daemyra, the realm's delight's Reviews > The Runaway Duke

Your description of the villain reminds me of what I wrote for the villain in a recent harley historical. Like, almost thought for thought. O.o Which leads me to an epiphany of sorts: is this happening because authors are so beaten down with the Modern Formula—leads joined at the hip, spoonfed mental monologues from both parties, repetitive reassurances of Safety(tm)—that they’ve cut down on side characters because sides take up too much page count and/or reader attention, therefore they try to cram 8 different villains into one role?

Sarah Mac wrote: "Your description of the villain reminds me of what I wrote for the villain in a recent harley historical. Like, almost thought for thought. O.o Which leads me to an epiphany of sorts: is this happe..."

Lol I need to read your harley review now - what's the title?

I feel like ALL character development in the Modern Formula suffers. The MCs with their over-explaining psych 101 inner monologues that rarely say anything new or interesting. The villains have to be cartoonish because if they are interesting, they are a threat.

But yeah if mainstream authors are trying to cater to mass taste with all the explaining they have to do, they don't have much room to actually say something else.

But in terms of 5 villains in 1 villain, this is the one romance that really does this so clear-cut. I'm sort of filing this under author trying to experiment with the villain character. It reminds me of when authors try to humanize the villain by explaining their life story and not punishing them so harshly in the end.

You nailed it there, re: villains needing to be cartoonish because interesting villains are a threat. So frustrating. The only side cast allowed to be intriguing is the series bait siblings/friends, & they inevitably get watered down whenever they get their own books to make room for cameos by previous MCs. It’s a vicious cycle, really. 🙄

I will check for the name of that book, standby…

Sarah Mac wrote: "You nailed it there, re: villains needing to be cartoonish because interesting villains are a threat. So frustrating. The only side cast allowed to be intriguing is the series bait siblings/friends..."

Omg yes. I find Couple B more interesting in Couple A's book but then when we get to Couple B's book, Couple C is more interesting?! Make it make sense. The switcheroo that never ends...

Awakening the Shy Miss by Bronwyn Scott. (And to a lesser degree, The Earl’s Runaway Governess by Catherine Tinley—which is a fine example of stifling Psych 101 ruining what should have been a good story.) I’ve also noticed it in other newer harleys, but those are the most egregious example in recent memory. :/

For super-duper bonus stifling Psych 101, look no further than The Marriage Rescue by Joanna Johnson. Good grief. Talk about a great premise that’s ruined by stiff, repetitive monologues of spoonfed mental navel-gazing.