Books like 'Return to Me'

Readers who enjoyed Return to Me by Melissa MacKinnon also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.

historical  fantasy  regency  highlander

  • The Moon Sister by Lucinda Riley

    The Moon Sister by Lucinda Riley

    Rated: 4.26 of 5 stars
    · 40 ratings
    From New York Times bestselling author and “remarkable reading phenomenon” (Lancashire Post) Lucinda Riley, The Moon Sister transports you to the grandeur of the remote Scottish Highlands and the gypsy caves of Granada, just as Spain descends into civil war, interweaving the stories of two women searching for their destinies, at the risk of potentially losing their chance at love...
  • The Dragons of Pemberley by Maria Grace

    The Dragons of Pemberley by Maria Grace

    Rated: 4.60 of 5 stars
    · 11 ratings
    Homecomings never live up to expectations.After a visit to London that nearly cost her everything, Lady Elizabeth Darcy, Dragon Sage, desperately needs the solace of her country home, Pemberley. Sir Fitzwilliam Darcy, knight of the Pendragon Order and Keeper to Pemberley, counts the minutes until Pemerbley's walls protect his family once more.Their homecoming cannot happen soon enough...
  • Sponsored links
  • Kellynch Dragon Persuasion by Maria Grace

    Kellynch Dragon Persuasion by Maria Grace

    Rated: 4.48 of 5 stars
    · 14 ratings
    Keeping a hibernating dragon should have been a simple thing.Should have been, but it was not. Apparently, nothing involving dragons was ever simple, at least not for Anne Elliot, junior Keeper to dragon Kellynch.With the estate in debt, Anne’s father in denial, and the dragon’s treasure missing, Kellynch’s awakening is shaping up to be nothing short of catastrophe...
    Categorized as:
    regency  fantasy  historical  mystery  length-long
  • The Burden of a Scottish Chieftain by Keira Montclair

    The Burden of a Scottish Chieftain by Keira Montclair

    Rated: 4.67 of 5 stars
    · 9 ratings
    A haunted chieftain. A lass without hope.What happens when their lives cross paths?Lennox MacVey, chieftain of Clan MacVey, is haunted by memories of being kidnapped as a child by a man named Egan. Now seven and twenty years old, the nightmares of the event are becoming clearer, beckoning him to right the wrongs committed against him.For Meg, life has become unbearable...
  • The Burden of a Scottish Chieftain by Keira Montclair

    The Burden of a Scottish Chieftain by Keira Montclair

    Rated: 4.56 of 5 stars
    · 9 ratings
    A haunted chieftain. A lass without hope.What happens when their lives cross paths?Lennox MacVey, chieftain of Clan MacVey, is haunted by memories of being kidnapped as a child by a man named Egan. Now seven and twenty years old, the nightmares of the event are becoming clearer, beckoning him to right the wrongs committed against him.For Meg, life has become unbearable...
  • Dragons Beyond the Pale by Maria Grace

    Dragons Beyond the Pale by Maria Grace

    Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars
    · 10 ratings
    Smugglers. A kidnapping. A fire-breathing fairy dragon? The Blue Order is falling apart at the seams.After months in Bath mentoring Dragon Keepers and Friends, Dragon Sage Elizabeth Darcy actually anticipates traveling to London for the Keeper’s Cotillion. Which says a great deal considering the she-dragons who make up the Cotillion board would very much like to show the Sage her proper place...
  • The Border Series: Box Set by Cecelia Mecca

    The Border Series: Box Set by Cecelia Mecca

    Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars
    · 8 ratings
    The first three books plus a bonus prequel novella in the bestselling Border Series: The Ward's Bride, The Thief's Countess, The Lord's Captive and The Chief's Maiden. THE WARD'S BRIDE: PREQUEL NOVELLA English knight Sir Adam Dayne is offered the ultimate prize by the earl who raised him: lordship of Langford castle...
  • Spellbound at Pemberley: A Pride & Prejudice Variation by Abigail Reynolds

