For a genre that’s mainly marketed to women, romance BookTok sure spends a lot of time uplifting men riddled with red flags.
If you spend a little more than five minutes on the aforementioned corner of TikTok dedicated to reading (particularly romance and fantasy) you’ll find that most of its recommendations star a man who needs to be fixed, and a woman who is willing to lower her standards to complete the job.
This might make for a plot that sells, but it’s not a standard women and girls should romanticize.
One of BookTok’s most popular authors is Colleen Hoover. With the recent release of It Ends With Us and film adaptations of Regretting You, the chatter is becoming too loud to ignore.
Popular BookTokers and reading influencers have praised Hoover for her fast-paced and fun reads, but critics on the other end of the spectrum have come forward to talk about the harmful representation these books present.
For many survivors, It Ends with Us is an inaccurate representation of domestic abuse and an irresponsible depiction of raising a child with a domestic abuser.
Abuse often relies on patterns and manipulation, which can lead to years of suffering or worse.
The story follows florist Lily Bloom (yes, that’s her name) and her abusive relationship with neurosurgeon Ryle Kincaid. By shaping her main character’s abuse as a stepping-stone in her life, Hoover reduces survivors’ real traumas to mere plot points for story’s sake. This kind of “perfect victim” storytelling perpetuates the idea that those who don’t or can’t leave a domestic abuse situation are weak.
In giving the abuser a tragic backstory and portraying him empathetically, Hoover suggests women should be understanding and forgiving towards those who have harmed them.
This isn’t the only time Hoover has used a conveniently fixable man to further a plot, despite major red flags like extreme jealousy, disrespecting women and having emotional regulation issues.
In fact, that’s how almost all of her stories go.
Ugly Love features a male main character who had a taboo and emotionally scarring relationship with his step-sister, spurring him to mistreat the central love interest and escape with an apology in the end.
November 9 recounts a girl’s recovery from a house fire that leaves her permanently scarred. Guess who started the house fire? Not only does her love interest inflict physical harm, but the dialogue throughout the novel shows a lack of maturity and respect for women.
The list of storylines riddled with misogyny and ignorance goes on. But Hoover isn’t BookTok’s only author that holds these concepts near and dear.
Keep scrolling, and you’ll stumble across a plethora of books that frame evil men as hot heroes. It’s crept into fantasy and science fiction books, too.
Novels like A Court of Thorns and Roses and so-called “bully romances” add an element of male toxicity seemingly unmatched in other genres.
Readers should be rest assured knowing their male love interests will be penalized for crimes they’ve committed — instead of being labelled as “morally grey.”
Not only is the writing and plot structure unsurprisingly bad, but without granting female characters the respect, nuance and dignity they deserve, it’s just flat-out harmful.
Characters in novels can and should be imperfect — it’s often what brings stories to life. But there must also be a level of accountability and depth so harmful constructs of abuse aren’t reinforced to impressionable readers.
Fortunately, there are saving graces in and out of the genre.
If you’re into “morally grey” characters, give Ana Huang a try. Her novels involve male love interests who definitely make some questionable decisions in the name of love but know where to draw the line.
If you like cute romance stories with men who keep things respectful, try Tessa Bailey.
And if complex and deep love stories are more your style, meet Sally Rooney, who explores complex traumas in wounded characters. She acknowledges their flaws and weaves different perspectives through her stories.
Until authors take note and begin to grant their female characters true personality, self-advocacy and humanity, they should lay off on the toxic and emotionally inept men.
Featured graphic by Alisha Velji/the Charlatan
