I feel like I struggle with this in all facets, especially as I love fantasy books and it tends to make me feel more down about my real, mundane life, but I feel like I notice the most impact when it comes to relationships.
This isn’t just my current one, but also great relationships I’ve had in the past that ended amicably. I’m in a great relationship now. He’s loving, caring, attentive, romantic, handsome, hard-working, etc etc. But I feel like every time I read a romance novel (especially one written by a woman), it makes me look at all of my relationships in a new light in my head. No one is freaking perfect and lord knows I’m far from it, but a lot of the male love interests I’ve read about in novels are portrayed to perfection with the perfect amount of emotional intelligence that just no real person has.
I don’t know. I love my current relationship and I’m very serious about it, but I don’t love how romance books always ignites this insanely unachievable hopelessly romantic side of me. Do I just have to stop reading completely lol? Is anyone else like this? What can I do?
I’m reading a gay romcom called “Boyfriend Material”.
It hasn’t got me a boyfriend. Or changed anything else. So far only one of the two main characters has appeared, and he has lost his job, for bringing the charity he worked for into disrepute by going on a bender - which gets into the news because his father is a celebrity - thereby losing the charity donors. He’s rather hopeless, and so, thus far, are his friends. He has met his suggested BF once, & is not keen on meeting him again.
I do not know anyone like that, and it would never occur to me to angle for a BF by using a romcom as a “how to” guide. There may be a romcom that doubles as a Wikihow Guide to a Gay Relationship - but I’ve not heard of it.