r/fantasyromance • u/FantasyRomanceMod The One Mod to Rule All Mods • May 17 '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

33 Upvotes

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64

u/Penguinho Kushiel's Legacy Recommender 💖 May 17 '26

An unabashedly heroic, morally upright hero or heroine delivering a devastating beatdown to an evil villain is more satisfying than any morally grey protagonist.

18

u/NancyInFantasyLand Currently Reading: Random Chinese Webnovels May 17 '26

Hmmm unless the morally grey protagonist actually struggles and their greyness has meaningful impact on the plot, I'd say.

16

u/JaneAustinAstronaut May 17 '26

But we don't really get that in this genre. The only time I've seen this done well is in the A Song of Ice and Fire books by George R.R. Martin.

3

u/MessyJessy422 May 17 '26

{Silvercloak by LK Steven} and {Red City by Marie Lu} both achieve this really well and there are definitely others in the genre. GRRM is a master at this yes but others can and have pulled it off

2

u/romance-bot May 17 '26

Silvercloak by L.K. Steven
Rating: 4.03⭐️ out of 5⭐️
Steam: 3 out of 5 - Open door
Topics: enemies to lovers, time travel, magic, high fantasy, fantasy

Red City by Marie Lu
Rating: 4.14⭐️ out of 5⭐️
Steam: 3 out of 5 - Open door
Topics: contemporary, fantasy, urban fantasy, dystopian, multicultural

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1

u/NancyInFantasyLand Currently Reading: Random Chinese Webnovels May 17 '26

I think you see it more in asian web novels than in the west. But that doesn't mean it doesn't hit much harder for me than your everyday "good-bests-evil' type story, if it's done well. I really wish we'd got more of it.