u/Last-Musician-1775

Let's play a little game. Pretend this discussion is a survey or a wishlist that some dark romance author sent for you to fill out. Write what you would like to read without being judged, what you would like to read in a dark romance, or if you could write one, what would you make sure to include? And what would you NOT like? Give me your wildest thoughts and explain why you like reading that. And about what you don't like to read, explain that too.

Mine, for example: Non-con between the main characters. I simply love it when the male protagonist is so obsessed and sick for the FMC that he simply doesn't care if she wants it or not. The only thing that matters is what he wants, and he wants her, so she's going to have to accept it. And yes, we have many books like that. But sometimes it feels like the author is a little hesitant to make the non-con scene too heavy? Many times I see that afterward, the protagonist admits she liked it or starts to like it. In the case I'm talking about, it's not for her to like it. It's for her to learn to get used to it because she knows he's going to do whatever he wants anyway. No excuses. No "admission" that she wanted it but was reluctant.

What I don't like: I hate male protagonists who are described as psychopaths and bad but don't live up to it. What's the point of writing a dark and twisted MMC if he describes himself that way but his actions don't match it? I also don't like it when the FMC faces a crazy MMC and doesn't care about the consequences. Sometimes the character is described as the devil in human form, but the FMC goes and confronts and challenges him, and he's like "wow." No, please. I want her to feel GENUINE fear of him. I prefer when the FMC is so afraid of the MMC that she never talks back or confronts him. And not because he's aggressive, but because he can be worse. Because he truly is a threat/danger to her and everyone she loves.

Another thing I don't like: when the MMC starts calling the FMC by cute nicknames at every opportunity. Sometimes I don't even think it's necessary to give the FMC a nickname (because most of them are cringey to read). But if I were to choose, I'd give a simple nickname and make him call her that very few times so it would truly become special since he wouldn't do it all the time. Another thing I would do is make the MMC say he loves the FMC on rare occasions too, to make it more genuine. I'd let him show how he feels through actions (even if they were crazy, just saying).

What I would include on the list for authors to start losing their fear and write truly twisted scenes:

Somnophilia: I love this, seriously. Especially if the FMC feels confused the next day. Or if the MMC subtly drugs her to do whatever he wants without her knowing, and it's described in detail from his POV. And not just when they're not in a relationship. If he keeps doing it even after they're established as a couple, without her knowing he's doing it, EVEN BETTER.

Manipulation: If my MMC is so manipulative that he distorts the FMC's reality and makes me want to punch him in the face, then I simply love it. Imagine a scene where we're falling in love with the MMC because he did something cute for the protagonist, only for the next chapter to show the twisted, manipulative asshole he is, and we're like "how could I forget that this bastard is so sick?"

Isolation: When the MMC is so toxic and sick that he starts pushing away everyone who is good for her because in his mind, the FMC is only his and only needs him. So friends? Why? Family? No. Only him existing in her world.

More smut scenes: No, seriously, I wonder what people have against erotic scenes in dark romance. For me, the more, the better. Combine that with a good psychological story and a hot, obsessed MMC, and WOW, I wouldn't mind reading it every two chapters lol (of course, that doesn't fit every book).

And finally, I would like more scenes of the MMC taking the FMC's virginity in a more brutal way. An MMC who is so crazy and obsessed wouldn't care about being gentle on the girl's first time because the only thing he's thinking about in that moment is taking her virginity at any cost. Or if she's not a virgin, that he's so aggressive that she feels more pain than when she lost her virginity.

Now I want to know about you.

What bother me: The number of times she writes someone's nickname. Don't get me wrong, I love nicknames, but reading them in every single sentence is something that really irritates me, and sometimes it sounds cringey depending on the nickname.

It bother me that she writes good characters, psychopaths, and scary ones, and then turns them into someone tame. I wish most of her characters would remain true to their essence.

One thing I will never get over is what she did to Mia and Maya. The two were perfect together, the best sister duo in that universe and she simply ruined the precious bond between the girls for the sake of the plot. That was UNACCEPTABLE. What would it have cost to keep Mia and Maya as best friends?

I also think she didn't know how to write Mia as a mute person. I swear I sometimes had difficulty remembering that Mia couldn't speak while reading. I loved knowing we would have a character with a speech disability in LOG, but Mia didn't live up to it. I've met people who refused to believe she didn't speak because they didn't notice it during the book lol I also think it would have been much more interesting if Mia had started speaking again through therapy, if she had worked for it to happen, rather than so suddenly, because it felt way too forced.

And finally: I will never understand how she had the courage to write Ava as a virgin following the same pattern as the other girls when Ava simply wasn't attached to that. And if you allow me to say, Ava had a much more open mind about sex than the other girls. So her being a virgin is something that bothered me a lot. It would have been more coherent if she had at least had a one-night stand just to annoy Eli. But no, she had to be virgin like the others.

As for what I like: I simply love that the characters are so devoted to their girls. And that they would never share them with any other man/friends. I love characters who are obsessed with the protagonist, and Rina knows how to deliver that in her books.

And what about you? What bothers you? And what do you love?

Seriously, I wish I understood why authors keep promising one thing and delivering another. We were supposed to get the complete duet with only one month between releases, and now we're only getting the second book in August (she said "maybe," meaning it might not even come out by then). I love her books, but I think she's not an author who focuses on her work. We see this with the Sibby book, she's been promising to finish it for years and we've never received another update on it. It's so irritating when authors do this to us. Why not just be honest from the start? They simply promise something and don't follow through. Surely, if we had been told that we wouldn't be getting the second book anytime soon, many people wouldn't want to read it until it was complete and that's disrespectful to the reader. And I'm not just talking about HD Carlton. Another author promising that she is finishing her books and changing what says every two seconds is Mia Knight, who takes years to deliver sequels to her books. I know authors have their personal lives, but is it that hard to be honest with the people who are going to consume your books? It's fine if they can't release a book quickly, but be honest about it. Let people choose whether they want to read the books until it's complete or not.