Romances you like to read about (in and out of genre)?

I would never read a romance novel, but I don't at all mind a romance occurring during the course of a story. There's a great love story that happens in Dean Koontz's Watchers, and that definitely added to my liking the novel. Come to think of it, Koontz does this a lot.

With category romance, it depends on the writer, more than on the type of novel, though I guess I prefer historical romance. But I really enjoy Nora Roberts, Marsha Cunningham, Debbie Macomber, and a few others.

I also enjoy Nicholas Sparks, and I love the classic romance writers, be it the Bronte sisters, Jane Austen, etc.

If you consider something like Ivanhoe a romance, I could add a bunch of writers and novels to the list.

The romances I write about are often doomed or forbidden; so that's usually what I'm reading. Right now, for example, I'm reading Rebecca.

I loathe 'magical healing sex' stories that end with an easy happily-ever-after. Whether they're in capital-R romances or as subplots in something else, I want to see broken and dented people finding each other, loving each other, and working on all the interpersonal junk that doesn't just go away once a ring is on a finger or orgasms have been had.

Unsurprisingly, 'Into the Woods' is my favorite musical.

I read romances now and again, and I don't mind love stories in other novels, provided they make sense. I prefer the ones with an evenly-matched couple; the Broken Woman meeting the Perfect Man is a guaranteed eye-roller (and ratings-dropper.) I also like emotional engagement, not simply strings of sex scenes that somehow constitute a relationship.

If it's a romance genre novel, I prefer the obstacles to be both internal and external

If it's another novel with romance elements...the main thing is, and this goes for genre romance too in many ways, more so perhaps, that these two people be right for each other. That is, they compliment each other in some way

It's a hard thing to articulate, for all I should be able to. But they should fit each other, compliment each other, make each other more than they would be on their own



A really satisfying romance is one where the two people become more than the sum of their parts? They allow each other to be the best person they are capable of being. That's what makes romance, IRL and in books, really sing to me. They fit like dovetails -- opposite but complementary.

Unless the point is it's Real Life in which case we all fall for unsuitable people I recall an Austen quote (which I will paraphrase cos I can't find it) that X and Y got married in such and such a book because if they'd married anyone else, four people would have been unhappy instead of just the two. That's work for me if it was the point of the book and was signposted.

I love dynamic duos. Couples that get along really well with each other, make a great team and kick ass together. I wished I saw this more. The main couple in Sword Art Online had this going for them. They totally reminded me of DH and I, another gamer couple. But then the series totally jumped the shark, the woman became a trophy, and I hated the writer for it.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, I love tragedies. The couple is one of those Great Loves of the Century, but the relationship is intense and self-sacrificing to the point of co-dependency, and a blend of external circumstances and deep flaws in the individuals keep it from being something that will ever end well. But please, for the love of God, the author HAS to portray relationships for what they are. It's not healthy, it's heartbreaking! Don't put them on a pedestal and give them a happy ending, damnit!

Oh, I love a tragic ending too (doesn't mean they have to die -- Casablanca, Gone With the Wind...) Bittersweet....bitter because they don;t get what they/you wanted, sweet because it fits the story. Bliss.

I like... I don't know if I could describe it.

MOST of the time I like when the couple goes through A LOT together. I also enjoy ones where the guy is all kick-ass or bad-ass and is much larger than the girl. Doesn't mean she can't kick butt though. I also sometimes like when the guy isn't human...

I dunno. I can't really describe it.

I also like f/f romances, but finding those is a bit more... difficult.

This is a surprisingly difficult question, because there are a lot of variables. I like romances, and as long as it's well written and appeals to me, I'll read all sorts. I do prefer romances with a happy ending rather than tragic love stories (a bittersweet note at the end can be good, though, and if the tragic love is a subplot I also tend to see it differently). That said, I'm a particular fan of (the following list mostly applies to genre romance):

