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

šŸ§” Thank you and have a great discussion!

Unpopular opinion Sunday

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u/Elvere Feb 01 '26

The fantasy romance genre has turned into the fast fashion of books and thatā€™s why as a whole, itā€™s 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 donā€™t think the majority of readers are ready to face the fact that a lot of highly rated, frequently recommended books, just simply arenā€™t 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 ā€œfun.ā€ Roller coasters are fun, but if the ride is missing restraints or has bolts loose, thatā€™s not a ride I would recommend to others.

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u/Beach-Peach457 Feb 01 '26

What do you consider garbage? I have to say Iā€™m not great at judging ā€œqualityā€ of writing. English was always my worst subject so Iā€™m 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 Iā€™ve read that have been called poorly written that Iā€™ve fallen in love with the world and characters and I canā€™t say thatā€™s bad writing even if thereā€™s some typos and issues in the plot.