If you see Romance listed as a genre on MDL, what are your expectations going in?
A happily ever after (HEA) ending, as with Romance novels? If it's a tragedy or bittersweet, do you expect that they're still in love at the end/when they part or does your definition of Romance include bitter break-ups? Or maybe it's just that the story is ultimately about their (non-platonic, non-familial) relationship? Something else?
Does it matter to you that those expectations are met? Except for some specific red flags, I'm very much a go-with-the-flow watcher but it's clear from comments and reviews many aren't so I'm curious about that too. This is in part wanting to know more of what others think to help when I'm editing genres or submitting new titles.
This is how the official Guidelines define it:
- Romance: a genre that focuses on emotion-driven plots that are primarily focused on the relationship between the main characters of the story.
To what extent does this match up with your personal expectations? It's a very broad definition.
Please be careful about spoilers and please use the spoiler marker if you feel a need to include specifics. Thanks.
