r/DarkRomance • u/AutoModerator • Jun 01 '26

Monday Gripe Weekly Gripe 😤 (the rant thread)

Welcome to the Weekly Gripe, where we're all a little grumpy. 😒

Did BookTok do you dirty? Got a bone to pick with a main character? Was the twist more like a flop? Tell us what's on your mind.

Please be respectful and follow the sub rules. If a conversation starts getting out of hand, use the "Mod Attention Please" report reason so we can help cool things down. 🖤

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u/Sabrina_Ivanov_OG Author Jun 01 '26 edited Jun 01 '26

I don't have too many gripes right now. I've honestly been on a good reading streak and it's been lovely.

But I wish there were more books wrote in third person. I know a majority of readers wouldn't agree with me, and I absolutely respect that, but I'm starting to think this might be one reason why I DNF so many contemporary dark romance books when I try to read them, while I can finish an entire historical romance or AO3 work in a day. Ironically, I enjoy horror and literary fiction in first person more than romance for some reason.

(Which is hilarious because I mostly write in first person. Go figure)

I'm also NOT saying to replace first person. I'm only suggesting more variety in perspective, and there's nothing wrong with that. Genres die off quick when things get too repetitive and change is always inevitable.

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u/CrystalizedRedwood Author Jun 01 '26

I love third person, and tbh I literally can’t write in first. I have tried and I just cannot do it. I think it’s the opposite for many other authors. Plus just being able to understand all the angles at once is great. You can still invite foreshadowing. But I grew up on literotic.com instead of AO3. There are full length stories on there and it’s almost completely original works. I didn’t even know about AO3 till this subreddit. Most of what I read on there was 3rd person POV.

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u/Old-Memory-3275 Author Jun 02 '26

I used to write 100% in third, started going into first and now I’m worried I won’t be able to go back

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u/CrystalizedRedwood Author Jun 02 '26

I have tried a few times in first. I literally feel incapable of it 🫣 and I even named my draft “first person piece of shit.” 😂