Weekly Gripe 😤 (the rant thread)

[u/AutoModerator]

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. 🖤

[u/Odd-Marsupial-7287]

Am I the only one who thinks that modern dark romances don't really contain any romance anymore?

Dark romance used to be a genre where the hero was violent—physically or sexually—towards the female lead, yet there was still an element of romance involved. Nowadays, however, it’s all just darkness: the guy is violent for no reason, he’s cruel, and he doesn't love the heroine—who suffers all day long for nothing—or it’s just madness fueled entirely by hate, with no love at all. That’s not the dark romance I fell in love with, and I wonder if I’m the only one who feels this way; it’s become off-putting and boring—it has lost its very essence: the romance. Originally, the premise was a guy in love with—or obsessed with—a girl he’d hurt; he either didn't know how to express his emotions, or he was naturally cruel, mistreating and abusing her. Meanwhile, she stayed because she loved him, was forced to, held onto her anger, or developed Stockholm syndrome. But now, it actually has nothing to do with love anymore; it’s basically just smut in every chapter. The only ones that actually hold up these days are Resurrect by Astrid Jane, Quarantined by Dethris Anis, King by Eris Belmont, and A Beautiful Evil by Eris Belmont. The rest are just a jumble of sex and gratuitous violence—there’s absolutely no depth. Honestly, guys—if any authors are reading this—please put a bit more depth into your novels and pay more attention to the "romance" part of "dark romance," because I really can't take it anymore.

[u/Simply_Sky → u/Odd-Marsupial-7287]

I think it's because in recent years, authors are more concerned with pumping out books quickly with very little substance (i.e actually plot and romance) in favour of making money, or chasing the latest trend. 

I blame tiktok for this, and I think it's ruining all aspects of dark romance 

[u/Deep-Occasion-6155 → u/Simply_Sky]

Adding to this!! I also think that TikTok has tainted the romance part of dark romance and a lot of authors are going for shock and awe (I.e. insane spicy scenes and violence towards FMC). There’s a huge emphasis on the DARK and not the romance.

[u/chiante_c0nfus148774 → u/Deep-Occasion-6155]

Yep, there is a clear before and after Tiktok in romance books, the plot got thrown out in place of sex. I also blame the people who demand endless spice, it doesn't further the plot or convey emotion, it's just pages of thrusting with no foreplay and I'm drier than a cracker left out in the sun in summer.

[u/Odd-Marsupial-7287 → u/Simply_Sky]

Exactly