Nothing irritates me more than an easy reconciliation in romance books. I can confidently say that I HATE it! 😭

I recently read a book where the FMC forgives the guy who slept with her in high school and then went around telling everyone how easy she was. The whole thing felt like some kind of bet.

They reunite a few years later, maybe three years or so. The FMC is going through a difficult situation and, naturally, accepts his help. Meanwhile, he's clearly still very attracted to her and regrets what he did. Since he's helping her out, and she's apparently an idiot, it doesn't take long for them to start being friendly with each other again, WITHOUT HIM EVEN APOLOGIZING. I swear to God, that kind of thing drives me INSANE! 😭

I don't know if I'm just a bitter, unforgiving woman, but if something like that happened to me, you can bet I'd rather see the devil himself than ever see that guy again! And if I were ever going to forgive him, he'd have to go through a humiliation similar to the one he put me through, if not worse. Seriously, why are reconciliations always so damn easy? Are authors just too lazy to write a genuinely drawn-out reconciliation, or do readers simply not want to see one?

Like, dude, it's ALWAYS the same story. The MMC screws up and emotionally hurts the FMC, she gets upset and walks away, and then they reunite years later. The MMC starts acting like a decent human being and doing favors for her to ease his guilt, and the FMC lets him back into her life way too easily because, apparently, she just can't resist him. 🙄

Honestly, whenever this happens, I really hope the FMC gets revenge, but NOTHING ever comes of it! She just forgives him because he's ridiculously hot and their chemistry is amazing. And honestly, how can there even BE that much chemistry after everything he's done to her?! 😂

I've read a book where the MMC bullied the FMC for YEARS, and another where he ruined her reputation, ran away, and left her to deal with the consequences for TEN WHOLE YEARS, only to show up later expecting forgiveness and wanting to marry her. And, of course, she acts like an idiot and goes back to being all friendly with him before long!

Seriously, these ridiculous reconciliations have made me give up on second-chance romance. They keep finding their way back onto my reading list, but I'm genuinely trying to avoid them now. Whenever I read one of these stories, I end up thinking the FMC is a complete idiot, and I NEVER feel like the MMC has suffered enough for what he did.

Does anyone know any second-chance romance books where the FMC actually makes the MMC SUFFER? I want to see her treat him like absolute TRASH after everything he put her through, without making things easy for him! I want genuine remorse, consequences, angst, and, preferably, an MMC who has to work HIS ASS OFF to earn her trust back. 😂

Because, seriously, I think these men deserve to be treated like crap after the things they've done! I don't care if it's immature or if 15 years have passed. I want to know if anyone else feels the same way or if I'm the only petty, unforgiving reader here! 🤣❤️

Hello, have you encountered any of the following in the past week;

1. Truly heinous opinions and takes on current events in Romancelandia at large
2. Questionable metaphors in Romance novels etc
3. Did you DNF anything for a reason that has left you speechless?

Welcome to WTF Wednesday, a space to share our despair.

A few rules just to keep everything in line;

1. This is absolutely not a space to kink shame. What doesn't work for you may well work for someone else.
2. Please be mindful that a lot of self published authors haven't got the resources to have their work read over and corrected by multiple editors. Be a little generous with minor grammar and spelling mistakes, no one is perfect.

Please revisit the rules if you're unsure about submitting or commenting, or of course feel free to ask any questions you may have or clarifications if necessary.

So, what made you say WTF this week?

Welcome to the r/romancelandia daily reader chat. We like chatting about romance books, and we also like to build community, so the daily reading chat isn't incredibly strict about content, exactly. Don't be shy!

---

Here's our guide on community norms and posting.

---

• Discussing a book? Please include content warnings or anything else you think a potential reader needs to consider before reading and don't forget to mark your spoilers.
• Not sure how to use spoiler tags? Just do this: >!spoiler text!<
• Would your fairly-in-depth book discussion comment or romance-reading observation make a good post? Probably! But in case you're not sure, check out our guide with post examples: Posting on Romancelandia: It doesn't have to be a dissertation.
• Our Back To School covers any questions you might have about our Subreddit.

