Iâm So Sorry! Romance Novels, Bad Behavior and Forgiveness
Credit.Christy Lundy
March 10, 2021
A romanceâs happy ending requires that neither of the lead characters do anything unforgivable. But everyoneâs definition of unforgivable is different â so if a character does something a reader considers wildly out of bounds, or if a characterâs remorse is not finely calibrated enough for the readerâs taste, it can call the authorâs whole definition of happiness into question.
So Iâm happy to have read Suleikha Snyderâs BIG BAD WOLF (Sourcebooks Casablanca, 305 pp., paper, $8.99), because this may be the first time Iâve ever seen a heroine in a romance novel specifically and emphatically say that forgiving the hero for his past sins was not her job.