• Romantic comedy. I've bought more than one romance novel on the basis of the author making me laugh when I read the first chapters.
• Reunion romances and other stories where the characters have a preexisting relationship (they used to be married or they were childhood friends, etc)
• What I'll call stories about women who are difficult to love and the men who love them. I've been known to read Amazon reviews and when someone dings a romance heroine for being too aggressive or too cold or otherwise not sweet enough, I go, "Okay. So that's definitely one to look at."
• Heroes who lean beta rather than alpha. Some of my favorite romance novels have male leads more likely to throw out a joke than to throw a punch or who, contrary to the usual expectation, like to let their partner take the lead in the bedroom.
• Any romance where the characters obviously get each other. They catch each other's jokes or show they know things about each other that anybody else might not notice.
• Any romance where the characters obviously have fun together. I'm not a fan of romances where the characters lust after each other and/or angst over their feelings for each other, but never laugh together, never tease, and never seem to actually relax and enjoy each other's company.

virtue_summer said:

[*]Any romance where the characters obviously have fun together. I'm not a fan of romances where the characters lust after each other and/or angst over their feelings for each other, but never laugh together, never tease, and never seem to actually relax and enjoy each other's company.
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Oh yes this!

If they can't have fun together...

I wrote a Not Romance ( love story I suppose) where they were already i a relationship when it started and they teased each other loads. Because they were close enough they could.

When things are too Serious, I do kinda wonder for the future of the relationship. They need to be able to laugh together too

I'm all about the happy ending.

I also like books that are original, although this doesn't apply to just romances. But romances use a lot of tropes, so if it has that extra originality, they've got my attention.

Like Sophie Kinsella, although I think she might be categorized under Chick Lit. But her stories are very good at having that extra original bit to it. The voice is usually the same, but the plot is quite unique. Her endings are usually lacking though. Yes, that would be another thing I like in romances: a good ending. I put a lot of importance on endings. For me, it can make or break the book. And sometimes, if the book is starting to drag, I'll flip to the end just see to if the ending is worth going through the rest of the book.

There's an author (can't remember her name anymore) where it feels like you've read one book, you've read them all. They're such cookie cutter books. It gets boring after the first couple of books and you're on to her now.

I absolutely can't stand Nicholas Sparks books. The man can't write. But hey, he's the one laughing to the bank.

I don't like Debbie Macomber books either. She writes well enough, but they're rather boring plots. I remember thinking while I was reading them that it must be an age thing, because her books feel...slower. Like a lazy day on the front porch with a breeze blowing through while you're sipping lemonade kind of slow. However, she made a fatal error in my eyes when she wrote a story that was literally almost like another story she had written. It was even the same characters. That was really lazy, and not in a good way.

Dreity said:

I love dynamic duos. Couples that get along really well with each other, make a great team and kick ass together. I wished I saw this more.

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Oh wow, I was going to say this. I just adore couples that are... what's the word... adventure partners? Battle buddies? Especially if they slowly fall in love while working together.

I love the couple from Sword Art Online, too, though I can't for the life of me remember their names.

1. I'm not much for genre romance simply because I don't like knowing an HEA or HFN is coming.

2. I like love stories that drive the story and are part of the main plot, rather than feeling like a subplot.

Mr Flibble said:

A really satisfying romance is one where the two people become more than the sum of their parts? They allow each other to be the best person they are capable of being. That's what makes romance, IRL and in books, really sing to me. They fit like dovetails -- opposite but complementary.

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You just reminded me of my favorite quote from the Vulcan philosopher Surak:

We have differences. May we, together, become greater than the sum of both of us.

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For me, whether genre or a sub/co-plot in a story, invariably I most enjoy stories that seem to embody that quote. The couple can be as flawed as humanly possible, frex a love story featuring two serial killers or where one is a monster and the other has a decent into darkness character arc. But as long as they dovetail as you said, I'm a very happy reader.

Tragic romances are also high on my list of things I love, long as the story isn't a genre Romance. I don't mind a genre Romance starting with a tradgedy of some sort. It provides an obstacle both external and internal for the central love story after all, but tragic endings just make me throw the book across the room. Without the happy ending of some sort, the story has no right being labeled as a genre Romance.

When it comes to reading in the genre, I do prefer Historical Romance and Paranormal Romance with a more serious air (In PNRs I prefer that the supernatural aspect is something that is a barrier for all parties. The human having to know their lover kills to survive or could kill them during a fullmoon etc., and the non-human knowing they're a danger to the person they're coming to love. I don't like fluff, I want to see how they reconcile those things to become something metaphorically stronger.). I don't sucscribe to the idea that because there's a forgone conclusion, the story can't be serious.

kuwisdelu said:

1. I'm not much for genre romance simply because I don't like knowing an HEA or HFN is coming.

2. I like love stories that drive the story and are part of the main plot, rather than feeling like a subplot.

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Agreed on #1... I hate mushy, wushy romances where I'm being lathered up to anticipate a love conquers all type experience. I need my romance to crash and burn. If it doesn't rise from the ashes, then fine. I'm in it for the journey, not the destination!