    Spellbound at Pemberley: A Pride & Prejudice Variation by Abigail Reynolds

    Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars
    · 8 ratings
    Fitzwilliam Darcy is a powerful mage and master of illusions. His abilities make him the perfect man for a dangerous mission to end the devastating war with Napoleon – a mission that would leave him little chance of returning alive. When he meets the enchanting Elizabeth Bennet, whose magical Talents are as deep as they are inexplicable, he knows he needs her help...
  • Captivating the Scoundrel by Darcy Burke

    Captivating the Scoundrel by Darcy Burke

    Rated: 4.44 of 5 stars
    · Steam rating: 4 of 5
    Explicit open door [?] · 9 ratings
    Daphne Foliot has always known she’ll be married off to a man who, like her, descended from one of King Arthur’s fabled knights. That doesn’t mean she wants to be, even if it is her beloved father’s wish. Raised without a mother, she owes everything to the man who encouraged and funded her education and supports her dream of becoming the first female member of the Order of the Round Table...
  • An Accidental Holiday: A Pride and Prejudice Novella by Melanie Rachel

    An Accidental Holiday: A Pride and Prejudice Novella by Melanie Rachel

    Rated: 4.35 of 5 stars
    · Steam rating: 1 of 5
    Glimpses and kisses [?] · 11 ratings
    Will an accident result in a Christmas miracle? When Elizabeth Bennet escapes out of doors in the aftermath of a most unwanted proposal, an injured Charles Bingley is the last person she expects to see. That is, until she discovers the handsome, insufferable Mr. Darcy loitering near the road to Longbourn several hours later...
  • Think of Me: A Highly Irregular Pride & Prejudice Variation by Elizabeth Adams

    Think of Me: A Highly Irregular Pride & Prejudice Variation by Elizabeth Adams

    Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars
    · 10 ratings
    Mr. Darcy has a gift, though it often feels like a curse.Elizabeth Bennet does not like Mr. Darcy. He said the worst things about her! He is entirely too proud, and handsome, and tall. Thankfully, he does not know her thoughts. Can you imagine how awkward that would be?* Think of Me is a slightly paranormal story that features the inner workings of an adult man's mind...
    Categorized as:
    regency  historical  fantasy  length-short
  • Mr. Darcy's Enchantment: A Pride & Prejudice Variation by Abigail Reynolds

    Mr. Darcy's Enchantment: A Pride & Prejudice Variation by Abigail Reynolds

    Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars
    · 9 ratings
    In a Regency England where magic and faeries are real… Fitzwilliam Darcy is a powerful magician who controls fire, water, and wind. What he cannot control is his growing feelings for Miss Elizabeth Bennet. Elizabeth’s sentiments towards Darcy are quite different. She detests his arrogance, and she fears he will expose her use of forbidden magic - forbidden to women, that is...
  • Breanna's Surrender by Jayne Castel

    Breanna's Surrender by Jayne Castel

    Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars
    · 6 ratings
    A woman dedicated to the cause, a man who has given up hope—and the fake marriage that brings them together. Passion and patriotism collide in Medieval Scotland.Breanna will stop at nothing to defend Scotland from the English—even if that means she has to work with a jaded mercenary, a man whose loyalty can only be bought with silver. Cameron Stewart has learned that loyalty doesn’t pay...
  • The Riches of a Life Well-Lived: A Pride & Prejudice Variation by Elizabeth Frerichs

    The Riches of a Life Well-Lived: A Pride & Prejudice Variation by Elizabeth Frerichs

    Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars
    · 8 ratings
    How many times will Fitzwilliam Darcy have to relive Tuesday to free himself from George Wickham?On Tuesday, November 19th, 1811, Wickham—the wretch who nearly eloped with Darcy’s younger sister—arrives in Hertfordshire. When Darcy encounters Wickham in Meryton, he hopes it is for the last time, even though fate seems to throw them together far too often for his liking...
    Categorized as:
    regency  fantasy  historical  length-epic
  • Bridgerton Series #1-8 by Julia Quinn

    Bridgerton Series #1-8 by Julia Quinn

    Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars
    · 8 ratings
    These B format naked hardbacks feature fully redesigned covers, sprayed edges, and a stunning design of the Bridgerton house across all 8 spines! The first book in the series, The Duke and I, is hand-signed by Julia...
    Categorized as:
    regency  historical  fantasy  length-epic
  • Threads of Magic: A Pride and Prejudice variation by Monica Fairview

