Romance plot conventions

[oyceter]

Because I am having a very interesting conversation with Justine right now...

What are the romance tropes and conventions that drive you nuts? Why?

And which ones almost always work for you? Why?

And which ones are the ones in-between? I.e. if done well, they totally work, and if done poorly, they prompt chucking the book at a wall.

Bonus question: does Doomed Love work for you? What counts as Doomed (or, should I say, DOOMED)? What about love triangles/quadrangles/geometric shapes?

(Note: these aren't limited to romance novels, but to any narrative that involves romance-with-a-small-r.)

Also, please put spoilers in spoiler text! <span style="color:#333333;background:#333333">Spoilers go here</span>

Comments

[veejane.livejournal.com]

I have an irrational hatred for romance novels that describe what everyone is wearing. Really, I never had any idea so many buff-colored breeches existed in the galaxy.

I don't actually read very many romance novels, though. I just happen to always be picking up the ones with buff-colored breeches. (And lawn. What is WITH people wearing lawn? Even knowning they don't mean a synonym for putting green, for crying out loud, people, invest in a thesaurus.)

[oyceter]

HEE! I have a higher tolerance for clothing descriptions (especially involving the cloth-type used), probably thanks to numerous rereadings of the Little House books and the Anne books. I spent ages and ages wondering what muslin and lawn and cambric were!

Though nowadays, I'm happier if it's the hero who's noticing all the clothing details and is very picky about his clothes.

[jonquil.livejournal.com]

Heh. Cloooothes! Clooooothes! I want good clothes values, good food values, and good snark values.

[grendelity.livejournal.com]

I would like to say that neither I nor fadedfeathers have ever heard of someone wearing anything "lawn." Ever. Just sayin'.

[jonquil.livejournal.com]

You've never seen anybody wearing sarcenet or fustian, either, but each was very important in its day.

I have a cotton lawn blouse somewhere. If you own any cotton clothing from Liberty, it's made out of Liberty lawn (which is not the same thing as 19th-century lawn, but that's a different issue.)