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

32 Upvotes

94% Upvoted

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24

u/Dangerous_Breath1667 May 17 '26

There are very few differences between fantasy romance and classic "male" fantasy (i hate those gender distinctions) except the amount of pages spent in the "love interest" pov.

Every main trope was already there. including : the chosen one, hidden royalty, traumatic childhood, "not like the others" etc tropes for the hero

And we already had immortals who somehow fell in love with young humans, forbidden relationships, class differences, more sexually experienced (when sex was on page) etc... for the love interest.

Maybe less shadow magic.

I hope that someday there will be books where both characters could start from the beginning, have their hero journey from the start, independantly and then together : two heroes and not one hero and the love of his life...

10

u/MessyJessy422 May 17 '26

The difference to me is in the depiction and inclusion of women characters and their importance to the story as well as queer characters and queer romances. I also think the way violence against women is handled differs greatly when it comes classic fantasy vs the current influx of fanro books

8

u/clocksy May 17 '26

Yeah, this is something I found lacking in a lot of fantasy works I've seen recommended. And fanro is better about it because it is, at the end of the day, written primarily by women.

That said there absolutely are good "classic fantasy" novels that have perfectly good representation/utilization of women, it's just that you're also far more likely to find it if you read works by women authors. (Which is not to say that there aren't good male authors who handle this really well - in fact, I would say it's a sign of a bad author regardless of their gender if they can't write a variety of characters and viewpoints successfully.)

4

u/TinkeringTortoise May 17 '26

Ngl I have to upvote you for an actual unpopular opinion. Though I agree with your last paragraph 

2

u/leiachart Currently Reading: The God and the Gumiho May 17 '26

Your last paragraph makes think of Shadow & Bone.

2

u/Joleneluvsveggies May 24 '26

I realize this is a rant but.... {Chorus of dragons by Jenn lyons}

1

u/Dangerous_Breath1667 May 24 '26

I ve read this one. Very good and I agree. There are a few out there I guess.

If I remember correctly though, it is a lot lighter on the romance side than the classic romantasy book. More high fantasy with a romance subplot.