Monday, July 02, 2007

Here's My Weird Thought of The Day

You may have noticed that I was to read at least two books before blogging but uh, yeah, I need to vent!

Or maybe I just need to figure something out.

I started a book and I'm not going to name it at the moment because it's not really the book. At least, I don't think it is.

Basically the story opens and I'm liking the gist, there's a weird moment that I'm thinking 'alright, that was weird but whatever' and then WHAM, I'm hit with something that just doesn't feel plausible.

Now maybe I watch too many A&E real life murder shows and 48 Hours Mysteries but, the scene just played out wrong. And maybe that's another thing, I don't get the motivation behind the action. It's extreme and well, weird.

So this got me to thinking that maybe this is why I have turned to paranormal romance for the most part. Am I sick of them? Getting there. Unless they are really well done they get on my nerves and right now Nalini Singh is the only author I'm running to buy. Oh and Kresley Cole!

You may have noticed a bit of a scuffle on the AAR boards about the HEA but really, I don't think this is the problem. It's every thing that comes before the HEA that's causing problems. At least for me.

Now, I may be over thinking this but it seems to me that with the move towards steamier reads the need to have plausibility in the story was thrown out the window. Screw logic, I need this and this and this to happen and well, paranormals have their cake and are eating it so why not my contemporary or historical.

In the story I'm trying to read I'm wondering what my reaction would have been if Anne Stuart had written it. Thinking about it I realize that AS wouldn't have made this mistake because she gives you the MOTIVATION behind the action. The reader knows why something is happening and in the current story I'm reading I have no clue, none whatsoever, why the hero and heroine are acting the way they are. Okay, I have more knowledge of why the heroine is but the hero just came out of left field and if I was the heroine I would be looking for the closest phone to call 911.

I'm just saying.

So has this always been part of the romance landscape and I just never noticed or is this a new thing? I promise that if I finish this book I will write a full report and let you know exactly what it was that threw me and if it is resolved. I do know that others have loved this book so I'm going to keep on keeping on unless something else clobbers me over the head.

In a nutshell, I seem to want my paranormals to have incredible world building with lots of sensual heat and a love that feels honest and not just mated. I also seem to allow for aggressive behaviour but that behaviour has a motivation and if it doesn't, I'm out.

In an every day romance I want two people to meet and fall in love and yes, I want there to be obstacles and hardships and banter and sex and love.

Looks like I'm going to have to go through my reading for the last few years and see if I have a 'tell'. Maybe I have been so far out of the loop that what I'm reading now is standard fare for romance and if so, yikes cause I'm more creeped out than waiting for these two characters to realize they have hot and heavy feelings for each other.

Right now, the only thing going through my head is 'Run Forest! Run!'

5 comments:

Suisan said...

Well, as you know, I've got a very highly attuned "alert system" for aggressive or abusive behavior by the hero. There are situations that work for other readers which just yank me right out of the story.

And I find a lot of them in paranormals. I also find that I'm more tolerant of those situations when I'm generally in a "good place" emotionally. If I'm feeling down, then I'm more sensitive to dangerous undercurrents and more likely to set the book aside.

Do you find that these sorts of aggressive behaviors tend to happen early in the book, when the author is sketching how very Dangerous the hero is? Because at that point I haven't learned enough about him to be at all forgiving.

~ames~ said...

yeah i'm going to want the name of that book. LOL

Mailyn said...

LMFAO Ames! That's what I was thinking as well. Cincy I can say in all honesty that this is what has turned me off of romance as of late:

Now, I may be over thinking this but it seems to me that with the move towards steamier reads the need to have plausibility in the story was thrown out the window.

I don't think it's you. I was noticing a rather popular notion that women wanted more hot and steamy sex and that they were willing to sacrifice lot and character development for it. Hell even the writing was just this side of teenage-fanfiction territory.

So now you see were I'm at and I don't think you are overthinking. I've been there for a while. I'm hoping to run in one really really good AND well written romance novel to get me back on track. So far I'm getting some romance in the Blue Satan books so that's keeping me happy. LOL.

Tara Marie said...

I don't understand how the implausible plot and story line makes it past the editing process. Doesn't anyone along the way say "hey this isn't working"?

ErinPaperbackstash said...

Sometimes I get sick of a genre and need to take a break also. This especially does happen with Romance and P. Romance as there are so many stinkers in there.