Top Ten Things I Like/Dislike When it Comes to Romances in Books

Occasionally, I like to curl up with a cup of tea and a good love story. Pride and Prejudice and Jane Eyre are among my all-time favourite books. And I have very definite views on what I personally like and don’t like to see when I read a romance. This week I’m linking up with The Broke and The Bookish’s Top Ten Tuesday feature, which is all about what we do, or don’t, like when it comes to bookish romances.

Things I Like:

Humour: I love it when people in a relationship have a great sense of humour. I’d much rather read about a fun romance where the partners joke around sometimes and have fun rather than one that takes itself way too seriously. Besides, if things get too awkward for me, I can always skip to the jokes.

People growing into love: I’m thinking Pride and Prejudice style here, where people slowly learn to see the good side and eventually fall in love. A lot of books I’ve seen have people jump straight from hate to love, but the romances I like best are the ones that take the process slow and let it take its time.

Romances that add to the plot: Some romances are so well woven into a plot that the whole thing would fall apart if you took it away. And some just feel tacked on. If there must be a romance in the book, I would much rather it be one that ties into the plot, motivates characters and helps them grow so that they can overcome the obstacles in their path. Then you’ve got my attention.

Sensible people: So many silly problems would be avoided in romances if people were just a little more sensible and could see that dating this person is a mistake, or that it’s not polite to try and steal someone else’s boyfriend. Sensible people can have love stories too. And I find them to be the most fun because then the plot has to be more creative.

Friendship: Nothing puts me off a romantic relationship quicker than it being all about the kissing thing. There’s more to life than that. Give me a romance where the characters can respect each other, be friends as well as partners, and where they help each other through the hard times as well as the good ones.

Things I Dislike:

Romances taking over: Some books are romances. Some books have a romance attached to the plot. And some books are romances that have cannibalized the real plot. When the book is supposed to be about a desperate quest to stop a dark lord before he destroys the world, I don’t really want my plot to be bogged down by chapter after chapter of romantic angst.

Love triangles: I get why love triangles are popular. There’s so much opportunity for anxiety and indecision about which boy to choose. But really, there are so many other obstacles in the path of true love that you could use rather than the cliché love triangle, when in most cases it seems like the girl doesn’t actually love other of the boys anyway.

Awkward details: This is very much a matter of personal choice, but I don’t particularly enjoy reading about every kiss in detail. I can handle one here or there, no problem. But once you have a kissy scene with a romantic speech every other chapter and you’d got me cringing and flipping pages in a hurry to find where the book gets good again.

Lack of communication: Misunderstandings are awesome. They cause tension and problems and a bit of excitement to the book. But when it comes to stupid misunderstandings that could be solved by actually, heavens forbid, talking to the other person, I am left shaking my head at the stupidity of it all. Misunderstanding happen, but do they all have to be the same stupid mistakes over and over again?

Young love: Young relationships happen, true. But when I read about a romance between people of thirteen or fourteen, I can’t help but cringe. To me, that is far too young an age to be getting into a serious relation such as a romance entails. I prefer my romances to be about people who are likely to be able to have a happily ever after sometime soon

And there you have it. Ten things I like/dislike when it comes to romances in books. Now it’s your turn. What is your favourite thing to see in a romance? Least favourite? Are you participating in Top Ten Tuesday? Link me to your posts!