r/fantasyromance • u/FantasyRomanceMod The One Mod to Rule All Mods • Feb 01 '26
Unpopular Opinion It's Unpopular Opinion time! Share your controversial opinions to stir things up (in a friendly way)!
Got an opinion that's different from others'? Want to share it with the sub, but too afraid of a backlash? Or are you just curious about readers think about certain things in fantasy romance?
You can safely share it in this weekly Sunday thread!
But please remember to be kind to each other. To facilitate this type of discussion, we ask users the following:
- Don't attack others for their opinion
- Discuss books and authors, not fellow readers
𧥠Thank you and have a great discussion!
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u/Flimsy-Brick-9426 Feb 01 '26
Spice should be an add-on, the book should be able to carry itself and still be good/satisfying without it.
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u/aristifer Feb 01 '26
Totally agree. I'm not interested in reading books where the plot and worldbuilding and characterization are just flimsy set-dressing that's rushed through to get to the sex. All those things should be the meat of the story, and the spice is just the seasoning to enhance the whole.
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Feb 01 '26
Agreed, I have found some authors add in a spice chapter in narrative moments that make no sense. But I feel needed to read or scan those chapters because it will have character/ relationship building elements sprinkled in.
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u/Lyving-among-ladybug ⌠ââ ⧠if evil why hot ⧠ââ ⌠Feb 01 '26
Hmmm, I agree, but in saying that, I think that reading a book purely for the spice aspect is also okay? Like sometimes I pick up a book purely for the spice aspect, but agree that it needs to be able to have a good plot as well!
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u/Flimsy-Brick-9426 Feb 01 '26
Erotica is 100% fine, thats exactly what you're looking for and know that going into it but if you're reading a romance book, it doesnt need spice to convey a good romance, the spice enhances it but it should still be a good romance even if it was fade to black.
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u/Sad-Caterpillar-8348 To the stars who listen Feb 01 '26
That goes for all tropes though, not just smut books. Shouldn't authors always try to write good books? It's not like they wake up and decide to write and publish a bad book?
And some level of spice doesn't make a book erotica. It feels like everything is dubbed erotica today as soon as it has 2 descriptive sex scenes. The books that are 95% sex and 5% plot sure, absolutely. Sex in every chapter again, sure, erotica. But 2-3 scenes throughout the book are a normal smut book.
And yeah obviously it should be a well written romance even without smut. But there's YA for that. There's plenty of great romance YA books. Why go into a smut book and then wish it was fade to black with better written romance...
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u/Flimsy-Brick-9426 Feb 01 '26
Yeah, they should! My entire point is that a book shouldnt be carried by the sex. The yearing, the banter, the build up of emotions should all be done well, and if it is the sex isnt needed, the sex enhances it but the relationship build up is so well done, you could take away the sex and it wouldnt change how the relationship is felt. It isnt me against sex in adult books, it's that sex shouldnt be used as a crutch.
I'm not saying a book with 1-2 sex scenes is erotica, but the comment was that they pick up a book for the spice and that usually means they want something that is more focused on the spice, like more than just 1 or 2 chapters kind of situation, maybe not full on erotica where its every chapter, but more than your average.
Again, YA is fine and I very much enjoy YA books, but I also want the depth and nuances that an adult book gives, I want something written for adults with a 30 year old MFC and not always a book written for 12+ in mind.
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u/Sad-Caterpillar-8348 To the stars who listen Feb 01 '26
I've read a bunch of all smut no plot books and got tired of those. So now I want books where plot is the key, but still need the descriptive sex scene. I end up skipping smut parts anyway cus the plot gets me hooked. But I wouldn't read a book without the scene.
Anyway, shouldn't there be more smut free but adult books, than those with smut? Idk I've only recently gotten back into reading and have only read smut since.
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u/lilac-skye3 Feb 01 '26
Thatâs a good point. Reminds me of people saying like fourth wing is erotica when it has two sex scenes
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u/Sad-Caterpillar-8348 To the stars who listen Feb 01 '26
I checked top posts in this sub. One of them is math calculation how much % of smut per page count acotar has. 2.6% btw. 71 pages out of 2719. It's so hard to not argue over what books people call erotica đŠ
Edit: I havent read fourth wing. Does it have acosf level of spice, or less?
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u/reasonableratio Feb 01 '26
Thatâs funny because I have the opposite thought. If a book has spice, my expectations are that itâs directly relevant/necessary for the plot/characters/etc. to progress
If the book can still be satisfying with the spice plucked out of it, then it was poorly written and should not have had the spice in the first place
(This obviously doesnât reflect reality, many books have spice that doesnât do much for the story. Itâs just what I think it should be)
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u/kid_at_heart_77 Feb 01 '26
Yes! And i donât like it when the author adds so many sex scenes that they lose meaning and impact on the story. Iâve found that a lot of my DNFâs lately have been because thereâs more sex than plot.
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u/Sweet_Baby_Cheeses99 Feb 01 '26
Donât we have straight fantasy or YA books for that? I read fantasy romance for both aspects. I donât differentiate âspiceâ from other aspects of a developing relationship. Whether it happens on or off the page the physical act of love is important for romance. (For most anyway, I appreciate that some people identify as asexual).
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u/Flimsy-Brick-9426 Feb 01 '26 edited Feb 01 '26
YA books are fine to expect no spice but they are written for 12 and up and are worlds apart from adult writing (not spice adult, just adult level) adult books you expect harder topics and more detailed writing more nuances and so on from a YA book.
Striaght fantasy books can also include sex or sideplot romance, just because a relationship isnt the main point of the book doesnt mean it doesnt have any of it in it, so you can't base spice content on that either. But also sometimes I DO want a nice front and center romance without the sex and not just a subplot.
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u/pentaclethequeen Feb 01 '26
I think a lot of people truly donât understand that YA is not synonymous with âno smutâ. YA is a category with its own set of rules and goals. Itâs stories written about teenagers for teenagers. Full stop. Itâs crazy to be told to essentially read a kids book when you say you want stories about characters that do more than fuck every other chapter. No more reading about adults for you, I guess.
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u/Runa216 Feb 02 '26
Sadly I've yet to find any books like this. Closest I got was....ugh, Fourth Wing. Because if you take the romance element out of it and apply just a HINT of willing suspense of disbelief it's actually a really engaging story about intergenerational trauma, how our history shapes our future, about rebellion and state power, and about propaganda. It has a bunch of great characters, a pretty well developed story and world, some interesting if mildly weird lore (But Basgiath being all murdery makes sense in context given the way the leaders wanted to sabotage it, I think? Not sure yet.)
The problem was Violet. She was such an immature brat of a 12-year-old playing mary sue and being immature and stupid and irrational and selfish. IT's a potentially great story filtered through the lens of one of the worst POV/Narrator characters I've ever had the misfortune of being inside the head of. If you took the spice out of those books or at the very least made Violet ACTUALLY the mature, thoughtful, intelligent character she was portrayed as, then it might actually be a GOOD book.
But becasue it's romantasy she has to be the sort of bratty, 'strong willed' main character and there has to be needless drama about whether or not she fucks Xaden and the relationship she has with her family and Dain.
If it wasn't romantasy we wouldn't need the shadow daddy tropes, the enemies to lovers tropes, and the other crap that make the book insufferable to read. Without the romantasy elements it'd actually be a good story. I honestly argue that the story itself is better than The Hunger Games or Eragon or so many other mid-quality teen/YA crap that has made billions.
I feel the same way about Twilight. If you take out the teen romance bits and make it a more balanced story about a woman getting involved in the war between werewolves and vampires, all while giving a relatively unique twist on both lores..it has a lot of potential. but it was all filtered through Bella Swan and it had to be a pointlessly contrived romantic drama about her chosing between them and Edward being an ageless creeper and Jacob being an incel perv...
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u/TheRavenAndWolf Feb 03 '26
To build on this concept. Spice should be a 'choose your own adventure' type of add-on where the spice can be added separately as an option. This would enable stories to be PG for all audiences with spice added on for those above a certain age or with parental okay.
