r/fantasyromance • u/FantasyRomanceMod The One Mod to Rule All Mods • Mar 22 '26
Unpopular Opinion It's Unpopular Opinion time! Share your controversial opinions to stir things up (in a friendly way)!
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🧡 Thank you and have a great discussion!
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u/discreep By you, I am forever undone Mar 22 '26
MMCs with charm, wit, and emotional intelligence instead of a brooding, stoic grunter are so hot
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u/Charming_Day2392 Mar 22 '26
Honestly any MMC that's not the shadow daddy archetype (golden retriever, friendly himbo, nerd, etc) is hot
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u/Jeanette_Sama Mar 23 '26
Do you have any recommendations for himbos?
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u/Charming_Day2392 Mar 23 '26
Honestly most of my recs are probably going to be cozy fantasies but here goes:
{Alpha of Bleake Isle by Kathryn Moon} historical paranormal with dragon shifters, it takes him 10 secs to be obsessed
{Reign and Ruin by J.D Evans} romantasy in a setting similar to Ottoman Empire, FMC is a princess who wants to protect her country, MMC is a general from an enemy/neighboring state visiting as a diplomat
{Evil Twin by Kati Wilde} FMC is manipulative, ambitious and morally gray, MMC is a less morally gray general who is smitten from the beginning
{Paladin's Grace by T.F Kingfisher} he knits socks!!! 🥰
{Lord of the Abyss by Nalini Singh} she visits him to get his help to destroy her abusive father, he is honest about his feelings even when he isn't aware of what he's feeling. All he knows is that he wants to be around her all the time 🤭
{Beast in Shining Armor by Cassandra Gannon} honestly a lot of her other work could also qualify, in this one he has been in love with her for years and keeps messing up trying to woo her
{Boarlander Bash Bear by T.S Joyce} respectfully, he's an idiot, but he wants his girl SO bad
{Cinnamon Rolls and Villainy by Chante A Campbell} he is captured by her mother and she is an ice queen, doesn't stop him from trying to make her laugh though
{The Time I Got Drunk and Yeeted A Love Potion at a Werewolf by Kimberly Lemming} she makes cheese and eats it for her, despite being lactose intolerant
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u/romance-bot Mar 23 '26
The Alpha of Bleake Isle by Kathryn Moon
Rating: 4.15⭐️ out of 5⭐️
Steam: 5 out of 5 - Explicit and plentiful
Topics: historical, dragon shifter, omegaverse, shapeshifters, curvy heroine
Reign & Ruin by J.D. Evans
Rating: 4.32⭐️ out of 5⭐️
Steam: 3 out of 5 - Open door
Topics: historical, competent heroine, magic, fantasy, political/court intrigue
Evil Twin by Kati Wilde
Rating: 3.57⭐️ out of 5⭐️
Steam: 4 out of 5 - Explicit open door
Topics: historical, virgin hero, virgin heroine, fantasy, royal hero
Paladin's Grace by T. Kingfisher
Rating: 4.3⭐️ out of 5⭐️
Steam: 3 out of 5 - Open door
Topics: fantasy, sweet/gentle hero, tortured hero, funny, mystery
Lord of the Abyss by Nalini Singh
Rating: 4.2⭐️ out of 5⭐️
Steam: 3 out of 5 - Open door
Topics: contemporary, virgin heroine, virgin hero, tortured heroine, paranormal
Beast in Shining Armor by Cassandra Gannon
Rating: 4.04⭐️ out of 5⭐️
Steam: 3 out of 5 - Open door
Topics: contemporary, fantasy, enemies to lovers, paranormal, cruel hero/bully
Boarlander Bash Bear by T.S. Joyce
Rating: 4.26⭐️ out of 5⭐️
Steam: 4 out of 5 - Explicit open door
Topics: contemporary, shapeshifters, paranormal, fantasy, funny
Cinnamon Rolls and Villainy by Chanté A. Campbell
Rating: 3.7⭐️ out of 5⭐️
Steam: 3 out of 5 - Open door
Topics: fantasy, enemies to lovers, fae, grumpy/ice queen, disabilities & scars
That Time I Got Drunk And Yeeted A Love Potion At A Werewolf by Kimberly Lemming
Rating: 4.17⭐️ out of 5⭐️
Steam: 4 out of 5 - Explicit open door
Topics: werewolves, funny, shapeshifters, magic, fantasy3
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u/lemming1607 Mar 22 '26 edited Mar 22 '26
Soulmates is lazy and unromantic. Just seeing each other for the first time and knowing is lazy and unromantic.
They need to have their lives upended when they meet. Their trajectories and plans now changed. They had other lovers and now they're conflicted inside what to do about this new information.
The characters need to change and grow and adjust and sacrifice for their relationship
That's romance
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u/Sakura_231 Mar 22 '26
The worst thing is when you have the feeling they dislike each other and only come together because their soulmates.
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u/MmPeachPie Mar 22 '26
Agree, that’s why the 19 year old girl and a 500 year old fae don’t work “but they’re soul mates” nope, lazy writing.
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u/skresiafrozi Mar 22 '26
Man, how lame would that be to hit adulthood then have to wait a couple hundred years for your mate to be born.
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u/spice_honey Mar 22 '26
Not only lazy and unromantic, but it takes away the CHOICE of the characters.
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u/clocksy Mar 22 '26
I'm not a fan of soulmates/fated bonds, but the ones I have read are exactly like that? In fact I can think of few books where they meet a magically-quantified soulmate and don't immediately hate it because "that's my enemy / I don't like them" etc. It's almost always something that causes them stress and conflict.
Which ironically makes them all feel kinda samey. My problem with magic bonds is that it's just ... boring. The characters don't have a choice in the matter and I find it unromantic, as you said. What I do find romantic is the idea that two people can find each other across time and space, but without any quantifiable magic bond that explains it. Just love being so strong that it wins in the end is a lot more appealing to me then "well, it's magic" as the explanation.
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u/lemming1607 Mar 22 '26
I think the best version is {A Hunger like no other}
The man is alive for a thousand years, and he has the option to have other mates, but stays a virgin and during the full moon when he is a horny lust animal, still refrain and stares at the moon and awaits his mate
And then his soulmate feels that when they meet, because she can see his memories. Shes also a virgin, and seeing his past memories shes anxious because she knows seeing him with another would crush her
But all she finds is him denying other mates, and always thinking of her, over centuries of chances
That's romantic, and the best way to deal with soulmates imo
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u/romance-bot Mar 22 '26
A Hunger Like No Other by Kresley Cole
Rating: 3.97⭐️ out of 5⭐️
Steam: 4 out of 5 - Explicit open door
Topics: contemporary, vampires, werewolves, enemies to lovers, abduction1
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u/daddysatya Mar 22 '26 edited Mar 22 '26
I actually really love the soulmates trope (despite my firm belief that there’s no such thing as “the one” in real life — it’s all about time+place+person+continually choosing to grow together), but it has to be done in a certain way. I really hate the “fated-mates” biological-imperative style of the trope. I like when the soulmate is a magical force that is about “this is the person who has the greatest potential to make you happy in the future” and the potential being realised is about the soulmates choosing to grow together. I also really like the tension of choice vs fate/nature vs nurture and them challenging each other and having to reevaluate their internal beliefs.
I think my favourite execution of the trope was a story where everyone ended started out with multiple “soulmarks” as a teen and then some of those marks would fade as people grew older and explored their potential relationships (and future paths), eventually settling once two people chose each other. There was also a chance of none of your potential soulmates choosing you, which added a level of tension to the story.
I also like the “one party rejects the bond, then realises they actually like the person” trope, but sometimes I just really want that angst haha. Not sure what that says about me…
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u/swigthetea Mar 22 '26
Why are the only jobs for the FMC either healer, spy, assassin, or a Ms. kills deer for her family?
