He billionaired vampirely over the stairs

I feel that in modern romantasy characters don't fall in love anymore. They fall in lust.

“who did this to you?” ❌

“girl you good 🤨” ✔️

I have the same problem and I think the issue is that authors try to write the male characters to appeal to the READERS instead of the actual female character who is supposed to be his love interest 💀 it almost feels like they're breaking the fourth wall in a way. At this point just make a power point about all the things you believe a male character in a fantasy book should be so I can save myself reading the book entirely thanks!

He growled, smirked, rose an eyebrow.
Are the biggest icks for me.
Reluctant allies/rivals to lovers is so much better than enemies to lovers.

I wish they would bring back gentle masculinity in books. Oh Peeta, how i mourn the loss of men like you.

If I have to read another male lead call a full grown adult "good girl" I might vomit.

WHERE IS THE YEARNING??????

The older I get the more I'm beginning to appreciate slow, SLOW burn romances (preferably the romance is even the B plot in the beginning). Authors now just seem to be so obsessed with getting to the spicy scenes as fast as humanly possible, that all the amazing chemistry building is lost along the way :-( sex sells I guess.

As a woman, I HATE the false male beauty standards that romance books portray. They all have the same square jawline, abs, broad shoulders, tanned, broody brow, dark set eyes, etc. It is horrible the way writers act like that is the only thing that is attractive. The cover art and character designs don’t even look real! It grosses me out and I wish more writers would write descriptions of characters (male & female) as if they’re PEOPLE, not sex objects!

These are why I started looking for books with romantic subplots instead. The romance is a little overshadowed, yes, but it actually develops through the main plot then has its moments of shining

I think a lot of what makes up the Romantasy genre now should be reclassifed as Erotasy. It really has become it's own genre with its own devoted fans who are just in it for the hot characters and the spice. Nothing wrong with wanting to read smut in a fantasy setting, but I don't want to have to sift through heaps of one dimensional erotic fantasy wish fulfilment characters to get to a story with complex characters and an actual focus on the romance.

They act the same, speak the same, look the same. Tall, dark hair, and tanned skin, written the same. From what I've read and seen, anyway.

Books have always challenged us on diversity of thought. If all the characters have the same opinion and behavior- what are we experiencing with them?

Too many people see love as just infatuation and lust. I’m 36 and a dude and I know way too many people who interpret love like a teenager. So it’s no wonder it’s in media.

My pet peeves: 1) "Slow-burn" that is actually only a few weeks; 2) Possessiveness - calling her "mine"; 3) the MMC having to 'train' the FMC how to fight (even if that's in defiance of the fantasy world) or (if they're enemies initially) they physically fight; 4) the broken but super hot MMC who is changed into wanting to settle down because of how unique the FMC is (even those he may have lived for 500 years and had loads of options). I want actual slow burn; I want actual healthy dynamics; I want intellectual combat; and I want normal human nature.

Authors should be less afraid of making their male love interests a little bit pathetic. I like to be like 'awww bless him he tried' even when they are failing at romance.

Yeah... I completely agree. I don't need any more brooding, grumpy, growly MMCs. It was fun the first time I read it, now I want an MMC with social skills and is actually pleasant to be around 😭 I've been trying to find a good Hot Nerd™ in romantasy like Milo from Atlantis or Giles from Buffy but I keep coming up empty because everybody just wants Rhysand😭

I never understood why they are all really buff 💪 and between the 6’5 or 7’0 I mean come on

I think another aspect of this is readers disliking and heavily criticizing both character AND author when the main male character is not their idea of perfect, or prime- and i hate this word- 'book boyfriend' material.

Yes to all of this! I'm sick of these "mysterious shadow daddies" with no depth to them. The dark, kinda dangerous and seductive male love interest will ALWAYS be better when we also get to see him be openly pathetic and a pining dolt.

I also think the "who did this to you?" line hits SO much harder when it comes from a love interest who is known for his kindness and principles, so bringing out his vengeful wrath is rare and chilling.

I'm also really over male love interests who infantalise the female lead and need to "mentor" her (usually in combat) even though she doesn't want to. Like if she notices that deficit in her skills herself and ASKS him to mentor her, that's different, because she's showing agency rather than him knowing "what's best." I also like when instead of a clear mentor/mentee relationship, they end up providing challenges and obstacles to each other that they both have to overcome to be better. I always feel like enemies-to-lovers is at its best when rather than one having to be won to the other's side, they're both right and wrong in some way and have to meet in the middle.

And another thing I hate is when the first thing we learn about the male lead is how haaaaandsome and totally hot he is, when realistically his good looks should NOT be the first thing the female lead would focus on, especially in an enemies-to-lovers or when they're in the middle of a life or death situation. Like surely his "rippling muscles" (that show through his regal clothing because apparently this "dark prince" can't afford a decent tailor) aren't more worthy of your attention than the current threat at hand? I also feels like establishing how "attractive" he is from the get go ruins what would've otherwise been an entrancing false first impression that would slowly be untangled, and I love when the "oh no he's hot!" moment smacks the female lead AFTER their antagonistic relationship is already well-established and just beginning to break down.

Also can these books stop making big deals about how much these male leads "respect women"? That's the bare minimum. If you need to make him the lone feminist man in a sea of misogynists to make him appealing, you've already disappointed me. The only exception is if you approach it with nuance, and take the time to establish WHY he's so much more "feminist" than every other man in the setting, how he's still fallible, and what he has to offer beyond "I respect women." I'm reading a fanfic where the male lead respects the female lead more than the other men in her life because while she comes from a patriarchal culture, he is the lone man in a tribe of fierce warrior women. This actually causes some interesting conflict between him and the female lead, since he assumes that she is far more respected in her position of authority than she really is, and accidentally undoes a lot of the progress she made to prove her worth in her own culture despite being a woman, because he had no reason to believe her position was so fragile. He's not "celebrated" by the narrative for being some enlightened feminist, but rather his respect for women in authority is so deeply ingrained in his upbringing and culture that he forgets the female lead is living under patriarchy, and that he unwittingly becomes a part of patriarchy every time he enters her domain. When he realises this, he immediately sees the injustice of her circumstances and the consequences of his actions, and he goes above and beyond to make amends, in accordance with her agency. It's a great way to portray him as someone with a deep respect for women that doesn't make him "special" or "enlightened" for doing the bare minimum.