Great things come in small packages…

Ben Lethbridge doesn’t have many vices left. He lost his youth to raising his little sister to adulthood, then made up for lost time with reckless abandon. Two years of constant partying—and ignoring his diabetes—has left him tied to a home dialysis regimen.

He can work from home, fortunately, but most of life’s little luxuries are forbidden. Except for watching porn… and fantasising over Ollie, the gorgeous purple-haired skateboarder who delivers his discreetly packaged DVDs.

Their doorstep banter is the highlight of Ben’s solitary day, but his paranoia over his illness-ravaged body prevents him from seeing their flirting for what it really is. He knows Ollie is far too young for him anyway, but he figures there’s no harm in sprucing himself up a bit.

Then one day, a package accidentally splits open, revealing Ben’s dirty little secret. But instead of Ollie being repelled they make an unexpected connection that has Ben wondering if he’s been reading him wrong all this time. The only way to find out if they have a chance at love is to risk showing Ollie every last scar. And that could take more courage than Ben owns.

Warning: Contains superhero porn comics and a pint-sized, accident-prone delivery guy with colour-changing hair. Readers may experience coffee cravings, an unexpected liking for bad mullets, and the urge to wrap Ollie up and take him home.

Review

I  am a big fan of Myles work and I really liked this romance.

I am all in for the hero on dialysis. Since I have lived with and loved someone through this process, I really valued the details of what it is like living with kidney failure and all that is associated especially in terms of a romantic and sexual relationship.

Ben was complex and so was Ollie and I really enjoyed that as well as Ben's sister's struggle to share her brother.

Ben and Ollie struggle with communication and the story needed to be longer to really sink into an HEA but overall I enjoyed and would recommend this read just for the rep of a character with a chronic illness alone. 

A favorite Historical Romance theme is a differnce in class between the leads. The culture clash makes for all sorts of wonderful conflict.

Here are some of my favorite Historical Romances with this theme. My lists are never in any particular order.

1.  Fallen Angel by Charlotte Louise Dolan

Gabriel, Lord Sherington, was a man who understood women perfectly. He knew women waited only until the knot was tied to start changing their husbands. Having sworn never to let anyone change him, he recognized in Verity Jolliffe the perfect wife to provide him with an heir. Now all he had to do was make her fall in love with him. What could be easier?

2. Hester Waring's Marriage by Paula Marshall

Rescuer…Protector…Husband?

Miss Hester Waring's father was a wastrel and a drunkard, who had alienated most of Sydney society.When he died, Hester found herself destitute and alone, with no one to rely on. Her rescue came from a most unlikely source—Mr.Tom Dilhorne, an ex-convict, now the richest man in Sydney. He engineered a teaching job for her, but knew that if he was to be accepted by society he needed a lady for a wife. And Hester was every inch a lady. Luckily the skinny schoolteacher wasn't at all his type, so he wouldn't be in danger of losing his heart…would he?

3. Sweetwood Bride by Pamela Morsi

It was without a doubt the most conniving, lowlife trick ever played on a man. But it was for a good cause...

Eulie Toby didn't like playing tricks, but the only way she could keep her younger orphaned siblings together was to get married--and Moss Collier was the perfect choice. Handsome and kind, he seemed so lonely living with his hermit uncle on that pretty sweep of Tennessee mountaintop. It didn't matter if their vows came at the end of a shotgun; Eulie promised Moss she'd make him the best wife in all of the Sweetwood.

But a young bride and a ready-made family were the last things on Moss's mind. He had big dreams of going West and nothing was going to stop him--not Eulie's sweet innocence...not her deliciously kissable lips...and especially not that growing warmth deep inside his heart every time she came near. Moss had plans all right--but he hadn't planned on falling in love.

4. Beauty and the Blacksmith by Tessa Dare

Beautiful and elegant, Miss Diana Highwood is destined to marry a wealthy, well-placed nobleman. At least that's what her mother has loudly declared to everyone in Spindle Cove.

But Diana's not excited by dukes and lords. The only man who makes her heart pound is the village blacksmith, Aaron Dawes. By birth and fortune, they couldn't be more wrong for each other . . . but during stolen, steamy moments in the smithy, his strong hands feel so right.

Is their love forged strong enough to last, or are they just playing with fire?

5. The Proposition by Judith Ivory

No man, gentleman or otherwise, has ever looked at Lady Edwina Bollash the way the brash, handsome man standing before her is doing now. Edwina has accepted the challenge to transform incorrigible Mick Tremore into a gentleman in just six weeks. And although the linguist is sure she can rise to the task, she isn't at all certain she won't swoon under his frankly sensuous gaze before her job is done.

Mick has lived outside of London society long enough to know that appearances can be deceiving. Edwina might look all buttoned up-the perfect English lady-but there is unleashed passion existing just below her placid facade (not to mention a great pair of legs!). And as she prepares him to take his place in society, Mick prepares Edwina to take her place in his heart...and in his bed.

