#always imagine romance heroes making vows of celibacy a la michael scott declaring bankruptcy tbh

[mermaidsirennikita]

Do you hace any HR recs where the hero makes a vow of celibacy until the heroine comes along? I read One Good Earl Deserves a Lover by Sarah Mclean and I'M SO OBSSESED NOW

Hmm, I have a few that might work! That's one of my favorite MacLeans. SO good.

Thief of Shadows by Elizabeth Hoyt--a top favorite of mine, hero is a virgin and is determined to stay celibate due to his religious perspective/dedication to saving the world/never having fallen in love before. He.............................. breaks pretty quickly when he meets a sophisticated older widow.

Unclaimed by Courtney Milan--another virgin hero, and this one has basically taken a public vow of celibacy, as he wants to save his virginity until he's in love. The heroine is a sex worker hired to seduce and ruin him.

The Highwayman by Kerrigan Byrne is another virgin hero one, and he hasn't so much taken a vow of celibacy as he is... extremely emotionally damaged following years of abuse, and gnarled and mean, and he basically refuses to touch the heroine skin to skin which means no sex until she points out a way that they can have sex (for procreative purposes, obvi) with as little skin to skin contact as possible. TW for discussions of past childhood sexual abuse.

My Fake Rake by Eva Leigh has, I think, a celibate hero. I don't know if it's a vow so much as he's like, soooo dedicated to his work that he's like, I'LL BE CELIBATE FOR THE SAKE OF SCIENCE. The heroine is his best friend and they begin fake courting so she can catch the attention of another man. Unique in that it's about two fuckin' nerds finding love. Also, his Boyz are like "TO THE MALL!" to find a way to make him look like a proper rake. It's very cute.

A Matter of Temptation by Stacy Reid gives these vibes. The hero hasn't taken a vow of celibacy, but he isn't a virgin and he has basically never had a great time with sex and is sort of indifferent to it until he meets the heroine. I interpreted him as demisexual, for sure. Also, I believe the heroine becomes his employee, so it's a bit COMPLEX.

Glory and the Master of Shadows by Grace Callaway will give you this, though I don't think Wei made a specific vow. It's set during the Opium Wars in England, and the hero is Chinese while the heroine is 1/4 Chinese; they initially do some bonding over being in that unique position in England, and he then becomes her mentor. Buuuut she's a duke's daughter and a virgin, and he's basically been celibate for a looong time (like, close to a decade, I think) in part due to some atoning due to the loss of his family which he blames himself for, and in part because he did a lot of coping over that loss with drugs and sex for a while. But Glory is SUCH! A temptation to him. There is a scene where he eats her out against a wall while her parents are sleeping down the hall. It's great.

Hotel of Secrets by Diana Biller (one of my top reads this year) totally has this. The hero is an American Virgin Spy who's chosen to be celibate due to emotional issues and trauma, etc. The heroine is not a virgin or celibate, and there is a LOT of temptation. It's set in 1800s Vienna, which I LOVE. Super romantic, great UST.

When a Girl Loves an Earl by Elisa Braden (one of my favorite Bradens) may have this, I think...? I'm honestly not sure. I feel like the hero didn't have sex after he found out his baby son died, mostly because he didn't want to father any illegitimate children, expose his heart to love, etc. But I'm not sure. Anyway, he sure does bone that heroine with his verra verra big Scottish dick.

Accidentally Compromising the Duke by Stacy Reid FOR SURE has this. The hero is a widower whose wife died in childbirth and he feels super guilty, so while he wants a stepmother for his two daughters, he doesn't want to ever get anyone pregnant again or even risk it. But then the heroine accidentally compromises him and he's like fine let's sexless marriage it up, and she's like "EXCUSE???? SEXLESS????" and you get this hilarious, angsty ramp up of like ".... fine but just fingers... fine but just my mouth... fine but just the tip.... fine but I WILL pull out!!! fine but--"

Duke of Desire by Elizabeth Hoyt has a hero who marries the heroine (after kidnapping her) to keep her safe but refuses to have sex with her, in part due to his immense trauma over childhood sexual abuse. This is an issue, as she wants Babies.

Lord of Darkness by Elizabeth Hoyt has a widower hero who marries the heroine after being blackmailed by her brother; she was pregnant with another man's child out of wedlock, and the man died. She miscarries right after the wedding and the separate without consummation, and years later she comes back like "you better break that celibacy streak because I want a baby".