Stealth Romance? :D

Status
Not open for further replies.

Calliea

Hush, hush...
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Dec 6, 2012
Messages
524
Reaction score
53
Location
Faraway
I've been lurking around here yesterday and stumbled upon the thing twice. I'm curious how it works? I mean, what's the difference between a non-romance novel with important romantic plot thread(s), and a novel that's a stealth romance? Very often romance is mad important to the protagonist(s) of a novel falling into another genre, so it makes me wonder :)
 

Osulagh

Independent fluffy puppy.
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Sep 4, 2013
Messages
1,488
Reaction score
222
Location
My dog house.
I have no idea what it means, and my google-fu ain't helping.

Is it suppose be something related to Shipping, or just underlying romance?
 

Brightdreamer

Just Another Lazy Perfectionist
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Apr 22, 2012
Messages
12,975
Reaction score
4,507
Location
USA
Website
brightdreamersbookreviews.blogspot.com
I just had a bizarre vision of a novel about a Stealth Bomber struck by lightning, developing sentience, and falling in love with an enemy drone...

No, I'm not familiar with the term either, in other words. (Unless it really is the bomber thing. Which would be cool, so long as the refueling scenes aren't overdone.) It doesn't make sense to me that one wouldn't bill a novel honestly - if it's a romance, call it a romance. So it must mean something specific to a certain group of readers. Just can't think of what... (And like the previous poster, Google leads me right back to this thread.)
 

Latina Bunny

Lover of Contemporary/Fantasy Romance (she/her)
Super Member
Registered
Joined
May 26, 2011
Messages
3,820
Reaction score
738
It would help if you told us how you're defining "stealth romance".

Is it an unexpected romance that comes out of nowhere? Like, there were no hints throughout the story about this romance or how it formed?

The only time I came across unexpected romances mentioned was in the Bioware game forums, where players mentioned that they got "ninjamanced" by certain characters. (Apparently, if you were the appropriate sex, and talked to those characters or did some things in a certain way, you could find yourself in a romantic relationship without being aware of it, lol.)

Anyway, to get back on topic, I'm guessing you meant unexpected romances forming in a story?

In a non-romance with romantic elements, I think the romance aspect would still be hinted at, either in the blurb, or early on in the story.

In a genre romance story, it is obvious from the blurb (and sometimes the cover), that the story is about the couple trying to get (or stay) together.

With unexpected romances? I would think it's fine, as long as there are hints about it...?
 

Calliea

Hush, hush...
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Dec 6, 2012
Messages
524
Reaction score
53
Location
Faraway
I don't know what I meant - it's a term I've stumbled upon in the book annoyance thread and another one (can't remember the name) :p If I knew, I'd probably be able to define it and had no need of asking :D
 

Latina Bunny

Lover of Contemporary/Fantasy Romance (she/her)
Super Member
Registered
Joined
May 26, 2011
Messages
3,820
Reaction score
738
Hmm... I guess it could mean a romance that the reader wasn't expecting? Maybe it "snuck up" on the reader like a ninja, lol? I think it could be the reader expected one type of story, and then got a romance element they did not expect at all. Or, the romance element was never hinted at, and the reader couldn't invest into the romance, because it never developed in a natural/organic manner...?
 

Roxxsmom

Beastly Fido
Kind Benefactor
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Oct 24, 2011
Messages
23,079
Reaction score
10,775
Location
Where faults collide
Website
doggedlywriting.blogspot.com
My understanding is that if the story wouldn't really exist without the romantic element, then it's a romance (assuming other criteria are met, like the HEA or HFN ending). The main plot is tied up with the romance.

Otherwise, it's a novel with a strong romantic subplot.
 

LJD

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Sep 12, 2010
Messages
4,226
Reaction score
525
My impression, after a bit of searching, is that this refers to a book that meets the requirement for genre romance in that the romance is a critical part of the plot, HOWEVER it is not shelved in the romance section despite this being the dominant part of the story. Whereas in a book with "romantic elements," the romance is not such an essential part of the plot. Clearly not a widely used term, though.

But, it sort of makes sense when you consider that many people have quite a negative opinion of romance novels, and refuse to read anything shelved as romance. So by not calling something a romance, there might be the possibility of a wider readership? Or maybe it sometimes refers to books in which the romance is the main story, but various romance genre conventions are broken? Not sure.
 

