Bitchin' Blog Posts
GS vs. STA: Surprise Romance
by SB Sarah | by SB Sarah | September 11, 2007 | Tuesday at 8:48 pm | 59 CommentsBitchery reader Jessica has a rather odd request in her search for romances to read. In fact, when she first emailed me, I said that I didn’t think what she was looking for was precisely a romance. I’m as much curious about your opinion on that as much as on whether there’s a book that might meet her criteria.
Jessica wrote:
I just get a little bored with the predictability of most romances. Boy and girl meet, are horribly attracted to each other on first sight, but deny it/are torn apart/decide to be attracted to someone else for a while/are in some other complicated situation/etc., lots of stuff happens, boy and girl end up together. You ALWAYS know from the very first page (or chapter, at any rate) who will ending up doinking whom.
So, maybe The Bitchery can help me out. Any suggestions for books where the hero/heroine DOESN’T end up with the first attractive, named character of the opposite sex they see and get moist for? And it’s not because said named character is a ginormous asshole/the villain/secretly their sibling/etc. I’m looking for a little healthy surprise here.
It happens to people all the time. You meet someone and you think they’re just the best thing since BEFORE sliced bread but after a period of time (a date, a few weeks, a month, whatever) you realize that maybe they’re not for you. They’re not BAD or anything, but it’s just not as right as you had hoped. But this other person you met at the same party/event/etc. or shortly afterwards or before, or somewhere along the line is finding a place in your heart.And I would debate that it COULD still be a romance. The hero or heroine is just not who you would expect. I guess it’s [more the idea of] surprise. I want to NOT be hammered over the head from the very beginning with “these two are going to do the dirty!” I still can’t think of any novels I know of that have the type of plot I’m looking for. But, last night my DH, reminded me of the movie, “While You Were Sleeping.” That’s almost exactly the plot I’m looking for. Still definitely a romance, but the first “hero” she gets excited about is not the hero she ends up with.
I’ve read a few books like this, and it’s a delicate balance for a writer to sustain. On one hand, you don’t want the reader getting all invested in a hero who isn’t going to be The One, but you also don’t want to lose the respect of the reader if the heroine falls for the wrong dude or chases someone that the reader KNOWS isn’t right for him.
While I’m a very big fan of friends-to-lovers plotlines (*sigh*) that’s not quite what Jessica is looking for, but it’s also not merely a triangle “Which one will she choose” romance either. But I’ve read romances where the heroine has, for example, a lifelong crush on Dude A, but then realizes that Dude B is The One - and sometimes the reader knows it all along, while other times the reader figures it out along with the heroine.
What’s your take? Got any books to recommend?
Filed: Good Shit vs. Shit to Avoid
Sarah said on 09.11.07 at 09:04 PM • [link]
While not strictly “romance” per se, I’d highly recommend both Jane Fairfax and The Youngest Miss Ward, both by Joan Aiken. Sure - they’re Jane Austen spin-offs, but they’re well-written and neither heroine ends up with who you’d expect.
Kim said on 09.11.07 at 09:15 PM • [link]
It is chick lit, but I just finished Good at Games by Jill Mansell. Heroine is dating guy from first pages, but later she meets and ends up with his brother.
jonquil said on 09.11.07 at 09:24 PM • [link]
In Jennifer Crusie’s Fast Women the heroine has a detour through a second guy before winding up with the Alpha Male.
And, of course, the immortal Georgette Heyer’s Cotillion!
Lila said on 09.11.07 at 09:25 PM • [link]
The Next Thing On My List by Jill Smolinski
http://www.amazon.com/Next-Thing-My-List-Novel/dp/0307351246
Janice said on 09.11.07 at 09:29 PM • [link]
Kind of reminds me of the movie Sabrina too. Heroine is in love with the younger brother first.
Leslie Kelly said on 09.11.07 at 09:29 PM • [link]
I was taken by surprise re who the hero was when reading Allison Brennan’s first book The Prey.
karibelle said on 09.11.07 at 09:32 PM • [link]
“Sugar Daddy” by Lisa Kleypas (I promise, I do read other authors..lots of them). The heroine has to choose between her childhood crush and her new lover.
Becky said on 09.11.07 at 09:37 PM • [link]
A Girl’s Best Friend by Elizabeth Young has the heroine with a different guy in the beginning. And her books Making Mischief and A Promising Man (And About Time, Too) both have the hero with someone else in the beginning.
