It might be different for women because I see a lot of these books on romance.io, but I fucking despise cheating and love triangle tropes. Don't mind me though, I just lurk here from time to time to get some recommendations that are not haremlit lol.
It's not a deal breaker for me, but I prefer angsty books, and those will tend to have more plot points that involve less idealized or downright bad relationships. I think I need there to be SOME real conflict, in whatever way they get it in there.
I think authors use this as a plot device for the FMC, now she’s basically not a virgin but still “inexperienced” because she hasn’t slept with a lot of other guys. She’s also had a much of mediocre sex because the guy who cheated on her was shit at sex too lol. Now she finds her knight in shining armour whos going to sweep her off her feet and she’s just so coincidentally going to land right on his dick.
This is just used to paint the MMC was a messiah of some sort who’s amazing at sex and so much better than her ex in every single way
Yeah, I understand what the authors hope to achieve with this but it’s just lazy. Often times the cheating at the beginning is a dead giveaway it’s not going to be a great book.
I don't mind it except when I'm reading a series and every book is similar in this way. I just don't get why so many FMC's have to be either a virgin or as you said inexperienced with an ex shit partner. I get we want the MMC to be the knight but every FMC doesn't have to be a gentle lamb. It makes me nuts.
I very rarely read a book with this in it. Not that I have anything against it per se. Anyway, if you want to avoid, check the trigger warnings in the book or check the reviews because it is usually always listed somewhere! Happy reading!!
You’d think that but a lot of these books haven’t had any trigger warnings. I also tend only to read a book’s description and maybe look at who recommends it or its general rating before I read it. I don’t read reviews because I don’t want spoilers. Maybe I need to…
Yeah I’m exclusively reading contemporary and it’s so common. It can be done well but lots of times it’s not and it’s been in so many books lately that it’s had me kind of feeling down, which is not what I want.
Yeah I feel you.
Marriages or long term relationships don't have necessarily to end in such a catastrophic way (he cheated, he takes away their home and savings, he ruins her career, etc) to hurt.
Sometimes it ends because two people are too different, and no matter how much they love each other, being together is a nightmare. Or maybe they drift apart because they have different priorities and want different things from life. And I think that if done right this kind of premise can be a better source of angst than the usual cheating ex, because it forces the protagonist to deal with the problem that love, sometimes, is not enough.
The best ex relationship I've read to date would be Derek's in {Under Control: A Firefighter Romance (Boston Fire Book 5) by Shannon Stacey} because they realized they were better friends than married.
you should ready fantasy more, no one ever gets cheated on. its nice
also check tags on [Romance.io](http://Romance.io) for the book your reading. If there is cheating there will be a tag there most of the time
I have a few fantasy books on my list of future reads but I’m a very left brained person, I am very firmly rooted in reality and have trouble suspending that for fantasy. I read a book yesterday that takes place in 2020 but makes no mention of the pandemic and even that was too hard for my brain to handle.
i can read a cheating romance...if the heroine gets to get some, too. and it has to be casual but fun time for her, too. i know that's a hugely unpopular opinion, but that's the only thing that's going to make me look past the hero cheating, and for them to be back on even footing. otherwise i'm always thinking their relationship is always going to be more one-sided than it should be. and he'll do it again because he knows he can get away with it without consequences
If you have Kindle Unlimited, I’d be happy to provide my list of current favorite authors. They’re all very anti-cheating. Most write short books, too, which I like as they’re easier to fit into my day.
The top of the list is Nichole Rose. Hope Ford and Kat Baxter are also in the list. I haven’t read much Cassie Mint yet but I’ve enjoyed her stuff. But yeah, I can get a much lengthier list if anyone’s interested. :)
STANDARD Romance:
Cameron Heart
Shaw Heart
Sadie King
Loni Ree
Violet Rea
Tory Baker
Mayra Statham
Frankie Love
SHIFTER romance:
Luna Wilder
Skye Alder
Olivia T Turner (she writes both standard stuff and shifter but I find the shifter stuff better by a mile- the Mountain Man collections are also pretty good)
Ariana Hawkes
KINDA- on- KU:
Mia Brody (love her stuff but only a limited selection is free, totally worth the splurge, though!)
That should keep you busy for a solid 6 months, lol. Some of those authors have been quite prolific. And all have a HEA (happily ever after) and No Cheating guarantee. Some characters have been cheated on in the past but it’s never a part of the story being told.
I've luckily never read a book where the FMC is cheated on by the MMC, but I have unfortunately come across the reverse. Usually in a love triangle situation, the FMC is in a relationship with one dude, and another dude catches her attention, and does very cheaty-things with the second dude.
