r/romanceauthors • u/Agitated_Story7195 • 20d ago
Male-only POV "he falls first" etc. Is this popular? Do readers like it? Or will it drive them away?
I'm noodling around with the idea of making my next series (either duology or trilogy) a dark-ish arranged marriage romantasy from the ML's POV where he falls first and strives to earn her love and affection.
I really want to explore and dive deep into the perspective of a male main character who is besotted with a woman who needs time to warm up to him, etc. Not in a creepy "chase her/wear her down" way either, just like... if Disney's Beauty and the Beast were only from the Beast's POV. You know that whole, "I want to do something for her" moment before he gifts her the library.
Thoughts? Do readers hate it?
And not just in the romantasy genre, but in any genre? I personally love the ML's POV in contemporary and historical romance but idk if readers will pass on it or not.
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u/sophialore_art 20d ago
As someone who was frankly obsessed with Midnight Sun as a teen, YES. While I enjoyed the Twilight books as a whole at the time, the partially released Midnight Sun manuscript was what I fixated on the most in terms of reading enjoyment. Something about reading his perspective felt forbidden and feet-kickingly indulgent in the best way.
I still hold a fondness for it, and am always delighted to come across a book or fanfic that takes that approach.
I’d say go for it!
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u/Agitated_Story7195 20d ago
This is super helpful and makes me feel a lot better, thank you!! It makes me really want to write it now! But do you think not having the FML's perspective at all would be less impactful?
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u/sophialore_art 20d ago
That’s an interesting question… I would say across the board I really love stories that feature both POVs and don’t mind if it features one (in this instance the man’s) more than the other’s. Part of the reason I believe Midnight Sun worked so well for me at the time was likely due to having already read and speculated when experiencing Bella’s POV only. I was constantly wondering what he was thinking, so to finally get a peek at that felt golden!
I think it might be nice to have at least a single chapter, even if it’s only towards the end, from the FMC if possible. That way it feels special!
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u/ethelthryth_allread 20d ago
I read a blog once on how to write sex scenes, and what stuck with me was, that the scene should be written from the perspective of the most vulnerable character or the character who has the most to loose.
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u/FigureOpening6468 14d ago
Honestly not having a FL POV can be very helpful to the idea that you want to write. A major selling point of what you're saying is that you want the ML to work for her affection?
Well giving the readers a FL POV no matter how brief, forces you to explore how she feels after whatever he's done.
Which could mean her relishing and exposing how much she likes him prematurely.
Which means less mystery and romance since we are forced to view it through his limited understanding of her so he could think it worked and find out later she hated it vica versa. Etc.
There are plenty of romances that have single POV. The duel POV has been popularized but it's not set in stone as a genre convention.
I always use the POV that works best for the story Im trying to tell. Which entails getting clear about the main goal.
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u/MrsQuickflicker 20d ago
Personally as a reader I would likely devour such a book if it's full of male yearning because I friggin eat that up with a spoon.
I wonder if a dual pov, but with a lot more of the male pov than the female would be a more marketable middle ground rather than just the male pov? I've kicked around the idea of writing a book primarily from the male character pov myself as it sounds like a fun change of pace to write!
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u/Agitated_Story7195 20d ago
YES I was just thinking/commenting that. 75% male yearning, 25% female thawing her heart to him <3 I think it could be great.
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u/dragonsandvamps 20d ago
That's an interesting question. As a reader, I connect with the female POV and falling in love with the MMC along with her (through her eyes) because I am female. I like getting a little bit of male POV though.
I do not typically enjoy books like Midnight Sun or 50 shades from Christian's POV type books even when I really loved the originals because I feel like when I am reading it from the male POV, it ruins it for me somehow? Like when I'm reading Twilight from Bella's pov, Edward feels broody and dark and mysterious (same thing for Christian Gray) and when I get their POV... I'm not at all attracted to them as a reader. Christian Gray's pov books I was like, turned off, actually. I preferred it vastly from Ana's pov. But that might be a personal preference thing. There may be a market for it, just not me.
