I've made a post about our gorgeous female MC's in a novel, now what personality traits/quirks are you craving to read in a male lead of a romance novel? What do you feel has been overdone?

Why am I enjoying this so much lol. I really am imagining these animals as humans just like the authors said! also not them type casting the creatures… 🤨

Where are my comics people at?!

I'll admit, it's a newer interest for me and it only happened after I gave up trying to like superhero comics.

I tend to like niche, adventurous, darker story lines.

Some examples of what I love:

Saga by Brian k Vaughn (ongoing and I'm behind) - epic space opera. Found family. Lost love. Star crossed love. War and inequity and and and and. I couldn't recommend a story more highly but it is mature in art and theme.

Rachel Rising by Terry Moore (finished)- horror story. The MC unearths herself from a shallow grave with ligature marks on her neck. The story takes some wild slightly historical turns. Magic and murder abound.

Rat Queens by Weibe Upchurch and Sejic Fowler (finished but I'm behind)- a mixed race all woman adventuring group....goes on adventures. Very D&D.

Echo by Terry Moore (finished) - scifi tech story. A super advanced suit fails during a test and falls on two people. Two very different people. Can be violent and bloody sometimes

Bitch Planet by Deconnick DeLandro - social commentary criticism story about a future world where non compliant women are adjusted or detained. It's hard hitting and hard to read but worth it. Very short. Two trades I think.

Any recommendations?

Saga is what hooked me after many failed attempts. It's a story that's burning itself into my heart one issue at a time.

I'm going to get an NC tattoo for "non compliant" from Bitch Planet.

Do you have any graphic novels/comics like that? Any recommendations?

because here’s the thing. when dark romance hits?? when it’s done RIGHT??? IT’S EVERYTHING. it’s addictive. it’s raw, messed-up, healing, violent, tender, and literally made to make you feel unsafe but understood.

but when it’s BAD… oh we’re entering the trenches of wattpad wattpaddery. the type of books that make u want to call CPS on the author.

🌶️ THE SPICE VS THE STORYLINE BATTLE

let’s just get this out the way: spice ≠ plot.

“he choked her against the wall” is not character development. I am BEGGING.

i want twisted, obsessive, dangerous love, YES — but i want it to mean something. if you’re gonna give me a stalker, give me one who journals about it. if you're gonna give me a killer, give him existential guilt and a soft spot for dogs (*cough AARON WARNER) or something .

like I do NOT want to read 300 pages of two people having hate-$egs. sir that’s ✨just✩ NOT ENOUGH. give me the angst. the longing. the unearned loyalty. the twisted logic of “i know he’s bad but he’s only bad for me 😩.”

if he’s morally grey and lwk unhinged but he breaks when she cries?? i’m sold. if he says “i’d burn the world down for you” and then actually does it??? THAT’S LITERATURE RIGHT THERE. OBSESSEDDDDD

do i need therapy? probably. but also: fictional red flags don’t count. i’m not defending serial killers irl, i’m reading about them being soft for ONE (1) emotionally unavailable woman in fiction. there’s a difference. (*cough AARON WARNER—again)

also can we talk about the ✨MELTDOWNS✨ these men have when the girl they’ve been threatening with a knife to her throat suddenly gets hurt and they realize they have a heart??

like bro u had her tied with chains in chapter 3 and now ur crying because she has a scratch on her hand?

tbh idk if i love or hate it…

💀 THE DARK ROMANCE THAT ISN’T DARK, IT’S JUST ILLEGAL

and now. my 13th reason.

we need to talk about the books that pretend they’re “dark” but really they’re just 🚩🚩🚩 and a lawsuit waiting to happen.

if ur story involves: —teacher/student “romance” (EXCEPT ZODIAC ACADEMY AS THE ONLY EXCEPTION) —a grown man “falling for” a 17-year-old who acts 12 —SA played off as “tension” (girl…rape is not hot, get a grip on urself) —a man being emotionally abusive and calling it “dominance” —stalking and isolation being “protectiveness” with no consequences

CONGRATS. THAT’S NOT DARK. THAT’S JUST DISTURBING.

i’m not saying every dark romance needs to be morally perfect but you can’t just write trauma and never actually unpack it. not every boundary being crossed is spicy. and if the “romance” feels more like a crime scene, you’ve gone too far.

