So this week's post is a little bit different. Because "what I'm reading" is an spectacularly annoying article about Romance. And it really got me pissed off.
For once it's not the typical, "Romance Sucks, Here's Why," kind of article. But that doesn't actually make it better. Along with the usual ignorance of the genre ("Is there an official Second Chance sub-category? There should be" Gee, d'you think? What a good idea. We'll get right on that!) we're treated to an extended mansplanation of what the romance genre is all about. And, let me tell you: apparently we've been looking at the genre ALL WRONG.
"a good cry can be very romantic too. Isn’t the film Casablanca romantic, even though Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman go their separate ways? At Parade, we enjoy them all; if it makes you swoon, it’s a romance."
And, anyway, it's completely wrong. Swooning has its place, but it's certainly not the be-all, end-all criteria of what makes a romance a romance.
I've "enjoyed" a lot of the books on this list, but that doesn't make them romances. Or, to put it another way...
A book can be "romantic" AF and still not be a romance. The two things are not the same. And Casablanca? So NOT a Romance. Just like Romeo and Juliet, which the author of the article OF COURSE has to cite, calling it a "tragic romance" which it absolutely is not. It's a tragedy involving two teenagers in lust. It's a Cautionary Tale, which is pretty much the antithesis of a ROMANCE.
Anyway...included among the books listed in the article as "swoon-worthy romances" are:
Daisy Jones and the Six
The Fault in Our Stars
Wuthering Heights
The Notebook
Love Story
The Thorn Birds
The Time Traveler's Wife
A Tale of Two Cities
Farewell to Arms
Anna Karenina
Well. You get the idea. There are a lot of other questionable choices on the list, but these are the ones I've read and/or are familiar enough with to have formed an opinion about. And it's my opinion that none of these books are romances. Not just because one of the main character dies, or there's no HEA but also because they ignore virtually all the genre expectations.
And that's something I know a little bit about, since I, too, like to flout the rules upon occasion. Occasion being the operative word here. Because, yes; rules are meant to be broken SOME of the time. But that doesn't mean they don't (or shouldn't) exist at all, or that they're not valid, or that readers don't (very reasonably) expect them to be followed MOST of the time.
On the other hand, I've also had a couple of my books mis-categorized as romances--by my publishers!--and that pissed me off as well because they certainly should have known better!
Daisy Jones and the Six is probably the closest to a romance of any of the books listed above. It's also one of the better books I read last year. I've recommended it to a fair few people. And, yeah, sure, you could call it a love story if you want to, but it's NOT a romance. Any more than Ethan Frome is.
Oh, and if you still want to read a book that's billed as a a romance even though it's not, may I suggest In the Dark? Most of the other books in the Children of Night series are romances, or romance adjacent. But this one? No. I didn't write it as a romance, I didn't pitch it as a romance, and I never really thought of it as being one. Don't get me wrong, it's a good book. Possibly one of my best. And I love my vampires soooo much. There's a tragic love story in it. There's even a meet cute and a couple of secret babies. Also, you know, sex happens.
But I really always kinda thought that the fact that my heroine DIES on the first page was a pretty big clue that it's NOT a romance.
In the Dark
When you live forever, a few mistakes are bound to happen. 
Vampire Conrad Quintano has been around for centuries -- long enough to know falling for a human is a terrible idea. Much less falling for adventure-seeking hippie Desert Rose and agreeing to raise her babies.
Raised in virtual isolation, Marc and Julie Fischer have never known their unique status in the world. But once they're in San Francisco, the family reunion is nothing like they anticipated and they're thrust into a world they're completely unprepared for.
https://books2read.com/u/49nGpX
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