I adore Elizabeth Young! She inspires me to write chick lit. Too bad I’m so terrible at it.
ames said on 09.11.07 at 09:38 PM • [link]
Chick lit, but still applies:
Jane Green’s Straight Talking and Lisa Jewell’s Ralph’s Party.
Laura said on 09.11.07 at 09:46 PM • [link]
Dead Witch Walking by Kim Harrison. It’s a good paranormal. I wouldn’t really classify it as a romance because the man gets introduced as a sub-plot to a sub-plot. Still, it’s a good read and doesn’t follow the same tired rules.
jali said on 09.11.07 at 09:47 PM • [link]
Pride and Prejudice
Ellen said on 09.11.07 at 09:55 PM • [link]
It’s funny that someone suggested Jane Austen spin-offs, because I was going to recommend Jane Austen. Bridget Jones’s Diary—inspired by Jane Austen if not a spin-off—also meets the criteria.
This is a big part of the reason I’m not a romance reader; I don’t like the guaranteed HEA. (But I stick around here ‘cause I love the Bitches.) I’m a big fantasy reader, and I can think of a lot of fantasies with romantic elements that have more than one potential hero. Three of my favorites: Emma Bull’s The War for the Oaks, Jacqueline Carey’s Kushiel trilogy, Pamela Dean’s Tam Lin.
And how about Bitchery interviewee Colleen Gleason? The heroine hasn’t ended up with anyone permanently yet, but there have been three hero candidates so far. I know which one I’m backing, but I could be wrong.
Ellen said on 09.11.07 at 09:56 PM • [link]
P.S. How about some Jennifer Crusie? She doesn’t vary from the formula by too much, but of the four books by her I’ve read, the heroines of three have started out in a relationship with one guy and ended up with someone else.
Scotsie said on 09.11.07 at 10:07 PM • [link]
I’ll probably get shot for this, or at least buried under man titty, but Bertrice Small usually had two or three different heroes throughout her “series”. I seem to remember quite a few where heroine meets one hot dude, is separated from hot dude, meets new hot dude, boinks new hot dude to the tune of some seriously awful purple prose ... lather, rinse and repeat.
Amelia June said on 09.11.07 at 10:17 PM • [link]
Second and third the Kushiel books, they are great and BOY does she end up with someone you least expect.
Jo said on 09.11.07 at 10:18 PM • [link]
It may not quite fit the bill, but Second Chances by Lauren Dane.
karibelle said on 09.11.07 at 10:24 PM • [link]
You do have a point, Scotsie. Small’s heroines usually start out with one guy but you never know who she will end up with after she escapes from the harem
.
Kalen Hughes said on 09.11.07 at 10:42 PM • [link]
Um . . . isn’t this the kind of thing that happens all the time in the dreaded (and seemingly dead) Chicklit? I seem to remember it as such.
Jepad said on 09.11.07 at 11:01 PM • [link]
Perhaps Crazy for You by Jennifer Crusie. Actually Jennifer Crusie is usually pretty good with not following the usual romance formula.
I do think that most romances declare right on the back who the hero and heroine are. Even if the author tries to lead you on, the cover blurb gives it away.
I think that if one wants more surprise then you’d have to steer clear of romances and maybe find novels where romance is the subplot rather than the main focus.
Ziggy said on 09.11.07 at 11:21 PM • [link]
I love surprise romances. My favourite Mills and Boon (what?! stop looking at me like that!) was one in which the guys who wrote the blurb on the back of the book obviously had not read the actual book, and so they implied that the heroine would be getting together with a different guy from the one she ACTUALLY gets together with. And he was soooo much better too. I wish I could remember the title of that book.
Marian Keyes is a good writer of surprise romance. “Anyone Out There” is an excellent example, I think, though more chick-lit than romance. I think “Sushi for Beginners” and “Last Chance Saloon” had some surprise element in their romance, though to be honest, I can’t really remember. They’re good reads though. Oh, and “Hunting Unicorns” by Bella Pollen, at a str-e-e-etch.
Angela said on 09.11.07 at 11:27 PM • [link]
If you mention Marian Keyes, you cannot forget “Lucy Sullivan Is Getting Married”—the ultimate “who will she end up with?” book. It’s hilarious-I can never read a Keyes book in public because I always die with laughter even if I’ve read the book a gazillion times.
Cat Marsters said on 09.11.07 at 11:28 PM • [link]
I’m with Kalen. For me that was one of the appeals of chick lit: that you didn’t know from page one who was going to end up with who, and ‘detours’ were plentiful.