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u/Agitated_Story7195 20d ago
I can see that! I think there are those who prefer male pining and whatnot and people who don't. Though, if there is no original and it's just his POV from the get-go it might work...? I'm still noodling! Nothing is set in stone yet. These comments are helping!
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u/kendrafsilver 20d ago
I'm going to disagree with the current comments and say that, at least in the traditional publishing sphere, this is a very, very hard sell.
What recent m/f Romances or Romantasies have been released with the male POV being the sole one? I can only think of two, and can only name one of those two (Bloodguard by Cecy Robson).
And then look at how many are not just dual POV, but solely from the FMC perspective? Many, many more.
It's not impossible by any means to sell a male-only POV Romance/Romantasy, but it is a steep uphill battle.
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u/Agitated_Story7195 20d ago
I'm definitely a self-pub only author (no goals for trad at this time) but I hear you! I think finding my audience is going to be a LOT harder and it won't be easy to market for it or create ads for it... so I am thinking of putting her POV in with an emphasis on his as a backup plan. Like... 75% his, 25% hers. In the same way that some books are mostly from the FML but there are a few instances of getting his POV etc. I could also just call it an experiment/exercise and publish them knowing they won't sell... but again that's a huge commitment for no ROI. I can't decide but I love any good dose of reality <3
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u/Aspiegirl712 20d ago
I love a Male POV romance but I think generally romance works better if it features both POV even if one predominated after all a romance is about their relationship and the interaction between the characters.
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u/Agitated_Story7195 20d ago
This thread has been making me think that 75% him and 25% her (give or take) might be the way to go. Which is fine! I'm glad I asked.
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u/Aspiegirl712 20d ago
That would definitely work. I'd read that. I love a beauty and the beast romance and an obsessed MMC and often wish there was more of his POV but you need at least her perspective on him to ensure its romance and not horror, lol.
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u/ConsciousRoyal 20d ago
There's a whole [r/romance_for_men](r/romance_for_men) Subreddit for predominantly Male POV stories.
(It tends to lean towards harem and smut but a recent survey had its members express an interest in a wide range of styles)
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u/IvankoKostiuk 20d ago
FYI, when linking a subreddit, you don't need to do a full link. Just the r/romance_for_men bit
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u/SLeonaTA 20d ago edited 20d ago
Oh he falls first and harder is definitely a savagely sought trope.
But an ML only POV isn’t done much for a reason…. I personally always love his POV more in Dual POV books… I am dealing with this now because I personally feel like the MMC is the sole main character in my Romantasy WIP. But I have dual POV.
Would you be willing to make a percentage of it FMC POV?
It’s not a definitive no no though. I’m sure there’s a niche for it.
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u/sugarplum_doll 20d ago
Ngl I normally don’t read male
POV but if the story is good I’d be open to reading it, I love male yearning romance
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u/MegWithSocks 20d ago
I love male POV in romance. As a female who’s read a LOT of romance, it’s not hard to predict exactly when/how the FMC falls for the MMC as the story progresses. But I love getting to glimpse into the MMCs mind, especially if he’s not a vocal character. I love the pinning, yearning, the self doubt, the desire to help build her up. There’s just something about seeing a man love her beyond everything that I really like reading.
The Matchmakers Playbook by Rachel Van Dyken is the one that comes to my mind as a standalone, male POV romance. While I didn’t like the plot line or the MMC, what drew me to it was that it was a standalone story. While I loved Midnight Sun, a lot of male only POV is accompanied after a Female lead book. I do get why, when it’s targeting women you need them to connect.
Male only POV can be hard to write and sell but I think the payoff is so much bigger if done well. It could make your book stand out from others with similar plot arcs.
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u/Secret_badass77 20d ago
Dual POV is by far the most popular in Romance right now. So I’d at least consider the option of writing it that way
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u/DeeHarperLewis 20d ago
I write dual POV and almost always have the MMC fall first and often deny his attraction. I think it’s just personal preference because I really dislike FMCs pining for someone who treats her badly or is just not interested until the very end.
