Give me back third person narration! I love contemporary romance and am having such a hard time with new releases because I cannot handle the first-person, present-tense (even worse when we get alternating chapters from the m/f - I can never distinguish who is supposed to be narrating).
I've had that problem too! Like I literally have to flip back to the chapter heading to see who's narrating. I like a first person dual perspective sometimes but I think the POVs have to be *really* distinctive for it to be successful.
I really loved reading your thoughts on this topic! I would love the pendulum to swing back to third person. I'm really struggling with the rise in popularity of first-person narration (especially first person, present tense) in romance books. I think you are right that the popularity of first person in young adult fiction from a decade+ ago is feeding into the style today plus some of the popular contemporary authors who write adult romance started in YA, where the popularity of that style continues. I think another driving force is some authors started as fanfic writers in fandoms where first-person narration is the popular style for those fanfics, so authors have brought that style with them to their romance novels. I've happily read many of the popular first person contemporary romances, but I'm a little burned out on that style and have been actively seeking third-person romances (especially third person, past tense) lately.
Oh, that's an interesting point about fanfic! I used to read a lot of fanfic back in college and still occasionally do but I avoided first person fic like the plague, so never really gauged how popular first person was. And Olivia Dade and Anita Kelly, who both write wonderful contemporary romances, both write in third person past tense, if you haven't already checked out their books...
I love this piece. As someone who read third person pov, it was a sudden shift for me when dual povs dominated the market and I had to stop reading for a while. It will be nice if they can come back cause a lot of writers now write in duak povs.
Really interesting! I really enjoy books written in the first person (and was definitely a Twilight fan as a teenager) but the book that sold me on first person narration was The Princess Diaries by Meg Cabot, which admittedly was an explicit diary format. I agree that people crave intimacy and that the logic of the characters' actions wouldn't make sense outside of a narrow first-person story. The Ali Hazelwood is example is a good one I think - I love her books because of the insecurities her female main characters have. For better or worse I find them relatable, but if they were told with more distance it would be harder as a reader to justify their actions. Despite the fact I love first person present narration, I agree that it would be great to see more variety in new romance titles.
Ooh, I am very compelled by your thesis about Beach Read being an inflection point in recent years! I am always struck by a great 3rd person romance... maybe because of how they seem to be swimming against the current? (How to End a Love Story stands out as a notable success in dual 3rd!). But I love writing dual first for the immediacy—especially in YA romance, it feels right for the heightened emotions!
How to End a Love Story was one of my very favorite romances last year--the tension and feeling in it was just gorgeous. And I agree that first feels right for all the big emotions in YA!
What a great read! I have been thinking about POV so much lately, mostly because I’ve come to the realization I don’t love first person and I’m trying to figure out why (because it does occasionally work for me!). I prefer an element of removal from the characters complete internal monologue and thoughts. You have to really like a character to be with them so constantly and in so deep with their feelings. I think this is extremely popular in romance, even historical from a 3rd POV because we’re still getting the internal characters thoughts of the love interest (even if it’s mainly, this person is so hot and it’s infuriating). I reread Georgette Heyer recently and the romance blossoming is much more subtle (and occasionally out of the blue) instead of being presented throughout the book with people with strong feelings and/or lust for each other that is shared with the reader but not their love interest. On the other hand, I love a very emotional profession of love but I struggle with how much should be revealed in the build up. I think a lot of readers like seeing the progression of feelings and the growth of love (and I do too!! just more…subtextually) so I fear I’m out of step with contemporaries (or even historical fiction written in our current times) and what I like is just unpopular. Anyway, I like hearing how other people think about it!
Oh, this is so interesting! I read some Heyer years ago but want to go back to her as part of my romance history reading project this year--I remember it being such a delight in Cotillion when you figure out who Kitty's love interest really is.
I love this!! Especially what you said about romance being a capacious genre. I've also thought a lot about the absence of, not necessarily third person narratives, but certainly dual POV in romance, what we lose without it. I've enjoyed plenty of first person, single POV romances, but I DO often feel like it's a missed opportunity. The romance, the relationship, is the A plot, and if it involves two characters, how messy and revealing it is to have both of their perspectives/interiority, especially when this is not what we get in real life when we fall in love! It's a great device to undercut and complicate each other's narratives, too. I think that's one reason why NORMAL PEOPLE was such a huge success, there's something twistedly gratifying in seeing (in a straight romance at least), the hero's POV. And for enemies to lovers, I frankly think very few romances I've read truly get away with a single POV, that trope in particular feels like it requires the reader have access to both characters' motivations etc. Great post!!
Yes, I think certain tropes work so much better with dual POV! I recently finished a marriage-in-trouble romance and found myself wanting to hear from the hero the whole time, just to up the messiness and angst.
I realized reading this that I find it a big turn off when the back copy of the book is in first person even though I don’t seem to mind it when the book is in first person (as most of the ones I read are). Now that I think about it it’s also weird that the back copy description tense isn’t the same as the actual book.
Oh, that drives me crazy! The Chestnut Springs series by Elsie Silver used to be like that but mercifully, they changed it when the books got reissued by Bloom.
I think it's a lot to do with immediacy and creating a sense of authenticity? (Perhaps kicked off by the massive popularity of The Hunger Games in the 2010's...) I've read some present tense novels that I've really enjoyed but I definitely don't think everything needs to be present tense, haha.
I think good first-person narration can really draw you in! One of my favorites from last year was The Ex Vows by Jessica Joyce, which had wonderful first-person narration that had me feeling so deeply for the heroine immediately.
Give me back third person narration! I love contemporary romance and am having such a hard time with new releases because I cannot handle the first-person, present-tense (even worse when we get alternating chapters from the m/f - I can never distinguish who is supposed to be narrating).