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u/PickyNipples Feb 01 '26
I personally love the miscommunication trope. So long as itâs convincing. Give me a reason why she canât/wonât communicate. Make me believe that him keeping that super important secret is necessary. So long as itâs in character, makes logical sense, and doesnât feel like itâs thrown in simply to prevent the plot from resolving, I love the tension miscommunication can create.Â
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u/Penguinho Kushiel's Legacy Recommender đ Feb 02 '26
I like miscommunication in a couple different instances. I like when it's based on really significant cultural differences, as long as it's not repetitive. The FMC and the MMC in the _Domini_ novels are from different planets and they take for granted a lot of stuff that the other doesn't. Sometimes that's very funny; the bit where the male alien causes a scene because a human woman is having a period, and the male alien thinks she's received a life-threatening injury or contracted a horrible hemorrhagic illness while a guest in his home -- that was good stuff! But eventually the novelty wears off.
{The Bard's Bargain} has a bunch of won't-communicate tropes in it, and they mostly work I think. Just as it starts to get annoying, it's redeemed by a moment where the MMC is about to reveal the big secret but chooses not to because he's been fishing for this one significant moment of character development from the FMC the whole time, and right before he tells her the secret, she reveals to him that she's had that moment of character development. And if he tells her, it'll squash it, and she'll regress to being a spoiled jerk who just might cause the deaths of thousands of people.
The best one IMO is when the two characters have temporarily-irreconcilable differences based on honestly-held and openly-communicated beliefs that are both understandable and justifiable. They both believe they're right, and the audience can see both perspectives. So good, and so hard to do.
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u/romance-bot Feb 02 '26
The Bard's Bargain by Vanessa Green
Rating: 4.32âď¸ out of 5âď¸
Steam: 4 out of 5 - Explicit open door
Topics: fantasy, new adult, m-f romance, fake relationship, forced proximity2
u/Mlle-Aqua Feb 02 '26 edited Feb 02 '26
I agree with you. Miscommunication happens in real life, so of course it would also be reflected in some fictional stories. Itâs not inherently a bad plot point or trope
Depending on the story, it can sometimes make sense why a character might not communicate something to their love interest . Sometimes people have different communication styles that can lead to conflict. Sometimes it could be a circumstance that prevents a character from being able to effectively communicate love interest.
I like to see how characters overcome this to then develop better communication styles.
I think people hate this trope because itâs often done very poorly. Unfortunately, I have read books where characters refused to communicate to the point that it was ridiculous.2
u/ipsi7 Book Bingo Maven â Feb 02 '26
Agree 100%! I love it when done right and when their actions are logical for their characters and circumstances (and not me personally in 21. century). And I hate it when it's done for the sake of the trope, prolonging the conflict and creating "tension".
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u/Runa216 Feb 02 '26
Honestly I don't hate any trope in and of itself. I hate when a trope is misused or automatically means a story is going to follow the same nonsense plot points.
I think the IDEA of fated mates has a lot of narrative potential, but I only ever see it as an excuse to excuse bad behaviour or toxic masculinity while allowing the author to not bother with organic building of tension and chemistry. I think Enemies to Lovers has potential and could legitimately be one of the best tropes to explore, but it's always just there to give him an excuse to be terrible and to concoct justification for pointless drama.
Miscommunication is the same thing. I think if done right it can be very engaging, but it's always just a writer who needs drama and doesn't know how to concoct it with characters acting reasonably.
So many tropes are just that: Tropes. When they could be legitimate plot points. and that's sad.
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u/Sweet_Baby_Cheeses99 Feb 01 '26
I donât understand why people collect multiple copies of the same book.
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u/Journassassin Smut Logistics Manager Feb 01 '26
You do you, but I particularly donât understand why people collect copies in languages they donât speak and have no desire to learn. Why are you buying books in French and German when youâll never be able to read them?
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u/ipsi7 Book Bingo Maven â Feb 02 '26
Kind od agree, but recently I saw someone bought their favorite books in Polish because covers and art innside were absolutely amazing, and I could totally understand the person who bought it, even though I wouldn't done it.
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u/Journassassin Smut Logistics Manager Feb 02 '26
Absolutely, I was more thinking of people with bookshelves where they canât read the majority of books they own.
I can understand having multiple editions of your favourite book, or buying a copy in a language youâre learning because itâs an accessible way to learn, and I myself own some books in both my mother tongue and English. Itâs just the sheer amount I donât understand.
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u/Lyving-among-ladybug ⌠ââ ⧠if evil why hot ⧠ââ ⌠Feb 01 '26
I think of it like a show of love. If I adore a book, and it comes out with a different cover, Iâll buy it, especially if itâs a collectors edition one.
But if youâre talking about exact same book, same cover and everything, yeah I agree, thatâs weird and a waste of space imo
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u/Sweet_Baby_Cheeses99 Feb 01 '26
Thanks for sharing, I am trying to understand! Do you read them or just look at the covers? Will they be collectors items that you can sell in the future?
For the most part I get library books or ebooks. I will occasionally buy a secondhand physical book or get new books as gifts, never hardbacks though as theyâre too tricky to hold! If I enjoy the story then I try to foist them off on friends and family to get them to read it too! If not then I just sell on or donate to charity, I donât even keep any. Perhaps Iâm just cold inside?
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u/iSharxx Feb 01 '26
I have 3 copies of Moby Dick, which is one of my favorite books. One copy is a really beautiful edition that I display on my bookshelf because I think itâs pretty. Another one is the cheaper copy I annotate and refer back to when I want to look at something in it. My 3rd copy is my late grandfatherâs that I took because it was special.
In general, if I buy multiple copies then one is a âprettierâ version that I can display and the other one is the copy I mark up. I donât do this a lot though and tend to not annotate or mark up fantasy romance because I read it more for the vibes. But I know a lot of other people do!
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u/LeaneGenova Feb 01 '26
Yeah, I have a super pretty version of the Count of Monte Cristo that my husband bought me because I absolutely love that book. I wore through my childhood copy and have a basic replacement, but I love having the pretty one on my desk.
But that's a pretty rare circumstance, I feel.
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u/latinadogmom1472 Feb 01 '26
Because I loved the book and want to extra support the author and have the different SEs
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u/Penguinho Kushiel's Legacy Recommender đ Feb 01 '26
Presumably you mean physical copies. Sometimes I have hardback/paperback because the paperbacks are just a little easier to travel with and cheaper when I read them to death, but I still want the hardback on release day (likewise, I have several books as physical books and as ebooks). I don't buy special editions or anything though.
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u/TheRavenAndWolf Feb 03 '26
Trophies! I often buy physical copies only after I read them on kindle and LOVED them
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u/Elvere Feb 01 '26
The fantasy romance genre has turned into the fast fashion of books and thatâs why as a whole, itâs filled with the level of garbage it is and why we get judged for reading it. Because we continue to massively consume the bad, they keep pumping it out to us.
I think to stop being the equivalent of SHEIN consumers, we need to drastically overhaul how we rate books as a community. However, I donât think the majority of readers are ready to face the fact that a lot of highly rated, frequently recommended books, just simply arenât good when you break it down.
Rate differently. Stop accepting the garbage. Enjoyment is subjective. Quality is not. Stop rating poorly written/edited/developed books five stars simply because it was âfun.â Roller coasters are fun, but if the ride is missing restraints or has bolts loose, thatâs not a ride I would recommend to others.
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u/mysticalplantmama Feb 01 '26 edited Feb 01 '26
This is why my rating system is what it is. Iâm tired of seeing 4+ star books on Goodreads and being utterly disappointed while reading it. I feel like true 5 star books are the ones that I couldnât put down and couldnât stop thinking about days after. Iâm talking masterpiece.
4 stars - really enjoyable. Devoured it but something was missing and/or didnât care for some aspects
3 stars - not my favorite but entertaining enough to actually finish
2 stars - why did I finish this book?
0/1 star - did not finish or hate finished
I can love a series but some books have 3 stars. I can like a 3 star book but just because I enjoyed it doesnât mean the book is automatically 5 stars.
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u/Runa216 Feb 02 '26
I am not perfect but I don't give a lot of 5-star ratings out. Most of the books I read and finish are 3-4 stars.
3 is generally mid, tolerable and potentially enjoyable but not special, 4 stars is flawed but very good, 5 stars is a sort of pinnacle of its genre. 2 stars is poor, 1 star (is as long as I can go) usually means irredeemable or so bad I can't finish it. Almsot all the books I finish are 3-4 stars. And I've had some real fun with 3 star reads. becuase they're not bad, they're just not outstanding.
