything else. I'll read everything but would love something high quality.
Smut:
Smut is fine. I just don't want it smut focus to an extreme. Like no trading sex for survival kind of thing. It can be 5/5 wacky 3 alien dick, cuck in the corner, size difference, full on explicit but with plot please.
I don't want:
– NO DAMSELS (Please they kill me)
– NO Domestic Violence between main couple
– NO Alpha-Jerk BS (It's a mood I'm not into right now.)
Thank you for any and all recs.
by procrasinationiswhy
3 Comments
The Luminous Dead by Caitlin Starling might be perfect for this. Deep cave exploration in hostile alien environment, main character is expert caver but her remote handler is equally competent. Both have to rely on their skills to survive and the tension builds really well between them. No damsel stuff at all – she’s basically a one-woman army in power armor.
For something more contemporary, maybe try The 7½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton. Not exactly romance but has that competence angle with murder mystery solving. Though if you want more traditional romance with survival elements, Station Eleven has some really good character dynamics during apocalypse scenario.
To be honest. The Hypercompetent MC is so boring. I would rather have one that is flawed and can grow.
Rey from Star Wars were a prime example of this.
The Kindled series by Claire Kent