Romance Novels

[Deleted]

I like the new trend toward romance with illustrated covers -- think The Hating Game. I will be honest, I am more likely to pick one like that up than a book with a shirtless bodybuilder on the cover.

Does anyone here read Devney Perry or Kristen Ashley? I am really not a fan of their "alpha" male archetype but their books are popular. They write male characters who if it were real life, would be considered verbally abusive.

[Auroranorth]

link

A while back fantasy author Jim Hines did a series on book covers and the difference between male and female poses. There's a complete list of poses in his Flickr at the bottom. He uses fantasy, SF, and romance covers in this. It's pretty interesting.

[Ladybug]

I definitely started to read more romance after I got a Kindle.

[Carolinian]

I've started reading some historical romance. I recently read _Bringing Down the Duke_ by Evie Dunmore which I think comes under the classification of enemies-to-lovers. It looks like she's setting up to write several set amongst the same circle of friends, the way Lauren Willig's "Pink Carnation" series is done.

[chiqui]

I like the new trend toward romance with illustrated covers -- think The Hating Game. I will be honest, I am more likely to pick one like that up than a book with a shirtless bodybuilder on the cover.

I googled that one. Very nice! And nice that adult Romance is taking a cue from YA Romance.

I Looked at the writer's site too where he poses himself and has the paperback cover on the right side.

One thing I've just found disturbing about shirtless-guy covers is that they look so... neutered. Like plastic dolls. I can't imagine them having genitalia. There's never any body hair or expressions on their faces. No hint of O-face or any passion. The most edgy they get are a few tattoos, and even these are pretty, decorative ones. It's like they are rendered "safe" because they aren't actual men. What this means for the contents of the book. I'm not sure. I'd think it would undercut the story.

I have a nonbinary writer friend who reads and writes romance, and they have a 3-part trilogy about rock stars and BDSM and romance that I'm going to start for my annual reading challenge. You'd think the man on the cover of the first one (bottom but reluctant rock star meets dream guy who can top him, with humor) would look like, oh, Jim Morrison or Lenny Kravitz or Chris Cornell... but instead he's a generic beefcake shirtless dude with generic tattoos, posing with a guitar. Not blaming my friend, who likely had no voice in how their book was packaged, but the publisher who thinks those covers are the way to go.

[Deleted]

Feb 1, 2020 15:14:10 GMT -4 chiqui said:

I like the new trend toward romance with illustrated covers -- think The Hating Game. I will be honest, I am more likely to pick one like that up than a book with a shirtless bodybuilder on the cover.

I googled that one. Very nice! And nice that adult Romance is taking a cue from YA Romance.

I Looked at the writer's site too where he poses himself and has the paperback cover on the right side.

One thing I've just found disturbing about shirtless-guy covers is that they look so... neutered. Like plastic dolls. I can't imagine them having genitalia. There's never any body hair or expressions on their faces. No hint of O-face or any passion. The most edgy they get are a few tattoos, and even these are pretty, decorative ones. It's like they are rendered "safe" because they aren't actual men. What this means for the contents of the book. I'm not sure. I'd think it would undercut the story.

I have a nonbinary writer friend who reads and writes romance, and they have a 3-part trilogy about rock stars and BDSM and romance that I'm going to start for my annual reading challenge. You'd think the man on the cover of the first one (bottom but reluctant rock star meets dream guy who can top him, with humor) would look like, oh, Jim Morrison or Lenny Kravitz or Chris Cornell... but instead he's a generic beefcake shirtless dude with generic tattoos, posing with a guitar. Not blaming my friend, who likely had no voice in how their book was packaged, but the publisher who thinks those covers are the way to go.

And they often look too young too. The male character in the book might be mid-thirties but the cover model is always hovering around 25.

Another author I love is Mhairi McFarlane. Her heroines are refreshingly real and her writing is hilarious.

[Deleted]

Feb 1, 2020 12:52:27 GMT -4 Carolinian said:

I've started reading some historical romance. I recently read _Bringing Down the Duke_ by Evie Dunmore which I think comes under the classification of enemies-to-lovers. It looks like she's setting up to write several set amongst the same circle of friends, the way Lauren Willig's "Pink Carnation" series is done.

I basically get my book recs from Lauren's "What are you reading?" weekly posts ( along with the comments left) so most romance I've been reading the last couple of years is historical. It's interesting to see the trends of historical settings. Right now, there's a lot of WWI and just post WWI, which probably is connected to the popularity of Downton Abbey. Also, a lot of WWII that focuses on everyday citizens, especially in the British countryside

[Deleted]

Another humorous romance novelist -- R.S. Grey. I love her writing.

[Deleted]

What are some plots that squick you out?

There's a new book out, Her Worst Best Man by Mia Sosa, that sounds good: left at the altar, meets up with the best man who told the groom to dump her. Squicky plot twist? The groom is the best man's brother. That's always the plot that I can't get past, but only in a contemporary. Historicals, no problem, because the spouse is pretty much guaranteed to be dead. Contemporary? All I can think of is I don't want what my sister has had!

I am about to buy Hears on Hold by Charish Reid, college professor meets up with children's librarian to form a partnership between the school and the library. A guest reviewer at Smart Bitches reviewed it, and it's part of an emerging interracial romance trope Hot White Bae with Black Family Ties.

[chonies]

I can’t really think of any particular storylines, although I read silhouette recently where the pair originally met because they were step siblings for a brief time (blechh). I‘ll give a hard pass to Southern men and cowboys, but I guess I’m open enough to plots. I’ll read any book about a librarian, but I’m picky about the details because they can get in the way of the main story.