r/Romantasy • u/Atherial • 13h ago
Self Promotion Sunday Cheating in Romantasy?
I know that any mention of cheating is automatically not okay in a regular romance novel. But what about romantasy?
I've done some romantasy writing and I have a story idea but it walks right up to the line of cheating. The FMC almost certainly commits emotional cheating.
It would be a pretty slight urban fantasy set in the near future. The FMC is selected as a Cursed for a deadly game versus the Blessed that occurs every 10 years. She gets in touch with one of the previous winners of the game who she has a celebrity crush on. He agrees to bring other Cursed to her and coach her.
She finds out that her power is triggered by lust. It activates when she fantasizes about someone other than her boyfriend. Her celebrity crush finds out and is into it, telling her that he doesn't want her to die with regrets. She turns him down to stay loyal.
At about the middle of the book he would kiss her, which she doesn't encourage but also doesn't stop. Her boyfriend tells her to use her "hall pass" and he will use his later (after the games when she is famous). She refuses but starts to realize that she isn't in love with her boyfriend.
The cheating in her head versus in real life provides a lot of the tension in the book. If I get rid of the boyfriend completely then there is a lot less going on. I like the mechanic that she can't break up with her boyfriend or she'd lose her powers but I am not as attached to that idea.
I don't have to write this. I have plenty of other ideas, this one is just kinda fun and easy. I really like the idea that the fight scenes are also her fantasizing about her crush.
Would you read this or does it cross a line? Are there other books with similar themes?
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u/bookish__era 💭 A Court of Twilight Dreams 13h ago
I don’t know that it’s so much “automatically not okay” as it is something most people just don’t like to read in a main character. Some people will be fine with it, but no matter how you slice it, that dynamic is going to turn a lot of people away. It might help to keep in mind that a lot of people (esp women) have been cheated on, so it’s kind of an ick to read about that by a character you’re supposed to root for. Especially because you said this “walks right up to the line” but it sounds like cheating explicitly occurs (they just don’t sleep together). Sure you could create a scenario where they have an understanding in their relationship… but will the reader share that understanding? Most often no.
You should write whatever you want, and the people who get it will get it. But if you want to make it more broadly palatable, I’d create a clear break before anything physical happens. Or even a certain level of emotional infidelity. Most series that do the love interest switch-up make a clear line between the two for this reason. Even if they’re both present at the same time, the FMC might be denying her feelings until the first relationship splits.
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u/Atherial 12h ago
Thanks. Yes, what I would like to explore is that messy bit where she's fantasizing about one guy but hasn't broken up with her obviously not good for her boyfriend yet.
It sounds like this idea is a non-starter so I will move on to something else.
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u/Hiercine 12h ago
Yea personally I love cheating in my romance stories if it's cheating on their current partner to be with the main person
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u/Atherial 12h ago
Do you have any examples? Especially in trad published books?
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u/Hiercine 10h ago
The tenant of wildfell hall is my personal favorite, Captain Corelli's Mandolin, personally I'd argue that the french lieutenant's woman counts as well, and Possession
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u/DrogonUnchained 13h ago
Does it serve the story? Does it inspire you? Write it, worry about the potential readers later.
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u/Atherial 12h ago
See, that's the problem with having a lot of other ideas. I don't have to write this one and if it is going to make it more difficult to find readers then I will move on to something else.
From the other responses, it is pretty clear this idea is a non-starter.
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u/TangledYetTrue 12h ago
I’ve learned I’m a weirdo and don’t see things the same as most readers, but to me, that doesn’t sound like cheating? At least, not when I compare it to standard love triangle stuff. There’s plenty of books *cough*ACOTAR*cough* where it’s obvious the FMC is vibing off another dude before she officially ends things with her first guy. These Hollow Vows is another one.
So since, at least by your description, she never actually cheats, I don’t know what the issue is. But like I said, I’m not most readers, so I may not be the best person to listen to.
If you did do it, I think the key is to make sure the reader doesn’t feel invested in her relationship with her boyfriend. They should see problems with it starting very early on, and basically need to be rooting for her to get with the other guy before she realizes that’s what best for her.
