Romance Tropes in ISEF

Dear Friend,

Romance Tropes in ISEF (ISEF is short for In the Shadow of Emerald Fire) is something I wanted to include secondary to the fact that a novel just isn’t a novel without some romance woven in. Do you agree?

What’s my definition of good romance?

While I’m not a gushy, swoony type of romance girl, I do love good, clean, chivalrous romance. Ah, yes. Honestly, that’s the perfect word choice: chivalrous.

Chivalrous romance is categorically the best swoony romance a girl can get. It takes all the vileness out that’s usually associated with swoon-worthy material and leaves in all the noble, heroic beauty of a real man’s role in caring for and loving a woman.

Hope that wasn’t too over the top for you, but there you go. 🙂

So, what are my romance tropes in Book 1?

Take a peek below and find out!

Caveat

I must take a moment to say that some of the “tropes” I included above, such as “closed door” and “no spice” I may not exactly totally get or, even, like. I’ve said this before on Instagram, and so I’ll take the time to say it here as well, but I don’t like the term “closed door.”

Why don’t I particularly like “closed door” verbiage?

Mainly because I feel that it holds too much of a connotation that something still happens behind the door, it’s just closed off to everyone else. It’s a private relationship, only between two people, and yet it bears the illusion that something still might happen between the two characters that might be immoral-at least from a Christian’s point of view.

This is solely my opinion. I’ve been told by other readers to please include this terminology when describing my books because it does help them make a decision as to whether they would like to explore my books or not.

Because of this, I leave it. Otherwise, I’ll be honest. I’m not a super fan of it, and if it didn’t help some readers, I would totally leave it out.

Do you have any thoughts regarding this?

What about “no spice?”

“No spice” is included because it seems the cleanest way to describe my book.

I came to this conclusion after reading various “spice” romance levels, all of which I would say my book doesn’t have at all. Or if it does, it’s barely anything. It’s like blushing or flushing, which I think technically gives my book a level 1 categorization, according to some spice levels. But, the other descriptions within this same spice level is jaw-dropping. Therefore, I have to give a definite “NO” to those other descriptions, as they are definitely not in my books.

In the end, I feel like saying “no spice” is safer than saying my books have a level 1 or 2 “spice” level because after reading those various levels (just a 1 or 2), I myself blush at the suggestive content. I also say no. NO, I do not write that. Whew! Craziness.

There are 4 spice levels btw. Yes. 4. I try to shun from my mind what’s suggested in those upper levels that my eyes unfortunately reviewed and now I cannot forget. I guess that gives you a little more insight into my romantic inclinations in my books, just based on that comment about spice levels.

Anyway, moving on…

Love triangle?

Okay, so do you love or hate “love triangles?”

In viewing others’ responses to this on social media, it seems to be a definite line drawn in the sand. Readers either love this trope…or hate it.

For myself, and I know I wrote the books, but I don’t mind love triangles. They’re literally in every book you pick up. From classic literature to Hallmark movies to even contemporary prose. So, I’m not averse to them. I don’t feel it’s a deal breaker for me if I find out a book has a love triangle. That being said, I also don’t feel that if a book has an enemies-to-lovers romantic trope or friends-to-lovers romance, that this will draw me to prefer that book’s story over another’s.

Let me know what your thoughts are. Is this how you feel, too?

Conclusion

Was there a particular romantic trope in ISEF that you preferred? Which one was it? Let me know! You can drop me a line by contacting me at contact@adgermanbooks.com. I’d love to hear your thoughts!

Until next time…hope you enjoyed this segment, and I’ll see you in the next! God bless xoxo