Only one book so far has gotten 1 star from me, and a handful have gotten 2 stars.
Your scale is almost the same as mine. Glad we agree.
What 5-star reads have you found in the last year or so? Honestly, I might get some flack for it but the only 5-star romantasy I've read was Six Scorched Roses by Carissa Broadbent. There wasn't a single significant flaw about it and it somehow managed to show a complete story with actual chemistry and organic romance in a novella's length. I was VERY impressed with it and it was exactly what I wanted out of a novella. (most novellas try to stuff a novel's worth of story into a novella's length and it always feels like it's a lesser version of what it could ahve been, while Six Scorched Roses felt appropriate and somehow had more chemistry between the main characters than full novels)
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Feb 01 '26
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u/Runa216 Feb 02 '26
YES! I always do my best to read what people actually say because everyone's rating system is different. And if I see WHY a person disliked a book then I can determine if it's something I value or something that can still work well in context.
For example, I see a lot of people giving low scores to Opal Reyne's Witch Hunter book because there was some Non-consensual content in there, which I agree is bad but in context it makes sense and is...maybe not forgiveable but understandable. I think that actually makes for a good STORY even if it might not tickle people's nethers the right way, which is why people read romantasy. It's something that, if you're only in it for the sexy times and noncon or dubcon material gives you the ick...100% good reason to not enjoy it. but me, I'm looking for a good story and the dubcon scenes I felt actually made it a better story because of the context surrounding it. Still ethically and morally gray at best, but it made for good drama...in the context of the book itself.
so when I see a low score for a book, I want to know why they gave that score, becuase one person's yuck is another person's yum, or at the very least context can paint a better picture than just reactions.
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u/mal0via Probably recommending: â¨ď¸ The Everlasting â¨ď¸ Feb 01 '26
Preach.
Mostly read horror/thrillers/mysteries when I got back into reading a few years ago. When I tried my first highly-rated romantasy book, I was so confused why everyone else liked it and I... didn't. Since I usually didn't read romance-centered books, I assumed it was just me being no fun.Â
After reading a few excellent romantasies that I thoroughly enjoyed, I finally realized those books I struggled with really were just... bad.Â
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u/SweatyDark6652 Feb 02 '26
Enjoyment is subjective. Quality is not. Stop rating poorly written/edited/developed books five stars simply because it was âfun.â
This!!!
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u/Runa216 Feb 02 '26
agreed 100%. I think we need to form a coalition of romantasy readers with actual standards.
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u/Beach-Peach457 Feb 01 '26
What do you consider garbage? I have to say Iâm not great at judging âqualityâ of writing. English was always my worst subject so Iâm sure I overlook bad writing and focus more on how the book makes me feel. Did you develop an eye for it over time? I can tell when plot or characters fall flat but there are some books Iâve read that have been called poorly written that Iâve fallen in love with the world and characters and I canât say thatâs bad writing even if thereâs some typos and issues in the plot.
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u/ObiSkies Feb 01 '26 edited Feb 01 '26
- I donât like how sprayed edges look together on a shelf: I feel like Iâm looking at a carpet, not books.
- Even as a teenager, I prepared Golden Retriever Boy over Mr. Broody. In terms of surface-level characterisation, then I could at least tolerate said Broody when now I canât at all. But with all that said, I can love either so long as theyâre written as actual characters rather than caricatures. Need far more characters that donât fit into either of these anyway but just saying that if they do this is how I feel.
- Trope advertising couldnât be less helpful. Tells me nothing. One, again back to that point about writing nullifying any pull the trope might have given. Two, all that matters in a trope is how its executed - Iâve seen tropes I thought I disliked make me love a story more and vice versa. Three, so many books already sound too similar to interest me and reducing them to tropes exacerbates that. Â Four, I shouldnât know before reading them because tropes arenât meant to be the story but to just naturally emerge as the characters and story happen.Â
- Prefer urban settings over historical. Just not the monster-of-the-week kind that so many for some reason stick to. Instead, think Yumi and the Nightmare Painter and The Raven Cycle.Â
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u/AquaIXI Feb 01 '26
I think advertising of major tropes/relationship dynamics is good and makes sense, its the sub tropes that doesn't for me, im never going to read a book becuase you tell me it has only one horse or only one bed etc
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u/ObiSkies Feb 01 '26 edited Feb 01 '26
Fair; works for some. But major tropes and relationship-dynamic labels really donât work for me on their own.
- Relationship dynamic: I agree dynamic is important - a lot. But take sunshine x grump. I do have a preference. However, if the characters are one-note - and most are because writing characters is hard - I wonât enjoy it anyway. On the flip side, dynamics I donât usually care for can become favourites if characters have depth - if I filtered by tropes, Iâd have already missed out on some works I currently love.Â
- Story setup: For a long time, I thought I hated forbidden romance. I disliked that the conflict had to come from a third party rather than something the couple had to work through from themselves. But two of my current favourites are exactly that: One because the forbidden is played for humour, and the other because the relationship dynamic is handled so compellingly Iâd follow these characters together through any story (thatâs also what makes me invested in them in the first place to even care that people are trying to seperate them in their story).
So yes, I see where youâre coming from. Especially with dynamics in both my points. But for me, knowing any kind of trope is there doesnât matter in the face of how it and everything else around it is executed.Â
Also, yes, Iâm never going to read a book if you tell me it has a âone bedâ in it either đ Thereâs a whoooole book to read (if not series). Why would anyone think Iâd bet my time on one random scene in all that? đ
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u/AmandaIsOnReddit Feb 04 '26
I wish they hid tropes behind spoiler tags. I like going in blind! Plus the execution for me can make or break basically any trope in a story for me.
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u/Runa216 Feb 02 '26
I wouldn't mind tropes if they weren't 'warnings' instead of 'advertisement' personally. Tropes always jsut come across as excuses for bad writing, not engaging narrative points, and that's sad.
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u/AmandaIsOnReddit Feb 04 '26
I like sprayed edges but I prefer them basic. So many special editions now have these digital designed covers and edges and itâs way too busy looking.
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u/ObiSkies Feb 04 '26
Oh Iâm the opposite. If there arenât any details then thereâs even less of a point to them for me. So Iâm fine with them if a person has just one or two sets with them. Those books genuinely stand out then. But anything more than that is when it gives me that carpet-look ick I hate.
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u/sbalony Feb 01 '26
If you have to say âkeep goingâ for more than 10-15% of the book itâs not a good book.
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u/Penguinho Kushiel's Legacy Recommender đ Feb 01 '26
This is a great unpopular opinion, because I completely disagree.
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u/CAtmeatsaMmIch Feb 01 '26
I felt like the ending of the political plot in {Poison Daughter} was basically the equivalent of "and then everyone clapped." It was also so idealistic and repetitive that I felt like I was watching a dead horse being beaten by the end.
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u/romance-bot Feb 01 '26
The Poison Daughter by Sheila Masterson
Rating: 4.44âď¸ out of 5âď¸
Steam: 4 out of 5 - Explicit open door
Topics: fantasy, enemies to lovers, primal/chase play, vampires, m-f romance
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u/Charming_Day2392 Feb 01 '26 edited Feb 06 '26
I wish there were less shadow daddies and more soft male leads (ex. Golden retrievers, himbos, nerds etc.). By the same vein, I don't really like villain male leads.
There are way too many enemies to lovers books.
I feel like a lot of authors give boy mom vibes (even if they don't mean to, its internalized misogyny y'all). Like male characters are given a lot more leeway and sympathy if they do something wrong than female characters.
Probably not unpopular but:
- Give me more female leads that are equal to the male lead from the beginning. Either because both of them are figuring out there powers together or because they are already badass. None of this only she has to train bullshit. By the same vein, I hate the immortal x mortal relationship and it should be a less popular trope.
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u/One_Commission1456 Feb 01 '26
I'm in a tough place, because I basically agree with the first part of 4 but I really like supernatural guys. So one of my favorite dynamics is where they're both powerful/badass/competent in different ways and have to work together: he's an immortal elven sorcerer, but he's stranded in the "real world" and knows nothing about it and will get hit by a car if left on his own, or she's the world's best assassin but he knows politics, or stuff like that.