I've had that problem too! Like I literally have to flip back to the chapter heading to see who's narrating. I like a first person dual perspective sometimes but I think the POVs have to be *really* distinctive for it to be successful.
I really loved reading your thoughts on this topic! I would love the pendulum to swing back to third person. I'm really struggling with the rise in popularity of first-person narration (especially first person, present tense) in romance books. I think you are right that the popularity of first person in young adult fiction from a decade+ ago is feeding into the style today plus some of the popular contemporary authors who write adult romance started in YA, where the popularity of that style continues. I think another driving force is some authors started as fanfic writers in fandoms where first-person narration is the popular style for those fanfics, so authors have brought that style with them to their romance novels. I've happily read many of the popular first person contemporary romances, but I'm a little burned out on that style and have been actively seeking third-person romances (especially third person, past tense) lately.
Oh, that's an interesting point about fanfic! I used to read a lot of fanfic back in college and still occasionally do but I avoided first person fic like the plague, so never really gauged how popular first person was. And Olivia Dade and Anita Kelly, who both write wonderful contemporary romances, both write in third person past tense, if you haven't already checked out their books...
Thanks for the suggestions! I'll add those authors to my TBR list!
I love this piece. As someone who read third person pov, it was a sudden shift for me when dual povs dominated the market and I had to stop reading for a while. It will be nice if they can come back cause a lot of writers now write in duak povs.
I do think they'll swing back around! And if you like historical romance at all, that's pretty reliably third person.
Really interesting! I really enjoy books written in the first person (and was definitely a Twilight fan as a teenager) but the book that sold me on first person narration was The Princess Diaries by Meg Cabot, which admittedly was an explicit diary format. I agree that people crave intimacy and that the logic of the characters' actions wouldn't make sense outside of a narrow first-person story. The Ali Hazelwood is example is a good one I think - I love her books because of the insecurities her female main characters have. For better or worse I find them relatable, but if they were told with more distance it would be harder as a reader to justify their actions. Despite the fact I love first person present narration, I agree that it would be great to see more variety in new romance titles.
Meg Cabot is another deeply formative author for me! (Although the one I was obsessed with was Avalon High, her modern day Arthurian retelling.)
Ooh, I am very compelled by your thesis about Beach Read being an inflection point in recent years! I am always struck by a great 3rd person romance... maybe because of how they seem to be swimming against the current? (How to End a Love Story stands out as a notable success in dual 3rd!). But I love writing dual first for the immediacy—especially in YA romance, it feels right for the heightened emotions!
How to End a Love Story was one of my very favorite romances last year--the tension and feeling in it was just gorgeous. And I agree that first feels right for all the big emotions in YA!
What a great read! I have been thinking about POV so much lately, mostly because I’ve come to the realization I don’t love first person and I’m trying to figure out why (because it does occasionally work for me!). I prefer an element of removal from the characters complete internal monologue and thoughts. You have to really like a character to be with them so constantly and in so deep with their feelings. I think this is extremely popular in romance, even historical from a 3rd POV because we’re still getting the internal characters thoughts of the love interest (even if it’s mainly, this person is so hot and it’s infuriating). I reread Georgette Heyer recently and the romance blossoming is much more subtle (and occasionally out of the blue) instead of being presented throughout the book with people with strong feelings and/or lust for each other that is shared with the reader but not their love interest. On the other hand, I love a very emotional profession of love but I struggle with how much should be revealed in the build up. I think a lot of readers like seeing the progression of feelings and the growth of love (and I do too!! just more…subtextually) so I fear I’m out of step with contemporaries (or even historical fiction written in our current times) and what I like is just unpopular. Anyway, I like hearing how other people think about it!
Oh, this is so interesting! I read some Heyer years ago but want to go back to her as part of my romance history reading project this year--I remember it being such a delight in Cotillion when you figure out who Kitty's love interest really is.
I love this!! Especially what you said about romance being a capacious genre. I've also thought a lot about the absence of, not necessarily third person narratives, but certainly dual POV in romance, what we lose without it. I've enjoyed plenty of first person, single POV romances, but I DO often feel like it's a missed opportunity. The romance, the relationship, is the A plot, and if it involves two characters, how messy and revealing it is to have both of their perspectives/interiority, especially when this is not what we get in real life when we fall in love! It's a great device to undercut and complicate each other's narratives, too. I think that's one reason why NORMAL PEOPLE was such a huge success, there's something twistedly gratifying in seeing (in a straight romance at least), the hero's POV. And for enemies to lovers, I frankly think very few romances I've read truly get away with a single POV, that trope in particular feels like it requires the reader have access to both characters' motivations etc. Great post!!
Yes, I think certain tropes work so much better with dual POV! I recently finished a marriage-in-trouble romance and found myself wanting to hear from the hero the whole time, just to up the messiness and angst.
I realized reading this that I find it a big turn off when the back copy of the book is in first person even though I don’t seem to mind it when the book is in first person (as most of the ones I read are). Now that I think about it it’s also weird that the back copy description tense isn’t the same as the actual book.
Oh, that drives me crazy! The Chestnut Springs series by Elsie Silver used to be like that but mercifully, they changed it when the books got reissued by Bloom.
I've stopped reading fiction written in present tense. Even Emily Henry. It's just too distracting for me. Why do authors insist on present tense???
I think it's a lot to do with immediacy and creating a sense of authenticity? (Perhaps kicked off by the massive popularity of The Hunger Games in the 2010's...) I've read some present tense novels that I've really enjoyed but I definitely don't think everything needs to be present tense, haha.
That makes sense. Thank you!
I think good first-person narration can really draw you in! One of my favorites from last year was The Ex Vows by Jessica Joyce, which had wonderful first-person narration that had me feeling so deeply for the heroine immediately.