Romance or Mystery? What is your pick?

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The world is vast with a massive collection of genres an avid reader can choose from. A reader never sticks to one genre and always searches and experiments with different genres and styles of writing to shortlist a few that he/she can continue exploring.

Today we are taking two genres that you can consider as two poles apart or in some ways can be a connection as well. That is the beauty of writing. You can start a novel with one genre and end it with another so long as it connects well and does not give the reader a reason for confusion.

For example, you get books in the form of a romance-mystery or mythological-fiction to name a few. These books bring two different genres into one story giving a variety and creating interest to the reader to explore it further.

In this blog, we will be looking at Romance and Mystery separately as this could be a great way for non-readers to start their reading adventure.

Romance — The need for this genre

Many kids since their childhood have always been fascinated with fairy tales that are told to them in school or at home. Kids read/listen to the famous “Once upon a time” romantic fairy tales that end with a “Happily ever after.”

Hence, the genre of the romance of princes, princesses, and kingdoms have already been etched in their brain and as they grow, they always wish to explore more in this genre because these tales often have happy endings. The level and depth of romance in books increase as the age of a reader increases. When teenagers turn to young adults, their thoughts take charge and they find themselves searching for books and tips to fantasize and have the ability to relate their emotions.

You can say that romance is a safe genre. This type of reading gives people the chance to imagine as per the descriptions given in the book and in this genre, you will have people smiling and creating happy thoughts.

However, you must also keep note that if you are to gift a book of this genre to a heartbroken person, it won’t be such a good idea. Romantic books can be amazing to an extent and must not be assumed that everyone will like them.

Subgenres of Romance

There are six subgenres under the Romance umbrella.

1. Contemporary romance

2. Historical romance

3. Romantic suspense

4. Inspirational romance

5. Speculative romance

6. Young adult

You can find out more about this via the link here

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Mystery — The place where your brain goes WOW!

After looking at the beautiful and heart-warming genre of romance, let’s get our minds to do some detective thinking while we go through the genre of mysteries and adventure. This is a genre that is the total opposite of romance and is good to be read by anyone that enjoys using their thinking cap and making assumptions and decisions on what is going to happen next in the story.

Who loves this genre?

There are five types of people who find this genre as one of the best. There can be more and do comment below if you know any other reasons. Would love to see how you think.

1. A reader who hates to keep down an unfinished book — Many of us tend to have chores around the house and are unable to complete a book in one sitting. However, when it comes to a book that involves a story that needs continuity in reading, we can never put it down. Such readers do exist and if you are one, drop a comment below saying ME!

2. A reader who has a curious mind — Mystery books create twists and turns in a story that makes you read and keep reading till it does not end. Someone who has his curiosity raised can never be at peace till he finds out what happens at the end.

3. A reader who is also a problem solver — As mentioned above, a reader who loves mysteries would love to find out the ending before he reaches the ending. He will go through the plot so well in detail and try to guess the culprit beforehand. This is the beauty of mystery and thriller books. It can confuse you so well that at the end of the book, either you go “Yes! I knew it was him” or “Who would have thought it would be him?”

4. A reader who loves to understand the psychological behaviour of humans — Mystery stories give a really good description of the characters involved in the scenes and this can be an advantage for a person who loves to study about people. It can help when you meet people in real life where you can get an idea of how a person behaves.

5. A reader who would love to become a detective himself — This is a situation which is less in the world, however, a person who loves adventure and thrills in life will enjoy this genre as they get tips and tricks to learn something from these books that can be used in future.

Conclusion

In short with all that’s discussed above, it is your choice as to what you would love to explore and be ready to enjoy your free time. Both have their pros and it is your decision to choose which genre will give you the satisfaction of reading a book to the very end.

Both genres can be taken in the other way as well. For example, a romantic book can have a sad ending where lovers don’t end up together which then becomes a romantic tragedy or a mystery book with a boring storyline. A way to avoid disappointment is checking reviews or reading the summary of the story.

In the end, it’s your choice and whatever you read, give it your full attention as it takes a lot of effort for a writer to publish a book.

This blog has been featured on the Inkfeathers webpage