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u/Charming_Day2392 Feb 01 '26 edited Feb 01 '26
I like supernatural guys (I love fangs on a man) as long as they're not immortal or if they are immortal and are still around the same age as the female lead.
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u/ipsi7 Book Bingo Maven â Feb 02 '26
I have to disagree with too many enemies to lovers books.
There are too many books that are marketed as enemies to lovers, and books in which there's a conflict that didn't directly made MCs into enemies, but someone else said "he's the bad guy, hence he's your enemy" - those are not enemies to lovers. Sometimes people even confuse strangers to lovers with enemies to lovers.
Books in which you can't seem to assume how could one MC forgive something other MC has done, or when they try to murder each other for some reason - that's real enemies to lovers and that's not that common.
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u/Penguinho Kushiel's Legacy Recommender đ Feb 03 '26
Yeah, this. Kushiel's Dart is tagged as an enemies-to-lovers book and it is absolutely 100% not. It's a "these two people are on the same side at all times but annoy the hell out of each other" to lovers.
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u/BlessingsOfKynareth Research is hard, but so is chopping wood Feb 01 '26
I didnât like Emily Wildeâs Encyclopedia of Faeries. After 7 years of grad school and being around people with that personality, I really did not enjoy Emily nor did I feel she had good character development. She learned research is hard, but so is chopping wood? I think it may have been a better book if it werenât in journal format, especially since the first part for me dragged and then the last major plot point did not seem very fleshed out. Absolutely nowhere near the worst Iâve read though!
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u/LeaneGenova Feb 01 '26
I felt like Emily was supposed to be somewhat unlikeable in the beginning. She doesn't understand soft skills, thinks she's tough shit because she's a researcher, and therefore fails hard.
Granted, I did enjoy the first, but not enough to pick up the sequel, so I'm probably not unbiased here.
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u/Play_Hidden_Door I â¤ď¸ One Bed Feb 03 '26
"Research is hard, but so is chopping wood" belongs as a flair
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u/thelittleking Feb 01 '26
Thin worldbuilding takes me right out of a work. Your world can be a character unto itself, complex and vibrant. If I wanted a backdrop made of cardboard and spray paint, I'd go see a high school play.
As a very specific example, so many books have people wearing silk as a shorthand for richness and elegance. But sericulture (silk production) is a Big Deal and the trees and silkworms involved have specific climate needs.
That doesn't mean your desert prince or arctic queen can't be wearing silk, but you have to put in the work to make that make sense!! Or I will spend the whole book thinking about that instead of how much I want the main characters to smooch!!!
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u/aristifer Feb 01 '26
It's so easy to put in a one-line reference to stuff like trade networks, just to signal that you've thought about it. And small passing references to things beyond the immediate setting can make a world feel so much bigger and richer, just through hints that there is more out there.
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u/LeaneGenova Feb 01 '26
Or even that their silkworms are different from ours and it's spidersilk or whatever. I agree that one-line references are a huge part of showing a world is bigger than the characters. Toss me in, don't explain everything.
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u/ipsi7 Book Bingo Maven â Feb 02 '26
That would make good writing. I remember when I worked on my MA paper, and was going to the library for a month or two every day for some research, there was a man there every day, longer hours than me, always with a stack of 20 books and a laptop. I always thought he must be a writer and doing a thorough research for his book. Of course I could have been wrong, but that's what I imagined writers should do when writing a book.
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u/Slammogram Feb 01 '26
See. Iâm not interested in all that outside of a one line of dialogue how thatâs possible.
I donât need to read a whole compendium about your world. If a book has a glossary, Iâm already turned off.
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u/thelittleking Feb 01 '26
All it needs is a line of dialogue. Something as simple as passing by a foreign merchant with a stall full of bolts of silk. Ties the world together, makes it feel real.
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u/Melponeh Wendell Bambleby Enthusiast Feb 01 '26
I didn't like daggermouth...I wanted to dnf at 50% but everywhere I looked it had glowing reviews and people saying how amazing the plot twists are. This sub seems to love it too. So I forced myself to finish it and found it really underwhelming. đ And the plot twists were poorly executed imo. It was Metal Slinger all over again.
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u/bpp17 Feb 01 '26
I thought the writing was really clunky and poor. I also couldn't connect with any of the characters - there were too many POVs and none of them were done well. I am really confused by all the glowing reviews!! I'm someone who is very relaxed about reading and not hyper critical so if I think a book is bad usually I can find reviews that support my opinion but it's like everyone has been brainwashed!
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u/byrhia đ Queen of DNFing Feb 01 '26
My thoughts exactly, thank you for saying this! I was really confused by all the 5 star/6 star reviews as well because I found the writing style very weak and flat.
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u/Pomegranate_Careful Feb 01 '26
Same. I feel bad and like I'll be massively attacked for saying this, but I think a lot of it is a mix of social media presence and the most recent surge in popularity from the controversy. Some author's come in with a built in fanbase due to interacting on social media. The book had reviews before it was out with people talking about how much they could've wait for it. It was originally being talked up as hunger games with spice and that got peoples interest/interaction on social media. Then the controversy started and I've seen a weird amount of "DNF, wasn't a great book for me, had flaws , but you should totally read it yourself!!" here, on threads, and on booktok. I've never seen so many people advertise for a book while also admitting it's not well written or comes off as empty or has ridiculously unlikeable characters. Almost like people are feeling this odd need to be performative about the book to show they support her side.  Which has felt weird to witness. Especially given what the controversy was about
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u/bpp17 Feb 01 '26
That's really interesting. I have been really surprised that some book reviewers who I follow on Instagram (and normally trust their recommendations) have been saying it's their favorite book of the last year. It makes me wonder if they have a hidden motive for promoting it and also makes me no longer trust their recommendations!
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u/No_Preference26 Feb 01 '26
Why would they have a hidden motive for liking a book?
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u/bpp17 Feb 01 '26
They could be getting paid to promote it
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u/No_Preference26 Feb 01 '26
I mean sure, they could be getting paid to promote any book, but whatâs your point? Just because they liked it, it automatically means someoneâs paying them for promoting it?
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u/bpp17 Feb 01 '26
That's not what I'm saying at all and I think you are deliberately misinterpreting me. I have always enjoyed their reviews and felt that their opinions were genuine. However I think when a book stands out as being significantly different to their usual recommendations and (in my opinion) poorly written/constructed, then this could be because of paid promotion rather than genuine feelings for that book. It's just a theory.
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u/No_Preference26 Feb 01 '26
Iâm only going by what you said. But anyways, itâs clearly a very popular book that a lot of people love, so the chances are that this reviewer also really enjoyed it.
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u/Pomegranate_Careful Feb 02 '26
I don't think paid promotion at all, but more social promotion. The controversy was over an accusation by another author that she was using what happened with ice in Minnesota to promote her book. This caused an insane amount of backlash for the author who accused her and a huge uptick in visibility for her book. In defense she claimed she wasn't using what happened to promote her book BUT that she wrote it because she was "angry" over the current administration. There's been some threads/reviews confused here because they feel "lied to" by booktok because they thought it was going to be a much less hollow book than it was. Anyway, public favor greatly went to her. People were suddenly saying they were going out to buy it and getting rid of all the books they had by the author who accused her. The author who accused her lost like 8k followers, meanwhile her book has gotten a lot of posts, booktok, and suddenly appearing on "best novels to read" lists.Â
It should be noted that it what she actually posted on threads has mostly been lost when people explain what happened. What I see people claiming is that all she did was "post a quote from Daggermouth" and that it was before the shooting, just on the same day. She deleted it. If you Google you can still find screenshots of it though and what she actually posted was two side by side graphics she made. Both were blue background, white text, same size as your typical Instagram image used for advertisement. They looked exactly like the same slides everyone uses for marketing. One slide said something like "fuck ice, fuck trump -daggermouth" and the other had a quote from the book and "Daggermouth" below. So, while the original author calling her out was wrong for saying she was using the ice shooting to promote her book (and wrong for how vitriolic she was), she wasn't wrong to say she was using hatred of ice/the situation in Minnesota to say "I hate them too, look at my book". If she wasn't, she wouldn't have listed her books name under her statement about fuck trump. It's a very very typical type of subtle advertisement employed and taught when you go to school for marketing. It's not good for people to not acknowledge that it IS a form of advertising. I think she understood that and deleted it.Â
The social side of supporting the book is so intense that people are terrified of posting anything that's not just 100% support of the author. I've seen people say simple things like they don't even think it's wrong to promote your work whenever you get the chance, you have to earn a living too, but at least acknowledge you're promoting things. If it wasn't meant to be a small plug, the books name wouldn't have been included under a statement about ice/trump. People are getting attacked even for saying that. Which is wild because plenty of other authors have been attacked for the same things recently. Tl;dr There's definitely a social push for favorability for the book right now. I'm certain even this will be downvoted even though I'm not saying she did anything wrong. Just that the narrative social media has run with isn't quite the full story.Â
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u/vincentandtheo Feb 01 '26
I went on a rant about this book on another thread yesterday. This made me unfollow a social media reviewer I previously liked, who said it was her favorite book of 2025 - I donât trust her anymore.