6. A Lady's Lesson in Scandal by Meredith Duran

When Nell Whitby breaks into an earl’s house on a midnight quest for revenge, she finds her pistol pointed at the wrong man—one handsome as sin and naked as the day he was born. Pity he’s a lunatic. He thinks her a missing heiress, but more to the point, he’ll help her escape the slums and right a grave injustice. Not a bad bargain. All she has to do is marry him. 

A NOTORIOUS LADIES’ MAN COULD TAKE HER FROM POVERTY TO OPULENCE . . . BUT AT WHAT PRICE? 

A rake of the first order, Simon St. Maur spent his restless youth burning every bridge he crossed. When he inherits an earldom without a single penny attached to it, he sees a chance to start over—provided he can find an heiress to fund his efforts. But his wicked reputation means courtship will be difficult—until fate sends him the most notorious missing heiress in history. All he needs now is to make her into a lady and keep himself from making the only mistake that could ruin everything: falling in love. . . .

7. The Leopard Prince by Elizabeth Hoyt

THE ONE THING A LADY MUST NEVER DO...
Wealthy Lady Georgina Maitland doesn't want a husband, though she could use a good steward to run her estates. One look at Harry Pye, and Georgina knows she's not just dealing with a servant, but a man.

IS FALL IN LOVE...
Harry has known many aristocrats - including one particular nobleman who is his sworn enemy. But Harry has never met a beautiful lady so independent, uninhibited, and eager to be in his arms. 

WITH HER SERVANT.
Still, it's impossible to conduct a discreet liaison when poisoned sheep, murdered villagers, and an enraged magistrate have the county in an uproar. The locals blame Harry for everything. Soon it's all Georgina can do to keep her head above water and Harry's out of the noose...without missing another night of love.

8. A Hearing Heart by Bonnie Dee

he heart conveys messages beyond what ears can hear. 

After the death of her fiancé, Catherine Johnson, a New York schoolteacher in 1902, travels to Nebraska to teach in a one-room school. When violence erupts in the sleepy town, Catherine saves deaf stable hand, Jim Kinney from torture by drunken thugs. 

As she begins teaching Jim to read and sign, attraction grows between them. The warmth and humor in this silent man transcends the need for speech and his eyes tell her all about his feelings for her. But the obstacles of class difference and the stigma of his handicap are almost insurmountable barriers to their growing affection. 

Will Catherine flaunt society’s rules and allow herself to love again? Can Jim make his way out of poverty as a deaf man in a hearing world? And will the lovers overcome a corrupt robber baron who has a stranglehold on the town? Romance, sensuality and adventure abound in this heartfelt tale. 

9. The Weaver Takes a Wife by Sheri Cobb South

Beautiful, haughty Lady Helen Radney is the daughter of a duke who has gambled away his fortune. The duke’s plan is to marry her off to recoup his losses, but the only one interested in this sharp-tongued lady is Mr. Ethan Brundy. Once a workhouse orphan, Brundy is now the owner of a Lancashire textile mill, a very rich man—and smitten with Helen.

10. Dreaming of You of Lisa Kleypas

Class Differences in Historical Romance 

I actually perfer my Romance with more internal than external conflict. When the conflict stems from who the characters are rather than some outside force, it means they have to resolve the conflict. I get way more couple time this way. 

Social class difference between the couple sets up an especially dynamic and interesting internal conflict. World views clash and shift.  Good stuff.

In Paranormal, Science Fiction and Fantasy Romance Class difference can be a great plot point as the whole world has been created. 

Here are some wonderful Paranormal Romances that deal with social class difference between the leads. 

To see and vote on the whole list, visit my Goodreads list: Class Differences in Paranormal Romance. 

My lists are never in any particular order.

1. Soul Kissed by Erin Kellison

While the world slumbers in Shadow, a fatal plague has swept through magekind. No one is immune to its ravages, and now that her father is dead, Cari Dolan must wield the fearful magic of her House to save innocent lives.

"The sexual tension is palpable. A stand-out page turner." --RT Book Reviews on Fire Kissed

At the mage Council's bidding, dangerous outsider Mason Stray joins forces with Cari to hunt down the fiend responsible. But can he trust the daughter of wealth and privilege, especially when his own son is at risk?

2. Troll-y Yours by Sheri Fredricks

SHE TAKES A CHANCE.

Determined to forge a better life, Ella launches her new business with high hopes—until a sexy Centaur bumps into her and throws her life off course forever. Voted “Most Eligible Bachelor in Boronda”, Aleksander shakes up her world and tilts her in more ways than one.

HE’S IN DANGEROUS TERRITORY.

Years of warfare and countless bedroom encounters have stolen Kempor Aleksander’s luster for life. He never expects to rediscover his zeal in the small, redheaded form of Ella the Troll, who fires his blood hotter than the deepest caverns in the forest.

A PASSION SO HOT.

But as trouble lingers in their midst—and edges ever closer—Alek and Ella spiral into troubled terrain. Turning to each other, the pair face down dangers that run impenetrably deep in their mythological world. But will the two lovers discover a passion that runs even deeper?

