Wednesday, August 29, 2018

That black moment

You know that moment? The moment when everything goes wrong in the romance you're reading and the guy loses the woman he loves because of some idiotic thing he's done? Or alternatively, the woman loses the guy she loves because she's done something stupid? Yeah, THAT moment. That black moment. Well, I'm over it.

Fist
Photo on Visualhunt.com



I've been reading a lot of contemporary romances lately and inevitably in most contemporary romances, either party does something to push the other away. It's the must-happen conflict in the story that you can see coming from a mile away. Sometimes the set up is so obvious it makes me cringe. And right now, even at the start of the book, I'm dreading that moment.

Why do I dread it, you ask? Because a lot of times, it seems very manufactured. The author seems to need something to split the hero and heroine apart only for the big finale where they make up and get back together again. It's the classic, boy meets girl, boy gets girl, boy loses girl, boy gets girl back. The whole "boy loses girl" bit? Yeah, I'm over it.

Girl with fist in pink shirt

I had a post recently where I talked about how much groveling was required of the hero when he messes up. I was all, not much. If you love someone, you forgive them when the apologise and move on. It's probably not the popular opinion, so I'm guessing my attitude about the black moment is not popular either. Whatevs!

Not that I'm saying I want my romance to be more realistic because in real life, you don't get that one big black moment that splits you apart then with the one grand gesture you're back together and live happily ever after. I get it's a fantasy but I'm kinda done with waiting for the ball to drop. To have this big blob of blackness hanging over my head waiting to fall on me.

Man crying

Maybe that's why I've been enjoying a lot more paranormal and fantasy romance recently, along with romantic suspense. They do have a black moment ... of sorts. But most of the time, these things happen externally. It's not because of some stupid internal trigger by either the hero or heroine that drives them apart. Usually, someone wants them dead. There's a bad guy who is actively gunning for them which ramps up the adrenalin and the danger. Not so with contemporary romances. There's no bad guy, so the hero or the heroine has to be the bad guy. The hero who doesn't think he deserves a happy ever after because he's not good enough. The heroine who is totally insecure and doesn't know why the hero loves her or wants her. A single father with a teenage daugther who doesn't want another woman in her father's life. You catch my drift.

Man walking into red wall

So yeah, the black moment can kiss my butt. Does this mean I'm going to stop reading contemporary romances? No, of course not. But I think I'm going to be a lot more selective about them and stick to my favorites. I've been doing a lot of experimenting of late, reading a lot of new-to-me authors. Perhaps that's my problem. Too much experimenting and I inevitably find a bunch of duds.

What do you think? Black moment, yay or nay? Is it what you live for in reading a romance, or can you take it or leave it?


Find Deanna around SOCIAL MEDIA:
blogger  blogger  rss  facebook  twitter  instagram  email  youtube  pinterest  google+  goodreads

6 comments:

  1. Well said Deanna for me I am happy to feel that emotion of crankiness as I am reading and the making up then always gives me back my happiness, I do agree that some authors do this better than others. For me as long as I am feeling the emotion of the characters and the story I am OK with those black moments because making up is always good

    Have Fun

    Helen

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I guess I am just not as patient as you are when it comes to my characters.

      Delete
  2. Love this post. I don't think I forgive very well. My husband is much nicer about forgiveness and you must be too. He did something to me 25 years ago and it has taken all that time to forgive him. Just. A least I don't hate him over it. See? It's not quite forgiveness. I remember every insult, every nasty slight, not so I can get back at the perpetrator, but to quickly get weirdos out of my life and make sure they stay out.Not very forgiving am I?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I forgive but I tend not to forget. And I often try not to let one action affect the entire relationship. My mum always taught us to forgive and strive for peace in a relationship and I guess those lessons stuck. I also try very hard not to bring up the past in present conversations so as to not dwell on it. Sometimes it's not so easy.

      Delete
    2. I agree with you there Deanna, except with my ex husband it was me doing all the striving! In the end, I decided enough was enough

      Delete
    3. Gill, I think when you're the one giving all the time, at some point, if you never get anything back, you need to pull the plug. xoxo

      Delete