Not necessarily a romance side story, but I find that most romance books I find are overly cringe and cliche. I don’t want anything that’s cheesy or even cute. Something angsty but not like edgy (if that makes sense) If you are familiar with the movie teenage dirtbag (2009) 10 things I hate about you (1999) and Warm Bodies (2013) those are the sort of romance movies I enjoy, where the romance is not overplayed and it’s just two people enjoying each other. I don’t mind if things are a little more brutal, I just find things like 50 shades of grey very offputting and unenjoyable, but at the same time I feel possibly even worse about books like icebreaker or whatever. Idk I just want to find a romance that I enjoy, and I have yet to do so. Doesn’t matter if gay straight or anything. Also I do prefer that the plotline is dark and not heartwarming or comedic, definitely not edgy but absolutely want it to be extreamly angsty. Like no no no abuse or anything, but toxicity is preferred. Thanks for reading!!! Chime in with any suggestions!!:))
by ryanrosssy
5 Comments
I Hope This Finds You Well has a romantic subplot that I didn’t find cheesy, and the overall story is great, fast-paced and relatable. It’s not a literary masterpiece by any stretch, but a damn fun book to read!
I’ll always recommend Just for the Summer by Abby Jiminez.
Super tangent, but nonetheless a romance subplot and a epic book – lonesome dove.
Memoirs of a Geisha isn’t exactly angsty, but it is certainly something I would call a romance epic.
My friends and I have a running joke that most LGBT romance has characters that can do a second thing (beyond falling in love). I would recommend KJ Charles, especially the Doomsday books.
A slightly different take would be books where romance is present, but not the main story line. Fun ones like that include Guards! Guards! by Terry Pratchett and To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis.