The Insecure Writer's Support Group Book Club discussion

Greetings book clubbers.

Please provide your answers to as many or as few of the questions as you’d like in the comments below. Feel free to ask more questions if you’d like.
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1. Do you think the conclusion provided a satisfying end for this short story?

2. How would you classify the romance trope depicted in this story or do you feel it breaks the boundaries of common romance tropes?

3. Would you describe Alessio as possessive, protective, passively intimate, or none of these?

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Feel free to also share your reviews and or thoughts on the book in your comments.

My review is coming soon. I will add an update at that time.

1. Because I knew it was a short story going in, I thought the ending suited it well. Though there could be, and I believe there is, more to this story. I believe the author has written more about these characters on her blog.

2. I think this is an unconventional twist on a very traditional romance trope- the good girl and the bad boy. In this case, the good girl isn’t a young virginal woman of European descent but a mature black woman with life experience. The bad boy is more of the classic anti-hero type- a dangerous mature man who does “bad” things because he has too, not a true bad boy. At least, that’s what I got as someone who doesn’t read a lot of romance.

3. I see a little bit of all three of these in the Alesssio character but lean more toward possessive. Perhaps that’s part of the trope, or perhaps I’m just really sensitive to the word choices used and am leery of possessive men.

I absolutely loved this very romantic story. That connection that is so rare between two people.
My Review
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

1. Do you think the conclusion provided a satisfying end for this short story?
Yes very romantic with possibilities of more to come on a bigger scale. Pat write it please I am there to read it.

2. How would you classify the romance trope depicted in this story or do you feel it breaks the boundaries of common romance tropes?

Disenchanted heroine drawn in by the mysterious and dangerous stranger trope, againster her better judgement. I also agree with Toi good girl falls for bad bad ass boy
I did not think it broke boundaries I thought it fit giving the lover of romance exactly what we want which is why tropes work.

Did I think the story unique and different? Yes, definitely. It checked all the boxes for me. A great short which is hard to do in a short story.

3. Would you describe Alessio as possessive, protective, passively intimate, or none of these?

All of these. I love fact the intensity was there though they never touched. It made me think of the movie Lady Hawk. The movie: She was a Hawk by day and he was a wolf by night then only saw each other in the twilight as the sun set in the last few seconds of their change. ----It was totally that kind of love that has not touched with all the longing. I love the promise at the end. Trust your heart or miss out on a love of a lifetime.

Juneta wrote: "I absolutely loved this very romantic story. That connection that is so rare between two people..."

I'm glad to know you enjoyed the book. Thanks for sharing your response to the questions.

Hello Juneta,

I am glad you like the story. When I wrote it, I wasn't thinking about tropes. Please don't laugh, but I learned about tropes three years ago in a writing class. This story has been on my writing shelf since 2015.
I wanted to point out that there are men out there that live their lives protecting people, or a nation, that desire to be accepted as humans, and there are women that may be much older that give them to type of acceptance and love they need.
And yes, Alessio is all of those possessive traits. People who work in such careers need those traits if they want to accomplish a mission and come back alive.

Thank you so much for reading it.
Shalom aleichem

Pat wrote: "Hello Juneta,

I am glad you like the story. When I wrote it, I wasn't thinking about tropes. Please don't laugh, but I learned about tropes three years ago in a writing class. This story has been ..."

Thank you so much for stopping by the discussion and sharing your insights. It's so nice to see I featured author here.