People who do not regularly read romance novels would probably assume that heavier issues like mental illness are never discussed within their sordid pages…
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All articles filed in toxic romance
Toxic Romance: Villain to Hero
I find that romance is frequently the genre that does the most work to examine if villains are capable of change and worthy of love. Do people who have done terrible, depraved things deserve to be loved? Personally, I find it so much more interesting to watch characters work for redemption as opposed to attaining it through one heroic act that results in their death.
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Toxic Romance: Addiction
It’s no secret that drug abuse and alcoholism continue to be a rampant issue in many communities around the world, so it’s little wonder that these issues find their way into the plots of romance books.
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Toxic Romance: Physical Abuse
I was in high school the night I woke up to the sound of an argument outside the house. Looking outside the window, I saw my mom’s boyfriend rushing down the driveway, his father, who was visiting for just one night, chasing after him. Curious, confused, but mostly nosey, I reached the living room just…
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Toxic Romance: Verbal Abuse
Unfortunately even with so many options in the romance genre a few harmful tropes have also found a home within the market.
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Toxic Romance: Emotional Abuse
Emotional abuse or past trauma is a frequent plotline in romance. And while something as serious as abuse shouldn’t be reduced to a plotpoint, it has nonetheless become a staple of the genre. Why? Because by and large, romance is the genre that most commonly addresses the issues real women face in their daily lives, including abuse.
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Toxic Romance: Ageism
You may have seen the term representation being thrown around more often lately, with what is going on in the news cycle. (If you have somehow made it to this post, but have seen nothing else of late please email me and detail the exact dimensions of the rock you’re hiding under. Then check out…
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Toxic Romance: LGBTQ Representation
Stories with LGBTQ themes have been around since the origins of Greek mythology, but in the year 2020 it is still hard to consider LGBTQ literature as truly part of the mainstream.
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Toxic Romance: Body Types
Romance writing has long been celebrated for giving women a voice in literature. Yet, the genre is failing to do more, including show a range of body types.
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Toxic Romance: Jealousy
In the year 2019, if you google the phrase, “Jealousy in Romance Novels” you will be met with truly endless lists of books featuring the “perfect” jealous, possessive (read: abusive) hero…and that’s it. While this isn’t a shock, it is a bit disheartening to find that there isn’t one result that points out that this isn’t an ideal trait in reality.
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Three Houses Press 