---

Are you new here?? Introduce yourself! This month's prompt for newbies is;

What adaptation of a romance story nailed the chemistry?

Welcome to the r/romancelandia daily reader chat. We like chatting about romance books, and we also like to build community, so the daily reading chat isn't incredibly strict about content, exactly. Don't be shy!

---

Here's our guide on community norms and posting.

---

• Discussing a book? Please include content warnings or anything else you think a potential reader needs to consider before reading and don't forget to mark your spoilers.
• Not sure how to use spoiler tags? Just do this: >!spoiler text!<
• Would your fairly-in-depth book discussion comment or romance-reading observation make a good post? Probably! But in case you're not sure, check out our guide with post examples: Posting on Romancelandia: It doesn't have to be a dissertation.
• Our Back To School covers any questions you might have about our Subreddit.

---

Are you new here?? Introduce yourself! This month's prompt for newbies is;

What adaptation of a romance story nailed the chemistry?

Welcome to the r/romancelandia daily reader chat. We like chatting about romance books, and we also like to build community, so the daily reading chat isn't incredibly strict about content, exactly. Don't be shy!

---

Here's our guide on community norms and posting.

---

• Discussing a book? Please include content warnings or anything else you think a potential reader needs to consider before reading and don't forget to mark your spoilers.
• Not sure how to use spoiler tags? Just do this: >!spoiler text!<
• Would your fairly-in-depth book discussion comment or romance-reading observation make a good post? Probably! But in case you're not sure, check out our guide with post examples: Posting on Romancelandia: It doesn't have to be a dissertation.
• Our Back To School covers any questions you might have about our Subreddit.

---

Are you new here?? Introduce yourself! This month's prompt for newbies is;

What adaptation of a romance story nailed the chemistry?

Vibe check! How’s your week been? What are you reading, watching, or listening to?

During Sunday Vibes, members share what they've been up to and other media they're enjoying. It's a space to get to know one another outside of romance books.

✍🏼 Regular Features

😱 WTF Wednesdays - A weekly feature posted Wednesdays to share the stuff in Romancelandia that makes you go WTF: bad takes, questionable metaphors, anything that left you speechless.

🎨 The Art Of..., monthly themed discussion on a trope, theme or microtrope common in Romance Literature. This month's theme was Contemporary Western Romance.

🍿 Fresh Faves Fridays - A weekly feature posted Fridays to share your 4- and 5-star reads and favorite quotes. Think of it as a What Did You Read This Week? thread, but with only the best books.

💩 Shitpost Saturdays - On Saturdays, we loosen the discussion-based requirement to allow for memes, shower thoughts, silly posts, etc. All other rules still remain.

⭐️ Our September Monthly Reading Recap is here

Vibe check! How’s your week been? What are you reading, watching, or listening to?

During Sunday Vibes, members share what they've been up to and other media they're enjoying. It's a space to get to know one another outside of romance books.

So, how was your week?

On Saturdays, we loosen the discussion-based requirement to allow for memes, shower thoughts, silly posts, etc. All other rules still remain. Enjoy your shitty Saturday!

Use this space as the daily chat if you need to talk all things romance!

---

Here's our guide on community norms and posting.

What goes in the daily reading chat, you ask? We like chatting about romance books, and we also like to build community, so the daily reading chat isn't incredibly strict about content, exactly. Don't be shy!

Where to start? Some ideas:

• Random musings about romance
• Books you're looking forward to
• What you're reading now
• Book sales and deals
• Television and movies
• Good books that aren’t romance
• Questions for the group at large
• Smashing the kyriarchy in daily life
• Encourage other commenters who have good ideas to start a new post!