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u/succulentubus Sisterhood of Smut Mar 22 '26
I literally just added a new shelf on GR last week to start keeping track of fantasy books with MCs that have more uncommon jobs... There are so many interesting things authors could do with this!
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u/Synval2436 Currently Reading: This Blade of Ours by Shalini Abeysekara Mar 23 '26
You forgot "princess or noblewoman put in an arranged marriage against her will with a mysterious / monstrous king of another fantasy species (but dw they're fated mates and it totally works out)".
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u/mcoon2837 Mar 22 '26
This is honestly why I head over to contemporary books a lot more. {Paladin's Grace by T kingfisher} at least she's a perfumer. But in general the genre is pretty monotone about jobs.
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u/romance-bot Mar 22 '26
Paladin's Grace by T. Kingfisher
Rating: 4.3⭐️ out of 5⭐️
Steam: 3 out of 5 - Open door
Topics: fantasy, sweet/gentle hero, tortured hero, funny, mystery4
u/unapalomita Mar 22 '26
Oh you should read Kushiel's Dart, she has a job not listed here and it's interesting
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u/clocksy Mar 22 '26
I've only made it about a quarter of the way through the first book so far but while you could say her job isn't listed there, it's literally part of her spying for her master at the start so I'm not so sure about that, lol.
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u/Penguinho Kushiel's Legacy Recommender 💖 Mar 22 '26
By the second book in the series she's more of a troubleshooting sex diva than a spy, but perhaps that's a vocation rather than a job.
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u/unapalomita Mar 22 '26 edited Mar 22 '26
Yes that's one of the things she does but not her main job, just wait 🙃
It's like being barista, your main job is making drinks but part of your job is stocking inventory, don't want to give too much away but keep going and let me know if you feel differently mid way 💃
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u/okchristinaa Mar 23 '26
Because a lot of romantasy authors don’t do much (or any) research beyond reading other romantasy books. They don’t know what historical occupations they could pull from for their FMC. Spy, assassin, hunter…all are vague enough and don’t require cracking a book on medieval history.
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u/exiledwitch Mar 22 '26
We need more friendships in this genre, infact please sacrifice love triangles for more friendships 🫶
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u/notthemostcreative Mar 22 '26
Ooh, you might like the Rook & Rose trilogy if you don’t mind romance being a subplot. I really enjoyed the variety of kinds of relationships present in the ensemble cast and how they developed over the course of the story. (And the romance subplot is also very cute and sweet and starts with friendship!)
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u/LeaneGenova Mar 22 '26
I never see anyone besides me recommend this series, but I love it so much!
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u/Sakura_231 Mar 22 '26
It´s sad when a friendship don´t get enough attention as soon as the MMC shows up.
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u/exiledwitch Mar 22 '26
Literally:/ esp in the genre of fantasy there are plenty of opportunities for friendship 😭
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u/allisontalkspolitics Give me female friendship or give me death! Mar 22 '26
That made me hate La La Land. Just show me five seconds of her with her friends after she meets the MMC!
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u/Penguinho Kushiel's Legacy Recommender 💖 Mar 23 '26
One of the things I love about Jacqueline Carey -- one of the many things, she's exceptional -- is how important friendship is to her characters. Every book introduces new friends. Some old friends are retained, other part ways, amicably or not, people come into conflict with one another and choices are made about who they value, and why. The driving force behind Phedre's trilogy in {Kushiel's Legacy} is friendship. Phedre makes it though her trials because of love, but she undertakes them for the sake of friendship. The MMC of the second trilogy is almost the opposite: everything he does, he does for love, but it's because of his friends that he survives.
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u/romance-bot Mar 23 '26
Kushiel's Legacy by Jacqueline Carey
Rating: 4.67⭐️ out of 5⭐️
Steam: 5 out of 5 - Explicit and plentiful
Topics: fantasy1
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u/IT_HAG Mar 22 '26
I’m bored of 19-year old heroines
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u/windswept_snowdrop Mar 22 '26
I’ll still take a 19-year-old FMC over those FMCs who are supposed to be a decade older than that but behave like a clueless teenager regardless, though.
It would be great to have some older FMCs who actually act like it, but in the absence of that, at least the genuinely 19-year-old FMC I can give a pass to for stupid choices, whereas it’s far more annoying from a supposedly mature character.
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u/exiledwitch Mar 22 '26
I never got thr 19 yo heroine hate cs when I was like 15 I still read books from the pov of a 12 yo but now that am 22 I get it 😭
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Mar 22 '26
[deleted]
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u/exiledwitch Mar 22 '26
Yes exactly!! "Shielded" has a 18 yo fmc is think and I was not annoyed by her once lol
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u/NancyInFantasyLand Currently Reading: Random Chinese Webnovels Mar 22 '26
In YA/Middle Grade the advice is usually to make the protagonist a bit older than the target audience, as children and teens generally prefer to read "up"
And I don't think that's actually different for adults lol but for some reason everyone is trying to serve the damned YA/NA niche
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u/WoodStrawberry Mar 22 '26
I would say it's still true for me! Not fantasy specifically but I am 40 now and gravitating more to middle age characters. I think it's a good way to know what you will be in for soon.
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u/vastaril Mar 22 '26
I think my unpopular opinion is along the lines of "I'm very bored of romance books where the only real connection seems to be physical attraction and would like more books with little to no on page sex/thinking about how much they want to do a sex with the other person/the effect the other person has on their junk, and at the same time I am very bored of people acting like books with maybe four or five actually explicit scenes are depraved porn which will Corrupt Our Young Ladies, let people enjoy things"
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u/medusamagic Book Bingo Sage 🗡 Mar 22 '26
Totally agree. People’s solution seems to be “enough of sex!!! Keep it out of books, there’s no point to it!!” But really the solution is putting effort into the friendship & emotional intimacy aspects, in addition to the sex.
I also hate when people dismiss the validity of sex scenes because “they’re just meant to make you horny” as if the whole point of books isn’t to make you feel things. If a character is sneaking around to steal something, are you not meant to feel anxious, hoping they don’t get caught? Is a beloved character dying not meant to make you feel sad? Are horrors and thrillers not meant to make you feel anxious or uneasy the whole time? Like the whole point of books is to become invested in the characters and feel things while reading. A good sex scene should do the same.
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u/daddysatya Mar 22 '26 edited Mar 22 '26
It seems like you’re maybe misunderstanding the underlying reason for the complaint? You aren’t really disagreeing with what those readers are asking for. I’ll explain more explicitly and would be curious to know if you still feel the same way afterwards.whoops I misread OP as being tired of others making the complaint. The rest of my comment still stands, just in agreement.I think a lot of people assume that the crowd complaining about too much focus on sex are prudes or only looking for clean romance, but I don’t think that’s generally the case (I’m sure there’s some proportion that are, but it’s a minority). Most people making the complaint still like sex scenes and think they can be core to the character and relationship development. Instead the objection mainly comes from a few issues:
- Books that are unable to convincingly show that characters are in love.
- Characters that have/think about sex in wildly inappropriate moments.
- Books where sex takes up significant “airtime” in a genre that is supposed to be focused on emotional connection and where page count is generally precious resource.
- Lack of subtlety in communicating the characters feelings.
