There may be spoilers…
It may be the tropiest trope of all: A fair young woman falls for a rich handsome prince.
The Commoner – a limited series released on Prime in February 2025 – is a real-life version of that trope.
The series is based on the true story of Sonja Haraldsen and Prince Harald of Norway and their nine-year struggle to get permission to marry – from the King of Norway and from the Norwegian government.
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You better watch out... for spoilers!
Does the Grinch have a catch-phrase?
Because Bah Humbug! seems overdone.
But that’s the mood I was in early in November when contemplating the upcoming Christmas romance movie season.
My mistake was — on a day when I was feeling a little bit down — I tried to watch Hallmark’s A Crown for Christmas, now available on Netflix. It was a mistake. I hate those cheesy ‘royal’ themed romances, where the woman acts as a nanny (or a tutor, or a hairdresser, or even a baker!) in some highly fictitious European kingdom ruled by an insipid prince who far too easily falls at her feet.
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Have you ever read or watched a romance that seemed to have all the right elements in place – the meet cute, the attraction, the conflict, the I love you’s and the happy ending – but it just felt…
Flat?
Of course you have.
The problem with those stories is they lack romantic tension.
You know romantic tension, right?
It’s that feeling of being on the edge of your seat, itching, quaking, shaking while you wait for two characters to FINALLY get together.
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If you haven’t heard, Anyone But You is a rare theatre-released rom-com, that has become a sleeper hit since its December 22 opening. To date, its box office take is over $170M globally.
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Finally, this movie came out!
Ok, bad pun. And it actually came out, on Prime, way back in August. I did watch it within a day or two of its release, but it’s taken me this long to get to writing this critique.
And usually, my critiques end up being very, um, critical. But, I liked this movie, not gonna lie, so this time I’m going to focus on what I liked, and then answer the most important question of all (at least, where romance movies are concerned): Is it romantic?
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This blog is about romance and writing, but also about my life as a romance writer.
But, I realized I haven’t posted anything about publishing my first book yet!
The book is called His Brother’s Mistress, and is about what happens when gorgeous CEO Matt Valetta finds Lucy Alberti living in his recently-deceased brother’s apartment in Rome, and assumes she was his mistress.
So here’s my story of publishing this book…
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In March I wrote about how the relative status of heroes — alpha, beta, and gamma — affects romantic stories.
I suggested that romance writers tend to pair opposites, like alphas with betas, but that gamma heroines matched with gamma heroes make for more interesting stories.
So in this post, I’m going to put my theories to the test, and find examples of status pairings in romance movies, and see how they impact the story.
So let’s dive in!!
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I’ve wondered a bit if the #MeToo movement has changed our vision of the romantic hero. I don’t think abusive men have ever been the norm in romance novels, but they’ve made their appearances. And the arrogant alpha male is certainly a common trope.
I personally still like many alpha traits. I grew up reading Harlequin Presents, and they often featured larger than life heroes – think princes, sheikhs, CEOs, shipping magnates… So that still feels pretty standard for me when I think of romance novel heroes.
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I try to avoid watching long form t.v. — by “long form” I mean any drama whose continuing story spans one, two, three, or more seasons (like Lost or Game of Thrones), vs. “episodic” shows, which contain a (largely) standalone story within each episode (like Law & Order or ER).
Long form shows have become very popular in recent years, as streaming services look to increase their hours viewed stats.
The problem is, it’s very hard for writers to offer an effective story arc if they don’t know how long their show will run. And even if they know how they want everything to pan out, with so many episodes to write, there’s gonna be some filler. So, you end up with endless and unending (ok, those are the same) plot. Complicated, often pointless (IMHO) plot.
So I avoid them, in general.
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It’s summertime (where I live, anyway), so the ‘perfect’ time to watch a frothy, fluffy romance – like Netflix’s A Perfect Pairing, which is well-qualified as summertime viewing:
Before I begin my critique, let me just clarify that I am in fact talking about the Netflix film, A Perfect Pairing, and not the Hallmark romance of the same name that also came out this year. Wouldn’t want anyone to be confused.
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