    Threads of Magic: A Pride and Prejudice variation by Monica Fairview

    Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars
    · 7 ratings
    In a magical Regency England, two powerful magicians strive to find a balance between love and duty as they confront enemies who might well be their closest friends.Elizabeth Bennet may be a heroine, but by defying some of the most powerful mages in England, she has made enemies who will stop at nothing to embroil her in scandal...
  • The Mystic Marriage by Heather Rose Jones

    The Mystic Marriage by Heather Rose Jones

    Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars
    · 6 ratings
    Antuniet Chazillen lost everything the night her brother was executed. In exile, she swore that treason would not be the final chapter of the Chazillen legacy in Alpennia’s history. A long-hidden book of alchemical secrets provides the first hope of success, but her return to the capital is haunted by an enemy who wants those secrets for himself. Jeanne, Vicomtesse de Cherdillac is bored...
  • The Highlander's Kilted Bride by Vanessa Kelly

    The Highlander's Kilted Bride by Vanessa Kelly

    Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars
    · 6 ratings
    The youngest brother in Clan Kendrick has become a charismatic force in his own right—especially when the perfect woman gallops into his life—in the latest novel in USA Today bestselling author Vanessa Kelly’s sparkling Scottish Regency series.Charlotte “Charlie” Stewart would rather don a kilt and ride her horse than simper in a ballroom...
  • Melting the Snow Queen by Mary Lancaster

    Melting the Snow Queen by Mary Lancaster

    Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars
    · 5 ratings
    They call her the Snow Queen…for no man can thaw her frozen heart. Lady Alba Snowden lost her first love when she was seventeen. Since then, no man has touched her heart – until the summer she encounters wild, fun-loving Russian Prince Yuri Volkov, who is visiting London with the Tsar. Dazzled by Alba's beauty, Yuri follows her to her country home, determined to melt her frozen heart...
  • Highlander Sworn by Jayne Castel

    Highlander Sworn by Jayne Castel

    Rated: 4.15 of 5 stars
    · 10 ratings
    Letting her instincts rule could mean her ruin. A prisoner, a clan-chief’s daughter, and an impossible love.Beautiful yet flighty, Eilidh Munro has caught a chieftain’s eye—but it’s not him she wants. Instead, she longs for the enigmatic Gunn hostage, who works the fields by day and is locked away in the dungeons beneath her keep at night...
  • 1750 - Jacqueline by Stephanie Laurens

    1750 - Jacqueline by Stephanie Laurens

    Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars
    · Steam rating: 4 of 5
    Explicit open door [?] · 10 ratings
    #1 New York Times bestselling author Stephanie Laurens brings you the opening story in a series of romances touched by magic as old as time. A gentleman fleeing the bonds of loveless marriage and a lady in desperate need of a champion join forces to defend an ancient legacy...
  • Third Degree Yearn by Laney Hatcher

    Third Degree Yearn by Laney Hatcher

    Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars
    · 5 ratings
    When I was just a girl, I gave my heart to the housekeeper’s son. He took it with him when he left and I never got it back.I’ve loved Julian Moore for as long as I can remember. But my plans for a future were stolen before we ever got the chance. Playmates at four. Constant companions at nine. And the undisputed love of my young life by sixteen. We were best friends through it all...
  • 1818 - Isabel by Suzanne Enoch

    1818 - Isabel by Suzanne Enoch

    Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars
    · 8 ratings
    New York Times bestselling author Suzanne Enoch spins a Regency-era tale at Nimway Hall, in a book series centered on a house where love and magic entwine to bring romance to all who dwell there...
  • The Emperor’s Aeronaut by Shelley Adina, R.E. Scott

    The Emperor’s Aeronaut by Shelley Adina, R.E. Scott

    Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars
    · 8 ratings
    Napoleon is determined to conquer the world with his steam-powered weapons. Nothing in England can stop him … except two young lady inventors.In 1819, France is surrounded by armies. With Russia in the north, the Karlsruhe Confederacy in the east, and a pirate kingdom in the south, Napoleon cannot break out, nor can the English Navy seem to break in. Europe teeters on the edge of a sword...
  • Regency Immortal by Gene Doucette

