Unfortunately, this is going to be short and sweet. Real life has a hold of me pretty tightly these days and unfortunately, it's not in a happy roses and butterflies kind of way. (Why is it that everything always has to happen all at once?)
Sometimes I want everything to be like it is on television where 30 minutes and a handful of commercial breaks will solve the dilemma and crises I'm going through that week. But of course, it doesn't happen that way.
Well what about in books? It used to be that our romance novels always ended with all the loose ends tied up nicely and everyone getting what they wanted, able to live happily ever after.
I think in most cases that is still the truth. At least it should be, right? I mean, it's the biggest rule in romance that the hero and heroine get their happy ever after (and with each other). But I've picked up a few books recently where those formerly bold lines have been blurred and I wasn't quite sure what to think.
I'll tell you right now, while some of these books pulled it off and I went away feeling satisfied that the ending I had come to was the only one that would have been right, some of them left me feeling cheated. It didn't take away from my enjoyment of the book as a whole, but I felt dissatisfied, as if I was only getting half of a book. If there's no happy ever after, then it can't be finished, right?
Granted, I've found that this happens mostly in Urban fantasy, paranormal and some contemporary suspense romances, where the author is leaving the door (wide) open for subsequent books. At the same time, the story of that particular book had a beginning, middle, and an end--but not the end we've come to expect in a romance.
How do you feel about that? And even when the ending is a happy ever after, but there are lingering issues that don't get resolved, a mystery that doesn't get solved, a hurt that isn't washed away, does this bother you?
Anyway, I'll apologize for the lameness I'm subjecting you to today, but hopefully we'll generate some good discussion despite that :)
10 comments:
For me, it depends on the book. I don't get irritated with the continuing series of the Laura Ingalls Wilder or Anne of Green Gables book when I was a kid, and Sweet Valley High and Babysitters Club when I got older. And for romance, I was fine with Jean Auel's series, Warsworn books, and Eve Dallas.
But I have to get hooked into the series, because the thought that the HEA is on "shaky" ground can disturb me as a romance reader and writer. I like having my HEA secure. So I tend to enjoy romances more that have the finalized ending.
I'm so conventional, lol.
When I read a romance, it's got to have an hea... when I read a UF, I know that might not be the case.
If a series becomes never ending (in any genre) I will stop reading it. Take Robert Jordan for example. The wheel of time just kept going and going and became more and more fantastical that I wondered (around book 10 but thought this around like book six) is it EVER going to end? It did. Book 13 I believe. But I can't bring myself to read the last three. LOL
Take Riley Jenson (Keri Arthur) I can't get enough. Every story is a new case for her and her agency. Every story gets thicker into the plot of her love life. But I can't stop. And I'm not wondering when it's going to end.
Generally, I'm an instant gratification girl, and I want my HEA. Few authors can drag me through a five-book story arc. One exception is C.S. Harris with her Sebastian St. Cyr mystery series. I will await the next book, and the book after that, and the book after that. I still succumb to JR Ward, altho I've skipped a few.
Of course, these examples are not straight romances.
Life is too short (and sometimes brutal)---let me eat dessert first and read about happiness. Great post, JK.
I need my happy ending... eventually. I can't handle a standalone that doesn't have a HEA. That just kills me. It's like how I can't stand movies with a romantic thread that don't end happily even if the ending is supposed to be good for the characters.
Tho again, I can follow a series if I feel there's a happily ever after coming at some point. Case in point is Deanna Raybourn's Julia Grey series. I don't know what will happen, but I believe there will be a happy ending and I happily follow Julie and Brisbane through their relationship and adventures.
I don't care for "Lady or the Tiger" endings. Where the ending isn't certain. And I certainly don't like endings where it's apparently the hero got the tiger. Heroes are supposed to be rewarded. That's the purpose of stories.
There better be some sort of resolution at the end of each book, regardless of series or not. And it better be an emotionally satisfying ending, meaning the expectation of the reader better have been met. If the author GAVE the expectation in the novel that it would end a certain way (i.e. the bad guy would be caught or punished; the hero would get the girl), the author better deliver. However, if the author gave the expectation that it would NOT end conventionally, then I think it's okay.
I think it depends on the book too. I'm with Elyssa; it didn't bother me with Sweet Valley High or the Babysitters Club. (Classics.)
As for now? I generally can't get into a series that focuses on only one protagonist throughout. I haven't read the Anita Blake books. I generally don't read first person open-ended series either. This cuts out a lot of paranormal/urban fantasy.
I prefer series that are each book their own love story between two characters. I think that's why I love the JR Ward books. Or Sherrilyn Kenyon (though not always).
There are some exceptions. I read all of Colleen Gleason's vampire series. But for the most part, I need to have a HEA at each ending.
Excellent blog, JK.
I'm afraid I need an HEA. It seemed for a while there nothing ended the way I thought it should. Soaps were frustrating me, series TV was frustrating me, and life was definitely frustrating me. Then I found the romance novel and my frustration ended! Now I won't go back. LOL
Years and years ago I would have felt the need/pressure to finish what I started, become enlightened (Oprah's book club?), and expand my horizons. Now I just feel the need to be happy and sigh as I finish that last page.
I don't mind delayed HEAs in series either. I waited through many books for Margaret Maron to get Deborah and Dwight together, and I'm always eager for the next step in Claire and Russ's relationship in Julia Spencer Fleming's books. Then there's Eloisa James who delays the HEA of her multi-book characters and leaves me impatient but loving the books. On the other hand, I find happy-for-right-now endings generally unsatisfying, and I want an HEA I can believe in--not one that leaves me questioning how these two people can be happy together once the honeymoon is over. The greatest betrayal, however, is the author who gives you the HEA and then kills one of the partners off.
I guess I have to go into a book knowing what to expect. If I'm wanting an HEA and I don't get one, grrrr. Series books where the ending's aren't neat and tidy are okay with me, but I read them knowing that.
Oh, and this reminds me of Rosemary Rogers' (gah!) ridiculous Ginny and Steve couple. They sorta got HEAs but didn't deserve them anyway. Then the next book came along and sure enough they managed to fork things up again. No thanks!
Thanks for the comments everyone. I guess you can guess that not only have I read some books lately where the HEA was iffy, but my own book doesn't exactly end all neat and tidy. I don't feel as torn by it as I did though because it's a UF/para and there will most likely be another book following it.
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