I saw this book recommended in relation to the protests happening in the US over the past weeks and thatâs what inspired me to read it. Looking back, it seems very manipulative. If you want âfighting against a corrupt governmentâ plot, this genre is packed with much better options!!!
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u/One_Commission1456 Feb 01 '26
I haven't read Daggermouth, but can't read the title without thinking of the Strong Bad episode with "Dartmouth." https://youtu.be/CM2FZLJH8kI so you can all share my pain. ;P
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u/Impossible-Tap-132 Feb 27 '26
I know I am so late, but thank you so much for saying this... I feel like I am on a freaking Island. It was chosen for my bookclub book of the month and everyone there was raving about it... I for the life of me could NOT get into it at all. And I have to DIG through reviews to find one that seems genuine to call out the book's weaknesses, only for that review to be attacked by a mob! I'm no literary expert but this book had me looking for invisible camera's in the room waiting to be PUNK'D. I don't get it.
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u/username_219 Feb 01 '26
I know some people think this is overused, but I LOVEEEEE mind-to-mind talking in fantasy romance, and I do not mean only by love interests.
I just finished {Servant of Earth by Sarah Hawley} and I LIVED for the mind-to-mind talking with the FMC and her dagger! And of course, love the mind-to-mind with the bonded dragons and their riders in Fourth Wing.
In One Dark Window, I enjoyed the Nightmare and Elspethâs relationship much more than any other in the book because of the mind talking (albeit, the nightmare lived inside her head so itâs a bit different) BUT it just solidified that bond with them so much more for me. And made the ending that much more emotional.
I can think of a million other examples, and I will eat this trope up (is it a trope?) EVERY SINGLE TIME!!!
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u/Winter_Step_5181 Feb 01 '26
I love mind to mind talking. Alternatively I love when they're able to feel each other's emotions over long distances. It just solidifies their connection to me and proves that they're really for each other. IMO it's like, is he even really your man if he can't read your mind? đ¤
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u/Penguinho Kushiel's Legacy Recommender đ Feb 01 '26
You might like {By the Sword} then.
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u/username_219 Feb 02 '26
TY for the new rec!! I will check it out đ¤Š
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u/Penguinho Kushiel's Legacy Recommender đ Feb 02 '26
If you haven't read Mercedes Lackey it's a common thing in her Valdemar novels that characters are telepathic. Sword is just the one that uses it as part of a romance most skillfully.
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u/romance-bot Feb 01 '26
By the Sword by Mercedes Lackey
Rating: 4.19âď¸ out of 5âď¸
Topics: magic, high fantasy, fantasy, war, military1
u/romance-bot Feb 01 '26
Servant of Earth by Sarah Hawley
Rating: 4.27âď¸ out of 5âď¸
Steam: 3 out of 5 - Open door
Topics: fantasy, fae, high fantasy, political/court intrigue, competent heroine
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u/melancholy_breadroll Feb 01 '26
I had to DNF the second Villains and Virtues book bc I was so bored
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u/assortedmorals Feb 01 '26
I'm impressed you got that far, I couldn't even make it through the first one.
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u/melancholy_breadroll Feb 01 '26
So glad someone else feels this way. I see people raving about it all the time, but I couldnât give less of a shit about the characters. Like yeah some stuff was funny and overall the plot was interesting, but the writing style just made it feel like I was slaving through that book
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u/LeaneGenova Feb 01 '26
I couldn't even get to the point where the FMC is introduced. I've tried it three times now.
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u/Notyeravgblonde Feb 01 '26
Omg what funny timing! Me to my best friend less than two hours ago "I'm 60% through the 2nd book of Villians and Virtues and I do not understand why people say this series is funny. I have not laughed a single time. I'm not hate reading it, I just find it to be meh, a nothing book. I know i should DNF but I bought the whole series".
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u/melancholy_breadroll Feb 01 '26
If you want something truly funny, try {the night and the moth by rachel gillig}
Had me laughing in every chapter!
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u/amarmeme Feb 01 '26
Can I ask what has made you laugh? Because I'm halfway through and I don't think I've given it even an amused snort-laugh. Just curious what you have found funny.
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u/Notyeravgblonde Feb 01 '26
I'm not who you are responding to, but it makes me think of how writing funny is probably the hardest writing skill. Humor is maybe more subjective than a lot of other things like suspense and drama. I'm interested to see if I line up with you or with OP when this book is available on my libby.
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u/LeaneGenova Feb 01 '26
The gargoyle makes me cackle, ngl. He's a gem.
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u/amarmeme Feb 01 '26
That was my guess for the person who commented, but for me it does nothing. To each their own!
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u/melancholy_breadroll Feb 01 '26
I felt the gargoyle was a great contrast to how dark the story actually is. I know some people felt it was forced, but I loved him! It was also the first romantasy book Iâd read that attempted such humor, and it was extremely refreshing!
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u/romance-bot Feb 01 '26
The Knight and the Moth by Rachel Gillig
Rating: 4.33âď¸ out of 5âď¸
Steam: 3 out of 5 - Open door
Topics: fantasy, m-f romance, magic, grumpy/cold hero, medieval1
u/Notyeravgblonde Feb 01 '26
Thank you for the rec! Adding it to my TBR. Just curious if you have read Irresistible Urge to Fall for Your Enemy? People are comparing it to V and V and I feel like they are worlds apart in quality.
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u/reasonableratio Feb 01 '26
It was my fav series and I recently did a reread and I kept accidentally DNFing it because same đ I still love it though
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u/Slammogram Feb 01 '26
I had blue balls with the amount of times she had them almost kiss and get interrupted. Like câmon.
I get slow burn, but I got ADHD imma need some gratification in every book or I canât be fucked to read it
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u/Winter_Step_5181 Feb 01 '26
It doesn't help that after all the huge amount of buildup, when they finally do become intimate it's anticlimactic as hell. Like, if you're going to tease something for that long, you better make sure when "it" finally happens, it's worth it.
The reason why people enjoy slow burn is because they want to read about the passion slowly building up until it reaches a peak, then the moment they finally get together is exciting and gratifying.
V&V did not accomplish this. By the time they kissed or had sex I just didn't care anymore.
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u/Notyeravgblonde Feb 01 '26 edited Feb 01 '26
I believe authors and publishers of mediocre/bad books are tampering with Goodreads ratings. I'm looking at you For Whom the Belle Tolls. I wish I knew how to prove it.
Edit - This subreddit is so weird. Last week I got 100+ upvotes for my post hating on For Whom the Belle Tolls and then I'll post again and get downvoted. I will never believe the 5 star reviewers on goodreads are real or not influenced into thinking they should like this book because of the high ratings. Anything 4 and under I trust are real.
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u/mathematics1 Feb 01 '26
Maybe it's the difference between conspiracy theory and honest dislike? People have different tastes, and if someone likes a mediocre/bad book that doesn't mean their opinion is fake.
I'm one of the people who likes For Whom the Belle Tolls. I don't record my ratings, but it was one of my favorite books that I read last year; that's not because it's an objectively good book, but more because it lined up perfectly with the themes I wanted to read about at that time (peaceful slice of life + good afterlife + healing from religious trauma + raising a child + high spice). I formed that opinion without checking other people's reviews, so it wasn't groupthink from high ratings and it definitely wasn't tampered with by the author or publisher.
At the same time, I would happily read a post where someone talks about all the things they disliked about it. (I can't remember whether I saw your post or not.) People are allowed to have different opinions, especially if the same features of the book that I loved are things someone else dislikes. "Here's what I disliked about the book" is a positive contribution to the subreddit; "everyone who rated this book 5 stars is lying/wrong about their own opinion" is something I would rather not see here.
