#genre: contemporary romance

[nellasbookplanet]

This is so funny I was watching this video on the topic of reylo fanfic-turned-traditionally-published-novels (it's a good video, watch it for a frank yet non-judgemental take on the topic) and in curiosity dug out this fanlore list of fics-turned-novels and found multiple novels on it that I've read, enjoyed (one in the last couple of months!) and fully didn't catch the fanfic roots of.

Really highlights the silliness of people who proudly proclaim their unerring ability to pinpoint whether a story started out as fic or not (and then proceed to point out various books completely unrelated to fandom simply because the author has written fic before, such as the locked tomb series or red white and royal blue), or who loudly state the assumed poor quality of said books despite themselves having read non of them.

[queerromancerecs]

Not That Complicated

Title: Not That Complicated (Not That #1)

Author: Isabel Murray

Summary: If this was your classic Cotswolds murder mystery (it’s not) and Ray was an amateur detective (he isn’t) then when he stumbles across something unexpected under his bedroom floor, he’d investigate the hell out of it. Hard pass. Ray’s just a thirtysomething graphic designer with a broken heart who doesn’t much like his life right now. And he’s already having nightmares about the whole thing, come on. He’d rather not think about it. (Also, the police were kinda mean, and now everyone thinks he’s a serial killer.) Luckily for Ray, the last man in the world he should be interested in has distraction on his mind, and it seems like all Ray can think about is Adam Blake. Adam is everywhere Ray turns. He is too young for Ray, too cool for him, too beautiful for him…and for some bewildering reason, Adam is always there for him when Ray needs him the most. But Ray’s not falling for it. He’s not falling for Adam. Definitely not. Because Ray and Adam have a complicated history, and starting something would be a terrible idea. Wait. No. Ray is not falling in love… Right?

Genre: contemporary romance, comedy romance,

Ship type: m/m

Why you like it: It's kind of silly but that's the point really. Extremely high strung, anxious weirdo (affectionate) and the younger, bossy, more emotionally mature guy who riles him up and then calms him down. Also, in all honesty, the 'dibs' moment.... it got me. But mostly this is fun.

Content tags: I mean, there are dead bodies found but it's a comedy so don't worry about them. Some D/s stuff but more teased than shown.                                       

Link

[nouearth]

can I just be honest? aside from you (you make the best fics), I think every time I’ve read a really good mxm fic, it’s always been from a female writer.

I mean, not ALWAYS, there are a couple other great fic writers. but overall I think female writers write great mxm fics, and I know that’s something some people don’t like or whatever, but yeah…

💌 : i don't think that's a bad thing! i know people have their opinion regarding female writers writing mxm fics and books, but i tend to agree with you. it could also just be that there are more female writers within the fic community as well, so our chances of seeing better mxm fics written by fem!writers have been drastically increased.

it's not surprising though. fandoms in general are hard-carried by the female demographic, especially teenagers-young adults, and when you have mxm ships being catered towards them, voila! we have young teenagers writing about their favorite ship and honing their skills over the years!

the same thing can be applied to male writers, but i think one overlooked fact is that... we don't really begin writing mxm stories until we know that we're gay. even then, we have to do it in secrecy? don't get me wrong, so do fem!writers, but i think you'll find an easier time explaining yourself as a fem!writer writing mxm stories to other writers compared to male writers. the conversation is pretty different when we hear a wholesome mxm romance written by a male (judgement, followed by a lot of questions like: are you gay irl then?), vs a female (it's normalized at this point!). cis!female writers can generally write stories about mxm ships without necessarily having to feel like they have to come to terms with themselves first, other than being an ally, you know?

[maddie-grove]

My toxic trait is that I think I could actually write a really good thinly veiled Reylo romance novel. If I had world enough and time.

