I enjoy a good alpha hero. And I adore a good reformed party-boy slut. But one of my all time favorite romance tropes is the virgin hero. Something about that inexperienced guy just does it for me. Maybe he is slightly nerdy, shy, or socially awkward and hasn’t done much dating. Or maybe he has some sort of physical or emotional scars that have made it hard to find love. He could be recently out of the closet and new to the world of dating. Or perhaps he is just waiting for true love before doing the deed. Whatever the reason, I absolutely love the virgin romance hero.
I have always enjoyed this trope, especially in m/f stories. It is probably because it is so contrary to the usual alpha male role common to most romance. But there is something that appeals to me in the wide-eyed wonder of a guy experiencing his first time. I enjoy seeing male characters who don’t have to be all knowing about sex and who can learn about the physical side of a relationship at the same time as they experience the emotional one.
This week I am reviewing a variety of different m/m romances featuring virgin heroes, each slightly different in their focus. I am really looking forward to sharing these with you all. In addition to the books I am reviewing, I have read some other really great virgin hero stories. Here are a few of my favorites:
- Off the Record by Matthew Haldeman-Time
- My Fair Captain by J.L. Langley
- Pricks and Pragmatism by J.L. Merrow
- Hot Ticket by K.A. Mitchell
- My Summer of Wes by Missy Welsh
- Life, Over Easy by K.A. Mitchell
And if you don’t mind some girl bits mixed in there, here are a few het romances I liked featuring male virgins:
- Born in Sin by Kinley MacGregor
- Outlander by Diana Gabaldon
- Dark Needs at Night’s Edge by Kresley Cole
- Lover Enshrined by J.R. Ward
Goodreads also has a list of male virgin stories, although most of them appear to be m/f romance. (Their list of gay “virginal” characters appears to feature guys first time with another man, not actual virgins.)
Male virgins are a bit harder to traditionally classify than female virgins are. In case you are wondering, I consider someone a (literary) virgin if he or the book identifies himself that way, or if he is shown to have little or no sexual experience with either gender (and obviously in real life people have their own thoughts on virginity that may be different than this). I am pretty sure that the men in the above stories have never been with women or men, but please correct me if I got any of that wrong.
- Monday: You and a Billion Blue Tiles by Missy Welsh
- Tuesday: Blacque/Bleu by Belinda McBride
- Tuesday: Finding Home by Cameron Dane
- Wednesday: The Closer You Get by L.A. Witt
- Thursday: Guest Post and Giveaway by L.A. Witt
- Friday: Seducing Stephen by Bonnie Dee and Summer Devon
>I’ve been trying to write a list of all the m/f novels with virgin heroes I know but the only one I can remember is Under Fire by Jo Davis, which is weird since I didn’t like the book… So evidently I’ve got a lot of reading to do. I have read a couple of m/m books with virgin heroes and I wonder if the reason why there are more virgin heroes in m/m books (although I might be wrong here, is just that I can’t think of any m/f books) is because they can of play the part of the virgin heroine? Do they always act shy and inexperienced? Because that’s classic virgin heroine behavior, I know that in Pricks and Pragmatism the hero is nerdy and shy but in Finding Home the virgin hero isn’t shy at all, so I’m probably wrong…. I need to do more research! ;-D
I do love this trope, though. I don’t think there are enough virgin heroes out there and we definitely need more, and I’ve got a total double standard because I hate virgin heroines. My other favorite trope is the prostitute hero, and I don’t mean slutty, I mean prostitute with madam, brothel and the whole nine yards! So either very experienced or with no experience whatsoever is fine by me.
Great post, this is going to be a fun week!
>I hadn't really thought about this trope too much, so it'll be interesting to think about it this week.