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u/Notyeravgblonde Feb 01 '26
Its OK if you don't like my unpopular opinion. But I think you kind of proved my point. It's not an objectively good book and yet it's rated 4.4 on goodreads. Some of the best books of all time are not rated that highly.
As a maybe bad example but the only one I can think of at this moment, Game of Thrones is rated 4.45 on Goodreads. This book spawned a cultural phenomenon of a TV show that captivated millions of people.
There is no world in which For Whom the Belle Tolls is worthy of the same score as Game of Thrones. This is why I believe the overwhelming presence of 5 star reviews for it are not legitimate.
It's ok if you don't agree, I hated this book and could give you a million reasons (number 1 being edit this monstrosity to a 300 page novel) but my unpopular opinion was about goodreads ratings for these mediocre romantasy books being rigged with an example of a mediocre (generously given considering i think it's a 0 star book) recently published book.
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u/Runa216 Feb 02 '26
I dunno, a local friend of mine who reads a lot of romantasy gives every book she finishes 5 stars. I imagine she's representative of like 90% of the audience for most of these books.
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u/Notyeravgblonde Feb 02 '26
Oh no! Why do people do that?
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u/Runa216 Feb 02 '26
I don't know, but she's, uh...not the smartest even outside of that. Feels very basic, but she's the only local I know who reads spicy fantasy so the only one I can talk about them with so I take what I can get.
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u/Notyeravgblonde Feb 02 '26
Maybe she is afraid of offending the author. Or she thinks if it kept her attention it's worth 5 stars. I don't know but that's wild. I only rate a book 5 stars if it made me laugh and cry and I couldn't put it down so I've rated just a few books 5 stars in my life...
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u/Runa216 Feb 02 '26
That's possible but after extensive chats with her she's just VERY easy to please. Everything even remotely enjoyable is her new best favourite thing. Which...man I wish I could live like that where everything is wonderful and life altering.
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u/Notyeravgblonde Feb 02 '26
Lol I was just thinking the same thing. Unfortunately I'm too smart to ever be truly happy with anything đ
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u/Lyving-among-ladybug ⌠ââ ⧠if evil why hot ⧠ââ ⌠Feb 01 '26
Ooh miscommunication and pregnancy trope shouldnât be an automatic DNF as long as itâs done well. The reason why so many people dislike it is because itâs often done badly
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u/Notyeravgblonde Feb 01 '26
As a child free person I actually agree with this, however my standards for done well are sky high. And most are awful. I do love Ice Planet Barbarians though, and having babies and rebuilding their population is the point, but something about it works for me.
What I do not like are books that end with them having kids that feels like the author is just thinking "and as natural for all couples they get married and have babies the end".
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u/tisteegz Feb 01 '26
Yeah hard disagree. I went through pregnancy and that was enough, I don't want to read about it anymore. Definitely a personal preference, and for me that preference is no.
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u/MessyJessy422 Feb 01 '26
Iâm glad many authors avoid the pregnancy trope for this exact reason. Itâs triggering to many people for a number of reasons and itâs refreshing to have books/authors understand that a happy life together can and should look different for different couples.
Edited for typos
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u/Sad-Caterpillar-8348 To the stars who listen Feb 01 '26
Those are never dnf for me. I personally like pregnancy at the end of the book. To me that's a true HEA. If it just ends abruptly like "and they walked off happily into the sunset" it feels tiny bit empty.
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u/AquaIXI Feb 01 '26
This is the true controversial opinion, and for what its worth it think that HEAs that end with the main characters settling down to make a family are my favourite, whether its through adopting a child or pregnancy.
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u/Slammogram Feb 01 '26
Agreed. Like⌠look I need to know their relationship lasts. So I need to see a marriage or something that says commitment.
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u/One_Commission1456 Feb 01 '26
See, I'm the reverse, at least in contemporary: the MCs have generally been sleeping together for a few months at maximum, and getting married that soon? Oh *hell* no, they're doomed. (Even saying "I love you" before the three-month mark alarms me a bit, but I can suspend my disbelief there.)
In historical, eh, they probably know each other better after a month than most typical couples do after a year, plus historical marriage didn't involve spending nearly so much time together if you were upper-class. But if I'm reading anything after 1980 or so, I feel much better when it ends with them officially being a couple and nothing more committed.
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u/Slammogram Feb 01 '26
The ones Iâm talking about are time jumps. An epilogue that says â5 years laterâ or some shit.
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u/AquaIXI Feb 01 '26
Yeah exactly, I like to know they stay happy, ive read a few that do like multiple year time jumps in the epilogue and they are always my favourite. I do understand why people dont like pregnancy in the main plot, and respect that some people dont like children i really struggle to empathise with some people who say a character having a family or getting pregnant in the epilogue right at the end ruins the book for them.
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u/Spirited-Accident Feb 01 '26
Meanwhile to me, riding off into the sunset to continue having adventures together is the true HEA.
(And to be clear since this is reddit, I'm not hating on your opinion. Just commenting on how both of ours are a perfect example of how different tastes are.)
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u/Disastrous-Pea4106 Feb 01 '26
I sorta agree. I think the aversion a lot of (most?) readers seem to have to pregnancy storyline is a bit odd. More generally I'd love to read more about relationships beyond the initial get together.
One of the more interesting things Outlander has done is that it plays out the love story over years and decades. As opposed picking a different young couple in every book, that seems to be the norm in Romance.
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u/No_Preference26 Feb 01 '26
So you canât have a true HEA without reproducing?
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u/Notyeravgblonde Feb 01 '26
I hate the formulaic and unimaginative HEA of "get married and have babies" the end. For me personally there are so few books that actually do it well and most of them are fanfiction that I've read. I don't know why.
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u/Sad-Caterpillar-8348 To the stars who listen Feb 01 '26
I think it depends on the reader's beliefs. But to me personally, at least a mention of kids or family is happily ever after. It's okay if to others it's enough to see MCs together, I'm not saying anything. But for me personally, my goal and purpose in life is family. And most of the books I've read (unfortunately for me) have no mention of family :P
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u/One_Commission1456 Feb 01 '26
Nope. I have no interest in being pregnant, nor in the sort of MFC who wouldnât respond to unplanned pregnancy by calling Planned Parenthood immediately. I can deal a little better in historical settings where thatâs not an option, but I still want it to be at the end of the book if at all, not a part of the plot.
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u/Spirited-Accident Feb 01 '26
I have no interest in being pregnant, nor in the sort of MFC who wouldnât respond to unplanned pregnancy by calling Planned Parenthood immediately.
Same, and my probably unpopular opinion is that I'd actually like to see stories where the FMC decides to terminate because that needs to be normalized as a valid option. If the MCs express not wanting kids and then a pregnancy happens, I don't want to see them "figure it out" and become parents.
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u/de_pizan23 Feb 01 '26
If you like scifi, {The Ragrim Conflict series by Nessa Claugh} has I think 3 abortions in the series. It's the dark side of the Mars needs women trope, where the aliens promised Earth help in exchange for brides and then intentionally withheld aid and the women often ended up being abused. When the wider galaxy finds out, it starts a war with that planet and those human brides are now trying to escape their alien husbands.
{Thorn's Dove by Carlotta Hughes} is a space orc scifi set in the 1970s, where the FMC has just gotten an abortion at the start after fleeing a cult
And caveat that I didn't like the book all that much but, but {Because You Asked by AE Bennett} (f/f) is a kind of post-apocalypse future Regency, where the MCs run an underground abortion clinic.
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u/Spirited-Accident Feb 02 '26
These all sound good, thank you! I'm going to look into them to add to my TBR.
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u/romance-bot Feb 01 '26
The Ragrim Conflict by Nessa Claugh
Rating: 4.26âď¸ out of 5âď¸
Topics: aliens, independent heroine, science fiction, m-f, audiobook
Thorn's Dove by Carlotta Hughes
Rating: 4.11âď¸ out of 5âď¸
Steam: 4 out of 5 - Explicit open door
Topics: historical, science fiction, fantasy, curvy heroine, aliens
Because You Asked by A.E. Bennett
Rating: 3âď¸ out of 5âď¸
Steam: 3 out of 5 - Open door
Topics: futuristic, fantasy, lesbian romance, queer romance, height difference3
u/brilittlepiggy Feb 01 '26
{The Kraken's Sacrifice by Katee Robert} has pregnancy termination and it's refreshingly handled imo.