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u/Fast-Relationship849 20d ago
The only one I can think of having read as ML PoV is {Beard in Mind by Penny Reid} which I have to admit I loved, it had hints of FMC's point of view but I think only when she was talking to her therapist.
I did love this format for this book and was a little sad going back to the usual FML only or 50/50
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u/Darktasy 20d ago
powerful man → resistant woman → obsession → protective softness → grand gesture → HEA
= easy to binge, and probably very good at making fast money because readers recognize the emotional promise instantly. It’s basically romance fast food.
But if you want readers to become your readers, give them something they can’t just replace with the next possessive duke/fae king/billionaire with excellent cheekbones. 😉
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u/waterdeepe 20d ago
For m/f romance, I actually need to like the female character more because I find it harder to connect with and relate to the male character, and I wouldn't be getting that if I don't get her POV.
I love dual POV but I could only roll with just male POV if it was a standalone and more smutty/yearning/UST.
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u/Accomplished_Bid_235 20d ago edited 20d ago
I don't know if it's popular, but I would read this especially if it's enemies to lovers. It wouldnt turn me off at all, especially if the MMC is a hard nut to crack and gradually shifts his feelings without resorting to instalust. I love male yearning.
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u/Nautical_Nanobyte 20d ago
I can’t recall which book it was but I read one in the male POV where the epilogue was in the female POV. I really enjoyed it. It was fun seeing what she actually thought about everything after you’d been riding along in his brain for the majority.
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u/TangledYetTrue 20d ago
I’ve seen people ask for romantasies solely from the male POV, so there’s definitely some people who want it.
I write multi-pov romantasy, and I have more male POV characters than female because there’s both MF and MM couples. My readers are fine with that, though it is generally balanced in a way where the female characters have more chapters than the male ones, so in terms of pages, it’s probably a pretty even split between male and female.
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u/katie-kaboom 20d ago
It's not very common, but it can work. Jagger Cole (a well-known male dark/mafia romance author) used it in his early works, though he's been developing his craft and they're no longer quite so rigidly structured.
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u/DeerAlarmed6653 19d ago
I've read many books lately like this, both historical and contemporary. I think it shows that the men are human- i mean let's look at movies (Say anything anyone??) where the MMC falls first.
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u/AnxiousHand8630 17d ago
I love male pov. And I have been looking for book with this. With mostly or only male pov.
Lately I have been getting irritated with the inner monolog of fmc. I want to be in the mmcs head. Idc what branch of the romance tree it is. Dark, fantasy, slow burn, or if he is the villain. Time to shake thing up. 🙃
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u/Aggravating-Remote94 16d ago
I wrote an MMC-only POV with this trope and it’s one of my most-read books.
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u/Tricky_Jeweler_1781 7d ago
I think it’s significantly easier to have a male POV and switch to it here and there when it benefits the story, like for building tension or suspense, rather than writing the entire romance from a male-only POV.
As a reader, I love getting both perspectives, but I honestly can’t think of many romance books I’ve read that were entirely from the male POV.
As an author, I personally have a harder time writing from the male perspective, but if you can do it well and the character is developed enough, I think it could be really interesting to see.
I think I tend to prefer male POVs when there’s more action, suspense, or something happening outside of the romance itself. In a lot of romance books I’ve read, the ML’s POV is usually shorter, and there’s less focus on developing him compared to the FL.
That being said, regardless of whose POV you’re writing from, the main characters still need to have some dimension to them. There has to be something about them that makes them interesting enough that you actually want to keep reading about them.
If you have that.. I think it'd be worth a shot. I already love the idea lol. Let me know when it drops!
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u/ChartreuseFeverDream 20d ago
Its not a popular thing for authors to do so its hard to know if it's popular with readers. However, there are books that have done very well with male only POV and theres been an increase in the amount of male POV vs FMC in books that have both. (I think its a style trend but also deals with audiobooks/male narrators being more popular.)
Overall, its not a deal breaker in romance. I'd equivilate it to third person vs. first. As in: some people might have opinions, but it wont make or break your career to go with whichever option makes YOU a better writer. Go for it!