Tuesday 10 February 2015

Romance in Books: My Likes and Dislikes



Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme run by The Broke and the Bookish. The topic this week is: Top Ten Things I Like/Dislike When It Comes To Romances In Books.

My list is going to include things I like and dislike in bookish romances. I find it so hard to consistently say ‘I like this, but dislike this,’ as it all depends on how the topic is handled and how it’s written. In one book I could love a certain trope or occurrence, and in another, if it’s badly done, I could absolutely loathe it! Love-triangles are the perfect example of this, but I’ll chat more about that in a minute.


This list isn’t really in any particular order, but I’ve numbered it for convenience. :)


1) Respect!

Respect is a HUGE thing for me. The characters need to respect each other, and each other’s opinions and beliefs. When this balance is there, I’m extremely happy. It doesn’t show up often enough for my liking, certainly not in YA, but when it does I will cherish it forever. (*cough* Morpheus.) If I get a whiff of a character trying to control or influence someone else’s opinions, potential hatred toward the offending character could, and usually does, soon follow.


2) Over-Protectiveness

Going down the secure and protected route is one thing… but there is a limit. I absolutely HATE overprotectiveness. This is the ultimate kiss of death for me. I can completely understand when a character wants to protect those they love and hold dear – that’s natural! But, when it becomes controlling and smothering… NOPE! I’m done, and I lose all respect for the perpetrating character.

Case in question: Jeb from the Splintered trilogy. (Grrrrr!)



3) Love-Triangles

Yep, I just had to include them! Ok, unpopular opinion time: I don’t mind love-triangles that much, and sometimes I even like them… as long as they’re written well. When two characters of equal merit are involved in the choice, love-triangles can be really entertaining and captivating to read. I think the Night School series, Throne of Glass series and The Artist’s Trilogy are perfect examples of excellently handled love-triangles. On the flip side, I hate badly written, just for the sake of the drama, predictable love-triangles.* It all comes down to subtlety, too. When they dominate the plot, they get annoying quickly.

*Unless my ship wins… then, of course I’ll make an exception and love ‘em!


4) Romance / Plot balance.

I’m a hopeless romantic at heart, and I LOVE when I read a well written romance. BUT - the balance has to be right! I love when a romance compliments and enhances a plot, but doesn’t dictate or overshadow the main story*. When the balance is right, those moments of banter and cuteness between a couple can nudge a book from four to five stars.



*There is a HUGE exception to this: When my ships and OTP’s are involved, I push everything else into the background, and the relationship/romance becomes ALL IMPORTANT… They. Better. WIN! Not that I’m obsessive about this… ‘Course not… *whistles*


5) Insta-love Vs Insta-attraction

Insta-attraction happens all the time, both in real life and in books. It’s natural to find another person attractive! I only have a problem when insta-attraction is skipped over, and becomes insta-love. I do believe in love at first sight… but not in books!! I want to read about the struggles, the ugly moments, the bickering and getting to know each other, as well as all the lovey-dovey cute moments! When two characters are declaring their eternal love, devotion and their entire futures to each other at the 100 page mark, I become very suspicious. Particularly if it’s the first 100 pages in the very first book of a TRILOGY, or worse, a five or more book SERIES!



6) Show me the Journey!

I want to feel like the relationship has progressed and grown. I love seeing where it all began and then enjoying the journey from Point Beginning to Point Ending, and all the points in between. There is nothing more heart-breaking than thinking back on a romance, and realising the characters relationship didn’t progress very much at all!


7) There’s More to Life Than a Relationship!

I love reading about characters that have their own identity outside of a relationship. I LOVE seeing two characters enhance and complement each other’s personalities when the romance eventually forms. They’re strong on their own, but they make each other even stronger whey they’re together.


8) Slow Burning Romance

I LOVE romances that build up over time! If it’s combined with fabulous banter between the people involved, I’m extremely happy. The build up to the romance is so important.



9) Natural Progression

I love when a relationship feels like it progressed naturally, and I hate when it feels forced. Some characters are a perfect fit… while others just seem like they should never have mixed in the first place! I want to root for a couple, and when the chemistry isn’t there, it’s excruciatingly painful to read. A romance-less story is a much better option! Also, the build up to sexy times! Getting the balance right and adding a smooch/sex scenes when they naturally should occur is something I love seeing. To me, like with point 6, the journey is so much more important! On the flip side, when every couple of pages has a sex scene… its overkill.


10) I Wanna Know!

I want to know if a book is all about the romance before I read it! Sometimes a nice fluffy romance is exactly what I want to read… but it can be very annoying when a purely romance book is disguised as, for example, a fantasy book, you know? If it’s 95% romance, and 5% fantasy, I’m not that interested! Think back to old school CD’s for a minute: imagine handing someone a Slipknot album, and when they press play, the CD is actually full of Taylor Swift songs…



It’s not a nice shock!


