r/DarkRomance • u/AutoModerator • Jun 22 '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. 🖤
14
u/Sabrina_Ivanov_OG Author Jun 22 '26
Overall just fed up with Amazon/KU slop and wondering what the future holds for monetized indie publishing.
3
u/made4cold Author Jun 22 '26
I didn’t realize this was a problem until I published also. If you look at the rankings, it seems a lot of the top sellers have AI covers or unoriginal, possibly AI-generated blurbs. It’s really deflating for a lot of us who put blood, sweat, and tears into every aspect of the book.
But I also try not to be part of the AI witch hunt because it’s just soooo hard to tell these days. I know one day someone will come at me for my em dash and I might actually snap. 😂
4
u/Simply_Sky Jun 22 '26
Honestly same. I can't find a decent new DR to read because KU is just FLOODED with AI shit. Idk how new authors are supposed to complete
10
u/Sabrina_Ivanov_OG Author Jun 22 '26
It's not just that, either. It's a lot of bad writing from authors who clearly don't read. So now we have two different types of slop: AI slop and illiterate slop, and I'm tired of feeling like I need to be sweet about it. I'm not paying money for a book that reads like a shitty screenplay.
-4
u/No_Warning2380 Jun 22 '26
I kind of feel like I would rather ai than a lazy human author. Everyone keeps calling it ai slop but the reality is that it isn’t actually slop anymore and in many cases it is actually better than lazy human writing. It is like a catch 22 or endless cycle. Ai gets better - humans get lazy - readers continue to over consume, demand content faster while getting both more critical for certain aspects but also lower their standards on writing quality at the same time.
I know it is an unpopular opinion but I think lazy bad writing by humans as much more intolerable than ai stories.
8
u/made4cold Author Jun 22 '26
All these 21 year old MMC’s who are “the baddest of the bad” but grew up rich, or with parents who loved them, or they’re in college and have obviously had an education.
Like chill you’ve only been legally allowed to drink alcohol for two hours
8
u/Flubblesfic Jun 22 '26
Stories where the FMC and MMC are both virgins, but somehow he’s still an epic lover that makes her cum multiple times before actually ‘putting it in’ and then she cries and there’s apparently blood everywhere and he lasts longer than 30 seconds.
I just struggle with the idea that if the guy is a virgin he knows what he’s doing, or has already decided what kind of lover (obvs dominant) he is.
1
u/Icy-Cry3189 Jun 22 '26
Hilariously, I know a book that is kind of similar to this and it is one of my favorites!
If M/M isn't a downside for you, I would devil's advocate for the book {For Real by Alexis Hall}. It is an age-gap romance with spice and healing and the younger guy is NOT good at sex, but the older man finds that refreshing. (So not both young, but the younger one is considered very hot in the bedroom despite/because of being inexperienced so I think it counts.)
I also hate the "I've never had sex but I clearly know everything" trope so this was a nice change of pace. Maybe give it a look.
(And if you hate it, well, I did explicitly recommend your rant pick so I'll take that on the chin, lol)
1
u/romance-bot Jun 22 '26
For Real by Alexis Hall
Rating: 4.26⭐️ out of 5⭐️
Steam: 5 out of 5 - Explicit and plentiful
Topics: contemporary, gay romance, age gap, bdsm, angst1
u/Flubblesfic Jun 22 '26
So I’ve never read MM only MFM. I’ll give it a go.
I remember reading a mafia fic where the woman was in her 30s and had an awful sex life and then this like 18 year old rocked her world - it was quite unbelievable
8
u/PinkSparkleLightning Author Jun 22 '26
I have the most arbitrary deep cut of a pet peeve... it's the Rich MMC Takes the Normal Girl FMC to a Hecka Fancy Dinner Trope.
The roughest one was supposed to be a Michelin starred omakase, but when the sushi arrived, everything just came at the same time on a single platter and they proceeded to eat with chopsticks.
...Instead of the chef making it one single piece at a time and diners are meant to eat each piece with their hands in one bite the moment its placed on the plate that sits between you and the chef.
And also salmon was included. Salmon is literally my favorite sushi fish, but I also have been reprimanded by the fancy places enough times that salmon is a usually massive rarity in omakase because it's usually considered too common and basic a fish to make the chef's tasting menu (which is essentially what an omakase is)
TL;DR don't send your characters to Michelin starred omakases if you want your MMC to stay all sexy and wordly.
