Killing off the romance

Christracy19 said:

I spilled the beans to my beta reader that the underlining romance plot was going to end in tragedy, more importantly death. This event happens in the first book, and acts as a catalyst for events to come in the following installments.

Click to expand...

When an incident, be it death or something less permanent, happens to a character to advance the plot, then you are doing your job as a writer.

It bothers me a bit that your beta is giving you this advice on what you said rather than what you wrote. Finish your story and then let your beta (and hopefully more than one beta) read it and give opinions then. No one can know if a story works without reading it first. It is the way you write it that will tell in the end.

I've read plenty of novels (and seen plenty of movies) where a failed romance is pretty integral to the plot, and as a reader, it makes for the most sensible or satisfying ending. Reasons include the sacrifice being necessary to achieve an even larger goal, or one or both members of the couple really was better off apart. It tends to bug me when A. it's pitched as a romance, or B. the characters move on without any further consequences or reflection, as if it never was, even though this relationship was portrayed as significant and important to them.

People vary in their expectations and interests as readers, of course. I have a friend who hates any kind of ending that isn't unambiguously happily ever after in the romance department (and he's a guy, so stereotypes really aren't true sometimes), but no book will appeal to all readers. The main thing, as far as I'm concerned, is to have the ending make sense emotionally.

fiammazzurra said:

There are SO many other kinds of bonds and relationships that a person can form that aren't romantic. Friendships, family relationships, etc are just as valuable and can actually be stronger bonds than romance.

Click to expand...

One book series I read ended with me ugly crying over a character I hated. He was a sidekick (and the moral compass) for the MC. Not a love interest, but a trusted, reliable, close friend.

Yet his death was so poignant and moving and tragic I was crying by the end of the scene.

Over a character I hated.

The love interest I had zero interest in because it felt tacked on. Like the author yawned, scratched his belly and said 'mmkay, hero needs a love interest...here's a good candidate' and grabbed someone thrown in for the sake of making the MC look...I dunno, balanced? Fiercely heterosexual? No idea.

So...yeah. Agree with fiammazzurra.