Let’s Talk Bookish: Romances and Happily Ever Afters

Let’s Talk Bookish is a weekly bookish meme created by Rukky @ Eternity Books and is currently hosted by Aria @ Book Nook Bits.

This week’s topic:

Should all Romances have Happily Ever Afters (HEAs)?

(suggested by Dedra @ A Book Wanderer)

Prompts: Do you like romances with happy endings? Do you think that all romances should have happy endings? Why or why not? What are some of your favorite romances with Happily Ever Afters?

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A bit of background

If you’ve been around my blog for any amount of time, you might think that I hate romance books. While that’s an understandable assumption given how much I complain about how annoying I find romance subplots in most books, that’s not entirely true. I actually do love a good love story if it’s done well.

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What is a “romance book” anyway?

Genres are a bit confusing because it seems like everything has romance in it these days. Fantasy-adventure? The main character will probably have at least one traveling companion (or maybe an enemy) who is so attractive that it’s a miracle they manage to save the world with all the time they spend yearning. Science Fiction? Maybe an immortal violinist who made a deal with the devil will fall in love with an alien masquerading as a donut shop owner. Historical fiction? Well, people have always fallen in love…where do you think all those historical babies came from? My point is, romance is everywhere, showing up as romantic subplots even when the real story is about something else entirely.

Romance as a genre however, seems to be more formulaic and predictable. I think the general consensus for books in the Romance (with a capital R) genre, is that they do have a Happily Ever After (HEA) or at least Happy For Now (HFN). Obviously I’m not an expert or a big reader of the genre so I could be wrong, but in my experience romance books are centered on a romantic relationship and while there might be some twists and turns, in general, you know what you’re getting in the end.

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Do you like romances with happy endings?

Judging by the books I’ve read and enjoyed, it seems that the answer is no. Even when it comes to actual romances (as opposed to fantasy/sci-fi/historical fiction with heavy romantic subplots) the ones I’ve enjoyed most have had endings that are more along the lines of ambiguously hopeful rather than truly happy. As in, the characters have overcome some big challenge or returned from their adventure, acknowledged their feelings for one another, and there is some indication of a possible future together.

I might be in the minority, but even if I was rooting for a couple, I don’t really care if the relationship doesn’t work out on the page, as long as there is some sort of reasonable resolution (good or bad) to the overall plot and the character has shown some sort of growth. Their decisions regarding any relationships (romantic and otherwise) need to make sense in relation to who they are as an individual.

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Do you think that all romances should have happy endings? Why or why not?

To put it bluntly, no. Not to be cynical but it’s just not realistic for all romances to end in happily ever after. This completely ignores the complex nature of relationships that makes them dynamic and interesting. In my experience, the type of happily ever after endings that are typical of Disney movies and romcoms usually come across as contrived or forced, or at the very least, boring and predictable.

Sure, I like seeing characters end up happy but being in a relationship isn’t the sum of all happiness. One book I read recently was very much focused on the main character’s romantic relationship but the real story was about her navigating her sexuality in relation to her family’s “traditional” views. In the end, she realized that it was the freedom to be true to herself that was important, not the relationship itself. In my eyes this was a happy ending to the story, if not to the romantic relationship. But then again, I think this book fell into the contemporary or literary genre rather than romance.

That being said, I can see how people might want to read books that they know have a happy ending. It’s comforting to know that the world doesn’t always need to end in tragedy. Like I mentioned earlier, my understanding is that the presence of a HEA or HFN is pretty much a requirement for books that are in the Romance genre and that’s fine. The problem (in my opinion) is that people have come to expect any book with a heavy romantic plot to have a happily ever after even if the primary genre is actually not romance. (For example, think of pretty much any popular YA fantasy book published in the past decade.)

Authors, please don’t add an epilogue just for the sake of pairing everyone off when it’s not necessary.
Readers, if you’re disappointed that your favorite couple didn’t get together, that’s what fanfiction is for.

Either way, I stand by my claim that a happy or hopeful ending doesn’t need to be romance-centered.

Or maybe I’m just too ace for this conversation

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What are some of your favorite romances with Happily Ever Afters

Honestly, it’s hard for me to think of romance (genre) novels that I genuinely enjoyed, regardless of whether they had a happy ending. Also, where’s the fun in reading a book if you know exactly how it’s going to end?

If you want absolutely no hint about the how books might end, skip the rest of this section, but here are a few books from various genres with a big focus on romance that I’ve enjoyed and which didn’t end in tragedy. Are they hopeful? Ambiguous? Happy? Who knows. Maybe read them and find out.

• Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo (my review)
• The Ruthless Lady’s Guide to Wizardry by C.M. Waggoner (my review)
• This is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone

And just in case you’re looking for a quick read, here’s a short story (fantasy/romance) that I highly recommend:

• Your Eyes, My Beacon: Being an Account of Several Misadventures and How I Found My Way Home by C.L. Clark in Uncanny Magazine Vol. 46

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Let’s Chat!

Do you like your romances to have happy endings? Does the book’s primary genre affect whether you want/expect a happy ending? Do you like romantic subplots in books that are not in the romance genre?