[haveyoureadthispoll]

D’Vaughn and Kris have six weeks to plan their dream wedding. Their whole relationship is fake. Instant I Do could be Kris Zavala’s big break. She’s right on the cusp of really making it as an influencer, so a stint on reality TV is the perfect chance to elevate her brand. And $100,000 wouldn’t hurt, either. D’Vaughn Miller is just trying to break out of her shell. She’s sort of neglected to come out to her mom for years, so a big splashy fake wedding is just the excuse she needs. All they have to do is convince their friends and family they’re getting married in six weeks. If anyone guesses they’re not for real, they’re out. Selling their chemistry on camera is surprisingly easy, and it’s still there when no one else is watching, which is an unexpected bonus. Winning this competition is going to be a piece of wedding cake.    But each week of the competition brings new challenges, and soon the prize money’s not the only thing at stake. A reality show isn’t the best place to create a solid foundation, and their fake wedding might just derail their relationship before it even starts. Carina Adores is home to highly romantic contemporary love stories where LGBTQ+ characters find their happily-ever-afters. Discover a new Carina Adores book every month!

[ballsballsbowls]

"it's really disappointing that X book event didn't have more queer/sapphic/achillean/etc books considering the size of the event (((("

It's understandable to be frustrated, but I feel you are not understanding that these events are submission-based. The event only contains books that the authors submitted to participate in the event. They can't showcase books that weren't submitted. If an author with a queer book doesn't submit their book to the coordinator, then their book (queer) will not be in the event.

I am talking like Mojo Jojo in case it makes the situation clearer.

[wizardysseus]

still obsessed with a high schooler who came to the reference desk at the library, like, 2 years ago to ask for booktok books. who asked if i knew what booktok was. and seemed surprised when i said yes. and then when everything she wanted was already checked out, she was like "what the hell, can these people stop reading?"

[blogthebooklover]

Romance Books Poll

[idontwantrobyntodie]

You know looking at my writing projects is pretty funny because we have

“Dark fantasy with fairy-tale inspirations” ooh a vibe

“Fairy tale retelling” I’m sensing a theme!

“Epic fantasy with extra court intrigue to spice things up” a classic!

“Contemporary romance” hm. okay you lost me there. one of these things is not like the others

[mermaidsirennikita]

my favorite thing in Romance Discourse is the thing where people are like "I've had Enough of Smut, it feels like all Smutty Scenes are just Filler, and I Want Real Emotion, Why Are There So Many Pointless Smut Scenes"

and I'm like "I really don't feel like I read a lot of pointless sex scenes, am I just weird"

and then these people list the books they read and it's all like "Breeding the Housemaid", "Fill 'Er Up", "Manny's Bi Awakening"

[queerromancerecs]

Sweet On

Title: Sweet On

Author DictionaryWrites on AO3

Summary: A very exuberant chocolatier crushes on desperately on the deadpan professor who begins coming into his shop for coffee. Autism for autism and lots of flirting and teasing.

Genre: Contemporary

Ship type: m/m

Why you like it:  sweet like the title suggests

Link on AO3

and since I was just informed that this story is also now available for purchase, the Smashwords link as well :)

[arendaes]

January reading wrap-up! It wasn't the best month if I'm being honest and I'm a bit disappointed in myself for technically only getting through 2 books.

A Love Song for Ricki Wilde is a contemporary romance with magical realism elements. I had some trouble with as it relied heavily on the soulmates trope, which I don't typically like. It did not help that while I liked the main couple individually as characters, I wasn't sold on them together. The synopsis I read also made me think there would be a subplot involving family drama, and that turned out to be more of a footnote than anything that was actually explored and dealt with. The writing was pretty good and I found the setting and magical realism interesting, so ultimately I gave it a 2.5/5.

The Stone Sky was a welcome reprieve after that. I've loved almost everything about this series, and while I do have some complaints about how quickly certain plot lines were wrapped up in this last book, specifically there were a couple characters who died off page that kind of bothered me, considering their roles in the story up until that point. However, it punched me right in the heart just like the first two books did, and I was so invested in seeing the stories of the main characters through and the way this book handled its themes. I gave this book 4.5/5 and the series overall a 5/5; I definitely recommend it if you're looking for something to read. It's one of the most unique fantasy series I've read in a long time.

