Romance novels are probably my favorite genre of books to read. I can sit and be immersed in a romance for hours. I have read plenty of romance novels and I have some opinions about them.
Here are five things I love and five things I hate about romance novels:
What I love:
The happy endings.
I love reading a book and knowing that it is going to end in a happy ending, that the main characters are going to fall in love and all of their problems will be solved and any villains will get their comeuppance. I don’t have to stress about whether the bad guy is going to be caught or if the main character is going to die. Knowing that everything I am reading is leading up to a Happily Ever After brings me joy.
Romance characters have the best jobs.
Have you ever noticed that characters in romance novels seem to have fun jobs? I feel like I am always reading about a baker, or a writer, or a secret agent, or a dog walker, or a bodyguard. I love reading about jobs that are different than my job and these characters always seem like they are having so much fun.
That romance can exist in any genre of book.
I know I said that is about what I love about romance books but I love reading a sci-fi book and finding a romance subplot that pops up. Or reading a mystery where the two main characters fall in love. I love that romance can show up in just about every other genre of book and, in my opinion, every book could be better with a little romance.
The meet-cute.
The part where the main characters meet, not knowing that they will have fallen in love by the end of the book? My favorite!
All the love.
I just love all the love that is in romance books. I love reading about people falling in love and their love stories. There is just something wholesome reading about two people being swept off their feet.
What I hate:
Sex in weird places.
Some of the sex scenes can get very creative and I am not of fan of sex that takes place in odd places. I read one book where the characters had sex on a balcony and I was like, nope! Same with having sex against a window in a skyscraper, nope! As someone who is terrified of heights these scenes just make me shudder.
So many dukes.
It seems like in every historical romance, the hero is a duke, which leads me to wonder, were there really that many dukes in old-time England? I don’t think so. Sometimes it gets boring reading about another duke or some other member of the peerage; I would love to read a historical romance where the male character is a tradesman or a servant.
Insta love or where the only thing attractive about someone is their looks.
Yes, physical attraction can be a fundamental part of why characters like each other. That’s fine but I would prefer that it not be the only thing. I need to know more about personalities and quirks. There just needs to be something more to a relationship other than the fact that someone has great hair (seriously, why does every character in a romance novel have great hair?).
When characters can smell each other.
Men always seem to have a woodsy smell and women seem to always smell like vanilla or some flower. I was reading one romance and the heroine kept talking about how she could tell that the hero was near her in the gym because she could smell his sweat (and she liked it) and maybe this is a me thing but I’ve never thought the smell of sweat has been sexy. I just don’t understand – do people in romance novels have super olfactory senses? They can always smell sweat and they can always smell when someone is clean. Similarly, they can always smell shampoo and cologne.
The stereotypes associated with romance novels.
Why do people care what kinds of books I read? Just let me read my book in peace!!
Leave a Reply