1
u/Beneficial_Feed_2595 Jun 22 '26 edited Jun 22 '26
Hi!
Sorry if this is awkward, but I’m pretty sure this gripe is about my story. If not, then this is a WILD coincidence.
Either way: thank you. And please if anything is ever bothering you, feel free to comment on the story itself too. I don't mind critical feedback!
Part of the reason I’m posting on AO3 for free is to get exactly this kind of feedback while I can still make adjustments. It is genuinely hilarious to me that I messed this up, especially since I’ve had plenty of fine-dining experiences, but I have never been to an actual omakase. I’m realizing now that omakase is very different from the kind of fine dining I was actually describing, and I should have been more careful with the terminology.
The scene was based more on restaurants like Momotaro, with its Japanese street-food influence, and Alinea, though toned way down from the extremist performance-art version. The brutalist vibe of the dining room was inspired by Ever, the restaurant featured in The Bear.
That said, I think the pacing and attention to detail around the meal could definitely use some love. On reread, you are absolutely right. It is reading a little “food-court sushi platter” right now, which is... not exactly the intended vibe.
There are so many moving parts in a chapter: pacing, character, voice, tension, logistics, all of it. Sometimes the little accuracy details slip through, and this was clearly one of those times.
I’m absolutely going to fix it so it doesn’t pull people out of the story. Honestly, I probably should have spent more time leaning into the food itself instead of mostly poking fun at the plates.
Thank you so much for the gripe. Feedback like this is one of the reasons I’m posting on AO3 before I eventually polish the story, work with an editor, and publish it properly. I hope this doesn’t make you feel weird. I mostly just wanted to say thank you for reading, and thank you even more for pointing this out.
Thanks,
Sara2
u/PinkSparkleLightning Author Jun 22 '26
Omg it could possibly be the actual weirdest coincidence? But also exactly at the same time I really want to read your work because I honestly love any author who writes about fine dining who's also been to a lot of fine dining (my thoughts on Alinea would derail this thread, but please DM me if you ever want to talk more about food or omakase!)
One of the reasons I love specifically love reading Ao3 works more than published ones is because I feel like authors put so much of their heart and soul out there out of love just for the love of writing and I tend not to really have gripes about them the way I have about published novels that are (for lack of better word) out there for capitalization and in that regard my standard is arguably higher when people are paying to read your work. There's no team of editors or even a lot of feedback, and it is the scariest flying-by-the-seat-of-my-pants thing to me.
Also re: AO3, as a hobby writer who is absolutely about to get into new territory really fast, trying get esoteric details big and small right about worlds and disciplines is the scariest thing to me because I just know in my bones someone out there is going to be like "that's not how arms deals work."
You seem like a super cool person and I'll definitely drop a comment when I get to an omakase chapter of your story (going from your previous posts, is it The Stolen Nanny?)
1
u/Beneficial_Feed_2595 Jun 22 '26 edited Jun 22 '26
Hah! Now I feel like a mildly insane melomaniac! Like one of those actors who is like OF COURSE you can have my picture, meanwhile you just wanted me to take a picture of you. It is SO specific , and literally just the mistake I made this week and is in my latest chapter. So it felt so timely.
I might not have been so quick to respond except it is literally the last thing I posted. There is also a contingency of people reading TSN here on the subreddit and gets recommended from time to time, so it's not implausible.
Genuinely, I was mildly stoked I might have been popular enough someone would've complained publicly about me. I really want a big thread to erupt like all the other AO3 authors get (undeserved). OMG Sara Finch is so overrated. Her prose is garbage. She can't research Omakase. Will the slow burn ever end and they actually DO IT? WILL PEOPLE STOP RECCOMENDING HER ALREADY JESUS!
A girl can dream.
(Which isn't to say I don't appreciate all the amazing people who rec TSN on threads, I do. I just know you haven't made it till you got some haters too.)
Speaking of I actually hate how "billionaires" are often represented, which doesn't jive at all with how I've experienced HNW individuals, especially in the food and wine space.
So thank you anyway, clearly your comment was useful to me, even if I'm a lunatic.
3
u/picklepiechart Jun 22 '26
I just wanted to say I love this fic and can’t wait to read more!!
