Hello everyone, greetings from Nantes where I spent this long weekend while getting texts from everyone who left to spend some time in the sun… Like my sister, whose audacity is only forgiven because she is the #1 supporter of this weekly endeavour. Rest assured, I am not writing today to complain about the weather (that’s a topic I keep for my work acquaintances at the coffee machine), but to talk about romance (the literary kind). This subject is brought to you all thanks to a short one I read this week, that was so bad it regularly threw me out of the reading experience. Because I am both an avid reader of romance and a spiteful hater, I decided to round up the worst romance tropes in today’s email. Will I name names? Absolutely.
Fake enemies to lovers
When main character 1 (MC1) is not a hater, but rather secretly in love with the other (MC2).
More often than not, MC2’s hatred comes from a totally ridiculous and other the top reason, like “I gave him a mug and he did not like it”. Sometimes MC1 is also a total jackass, but it’s because he is hiding his feelings and everything will be forgotten and forgiven when MC2 falls in love.
Famous offender: The Hating Game by Sally Thorne
Miscommunication trope
When drama happens for no reason but an inability to communicate.
It can be ok at the beginning of a story to set things in motion, but characters are supposed to grow as the story advances, and stop assuming the worst case scenario as they get to know the person… Miscommunication is often a sign of immaturity in the characters, and I do not want grown people to behave as angsty teens. In the third act, it is the laziest way for an author to add drama before the climax, and editors who allow it should be forbidden from publishing again.
Famous offender: The Spanish Love Deception, by Elena Armas
Over the top 3rd dramatic act
Self explanatory
A cousin to the miscommunication trope as both can go hand in hand, this trope brings all the much drama at the end of the book, when everything was low stakes. The authors is bringing us to a night out in Vegas when we thought we were having a backyard barbecue. I’m not dressed properly and there are only 30 pages left, so chill out.
Famous offender: It Happened One Summer, by Tessa Bailey
Lust is love
When characters have nothing in common but their libido
This trope means that characters confuse their hormones and their hearts. I classify it as a worse version of love at first sight, since initial infatuation can develop into long lasting feelings. It is a narrative arc that should only be authorised in smut romances, where the point of the book is in the sex scenes. More traditional romances need to have characters with chemistry and some commonality to let us believe in their Happily Ever After.
Famous offender: Beach Read, by Emily Henry
Love triangles
The most grating of all tropes
Not that love triangles do not exist in real life, but they mostly do during high school. The author can (barely) be forgiven if both the intended audience and the characters are high schoolers. That’s it. Why would anyone want to read about a poor girl who is trying to decide between two prospective matches and leads them on for a whole book (or 3)?
Famous offender: The Selection, by Keira Cass
Escapism
What is the most romantic city? Some would say Paris, but having lived there 4 years, I cannot concur. The magic disappears when the city becomes your home. That’s why today’s escapism section is bringing us to Venice, Italy.
With its canals, its alleys and its architecture, the city is a classical setup for proposals and honeymoons. Ai Mercanti is a family owned restaurant that the Michelin guide describes in these terms: “Full of exciting and imaginative flavours, the modern cuisine offers good value for money”.
Culture
Since this week’s topic is romance, I want to direct you to this two part article by Ann Kjellberg about the romance publication. It can seem like a dry topic but the writing is engaging enough to carry you through both parts.
The first part (linked above) focuses on the historical side, while the second part dives into self publication and its relation with traditional publication.
We are now reaching the end of this week’s email. If you enjoyed it don’t forget to subscribe and share it with your friends!
See you next Sunday!
😎☀️💃🪩 hehehe