    Regency Immortal by Gene Doucette

    Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars
    · 5 ratings
    "Anna was beautiful and smart and just the right kind of dangerous to get me killed, which was often what I looked for in a woman, to be entirely honest. The interesting ones are somehow almost always the ones who come with life-threatening risk on the side. It keeps my life exciting, and might also explain why I have trust issues...
  • Theory of Magic by Patricia Rice

    Theory of Magic by Patricia Rice

    Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars
    · 5 ratings
    “Patricia Rice weaves magical love stories” - Mary Jo Putney, NY Times Bestselling Author Discover the third book in NY Times bestseller Patricia Rice's Unexpected Magic historical romance series! Scorned by suitors for her statuesque size, Harriet Stansbury bolts when her abusive stepfather begins negotiating with impecunious aristocrats to sell her for her dowry...
  • The Lass Who Loved a Beast by Caroline Lee

    The Lass Who Loved a Beast by Caroline Lee

    Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars
    · 5 ratings
    She owns a publishing house, and he's got a library she'll never forget...hidden away in a foreboding and beastly castle!Bonnie Oliphant has endured endless mockery on her quest to own a publishing house. But now that she's reached her dream, she can't find authors willing to allow their works to be published by a woman...
  • Glass Roses by Britain Kalai Soderquist

    Glass Roses by Britain Kalai Soderquist

    Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars
    · 5 ratings
    It is a truth universally acknowledged that magic is required for any young lady to find her “happily ever after” in a fairytale. This truth is so ingrained in the minds of readers that to suggest its removal is incomprehensible...
  • The Fair Botanists by Sara Sheridan

    The Fair Botanists by Sara Sheridan

    Rated: 3.98 of 5 stars
    · 23 ratings
    Could one rare plant hold the key to a thousand riches?It's the summer of 1822 and Edinburgh is abuzz with rumours of King George IV's impending visit. In botanical circles, however, a different kind of excitement has gripped the city. In the newly-installed Botanic Garden, the Agave Americana plant looks set to flower - an event that only occurs once every few decades...
  • Queen of Winter: A Pride and Prejudice Novella by Alix James, Nicole Clarkston

    Queen of Winter: A Pride and Prejudice Novella by Alix James, Nicole Clarkston

    Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars
    · 9 ratings
    Winter is a curse, bringing nothing but cold and darkness.Until he meets the Queen.Elizabeth Bennet is at the end of her strength. A frantic search for her missing sister Lydia has led her into danger she could never have imagined. Alone, injured, and lost, she stumbles into a snowstorm and loses hope. And then she loses conciousness...
  • A Restless Knight by Deborah Macgillivray

    A Restless Knight by Deborah Macgillivray

    Rated: 3.96 of 5 stars
    · 11 ratings
    Had the music stopped, or had she just ceased to hear it? All she could do was stare into the dragon green eyes. Drown in them. This man was her destiny. Nothing else mattered. He removed the netting from her grasp and then dropped it.Shaking, Challon took her face in both hands. The hunger in his eyes rippled, tangible. So strong, it nearly robbed her of breath...
  • The Princess: A Medieval Romance by Claire Delacroix

    The Princess: A Medieval Romance by Claire Delacroix

    Rated: 3.92 of 5 stars
    · 14 ratings
    Princess Brianna of Tullymullagh is determined to marry only for love-until her father's holding is conquered and the king decrees that she must wed one of the victor's sons. Thinking she can outwit this condition, Brianna issues a the son who brings her a gift that makes her laugh will win her hand. Thus begins the Bride Quest of the three brothers Fitzgavin...
  • Mr. Darcy's Pledge by Monica Fairview

    Mr. Darcy's Pledge by Monica Fairview

    Rated: 3.83 of 5 stars
    · 6 ratings
    Torn between his heart and his mind… Mr. Darcy must make a choice. Fitzwilliam Darcy has always been able to keep his emotions under control. That is, until he falls under the spell of Elizabeth Bennet and surprises himself by blurting out a proposal to her like a moonstruck youth...
  • The Shield of Three Lions by Pamela Kaufman