Last, we have A River Enchanted, which I unfortunately DNF'd. I tried to start it, decided I wasn't in the right headspace, returned it just to check it out and try to start it again. I only got 20% in before realizing it wasn't going to work for me. I really liked Ross' Letters of Enchantment duology and this one has a lot of things I typically like in fantasy, but it just wasn't clicking for me. That actually might be the problem, if I'm being honest. The Letters of Enchantment duology had a very unique setting and premise, whereas this book was trying to do things I've already seen in other series, and those other series already did those things so well that it was falling flat in comparison. It's another DNF that's going on the "maybe try again in the future, but not right now" pile.

Next month will interesting. I have a book club I've joined in IRL and the first book is not something I probably would have ever heard of, let alone picked up, if not for this club. I've already started it and it's...ok so far. The book is a contemporary romance and there's been a few funny parts so far, but there's also a few things I'm side-eyeing to see where the book goes with it. I also won an audiobook in a giveaway on Storygraph, so I'll be reading that as well, and I've checked out The Two Towers so my goal is to at least make it through those three books next month.

[humanmorph]

I read chapters 1-7 of Magic's Pawn yesterday & was really struck by how much certain parts reminded me of popular fanfiction... Of course I think a lot of that is just as prevalent in the romance genre & YA space, but I guess both of those are less front of mind for me (even if I don't read a lot of fanfiction anymore and generally not the type this reminds me of either, I'm at least closer to those spaces).

It's like. The waking up from a nightmare hurt/comfort is such a classic in fanfics, the immediate love confession, the honestly rather young sounding voice of an adult/mentor character (this started bothering me. I guess I'm not actually sure of Savil's age, but I know she's not a peer to 17 year old Tylendel despite sounding like it sometimes!), and everyone being really emotionally mature & talking about their feelings clearly (even Vanyel very quickly knows just what to say & what he feels once he breaks down). Again, a lot of that probably is very YA-like too, and depending on fandom there's probably an overlap in demographics.

I'm enjoying it ok so far but I'm very glad there's finally some conflict getting introduced. Vanyel and Tylendel are a bit too saccharine for me as is (though it's obvious they're going somewhere with Savil being worried Vanyel is too co-dependent, Tylendel briefly going "wait is she right?" & then "no, actually I'm just as dependent on him, this is fine"). Michael at the end of the last SbG episode said something like "could a fantasy boy be more depressed" & I'm gonna be real? I'm ready for that boy to be miserable again. Maybe even both of the boys.

EDIT: I am learning she had her start as a fanfiction writer. This makes sense to me & kind of makes me wonder on fanfiction tropes then vs now... certain ones have clearly stood the test of time

---

*I actually wish I remembered some of the more romance focused YA I read as a teen better because I bet it'd be interesting to compare this (published 1989) to 2010s YA. Then again I don't think I did read a single YA novel with a gay protagonist back then, so maybe it wouldn't give a very good comparison...

[haveyoureadthispoll]

It's 2017, and Olga and her brother, Pedro "Prieto" Acevedo, are bold-faced names in their hometown of New York. Prieto is a popular congressman representing their gentrifying Latinx neighborhood in Brooklyn while Olga is the tony wedding planner for Manhattan's powerbrokers. Despite their alluring public lives, behind closed doors things are far less rosy. Sure, Olga can orchestrate the love stories of the 1%, but she can't seem to find her own...until she meets Matteo, who forces her to confront the effects of long-held family secrets... Twenty-seven years ago, their mother, Blanca, a Young Lord-turned-radical, abandoned her children to advance a militant political cause, leaving them to be raised by their grandmother. Now, with the winds of hurricane season, Blanca has come barreling back into their lives. Set against the backdrop of New York City in the months surrounding the most devastating hurricane in Puerto Rico's history, Olga Dies Dreaming is a story that examines political corruption, familial strife and the very notion of the American dream--all while asking what it really means to weather a storm.

[direwombat]

too scared to say it on my main and i feel like y'all here might understand but like...the way booktube talks about romantasy and dark romance as genres really doesn't jive with me :/

[imthefailedartist]

Looking at my bookshelf today I realize I've made a huge dent in my Owned To Be Read books. It used to one shelf of read books now its three.

To be honest. If I consolidated all of the read books that are on their category or genre shelves, it'd be four.