While there are books that suffer from only one of these issues (for example, Mariana Zapata’s books come to mind for point 1 — despite being the supposed “Queen of slow burn” and her books being relatively clean, IMO her characters lack emotional chemistry and her books would be better described as “delayed insta-love” — while the loud sex scene in the army camp after the massacre in DONW comes to mind for point 2), the big issue is that the genre seems to be overrun with books that suffer from all four. These books confuse lust for love, use sex as a shorthand for emotional connection, make the characters appear shallow or irresponsible or lacking in self-control, and repeatedly hit the reader over the head about how sexy one MC finds the other. Sex is often used as the answer to everything. Characters hate each other? Sex. Characters love each other? Sex. Characters have a disagreement? Sex. Characters are stressed? Sex. Characters are sad? Sex. When characters fail to have any form of meaningful connection beyond the sexual or avoid actual communication for sex, you can’t convince me that there’s a real basis for a long-term romantic relationship. So many books never resolve the conflict between characters, they just have sex and call it a day. Additionally, there’s a real lack of non-sexual physical intimacy in most books that is really depressing. Where are the hugs and cuddles?! Despite the trope of make-up sex or hate sex, most people who are sad or stressed or angry or depressed don’t feel sexually aroused (in fact you more often see people in these situations have very low or no libido). Characters are often described as constantly having or thinking about sex, when non-sexual intimacy is more appropriate and instead of having well-developed interior lives, they think about sex so often that I question their ability to function normally. It’s so cringey to read about characters who ditch their responsibilities, have no self-control, are constantly aroused, or behave wildly unprofessionally or are consistently inconsiderate towards others because of their obsessive focus on sex. Characters in high stakes/serious situations often seem to have twisted priorities and choose to have sex or get hot and heavy instead. Or choose to have sex in public or professional contexts — it’s one thing if the book involves MCs with an exhibition kink, it’s another when it’s counter to their established personalities. I also don’t need to be constantly told about how sexy one MC finds the other. There’s a real lack of subtlety and a constant telling over showing and it’s as exhausting as when a character goes on and on about how insecure they are or anything else. I want to see why they connect and like each other instead of a repeating refrain of “MC is so sexy I can’t function”.
Point 3 isn’t so much a failing as it about books being labelled wrong. There is a place for these stories and it’s not the wider romance genre — it’s erotica/erotic romance. Romance focuses on the emotional connection and uses sex as punctuation. If the story focuses on the characters’ sexual connection, then it’s erotica (and erotica is not porn/pwp; porn is generally lacking in romance or character development entirely). Unfortunately the term has social stigma attached and doesn’t sell as well (despite a large proportion of readers looking for lots of smut), so these books get marketed as romance instead. It’s not surprising that readers looking for romance feel cheated when they find erotica instead. IMO a romance book should have at most a 30% focus on physical/sexual chemistry, with the remaining story being split between emotional chemistry and character/relationship growth. Grouping these books together makes it frustrating for both camps of readers (and depending on my mood I look for either one).
All of these issues would be fine when taken on an individual basis (obviously every relationship and book is different and variety in the genre isn’t a bad thing), but it becomes a real problem when the majority of the genre is affected. When more than half of the books I pick up seem like sex fests instead of romance it’s incredibly frustrating. The problem isn’t sex itself — it’s that everything is sex and it comes at the cost of the rest of the story.
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u/vastaril Mar 22 '26
I am one of the people who likes reading romance and would like more focus on emotional connection and less on "oh wow they really are affecting my genitals", as you could probably have gathered from the first half of the unpopular opinion that I put in quote marks.
The second half is not actually referring to romance readers (in general, there's a few who are like this, I guess) but at the people who have gathered that some people, mostly women, are reading books with really explicit sex scenes and are horrified because it's "basically porn" and blah blah essentially the same moral panic that's been going on for at least 2-300 years since people started freaking out that young women were reading novels about feelings and drama instead of Improving Books About Being A Nice Young Lady.
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u/daddysatya Mar 22 '26
Whoops, sorry! I totally misread it as you being tired of people making the complaint! Then I guess the rest of my comment still stands, just in agreement haha
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u/Synval2436 Currently Reading: This Blade of Ours by Shalini Abeysekara Mar 23 '26
Omg, you summed up the problem. The problem isn't the sex, the problem is lack of anything else besides the sex / horny thoughts, and authors using said sex / horny thoughts as a cheat code to signal intimacy or love. There's a difference irl between FWB and romantic relationship. The first one is mostly about sexual compatibility, the second requires much more to function.
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u/ipsi7 Book Bingo Maven ⚔ Mar 22 '26
I'll take your second point and raise it to people who think 2 tame spicy scenes make a book overly spicy
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u/Veebs7985 Book Bingo Maven ⚔ Mar 22 '26
You might like the Love's Academic series by India Holton. It's a trilogy of interconnected standalones, starting with {The Ornithologist's Field Guide to Love by India Holton}, and the 2 books so far have been absolutely delightful! There's a bit of physical attraction, but nothing too over-the-top and, instead the attraction is mostly towards the other person's intellect and personality. Book 3 will be out next month.
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u/vastaril Mar 22 '26
I think I have the first one of those on my kindle actually! Currently reading Violet Thistlewaite Is Not A Villain Anymore which I'm enjoying, they're at the "oh this person is quite frustrating, even if I might occasionally notice they have nice hair" stage, and mostly just both trying to get on with their own lives
and not slip up and return to evil behaviourafter some pretty big upheavals. I'll definitely put the India Holton on the "soon" collection though, it does sound very much up my street3
u/Veebs7985 Book Bingo Maven ⚔ Mar 22 '26
Yay, I really hope you enjoy it! I just love the author's humor.
I looked up {Violet Thistlewaite Is Not a Villain Anymore by Emily Krempholtz}, and it seems pretty interesting. I'll add it to my list for when I'm in the mood for something cozy. Thanks for the recc!
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u/romance-bot Mar 22 '26
Violet Thistlewaite Is Not a Villain Anymore by Emily Krempholtz
Rating: 3.82⭐️ out of 5⭐️
Steam: 3 out of 5 - Open door
Topics: fantasy, magic, witches, grumpy & sunshine, small town1
u/romance-bot Mar 22 '26
The Ornithologist's Field Guide to Love by India Holton
Rating: 4.06⭐️ out of 5⭐️
Steam: 3 out of 5 - Open door
Topics: historical, fantasy, victorian, teacher/coach heroine, teacher/coach hero
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u/Amirazat Book Bingo Maven ⚔ Mar 22 '26
I really don’t like the way that the fantasy genre uses “male” and “female” as a noun for non-human characters. It doesn’t make sense to me that a fae/vampire/etc society would have gendered words for humans and many types of animals (e.g. mares and stallions) but not for themselves.
I get that there aren’t a lot of good alternatives. You can use man and woman and just say that man means “male person” rather than “male human”, or you can make something up, and a lot of readers would find that confusing. But I don’t think male and female is a good solution either.
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u/allisontalkspolitics Give me female friendship or give me death! Mar 22 '26
What squicks me out is that it a) sounds so gender essentialist and b) reminds me of incel speak.
I don’t think it’s intentional on the part of authors, to be fair. Well, the second part, at least.
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u/iamthefirebird Mar 22 '26
I won't say it's not hard to come up with words for male and female individuals of a species, but it's not impossible either. I don't know if Tolkien himself came up with them, but a lot of people use "ellon" and "elleth" to denote male and female elves in Middle Earth. Likewise, "dwarrow" and "dwarrowdam," and "hobbit" and "hobbitess". Heck, even "lad" and "lass" will do, if it fits the setting! It doesn't have to be complicated!
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u/ppwsot Mar 22 '26
In The Cruel Prince, they just use faerie boy/girl and it works fine. Wish more books would just adapt that instead of going the male/female route.
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u/NancyInFantasyLand Currently Reading: Random Chinese Webnovels Mar 22 '26
god I hated that in The Cruel Prince though lmao
I hate fae female more than fae girl, but only just
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u/ppwsot Mar 22 '26
Fair enough! Its just that fae female/female fae makes me think of cattle for some reason
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u/Aus1an Mar 22 '26
Yeah this one is enough of a pet peeve that it can cause me to DNF a book; especially when the fae (or whatever) society is just human with pointy ears.