Roxxsmom

Beastly Fido
Kind Benefactor
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Oct 24, 2011
Messages
23,079
Reaction score
10,775
Location
Where faults collide
Website
doggedlywriting.blogspot.com
I think some people who dislike all romantic subplots will sometimes mislabel a book with such as a "stealth romance" if they didn't expect such a subplot to exist at all for some reason.

It may also be a comment people make if they thing the romantic element subverts or overshadows the story's main plot for part of the story, or if it doesn't feel organic to the story or characters, or if there's a happy outcome to the romantic arc they didn't feel was earned or appropriate, or if the romantic elements are shown through the gaze of a female character when they'd be more comfortable seeing it through the eyes of a male, or...

So, it could mean lots of things.
 

SBibb

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Feb 2, 2011
Messages
1,573
Reaction score
116
Website
sbibb.wordpress.com
I just had a bizarre vision of a novel about a Stealth Bomber struck by lightning, developing sentience, and falling in love with an enemy drone...

No, I'm not familiar with the term either, in other words. (Unless it really is the bomber thing. Which would be cool, so long as the refueling scenes aren't overdone.)

Oh dear. Now I know what I'll be thinking the next time I see a stealth bomber flying overhead. (Though the whole sentience/falling in love with enemy drone does sound like a neat plot).

As for stealth romance... I haven't heard of the term, so I can't be of much help there.
 

Polenth

Mushroom
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Dec 27, 2007
Messages
5,017
Reaction score
735
Location
England
Website
www.polenthblake.com
I wouldn't call every book with a romantic sub-plot a stealth romance. Or any book that makes it clear the romance is the central plotline (wherever they decide to shelve it). It's when the book is a romance, but they cover it up in the marketing. Usually by having a back cover description that bears very little resemblance to the plot, as it's completely devoid of any hints of romance.

It means readers who'd enjoy the romance don't read it, and readers who hate romance end up buying it and feeling cheated. So why publishers do this sometimes, who knows.
 
Last edited:

Laiceps

Busy doing nothing
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Feb 28, 2013
Messages
211
Reaction score
27
Location
In a bookshop
What Polenth said.
I would call a book a 'Stealth Romance' if there was absolutely no hint of a romantic plot on the blurb, and the romance turned out to be the main part of the book.
I think I was one of the people in the thread who was complaining about this because I'd just finished a book exactly like it.
I don't mind romance, but when you read the blurb and pick up a book expecting it to be something completely different and it turns out that most of the book is centered on their relationship, it's annoying.
Sneaky people.
 

David B

Ironhide
Registered
Joined
Aug 18, 2014
Messages
8
Reaction score
1
Someone said i had a stealth Romance in my book because two of my major characters had a romance mostly off screen... could that be what they are referring to? other than that I've got nothing...
 

snowpea

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Aug 11, 2014
Messages
187
Reaction score
10
I've been lurking around here yesterday and stumbled upon the thing twice. I'm curious how it works? I mean, what's the difference between a non-romance novel with important romantic plot thread(s), and a novel that's a stealth romance? Very often romance is mad important to the protagonist(s) of a novel falling into another genre, so it makes me wonder :)
I've never heard of that term but Women's Fiction is what I used to read in my late teen/early college years. It's also called Romantic Fiction. I do not like flat out romances--too much sex and too focused on the story with the man.
 

bearilou

DenturePunk writer
Kind Benefactor
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Aug 5, 2009
Messages
6,004
Reaction score
1,233
Location
yawping barbarically over the roofs of the world
I'd consider a romance a 'stealth romance' if I'm reading along in the book, picking up exactly ZERO cues (deliberate or subtle) that a romance was blooming between characters and next thing you know, we have confessions of love and this romance thing between them.

IOW absolutely NO build up at all, just one day, they say good morning, the next it's GOOD MORNING LOVER WITH GOLDEN HAIR THE COLOR OF THE SUN I MISSED YOU.