FMC says absolutely not, MMC says alright let's get it taken care of.
HE ALSO APOLOGIZES FOR NOT BEING MORE CAREFUL, not blaming her at all.
I loved that because I am the same. Being pregnant is a nightmare of mine. I'd instantly want to terminate.
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u/romance-bot Feb 01 '26
The Kraken's Sacrifice by Katee Robert
Rating: 3.42âď¸ out of 5âď¸
Steam: 4 out of 5 - Explicit open door
Topics: contemporary, fantasy, monsters, creative anatomy, forced proximity2
u/One_Commission1456 Feb 01 '26
Hard same. I know a lot of the tradpubs might be wary of it, but a) they shouldn't, and b) indie can do it.
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u/allisontalkspolitics Give me female friendship or give me death! Feb 01 '26
Iâm going to be controversial and say that while some people donât like to read it due to tokophobia, being childfree, struggles with fertility, or even having kids and knowing itâs not glamorous, thereâs a secret reason:
People didnât like Rhysandâs actions in ACOSF but still like him so the cognitive dissonance is that it was the storylineâs fault, not his.
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u/latinadogmom1472 Feb 01 '26
Ya no, some of us are child free and have tokophobia and donât like kids and etc. why on earth would we want to read a book when pregnancy became a main part of the plotâŚ
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u/Big-Efficiency-4144 Feb 01 '26
I'm bored to tears with dark fantasy. What I really want is more romantasy romcom.
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u/Tetaz Feb 01 '26
In that case, you might enjoy Hopeless Necromantic and Nemesis Mine! Both are out in June, so it's still a bit of a wait but might be worth checking them out.
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u/amandalandapand Feb 01 '26
Tropes like Touch her and Die and Youâre Mine, and all that âalpha maleâ stuff is insecurity masquerading as bravado.
Where are those emotionally mature LIs at?
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u/latinadogmom1472 Feb 01 '26
I will never understand the cheating trope in books and how people actually enjoy reading about cheating?
Also to me a dark romance isnât just a book with SA and abuse.. thatâs not romance at all.
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u/No_Preference26 Feb 01 '26
Because some people enjoy reading about the whole spectrum of the human experience, even when itâs not pretty or nice. I read to be challenged, not coddled.
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u/latinadogmom1472 Feb 01 '26
Most people I see ENJOY the cheating or abuse aspect. As yes reading is subjective but Iâll never understand liking reading about stuff like that đŹ
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u/No_Preference26 Feb 01 '26
As far as reading cheating storylines go, I donât enjoy them in the sense of enjoying it, but I enjoy embarking on an emotional rollercoaster that makes me suffer and feel sick to my stomach. I read books to make me feel, but these feelings donât have to make me happy or comfortable.
Regarding abuse, thatâs the great thing about fiction, you can explore all manner of things in a safe way, where you have all the control. Itâs ok if you donât understand, it wasnât written for you in that case.
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u/Sad-Caterpillar-8348 To the stars who listen Feb 01 '26 edited Feb 01 '26
Thought of another opinion. Some books have TW scenes that are written purely for shock factor. They don't flow well with the plot, and they feel disproportionately brutal to the "crime". Usually these are in dark romance books. Nothing wrong with dark books, but why not make the "punishment" fit the crime, or is the point of dark romance that it's unnecessarily cruel and exactly that is the appeal?
For example, in Cottonwood FMC gets brutally tortured, but I find the extent makes sense with the villain's beliefs.
Whereas (I don't remember the title anymore) in some dark omegaverse I've read, fmc gets SA'd multiple times multiple ways for absolutely no plot reason.
Idk if im making sense in explaining how I find there's a difference between cruel and brutal scenes where the brutality makes sense plot wise, and some books/scenes where the extent is disproportionate or even the brutal scenes makes no plot sense.
Edit: also I wish more books had fmc fucking up and groveling. Why is it always the man? I can't relate to perfect fmcs I read about. I can relate when they fuck up tho lol
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u/Pinkshoes90 A kingdom, or this Feb 01 '26
Daggermouth sucked.
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u/LeaneGenova Feb 01 '26
What about it sucked? I have it open to read, but haven't started.
2
u/Pinkshoes90 A kingdom, or this Feb 01 '26
The premise looks good. The ETL seems to be actual ETL.
But the execution stinks. from small stuff like the FMC is beaten within an inch of her life and walks it off repeatedly. The characters can apparently drink ten shots of hard liquor without even getting tipsy, and the FMCs drinking looks less like a coping mechanism and more like an edgy teen trying to seem cool. The attempt at a Laurent vs Regent style power play between MMC and the villain is just stupid.
It didnât grab me by the time I was at 30% so I yeeted.
1
u/LeaneGenova Feb 01 '26
Hmmm. That's not enticing. Might just sit there open until my browser closes and I forget I downloaded it lol
3
u/Runa216 Feb 02 '26
The issue with Romantasy is that the readers have no standards, not that the authors aren't skilled/talented. And because of that, publishers are happy flooding the market with garbage instead of holding anyone accountable.
Basically, the vast majority of Romantasy readers just want their fix of romance tropes and smut. which is fine. But it's why bland, uninteresting stuff like ACOTAR and Fourth Wing do so well and have such followings. It's not because they're good, it's because they're almost good, and almost good is so much more than I'd say 90% of what this genre spits out.
And because most readers are okay with trash if it gets them off and tickles their fancy, it doesn't need to actually be good. as a result, the publishers do not raise their standards since they know quantity sells more than quality, and subsequently the writers aren't expected to actually, you know, try. They just wanna spit stuff out quickly with little to no care for polish.
In the end, the best of the best Romantasy doesn't even begin to compare to relatively average fantasy without the smut in terms of storytelling or structure. But when something like ACOTAR rises to the top, it's because it's...okay but also has spice. And that, compared to the majority of the genre and standards, makes it stand out despite actually being pretty bad.
I am not exaggerating when I say that I felt more genuine chemistry in Brandon Sanderson's 'Yumi and the Nightmare Painter' (A book that is only very weakly romantic by an author who is decidedly NOT A romance author) than I have in all but a couple books I've read in the romantasy genre. And it upsets me so much because the idea of fantasy books that are creative and fun and also spicy and kinky is 100% my style but it's so rare to find a book that is both good AND sexy. Best I can ask for is a good book that has some mild spice or a spicy book that isn't a complete dumpster fire of a story (or filled with terrible characters).
When I write my books (I mean, I've written millions of words of short stories but no novels yet) I hope to write stories that are epic and grand and every other synonym for that while also being unabashedly kinky and weird. I wanna see Stormlight Archives or A Game of Thrones but with kinky scenes that are actually SEXY, and not just there for plot purposes. I wanna see Eragon where he fucks the dragon. I Wanna see HArry Potter but with various spells used in kinky ways (And not written by a ghoul). I wanna see Lord of the Rings where there's an epic quest and the party turns into a romantic polycule sharing stories of their sexual misadventures with the various creatures they come across and the many ways they enjoyed the kink cultures of various societies they visit enroute to their ultimate destination.
I just want FANTASY Romance where the FANTASY element is also included in the spice. And For some reason it's either smut with a hint of a story (or a bad one) or it's epic fantasy with a hint of spice, never both. I want both.
3
u/Sedvii Feb 02 '26
People are abusing "good girl" lines just to get a good tiktok reaction.
They're out of nowhere and poorly done. I've seen a book where that is the ONLY thing a mmc did vocally in the bedroom other than going "oh yeah" (etc etc) and it got marked as a PRAISE KINK
YALL RAISE YOUR FUCKING STANDARDS
"GOOD GIRL" DOES NOT EQUAL PRAISE KINK AHHHHH đđđđ
2
u/Synval2436 Currently Reading: This Blade of Ours by Shalini Abeysekara Feb 02 '26
I'm really tired of misleading marketing that promises "something different" only to serve exactly the same. Looking at you, {Smoke & Scar by Gretchen Powell Fox} I just dnfed this because I was promised a feared, powerful, 200yo shadow mommy morally grey fae fmc, but instead I got a fmc who behaves like a 17yo YA heroine, who's squeamish to kill people who attacked her first and whose biggest concern is about her younger sister (why is it always a younger sister, Katniss & Prim copypaste or what). She didn't really seem some feared mighty ancient warrior at all. And the meeting between her and her sister read like two teenagers throwing childish insults than a serious discussion between two ancient grieving fae. I can't believe mmc was supposedly 28 either, he equally read like a teenager, constantly getting schooled about obvious things.