What am I saying, ‘were’? They still are. People keep saying chick lit is dead…maybe that’s just because people aren’t admitting to it any more. At least there seem to be fewer of the really bad chick lit books (you know the ones I’m talking about: they mention Manolos on every page and make you feel inadequate because you don’t have a high-pressure job and at least three gorgeous men panting after you. Yawn).
I’m still reading plenty of smart, funny books about modern women who are falling in love but don’t have it as their main concern in life. I think now it’s called ‘women’s fiction’ or ‘romantic comedy’.
I was going to suggest Bridget Jones, but it’s been done. Jill Mansell is a prime example of that-which-is-not-called-chick-lit any more. She has heroines of all ages and situations (although they’re all British, as she is: she’s pretty big over here but can’t seem to get a foothold in the States). Pretty much all of them go through more than one guy in a book. Sometimes you can pick pout the keeper; sometimes not.
I know from when I started out writing romance that allowing your characters to dally with anyone other than each other is very much frowned upon, especially in the American market where romance is still sacred. Over in Blighty, where romance is a dirty word in most bookstores, we’ve come a little unstuck from the formula. As well as Jill Mansell, try Catherine Alliot, Marian Keyes and Chris Manby, who do lighter romantic comedies, Jilly Cooper for a good ol’fashoned bonkbuster, and there are plenty of historical authors, especially if you look for some family sagas.
Step away from the Harlequin lines, where true love is sown on the first page.
There’s also a new Headline imprint called Little Black Dress which is about a year old (http://www.littleblackdressbooks.com/) When I spoke to the editor at the RNA conference this year, she said they loved heroines who might try out a Daniel Cleaver before they got to their Mark Darcy.
Wow, that was a long post.
Nelly said on 09.11.07 at 11:58 PM • [link]
I’m surprised no one has mentioned Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum series. It’s not strictly romance but it’s definately a fun and entertaining and it keeps you guessing as to who she’ll end up with. It’s a choice between two very yummy men. I’ve gone through almost 9 of them so far.
Kalen Hughes said on 09.12.07 at 12:03 AM • [link]
Marian Keyes and Wendy Holden are both great for this, but they’re “brit lit” (which I love)!
Tammy said on 09.12.07 at 12:25 AM • [link]
How about Susan Elizabeth Phillips’ Hot Shots. I’d just started reading romance and was so surprised that there could be 2 “heroes”, one for each stage of this heroine’s life.
Meriam said on 09.12.07 at 12:30 AM • [link]
I ADORE Cotillion! Fantastic - the hero is not the heavy-lidded jaded rake Jack but bumbling, good natured, permanently confounded and impeccably dressed Freddy Stanton. I can’t believe how many romance conventions Heyer breezily disregarded in writing this book. And it’s bloody romantic, to boot.
This is YA, but Tamora Pierce’s Alana series gave me the shock of my young life when she betrayed my budding romantic sensibilities with a bait and switch. I won’t go into it (I love that series, incidentally) but she pretty much does what you require - Alana grows up and away from her first love.
willaful said on 09.12.07 at 12:35 AM • [link]
The Boyfriend Schoool by Sarah Bird. Added benefit, romance writing satire. I need to reread this now that I’m a romance fan.
The Answer is Yes by Sara Lewis. Wonderful book.
And now you ask, why yes I DO want73.
KarenF said on 09.12.07 at 12:41 AM • [link]
The first one that springs to mind is Carla Kelly’s “Libby’s London Merchant.” The “London Merchant” is a Duke in disguise, he gets half of the POV of the novel, Libby gets the other half, and in the end she marries someone else (eventually the Duke gets his own book), but the ending was a complete surprise since the second hero didn’t even get a POV in the narration.
The other is Kristan Higgins “Fools Rush In.” It’s pretty clear, even from the cover blurb who the heroine is going to end up with, but her first choice isn’t a bad guy… he’s just not right for her.
K.L. said on 09.12.07 at 12:49 AM • [link]
Blue Smoke by (of course) Nora Roberts. While you do get introduced to the hero way before they get together, the heroine has a number of romances (even boinking) before the final HEA.
Gail D said on 09.12.07 at 12:58 AM • [link]
Nobody’s mentioned METHOD MAN by Naomi Neale. Some of the comedy is a little silly for me, but I liked it, and it wasn’t clear who the “real” hero was. I wasn’t too clear who I wanted him to be either. Definitely a surprise to me.