    The Shield of Three Lions by Pamela Kaufman

    Rated: 3.86 of 5 stars
    · 12 ratings
    The return of a classic, by bestselling author Pamela Kaufman. “Richly rewarding, superbly written. . . . The richness of the characters, the historical details, and the story as a whole make this novel a memorable reading experience.”—Chicago Sun-Times Eleven-year-old Alix is the daughter of the baron of Wanthwaite, whose lands along the Scottish border are among the best in England...
  • Scales and Sensibility (Regency Dragons) by Stephanie Burgis

    Scales and Sensibility (Regency Dragons) by Stephanie Burgis

    Rated: 3.87 of 5 stars
    · 17 ratings
    Sensible, practical Elinor Tregarth really did plan to be the model poor relation when she moved into Hathergill Hall. She certainly never meant to kidnap her awful cousin Penelope's pet dragon. She never expected to fall in love with the shameless - but surprisingly sweet - fortune hunter who came to court Penelope...
  • The Privilege of the Sword by Ellen Kushner

    The Privilege of the Sword by Ellen Kushner

    Rated: 3.86 of 5 stars
    · Steam rating: 2 of 5
    Behind closed doors [?] · 31 ratings
    Welcome to Riverside, where the aristocratic and the ambitious battle for power in the city's ballroom, brothels and boudoirs. Into this alluring world walks Katherine, a well-bred country girl versed in the rules of conventional society. Her mistake is thinking that they apply...
  • Runaways by Megan Derr

    Runaways by Megan Derr

    Rated: 3.80 of 5 stars
    · 12 ratings
    Addison hates the city. Dragged there by his Uncle, his hopes of museums and bookshops and historic monuments quickly turned into nightmares involving balls, dinner parties, and constantly dancing attendance upon his brat cousin. When his cousin falls sick, Addison seizes the rare chance for solitude and flees to the park...
  • A Secret Life by C.J. Archer

    A Secret Life by C.J. Archer

    Rated: 3.80 of 5 stars
    · 16 ratings
    Minerva Peabody needs a man. Unfortunately she picked the wrong one. The impoverished playwright has a dream to see her plays performed on stage but in Elizabethan England, not only are women considered the inferior sex, they simply do NOT write plays...
  • พ่อบ้านหน้าสวยกับนายท่านสุดหล่อ by 이자아, Lee Jaa

    พ่อบ้านหน้าสวยกับนายท่านสุดหล่อ by 이자아, Lee Jaa

    Rated: 3.67 of 5 stars
    · 9 ratings
    การจะเป็นพ่อบ้านของท่านเคาต์สุดหล่อไม่ใช่เรื่องง่าย เพราะต้องหล่อหุ่นดีมีความสามารถ งานนี้นางเอกเลยต้องลงทุนปลอมตัวเป็นผู้ชาย...
  • Before the Midnight Bells by Jessica Woodard

    Before the Midnight Bells by Jessica Woodard

    Rated: 3.70 of 5 stars
    · 11 ratings
    Eleanor Emberton isn't sitting around waiting for a handsome prince to rescue her. In fact, she's determined to save not only herself, but her whole family from her stepmother's headlong plunge into financial ruin. When she meets a mysterious man at the ball, romance is the last thing on her mind, but she can't help feeling an instant attraction...
  • Daughter of Troy by Sarah B. Franklin, Dave Duncan

    Daughter of Troy by Sarah B. Franklin, Dave Duncan

    Rated: 3.67 of 5 stars
    · 10 ratings
    The rightful-born queen of Lyrnessos, Briseis watched helplessly from the battlements as her husband and brothers were crushed by the invincible army of King Agamemnon. Taken into slavery, the proud, beautiful seer became the prize of Prince Achilles, the conquering Greeks' mightiest hero...
  • Bride of the Sea by Emma Hamm

    Bride of the Sea by Emma Hamm

    Rated: 3.57 of 5 stars
    · 7 ratings
    The Little Mermaid meets Irish Mythology in this retelling of the beloved classic… An Otherworld Series Companion Novel Once upon a time… Saoirse dreams of land. Her father has other plans, and intends to marry her off as soon as possible. When a ship sinks near her home, she carries the only surviving sailor to a faerie blessed isle and plans her escape...
  • Camilla by Frances Burney

