Top Ten Tuesday: Likes/Dislikes In Book Romances

I realize that Top Ten Tuesdays are supposed to be posted on Tuesday, but I’m going to be a rebel and post mine on Valentine’s Day (because I have nothing better to do).

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and The Bookish. Last Tuesday’s topic was ten things I like/dislike about romances in books. So, here we go:

Likes

1.  Teamwork, Trust, And Competence: I love it when both partners in a romance are equal and working together to solve a problem. I love it even more when they don’t have to save each other constantly. I want them to be able to save themselves.

2. Ugly Folks In Love: Okay, the characters don’t have to be ugly, but realistic is great. Not everybody is a supermodel with an always-wonderful personality. I like flaws.

3.  LGBTQ Characters: I’m happy that this genre is becoming more mainstream, especially in YA. It’s good for the world.

4. Believability: Some characters in fictional relationships seem so incompatible that I don’t understand how they’re in love. I want to know what the characters see in each other. I want them to have some pre-love history together.

5. Badass Girlfriends: No damsels in distress. Seriously, some fictional girls can barely stand upright without their boyfriends around to help.

Dislikes

1. The Word “Perfect”: I hate when this word is used to describe a character's appearance. Love interests are called “Perfect” way too often in romances. The word is nonspecific. It means different things to different people. When an author uses this word, it’s like he/she is leaving a blank for the reader to fill in themselves. I’m too lazy for that. It’s the author’s job to tell me what “Perfect” looks like.

2. Abuse Masquerading As Love: It’s not love if your partner spies on you, damages your property, physically restrains you, prevents you from seeing your friends, forces you to lie, or threatens to harm someone. That’s abuse. I have seen male characters do all of these things in YA lit. When the girl claims that her boyfriend is just being “Cute and overprotective,” I want to set the book on fire. Abuse masquerading as love drives me to pyromania.

3. Any Romance That Compares Itself To Romeo & Juliet: You know how that play ends, right? That isn’t love. That’s infatuation and insanity.

4. Insta-love: I have a feeling that this will be on everybody’s list. Love at first sight just doesn’t work in books. Whenever I see it, I’m like, “Keep your pants on, woman, you met him five pages ago.”

5. Obsessiveness: You can go a whole chapter without seeing your love interest. I promise you won’t die. Well, unless you’re one of those damsels in distress. Then you’ll probably die.