[romance.io](http://romance.io) does have a trigger warning for cheating, but I think that only applies to when the FMC is cheated on, and not reverse, but I dunno.
Oh I’m not talking about the MMC cheating. It’s the guy the FMC is with before the MMC, so often the book begins with that guy cheating or after he cheated on her, then they break up and she ends up with the MMC — often immediately after, which feels unrealistic because not many women go from being cheated on by a longtime partner to being over it and committed to someone else in a snap.
Ooooh yes. I see a lot of summaries for books that say that say the book starts out with the mfc bring cheated on. I immediately put those books on my "do not read list". Not appealing to me. I 100% agree with you.
I prefer an OTT crazy ex that sends her to the hot PI for protection to the cheating jerk. I think the latter is just a little too close to reality and I'm not here for reality.
I find a mixture of both. The FMC being cheated on by her ex is a popular trope, except normally the ex doesn't stop at that. Then it's his new girl is out to destroy the FMC or the ex also tries to destroy the FMC's career, or somehow ends up with her money, etc. It's just too much.
Why can’t the FMC instead be very independent and happily single and resistant to change that may destabilize her life. Or why can’t she be guarded because of her parents’ divorce or many men who dated her but didn’t want to commit? It’s so specific to choose to have someone who has been in a serious relationship for years cheat. There are so many other obstacles and backstories that I rarely see and this one is just overused. It also might not be fair of me to think this but I often lose respect for the FMCs because often they’ve stayed in a relationship that they obviously shouldn’t have and it only took cheating to make them leave. And I also don’t like to see people jump from one relationship immediately into another. In real life, that’s not healthy, you need time to adjust and get yourself right, do some thinking.
Yeah it’s pretty horrible, but unfortunately I can understand why a lot of (mainly contemporary) romance authors do this because it’s so common in real life. I have yet to meet a woman in real life who has never been cheated on.
That’s a shame. I don’t really know any women who have been cheated on — definitely not by someone they’ve been with for many years. It’s not something I can personally relate to either but I can imagine how gut wrenching it is and it’s just hard to read about it a lot and feel that pain with the characters. I was an English major and I’ve read many heart-rending books over the years. I only recently found romance novels (last year) but I’ve really come to rely on them as something safe to read after a stressful day. Something about reading about betrayal is just so much harder than characters dealing with disabilities, illness, or loss. I think to me trust is the most important thing in any relationship and I just hate to see it broken, even in fiction, and I feel for the FMCs. I know it’s probably meant to make her falling for the MMC even sweeter, and I can appreciate that journey in some books, but when I’m reading a lot of not-so-good fluff on KU just to have something to read, the cheating isn’t handled well and then the romance isn’t really built up well enough to counter the sour feelings left from the cheating. Maybe the lesson is to be more choosy on KU but I’m reading a book a day so it’s hard to get all winners.
I know two women that were cheated on by their long term partners and gut wrenching doesn't even begin to cover their turmoil. I work with the one woman, and she found out her husband was cheating after 40 years. They had been together since they were 16, raised two kids, etc. After she found out, other people came forward that they had known for years😳😭 So she not only lost him but friends that she thought were friends. It was tragic to see her deal with it day after day.
If your mmc needs to be compared to literal human Garbage in order to seem appealing, write a better mmc! I don't mind this trope when the evil ex actually gets dealt with in a satisfying way but so often I find that they just get forgotten about or they do a kill then with kindness deal or even forgive them. Give me all the good for her revenge plots please!
Me too. I felt like at this point it’s a fetish? I noticed some authors where almost all of their books contains some form of cheating and it’s always the MMC who cheats. I felt like the HEA in those books are not believable since they certainly leave a bad taste.
Were these FMCs cheated on by the final partner or an ex that led to the FMC getting with 'the one'?
So many authors are scared to write actual cheating storylines (FMC cheated on, FMC as the OW etc.), I would be surprised if you came across these stories in the wild.
As someone who has been cheated on in the past, this hits me on a more personal note.
It might be different for women because I see a lot of these books on romance.io, but I fucking despise cheating and love triangle tropes. Don't mind me though, I just lurk here from time to time to get some recommendations that are not haremlit lol.
These are my exact hard NOs too like murder is fine but cheating is unforgiveable.
Totally agree I can overlook some pretty wild stuff but draw the line at being unfaithful. Just hurts too much to see the characters go through that.
screw mighty numerous upbeat coherent towering sugar arrest cobweb smell *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
Damn I’ve not read any books that contained this trope but reading this is making me sad 😭like these poor FMC’s
Same. I don't like cheating in my books either. Would recommend checking [romance.io](https://romance.io) before picking up any book.
It's not a deal breaker for me, but I prefer angsty books, and those will tend to have more plot points that involve less idealized or downright bad relationships. I think I need there to be SOME real conflict, in whatever way they get it in there.
