cahn

Having it broken down for me that way really clarifies why I rarely finish romances with a feeling of satisfaction. Act 3 drives me bonkers every time! I think there's an Austen-ish variant where the heroine is annoyed with the hero and not taking him seriously until Act 3, and I have a higher tolerance for that approach. (Though I only like that variant with one gender pairing, and might not like it in a gay romance -- and I do think it's reasonable to ask one's romances to work in the absence of the power dynamics that often accompany traditional het romances.)