How Does Ya Romance Fiction Differ From Adult Romance Novels?

Motorcycle romance novels are a subset of the romance genre. The setting of these novels are within the raw, rebellious world of biker culture, merged with the emotional depth of a romantic love story. While many protagonists in novels are isolated or part of an unusual group, the members of a motorcycle club live on the outskirts of mainstream society and consider freedom and danger to be part of their way of life. In motorcycle romance novels, not only are the heroes typically clad in leather, and the heroines tough, but their world is a unique and often dark place. Typical romance novels feature conflicts that stem from misunderstandings and from societal expectations that are extraordinary or irrationally restrictive. In contrast, the novels in this genre feature characters who are dealing with real danger as they battle rival gangs and seek to survive on the many battle scarred streets of this tough world. So why read a motorcycle romance novel? Many motorcycle romance heroes are what are called antiheroes. They are not perfect. They can be flawed and even be morally ambiguous in some respects. They may even have a less than pristine past. But when they fall in love, they can change. In many cases, it is the love of a woman that helps the man to grow and to change in very positive ways. He may have to learn to trust in order to get close to his love interest. A heroine can also find her own strength in a male-dominated world of motorcycle clubs and culture. She can be strong and independent, and many such females find that they are able to reach within themselves to find inner strength that they never knew that they had. In the motorcycle romance novels that are the best, the relationships can be very messy. But, that is also part of the beauty of them. They can also be passionate. And, yes, on occasion, even a little bit destructive. But, that is part of what makes them so interesting. Because you never know from one moment to the next what is going to happen. You never know when things are going to blow up. This makes for a very exciting read. Examples of such books would include Reaper’s Property by Joanna Wylde, which features a hero who is president of a motorcycle club, and Hell’s Knights by Bella Jewel, which features a post-apocalyptic world where a lone motorcycle-riding knight is on the road alone. So why read motorcycle romance novels? First, they’re about more than a bike. Motorcycle clubs are families and the heroes and heroines of these novels live in a closed community where codes and loyalties are everything. It’s not uncommon for motorcycle romance novels to explore the conflict between a hero’s loyalty to his club and his loyalty to his love interest. Because motorcycle clubs are made up of families, even the language and rituals of MC life enter into the novel. For example, the patches that members wear, their rides, their clubhouses — all of these become part of the fabric of the novel and so become characters in their own right. It’s a unique take on the romance novel and offers a thrilling, adrenaline-fueled alternative to the more traditional office romance or royal marriage plot. Instead of a love that conquers all, these novels portray a love that fights hard to exist in a world where things don’t always go according to plan.

New adult second chance romance is just so effective. They can have been youth/YA sweethearts in high school, even early college, and then life takes them in different directions for years. When they do meet again, they are both more fully realized adults with all their experience and messiness intact. Readers enjoy revisiting what went wrong for them in the past and learning about the things that they have grown from as well as whether or not that growth has prepared them to now be better suited for each other. There is a lot of wonderful nostalgia mixed with great hope for this type of romance.

Handling time well is another key aspect of romance writing. Is the story to unfold over weeks, months or even years? A short-lived but all-encompassing romance that claims to be everlasting within three days requires a different, more intense form of storytelling than a slow-burning love that develops over the course of a season. A good novel for all its plot twists and turns respects the time frame it has set. It allows for natural development of the relationship by detailing shared experiences and moments,_SPECIAL moments that mark the beginning of inside jokes and that test the two main characters in small ways. Time should not be overhyped in order to drive a particular point home. Instead, seasons and holidays can serve to portray the deepening of love in positive ways. The chosen time frame should feel natural and be true to the characters and the circumstances in which they find themselves. Not easy to pull off when a publisher has dictated a certain page count.

I read The Prison Healer in one sitting and my summary of it is that it’s YA with adult teeth. While Kiva’s journey to learn to trust the right people and fight for justice is typical coming-of-age fare, the horrors of the prison where she has to heal her new hostage after he’s beaten to a pulp in order to save his life are most certainly not. It reads like very early Suzanne Collins. And it’s not clear cut moralism – it has a lot of the same grey areas that Orange Is the New Black explores. I’d recommend it to mature teens and adults who read a lot of fantasy and are looking for something with a little more substance than usual, like Graceling. But don’t expect a light read.

