I am an avid shipper and hopeless romantic. That's why it has always baffled me, why I don't like the romance genre.
Sure, there are few romance books that I would read and think they were cute, but would leave me feeling wanting more.
I recently discovered the culprit- the romance books I was reading were not dramatic enough for my taste.
I don't even need for the story to be fantasy (tbh most fantasy romance also falls into the not dramatic enough category).
It doesn't even have to have spicy scenes. I just want tension, pining, heartache, etc.
Disclaimer: that is not to say that fluffier romance novels are not good. I have enjoyed my fair share of them.
by Illustrious-Chest-52
6 Comments
Gone With the Wind is a great book. It’s a love story, yes, but far more epic in scope and scale than typical fluff.
Outlander
Wuthering Heights!
Seven Days In June by Tia Williams ruined the entrie romance category for me. I cried MULTIPLE times. Definitely check those trigger warnings though.
Have you tried From Blood & Ash by Jennifer L. Armentrout? Lots of adventure, less spice: The Obsidian Tower by Melissa Caruso. If you want heightened emotional drama you might interested in the dark romance category? Like The Unseelie Prince by Kathryn Ann Kingsley or King of Wrath by LJ Shen? For a twisty one, How Does it Feel by Jeneane O’Riley. Lots of spice & emotional drama in the “bully romance” category: Vicious by LJ Shen. Lots of spice & pining: The Aristocrat by Penelope Ward & Vi Keeland. Lots of spice & angst: For Real by Alexis Hall.
The Thorn Birds by Colleen McCullough. That hurts. I’m in love-hate with that book.