3. Heart Change by Robin D. Owens

Signet D?Marigold?s lonely life is shaken when a prophet reveals she is a catalyst for change. But to accept her new life?and the charge of the noble child Avellana?means embracing a danger that may be fatal for them both. Especially when Signet?s attraction to her new bodyguard signals a secret enemy sworn to destroy them.

4. Wolf Who Rules by Wen Spencer

Tinker: just a quick-witted girl from Pittsburgh - who happens to be responsible for depositing high elves and her hometown humans into a melting pot of magic. Now the draconian oni seek to destroy the elves by breeding human git to do their evil bidding. But half-breeds who are half-human may not be the slaves the oni imagined. The revolt is on! Its leader A certain newly-minted elven princess from Pittsburgh, PA, by the name of Tinker.

5. Lothaire by Kresley Cole

ALL FEAR THE ENEMY OF OLD

Driven by his insatiable need for revenge, Lothaire, the Lore’s most ruthless vampire, plots to seize the Horde’s crown. But bloodlust and torture have left him on the brink of madness—until he finds Elizabeth Peirce, the key to his victory. He captures the unique young mortal, intending to offer up her very soul in exchange for power, yet Elizabeth soothes his tormented mind and awakens within him emotions Lothaire believed he could no longer experience.

A DEADLY FORCE DWELLS WITHIN HER

Growing up in desperate poverty, Ellie Peirce yearned for a better life, never imagining she’d be convicted of murder—or that an evil immortal would abduct her from death row. But Lothaire is no savior, as he himself plans to sacrifice Ellie in one month’s time. And yet the vampire seems to ache for her touch, showering her with wealth and sexual pleasure. In a bid to save her soul, Ellie surrenders her body to the wicked vampire, while vowing to protect her heart.

CENTURIES OF COLD INDIFFERENCE SHATTERED

Elizabeth tempts Lothaire beyond reason, as only his fated mate could. As the month draws to a close, he must choose between a millennia-old blood vendetta and his irresistible prisoner. Will Lothaire succumb to the miseries of his past…or risk everything for a future with her?

6. Justin by Allyson James

Welcome to the Tales of the Shareem--men created solely for women's pleasure. Shareem come in three levels: Pure sensuality; Fun and games; and the Ultimate experience.

Outlawed now, Shareem eke out a living in the back streets of their city, restricted by rules that keep them near-prisoners, each searching for the one woman who will fulfill his long-denied need for love.

Justin has spent much of his life as a free citizen, but he returns home to search for the daughter he was forbidden to have. But the fiesty female patroller following him around is getting in his way, especially when she keeps shooting him in the backside.

Justin needs to protect his secrets, but he decides that the patroller is worth a second look, and maybe some instruction in level-two games. He sets out to seduce, but discovers that Deanna, his pretty patroller, has a few surprises in store for him.

Deanna can't understand why the exasperating Justin won't follow the rules, considering the trouble he keeps getting himself into. She also can't understand why he excites her so much--patrollers are supposed to tame Shareem, not fall for them. But as Deanna uncovers his secrets, she learns exactly what Justin has given up, and what kind of courageous man lies behind the façade of the pleasure slave.

7. No Words Alone by Autumn Dawn

Stranded on a hostile alien planet, a beautiful young translator is forced to choose between trusting her own crewmates or the noble commander of the very alien race that shot down her spacecraft.

8.  Big Bad Beast by Shelly Laurenston

Ric Van Holtz is more than he seems, nothing you expect--and everything you want. . .

When it comes to following her instincts, former Marine Dee-Ann Smith never holds back. And this deadly member of a shifter protection group will do anything to prove one of her own kind is having hybrids captured for dogfights. Trouble is, her too-cute, rich-boy boss Ric Van Holtz is making it real hard for Dee to keep her heart safe. He's wanted the fiercely independent she-wolf from day one, but he never expected their teamwork to be so explosive. Now is his last chance to show Dee what she needs isn't some in-your-face Alpha male--but a wily, resourceful wolf who'll always have her back in a fight. . .and between the sheets.

9. B Cubed Book One: Born by Jenna McCormick

Born: Natural born humans are precious few and dwell in darkness.

Bred: Genetically engineered slaves who are the protectors of the Born.

Borg: The cybernetically enhanced enclave that split from the Born humans.

B Cubed: These three factions are all that remains of the human race after the world stopped turning. Scavenging in the darkness for what little is left, the war between them rages on though few know why. It begins with a child's prophesy and can only end when they unite.

Or die.

10. Would-Be Witch by Kimberly Frost

In the small town of Duvall, Texas, the only thing that causes more trouble than gossip is magic.
 
The family magic seems to have skipped over Tammy Jo Trask. All she gets in the way of the supernatural are a few untimely visits from the long-dead, smart-mouthed family ghost Edie. But when her locket—an heirloom that happens to hold Edie’s soul—is stolen in the midst of a town-wide crime spree, it’s time for Tammy to find her inner witch.
 
After a few bad experiences with her magic, Tammy turns to the only one who can help: the very rich and highly magical Bryn Lyons. He might have all the answers, but the locket isn’t the only thing passed down in Tammy’s family. She also inherited a warning…to stay away from anyone named Lyons…

Got more? Gimme!