My favorite series of novels to read are YA dystopian novels. They are so much fun to read because they have a lot of action and the main characters are usually underdogs who rise to the challenge. They also allow for a lot of philosophical questions to be brought up throughout the novel, such as whether the ends justify the means. Novels like ‘Delirium’ and ‘Red Queen’ are great examples of this genre because in ‘Delirium’ love is a disease that needs to be cured and in ‘Red Queen’ people are divided into classes according to their blood. There are so many amazing dystopias that are hard to choose from, but I do have a few favorites. One of them is ‘The Giver’ by Lois Lowry which is about a perfect utopia where everything is supposed to be great but it’s not. The other favorite is ‘Uglies’ by Scott Westerfeld. In this future world all 16 year olds get this extreme make over so that they can be pretty. Other books have amazing subplots like the slow burn between two characters in ‘Carve the Mark’ or the strong family ties in ‘The Darkest Minds’. Overall, this genre is so good because it takes real life fears (like climate change or inequality) and creates an amazing story out of them. Even though most of these books take place in worlds that seem hopeless the characters’ rebellion is what makes them so memorable.

I also really love anime adaptations of modern romance novels, particularly of pretty up-to-date works. The modern novel Horimiya, for instance, is a very recent and very unique take on the high school romance between two complete opposites, and the anime does their interactions so perfectly. It is very cleanly paced, and the beautiful anime really brings out the cozy and loving aspects of the novel. ‘The Ancient Magus’ Bride’ is a rich, fantasy-based adaptation of romance novels, with very evocative animation of a mystical world, and an unfolding, unconventional relationship between the Ancient Magus (a sorcerer) and his apprentice, a young girl who was sold to him by her parents. A beautifully-shot film with great production values, it’s a heartfelt romance that will move you to tears. For a more melancholic take on romance novels adapted into anime, ‘Orange’ is a great option, as it explores a complex mix of sci-fi and romance with a powerful and emotional storyline.

Of course, there are other massive children’s book publishers like Scholastic (so extensively entrenched in schools and book fairs that it’s sort of surreal). But in terms of prestige and literary distinction, I’d rank Penguin Random House (Knopf Books for Young Readers, G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers, etc.) above the rest. And then there’s HarperCollins Children’s Books, with its enormous backlist. But really, Macmillan and Simon & Schuster are the two other big players in the traditional publishing world. But again, this is corporate, publishing-bigwigs stuff. The actual YA publishing world is a bunch of passionate, idiosyncratic individual editors who happen to work for these various companies. The logos on the spines of the published books are pretty irrelevant.

There’s a tremendous amount of love for humor as a genre driver. A book that makes people laugh has a devout and persisitent reader base, often from crossover audiences (fans of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, for example). Humor can also be witty and winning, especially in books with lots of dialogue in the romantic comedy genre and beyond. And even when humor is used to explore tough, serious topics, popular and successful YA authors like David Yoon and Mary HK Choi and Phil Stamper use humor to fantastic end in their work. I believe a funny YA book can rise above the rest in a crowded field of books because most people seek out authentic experiences of joy and are willing to spread the word to others when they encounter something humorous. This can be a very difficult talent to master above the typical plot device, so it makes the books that are laughing their way to the top all the more impressive.

Most dark romance TV shows are adaptations. One of my favorites is the TV-series ‘You’. The TV-series is based on Caroline Kepnes’ novels about the same topic and is a very dark interpretation of love and the borderline between love and obsession. As observer of the happenings the series makes you question what is right and what is wrong. Is love enough to make something right? 'Gebracht durchs Böse. Eine dunkle Liebe‘ – another dark romantic favorite of mine are 'The Vampire Diaries'. In the framework of the supernatural drama unfolding between humans and vampires unfolded a very dark love story and consequently also romantic entanglements. 'Outlander' is another show based off a novel series by Diana Gabaldon. This show is a long, sweeping love story through time that follows the tender and rough relationship of Jamie and Claire. A great choice for people who love dark, twisted romance.

Most YA fantasy novels fall in the range of 70,000 to 90,000 words. That can vary from the debut novel to longer novels in a series. In general, however, every chapter must earn its place in the novel. The plot must be tight and well-written. My book, Classic Faery Tales Rewritten For Adults Only, takes familiar elements of fantasy stories and rewrites them for adults only. This novel presents the same archetypes in a darker and more mature setting, focusing on the same political intrigue and moral conflicts that are presented in classic faery tales but are glossed over in children’s stories.