My least favorite type of romance is instant-love or insta-love. This type of romance is when the hero and heroine meet and fall in love instantly. There is little to no development between them. If you had to trace their relationship, there would be very little to discuss. These are the types of romance novels I rarely finish because they are already in love and anything keeping them a part is usually silly and contrived.
The real problem with this kind of romance, if I had to narrow it down, is that most times that I’ve seen this kind of romance used, the hero and heroine are willing to lay everything on the line for each other, while I’m sitting there scratching my head wondering why. Or I find myself simply not caring at if the hero dies or the heroine has to marry someone else. It’s really hard to care about a relationship that appears to have no substance. This is really bad done if they try to say that the hero never thought he would fall in love, or if he’s something of a player when it comes to women, but then he meets the heroine and she changes him in an instant. Fail. There must be development!
Can this kind of romance ever work? Yes, I think. The best example of this working as a novel is if the couple gets married right away and then has to deal with issues they ignored in the beginning. Or, if somehow whatever keeps the couple separated really makes sense, like war. I think WWII novels can really do this trope well (I have read a secular novel like this, but nothing in the Christian arena to recommend; Sarah Sundin, my resident WWII novelist hasn’t used this trope yet.)
It is very rare that I like novels that have this. In fact it is so rare, that as I studied all the books that I own, I could only think of one that came close to insta-love that I liked. And yet, this novel is sci-fi, and really the insta-love is only one sided. This would be Firebird by Kathy Tyers. It’s a wonderful novel if you love sci-fi and I really liked the romance. Also, if you like renditions of Romeo and Juliet, I would recommend Leslie Gould’s Adoring Addie. This novel is beautifully written, but I myself am not a fan of Romeo and Juliet.
So, agree or disagree? Are there any insta-love novels that defy my reasonings that you would recommend for me to read?
remaininhislove 