And yes, SUGAR DADDY by Kleypas turned out differently from my expectations. I really wanted her to meet up with the childhood love again, but then when she did… Anyway, here’s another example…
srah said on 09.12.07 at 01:47 AM • [link]
It would appear that I am the only one who read the title of this post and thought Surprise! Buttsecks.
... or at least the only one who admitted it.
*hides*
Sass said on 09.12.07 at 01:51 AM • [link]
There are a few books by Madeleine Brent are like that… I can’t think of the specific titles right now, but it’s hardly a waste of time to pick up anything by Madeleine Brent.
Jude Deveraux’s The Duchess is sorta kinda like that, at least to start. Fairly soon in, you can easily guess which man is the intended hero.
I read an old fantasy book that was good and a little more questionable hero-wise. It was fantasy but EXTREMELY heavy on romantic triangle. Taming the Forest King by Claudia J. Edwards.
Georgette Heyer’s Cotillion might fit the bill, too.
Becky said on 09.12.07 at 01:53 AM • [link]
Educating Caroline by Patricia Cabot (aka Meg Cabot)- the heroine and hero are both engaged to other people at the start of the book.
Jackie L. said on 09.12.07 at 02:18 AM • [link]
Stormswift by Madeleine Brent and also Heritage of Shadows—same author have this general set up. Although they’re not my favorite books by this author, they’re very good. One of my favorites is Marian Cockrell’s The Revolt of Sarah Perkins. Out of print, but maybe available at the library. It’s a western historical with an unlikely but very likeable hero.
Wry Hag said on 09.12.07 at 02:42 AM • [link]
Kudos to every author here who exercised dignified restraint. There was a pleasant, and surprising, dearth of “Oh, MY book’s just the ticket!” posts.
I’m heaving a sigh of relief.
Robyn said on 09.12.07 at 03:37 AM • [link]
The Tyrant, by Patricia Veryan. Heroine is over the moon for one guy, but is engaged to another. Her fiance even offers to help them get together- I love this book.
Sphinx said on 09.12.07 at 05:17 AM • [link]
Such a geek, but I’ve been following the teen-lit Georgia Nicholson novels since the first one and have been screaming for that poor girl to get with Dave the Laugh since Book Two. Georgia gets every man she goes for—and invariably discovers they are Mr. Wrong-for-Her, with hilarious results.
(My password is “Lower44”? Did the South secede again since I last logged on?)
Ann Bruce said on 09.12.07 at 06:29 AM • [link]
Definitely Sugar Daddy by Kleypas.
I was a little worried because the story spans about a decade and I hate stories that begin that way. I don’t have the patience to read sagas that begin the day the hero or heroine is born. I want to get as quickly to the action as possible.
However, with Sugar Daddy, the pages move pretty quickly and I found myself quite enjoying the novel, even though it’s in the dreaded first person.
I wanted to ask Kleypas why she felt her contemporaries need to be in the first person but she doesn’t have an email address posted on her website. :(
Jenyfer Matthews said on 09.12.07 at 07:54 AM • [link]
“Jemima J” by Jane Green
Cat Marsters said on 09.12.07 at 10:53 AM • [link]
Kudos to every author here who exercised dignified restraint. There was a pleasant, and surprising, dearth of “Oh, MY book’s just the ticket!†posts.
Well, my books are just the ticket, but I was being polite.
Scotsie said on 09.12.07 at 04:51 PM • [link]
Ooooh—Tamora Pierce’s “Song of the Lioness Quartet” was my FAVORITE of ALL TIME. I dressed up like her for Halloween for years. She’s still my all-time favorite heroine. And YES, the “bait & switch” was fabulous and so perfect!
Eliza said on 09.12.07 at 05:37 PM • [link]
The latest Eloisa James novel, Desperate Duchesses, starts out with the heroine falling in love at first sight with Not The Hero in a very opening scene of a romance novel kind of way. She ends up falling for the hero in what struck me as a very realistic kind of way, at least for someone as oblivious as myself to my own feelings (heh), and so I quite enjoyed the story. Can’t wait for the next ones in the series to come out!
Megan said on 09.12.07 at 07:13 PM • [link]
Regency: “The Duke’s Wager” by Edith Layton. There’s a (seemingly) nice lord, and a (definitely) manipulative amoral lord, and they make this bet about this sweet, destitute young girl…
The first time I read this book, I was totally rooting for one lord but afraid the author was going to stick our heroine with the other! This is probably my favorite Edith Layton.
colleen gleason said on 09.12.07 at 07:50 PM • [link]
I particularly love books where the hero isn’t obvious, and some of my favorites are written by Barbara Michaels.