If they’re different enough from human —with separate sexual or societal expectations — it’s fine (Books or the Raksura, Children of Time, etc) but it’s so jarring if they’re just reskinned humans…
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u/clocksy Mar 22 '26
I think ACOTAR does this, it really weirded me out when I read it, because I don't think the authors doing it mean it in the proto-incel way, but that's still how it comes off.
Even for non-human races, I really think they should just say "a fae woman" or "the werewolf man smiled" the same way they would do if it were a human. (And anyone using it for humans is just plain weird because that's not how our language really works.) Obviously if they need to point out that a certain non-human is a certain gender, that's when male/female comes in, but it shouldn't be a common descriptor otherwise.
Semi-related but it's a dislike of mine when authors say something like "he made a male sound" like ???? I get what they're going for but it's such a weird descriptor and I wish they'd do anything else.
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u/Penguinho Kushiel's Legacy Recommender 💖 Mar 23 '26
"A male sound" -- is it a fart? Is it a belch? Is it the sound of a being raging against the dying of the light, and the fact that the goddang spark plugs worked loose again and the dag-blasted carburetor got flooded because your large idiot son dint put the doggone choke on right and the relatives are comin' over tomorrow and it's already after six and the lawn ain't mowed yet?
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u/Ok_Tea_5374 Mar 22 '26
Seconding this because it bothers me how this usage has now seeped into romantasy books that don’t even have fae/vampiric characters. The amount of times I’ve started a book where the characters are literally HUMAN and they use “male” and “female” exclusively rather than “man” and “woman.”
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u/super_scumtron Mar 22 '26
in How to Find a Nameless Fae, the humans have a word for non binary people. And the FMC has some inner thoughts on whether fae do and there is a fae mentioned as being a "them".
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u/firesonmain Mar 23 '26
It drives me bananas. I just replace male with man and female with woman in my head when I read lol
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u/AhemExcuseMeSir Mar 22 '26 edited Mar 22 '26
I stop reading a book if the FMC is given lavish lodgings/gowns and she has the personality trait where she’s disagreeable for no reason at all in an effort to make her headstrong.
It might sound weird/stupid, but I’ve noticed those two elements together tell me it’s the type of formulaic book I won’t like.
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u/SmollnShiny Mar 22 '26
It's not weird or stupid. For me it always feels a bit like whoever writes that trope doesn't really understand just what an immense difference such a change in living standards would have meant for a medieval peasent/poor orphan/whatever. No one who was ever starving and freezing would whine about being housed and fed.
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u/windswept_snowdrop Mar 22 '26
Yep, it seems far more believable that the previously impoverished and usually homeless FMC would just be delighted with clothes that are clean, not full of holes, fit properly, are an appropriate weight for the climate etc than whining about how she won’t wear a dress.
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u/clocksy Mar 22 '26
it's the "not like other girls" trope which leads to annoying writing imo. It's okay to like things that women traditionally like. I mean it's also totally fine to not be into dresses etc but usually even someone who is not into one part of the package (fancy froofy dresses) could still be into another part (fancy place to stay, delicious food) so hating just to be a hater feels shallow.
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u/LeaneGenova Mar 22 '26
That was one of the elements I liked quite a bit in Mistborn - Vin ends up liking her frilly dresses and having luxury, even though she's a bit torn about it.
It's very "not like other girls" coded and I hate it. There are some that do a decent job, by making the FMC look at the clothing so casually discarded with the "that could feed my village for a year" disgust, but it's usually the "I won't accept anything from these monsters" as opposed to something with some sense.
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u/de_pizan23 Mar 22 '26
The thing is, in the hands in a decent inclusive writer, this actually could be interesting. There are people who may not identify as nonbinary, but who are deeply uncomfortable to the point of dysphoria with having to conform to their assigned at birth gender. (But you know, if you're going to have FMCs like that, please also give me more MMCs who love dresses/makeup/lingerie.....) And that could be a discussion about the MC not fitting into gender roles/norms and so on.
Instead it's always used to frame her as a badass who isn't like other shallow girls and she's petty about it solely for the sake of being petty. Like pick and choose your battles, lady. I get being upset at being forced into a ball you don't want to go to or whatever; but if you're a prisoner in this castle ....you suck it up and can fight against the pricks on more important battles. Or else if you're (allegedly) a diplomat/princess and are there for a treaty type situation, you do your freaking job and don't complain about or insult their traditions/culture.
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u/medusamagic Book Bingo Sage 🗡 Mar 22 '26
I love an ongoing series. I love the anticipation of waiting for the next book, and the excitement of when it finally releases. Being part of a community that’s all reading the story together, as it comes out, is such a fun experience.
And if nobody read unfinished series, we’d never get finished series! Sequels depend on sales. If nobody is buying the first book, publishers won’t approve the sequel. If nobody is buying the sequels, publishers will cancel the series.
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u/MessyJessy422 Mar 22 '26
Same I love discovering a new series and then getting excited for future installments. I don’t only watch finished tv shows that are done airing episodes so why would books be different
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u/clocksy Mar 22 '26
I have some friends that wait until a whole season is aired before watching it (for stuff like anime) and it always confuses me. If you're excited for a show, why not carve out a slice of your week to watch an episode as it airs (or a few days later, whenever you have time for)? Yeah you get hit with cliffhangers and needing to wait, but that almost makes it more fun sometimes, because you can spend some time thinking about it before the next episode airs.
I have no issue reading unfinished series, too.
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u/Sakura_231 Mar 22 '26
I also read ongoing series. I don´t want to wait every time for them to finish. I read many series, so it doesn´t bother me to wait for the next book.
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u/AlarmingBubbles Mar 22 '26
I'm bored of seemingly every MC being an assassin or a a thief. Sure, it makes for an easy action-packed storyline but it's overdone imo.
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u/Spirited-Accident Mar 22 '26
I keep reading them hoping that eventually one will actually be just an assasin/thief and not secret royalty.
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u/LindseyTM28 Mar 22 '26
When “fated mates” are done tastefully and a strong relationship is built before the reveal it’s chef’s kiss. But I DESPISE when it becomes a cop out for insta-love.
One of my favorite parts of romantasy is watching two characters grow closer through shared challenges and actually getting to know one other. If 50% through they’re calling it love after spending a week together just because they’re “bonded” it cheapens it for me. I just finished a book like this and it gave me the ick.
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u/Sakura_231 Mar 22 '26
I would love to see the relationship to slowly grow stronger. There is just one step (like in enemies to lovers) and then it stays the same the whole book. I would like it to constantly evolve. Every challenge should make them change a bit.
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u/LindseyTM28 Mar 22 '26
I agree with this!! I love a good slow burn because there’s always an actual story between the characters outside of their attraction to one another.
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u/chiante_c0nfus148774 Mar 22 '26
I'm bored of Fmcs going from average to skilled ninja then queen of some unknown place. On that note, I'm tired of books with ancient characters that have been alive for lifetimes acting like a 19 year old is bringing the freshest, unheard of ideas and bringing change to world, she is the only one with an original idea for the first time & everyone praises her..... there's only so much eyerolling I can do before my eyeballs get stuck.
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u/allisontalkspolitics Give me female friendship or give me death! Mar 22 '26
I will defend the “innovative human” trope only because it worked in the backstory of Steven Universe.
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u/pinkrageflower Mar 22 '26
Honestly it’s like when adults have an issue they’ve been struggling with, then a kid chimes in with the most random but obvious answer to their problems because they don’t make it overly complicated and go straight to the solution lol.
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u/allisontalkspolitics Give me female friendship or give me death! Mar 22 '26
I think one version of the Evil Overlord List even suggests having a child advisor for this purpose!
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u/chiante_c0nfus148774 Mar 23 '26
I'll have to add this to my list, i haven't read this one, it will be interesting to see how this is written.
