Tell Me Something Tuesday #16
Tell Me Something Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by Rainy Day Ramblings discussing a variety of topics from books to blogging and everything else! If you are interested, simply just post your own answer in your blog and join in the fun!
This week's TMST:
I am a huge softy for romance and erotic scenes are just part of the package. To me there are basically two general types of romance novels, those that have sex scenes, and those that have none. NA lies in the shades of grey between yes and no and if the writing isn't good, that is when I get really uncomfortable.
Erotic scenes portray some sort of intimacy between the characters. I do understand that as we mature we get more physically attracted to the opposite sex, which is what NA is trying to convey. It goes way beyond light caresses and gentle peck on the lips, but not to the extent of well, having descriptive sex. However, I get irritated and confused when the writing starts to take an erotic turn, and I have to stop to remind myself that I am in fact reading a NA romance novel.
A pattern that I noticed in all these books is (as what Heidi from Rainy Day Ramblings mentioned) that the plot is always centered on a coming of age character with a tragic past/issue, which gets rather typical after a while. I could not even remember how many books that I had encountered that has the element of bully, abusive/broken family, rape and murder. Maybe it's written in a different setting happening to different protagonists, but it all comes back to the same theme.
However, I rarely encounter NA genre books with steamy covers so my opinion on that will be invalid, although I do prefer abstract-designated covers.
I am still a huge fan of NA genre because I feel that I can relate to the protagonists as we are almost of the same age, but I would love to see more variety in sense of setting or plot wise.
Among some of the NA novels that I feel are outstanding (WARNING: content might be inappropriate to some readers):
She is pretty and talented - sweet sixteen and never been kissed. He is seventeen; gorgeous and on the brink of a bright future. And now they have fallen in love. But... they are brother and sister.
Seventeen-year-old Lochan and sixteen-year-old Maya have always felt more like friends than siblings. Together they have stepped in for their alcoholic, wayward mother to take care of their three younger siblings. As defacto parents to the little ones, Lochan and Maya have had to grow up fast. And the stress of their lives—and the way they understand each other so completely—has also also brought them closer than two siblings would ordinarily be. So close, in fact, that they have fallen in love. Their clandestine romance quickly blooms into deep, desperate love. They know their relationship is wrong and cannot possibly continue. And yet, they cannot stop what feels so incredibly right. As the novel careens toward an explosive and shocking finale, only one thing is certain: a love this devastating has no happy ending.
He’s saved her. He’s loved her. He’s killed for her.
Eighteen-year-old Archer couldn’t protect his best friend, Vivian, from what happened when they were kids, so he’s never stopped trying to protect her from everything else. It doesn’t matter that Vivian only uses him when hopping from one toxic relationship to another—Archer is always there, waiting to be noticed.
Then along comes Evan, the only person who’s ever cared about Archer without a single string attached. The harder he falls for Evan, the more Archer sees Vivian for the manipulative hot-mess she really is.
But Viv has her hooks in deep, and when she finds out about the murders Archer’s committed and his relationship with Evan, she threatens to turn him in if she doesn’t get what she wants… And what she wants is Evan’s death, and for Archer to forfeit his last chance at redemption.
Happy Tuesday!
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3 comments
I'll admit that I don't read a lot of NA -like you said, I feel that the erotic scenes are just too much for me. I'm not that opposed to them, but for now, I'm sticking to YA for just a bit more! Heh heh.
ReplyDeleteI love what you said in this post! I don't read enough NA so I won't know what to say if I was ever asked a question like that. Forbidden sounds interesting though! :D
-Kat from Perusing Bookshelves
@Kat Thank you for your kind reply! I do not mind erotic scenes as long as they are not featured in any age inappropriate genres o.o
ReplyDeleteForbidden is a great read but definitely not for anyone! :P
Thanks for stopping by!
I don't mind sex when it is used properly but I read Left Drowning by Jessica Park last year where the sex got to the point where it was way over the top. I totally agree about all the NA with the broken characters and drama. We need so much more variety! Thanks again for being a part of TMST. I am so glad you are back on the blogosphere. I am adding you to my Bloglovin feed so I will remember to stop by more often :)
ReplyDeleteHi! Thank you for stopping by and commenting on my blog. Wishing you a dreamy day!