---

• Discussing a book? Please include content warnings or anything else you think a potential reader needs to consider before reading and don't forget to mark your spoilers.
• Not sure how to use spoiler tags? Just do this: spoiler text
• Would your fairly-in-depth book discussion comment or romance-reading observation make a good post? Probably! But in case you're not sure, check out our guide with post examples: Posting on Romancelandia: It doesn't have to be a dissertation.

"But while it is depressing that criticism has not moved on since the middle ages, it’s an utter joy to see female-centred fairy fantasies returning, hundreds of years after the first medieval romances were composed. So why not read some of the medieval romances, along with modern romantasy? You’d be participating in a centuries-old genre of freedom, imagination and joy, and I’m not sure you can ask for more than that."

It makes me wish I enjoyed romantasy.

Welcome to the r/romancelandia daily reader chat. We like chatting about romance books, and we also like to build community, so the daily reading chat isn't incredibly strict about content, exactly. Don't be shy!

---

Here's our guide on community norms and posting.

---

• Discussing a book? Please include content warnings or anything else you think a potential reader needs to consider before reading and don't forget to mark your spoilers.
• Not sure how to use spoiler tags? Just do this: >!spoiler text!<
• Would your fairly-in-depth book discussion comment or romance-reading observation make a good post? Probably! But in case you're not sure, check out our guide with post examples: Posting on Romancelandia: It doesn't have to be a dissertation.
• Our Back To School covers any questions you might have about our Subreddit.

---

Are you new here?? Introduce yourself! This month's prompt for newbies is;

What adaptation of a romance story nailed the chemistry?

It's Fresh Fave Friday! a combination of our Five Star Fridays idea and the Quotable Mondays posts we used to do. The idea is to share the best of the best of what we're reading, so we're going to use the Recommendations flair.

What is it?

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Fresh Faves Friday: Share any recent four- and five-star reads that you've had! Give a mini review, or link to your Goodreads/Storygraph reviews, and share the details! Tell us the subgenre, pairing, tropes, "you'll like it if you loved _____", choice quotes/excerpts, or whatever you think is enticing! Romance and romance-adjacent is the goal, but we're all readers here, so if you read something truly fantastic in another genre feel free to drop it here too.

Please use spoiler tags and content warnings where appropriate.

Also, if you have something you'd like to recommend that didn't work for you but might for someone else, share the recommendation!

I absolutely HATE it when the FMC starts the story already having a crush on the MMC, simply because authors always seem to make her look like a complete lovesick idiot. Whenever I see a synopsis mentioning that the FMC has always been in love with the MMC, I immediately move on to another book.

The FMC is always so painfully obvious about her feelings that everyone knows she likes him, including the MMC himself. And the worst part is that her feelings are constantly dismissed by him and sometimes even by the people around her. Even when the MMC secretly has feelings for her too, it doesn't make up for even half the humiliation and embarrassment the FMC goes through just for being in love with him. And, worst of all, it doesn't matter whether he brushes her off or doesn't reciprocate her feelings. The girl just keeps pining after him anyway. 😭

I recently read Making Faces by Amy Harmon, and I loved it! It's a book with incredible emotional depth, but I felt so embarrassed on behalf of the FMC. She's the ugly duckling of the story, while the MMC is the town's golden boy. She likes him, he knows it, and, as a matter of fact, everyone else knows it too. But because she's not considered attractive, he doesn't pay any attention to her.

Okay, he's not the biggest asshole I've ever read about, but the whole dynamic is still deeply uncomfortable for me.

Then he comes back from the war, except this time he has scars on his face, he's no longer as handsome, and he doesn't have the same popularity he once did. Meanwhile, the FMC has had her glow-up. And guess what? NOW he wants to be with her!

And the FMC spends the entire time saying things like, "I've always loved you. You're the man I've always wanted." FOR FUCK'S SAKE, PEOPLE! 😭 The secondhand embarrassment is too much for me! He starts falling for her, but let's be honest, she's definitely the one who loves him more in this relationship.

And the fact that she never allowed herself to experience anything else, not even after becoming more attractive, because she was still completely hung up on him, just makes the whole situation even more humiliating to me. Her first and second kisses were with him, all because she'd been waiting for this man the entire time. And, to make matters worse, she actually tells him that!

