I’m an avid romance reader but on this sub the general feeling seems to be really negative towards romance. Can we have a space to talk about we really like about romance books instead?
I read about 200 romances last year. Personally I love to have books which are easy to read, fun and a little predictable. I enjoy that they have a happy ending. I also think that within that predictability there are some great plots and characters and some really original ideas, especially when you step outside if heterosexual contemporary romances.
There are a lot of low quality romances, especially if you only look at KU recommendations, but there are some authors out there writing some great stuff.
Note: if your opinion is that romance is trash, that reading it is like watching porn in public, or that all the characters are the same – this probably isn’t the thread for you. There are plenty of anti-romance posts where you can talk about that.
by Hunter037
5 Comments
>I love to have books which are easy to read
I think this is the crux of the issue for a lot of the people that look down on romance books. They take some sort of personal validation over wanting to read long, complex story lines. It’s honestly just snobbery.
You say you like happy endings, which I believe is the popular opinion among readers, but what are your thoughts on say, Romeo and Julliet? It ends in tragedy, yet is known as one of those great love stories.
I ask, because I’m writing an urban fantasy romance, and it ends in tragedy (nature of the story sadly, and totally out of my hands as the author), but would be good to understand how readers react to that. As this is a discussion on what people like about romance.
For me, I enjoy the emotions at play of a good romance novel, especially if I’m invested in the characters. I have high standards, so I don’t enjoy low quality stories, or those with bad characterisation.
I’m not a huge romance reader myself, but I see them as more or less the ultimate expression of character-driven stories, and a very good test of if the author can make us *care*.
I mean ppl who have weird opinions about romance books will always exist here and there but i think most ppl have a problem with how the romance book market is rn. Over the years there is an influx of very similar books, tropification, and lack of diversity on story telling and characterization and constant presence of smut which drives ppl to be annoyed by them. Like I love romance on books but the books that are marketed these days are more often than not dissapointing for me
OP, you’re entitled to your own tastes. There’s nothing wrong with enjoying romance, or any genre for that matter. If you like it, go for it. Better than not reading at all.
As for why people rag on Romance, you kinda mentioned it in your own post. The biggest problem with the genre is that there really is a sea of trash to wade through in order to find something good, and unfortunately it’s more prevalent here than in other genres.
I’ve seen the reoccurring joke in authors circles that if you want to know when they’ve sold out, it’s when they start cranking out Romance novels. Low effort Romance novels litter the NYT BS list and always have, and thats just reality.
With that said, As an avid fan of low effort, pulpy scifi and fantasy, my suggestion is to just lean into it. Yes. There is a lot of crap in this genre. Who cares!
Some people are snobby when it comes to reading. Just enjoy what you enjoy and pay them no mind. Your reading and enjoyment is for you, not others.