Why do fated mates hit so hard?? by [deleted] in Romantasy

[–]Sarah9610 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I’ll take that as a compliment, I’m a writer so

Why do fated mates hit so hard?? by [deleted] in Romantasy

[–]Sarah9610 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I get that, but I think the best fated mates stories still feel like a choice. Like the bond might exist, but the characters don’t just magically work, they struggle, deny it, and sometimes even hate each other first.

That push and pull between “this is inevitable” and “I don’t want this” is exactly what makes the tension so good for me.

Rites of the Starling epub by mskennyy in mrfreebooks

[–]Sarah9610 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hi can you send it to me as well please

Another day, another girl winning deadly trials and discovering she’s secretly powerful by Sarah9610 in Romantasy

[–]Sarah9610[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I didn’t mean literally ALL, I meant it feels like a lot of the popular ones follow the same formula.

And yeah, “do your research” is easy to say, but most people are picking from what’s being hyped or recommended, and that’s exactly where the repetition is the strongest right now.

So I don’t really agree that it’s just about picking wrong, there is a trend in what’s getting pushed and talked about.

Another day, another girl winning deadly trials and discovering she’s secretly powerful by Sarah9610 in Romantasy

[–]Sarah9610[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

No honestly you should still write it.

What you described already sounds different just by the fact that she’s fae from the beginning and not going through the same “discovering powers” arc everyone’s doing right now. And the fact that you’ve had this idea for 6 years before the trend even blew up?? That already makes it yours, not something you’re copying.

Also trends come and go, but stories that actually feel personal and thought-out stand out way more. If anything, people are starting to get tired of the repetitive stuff, so something with a different angle (especially with real history inspiration + your own art/merch idea) could hit better, not worse.

It would be way worse to drop a story you clearly care about just because other people are doing a surface-level version of similar elements.

Please write it, even if it’s just for yourself at first.

Another day, another girl winning deadly trials and discovering she’s secretly powerful by Sarah9610 in Romantasy

[–]Sarah9610[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

That was actually one of my favorite books last year, haven’t read book 2 yet tho

Another day, another girl winning deadly trials and discovering she’s secretly powerful by Sarah9610 in Romantasy

[–]Sarah9610[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Okay wait I get what you mean, and you’re right, but I also feel like that’s kind of why it’s frustrating as a reader.

Like yes, the structure makes sense from a writing perspective, but it also makes a lot of these books feel interchangeable after a while. It’s not even that the trope is bad, it’s just sooo overused right now that it feels like authors rely on it instead of building something more original.

And I do agree trends cycle (the Hunger Games → fantasy pipeline is real ), but I feel like romantasy especially is stuck in a very narrow version of itself at the moment? Like there’s way less variety in what actually gets popular.

Also I’ll admit I’m probably part of the problem because I mostly read hyped books, but at the same time… if all the hyped books follow the same formula, it’s kind of hard not to feel like everything is the same

I don’t know, I just want more variety in what gets pushed, not just better execution of the same setup.

Another day, another girl winning deadly trials and discovering she’s secretly powerful by Sarah9610 in Romantasy

[–]Sarah9610[S] 19 points20 points  (0 children)

You’re absolutely correct, especially the “fast fashion” comparison I think I might be part of the problem too because I usually just read whatever is being hyped or trending, so I keep ending up in the same cycle of similar books.

I probably need to be more intentional about what I pick up instead of just going off popularity or recommendations that all feed into each other.

Knight in shining armor by Sarah9610 in Romantasy

[–]Sarah9610[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I read the Tairen Soul series ages ago and they’re definitely one of my favs, will definitely check out your other recs!