Hi everyone! I hope you’re all well. It’s Wednesday again (somehow), which means it’s time for another post in the Wednesday Weekly Blogging Challenge hosted by Long and Short Reviews. If you would like to participate in the challenge yourself, you can find the list of topics for 2023 here, and if you are interested in what other people had to say on today’s topic, you can read their responses here.

Things I Like/Dislike About The Romance Genre

I never used to read romance novels. I had the unfounded idea that they were only read by old ladies in between rounds of knitting (something I saw my Nanna do quite a bit growing up). I also thought they were full of over-the-top melodrama worthy of soap operas – and some, no doubt, are, but I’ve been more willing to try reading all kinds of books lately, and in regards to romance, I’ve been surprised.

I have discovered that romance can be divided into sub-genres – something which hadn’t occurred to me before. My go-to genres have always been science fiction, paranormal stories, and historical fiction, so whenever I saw the words ‘romance novel’, I’d think, ‘not for me’. However, because I have been reading more, I have since found that many stories in my favourite genres heavily feature romance as either a parallel plot or a subplot.

One of the books I read recently is ‘They Both Die at The End’ by Adam Silvera, which is a bit of a contemporary sci-fi novel with a heavy romance plot running alongside the main story. In the book, two young men, Mateo and Rufus, find themselves drawn together when they each receive a call from Death-Cast, a company which predicts a person’s death. The two meet through an app called Last Friend, which allows lonely ‘Deckers’ (people living their last days) to find someone to share their End Day with.

The book was surprising because I was rooting for the couple instead of rolling my eyes. In fact, it was all the more intriguing because these two people fall in love, whilst each of them knows it’s their last day on earth. It’s a compelling read, and I highly recommend it – and its prequel ‘The First to Die at the End’.

I do find, though, in my admittedly limited experience with reading romance books, that they are often somewhat predictable. As with any book, if I already think I know how the plot will unfold, I don’t want to continue reading it, so They both die at the End was refreshing.

The more books I read, the more I realise there are stories worth reading in all genres. All that really matters to me is that a story is compelling and the characters are believable. If a book has both those elements, I know I’ll enjoy it, regardless of genre.

Well, that’s me for today! I can’t wait to read about what you all think about romance as a genre!

As ever, thank you for taking some time to read my words. I do appreciate it.

Until next time,

George

© 2023 GLT

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Tags: blogger, blogging, challenge, genre, romance, Wednesday, Wednesday Weekly Blogging Challenge