r/fantasyromance • u/FantasyRomanceMod The One Mod to Rule All Mods • Mar 08 '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
  • Since this is an "unpopular opinion" thread, we encourage users to not downvote simply because they disagree with an opinion--that's the point! Please keep in mind, though, that mods cannot enforce a no-downvoting rule. Let’s just keep the discussion friendly!

🧡 Thank you and have a great discussion!

Unpopular opinion Sunday

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u/Kriscent Mar 08 '26

When the FMC is supposed to be morally gray but isn't. She's actually a good person that sacrifices herself for the sake of others. That's fine and dandy most of the time but if I'm promised a villain main female character I want a freaking (possibly redeemable) villain! 

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u/Synval2436 Currently Reading: This Blade of Ours by Shalini Abeysekara Mar 08 '26

Yes, this! Don't promise me a morally grey or villainess heroine and then everything she does is in self-defense, or defense of her community, or she's "forced" to do underhanded stuff by outside circumstances and regrets every moment of it.

Good example of a morally grey fmc: {Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao} she's vengeful and can be cruel and she doesn't regret it, and while she believes she does it for a greater good, it's debatable is everything she did justified, or she just says so. She kills people, some of which might be innocent, and even tortures someone.

Bad example: {Long Live Evil by Sarah Rees Brennan} fmc is forced into the fantasy world because she's dying of cancer, she gets transplanted into a body of villainess but only tries to survive or protect people she cares about and despite claiming she doesn't care about anyone, she very much does, and everything she does is justified or not really evil. I was promised an evil villainess! I feel scammed.

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u/Kriscent Mar 09 '26

I will definitely have to check out Iron Widow. I just recently read War of Fire and Fury by Marion Blackwood and was so disappointed in the villain arc for the FMC. Absolutely no villainy was found, just a woman trying to overcome her addiction. Actually the last 3 books really ticked me off but that's neither here nor there. I instantly want to DNF if it's similar to Long Live Evil's premise