So there's this new thing... or maybe it's an old thing repackaged as a new thing. Either way, the romance genre continues to evolve especially in the advent of self-publishing. Rules change, but one thing remains the same, there MUST always be a happy ending.
This new thing. Have you heard of it? It's called "bully romance." I've seen it being requested multiple times in a few book groups I'm in and people really seem to want to read them. It had me scratching my head because I didn't know what it meant. So I asked. Someone was kind enough to respond.
It seems that bully romance has emerged because dark romance has evolved. Dark got darker and then came bully.
Let me explain.
In the past, dark romance was defined as where the hero was a bad guy / bad boy / asshole / jerk. He would treat the heroine badly, be an asshole to her, but eventually, there's a turnaround, he gets redeemed as he falls for the heroine. Loosely speaking, the asshole hero does need to eventually have some redeeming qualities. These days? Not so much. So I even wonder if it's still a romance, but the hero and heroine end up together, so there's that.
These days dark romance has veered into even DARKER territory. I've seen people asking for recommendations on dark romance, and a lot of it involves non-con (no consent from the heroine), dubcon (dubious, undefined consent from the heroine), rape, torture, incest, sexual slavery, underage sex, kidnapping, etc. It even goes beyond your run of the mill adultery and cheating.
What happens when dark romance becomes much darker than it used to be? Well, it needs a new definition. And let me tell you, these books are DARK. Some have even been banned from Amazon and authors have had to find alternate ways to sell them to a surprisingly voracious readership. I question if it is even romance anymore.
Here comes bully romance then. It's defined now as what dark romance used to be. It's when the hero (or heroes if you're reading a reverse harem book) treat the heroine like crap, but she still falls for and loves him / them. There is no guarantee that at the end of the book or the end of the series that these men are redeemed (as in dark romance of old) and there's no guarantee that these men treat the heroine better. According to my research into the books, how the men treat the heroine by the end of the story varies between they are totally redeemed to they still treat her like crap.
If you go onto Amazon and search for "bully romance" in the search bar, you will get a heap of books coming up in the results. Some books even have the term "bully romance" in their titles.
Since I'm not one to read dark books in general, I haven't read much in the sub-genre. As for the bully romances, I've only come across them recently and from what I've been told about the books, they are probably not my cup of tea. I like my romance reading to be my happy place, not a place where the heroine is treated badly and accepts it. But for those people who enjoy it, you do you.
Bottom line? Dark romance became bully romance, and ye dark romance of old got DARK.
Have you come across the term bully romance before?
What do you think of this new divergence in the dark romance sub-genre and do you think you'd like to read something really dark or even a bully romance?
What's the darkest book, in your opinion, that you've read. Did you enjoy it? Are they your cup of tea or are you more a Harlequin Romance sort of reader?
Tell me, I want to know.
UPDATE: I've done a follow up post on why readers love bully romance. You can find it here.
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WOW neither of these books are my type, I do read books where the hero can be very over the top but there is always a caring part to him and he always redeems himself, these books sound like a really hard read for me and they are not ones that I would pick up. Each to there own, we are all different and that is how it should be the world would be a very boring place if we were all the same.
ReplyDeleteHave Fun
Helen
I'm a little bit curious like I should at least read one to make a decision but everything I've seen written about it and all the comments about these books makes me not want to try them.
DeleteDoesn't sound my thing either. Although I've read some dark stuff, these have not been romance. Icelandic and Scandinavian noir spring to mind. Mind you, I'm not a big harlequin fan either
ReplyDeleteGill
That's the thing. How do you put bully and what it entails with romance? Aren't those two things diametrically opposed to each other?
DeleteNope, no way, ain't happening. I read to be entertained, swept away, to become the woman in the book. So bully romances are a hard pass for me
ReplyDeleteI read to be entertained and escape too. I want to feel good when I read.
DeleteHuh... thanks for the information. I came here after reading a sample of a book where the story seems interesting but I wasn't sure if I wanted to buy it. I was in the mood for urban fantasy but not a paranormal romance where there were no plot except for the romance. I was a bit confused when I saw it was marked as RH and a bully romance since I (naively) assumed that was an oxymoron. So, thank you for taking the time to explain what it is. (The book btw is "Royals of Villain Academy 1: Cruel Magic" by Eva Chase)
ReplyDeleteFor curiosity sake could you cite the book title and author mentioned in the book review from earlier in your article?
I would be happy to provide you with the information you asked for. Feel free to contact me via the blog contact form and I will respond. I like to keep the people I quote anonymous on the article since they have requested it.
DeleteThanks, Deanna, for clearing the 'bully' thing up. I do read dark, and I do like my alpha book boyfriends, but there HAS to be redeeming qualities. I do not want to read something, and have my mind forever scorched with a supposed hero who has NO redeeming qualities. Not my cup of tea, coffee, or lemonade! So, now I know what to avoid!
