HAPPILY EVER AFTER discussion

Hello everyone,

Please share about your least liked themes in Romance books.

Thanks :-)

Two themes want me to pull out my hair, especially in HR stories:
kidnappings and antagonist overload.

I read mostly historical romance. Least liked themes: kidnappings (especially from carriages), highway robbery, OTT evil villains, stupid heroes/heroines whose growth arc is to suddenly become smart/savvy, uncles/fathers who force the heroine to marry, heroines who come from an abusive marriage (husband now dead), forced marriage over trivial or nonexistent compromise, simple misunderstanding blown WAY out of proportion, not expressing feelings for too long.

Can you tell I read a lot of Regency? LOL!

Jamie----

I read many Regencies too. Sometimes in a HR, the dad or brother of the heroine gambles or drinks too much, then the heroine (dtr/ sister) must 'support
the family.' This usually feels like a lame trope. The h's mom does nothing
to solve the issue. Or mom pressures the h to wed a wealthy guy.

HR-ML wrote: "Jamie----

I read many Regencies too. Sometimes in a HR, the dad or brother of the heroine gambles or drinks too much, then the heroine (dtr/ sister) must 'support
the family.' This usually feels ..."

I had forgotten that one... LOL. I dislike that trope as well!

While there are some themes I like more than others, usually, writing and characterisation matter more to me than the plot. I can enjoy almost any theme if:

(a) it's written in an engaging and/or entertaining way, and
(b) if it pushes the characters to learn and grow, both as individuals and as a couple. 

The one theme I do tend to avoid is prolonged love-triangle—more specifically, stories where one of the protagonists, usually the heroine, spends most of the book (and sometimes most of the series) agonising over two guys. 

If one guy is good and the other is clearly unworthy and still she goes on and on and on trying to decide between them—well, I'm sure you can figure out my state of mind. (Unless, maybe, the unworthy guy is really good at hiding his flaws). And if, even after pages and pages of deliberation, she chooses the unworthy guy—okay, let's not even go there. Lol.

If both guys are great, I have to hold myself back from getting attached to them (in case I end up rooting for the wrong guy). And if I can't let myself love the characters (or root for them), I can't enjoy the story. 

However, if I do end up loving the guys (or rooting for one of them), I feel so bad for the guy the heroine doesn't choose (unless, maybe, he gets another girl who's more appropriate for him), I can't feel happy for the guy she does choose (even if I was rooting for him). So I can't enjoy the ending.

Either way, I'm doomed. Lol.

The worst stories are where the heroine finally decides on a guy, but she still can't stop thinking about the other guy. Or where she's already with somone, but she's drawn towards another guy. So she dumps the first guy for the second one. And now she can't stop thinking about the first guy. So she leaves the second guy and returns to the first one. And the book or the series is still not over! So now, I have no idea which guy to root for, and I'm having a hard time admiring a heroine who's indecisive at best and fickle at worst.

(And what about these oh-so-smitten guys who're willing to wait and wait and wait for the girl as she switches back and forth between them?!)

I've even heard of books where the heroine is with two guys at the SAME time. Definitely not my cup of tea.

Having said that, I know there are several people who do enjoy this theme, and I totally respect their choice. Writers have the right to write what they want and readers have the right to read what they want. So I mean no disrespect to lovers of this theme. All I'm saying is that it's not for me :-)

Ramla--

All excellent points. IMO sometimes the better man (not in the love triangle) is the hero's best friend. He's often more mature (than the hero), listened better to the h and was not conceited. And he believed in fidelity.

So if the BMF of the hero is a better man, I imagine how the h
& the H's bestie could have a HEA down the road.

HR-ML wrote: "Ramla--

All excellent points."

Thank you :-)

Well, at least you know from the start the guy is merely the BMF of the hero and he won't get the heroine. In a love-triangle, you can spend the whole story rooting for the guy who you feel is a better match for the heroine only to find out in the end that he wasn't the hero after all. Lol.

I understand your frustration though. It's hard to enjoy a romance novel if the heroine ends up with an unworthy guy when there was a better guy around.

I think if a H or h is TSTL in a romance, it is hard for the story to
recover. One HR had a lady who ran away from the H, w/o:
a horse, a cloak, food, water, funds, a blanket. Duh?!!!

My least liked tropes:
- a love triangle with an obvious bias from the author - minus point if the secondary love interest turns out to be a really bad person on the last pages (for me that is a clear sign that the author is so conceited that they think their choice of ship is the only right one and that they are not talented enough to show that their preferred couple works better together than making the other suiter to be a d...bag)
- fake dating in contemporary settings (I rarely find a setting where it makes sense for me)
- kidnapping, Munchausen syndrome, territorially obsessive and / or abusive relationships and insane jealousy depicted to be a sign of "tRuE LoVe"
- those types of books which basically say: "cheating is fine is the guy is a smart and decent hunk, the other girl is a homely but kind and smart pirit and the girlfriend is a wh..."... like no... cheating is bad every way, no matter how amazing we think the cheaters are compared to the one who is cheated on... adjecent to this: "I DESERVE a good-looking partner because I am nice and clever even if I'm not good-looking" type of attitude from main characters (or when the author is having that message)
- "I"m not like other girls" trope
- when the love interests get married and get pregnant together planned way too early after getting together (that is definitely not showing a good message for the "youngsters"... get to know your partner thoroughly before making important life decisions, you all!)
- maybe not a trope, but when it comes to steamy scenes... I don't mind them... but I really don't like it when a scene about just touching is written in such a dirty manner you would think it is about the deed already...
- contemporary romances: the "bad date" montage where most of the bad dates are not that bad at all, shown to be the worst thing in the entire planet as if those guys made the biggest sin in the whole universe vs. "it was just not for me"... like wearing bermude shorts or having lizards as pets (not in the same line as trying to get intimate on the first date or being super rude to the waiter... not red flags, just to not to someone's liking)