    Camilla by Frances Burney

    Rated: 3.75 of 5 stars
    · 26 ratings
    First published in 1796, Camilla deals with the matrimonial concerns of a group of young people - Camilla Tyrold and her sisters, the daughters of a country parson, and their cousin Indiana Lynmere-and, in particular, with the love affair between Camilla herself and her eligible suitor, Edgar Mandlebert. The path of true love, however, is strewn with intrigue, contretemps and misunderstanding...
    Categorized as:
    regency  historical  georgian  fantasy  audiobook
  • The Guardian by Joan Wolf

    The Guardian by Joan Wolf

    Rated: 3.56 of 5 stars
    · 9 ratings
    Annabelle and Stephen have loved each other since first they met as children. When Stephen gets into trouble with the law and is sent to Jamaica by his family, Annabelle marries his elder brother, the Earl of Weston. The book opens with the death of Gerald and the naming of Stephen as guardian to Annabelle’s son, Giles...
    Categorized as:
    regency  historical  fantasy  m-f  length-medium
  • A Most Sinful Proposal by Sara Bennett

    A Most Sinful Proposal by Sara Bennett

    Rated: 3.50 of 5 stars
    · 8 ratings
    A most wicked education... Marissa Rotherhild has always behaved exactly as a proper lady should, and it has done absolutely nothing for her. So now she has made a most sinful proposal. She wants to live only for pleasure, and she wants Lord Valentine Kent to instruct her in the ways of love and lust. Caring not for scandal or the whispers of society, she craves his every wanton touch...
    Categorized as:
    regency  fantasy  historical  length-medium
  • Game of Hearts by K.J. Whittaker, Katy Moran

    Game of Hearts by K.J. Whittaker, Katy Moran

    Rated: 3.50 of 5 stars
    · 8 ratings
    Thrilling Regency romance, set against an Outlander -like background of passion and war, this will delight lovers of Poldark and Bridgerton .1817 Cornwall and LondonIn a family scorched by scandal and scarred by war, Crow, the Earl of Lamorna, is as self-destructive as he is charismatic, and it will only take one spark to set his world aflame...
    Categorized as:
    regency  historical  fantasy  military  length-long
  • Sin With a Scoundrel by Sara Bennett

    Sin With a Scoundrel by Sara Bennett

    Rated: 3.13 of 5 stars
    · 8 ratings
    The final installment in popular author Sara Bennett's wonderful series about the Husband Hunters Club-where the girls at Miss Debenham's Finishing School believe the only husband worth having is a husband you have hunted yourself! Clementina Smythe is in love with Lord Horace Gilfoyle.or rather, she is certain she could learn to love him...
  • To Pleasure a Duke by Sara Bennett

    To Pleasure a Duke by Sara Bennett

    Rated: 3.20 of 5 stars
    · 11 ratings
    It has taken Eugenie Belmont but a moment to decide whom to marry... Unfortunately the gentleman in question, the Duke of Somerton, hasn’t yet offered—a mere formality for a confirmed member of the Husband Hunters Club of Miss Debenham’s Finishing School. Like her friends, Eugenie is unwilling to wait demurely until the perfect mate happens by...
    Categorized as:
    regency  fantasy  historical  length-medium
  • By a Lady: Being the Adventures of an Enlightened American in Jane Austen's England by Amanda Elyot

    By a Lady: Being the Adventures of an Enlightened American in Jane Austen's England by Amanda Elyot

    Rated: 2.75 of 5 stars
    · 8 ratings
    A tale of time travel, true love, and Jane Austen New York actress C.J. Welles, a die-hard Jane Austen fan, is on the verge of landing her dream role: portraying her idol in a Broadway play. But during her final audition, she is mysteriously transported to Bath, England, in the year 1801...
    Categorized as:
    regency  fantasy  historical  length-medium
Fantastic book recommendations by romance book lovers for romance book lovers.
Find out more about romance.io.


Get recommendations by genres & tropes

Use the romance book finder to mix and match over 100 content keywords to find the books that match your preferences

romance book finder

Looking for more inspiration? Enter another book title to get more suggestions on what to read next.


Or - use our amazing romance book finder to get recommendations based on your favorite content tropes and themes. Mix and match at will.