Fun fact about me - I don’t love too many romance movies. There are few exceptions but for the most part I tend towards mystery, true crime, heavy dramas… and action. I. Love. Action.
But I am very picky about which action movies. I am much more an Indiana Jones type of viewer rather than Air Force One and more Wonder Woman versus Captain America (no hate on any of the Chrises - I don’t play favorites.) I love action combined with romance though. When I first started reading contemporary romances - I tried a lot of different subgenres and tropes. I found some that were not so my liking (**side eyes at secret babies) and some that were amazing to me - like action and/or suspense romances. So without further ado (ahem - rambling) - the good, the bad and the ugly of suspense and action romance.
The Good
Action interspersed with action.
I mean - running for your life, hiding in a bunker and then having sexy times in said bunker? Heck yes. Racing across Antarctica with killers behind you and the vast, deadly, empty whiteness ahead? Let’s heat it up in a tent with minimal sleeping bags. Blowing up things with improvised bombs and then making out? Sign me up.
Some favorites: Devil and the Deep by Julie Ann Walker (also great banter!); Whiteout by Adriana Anders; Sing for Me by Maggie Clare; Wicked Burn by Rebecca Zanetti (also paranormal but it deserves credit for just the action/ action); Gone Too Deep by Katie Ruggle (bonus: virgin hero!); Justice for Boone by Susan Stoker (I am hot and cold on this series/ author but this one holds up and the action hero is actually the heroine!)
Banter. Banter. Banter.
There can be some really solid banter in these. Between the bad guys and the good guys, between the good guys and the good guys. Heroes being taken down by heroines with one liners? My catnip. I will say it tends towards - sarcasm, gallows humor and dark jokes are usually how it goes but that is completely my sense of humor but if it isn’t yours be ready.
Some Favorites: Broken by Rebecca Zanetti (really this whole series…); Shot in the Dark by Marie James (steamy as heck to boot!); Deadly Obsession by April Hunt (again - this whole series!)
Shows up in multiple sub genres.
A great thing about suspense/ action romances? They happen in many sub genres - I have seen crossovers in just about all of the subgenres (maybe not sports ‘cause that could be weird…) but MC romances and paranormal have a huge crossover with action/ suspense. These are great when I am not sure what to read. I am between books and am not sure where to go next? Here - have a tasting plate from the smorgasbord of love that is action romance.
Some Favorites: Cruise by Drew Elyse (MC romance - lighter); Hellfire Riders MC by Kati Wilde (MC romance series - some are darker than others); Hades Hangmen MC by Tillie Cole (MC Romance series - very dark with heavy CW/ TW); Dark Protectors by Rebecca Zanetti (paranormal)
Some really amazing mysteries!
On top of having some great banter, some great sex and being genre bending - there are some examples that have some really good twists and turns!
Some Favorites: Say You’re Sorry by Karen Rose (she has quite a few!); Where the Blame Lies by Mia Sheridan (CW are needed here); Promise Not to Tell by Jayne Ann Krentz; Cross Her Heart by Melinda Leigh.
The Bad
Someone is too stupid to live.
I have seen it be both heroes and heroines. (But we all know who it tends to be…) I can sometimes survive if the story is strong enough or it is well paced but this can be a deal breaker.
It is a fake out.
I have found a few times that there are fake outsuspsne action romances and it is really that the hero does The Action™ and the heroine does the Sex™ and I am not down for that. There are books that have characters that can say “I am not made for this I will follow your lead.” But just having the heroine be a prop for the dude to flex his muscles in front of? No thank you.
The Ugly
Someone has Trauma and it is Magically Fixed (with sex)
This is just upsetting in any subgenre/ story. The magic vagina or cureall penis doesn’t fix trauma or anxiety or whatever. And it definitely ruins things for me.
Kidnapping Tropes
Dipping into dark romances (some of which I love!) there are kidnapping tropes. I can’t do it. It feels very icky to me and stresses me out. Stockholm Syndrome isn’t my style.
Highly Militaristic? Nah.
This is definitely my politics (and my hippy mama raising me) showing. I have found more than the fair share of straight up racism and problematic storylines that glorify war and military might. The industrial military complex has no place in my romance library, thank you very much. (Not to say that there can’t be characters with uniforms IN them - but when you are describing someone as “American looking” as a euphemism for white or when every single bad guy is a follower of Islam? I am good with not supporting this.)
Some awesome books coming out soon! (Everything here I have read as an ARC and feel confident in adding to this list.)
Fatal Deception by April Hunt - November 10
Ride the Tide by Julie Ann Walker - November 24
Don’t Look by Alexandra Ivy - December 1
Driven by Rebecca Zanetti - January 26