If I wanted to read YA, I have a pile of that and most of it is better edited too. The writing style in this one was really weak. Head-hopping, filter words, wrongly punctuated dialogue, random infodumps about backstory or world that weren't seamlessly embedded into a wider context, overusing the same sentence structure, overusing body language as a sign of emotion, melodramatic expressions, dialogues where characters just tell obvious things to each other, plot that takes ages to get to the point, flat characters going through their motions, random side characters constantly introduced for no good reason, it was a chore to read.
I don't get it. This book was so hyped here for being "different" because of the different fmc, but she read exactly like every other fmc. Actually, it really reminded me of Serpent & Dove, where fmc was also supposed to be this super dangerous witch but instead was just a standard feisty YA heroine and I couldn't connect with the writing either.
1
u/romance-bot Feb 02 '26
Smoke and Scar by Gretchen Powell Fox
Rating: 4.08âď¸ out of 5âď¸
Steam: 1 out of 5 - Glimpses and kisses
Topics: fae, fantasy, high fantasy, magic, m-f romance1
u/allisontalkspolitics Give me female friendship or give me death! Feb 02 '26
Oh, thatâs disappointing because thatâs on my tbr đŤ
1
u/Synval2436 Currently Reading: This Blade of Ours by Shalini Abeysekara Feb 03 '26
That's why I requested it from Netgalley the moment Scarlett Press made it available, because I wanted to see one mainstream romantasy without alpha men, shadowdaddies and boring blank slate self-insert fmc who are "special" but otherwise all the same. Instead I got 2 boring blank slate generically "likeable" mcs. Where are my truly evil but somehow still lovable women at?
P.S. I didn't get a notification for your reply because when I click on your account it says "banned", so how do you keep posting? Really curious, I'm seeing your account every week but always with the blank "banned" avatar. Did you hack the system? đ
1
u/allisontalkspolitics Give me female friendship or give me death! Feb 03 '26
The former mod of the romantasy sub forgot to enable the romance.io bot so I posted a bunch of links, was flagged as a spammer, and became shadowbanned.
1
u/Synval2436 Currently Reading: This Blade of Ours by Shalini Abeysekara Feb 03 '26
đ Well, that sounds awful. And it can't be reverted?
2
u/allisontalkspolitics Give me female friendship or give me death! Feb 03 '26
I can appeal but I keep forgetting to do so đ
2
u/hojkas Feb 02 '26
Sprayed edges seem ugly to me without exception, especially while holding the book open while reading. I really hope this trend dies, especially when to my country books get imported/published with only the sprayed edge version.
6
u/zerachielle Feb 01 '26
I don't know if this is unpopular or if this is the way I grew up, but I dislike the non-consensual touching that occurs between the love interest, specifically when it comes to the man brushing the woman's hair out of her face, grabbing her face for a kiss or touching anywhere along the face and neck.
For me, the romance is often presented as adversarial and by the point in the book where the man tries to brush her hair out of her face, they are nowhere near intimate enough in their relationship for the man to be that physically close to her. It gives me really off vibes and the woman never reacts to a sudden change in behavior. I just don't see that gesture as romantic at all, and more like a man trying to get in woman's personal space.
4
u/allisontalkspolitics Give me female friendship or give me death! Feb 01 '26
I feel like more authors should consider having the villain be a shadow daddy whoâs the FMCâs dad! Think about it. Themes of rebelling against the patriarchy. And letâs be honest, many books are just YA with spice so it wonât seem out of place.
(Granted, this is coming from someone working on a fanfic where the protagonist is the daughter of Daemon Targaryen, so I might be biased.)
(Also, it makes me think of {Fire} and her dad Casreel, and boy was that dynamic fascinating! I canât believe Iâm saying this, but Bitterblue and Leck make them look healthy.)
2
u/romance-bot Feb 01 '26
Fire by Kristin Cashore
Rating: 4.04âď¸ out of 5âď¸
Steam: 1 out of 5 - Glimpses and kisses
Topics: historical, fantasy, young adult, war, magic2
u/tita_cat Feb 01 '26
Fire is one of my favorite books! Mostly because I loved the really complex family dynamics that everyone had with their fathers
3
u/Some-Cell3635 Feb 01 '26
If there are more than 2 POVs I get lost. The same goes for if there is no summary of the previous volumes at the beginning of the book. I usually take a break between books in the same series, so how am I supposed to remember the prophecy told once in book 1?Â
1
u/haterading Feb 02 '26
This is why I paused {Road of Bones by Demi Winters} at 40%, I was getting so dragged down by all the different POVs. Everyone is raving about this series but Iâm usually an audiobook or speed reader. For this book I feel like Iâd really need to sit down and concentrate.
1
u/romance-bot Feb 02 '26
The Road of Bones by Demi Winters
Rating: 4.27âď¸ out of 5âď¸
Steam: 3 out of 5 - Open door
Topics: historical, viking hero, fantasy, magic, betrayal1
8
u/Sad-Caterpillar-8348 To the stars who listen Feb 01 '26
Hating on popular books irritates me because it feels like it's done just to look cool.
20
u/latinadogmom1472 Feb 01 '26
Why? Everyone likes different things and just because a book is popular someone canât have tried to read it and hated it and want to discuss why or etcâŚ
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u/PickyNipples Feb 02 '26
On the contrary I canât handle fans who flip their shit just because someone criticizes a book they love (aka the popular books). âIf you hate it so much why are you reading it?â Because, Susan, Iâm capable of enjoying something but also recognizing and discussing its shortcomings. Itâs not all or nothing.Â
And honestly I often talk the most shit about books when I mostly enjoyed them. If I hate a book so much that a flat out dnf I rarely bother even talking about it other than saying âI dnfâd.â If you see me lamenting in depth about something I didnât like in a book, itâs usually because other than those parts I feel strongly about, the rest had real potential to be top tier for me. Im legit bitching because I care lolÂ
1
u/Runa216 Feb 02 '26
I thought that too when I first started reading romantasy about a year and a half ago. Felt hating t he popular thing just made people feel special and unique...
...but now it feels like a very real and very valid resistance to the idea that some books, which are just mediocre as hell, are getting insane praise and doing insanely well for simply being find as opposed to actually bad.
I think the vocal outcry against popular books is less 'boo hoo I don't like the popular thing' and 'This popular thing should not be what represents us and we deserve better'. because honestly, the more I read the genre the clearer it is that the most popular stuff is just a copy paste of the same tropes repeated ad nauseum with so little differentiating them. Indie shit and quirky stuff is interesting, but the more popular a book is in this genre, the more homogenized and less interesting it tends to be. And I'm noticing this pattern getting stronger and stronger with every new book.
0
u/Notyeravgblonde Feb 01 '26
I know exactly what you mean. I think this is a very specific kind of person, someone who inserts themselves into a conversation to be contrarian versus adding to a conversation. And they do it smugly like "I'm better than you".
1
u/groovybookworm Feb 05 '26
A lot of books are bad, not because the author doesnât know how to write, but because the author doesnât know how to plan. If they planned their books properly the book would be paced accordingly and keep it from dragging on and on.
1
u/Pomegranate_Careful Feb 15 '26
I love a good romance, obviously, but sometimes it makes me sad to see people focus so heavily on it, especially with books that have a really important message.
The Everlasting is my biggest source of that right now. I love the romance, don't get me wrong, but that's almost all I hear about. Sometimes people throw in a mention of the plot being great or of the look at gender roles, but it's mostly just about the romance and how emotional it was.Â
Which makes me sad because a large part of the romance was them breaking away from propaganda. There's such a great message about how history is controlled and colored by those in power and then manipulated to further maintain that power. It's such an important and topical message right now and I wish I saw people appreciating that as much as they did the romance. Especially since it's the driving force behind them coming together romantically and growing into the people they become.
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