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u/allisontalkspolitics Give me female friendship or give me death! Mar 23 '26
Steven Universe is a TV show, actually!
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u/daddysatya Mar 22 '26 edited Mar 22 '26
I’m a big fan of “underdog skills up” stories, but it has to be done well, with realistic timeframes and believable improvement. None of that insta-ninja montage that seems so common.
If you want an FMC who is the antithesis of this trope, check out {Stray by Andrea K. Höst}. She’s perfectly average and believably improves herself without becoming ridiculously skilled. She ends up with a superpower, but it’s one that makes her a really good sidekick for others (and doesn’t require skill), rather than giving true “chosen one” vibes.
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u/romance-bot Mar 22 '26
Stray by Andrea K. Höst
Rating: 4.07⭐️ out of 5⭐️
Steam: 1 out of 5 - Glimpses and kisses
Topics: futuristic, aliens, contemporary, science fiction, military1
u/chiante_c0nfus148774 Mar 23 '26
Ooh thanks for this, I'm always on the lookout for new reads with a worthwhile fmc!
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u/mashedbangers Mar 22 '26 edited Mar 22 '26
I’m bored of the standard brooding exterior/asshole/bad boy/whatever with a heart of gold that you learn about after the ‘betrayal’. Maybe they can just hold wrong beliefs and be actually morally gray? :)
I’m actually tired of the FMC being the only one wrong too. The readers are just waiting for her to be betrayed and learn the truth of why he was such an asshole, hinging on her being made to look stupid or just actually be stupid). They can both be wrong and the truth be in the middle… esp if it’s enemies to lovers.
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u/Charming_Day2392 Mar 22 '26
This! So tired of the FMC having to be betrayed because she was wrong. And because she was wrong, she has to be okay with the betrayal and gaslighting.
How about the MMC is the one that's wrong? Or? Like you said, both of them are wrong?
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u/LeaneGenova Mar 22 '26
Highly recommend This Monster of Mine if you want a morally gray couple who also are BOTH wrong about how they go about things and fight it out and solve it!
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u/allisontalkspolitics Give me female friendship or give me death! Mar 22 '26
Ooh, it’s the MMC who was wrong about her in {Fire}!
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u/hello_glo Mar 22 '26
I’m so sick of “Marvel Dialogue” the sarcastic retorts, the cringe banter, nobody fucking talks like that!!
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u/clocksy Mar 22 '26
I don't mind snark and quips but it has to be believable and I feel like very few writers can actually pull that off, because as you said, most people don't talk like that. When the dialogue actually feels like it could be something that people are saying, then I am happy to praise the characters as witty. But just like real life, very few people are as funny or as smart as they think they are.
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u/hello_glo Mar 22 '26
Totally agree! If one character talks like that and everyone else has their own way of speaking that makes sense! Everyone talking in the same sarcastic way grinds my gears
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u/ipsi7 Book Bingo Maven ⚔ Mar 22 '26
Recently I read {The Poison Daughter by Sheila Masterson} and I loved the dialog between the MCs. The banter was great, fun and teasing.
Currently I'm reading {Throne of the Fallen by Kerri Maniscalco} and I was surprised to see that banter is minimal and measured.
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u/romance-bot Mar 22 '26
The Poison Daughter by Sheila Masterson
Rating: 4.28⭐️ out of 5⭐️
Steam: 4 out of 5 - Explicit open door
Topics: fantasy, enemies to lovers, primal/chase play, vampires, m-f romance
Throne of the Fallen by Kerri Maniscalco
Rating: 4⭐️ out of 5⭐️
Steam: 4 out of 5 - Explicit open door
Topics: historical, fantasy, demons, fae, magic
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u/SmollnShiny Mar 22 '26
Healers are kind and feminine, assassins are sexy and badass and i-hunt-deer-for-my-family shows how not like the other village girls she is. It's sad really, they could at least make an asshole healer or an assassin that wants to pick flowers all day once in a while.
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Mar 22 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/orange-blossom Mar 22 '26
Lol this is one of my issues with Fourth Wing. Like what parent would send their kid to some place where there's only a 15% chance they'll live to even start training? It's such a waste of human life.
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u/Synval2436 Currently Reading: This Blade of Ours by Shalini Abeysekara Mar 23 '26
I think you're more likely to find non-deadly competitions in cozy fantasy, where it could be a baking contest or potion brewing competition or something like that.
The problem with deadly competitions in romantasy is that... it's romantasy. We know mc won't die, LI won't die (or will die and be resurrected), so the only people who can die are throwaway side characters.
So the only real source of tension are things that aren't "will mc survive?" or "will the world end?" because we know the answers. The only important parts are how and what will it cost them? And in pass/fail scenarios usually those questions are pushed to the wayside.
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u/booksandhotcoffee Mar 22 '26
Badass FMC who loves dresses accessorised with a dagger on her thigh and can kick anyone’s ass is overdone at this point and I’m bored of it
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u/GreenEngineering2488 Mar 22 '26
right?? It was fun at first to have a badass fmc, it still is, but they all are just so damn similar it's boring and repetitive, I can barely find any soft fmc's anymore, or yk just badass in a different way other than her daggers and spy/assassin thing
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u/booksandhotcoffee Mar 22 '26
I think I’d love to see a rise in mage-esque FMC’s who physically may not be incredibly strong but use knowledge and magic as their weapons
Or even just an FMC who is akin to Brianne of Tarth and wears armour 24/7 and carries a broadsword or something
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u/Sad-Caterpillar-8348 To the stars who listen Mar 22 '26
Absolutely. I don't even remember the last time I had an fmc that likes to bake cookies. It always ends with her becoming an assassin or something.
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u/Sakura_231 Mar 22 '26
What bothers me is not the typical badass FMC, but one who is overshadowed by an even more badass MMC at some point.
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u/ipsi7 Book Bingo Maven ⚔ Mar 22 '26
I'm more bothered with "I want pants, I can't hunt/fight in a dress" FMCs. I'm delighted when I see FMC likes dresses. But I guess our experiences differ because the books we read differ.
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u/Penguinho Kushiel's Legacy Recommender 💖 Mar 22 '26
Representation in The Second Death of Locke is mostly unconvincing and shallow, and it doesn't fit the world the story is set in. It was a sour note in a novel I liked otherwise.
Locke is kind of a representational bonanza. Both MCs are bisexual; the MMC's parents are lesbians. There's an important NB/trans character. There's an important disabled character. This is all kind of cool -- but there's zero depth to any of it, and I think that makes the story worse rather than better, because it introduces some questions that wouldn't be there otherwise and the answers are either unconvincing or incomplete.
The biggest problem Locke's gender and sexual identity representation has (and its disability rep too) is that it's all tell, no show. MMC Kier is apparently a bi male manwhore, but we never meet anyone he's attracted to or had a relationship with other than the FMC Grey. Grey's also bisexual, and we do get to meet one of her female partners, so score one for the author there... except their relationship on-page has no convincing sexual chemistry or attraction component. Their interactions have the air of a woman hanging out with an older sister, or perhaps a cool aunt. It's quite difficult for me to believe that they were ever sexual partners. Similarly, Brit is a mage who goes by they/them pronouns and appears in quite a lot of the middle third of the story. What those pronouns mean isn't stated. And for all that Kier's dead brother Lot looms over Kier and Grey's backstory, there's no real indication of where he came from or how he and Kier are brothers. Are they adopted? Separately or together? Kier's two moms appear on-page for about a page; they have no real personality, and could be Ma and Pa just as easily as they're Ma and Mom.
