[goethes_kind]

Shame. I was drawn by the story after reading the summary, until the part where, she fell in love with a married man. I don't know what people find romantic about this nonsense and I hate this stupid trend. Why cannot romantic stories be nice and uncomplicated instead of always involving some stupid love triangle or people cheating on their partners?

[lapcat]

> Why cannot romantic stories be nice and uncomplicated

Maybe that doesn't make an interesting book?

[goethes_kind]

I meant like past romantic novels, where the couple are in love and their love is "simple", but they both have to overcome some trouble together (poverty, family illness, migration, war, separation due to work, ...etc). That makes for a love story that I enjoy reading. I guess I'm too traditionally minded. I honestly think romance is dead, or at least so different from the past that it is unrecognizable to me. Sometimes I feel like I was born in the wrong century.

[lapcat]

I wouldn't say this book is about a couple. It's about Rakel. If anything, it's more about the "couple" of Rakel and Sofia than Rakel and Jakob.

[OJFord]

It's certainly possible to have 'happier' complications though, I think GP has a point. As one might enjoy crime drama, but not gratuitous violence, say.

[lapcat]

> I think GP has a point

"I don't know what people find romantic about this nonsense"

It's fine to have different literary preferences than some other people. As you say, "one might enjoy crime drama, but not gratuitous violence". But to question the literary preferences of other people is an entirely different matter.

"I hate this stupid trend."

It's not a trend. Writers have been writing about love triangles and marital infidelity for literally centuries.

[goethes_kind]

I think romance as a genre has changed though. Today's romance is multiple people being involved in some weird interplay between each other and that is the main focus of the story. Whereas romance from a century ago is more about two people fighting against adversity to be together or to remain together.

[lapcat]

I wouldn't actually place this book in the "romance" genre.