Anyway, I HATE this dynamic! Does anyone actually enjoy this? Because, to me, it's the absolute epitome of humiliation and secondhand embarrassment. I want an FMC who has some self-respect and doesn't remain emotionally attached to a man who doesn't show that he wants to be with her. 😩

I questioned this in the Daily Chat, but I think it warrants further discussion.

Queen of Lombard Street is the highly anticipated new novel from legendary Romance Author Lisa Kleypas.

Kleypas was interviewed on the Fated Mates podcast, where she stated her next novel was Historical Fiction with romantic elements.

Having finished it today... it's a romance novel. The Romance is front and centre of the narrative. So why are the publishers and Kleypas so desperate to sell the book as historical or literary fiction?

The blurb quote for the initial advertising was by historical fiction writer Kate Quinn;

"Lisa Kleypas turns her pen to historical fiction with considerable panache!"

Later, they would use review blurbs from Julia Quinn and Isabel Ibañez;

"Historical fiction with such a great romance, but it’s about the first female banker in England. And it is fantastic."

There have been numerous examples of authors attempting to sell their novels as romances despite not being romances. They want to take advantage of the strong and voracious reading of people who love romance and sell more copies of their books. Romances are consistently the biggest selling genre of fiction;

"The statistics are impossible to ignore. Romance has consistently ranked as the highest-grossing fiction genre in literature over the past several years—$1.44 billion in revenue for May 2022-2023—nearly twice the next bestselling genres, with a 52% growth in sales in the same period compared to the previous year." Source here

So why would an author or a publishing house take the opposite approach and avoid selling a historical romance?

Last year u/lizziethefish posted querying The Death of Historical Romance, and it seems like a knock on effect of that is now that authors are being steered away from using the phrase Historical Romance altogether.

Is historical romance really that far out of fashion?

In this post I shared two book covers, one from the US publishers and the other the UK cover. The former is skewing towards historical fiction covers, the kind of books Amazon would call 'Book Club Fiction'. The second has an illustrated couple walking arm in arm, which skews more romance to me.

Queen of Lombard Street is a bit of a departure from Kleypas' usual writing. The sex is on the page but not as detailed as you would find in Dreaming of You. There are domestic plotlines and an investigation subplot that sort of peters out. But the romances are solid from start to finish. I just hope it finds its audience because Reina and John deserve it.

Welcome to the r/romancelandia daily reader chat. We like chatting about romance books, and we also like to build community, so the daily reading chat isn't incredibly strict about content, exactly. Don't be shy!

---

Here's our guide on community norms and posting.

---

• Discussing a book? Please include content warnings or anything else you think a potential reader needs to consider before reading and don't forget to mark your spoilers.
• Not sure how to use spoiler tags? Just do this: >!spoiler text!<
• Would your fairly-in-depth book discussion comment or romance-reading observation make a good post? Probably! But in case you're not sure, check out our guide with post examples: Posting on Romancelandia: It doesn't have to be a dissertation.
• Our Back To School covers any questions you might have about our Subreddit.

---

Are you new here?? Introduce yourself! This month's prompt for newbies is;

What’s a non-romance show with a surprisingly good romance subplot?

Welcome to the r/romancelandia daily reader chat. We like chatting about romance books, and we also like to build community, so the daily reading chat isn't incredibly strict about content, exactly. Don't be shy!

---

Here's our guide on community norms and posting.

---

• Discussing a book? Please include content warnings or anything else you think a potential reader needs to consider before reading and don't forget to mark your spoilers.
• Not sure how to use spoiler tags? Just do this: >!spoiler text!<
• Would your fairly-in-depth book discussion comment or romance-reading observation make a good post? Probably! But in case you're not sure, check out our guide with post examples: Posting on Romancelandia: It doesn't have to be a dissertation.
• Our Back To School covers any questions you might have about our Subreddit.

