There’s nothing worse than starting a romance novel only to discover it wasn’t worth picking up in the first place. This may be due to personal preference, but often, it’s due to reasons we can all agree ruin a good book. Here are 7 reasons you’d stop reading a romance novel.
1. The Heroine is Weak
Romance readers love a strong independent woman who wants a man but definitely does not need one. In the past, many heroines in romance novels were feeble women without their own opinions who were just waiting for the hero to rescue her and give her life meaning. Well, those days are over!
We love to read about strong-willed women. They don’t have to be invincible, emotionless people, but they do need to have some spirit and substance about them. Strength can be demonstrated in many different ways. A woman can be strong and still gentle and feminine; these things are not mutually exclusive. Suppose the heroine is weak to start with, and we can sympathise with the reasons for this. In that case, we may be won over, providing she has a good character arch where she grows and develops as the story progresses.
They also need to have flaws. No one is perfect or right 100 per cent of the time, and we can’t resonate with a heroine with 101 skills and talents; that’s just not realistic. Giving her some weaknesses and character flaws makes her human and more relatable.
2. The Hero is an Asshole
Gone are the days when the hero could be an arrogant, cruel person, and we would just smile and read on. Nowadays, we need to understand why he is the way he is and how he isn’t as bad as people believe. Perhaps he secretly gives lots to charity, or he’s sweet when it comes to his family.
Alpha heroes are still popular with romance readers, but they need to treat the heroine better than anyone else, and in exchange, she helps him become a better person. Any sign of abusive behaviour towards the heroine is a huge no-no.
3. Miscommunication
In any romance novel, there must be conflict and reasons why the hero and the heroine can’t be together. For example, the hero is a playboy who doesn’t want to be in a relationship, or they work together and dating a co-worker is against company policy. It’s this game of will they, won’t they that keeps us turning the page, even when we know they’ll be together at the end.
However, it’s annoying when the couple isn’t together because of a simple miscommunication that could be solved with one conversation. It’s just lazy writing, and we deserve better. This plot can work if there is a legitimate reason why the miscommunication can’t be cleared up, but not every author has the skill to do this successfully.
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4. The Subplot is Boring
We pick up a romance novel to read the love story, but we accept that the heroine and hero can’t be together all the time. They need time apart to let the tension build and explore the other things in their lives. However, if the subplot is a snoozefest, it can kill the story’s pace and lead us to skip a few paragraphs in search of the exciting parts.
It hurts more when the novel starts strong but gets boring in the middle because now we’re invested and have to see it through. Subplots tend to be more intriguing when it has ramifications for the hero and heroine’s relationship. Don’t ruin a great romance by not investing time in crafting an interesting subplot.
5. Too Descriptive
Sometimes less is more when it comes to description. It’s fine to read about the heroine’s outfit, but we don’t need to know a detailed description of how she got dressed, not when it has no relevance to the story. We’ll start to drift off.
We need enough description to paint a picture in our heads but not too much where there are paragraphs of description, and nothing is left to the imagination. Like a boring subplot, it can ruin the story’s pacing and kill the heated tension between the characters.
6. The Hero Likes or Sleeps with Someone Else
We absolutely hate it when the hero sleeps with another woman after meeting the heroine. Meeting her has to ruin him for all other women. A chapter where he tries to sleep with someone else to forget about her is okay, so long as he can’t follow through and ends his relations with other woman.
If the heroine is in disguise and the hero is attracted to her because she reminds him of her real self, who he can’t be with, we still don’t like it. The fact that he had eyes for someone he believed wasn’t the heroine is unacceptable; some authors can pull it off well, but it’s a risk.
7. The Hero and Heroine are Apart for Too Long
I said it before, and I’ll say it again, we read romance for the love story. So what the hell are the hero and heroine doing apart for more than two chapters? How are we supposed to believe they’re in love when they’re never together. They need to be around each other often and not just due to coincidence but due to circumstances that mean they’re stuck with each other, even if they don’t want to be.
It’s frustrating when the hero and heroine haven’t been together for ages, so you begin flicking through the pages to learn when it will finally happen. It disconnects you from the story.
Also, their meet cue needs to occur within the first two chapters, or we’re out of there. The backstory is important, but if they take too long to meet, that’s a bad sign for the rest of the story.
Key takeaway – keep the romance about the romance.