Soul Ripping Romance Tag

I haven’t been reading many books I want to write long reviews on lately (mostly romance novels, so this tag is especially apt), but I still want to post at least some things this month, so I was super happy to be tagged by Naty, whose wonderful blog you should all be checking out. (There might be slight spoilers here, so if you prefer to go into books completely blind, be careful.)

The Rules

• Thank the person who tagged you and create a pingback to the original author – Nel at Reactionary Tales.
• Share at least 5 (but more are welcome) romances that tugged your heart strings. They can be from books, movies, TV shows, manga; anything you can think of! They can be examples of sad tears, angry tears, happy tears or a combination of all three.
• Nominate 5 (or more) people to share their emotional traumas
• (Note: Try not to spoil the story for your readers in case they would like to check out these romances on their own)

No post of mine this year would be complete without a shoutout to Sally Rooney, so I am getting this out of the way early. Frances and Nick are such an interesting, flawed couple that I could not help but root for.

I enjoy the way Nalini Singh writes her romances a whole lot in general (very little angst, people who are honest about their feelings, men who are totally vocal in how great they think their partners are) but my favourite couple of hers are Mercy and Riley, both are stubborn and headstrong but they also are super into each other and willing to meet in the middle.

The slow burn that was Kate Daniels and Curran’s relationship has a special place in my heart – even if she is so much cooler than he is and both of them are pretty much flying blind (they did not have the best of role models) and as such making mistakes left and right. The anticipation of the “when will they finally” was way too much fun for me to not include them here.

Sabran and Ead’s relationship in The Priory of the Orange Tree was wonderfull realized. I love how they complement and challenge each other, I love how they are fundamentally honest, and how they never lose their own lives and ambitions out of sight.

The romance in Act Like It by Lucy Parker combines many things I love: enemies-to-lovers, fake dating, London, and theatre. Lainie is lovely and witty and doesn’t take any shit, Richard is grumpy and vulnerable. Their banter is hilarious and their relationship believable.

Honorable mentions:

Kassandra and Aeneas, Veronica Mars and Logan (I knoooow he’s an ass, don’t judge me), Chandler and Monica, Vasya and Morozko (only in The Winter of the Witch though, weirdly), Buffy and Spike (I knooow, he is the worst but still)

Tagging:

Sarah / Lisa / Kathy / Caitlin / Jess

I mostly tagged spec fic bloggers because I want more specfic romance but if you decide to do this tag, please let me know! I am having so much fun with romance heavy books this year.