>I'm so glad you're featuring Missy Welch! Her book, My Summer of Wes was the very first M/M romance story I ever read. I had just turned 18 (so I could legally buy it.. LOL) and it blew me away. It's one of the few M/M romance books I've ever read more than once. Now, I'm gonna bug her until she writes a sequel! You pass that along to her, okay? 😉
>@Brie, interesting about the idea of the hero taking the heroine role. In some of these the virgin is more passive, but I don't get the same vibe I get when reading a historical m/f featuring the virgin heroine. Oh, and I love a good rent boy story! If you have a good one of those, let me know!
@Chris, Thanks! hope you enjoy!
@Matt – Thanks again for sending folks over here. I loved Summer of Wes too. I actually asked her about a sequel too the other day. She said she is working on it but she didn't have too many specifics yet. Bug her!
>You're welcome about our promoting your Virgins (did that come out right?!!) I'm so glad to hear Missy's working on something to keep Wes going! And I plan to organize a campaign to get her to finish it! LOL… Matt
>I really enjoy virgin hero stories, and it's probably one of my favorite romance tropes. "Life, Over Easy" by KA Mitchell is definitely one of my favorites. Now I'm off to add the other titles to my Wish List. 🙂
>I do like the whole virgin trope, but I struggle with how easy it is for said virgin to loose it become perfect in bed virtually straight away.
I haven't read a couple that you've mentioned so off to go put on the to read list.
A couple of my favourites with this trope are both by Z. A. Maxfield… Crossing Borders and Drawn Together. I also have a soft spot for Sara Bell's The Magic in your Touch which I read online long before I discovered M/M as a genre with real books available.
>@Kate, yes, I totally agree with you. Same problem with female virgins, especially in historicals. No pain and immediate orgasm right off the bat. I am reviewing LA Witt's The Closer You Get later this week and I think she does a great job of showing how difficult the whole process can be from both sides (as well as how wonderful). It is the most real feeling virgin story I have read in a while in the way it handles this topic.
I love ZAM and both books you mentioned. I didn't count them as virgin stories though b/c the guys have all had sex with women even though for some it was their first time with another guy. I'll have to check out Magic in Your Touch.
>Ugh. I thought I posted this morning. Obviously not. Hot Ticket is one of my all time fave comfort reads. I swear I read it about every 6 weeks whether I need it or not. 🙂
I've read some of those and I never really stuck that they were virgin heroes. I don't seek them out but I do like stories with young characters so you get a greater chance of a first-timer. 🙂 Looking forward to the reviews.
>@Tam, yes I really like Hot TIcket too. I don't hear it talked about as much as some of her other books but I loved it. I have reread it a million times also. Thanks for stopping by!
>@Jayhhay Ah, I forgot that both of then have previous het experience… probably because they are both written in such a way to show almost complete sexual naivety.
Though, it could also be down to my own interpretation of whether loosing your virginity more than once is possible
>I'm with Tam in just adoring Hot Ticket (and Life Over Easy, of course!) – although I must admit, it was Cade and Mason who really captured my imagination, rather than their virginal partners.
Jamie's Pricks and Pragmatism is a fantastic read too. I'm in the process of beta-reading a novel for her in the same 'verse, which features a walk-on appearance from Russell and Luke!
I haven't read any of the others on your list, but I'll be checking out the reviews. I did write a virgin hero myself this summer, and am hoping "Tailor Made" will be published early 2012 (can't say any more than that yet as I haven't seen the contract)
>@Josephine – How exciting about your new book. Keep us posted on the details! And I had heard about that Jamie is writing a book in the Luke and Russell universe. I can't wait to see them again!
>I love the male virgin and when I had to read fanfic to get my m/m vibe on, Virgin Snape was my favorite in the world. Something about someone so mean and damaged and broken being shattered by something good. GUH. I love it! But now I have resources to find all the good books, huzzah!
>JayHJay, I found it. Very interesting discussion. Well, the virgin m/m book I remember the most is, Seducing Stephen by Bonnie Dee and Summer Devon. Which is still the book’s excerpt that got me pulling my credit card faster. I simply needed to know how Stephen’s first time was going to be. So I’m glad you are featuring it this week.
I’m going to check out the others books mentioned, specially Hot Ticket. Thanks for the recommendations.