---

Are you new here?? Introduce yourself! This month's prompt for newbies is;

What adaptation of a romance story nailed the chemistry?

Hello, have you encountered any of the following in the past week;

1. Truly heinous opinions and takes on current events in Romancelandia at large
2. Questionable metaphors in Romance novels etc
3. Did you DNF anything for a reason that has left you speechless?

Welcome to WTF Wednesday, a space to share our despair.

A few rules just to keep everything in line;

1. This is absolutely not a space to kink shame. What doesn't work for you may well work for someone else.
2. Please be mindful that a lot of self published authors haven't got the resources to have their work read over and corrected by multiple editors. Be a little generous with minor grammar and spelling mistakes, no one is perfect.

Please revisit the rules if you're unsure about submitting or commenting, or of course feel free to ask any questions you may have or clarifications if necessary.

So, what made you say WTF this week?

Welcome to the r/romancelandia daily reader chat. We like chatting about romance books, and we also like to build community, so the daily reading chat isn't incredibly strict about content, exactly. Don't be shy!

---

Here's our guide on community norms and posting.

---

• Discussing a book? Please include content warnings or anything else you think a potential reader needs to consider before reading and don't forget to mark your spoilers.
• Not sure how to use spoiler tags? Just do this: >!spoiler text!<
• Would your fairly-in-depth book discussion comment or romance-reading observation make a good post? Probably! But in case you're not sure, check out our guide with post examples: Posting on Romancelandia: It doesn't have to be a dissertation.
• Our Back To School covers any questions you might have about our Subreddit.

---

Are you new here?? Introduce yourself! This month's prompt for newbies is;

What adaptation of a romance story nailed the chemistry?

Welcome to the r/romancelandia daily reader chat. We like chatting about romance books, and we also like to build community, so the daily reading chat isn't incredibly strict about content, exactly. Don't be shy!

---

Here's our guide on community norms and posting.

---

• Discussing a book? Please include content warnings or anything else you think a potential reader needs to consider before reading and don't forget to mark your spoilers.
• Not sure how to use spoiler tags? Just do this: >!spoiler text!<
• Would your fairly-in-depth book discussion comment or romance-reading observation make a good post? Probably! But in case you're not sure, check out our guide with post examples: Posting on Romancelandia: It doesn't have to be a dissertation.
• Our Back To School covers any questions you might have about our Subreddit.

---

Are you new here?? Introduce yourself! This month's prompt for newbies is;

What adaptation of a romance story nailed the chemistry?

Vibe check! How’s your week been? What are you reading, watching, or listening to?

During Sunday Vibes, members share what they've been up to and other media they're enjoying. It's a space to get to know one another outside of romance books.

✍🏼 Regular Features

😱 WTF Wednesdays - A weekly feature posted Wednesdays to share the stuff in Romancelandia that makes you go WTF: bad takes, questionable metaphors, anything that left you speechless.

🎨 The Art Of..., monthly themed discussion on a trope, theme or microtrope common in Romance Literature. This month's theme was Contemporary Western Romance.

🍿 Fresh Faves Fridays - A weekly feature posted Fridays to share your 4- and 5-star reads and favorite quotes. Think of it as a What Did You Read This Week? thread, but with only the best books.

💩 Shitpost Saturdays - On Saturdays, we loosen the discussion-based requirement to allow for memes, shower thoughts, silly posts, etc. All other rules still remain.

⭐️ Our September Monthly Reading Recap is here

Vibe check! How’s your week been? What are you reading, watching, or listening to?

During Sunday Vibes, members share what they've been up to and other media they're enjoying. It's a space to get to know one another outside of romance books.

So, how was your week?

On Saturdays, we loosen the discussion-based requirement to allow for memes, shower thoughts, silly posts, etc. All other rules still remain. Enjoy your shitty Saturday!

Use this space as the daily chat if you need to talk all things romance!

---

Here's our guide on community norms and posting.