Yeah..wut?
 

pandaponies

in ur boardz, correctin ur grammar
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Sep 11, 2011
Messages
773
Reaction score
129
Location
Omicron Persei 8
A romance that pops up "out of nowhere" isn't what I'd call stealth romance, as something hurtling at you out of left field isn't much connected to stealth IMO :p You say "stealth romance" and I think of a romance cleverly disguised as something else, ex. Twilight as a ~paranormal fantasy~ or something along those lines. People read it and eat it up and say "Oh, I can't stand romance novels" while actually loving a romance novel by any other name.

I googled and the majority of the opinions I've found on this term are along these same lines, so hypothesis supported :p
 

Lillith1991

The Hobbit-Vulcan hybrid
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Mar 12, 2014
Messages
5,313
Reaction score
569
Location
MA
Website
eclecticlittledork.wordpress.com
A romance that pops up "out of nowhere" isn't what I'd call stealth romance, as something hurtling at you out of left field isn't much connected to stealth IMO :p You say "stealth romance" and I think of a romance cleverly disguised as something else, ex. Twilight as a ~paranormal fantasy~ or something along those lines. People read it and eat it up and say "Oh, I can't stand romance novels" while actually loving a romance novel by any other name.

I googled and the majority of the opinions I've found on this term are along these same lines, so hypothesis supported :p

Agreed. Twilight was a YA Paranormal Romance series, and it wasn't billed as such. Besides not being fond of the books period, and thinking they were overly bloated, Bella being the last person I would care for as a protag etc. If it had been billed as a Paranormal Romance I would have had one less reason to dislike it so much. I prefer my Romance to be promoted as Romance. I don't like when publishers hide something that important from me.

A strong romance subplot isn't a stealth romance, not even if the romance is just below the main plot in importance. The point of a Romance novel is the romantic aspect is the most important bit, not below anything else. But if the blurb lies about how important the romance is to the story....stealth romance.
 
Joined
Jul 7, 2014
Messages
152
Reaction score
13
I think the answer got hit a couple times. When you have a book that's supposed to be a mystery, or fantasy, or science fiction, or <pick your genre> and it turns out to be a romance with the genre setting, I'd say that's what classifies it as a "stealth" romance. i.e. the romance is the main plot and the rest of the genre stuff is just some sub-plots wrapped around it.

Of course, as others did, I saw "stealth" and thought it must be a regular story that suddenly had something blow-up from an undetected romance. But ... that idea sounds a lot better in my head than in words ;)
 

Lissibith

On target
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jun 24, 2009
Messages
2,201
Reaction score
258
Location
Maryland, USA
What Polenth said.
I would call a book a 'Stealth Romance' if there was absolutely no hint of a romantic plot on the blurb, and the romance turned out to be the main part of the book.
I think I was one of the people in the thread who was complaining about this because I'd just finished a book exactly like it.
I don't mind romance, but when you read the blurb and pick up a book expecting it to be something completely different and it turns out that most of the book is centered on their relationship, it's annoying.
Sneaky people.
I used that term in the things that annoy us thread, and I really apologize if anyone thought it was some actual literary term. It was just a spur of the moment phrase that seemed appropriate for what I was referring to, which is basically this here in the quote.

I don't like romance per se, but I'm not going to mark down a book because of a romantic subplot as long as it's reasonably well done and organic. I'll even pick up a romance novel if people I trust rec it to me, and I've enjoyed many of them. But they're up front about it so I know what to expect going in.

But lord save me from a book which pretends on the back cover to be some fantasy adventure and when I read it, I get a romance story in which some fantasy adventure takes place around the edges.

TL;DR I personally used it to mean a romance novel that won't admit it is one to potential buyers. But if it ever resulted in a book like Michael Steven suggested, I might have to read it for curiosity's sake :D
 

Calliea

Hush, hush...
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Dec 6, 2012
Messages
524
Reaction score
53
Location
Faraway
And so the mystery has been solved by the mysterer :D Cookies to those that guessed right, I suppose, hah.
 

snowpea

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Aug 11, 2014
Messages
187
Reaction score
10
so i get it now. Scully and Mulder definitely had a stealth romance.
 

Bolder

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Feb 11, 2011
Messages
55
Reaction score
4
I guess stealth romance is a book that someone like me would read, because I avoid romance novels. Then I get a nasty surprise but since i'm so far in I have to read the whole thing anyway.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.