This turned out to be a longer list than I was expecting! I guess I have a lot more opinions on this topic that I thought!

I’d love to know how you feel about bookish romances… What are your likes and dislikes?



24 comments:

  1. A big huge YES to a careful balance between romance and the plot! I hate when the romance totally overshadows everything else!

    Here are my Top Ten!

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    1. Yep, the balance is so important to me, too!

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  2. Great list! Yes!...there's a difference between insta-love and insta-attraction! It does happen, too! I totally agree that respect is a necessity. And I still enjoy love triangles, too. I had trouble making a list so I modified the topic, but I think I could easily make a list now! Here's my TTT

    Michelle @ Michelle's Minions

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    1. I love when characters respect each others opinions, even if they differ from their own. Thanks Michelle!

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  3. I love your list! I agree on so many of these points. Respect is huge! I need to see that they have equal amounts of respect on both sides of the relationship. I also agree about insta-attraction not being a bad thing. It's when they fall head over heals immediately that turns me off.

    But the biggest thing for me that you mention and I didn't is that balance between plot and romance. I've never liked books that revolve completely around romance. I need there to be something more to the story than that. Great list!
    Cassi @ My Thoughts Literally

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    1. Respect is a HUGE deal for me! And a huge yes to everything you said - I don't mind a romance, but there needs to me more going on.

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  4. Couldn't agree more with you with overprotectiveness and love triangles! They can both be really enjoyable and entertaining if they're done correctly, otherwise it's just a big old mess!
    Here's my Top Ten Tuesday

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    1. Yes, exactly! It's a shame the bad ones seem to crop up so often. It makes the good ones that much better, though :D

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  5. I love how the balance between plot and romance only matters if it's not one of your ships. I have the same problem where I'd rather read about two characters in scene together than worry about plot. lol

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    1. LOL! I'm a shipper :D I love reading about the characters I love, and everything else kind of fades into the background. I always think I can worry about the details later, if and when I reread it in the future!

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  6. OOh nice ones! I agree with a lot of these too! Funny when I was writing my post, I was like what do I like? What do I hate? I. DON'T. KNOW. Lol!!

    Here's my Tuesday Post

    Have a GREAT day!

    Old Follower :)

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    1. Hahahaha! I was the same! It entirely depends on the book and how the topic is handled. In one book, I could love something, and in the next, it's the very thing that bothers me!

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  7. I love a slow burning romance too. With a nice build up and sexual tension which is almost better than when they finally get together.
    I also agree that love triangles can be good but it depends how they're written. If done well the pull on the heart strings keeps me going back for more books with them.

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    1. Yes, that's exactly it! The build up is so important, and it's sometimes the best part! Thanks for stopping by, Sharon :)

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  8. Balance is a huge one for me, too. I like seeing relationships where both partners are equal. I'm ok with disagreements, so long as each lover can defend their own opinion with an intelligent answer, but, like you, I dislike it when one is completely influenced by another. Haha I often end up hating that character, too. Perspective shouldn't be one sided! I'm in with you also on #7 and #8, I see your points. Thanks for sharing!

    Claire @ Cover to Cover

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    1. Yep, you've summed it up perfectly. I love seeing a willingness to listen and learn from others experiences and their opinions, but not to be taken in and completely influenced by them. Thanks for stopping by, Claire!

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  9. I completely agree with you on the love triangles! I do like love triangles, but only the really well done ones! Not the ones that are just there to be there. Because then it gets annoying. Oh and yeah if MC constantly switches between loving one interest to another, then no. I don't like that either :P

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    1. LOL! They're really hard to find, but the good ones are so much fun to read :D

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  10. All of this is so true! I hate when overprotectiveness comes in-.- It goes from being a healthy relationship between equals to one in which one of them has this weird need to have power over the other and determine everything for them:( I wish authors remembered that there is a difference between insta-attraction and insta-love because insta-love is the bane of my booky existence! Insta-attraction makes sense and can be the starting point but it's not love! I love a slow burning romance (I can ship them completely and utterly!;)) and that Vampire Diaries gif is so cute!
    Maya @ anotheronceuponatime.blogspot.com

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    1. Yep, I completely agree. I wish insta-love would just disappear! Thanks for stopping by, Maya :)

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  11. I love a slow burn romance as we'll totally agree on the love triangles if done right they are great. Thanks for stopping by my blog.

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  12. These are some great points! Respect is so huge for me. And the over protectiveness borders on obsession for me, and that is just never good. I do like love triangles too, as long as they're done well. And slow burn... always! Great list :)

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    1. Thanks Shannon! Yeah, when obsession comes into the equation, I wanna leave, LOL! It's not healthy. Thanks for stopping by!

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