Thoughts & Things

Romance Tropes I Can't Stand

For anyone who has read much in the way of romance (or in any genre consistently), you start to really develop tropes that you are fond of, as well as tropes that you absolutely loathe. I talk a lot about things that I like in my blog, but sometimes you just need to share the things that drive you bonkers.

Love Triangle
I actually have a hard time even putting to words why this one bothers me so much, but I find it incredibly annoying. I think part of it is that this trope often comes with a Mary Sue character that has men falling at her heels here and there, even though she's sooo plain looking. Another part of it is just how not romance a lot of it is. While there are certain situations that lend themselves to romance, choosing between two people you care about is really not one of them.

A Conversation Could Have Solved This Entire Problem
This one is especially frustrating as a person in a healthy relationship. I can't imagine not telling my partner when something is wrong, let alone potentially letting it damage our relationship. Even when we were newly together, I was still open and honest with him, as he was with me. There's nothing more frustrating than an entire novel's conflict revolving around something that should have been a conversation way earlier in the story.

The "Other" Woman/Man
I'm not thinking of a love triangle situation, where one character is choosing between two people. I am thinking of the type of situation where someone's ex or friend or something comes into play, but the main character is not interested at all, but the partner makes a huge deal of it. There's something about jealousy that really feels toxic in a relationship, especially when a lot of the conflict in the novel revolves around said jealousy. I also find that a lot of novels that have a strong focus on jealousy tend to not have characters that really learn and grow from this. It's hard for me to feel swept away by the romance of it all, when the characters are in a toxic, jealous relationship that I really just want no part of. It is different when they can try to focus on healing that aspect of the relationship for real, not just the situation at hand.

The Characters Make No Sense
I think a lot of things fall into this category. I also think it could apply to other genres, but because romance is such a character driven genre, it is much more noticeable. Characters that don't understand a situation that should be straightforward. Characters that are incredibly difficult to relate to. Mary Sue type characters that are so plain, but everyone is wildly attracted to them, or they're so smart, but they keep doing really unintelligent things, and so on. Mostly I am thinking of characters where the writer says one thing, and the character does another, but I'm also thinking of characters that are just poorly written or very difficult to relate to.

The Characters Are Mean
I am not talking about when disliking each other turns to lust, and I'm not talking about when characters get into a fight as part of the conflict. I am talking about when characters just drag each other through the dirt for no good reason. Why does anyone love anyone in this situation? How is this not intensely toxic? I have read romance novels where I felt like I was looking into an abusive relationship, which is just.... not romantic.

(I have committed to blogging daily with Give It 100. This is Day Twenty-Three. One day of leave taken total.)