Definitely made me turn the pages! Enjoyed it at points, tho the ending was contrived. But I get what it’s doing & it’s interesting to see how that works
I have to quibble slightly about trauma in romance… the two romances I've read are like a trauma factory lol. I think it depends a lot on the subgenre. But that's just a quibble and doesn't really affect the rest of your post!
Old-school romances were chock full of sexual trauma! Plus orphanings, financial distress, historical political drama, and God knows what else. But this sounds like it's more gothic than your usual romance in that the wife isn't cleanly dead of something completely un-husband-related... being morally secure at the end of a romance is so important!
There is indeed husband cheating! Definitely veers into morally gray territory. It’s actually billed as a ‘romantic thriller’ in the cover copy, which is interesting if kinda awkward
I think it counts, she needs to have died in childbirth/some sort of violent enemy attack that he needs to understand he couldn't have stopped. Or at worst she was a vile cheat herself but is safely quite dead and does not have hangers-on a la Rebecca. That said it's been a while since I read a real genre romance so perhaps the rules have changed?
Did you enjoy it? Did it make you turn the pages to find out what would happen? That's the main thing.
Definitely made me turn the pages! Enjoyed it at points, tho the ending was contrived. But I get what it’s doing & it’s interesting to see how that works
I have to quibble slightly about trauma in romance… the two romances I've read are like a trauma factory lol. I think it depends a lot on the subgenre. But that's just a quibble and doesn't really affect the rest of your post!
Old-school romances were chock full of sexual trauma! Plus orphanings, financial distress, historical political drama, and God knows what else. But this sounds like it's more gothic than your usual romance in that the wife isn't cleanly dead of something completely un-husband-related... being morally secure at the end of a romance is so important!
I've been listening to this podcast and they talk about how the unforgivable sin in romance novels is cheating: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/reformed-rakes/id1678828401?i=1000621495506 Not sure where "comatose wife" fits vis a vis cheating…
There is indeed husband cheating! Definitely veers into morally gray territory. It’s actually billed as a ‘romantic thriller’ in the cover copy, which is interesting if kinda awkward
tbc unforgivable for readers… it's not like a banned topic
I think it counts, she needs to have died in childbirth/some sort of violent enemy attack that he needs to understand he couldn't have stopped. Or at worst she was a vile cheat herself but is safely quite dead and does not have hangers-on a la Rebecca. That said it's been a while since I read a real genre romance so perhaps the rules have changed?