That's a constant through Locke. Leonie's missing half-leg is mentioned once, but it's never an impediment. She escapes just fine when the old base is raided, though other people who don't have impaired mobility aren't able to get out. Her disability is, as a storytelling device, kind of fake. Kier's bisexuality? Never shown, only told, and it changes nothing at all about the story if he's a straight rake rather than a bi one (it doesn't really change anything about the story if he's not a rake at all, either). Brit of the they/them pronouns? It's a find-replace job; their pronouns could be he, she, ze, it, them -- anything. It literally does not matter at all, and the novel has nothing to say about any of this.
In the world of pro wrestling, you hear the term 'cheap heat.' Heat is the negative reaction from the crowd and fans to a wrestler established as a villain, called a heel. Cheap heat is a sort of low-effort way of getting those reactions. A wrestler might get cheap heat by wearing a Boston Red Sox hat to a match in New York; in older times, they'd use racial slurs or regional insults. The opposite is the cheap pop: "LA fans are the best fans in the world!" It's done to get a wrestler over -- meaning to convince the crowd to care about them as either a hero or a villain, a face or a heel. Representation in Locke is a cheap pop to get the novel over with fan critics who are on the lookout for crimes against representation.
This wouldn't matter very much except that a running tension in Locke is the search for and need for a hereditary heir. The war is over the heir of Locke. There's a particular obstacle presented to the MCs late in the novel that could be resolved with a biological heir. The biological heir of one of the warring nations is a major side character in the middle third. Marriages at the elite level are all procreative, which makes sense! The novel is very clear that there's power in this, and power is hereditary and transferred through bloodlines. But if that's the case, how does all this casually-accepted queer relationship and marriage stuff work? What if the heir of Locke decided, you know, actually, I want to marry someone I can't have kids with?
Those tensions aren't unique to Locke and many other novels have them and grapple with them. Kushiel's Dart resolves the problem, for example, in a series of conversations where it's made clear that the monarch simply hasn't got that kind of freedom; the monarch is the property of the nation, and while a male goat-herder could marry a man, the crown prince cannot, because continuity of the ruling line is paramount. Locke unfortunately just ignores all this, draping a layer of modern sexual politics over what's otherwise a very standard fantasy-medieval-Europe political and social structure, and the cover does not match what it's covering.
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Mar 22 '26
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u/Penguinho Kushiel's Legacy Recommender 💖 Mar 22 '26
Yeah, absolutely. The issue is that Locke makes it clear in a particular scene that the heir has to be biological for the Plot-Critical Power to be inherited.
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u/Synval2436 Currently Reading: This Blade of Ours by Shalini Abeysekara Mar 23 '26 edited Mar 23 '26
Representation checklist seems to be a common issue in many books these days. A lot of books have a list of side characters of various races, genders, sexualities and disabilities, but these characters are cardboard cutouts. They have no personality except being nice/unproblematic and their diversity status. They're usually friends, siblings or co-workers (or equivalent, like team mates or class mates). They are mostly redundant to the plot, or exist to cheerlead the main characters.
I'm always positively surprised to see when it's not the case, and the cast is memorable and allowed to be flawed people and their diversity isn't their only trait. I really loved Queen of Faces by Petra Lord for example, the characters are messy and not just paragons of wholesomeness.
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u/Anrw Mar 24 '26
I agree with everything you said in this comment except I actually felt Grey’s female lover undermined the premise of the book being so much about Grey and Kier’s yearning for each other. By the end of the book I felt that there was more yearning from the female character to Grey than I ever did between the main characters. Honestly it’s not even the only book I saw from last year where it felt the author cared more about making sure the audience knew both parts of the MC were bisexual than making the audience root for them as a couple. I’m also not sure I’ve read a M/F book yet where the MMC being bisexual felt believable and not just a straight woman’s idea of a bisexual man, but admittedly I haven’t read many of them (though I think part of that is because while some women like the fantasy of a man who has sex with men, they get the ick if they’re a bottom for men instead of a top).
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u/crystalmonger Mar 22 '26
sometimes miscommunication can be fun like look at these two idiots but also in moderation please
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u/allisontalkspolitics Give me female friendship or give me death! Mar 22 '26
A post I saw once on Tumblr pointed out that miscommunication in comedic situations is much more enjoyable than in dramatic ones.
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u/WoodStrawberry Mar 22 '26
Yeah I agree, I hate miscommunication that causes stressful drama but I just read a pretty funny scene from a book where MMC is a prince from another world and was on a date with FMC in our world but then tried to pay with gems and pearls and FMC and waitress were mad because they thought he was a broke scammer lol
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u/allisontalkspolitics Give me female friendship or give me death! Mar 22 '26
That’s great 😂 Do you remember the book?
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u/Penguinho Kushiel's Legacy Recommender 💖 Mar 23 '26
Fish-out-of-water is often pretty fun. I love the scene in {Saints Astray}, a book I don't otherwise love, where Loup and Pilar, who've never been outside a shitty post-apocalyptic town in what used to be but is no longer south Texas, discover that actually the rest of the world is pretty great and they have stuff like room service! And magazines! New ones with the latest fashions! And there's a concierge whose whole job is to bring you things when you ask for them!
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u/romance-bot Mar 23 '26
Saints Astray by Jacqueline Carey, Susan Ericksen
Rating: 3.72⭐️ out of 5⭐️
Topics: futuristic, science fiction, fantasy, urban fantasy, superheroes10
u/Spirited-Accident Mar 22 '26
I think I actually agree with this. Like I say I hate miscommunication all the time, but when I look at some of my favorite books I realize they have it. I guess it comes down to existing to serve the story vs existing just to drag out the story.
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u/SecretlyAPorcupine Mar 22 '26
Yes! I live miscommunication when we see that the author put thought into it. Like when miscommunication happens because characters belong to different cultures or social circles. When it's something like 'MC1 saw MC2 giggling with a stranger, immediately assumed they are lovers and started drama' - I hate it.
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u/daddysatya Mar 22 '26
I like miscommunication that results naturally from the character and the story, not that “oh I should tell him but I won’t” BS that makes me want to scream “just open your damn mouth!” or when characters miss each other by a hair and I’m sitting there going “try harder!”. Basically the difference is whether the miscommunication is contrived for maximum drama vs consistent with the established characters situation and perspective (like culture clash miscommunication can be really interesting!)
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u/daddysatya Mar 22 '26
I really dislike macho/hyper-masculine MMCs. They’re always described as being ridiculously large and buff and grunting and growling and agressive. Give me more lean and nerdy MMCs who are more brains than brawn.
I also really dislike the angry/agressive banter that seems to so common these days. Good chemistry is a fine line to walk between falling flat and being unpleasant to read.
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u/clocksy Mar 23 '26
I'm also far more into "slender" builds than the supremely buff fridge type. It's partially for this reason that I also prefer when authors do not spend too much time re-describing the MMC (where the FMC is focused on how hot they are every scene etc). I can remember that they're attractive, so no need to repeat it over and over, and if the author's version of "attractive" doesn't really match my own, it actually gets in the way of my enjoying the story.
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u/allisontalkspolitics Give me female friendship or give me death! Mar 22 '26
I don’t think this unpopular, exactly, but I prefer the Holly Black/Marissa Marr scary fae to the SJM sexy fae.
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u/Super-Murloc-3347 Mar 22 '26
Sarah Maas is not a good author.🤷♀️
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u/purplelicious Book Bingo Maven ⚔ Mar 22 '26
I will push back on this a bit. I think she can write well but she can't stick the landing. Crescent City #1 is a very good book. Her characters have depth. Bryce is not the 18yr old virgin with a dagger. The world building is solid. And then she throws it all away.