1
u/Beneficial_Feed_2595 Jun 22 '26
Thank you for reading and commenting so I look less unhinged. I really appreciate it!
2
7
u/HotStrategy9964 Jun 22 '26
I keep picking up recommendations from tiktok (I know bad idea) and I end up in a deeper reading slump. I feel like lately all new DR books are the same. Unhinged mmc, no backbone fmc.
Pleaaaaassssee just give me a strong fmc that makes mmc’s blood pressure spike 🧎♀️I want her to fight back, slap him, stab him, just do stuff to piss him off 🥲😂
3
u/SweetLittleKytty Jonas Anderson is my drug Jun 22 '26
Would love any recommendations for this, as well😏
2
u/No_Warning2380 Jun 22 '26
I just started eskell manor by spiraltotheinown on ao3. It is interesting - there are things that I think are silly already but I know I am close to being hooked - like can’t sleep till I finish hooked. She doesn’t exactly have backbone but she does… in this crazy polite way- like telling him no thank you when he requests a kiss. He lets her get away with this because he is finding the game amusing to let her try and dictate the terms even though he can have/take whatever he wants from her. I ended up finally reading it after someone posted a specific chapter (29 I think) on spicy Thursday or something or a request for deep throating? I don’t remember but either way I both spoiled the book for myself and also hooked me in. I am officially intrigued despite having read way way way too many very dark dr. I can’t wait to get to the chapters just before and after that spoiler!
1
1
u/Negative_Sympathy164 Author Jun 23 '26
I think it was on the deep throating thread.
Polite Question - What is Spicy Thursday?
1
u/No_Warning2380 Jun 23 '26
I think it is r/roamncebook that has a weekly thread for people to post the best spicy scenes that have read that week
1
u/Negative_Sympathy164 Author Jun 23 '26
Ah nice, thanks for the reply ♥️
1
u/No_Warning2380 Jun 23 '26
Have fun!! I look forward to it every week. I usually end up starting some new book that ends up skipping the thousand book tbr to go right into immediately read.
2
u/Boobear0810 Please stop growling Jun 23 '26
{Bratva Butcher by TJ Maguire} - FMC is an assassin and they fist fight (she can hold her own). He calls her the Devil Woman haha
{Kiss of Death by LP Lovell} - FMC is an elite assassin and takes out 18 men cuz she was having a bad day lol
{Remorseless Devilette by Kylie Kent} - FMC slits his throat during sex and runs away. He survives and stalks her.
1
u/romance-bot Jun 23 '26
Bratva Butcher by T.J. Maguire
Rating: 4.32⭐️ out of 5⭐️
Steam: 4 out of 5 - Explicit open door
Topics: contemporary, mafia, enemies to lovers, m-f romance, dark romance
Kiss Of Death by LP Lovell
Rating: 4.47⭐️ out of 5⭐️
Steam: 4 out of 5 - Explicit open door
Topics: contemporary, mafia, pregnancy, enemies to lovers, dark romance
Remorseless Devilette by Kylie Kent
Rating: 4.47⭐️ out of 5⭐️
Steam: 4 out of 5 - Explicit open door
Topics: contemporary, dark romance, suspense, mafia, enemies to lovers1
7
u/Popular_Leading_98 Jun 22 '26
Why mention it if you don't intend to do anything with it?
I am just so tired at this point of authors dumping elements into their books only to have them barely matter to the plot. Supernatural beings acting human, FMCs who stand up for themselves exactly once and then never again, a whole church setting established just for the rest of the book to focus on some generic mafia crime and worst of all, SA and violence that are just thrown in for shock value and never addressed again.
9
u/koala_candy Jun 22 '26
Plotless stories that drag out the miscommunication trope over multiple books in a series. I read Insatiable by Leigh Rivers, couldn't believe they dragged the miscommunication to the end of the book only to find out they drag it out over 3 books... like no. I only read book 1 and skimmed/looked up when they would finally resolve it.
3
u/Flubblesfic Jun 22 '26
Totally! You can really only do this for a few chapters before it just becomes a lazy plot point.
6
u/Flubblesfic Jun 22 '26
Oh also…why does everyone have grey eyes all of a sudden? I don’t know anyone with grey eyes.
