[ SECRET POST #3288 ]

[case]

⌈ Secret Post #3288 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.

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Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 02 pages, 044 secrets from Secret Submission Post #470.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 0 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.

Comments

[(Anonymous)]

I feel like I'd enjoy reading romance books if I could find some where the love interest and the dynamic between the two characters appealed to me. But I get the impression they tend to have a lot of tropes I hate: the "they fight all the time, it must be love!" thing, damsels in distress, abuse-is-love, forced marriage/marriage of convenience, etc.

I'm also not interested in alpha males, hypermasculine muscular dudes, rogues/rakes/any 18th-century bad boy types, arrogant snarky guys, emotionally screwed up billionaires, BDSM doms, or pretty much any male love interest I've ever seen when looking at those kind of books.

If someone can recommend some that don't have those tropes, I might try them out.

[blitzwing]

The last one I read that was decent and lacked those tropes (and wasn't m/m or f/f) was Leslie Kelly's Slow Hands.

Rich girl bids on guy at charity auction, thinks he's the gigolo type based on his profile. Turns out there was a mix-up in the profiles and she bought a nice normal EMT guy. Someone on Goodreads probably put it best when they said:

"This book takes Highly Improbable Circumstances, combines them with a Big Misunderstanding, adds a generous dollop of Human-Physics-Defying Sexual Antics, and garnishes with a pinch of Predictable Crisis Point to arrive at the Happily Ever After. Some of the writing is a bit rough, but generally speaking it's an undemanding read, and the lead couple are pretty decent characters, if forgettable."

In other words it's not exactly a long, complex intellectually-stimulating plot but it's decent.

If you like suspense/thrillers, there's Iris Johansen. I've liked what I read of hers and most of it doesn't have the tropes you mention.

[(Anonymous)]

I purposely wrote a deconstruction of the screwed-up BDSM billionaire book (with the billionaire as the sub in this particular relationship) where his arseholish selfish behaviour is about the bite him massively on the arse in the sequel.

Reviewers hate it, though. They say it's well written but really hate the plot. Which I suppose may just be my own plotting and pacing issues rather than the content.

That turned into a ramble.

[(Anonymous)]

Can you post a link? I'd probably enjoy that!

[(Anonymous)]

Sorry anon. I don't want to open myself up to mockery. Bad head place right now. But thank you for the interest. I appreciate it.

[(Anonymous)]

Aw, anon, you have no idea how badly I want to read that. I'm the anon below who translates romance novels and yet loathes them with a passion. I fantasize on a regular basis about finding a book with exactly that plot to soothe my wounded soul. I've considered writing it myself just for the sake of expelling all my romance-novel related rage on paper.

Just give me a few hints that can help me Google it, please...

[(Anonymous)]

Can I rec my stories?

I only have a couple here, but they're not alpha males. I don't like them either. I wish there was more romance with sweet / thoughtful / nerdy guys. I suspect I'd read more of it (and be able to find a wider audience).

http://www.amazon.com/Jo-Raine/e/B015NO16XW

Hope you don't mind the shameless self-promo. (:

[(Anonymous)]

Thanks!

[(Anonymous)]

"Hope you don't mind the shameless self-promo. (:"

But if people do mind, it's too late since you went ahead and did it anyway. Funny how well that works out for you. (:

DA

[(Anonymous)]

Ugh, what is your problem? People like you are the actual worst. "Oh no, someone is doing something completely harmless. I'd better go and make them feel like shit for no reason."

Re: DA

[(Anonymous)]

nayrt but the promo comment rubbed me the wrong way too, and I think I can put my finger on why... I don't like it when people do the whole "So sorry about this potentially annoying behavior but *does the potentially annoying behavior" because it strikes me as hypocritical. You don't have to do the Thing. Apologizing for doing the Thing that doesn't have to be done and still doing the Thing anyway is a way of having your cake and eating it, too. Either do the Thing and leave out the pseudo apology, or ask first and see if people are receptive to you doing the Thing.

Re: DA

[(Anonymous)]

Didn't really mean it as an apology, more a polite remark. Nobody has to follow the link anyway... (:

Sorry it rubbed you wrong. Um, I guess that is an apology.

Re: DA

[(Anonymous)]

+1000000000

I swear this is the same anon who responded this way several months ago. Maybe it is and maybe it's not, but wow, it's even more annoying and weirdly reactionary now than it was then.

Re: DA

[(Anonymous)]

DA but I wanted to say that the odds of there being only one person on all of FS who doesn't like promotional spam are very slim. Lots of people don't like them, it's like a telemarketer call.

[(Anonymous)]

I don't mind~ I bought love like blackberries. I'll see if it's any good!

[(Anonymous)]

Thanks (:

[darkmanifest]

I'm also not interested in alpha males, hypermasculine muscular dudes, rogues/rakes/any 18th-century bad boy types, arrogant snarky guys, emotionally screwed up billionaires, BDSM doms, or pretty much any male love interest I've ever seen when looking at those kind of books.

This is what kills most romance for me, too. I have to concede that those types of romance heroes make a lot of readers happy, and writers have to play to the bigger audience, but good god do I hate it.

[(Anonymous)]

If you don't mind gut-wrenching sadness and [spoiler?] babies, I recently read this: http://www.amazon.com/Forever-Bound-Not-Yet---Rock-Romance-ebook/dp/B00ZGTKEJW

The love interest is a sensitive indie musician, the MC is a free-spirited college student. It's part of a series, but works as a standalone.