🥹 DARK ROMANCE THAT FEEDS MY SOUL THO??? OBSESSION FUEL.

give me: —complicated men with violent hands and soft hearts —women who are unafraid, messy, morally grey THEMSELVES (WE STANDD) —unhealthy beginnings that turn into loyalty and trust and healingggg (MANIFESTING) —real consequences. real change. real growth.

when a dark romance gives me the full arc — the pain, the slow burn 🔥 , the internal conflict, the oh my god do i deserve love??? monologue — i’m OBSESSED. cuz we LOVE A BROKEN MANNN. (*cough AARON WARNER—again)

like YES KING. FEEL SHAME. NOW GO BE SOFT. I LOVE GOLDEN RETRIEVER ENERGY SM. ♥️

👏 STOP CALLING IT “ALPHA” WHEN IT’S JUST ANGER ISSUES

i’m so tired of the “dominant alpha male” being code for raging narcissist who can’t communicate and punches walls like BROV, ARE U GOOD, DO I NEED TO BOOK U A THERAPIST TO HELP U FIND A DIFFERENT COPING MECHANISM??? what happened to tension without making the love interest a villain for no reason?

we need more dark roms mmc’s who know how to ask “is this okay?” BECAUSE CONSENT IS HOTTTT 🥵

we need less “i’ll punish you for breathing” and more “i’m obsessed with the way you exist and it terrifies me” (*cough AARON WARNER-AGAIN)

like i’m not asking to rewrite the whole character. i still want the morally unwell men. i just want them written by authors who understand that power should feel hot — not predatory.

and totally not judging u if u don’t agree with all these points because sometimes i gotta admit i luv my tortured mafia kings, — but only if they’re written with depth. with nuance. with humanity. (STILL CAN’T BEAT AARON WARNER ANDERSON CHIEF COMMANDER AND REGENT OF SECTOR 45, SON OF THE SUPREMEME COMMANDER OF NORTH AMERICA THO)

and if they beg on their knees? even better 😌

if u have a rec that made u feel feral, unwell, and morally compromised, drop it. i’m ready to spiral again.

#DarkRomanceRecsPlsss #KissMeOrKillMeIDontCare #BurnItAllDownForMeDaddy #PageboundConfessions #iloveaaronwarnerandersonchiefcommanderandregentofsector45sonofthesupremecommanderofthereestablishment

Well almost 26 hours later, we (my and oomf) finally finished this colossus. My thoughts have not changed much since my last post. There are glimpses of really excellent thriller writing (the scene where edward describes hunting the guy who Hasn't Done Anything. Yet. is EXCELLENT), but overall Very Slow, Very Repetitive, and Edward is so embarrassing to listen to.

I think I would like this, and every other Twilight book, more if Stephenie Meyer leaned into the horror & the freakiness of it all. She's not good a repressing/writing repressed character. To me, it felt stilted and awkward. Might as well go full throttle.

Best Character was Emmett, i am now SO fond of him 🐻♥️

whats your preference? i was just having a convo with a coworker about hardcovers vs paperback and our opinions differed quite a bit! personally, i’m a paperback girl.

i'm doing the current tiktok trend where you make a syllabus based on a topic you're really interested in. i want to read more about "monsters", who makes them and how they're made. does one become a monster because of their creator's intentions or because of their own monstrous action? i'm currently reading mary shelley's frankenstein (1818 text) (monster born from hubris) and just finished monstrilio (monster born from grief). i think "when the wolf comes home" also fits (monstrous actions AND creations). please rec me any book you think fits what i'm looking for!

Ketahn is my new hear me out

The slow burn...is so slooooow but so far, I like it so much