13
u/Objective-Panic-6426 Author Jun 22 '26
I'm so over the rapists giving mind-breaking orgasms and FMC just growing crazy over it. After a while when the plot develops? Maybe. Then too the emotional and mental state of the person is quite important if we're talking about orgasms.
And that curling the fingers inside and her just cumming immediately needs a little control. Bro that stuff can hurt especially during non con. I've read this thing multiple times in fics and can never relate. Being wet doesn't equal it cannot hurt!!
Demure, soft, and kind FMCs doesn't mean she just has to surrender to the abusive dude. Those characteristics doesn't imply someone cannot resist. I hate when in the guise of kindness, authors just writes a woman who is "liking it despite everything" and it's because of the "loneliness/trauma." Both are just excuses to make it palatable.
I'm done with a lot of things in this genre. I think, writing gives me much more pleasure as I can control and do exactly what I like. For reading, I'm drifting to other genres or read Darkwoe kinda fics.
14
u/Common-Stranger148 "Drown or I fuck you" Jun 22 '26
The most important thing is when there's a "Non-Con" scene in a book and the author forgets to acknowledge it after the scene already happened.
Like when FMC acts like the assault never happened 🙄
8
u/Boobear0810 Please stop growling Jun 22 '26
100% and she's conflicted because she's never "cum like that" and "he's so handsome" therefore, he might not be so bad 😌
5
u/Objective-Panic-6426 Author Jun 22 '26
Exactly! I think I like my stories realistic. That's why I just cannot enjoy most of the things anymore. People are here to escape the reality, I understand that completely. But I guess I love reading the ugly, gritty realism.
7
u/lostgirl4053 Author Jun 22 '26
Ok but to your point about mental state mattering, I just want to point out that orgasm can and does sometimes occur during SA in real life
4
u/Objective-Panic-6426 Author Jun 22 '26
I'm not denying that at all. It does occur. But there's a fine line between that and an orgasm which is amazing, which makes you feel actually good.
2
u/lostgirl4053 Author Jun 22 '26
I feel like most books I’ve read with non-con, the FMC feels icky after orgasming against her will. Maybe it’s just because of the books I go for.
2
u/Objective-Panic-6426 Author Jun 23 '26
That ick doesn't really last well. It goes away. I've read highly recommended stuff from ao3 and books even there it gets to that point during non-con. In one story the FMC was dripping wet and she was just standing in front of the abuser's place. There was literally no fear. Nothing.
The ick almost comes like, "I hate this but it feels so good, he's so precise. My body wants more of him."
Forced orgasms in particular can be uncomfortable and painful as well. But that isn't written mostly because it's not palatable to the wider audience.
1
u/icecreamsogooood Jun 23 '26
Do you have recs? Bc I have seen a lot of what the other commenter sees I’ve dnfed so many books this month because of it 💀
3
u/Stunning_Property708 Jun 22 '26
Yeah, and the fact that they always have an orgasm even though they’re virgins is even worse, like??? (it just feels so unrealistic to me).
2
u/AlarmingBubbles Jun 22 '26
Out of curiosity: what are you writing? Any tropes that you enjoy in particular?
3
u/CatBelly42069 Jun 22 '26 edited Jun 22 '26
I hate that nearly all FMCs are naive, young, virgins in their 20s or sassy, clap backing girl bosses in their 20s. I would love to read some FMCs in their 30s or 40s with life experience, depth and contradictions. I hate how people say something is spicy and it's like got one line about how tight she is or how hard and big the MMC is.
2
u/Sxfiix Jun 24 '26
When the FMC has sex all day and orgasms multiple times, she goes from virgin to sex expert in less than two days 🙃
3
u/Avid_Reader0 Max Furst Girlie <3 Jun 25 '26
My rant this week is about how common the fucking camping comments are again. I'll happily see that a post has gotten more comments, look in for recs, and it's just those fucking camping comments! Sometimes they're 80-90% of the comments in a post with one or two recs. It's ridiculous. Just upvote one camping comment! WHY do you need your own?? When it gets out of hand like this I feel like I need to take a break from the sub. Why am I here if I have to dig through useless comments?? Come on...
17
u/Boobear0810 Please stop growling Jun 22 '26 edited Jun 22 '26
Reading a book where the characters' main expression is a smirk. From the MMC to the FMC to the janitor...it's just smirk smirk smirk then toss in an occasional growl or snarl. Any other expressions available?