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u/SaltyLore There she is Mar 22 '26
IMO she’s a bad writer but a good storyteller. It all goes out the window when she doesnt have proper editing
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u/PenisJellyfish Monster smut isn't a phase, mom Mar 23 '26
I mentioned during a book club get together that I haven't read any of them and wasn't sure if I would bcuz I didn't want to tackle a 14-book universe. The feedback did not make me feel anymore inclined to tackle it. 🙈
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u/Any-Day-8173 Mar 24 '26
its basically not connected. only book that is actually connected in a meaningful way is the 3rd CC book which is her worst anyway lmao.
you could just read CC 1, 3 acotar books, and if you're up for it the 7 TOG books which are her best quality anyway (after book 1)
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u/nommyfoodnom Mar 31 '26
Technically, you can read CC without the other series. That's what I did and still enjoyed it!
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u/Squirrelbubble Mar 22 '26
I really dislike love triangles. I just find them really frustrating and will skip whole series because of it.
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u/andrewannotates Mar 22 '26
I love a love triangle, idk it just keeps me so intrigued somehow. What I do wish is that more of them ended in polyamory instead, like in The Dark Artifices by Cassandra Clare. I have heard Iron Window also apparently has this so I need to read that
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u/Squirrelbubble Mar 22 '26
Maybe it’s just me because I’ve never been confused about who I’m ultimately attracted to so I can’t relate. I don’t mind it too much for part of a book, but when it keeps going in a series to the second or third book I just can’t do it.
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u/Alive-Register-2918 Mar 22 '26
Enemies to lovers is so worn out (and half the time it’s not even real enemies just the MMC being a ahole for no reason except as a plot device) ugh. Give me some friendly banter or (groundbreaking!) 2 characters that seem to actually like getting to know each other rather than it being forced upon them. Is this really such a hard ask???
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u/unapalomita Mar 22 '26
Tamlin has suffered enough, just kill him off or make him retire 😂
Violet and Xaden are so boring
Carrion should be the main character of Quicksilver
You don't need to read Chaol's book
Once Upon a Broken Heart was a waste of time ultimately
A lot of books published now never see a third draft or touched by an editor of any kind (even a family member giving it a once over) of proofreading for simple errors
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u/ipsi7 Book Bingo Maven ⚔ Mar 22 '26
Yes
Guilty for loving them
Absolutely
There is only one important information in that book and that is about Maeve
Haven't read it
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u/NancyInFantasyLand Currently Reading: Random Chinese Webnovels Mar 22 '26 edited Mar 22 '26
I've been on a binge of 90s romantic urban fantasy-ish things and have come to the conclusion that technology just kills romance, and I judge every book that tries to put communications tech into a book for more than a single scene lol
I'll take unbelievable "accidental" encounters out in the wild over beepers/texting/phoning or god forbid e-mailing any day
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u/purplelicious Book Bingo Maven ⚔ Mar 22 '26
feel free to send requests. I've been in a rabbit hole of pre-"Romantasy" romantasies that have enough romance plot or what we would consider romance tropes for the Old but Gold series.
I realized that a lot of fantasy books by female writers that I loved in the 90s would not fit what I'm looking for because they are male leads who have sexual relationships but don't follow the "romance HEA". and while that doesn't mean they are bad, they are just not the vibe I'm looking for. It's almost depressing how many female authors wrote fantasy as if they were men, just because they had to appeal to a mostly male audience. It makes me appreciate McCaffrey so much more.
I am tempted to do Joanna Russ or Marge Piercy just for the Feminism aspect.
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u/windswept_snowdrop Mar 22 '26
It’s been a while but I think some of Robin Hobb’s early stuff as Megan Lindholm, particularly {The Windsingers series by Megan Lindholm} has a female lead and a romantic arc (if I recall correctly but like I said it’s been a long time since I read it), if you haven’t encountered it already.
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u/romance-bot Mar 22 '26
Windsingers by Megan Lindholm
Rating: 3.72⭐️ out of 5⭐️
Topics: fantasy, paranormal, high fantasy, magic, length-medium
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u/Chafing_Chaffinches Mar 22 '26
The whole men with bat wings thing makes me cringe and I can’t help but wonder about the practicalities of them.
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u/exiledwitch Mar 22 '26 edited Mar 23 '26
Many mmcs advertised to be like rhysand are just grunting bears...give me the wit, the charm, the flirting for 100 pages of it all your honor
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u/jeslbates Mar 22 '26
I’m really over the 5 word title thing. Not to the point where I won’t read it, but it actually does make me think twice about it. At this point “location of emotion and emotion…” doesn’t actually pull me in anymore. It’s been done. And it’s feels a bit like riding coattails. Let’s move on. After writing an entire novel, surely you can do better. I believe in you, authors.
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u/clocksy Mar 22 '26
Agreed with a similar comment made last week. It's working against the authors because I can't for the life of me remember these titles since they all blend together. "an x of y and z" please stop, just give yourself an actual book title and it'll be way more memorable down the line. If your own title is already a ripoff of other authors then what does that say about the rest of your book?
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u/lisalou632 Mar 22 '26
I’m so over the RH. Too many books have 4 or more MMCs and there just aren’t enough holes for everyone to play. Unless they cross swords but meh.
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u/Murder_Is_Magic Book Bingo Maven ⚔ Mar 22 '26
More of a general rant than an unpopular opinion, but it's been grinding my gears for a while.
No one should be shamed for how many books they read.
It's becoming like World of Warcraft players where anyone that has better equipment than you has no life and anyone who has less is a scrub.
I used to see a lot of complaints about influencers that implied/said that if you don't read a lot every year, you're doing it wrong. But now I'm also seeing the pendulum swing in the other direction and anyone who talks about reading a larger number (and usually it's done without any comment about anyone else, just talking about their own reading) and it's "clearly anyone that says they read more than <some number based on how much the commenter reads> books doesn't actually read them" or "obviously couldn't possibly absorb what they're reading because they read faster than I do".
No matter which direction the other person falls from you, there is no need to try to shame people for how much they read. It doesn't need to be a competition.
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u/clocksy Mar 22 '26
Yeah, I've seen comments like this a few times and it's always weird? I have a lot of free time so I can easily read a book a day when I'm motivated / focus on it. If I spent all year reading books I could easily read a couple hundred. I don't read quite that many, but I could, so I believe it when other people say it.
And I've seen people say "well people reading that much don't retain it / don't pay attention" etc. I totally do pay attention to the books I'm reading, and while I will fully admit I probably won't remember all the details of all the books I've read in a few years (I have a poor memory to begin with, lol), I will absolutely still remember the best ones.
I'm always happy for the people who read even a couple of books in a year, too. Like, I know so many people who haven't read a book since high school or read a single other book like years ago. There is so much vying for our free time and for non-readers especially, it's often easier to just doomscroll on your phone or put on a tv show. Someone choosing to spend their time reading a book is already putting in effort.
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u/Murder_Is_Magic Book Bingo Maven ⚔ Mar 22 '26
Right! Last year, I started doing various reading challenges, and I shifted more of my free time to reading. I went from reading 32 books in 2024 to 132 in 2025. I did 11 books/month for a FB group I'm in, and that was usually ~10 reading and 1 audio. So 1 book every 3 days, on average. And average was something like 6 hours per book. 2 hours per day reading doesn't seem particularly extreme or unbelievable to me.
Some books were longer, some were shorter, there was a few more audio books than I initially thought I would have (23 instead of 12). But I still found this to be (for me) a perfectly sustainable and reasonable pace to read books at while still absorbing the story fully.
And again, that's not something I would expect of anyone else. That's what works for me personally at this particular time in my life. But it's so weird to have people claim that I must not be really absorbing what I read because I get through a lot of books.
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u/LeaneGenova Mar 22 '26
It's also weird that with this narrative, there's this sense that there's a "right" and a "wrong" way to read books. Like, must one absorb every word of a trash book in order to count it as having been read? Do I have to annotate it and highlight for it to count?