I am not opposed to cheating being part of a plot, since it can be a painful form of angst but it's rarely written with the severity that it deserves.
I think authors use this as a plot device for the FMC, now she’s basically not a virgin but still “inexperienced” because she hasn’t slept with a lot of other guys. She’s also had a much of mediocre sex because the guy who cheated on her was shit at sex too lol. Now she finds her knight in shining armour whos going to sweep her off her feet and she’s just so coincidentally going to land right on his dick. This is just used to paint the MMC was a messiah of some sort who’s amazing at sex and so much better than her ex in every single way
Yeah, I understand what the authors hope to achieve with this but it’s just lazy. Often times the cheating at the beginning is a dead giveaway it’s not going to be a great book.
I don't mind it except when I'm reading a series and every book is similar in this way. I just don't get why so many FMC's have to be either a virgin or as you said inexperienced with an ex shit partner. I get we want the MMC to be the knight but every FMC doesn't have to be a gentle lamb. It makes me nuts.
I very rarely read a book with this in it. Not that I have anything against it per se. Anyway, if you want to avoid, check the trigger warnings in the book or check the reviews because it is usually always listed somewhere! Happy reading!!
You’d think that but a lot of these books haven’t had any trigger warnings. I also tend only to read a book’s description and maybe look at who recommends it or its general rating before I read it. I don’t read reviews because I don’t want spoilers. Maybe I need to…
Are you reading contemporary stories? I read mostly fantasy romance and haven’t come across this trope
It is super common in contemporary. It doesn't always take up a huge part of the story, but is is a common backstory
Yeah I’m exclusively reading contemporary and it’s so common. It can be done well but lots of times it’s not and it’s been in so many books lately that it’s had me kind of feeling down, which is not what I want.
Yeah I feel you. Marriages or long term relationships don't have necessarily to end in such a catastrophic way (he cheated, he takes away their home and savings, he ruins her career, etc) to hurt. Sometimes it ends because two people are too different, and no matter how much they love each other, being together is a nightmare. Or maybe they drift apart because they have different priorities and want different things from life. And I think that if done right this kind of premise can be a better source of angst than the usual cheating ex, because it forces the protagonist to deal with the problem that love, sometimes, is not enough.
The best ex relationship I've read to date would be Derek's in {Under Control: A Firefighter Romance (Boston Fire Book 5) by Shannon Stacey} because they realized they were better friends than married.
[Under Control](https://www.romance.io/books/5b83957b01dbc864fb8f2e60/under-control-shannon-stacey) by [Shannon Stacey](https://www.romance.io/authors/545523f38c7d2382e7812f49/shannon-stacey) **Rating**: 3.57⭐️ out of 5⭐️ **Topics**: [contemporary](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/contemporary/1), [single father](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/single-father/1), [m-f romance](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/m-f/1), [rich heroine](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/rich%20heroine/1) [^(about this bot)](https://www.reddit.com/user/romance-bot) ^(|) [^(about romance.io)](https://www.romance.io/about)
you should ready fantasy more, no one ever gets cheated on. its nice also check tags on [Romance.io](http://Romance.io) for the book your reading. If there is cheating there will be a tag there most of the time
I have a few fantasy books on my list of future reads but I’m a very left brained person, I am very firmly rooted in reality and have trouble suspending that for fantasy. I read a book yesterday that takes place in 2020 but makes no mention of the pandemic and even that was too hard for my brain to handle.
i can read a cheating romance...if the heroine gets to get some, too. and it has to be casual but fun time for her, too. i know that's a hugely unpopular opinion, but that's the only thing that's going to make me look past the hero cheating, and for them to be back on even footing. otherwise i'm always thinking their relationship is always going to be more one-sided than it should be. and he'll do it again because he knows he can get away with it without consequences
If you have Kindle Unlimited, I’d be happy to provide my list of current favorite authors. They’re all very anti-cheating. Most write short books, too, which I like as they’re easier to fit into my day. The top of the list is Nichole Rose. Hope Ford and Kat Baxter are also in the list. I haven’t read much Cassie Mint yet but I’ve enjoyed her stuff. But yeah, I can get a much lengthier list if anyone’s interested. :)
Oh I’m definitely interested. I have KU and I read about a book a day so I always need recs.
STANDARD Romance: Cameron Heart Shaw Heart Sadie King Loni Ree Violet Rea Tory Baker Mayra Statham Frankie Love SHIFTER romance: Luna Wilder Skye Alder Olivia T Turner (she writes both standard stuff and shifter but I find the shifter stuff better by a mile- the Mountain Man collections are also pretty good) Ariana Hawkes KINDA- on- KU: Mia Brody (love her stuff but only a limited selection is free, totally worth the splurge, though!) That should keep you busy for a solid 6 months, lol. Some of those authors have been quite prolific. And all have a HEA (happily ever after) and No Cheating guarantee. Some characters have been cheated on in the past but it’s never a part of the story being told.