About #2... I like feeling as though the romance isn't taking center stage but it's obvious that the romance is essential to the main plot. Does that make sense? For example, two bank robbers plan a major heist. The plot is about getting this heist right, but it hinges on the emotional needs of the bank robbers (who are involved with one another).

I also like couples that are flirtatious and sexy, but not in the Cosmo magazine type of way. It has to feel natural with no frills.

Mr Flibble said:

A really satisfying romance is one where the two people become more than the sum of their parts? They allow each other to be the best person they are capable of being. That's what makes romance, IRL and in books, really sing to me. They fit like dovetails -- opposite but complementary.

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I can't put it any better than that. Ideally, every romance should transform both its participants--not with one saving the other, but with each gaining what they need to be their best self.

virtue_summer said:

This is a surprisingly difficult question, because there are a lot of variables. I like romances, and as long as it's well written and appeals to me, I'll read all sorts. I do prefer romances with a happy ending rather than tragic love stories (a bittersweet note at the end can be good, though, and if the tragic love is a subplot I also tend to see it differently). That said, I'm a particular fan of (the following list mostly applies to genre romance):

• Romantic comedy. I've bought more than one romance novel on the basis of the author making me laugh when I read the first chapters.
• Reunion romances and other stories where the characters have a preexisting relationship (they used to be married or they were childhood friends, etc)
• What I'll call stories about women who are difficult to love and the men who love them. I've been known to read Amazon reviews and when someone dings a romance heroine for being too aggressive or too cold or otherwise not sweet enough, I go, "Okay. So that's definitely one to look at."
• Heroes who lean beta rather than alpha. Some of my favorite romance novels have male leads more likely to throw out a joke than to throw a punch or who, contrary to the usual expectation, like to let their partner take the lead in the bedroom.
• Any romance where the characters obviously get each other. They catch each other's jokes or show they know things about each other that anybody else might not notice.
• Any romance where the characters obviously have fun together. I'm not a fan of romances where the characters lust after each other and/or angst over their feelings for each other, but never laugh together, never tease, and never seem to actually relax and enjoy each other's company.

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Pretty much everything on this list is true for me as well.

To add a few of my own:

* I want characters who feel like real people. I'm so over billionaires and dukes and heroines who own cute home businesses they never actually work at. Give me people with jobs and money troubles and family issues. If the setting is a contemporary small town, let's see economic struggles, racism, and drug trafficking.

* I like to read about people who aren't the typical outgoing, twenty- or thirty-something, perfectly-built romantic leads. Show me someone who's a bit older, has a physical disability, is overweight and okay with that, or is just kind of plain (in a way that can't be fixed with contact lenses and a new haircut), and I'm in.

* In romance and any other genre, I'm happiest when I feel I've learned something from reading the book, whether that's being introduced to a part of the world or a time in history I don't know much about, or encountering a character with an unusual profession, or gaining fresh insight on a common problem. I like stories that have substance.

Good ending, no destiny. Which is not to say that I hate the soulmates trope, but I don't like the version of it where a character has only one possible mate in the whole world; rather, I like the version where some ability or spell can locate the most compatible person nearby, or where only 10% of people feel somewhat compatible to one or both characters, then they have to choose to bond.

My favorite romances are the one where the viewpoint character sees hidden potential in a dark horse love interest who most people are prejudiced against. Maybe he's a halfbreed or a mutant or the type of magic his natural affinity is for is something others associate with evil, despite the fact that it isn't inherently evil. Maybe he's a strategic genius but has no social skills. Maybe he's openly atheistic in a heavily religious society. Maybe he was bullied as a child because he wasn't physically strong, learned to fight back with blackmail and backstabbery, and now he has a reputation of being dishonorable just because he's a brain guy rather than a muscles guy. But for whatever reason, the love interest should initially seem dangerous or have a bad rep, but not actually be a rapist or a sadist or someone who kills random people for fun. The viewpoint character on the other hand faces the opposite prejudice - pressure to be a good little girl or boy, not being taken seriously because they're not highly powerful or their power is subtle, assumed to be one of the good guys and forbidden to fraternize with the enemy i.e. the love interest. But the viewpoint character is actually creative and clever, using a smaller amount of power to large effect, and refuses to be bound by social pressure or guilt-tripped into supporting good guys who aren't actually good.