What goes in the daily reading chat, you ask? We like chatting about romance books, and we also like to build community, so the daily reading chat isn't incredibly strict about content, exactly. Don't be shy!

Where to start? Some ideas:

• Random musings about romance
• Books you're looking forward to
• What you're reading now
• Book sales and deals
• Television and movies
• Good books that aren’t romance
• Questions for the group at large
• Smashing the kyriarchy in daily life
• Encourage other commenters who have good ideas to start a new post!

---

• Discussing a book? Please include content warnings or anything else you think a potential reader needs to consider before reading and don't forget to mark your spoilers.
• Not sure how to use spoiler tags? Just do this: spoiler text
• Would your fairly-in-depth book discussion comment or romance-reading observation make a good post? Probably! But in case you're not sure, check out our guide with post examples: Posting on Romancelandia: It doesn't have to be a dissertation.

Welcome to the r/romancelandia daily reader chat. We like chatting about romance books, and we also like to build community, so the daily reading chat isn't incredibly strict about content, exactly. Don't be shy!

---

Here's our guide on community norms and posting.

---

• Discussing a book? Please include content warnings or anything else you think a potential reader needs to consider before reading and don't forget to mark your spoilers.
• Not sure how to use spoiler tags? Just do this: >!spoiler text!<
• Would your fairly-in-depth book discussion comment or romance-reading observation make a good post? Probably! But in case you're not sure, check out our guide with post examples: Posting on Romancelandia: It doesn't have to be a dissertation.
• Our Back To School covers any questions you might have about our Subreddit.

---

Are you new here?? Introduce yourself! This month's prompt for newbies is;

What adaptation of a romance story nailed the chemistry?

It's Fresh Fave Friday! a combination of our Five Star Fridays idea and the Quotable Mondays posts we used to do. The idea is to share the best of the best of what we're reading, so we're going to use the Recommendations flair.

What is it?

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Fresh Faves Friday: Share any recent four- and five-star reads that you've had! Give a mini review, or link to your Goodreads/Storygraph reviews, and share the details! Tell us the subgenre, pairing, tropes, "you'll like it if you loved _____", choice quotes/excerpts, or whatever you think is enticing! Romance and romance-adjacent is the goal, but we're all readers here, so if you read something truly fantastic in another genre feel free to drop it here too.

Please use spoiler tags and content warnings where appropriate.

Also, if you have something you'd like to recommend that didn't work for you but might for someone else, share the recommendation!

Welcome to the r/romancelandia daily reader chat. We like chatting about romance books, and we also like to build community, so the daily reading chat isn't incredibly strict about content, exactly. Don't be shy!

---

Here's our guide on community norms and posting.

---

• Discussing a book? Please include content warnings or anything else you think a potential reader needs to consider before reading and don't forget to mark your spoilers.
• Not sure how to use spoiler tags? Just do this: >!spoiler text!<
• Would your fairly-in-depth book discussion comment or romance-reading observation make a good post? Probably! But in case you're not sure, check out our guide with post examples: Posting on Romancelandia: It doesn't have to be a dissertation.
• Our Back To School covers any questions you might have about our Subreddit.

---

Are you new here?? Introduce yourself! This month's prompt for newbies is;

What’s a non-romance show with a surprisingly good romance subplot?

Hello, have you encountered any of the following in the past week;

1. Truly heinous opinions and takes on current events in Romancelandia at large
2. Questionable metaphors in Romance novels etc
3. Did you DNF anything for a reason that has left you speechless?

Welcome to WTF Wednesday, a space to share our despair.

A few rules just to keep everything in line;

1. This is absolutely not a space to kink shame. What doesn't work for you may well work for someone else.
2. Please be mindful that a lot of self published authors haven't got the resources to have their work read over and corrected by multiple editors. Be a little generous with minor grammar and spelling mistakes, no one is perfect.

Please revisit the rules if you're unsure about submitting or commenting, or of course feel free to ask any questions you may have or clarifications if necessary.

So, what made you say WTF this week?