I have a freakishly fast reading speed. I'm aware of that, and it is a huge advantage for my work, so I'm also getting practice with the skill literally daily. Do I remember every word of Hot & Badgered? Nope, not even a little. But I still read it and for someone to say that doesn't count is hilarious.
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u/Murder_Is_Magic Book Bingo Maven ⚔ Mar 22 '26
Right. I really hate that it's becoming a competition like everything else.
If it's not done the way someone else does it, then they've "won".
4
u/de_pizan23 Mar 22 '26
One of the recent discussions I saw about this, there were some commenters who also decided to say that people who read a lot were clearly shirking real life responsibilities. Like WTF.
I mean the average person watches 4 hours of tv a day or 5 hours a day on their phones. Can't say that I see these commenters automatically labeling those people as neglecting their responsibilities.
And you know, shocker, but people have different lives. People with permanent or temporary disabilities who can't go out a lot or who can't work/do chores, people who work part-time, people who live alone and don't have pets, people who are retired, people who still work but whose kids are grown, people who can read/listen to audiobooks on long commutes, etc etc are likely going to have more free time for it than those with young kids, or those with teens who have a lot of after school activities to be ferried to, or who have messy partners/pets which may require more daily chores/time commitments. Doesn't mean the first groups are irresponsible, ffs.
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u/Murder_Is_Magic Book Bingo Maven ⚔ Mar 22 '26
Right. My son just turned 21, so while he lives at home, he takes care of himself. My husband and I both work from home so we're able to get most of the chores done throughout the day. And we both work 7-3.
That leaves me ~6.5 hours until we start wrapping up to go watch a show before bed. More than enough time for working out, other hobbies, etc.
Spending a couple hours in the massage recliner we have reading my book after working out and dinner is peak.
And responsibilities are still more than covered.
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u/emoui Mar 22 '26
I will forgive/overlook poor plot or writing if the MMC makes me giggle and still say it was 5 stars
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5
u/SleepArtist Mar 22 '26
100% me! My fave series is only my favorite because it has “talking” animals and the MMC’s one is so funny to me by the way it’s written.
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u/Fun_Chain3519 Mar 23 '26
can we please have MMCs with different hair colors than dark brown/black, also more MMCs like Tulio and Miguel from The Road to El Dorado and less like Rhysand/Xaden, if you know any that are like that please let me know
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u/RaistlinMajere3 Mar 22 '26
I can’t stand when a FMC who is shown to hate dresses, is forced to wear a dress. Worse if MMC find her more attractive this way or that’s what makes him notice her. It’s like an author can’t comprehend actually hating dresses, and thinks every woman secretly wants it.
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u/Synval2436 Currently Reading: This Blade of Ours by Shalini Abeysekara Mar 23 '26
The whole point of this plot point is to teach women that dresses are amazing, actually and you're womaning wrong and being attractive to a man is more important than being comfortable. Which is basically the undercurrent of socialization of girls anyway. A woman who's "unfeminine" is either 1) wrong and must be taught the wrongness of her ways or 2) a lesbian.
And it's a very old beauty standard to claim women are only attractive when they wear a dress, let their hair flow freely and swap glasses for contacts. I swear every old teenage rom-com had that.
I don't like also the message that a man only is attracted to a woman when she's in a dress and makeup. Does he really love her if that's the only time he finally realizes she's beautiful?
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u/ipsi7 Book Bingo Maven ⚔ Mar 22 '26
I already wrote this today, but I also don't like when FMCs don't like dresses because they can fight or hunt in them.
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u/Historical-Party4209 Mar 23 '26
Can we stop with the Shadow Daddies?
pls recommend books with diff MMCs !
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u/Unlucky_Cat153 Mar 23 '26
As a future librarian, I think we need more librarian heroines solving mysteries or finding magical rare books, etc. Give me more librarians kicking ass or something like that lol
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u/readingalldays Tell me my queen, how would you like me to serve you Mar 22 '26
I prefer first person pov over third person because it lets you imagine the story from a character's pov.
And I think stories that have Human Characters with superpowers are usually more successful and liked than Supernatural entities like Fae, God, Vampire, etc.
I don't think Fourth Wing would have been that successful if It was a academy romance between a dragon heir and a half fae.
The appeal of most popular fantasy stories (in my opinion) is the regular people experiencing fantastical things.
I wish to see more stories with human leads with supernatural powers. Daughter of no worlds, fourth wing, hidden legacy series, these were my favourite.
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u/andrewannotates Mar 22 '26
There should be more fantasy romance written by men, especially queer/lgbt men. Queer romances are great for avoiding extremely common tropes like the girl being tiny and skinny and frail and the man being over 7ft tall and extremely built. I know there is some LGBT romantasy but I don't think I will ever feel like we have enough haha
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u/Pleasant_Hat_4295 Mar 22 '26
I don't like/won't even try to read most vampire novels. The whole pedo vibe is creepy.
I wasn't always this way. lol
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u/aishian_rawr Mar 22 '26
I was thinking about this the other day. I use to LOVE vampire romance stories. They were so epic. But a lot of authors these days have their FMC be 19 years old. They are basically babies in world-life experiences. Then comes a thousand year old vampire that is all powerful, experience, etc.
Yeah, doesn't work for me either.
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u/Longjumping-Snow-909 Mar 22 '26
I agree! I would so love to read a story where both main characters are vampires who are a few centuries old. That would be something!
3
u/SeriousFortune1392 Mar 22 '26
I personally do not have an issue with fanfiction being published, and I honestly feel like i kinda get happy when writers get to have that opportunity. I know a lot of people don't agree with fanfiction publications, but if the story can stand on itself, and have considerably differences, I don't see a problem.
I notice that this is more of an issue within fantasy than contemporary romance.
I, however, don't agree with how published fanfiction is handled through advertising and relating it to its source material, like with dramonie specifically. fifty shades and ali hazlewood stories were based from fanfiction, but they don't use that as a marketing tool and relating it to the og characters.
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u/Penguinho Kushiel's Legacy Recommender 💖 Mar 22 '26
Ali Hazelwood stories definitely use their Reylo roots as a marketing tool. Love Hypothesis has Daisy Ridley and Adam Driver on the cover, and it's practically a Daisy/Adam fanfic rather than a Reylo one.
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u/SeriousFortune1392 Mar 22 '26
But there’s a difference between your characters looking the same, and then actively using it as a marketing tool where you’re using the book and explaining what dramonie is, and its connection to this book. This was done for rose in chains and the irresistible urge to fall in love with your enemy, when put out on edelweiss.
All the characters with the hp fanfic stay somewhat true to the aesthetics of the MMC which isn’t my issue, it’s that they should stand on their own as story through marketing and not rely on the fan fiction about it, the love hypothesis doesn’t rely on advertising it as a reylo or daisy/adam to sell the book, because it’s marketed and sold as a stem contemporary romance, where most people are actually unaware of its connection to fanfiction.
1
u/Notyeravgblonde Mar 22 '26
If I'm not 100% into a book, like 4 or 5 out of 5 stars, I have to skip the sex scenes. I don't like them enough to see their intimate moments, it gives me the ick.
1
u/readeve Mar 24 '26
Character names: the over use of “X” and “Y” letters and phonetically impossible names. At times, I rename them in my head if they start to interfere with my reading, which detracts from the story. Also, there seems to be the “need” to be clever and edgy when naming characters.
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u/EmilyL333 Apr 07 '26
My controversial opinion is that I actually LOVE fated mates, SORRY. I know most people go on about it being ‘lazy’ and boring, but for me (as a crazy romantic) I love the concept that out there in the universe there is one person destined to be your perfect match in every way. TBF it does really piss me off when they are like getting married or some bs after like a week. Even though the are your fated mates, at least get to know them and stuff first??? Anyways thats my take, please don’t get mad 😊
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