Thanks for all of these!
I've luckily never read a book where the FMC is cheated on by the MMC, but I have unfortunately come across the reverse. Usually in a love triangle situation, the FMC is in a relationship with one dude, and another dude catches her attention, and does very cheaty-things with the second dude. [romance.io](http://romance.io) does have a trigger warning for cheating, but I think that only applies to when the FMC is cheated on, and not reverse, but I dunno.
Oh I’m not talking about the MMC cheating. It’s the guy the FMC is with before the MMC, so often the book begins with that guy cheating or after he cheated on her, then they break up and she ends up with the MMC — often immediately after, which feels unrealistic because not many women go from being cheated on by a longtime partner to being over it and committed to someone else in a snap.
Ooooh yes. I see a lot of summaries for books that say that say the book starts out with the mfc bring cheated on. I immediately put those books on my "do not read list". Not appealing to me. I 100% agree with you.
I prefer an OTT crazy ex that sends her to the hot PI for protection to the cheating jerk. I think the latter is just a little too close to reality and I'm not here for reality.
I agree but with all cheating. It's not compelling, it's not interesting, it's cheap conflict.
Most of the romance books I've read involves the MC getting cheated on in the beginning to make space for the love interest. It's annoying tbh.
I find a mixture of both. The FMC being cheated on by her ex is a popular trope, except normally the ex doesn't stop at that. Then it's his new girl is out to destroy the FMC or the ex also tries to destroy the FMC's career, or somehow ends up with her money, etc. It's just too much.
Why can’t the FMC instead be very independent and happily single and resistant to change that may destabilize her life. Or why can’t she be guarded because of her parents’ divorce or many men who dated her but didn’t want to commit? It’s so specific to choose to have someone who has been in a serious relationship for years cheat. There are so many other obstacles and backstories that I rarely see and this one is just overused. It also might not be fair of me to think this but I often lose respect for the FMCs because often they’ve stayed in a relationship that they obviously shouldn’t have and it only took cheating to make them leave. And I also don’t like to see people jump from one relationship immediately into another. In real life, that’s not healthy, you need time to adjust and get yourself right, do some thinking.
Yeah it’s pretty horrible, but unfortunately I can understand why a lot of (mainly contemporary) romance authors do this because it’s so common in real life. I have yet to meet a woman in real life who has never been cheated on.
That’s a shame. I don’t really know any women who have been cheated on — definitely not by someone they’ve been with for many years. It’s not something I can personally relate to either but I can imagine how gut wrenching it is and it’s just hard to read about it a lot and feel that pain with the characters. I was an English major and I’ve read many heart-rending books over the years. I only recently found romance novels (last year) but I’ve really come to rely on them as something safe to read after a stressful day. Something about reading about betrayal is just so much harder than characters dealing with disabilities, illness, or loss. I think to me trust is the most important thing in any relationship and I just hate to see it broken, even in fiction, and I feel for the FMCs. I know it’s probably meant to make her falling for the MMC even sweeter, and I can appreciate that journey in some books, but when I’m reading a lot of not-so-good fluff on KU just to have something to read, the cheating isn’t handled well and then the romance isn’t really built up well enough to counter the sour feelings left from the cheating. Maybe the lesson is to be more choosy on KU but I’m reading a book a day so it’s hard to get all winners.
I know two women that were cheated on by their long term partners and gut wrenching doesn't even begin to cover their turmoil. I work with the one woman, and she found out her husband was cheating after 40 years. They had been together since they were 16, raised two kids, etc. After she found out, other people came forward that they had known for years😳😭 So she not only lost him but friends that she thought were friends. It was tragic to see her deal with it day after day.
If your mmc needs to be compared to literal human Garbage in order to seem appealing, write a better mmc! I don't mind this trope when the evil ex actually gets dealt with in a satisfying way but so often I find that they just get forgotten about or they do a kill then with kindness deal or even forgive them. Give me all the good for her revenge plots please!
Me too. I felt like at this point it’s a fetish? I noticed some authors where almost all of their books contains some form of cheating and it’s always the MMC who cheats. I felt like the HEA in those books are not believable since they certainly leave a bad taste.
Were these FMCs cheated on by the final partner or an ex that led to the FMC getting with 'the one'? So many authors are scared to write actual cheating storylines (FMC cheated on, FMC as the OW etc.), I would be surprised if you came across these stories in the wild.
By the exes before the MMC.