Your post reminds me of a screenshot I’d taken of a romance novel, where the main character - a fiction editor named Amy - was reflecting on the fact that books about unhappy, abused, or even murdered women were considered “serious”, while books about them having fun, strong friendships, and satisfying sex were “vapid” or “unrealistic”.
It’s almost as though we live in a society that has conditioned us to hate women - our bodies, our lives, our desires, our agency, etc. - or something…
I always want to (pointlessly) scream, “it’s a ROMANCE, NOT a love story!” at articles/interviews about romance books, when the author/interviewer inevitably refers to it as a love story. I know they are most likely trying not to use repetitive language but it also demonstrates their unfamiliarity genre conventions. One of my pet peeves and it’s silly, but there is a meaningful difference if you are discussing a book. Almost like lumping all fantasy in with science fiction.
Lovely post!! There is actually one of my dislikes when it comes to the romance book community!!
A lot of readers leaving negative/ bad reviews for a specific setting (i.e. a certain trope, dynamic, content warnings) and ended up giving low ratings! It’s sometimes funny to see reviews like that when those are literally in the description/ blurb of the book.
When it comes to HEA, to me I feel like it gives me a sense that it will all end well at the end. It’s a bit heart-breaking to see people thinking having a HEA when this is actually the goal of a lot of people, not just readers in fiction and reality.
PREACH.
Your post reminds me of a screenshot I’d taken of a romance novel, where the main character - a fiction editor named Amy - was reflecting on the fact that books about unhappy, abused, or even murdered women were considered “serious”, while books about them having fun, strong friendships, and satisfying sex were “vapid” or “unrealistic”.
It’s almost as though we live in a society that has conditioned us to hate women - our bodies, our lives, our desires, our agency, etc. - or something…
I always want to (pointlessly) scream, “it’s a ROMANCE, NOT a love story!” at articles/interviews about romance books, when the author/interviewer inevitably refers to it as a love story. I know they are most likely trying not to use repetitive language but it also demonstrates their unfamiliarity genre conventions. One of my pet peeves and it’s silly, but there is a meaningful difference if you are discussing a book. Almost like lumping all fantasy in with science fiction.
Lovely post!! There is actually one of my dislikes when it comes to the romance book community!!
A lot of readers leaving negative/ bad reviews for a specific setting (i.e. a certain trope, dynamic, content warnings) and ended up giving low ratings! It’s sometimes funny to see reviews like that when those are literally in the description/ blurb of the book.
When it comes to HEA, to me I feel like it gives me a sense that it will all end well at the end. It’s a bit heart-breaking to see people thinking having a HEA when this is actually the goal of a lot of people, not just readers in fiction and reality.