I like romantic subplots in stories, though I also like stories that contain other kinds of human relationships (siblings, friendships, partnerships, and so on). I like them when both people are well-rounded and complete human beings with wants and needs that exist besides the relationship, and neither exists just to be a plot device. The relationship allows them to discover facets of themselves they otherwise wouldn't have, but it's not the solution to the larger problems facing them, or at least not the sole solution. I don't like those romances where the woman's problems are primarily about money, for instance, and winning the love of this rich dude makes everything good.

I tend to find romances where the people are friends, or at least start out with something in common, the most believable and gratifying. I like it when it's about two people who are outsiders carving something for themselves out of a crazy situation or uncaring world. Pushes my buttons in the right way, I guess.

My very favorite kinds of romances are any of the following:

• Romance that come out of nowhere and surprises me. I love it when I don't see it coming, because so often you can spot the signposts of "romance is going to happen here!" with a telescope from outer space. But I love romance that blossoms organically out of the character interactions between two characters who were not set up as major romantic leads.
• Established relationships that are already set up at the start of the story and continue to grow and bloom as the story continues -- they go ahead and do all the romantic, couply stuff, except it's not a "getting together" story because they're already together. If you ignore the "getting together" book for Sam and Sybil in Terry Pratchett's Night Watch books, everything that happens to them subsequently is basically this. Peter and Elizabeth Burke on the TV show White Collar are also a really good example.
• Characters who do relationships in a way completely different from how their society says you're supposed to do relationships. For example, Mark and Kareen in Lois McMaster Bujold's Vorkosigan books, who are openly kinky, are not married, don't plan to have kids, and spend a lot of time traveling and apart because of their business, but are very clearly together for the long haul.

I also really enjoy romances that are low-key and take place between two people who are friends and partners first and foremost. (Using examples again, Barbara Hambly writes a lot of these - Ben and Rose in her Benjamin January mysteries, for example. And Lindsey Davis's protagonists Falco and Helena in her ancient-Rome mysteries are also a good example!)

ViridianChick said:

Oh wow, I was going to say this. I just adore couples that are... what's the word... adventure partners? Battle buddies? Especially if they slowly fall in love while working together.

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This is an example of the kind of thing I like.

Calliea said:

Many people here seem to actually prefer stories without any romance whatsoever, but I have to say, I'm on that other boat entirely. I love a good tale, with plot, mystery, angst and tension, but without a romance, it just won't be that satisfying to me.

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I love a good love story. With a happy ending, generally. And with any book I read, I'm usually happier if it has some romance in it.

But.

I've read a few genre Romances over the years. I rarely find any with good love stories. What I usually find, when I venture to try a new author (usually on the recommendations of the Romance enthusiasts I know), is a lot of overwrought emotion and/or overwrought sex. Or shallow emotion and shallow sex. The conflicts are not interesting, not deep, not compelling. Often the writing leaves much to be desired.

And frankly, I get bored when the romance is the only thing going on in the story. If I'm going to read a Romance, give me some meat with the sweet.

Right now, the only authors inside the Romance genre who are automatic buys for me are Laura Kinsale, Joanna Bourne, and Darlene Marshall (who always makes me laugh).

Outside the genre, some of my favorite love stories over the years have been Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell; Katherine by Anya Seton; Outlander, et al, by Diana Gabaldon; Jaran by Kate Elliott; the Tiger and Del novels by Jennifer Roberson; and also her retelling of the Robinhood legend, Lady of the Forest. I really like the way she so carefully and believably brought Robin and Marian together, and how they were right for each other in so many ways.

And that's really the key, for me. Make me believe it. Make me fall in love along with the characters.

Mr Flibble said:

Unless the point is it's Real Life in which case we all fall for unsuitable people .

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We don't all fall for unsuitable people in real life. Real live has true love, soulmates forever, together through thick and thin , never stop loving each other, til death do us part, happy endings, just like category romance.

I read romance because, for me, it is real life.