They’re all gothics, and very often the guy you think could be the hero—but you really don’t want him to be—ends up not being him.
Examples include Wings of the Falcon, Search the Shadows, Into the Darkness, and especially—oooh, especially—The Love Talker.
Mary Castillo said on 09.12.07 at 08:01 PM • [link]
OMG! Madeleine Brent fans! I love it!
Uh, I have nothing other than that to add to the conversation.
dl said on 09.12.07 at 08:39 PM • [link]
Rumors by Alison Tylor
themistwalking said on 09.12.07 at 09:47 PM • [link]
Colleen, I love a good gothic myself. :)
I was going to suggest “Mariana” by Susanna Kearsley (which, sadly, seems to be out of print). It’s a reincarnation tale, and probably my favorite of the type.
The heroine of the story buys a little cottage out in the country and starts having visions from a previous life, where she experienced a passionate but doomed romance. In the present day, she gets to know the townsfolk and starts to makes connections as to who was who—but her “hero” isn’t who she thinks.
Ziggy said on 09.12.07 at 10:32 PM • [link]
Ooooh Kalen—thanks for mentioning Wendy Holden!! “The Wives of Bath” is an awesome romance, and it totally fits the bill because it definitely is a surprise… or was for me, anyway. (It is also very sweet and sexy and hilarious.)
Kalen Hughes said on 09.12.07 at 10:54 PM • [link]
The Boyfriend Schoool by Sarah Bird. Added benefit, romance writing satire. I need to reread this now that I’m a romance fan.
Ooooooo! I forgot about this book. I LOVED this books when I read it years and years ago (long before I discovered romance).
Kalen Hughes said on 09.12.07 at 10:54 PM • [link]
book. book. not books. argh.
Wry Hag said on 09.12.07 at 11:23 PM • [link]
“Well, my books are just the ticket, but I was being polite.”
Hard, though, isn’t it, Cat, to exercise such restraint? I’ve found that sticking a bent, rusty pin in my eye does the trick whenever an inopportune promo-urge overtakes me.
Jelyha said on 09.13.07 at 12:02 AM • [link]
Hot Shot, by Susan Elizabeth Phillips was the first book that came to mind when I read this post. It’s not one of her traditional romances, but it’s one of my favourite books of all time - partly because it does take a turn halfway through and the ending was not predictable from the first page.
iffygenia said on 09.13.07 at 12:17 AM • [link]
inopportune promo-urge
I’d be fine with less polite and more informative! I mean, pointless self-promotion is obnoxious, but if you think something of yours fits the topic, it seems a pity to censor it.
Of course, I link to stuff all the time in comments—mine and others’—so maybe I’m a social misfit. You may not want to emulate me.
CarrieNation said on 09.13.07 at 12:22 AM • [link]
How about A Long Fatal Love Chase by Louisa May Alcott? It doesn’t follow the usual romance formula. Hell, even if it’s not what you’re looking for, I recommend it anyway.
Lynn Daniels said on 09.13.07 at 02:32 AM • [link]
Not sure if it’s what she was talking about, but Jude Deveraux’s “Legend” and the classic “Knight in Shining Armor” are kind of along those lines. Even though the heroine does “do the dirty” with the guy she met in KISA, it’s not who she finishes the story with. And “Legend” takes a complete left turn. But they’re both books you either love or hate.
kate r said on 09.13.07 at 05:10 AM • [link]
Edith Layton.
Anyone mention her? A couple of her books fit that. My favorite was Love In Disguise.
Jordana said on 09.13.07 at 03:34 PM • [link]
Scotsie, you are SO right about Tamora Pierce’s first quartet. I can’t belive I did not think of it first, and the one she does end up with is SOOOO right for her, unlike ickky Jon. I just last month started one of my niece’s on Ms. Pierce’s stuff, and she has emailed me (i love my family, the 9 year olds email me!) about how much she enjoyed the first of the books. I have to go to amazon and buy the rest for her, but her mother asked me to wait as shcool just started -what a party pooper.
j3
Estara said on 09.13.07 at 09:46 PM • [link]
Since I just read a book that fits (YA): Sharon Shinn, Summers at Castle Auburn
but it’s more about growing up than about romance.
Something Yeah said on 04.14.09 at 08:59 AM • [link]
Yea, there are too many typical romances out there imo.
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