WANTED: Reverse small town romance

[Catlady]

Originally Posted by ScalyFreak

That's another way of saying what I meant with "certain culture climate". People who for some reason are unhappy envision the perfection of idyllic small town life, and that's where they want to escape to.

And that's what I meant with my original comment that the move to the city doesn't fit the fairy tale that the romance provides.

[ATDrake]

Originally Posted by ScalyFreak

Has anyone ever written a story where the person who fled town right after high school comes back for a long visit, falls in love, and then the happy couple proceeds to move back to where he or she fled to and live happily ever after in a busy landscape of asphalt, corporate office jobs, and take-out food, for the rest of their lives?

It's not precisely what you want, but Amy Andrews' Holding Out for a Hero set in Australia, which was a freebie a couple of years ago, seems to fit at least that much of the description.

According to the customer reviews, the small town is depicted as more dystopic than idyllic, but the couple does meet and initially get together during a visit back to the old hometown after a long absence (but then reunite again in the city), and apparently go back there a few times for personal reasons. I skimmed the last few chapters of the book, and it seems to end with them settling in the city, maintaining their careers intact, and happy to have gotten away.

Anyway, it was free and if you got it then, it might be worth giving a try? (Incidentally, I think perhaps the trope you want might be easier to find in chick-lit romantic comedies than dedicated romance, though that's only the impression that I get from the respective genres' differing core sensibilities, and not based on actually having read all that many of them.)

[ScalyFreak]

Originally Posted by ATDrake

There's a trope name for the underlying conflict of the general idea of what you want, "The City vs. the Country", which might be useful as a descriptive shorthand.

It sounds like you want a subversion of Plot B2. Unfortunately, there are very few such mentioned among the media listed under "Moving from City to Country", and no romance ones as far as I could tell.

More or less. Embarrassment is not a requirement, as long as there is justified dread of moving back.

Originally Posted by ATDrake

(Incidentally, I think perhaps the trope you want might be easier to find in chick-lit romantic comedies than dedicated romance, though that's only the impression that I get from the respective genres' differing core sensibilities, and not based on actually having read all that many of them.)

You're probably right about that. The dedicated romance genre seems very firmly convinced that a story has to take place in an idyllic setting where the only strife that exists is what the growing relationship causes, or it's not a real romance. Which annoys me. Real relationships don't develop in a vacuum, and certainly don't last if they stay in one. Granted, if we wanted "real", a romance novel is the last place to look for it, but variety doesn't seem like too much to ask for.

I'll definitely take a look at Holding Out for a Hero.Thanks for the suggestion!

[Atunah]

I am a huge romance reader here. I have read romances like that, meaning those where the couple ends up just fine and happy in the city. Here is the thing though, I don't mark my reads with stuff like that. It just happens, its just another story line to me.
What you are talking about are the small town romances, the homey type, those are specifically written for a specific market. Small town home town, or small town ranch town, small town cove town etc. The whole premise of those is that back home in small town everything is better. And if a relative visits from the city, they are usually made fun of for their clothes, car, etc. Until they are broken in and "see" the light and settle back in the small town and live HEA. Those are almost always telegraphed by there covers and blurbs. Its what those readers want. The fish out of water coming to small town and falling in love and staying there. Even those come in all different levels and tone. I read darker ones like that, I read light and fluffy ones like that. They aren't all the same and they aren't all sweet. It's just where they are set.

That is just a segment of contempo romance though. There isn't a specific telegraphed counter part for this. Its just in the stories of the rest of them so to speak.

Not sure if I can come up with any unless I have a listing for them somewhere. Its just not a trope specifically so I don't file my books with that.

I do know that I have read them where they live fine in NYC, in Dallas, In Miami, in San Fransisco etc.

It will be difficult then to seperate those where the whole story plays in the city or those where someone came from a small place and falls in love in the city, etc. Again, that is just like story lines to me and I can't remember everything I read. I try

If I come up with anything this week, I post some. I'll browse around the trope listings and different reader boards. I know some that play in the city, but not sure if someone came from small town to get there, or they wanted to go back and all that.

Funny thing is, I am one that is from a small town. I should say tiny village in Bavaria population 250. I moved a few time and now live in a US city of 1.4 million . For love of course. And no snow.