You're so right! 'Fantasy as a genre' annoys me no end. It's a setting element most of the time, so why not have it applied like every other setting element to genre? Fantasy thriller. Fantasy adventure. Fantasy romance. Fantasy mystery. Fantasy crime. Then at least you know the broader plot elements as well!
Exactly! I'm finding this hard too, and not just as an author trying to accurately classify my books, but also as a reader trying to discover books I want to read (no dragons, no spice seems like a tall order these days, haha). I LOVE sub-plot romance. But apparently authors now are avoiding even mentioning romance in the blurb if it's not the primary plot because if they do, they get hit with a bunch of 'where's the steam' one-star reviews. So frustrating. But these discussions are good. The more we talk about it, the more people will become aware! (Hopefully.) I do love the trope-based marketing trend, and I hope it stays. It makes it much easier :)
Yes. Yes. And yes! Lol. One thing I liked that I recently saw on a new series was a bit of the tropes for the whole series such as "this series has a slow burn enemies to lovers" while it kind of ruins the surprise it's nice to know that there's a subplot romance in that way.
Good luck with dragons and no spice 😂 Thanks Fourth Wing. But I agree talking about books on these ways can help us find the books we want. Finding fellow readers in our niche so we can swap great books.
I enjoyed this post a lot. You asked us about things we hate. That's a strong word, but one thing I'm not a big fan of is goofy heroes who stumble around throughout the story and finally get it together in the final chapter of book 7. That said, I'll enjoy pretty much any story that is well-told.
True, annoys or irritates are probably better words. I agree, I'm not a fan of main characters who shouldn't be the MC as they don't pull their weight. That kind of growth needs to be in book 1.
Great write up and explanation. I thought this was going to be about keywords and Dark fantasy, I was wrong.
Don't forget dark fantasy horror 😂 I mean yet another reason why subcategories don't help that much.
You're so right! 'Fantasy as a genre' annoys me no end. It's a setting element most of the time, so why not have it applied like every other setting element to genre? Fantasy thriller. Fantasy adventure. Fantasy romance. Fantasy mystery. Fantasy crime. Then at least you know the broader plot elements as well!
💯 We need more of this to save us from frustration. I know what qualities I want in a book so why is it so hard to find!
Exactly! I'm finding this hard too, and not just as an author trying to accurately classify my books, but also as a reader trying to discover books I want to read (no dragons, no spice seems like a tall order these days, haha). I LOVE sub-plot romance. But apparently authors now are avoiding even mentioning romance in the blurb if it's not the primary plot because if they do, they get hit with a bunch of 'where's the steam' one-star reviews. So frustrating. But these discussions are good. The more we talk about it, the more people will become aware! (Hopefully.) I do love the trope-based marketing trend, and I hope it stays. It makes it much easier :)
Yes. Yes. And yes! Lol. One thing I liked that I recently saw on a new series was a bit of the tropes for the whole series such as "this series has a slow burn enemies to lovers" while it kind of ruins the surprise it's nice to know that there's a subplot romance in that way.
Good luck with dragons and no spice 😂 Thanks Fourth Wing. But I agree talking about books on these ways can help us find the books we want. Finding fellow readers in our niche so we can swap great books.
I enjoyed this post a lot. You asked us about things we hate. That's a strong word, but one thing I'm not a big fan of is goofy heroes who stumble around throughout the story and finally get it together in the final chapter of book 7. That said, I'll enjoy pretty much any story that is well-told.
True, annoys or irritates are probably better words. I agree, I'm not a fan of main characters who shouldn't be the MC as they don't pull their weight. That kind of growth needs to be in book 1.