ReplyDeleteI think that's the difference for me. I've recently started reading a lot of what the publisher brands as dark romance. The heroes are very alpha and their treatment of the heroines may be considered harsh or brutal but at no point is there bullying, and the heroes are very solicitous and tender towards the heroines when they are not being disciplined. They are tough on the heroines when they step outside the bounds of what is allowed but otherwise they are total sweethearts towards them. The sweet, tender treatment of the heroines redeems the heroes for me.
DeleteI’ve not read a book described as a ‘bully romance,’ nor will I. Though, one author of dark romance I’ve read (2 books, to see if the scene improved - it didn’t), seems to fit the category. There was no enjoyment, only pain, for the woman involved. How this can be called romance is beyond my understanding. I read to take myself away from stress and ugliness, not to wallow in something even worse. #nobulliesforme
ReplyDeleteIt's not for everyone. I think you really need the enemies to lovers trope taken to the extreme to enjoy this kind of book.
DeleteI agree that the genre is not for everyone, but I absolutely love bully romance books. I think the bullying adds another element to the story. Its the struggle/obstacle that the female protagonist must stand up and overcome. It creates interesting dynamics between the characters. The protagonists inner strength revealed through the refusal to back down - rebellion, the fight against the elite, then elites recognition and admiration of the protagonist because of that fight. That, to me, is interesting reading.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad to hear that you enjoy the trend so much. There do seem to be a lot of people who love it.
DeleteI would like the word "romance" removed from this trend. There's nothing romantic about it. I don't want a new generation of readers to think that it's acceptable to take abuse as long as he loves her. It isn't. It's never right. You walk away from people like that. And yes, I'm sure most readers know the difference between fiction and reality, but I fought for years on behalf of abused women who thought taking it was okay because "he loves me." To see that coming back sickens me. To give tacit acceptance to it by writing acceptance is wrong. Don't call it romance.
ReplyDeleteSo call it what it is. Women's fiction, or a twisted love story, or even erotica but one thing it isn't is romance.
I personally don't find it romantic and I'm unlikely to read something branded as a bully romance with a few exceptions. For me it was certainly eye opening when I wrote the follow-up article regarding why so many readers seem to love it. I get why it's not for everyone and I can certainly see from your point of view why you don't agree with the trend. I do have concerns still about the trend romanticising bullying.
DeleteNo.. no one is romanizing bullying in real life. We can enjoy fiction. Thanks for ur concerns
DeleteUm...Yuck!
ReplyDeleteIt's not for everyone.
DeleteI've never been a fan of "dark" romance or super alpha asshole MC's, but I have come across the term "bully romance" in recent months. I brushed it off as something I wouldn't be interested in because the word "bully" made me think it was probably a YA/high school (or possible college, too) specific trope, and I tend to not read much YA romance, either. I just figured it was another one of those trends that comes and goes in the genre, like sports romance, royalty, etc. Basically, I thought they were books about a girl literally being bullied in school and then her and her bully falling in love, or something like that. I didn't know the term applied to adult romance, too, or that it was starting to replace "dark" as dark romance trends even darker.
ReplyDeleteTo be fair, though (and as I said, this is coming from someone who's had limited experience reading dark romance), I always figured there was more to a dark romance than just the hero being a "bad boy" who treated the heroine poorly before changing his ways toward her. There's just such a depressingly high number of romance "heroes" like that across all subgenres these days that that alone didn't strike me as qualifying it to be dark romance. I just always saw dark romance as almost universally encompassing some shady, criminal, mafia-type stuff at the very least, with the hero being something like a mob boss or hitman, who rules his crime empire through fear and extortion, stuff like that. The "darkness" came from his willingness to commit murder or break some kneecaps/ruin some lives to get his way, or from the heroine being unwillingly sold as his bride, or the general danger that getting involved with him puts her in. But now I guess with dark romance getting even darker, what even are fans of the subgenre expecting these days? Literal serial killers who continue their merry killing spree after finding love with the one victim they just couldn't kill for some reason? I'm at a loss here.
I have a weak stomach and I can't read really dark stuff so I stay away from a lot of it. I've read some milder ones with light dubcon but that's about as much as I can handle. I've also read some bully romance but again, those are on the lighter side. Still not necessarily something I would intentionally seek out to read but at least I've read some of it to know what I'm talking about regarding the trope.
DeleteHui
ReplyDeleteIf your reading adult content then expect adult content. As an adult u should know that fiction and reality is different... if ur unable to make that realization then maybe those people should stick to pg books. I’m sorry but just like 13 reasons why didn’t romanticize suicide... just like enjoying murder mysteries doesn’t mean u want to commit murder.. enjoying dark or bully romances does not mean u condone or like that in real life. It’s just fiction. I’m don’t done with people shaming women for liking what they like.. let’s all be mature adults please
ReplyDelete