#it is kinda sad to see historicals struggling in trad but i hope this leads to indie picking up the call

[mermaidsirennikita]

So I actually want to expand on this and my other blasphemous thoughts because I do think there's a weird thing in romance reading circles in general (and tbh even more specific historical romance discussions) that I see a lot that basically be summed up as "Lisa Kleypas is better than everyone else and I'm not even open to finding better"

(followed often by "I read a Lisa Kleypas book published before The Wallflowers and it was Problematic and now my worldview is rocked because an author can't be Problematic and talented)

and I don't want to downplay how good Kleypas is at her best; nor do I want to downplay the impact she's made on the genre (personally, I think Dreaming of You is probably her most influential work but whatever)

BUT she's not the only talented person in town, and if I'm being super blunt, there are and were other authors who worked more inventively, pushed the boundaries further (and I'm not talking about anything super outside her wheelhouse, I'm talking about things Kleypas could have done too) and honestly had a more consistent (imo) ability to stretch creatively

This is from Elizabeth Hoyt's Sweetest Scoundrel, and I'll be completely real, Hoyt is not perfect, some of her books have their dated moments and mid plot contrivances (and I mean, as much as I enjoy aspects of them, her Legend of the Four Soldiers series, or the 3/4 I've read so far, do have a p. woof traumatic backstory for those four soldiers) but I do think that she's severely underrated because while there may be misses, she almost always takes a big swing with her books, and that pertains to both plot and character

I think that Kleypas is at her best a great writer, but I do think that more recently she has been a safe writer. And having read Hoyt's most recent works (before The World Needed Her Most and She Vanished) I can tell you that she never became safe. And yes, there's something to be said for sticking with what you know and doing it better than everyone else (though I would argue that by and large the Ravenels were not that) but there is also something to be said for GOING HARD every time

and idk, I just wish that more readers, especially historical romance readers, would be more open to reading and welcoming risky books; because I gotta say, the subgenre is most definitely going through a slump in trad publishing (look at how many beloved authors haven't published historicals in years, listen to the word on the street that trad publishers are actively telling authors and agents that historicals don't sell) and I think that part of that is because where historicals have (historically lmao) excelled is in being a bit bonkers, and I feel like the market has been trying to force them into a safe space and interest is dying out

because while a lot of people do want safe from contemporary books, what works for one subgenre and ensures it sells is not going to do the same for others

Look I love a Sebastian St. Vincent but you can’t come to me and tell me he’s the smoothest talking rake guy when this exists