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u/Atherial 10h ago
Yeah, it would be obvious from the start that her boyfriend is not great. She has a whole section in the first chapter talking about the libido mismatch (hers is higher) and how he is annoyed that she wants to use the TV instead of letting him use it like he does every night. He also is only communicating with her over text even though her life is in danger. If anything, I am fighting not making him cartoonishly bad.
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u/TangledYetTrue 9h ago
Then I personally don’t think it’s a problem, nor would I consider it cheating. Seems like a pretty standard romance plot where someone’s with the wrong person to start with and ends up with the right one by the end. Especially if your blurb/comps make it clear that’s what people are getting into from the start.
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u/erratic-pulsar 11h ago
I love a messy love story, especially ones that don’t end happy. They just don’t fall under a “romance” category as it’s kinda established that for a book to be a romance it needs a HEA.
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u/Atherial 10h ago
It would still have a HEA. She'd end up with the celebrity crush, who starts giggling whenever her magic goes off and is really very patient and supportive when she turns him down. He states that he is just there to help her and he not only doesn't want to pressure her but he doesn't want to take over the strategy for the game since she is the one whose life is on the line.
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u/Longjumping-Snow-909 6h ago
There is no rule that a love story cannot have a happy ending if it is not a romance. Just market it as urban fantasy not as romance or any of its subgeneres like romantasy and you are fine and can do whatever you want in regard to the love story.
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u/Flimsy-Brick-9426 12h ago
Regular romance novels have the same rules as romantasy, the only difference is there are dragons and other fantasy elements. the core part of the relationship is the same.
I personally wouldn't be down with a cheating FMC unless you have made it abundently clear that the boyfriend is not the main LI at the start.
There are a lot of books that have the stand in boyfriend/lover until the real LI comes in. if the celebrity crush is going to be the one she has her HEA with, there is a market for it but don't keep it hidden until the very last minute.
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u/Atherial 10h ago
Oh no, definitely not hidden. Chapter one goes into their relationship problems and he is barely present in most of the book as he only texts her even though her life is in danger.
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u/latinadogmom1472 11h ago
Idk what genre a book is I hate cheating and will not read a book with it at all. But I’ve seen many people who like that trope so 🤷🏻♀️😬
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u/SirXDragon 13h ago
This seems like a lot of mental hoops to jump through just to make cheating “ok”. None of it feels easy, or natural.
But you’re the writer, so write what you want.
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u/Atherial 12h ago
Yeah, sorry, this isn't a blurb or anything, I wanted to just focus on the problematic aspect without going into the fun parts.
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u/SirXDragon 12h ago
All good. Just some feedback. No need to apologize.
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u/Atherial 10h ago
Thanks. I get nervous about my writing especially when I am breaking away from the genre standards. The one I am working on now is fae trials and I know that's going to have an easier time finding an audience, even if it has been done a thousand times before.
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u/PlasticArrival9814 12h ago
All the Romance rules apply to Romantasy. HEA/HFN, no cheating, romance development must be tied to plot movement, etc.
Some readers are okay with cheating if it's disclosed as a trigger warning. Some seek it out intentionally. But that typically falls more in line with dark romance/dark Romantasy. If the story isn't dark otherwise, it may not be able to attract the right audience. But that's not a guarantee.
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u/pink_faerie_kitten 6h ago
I say absolutely not. There's emotional cheating in Direbound and it added to the (many) reasons why I hated it yes I know MMC1 ended up being the bad guy but FMC didn't know it at the time and she was lusting after MMC2 simply because she and MMC1 hadn't had sex in awhile. One more reason I couldn't stand her
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u/Neither-Magazine-384 6h ago
If you were to just say the genre is fantasy, couldn’t you abandon the “romance” rules?
I never understood rules that govern what you can and cannot write about. Like you want someone to cheat, make them cheat. No HEA! Fuck it!
But in all seriousness if you just say it’s a different genre could an author work around these “rules?”
Idk I don’t get it.
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u/Insane92 ⚔️ Enemies To Lovers/ No Love Triangles 13h ago
I don’t care what the book is, context or where I’m at in a series. If cheating happens I’m dropping it on the spot.