This is a thread for romance novels. Bodice-rippers. Emotional porn. Harlequin novels. Heaving-bosom historicals. Paranormals with hilariously OTT alpha-male werewolf heroes that stop juuuuust this side of rapey and are probably responsible for the explosion of horrible A/B/O fanfic thanks to teenage Tumblristas stealing from their mom's stash of Ellora's Cave titles.
Do you love them? Hate them? Have any recs, pet peeves, favorite tropes, complaints? This is the place to go.
For you folks who are interested in the history of the genre (or you CIS WHITE MALES who don't know what the fuck we're on about) I recommend Lucy Worsley's excellent documentary, A Very British Romance. It covers the origins of what we now think of as romantic fiction in the English language.
The modern romance genre got its start with 1972's The Flame and the Flower, which codified a lot of the glorious OTT that was to follow. From the Wikipedia plot summary:
But the really genre-defining blockbuster, the one that most middle-aged romance readers can recall having their panties blown off by, was 1974's Sweet Savage Love by Rosemary Rogers. This beast is 714 pages of alpha-male, you-know-you-like-it, "his-ravishing-kisses", wet-in-the-rain-with-her-velvet-habit-clinging-alluringly-to-her-skin, bodice-ripping boot-knockin'. Check out the Amazon book preview and get ready to go "What?"
These old-school romances have been largely disavowed by the modern, woke elements of the industry, though they remain on sale today. Ironically, many of the old books aren't that shocking to modern eyes--not in the days of the Internet, when you can find werewolf feeder-fetish clown porn with a click of the mouse. Still, the genre remains sharply divisive to this day, and modern romances that employ the old tropes will often be assailed with cries of "Don't you know it's CURRENT YEAR?"
And now, my beauteous Kiwis, gaze with heaving bosoms upon this thread and caress its swelling, turgid length.
Do you love them? Hate them? Have any recs, pet peeves, favorite tropes, complaints? This is the place to go.
For you folks who are interested in the history of the genre (or you CIS WHITE MALES who don't know what the fuck we're on about) I recommend Lucy Worsley's excellent documentary, A Very British Romance. It covers the origins of what we now think of as romantic fiction in the English language.
The modern romance genre got its start with 1972's The Flame and the Flower, which codified a lot of the glorious OTT that was to follow. From the Wikipedia plot summary:
But the really genre-defining blockbuster, the one that most middle-aged romance readers can recall having their panties blown off by, was 1974's Sweet Savage Love by Rosemary Rogers. This beast is 714 pages of alpha-male, you-know-you-like-it, "his-ravishing-kisses", wet-in-the-rain-with-her-velvet-habit-clinging-alluringly-to-her-skin, bodice-ripping boot-knockin'. Check out the Amazon book preview and get ready to go "What?"
These old-school romances have been largely disavowed by the modern, woke elements of the industry, though they remain on sale today. Ironically, many of the old books aren't that shocking to modern eyes--not in the days of the Internet, when you can find werewolf feeder-fetish clown porn with a click of the mouse. Still, the genre remains sharply divisive to this day, and modern romances that employ the old tropes will often be assailed with cries of "Don't you know it's CURRENT YEAR?"
And now, my beauteous Kiwis, gaze with heaving bosoms upon this thread and caress its swelling, turgid length.
