Where Do You Draw The Line?
Cheating is a despicable act. If you're with someone you no longer desire/want in your life, in theory, it would be smarter to talk it out and have both parties go their separate ways, instead of cheating and going behind the other persons back.
I tend to stay away from books that I know have pure adultered cheating in its storyline because it's not something I agree with and it's not the type of storyline I'm looking for in a romance novel. The way an author handles it, from a writing perspective, can make me understand or simply be able to "live" with it and not DNF on the spot.
But then the question becomes:
If cheating is despicable, then how do you feel about marriages of convenience in books?
If cheating is despicable, then how do you feel about marriages of convenience in books?
I've thought about this ever since I read a book a few years ago that featured it as an "obstacle" for the heroine to overcome. I've come to the conclusion that it doesn't bother me. If the people married were never an actual couple but got married to get, for example, the other person out of a bad situation or for the families sake (and later plan on divorce), then I don't mind it. The way I see it, they were never an actual couple and they were never involved in any way with each other, so technically speaking, there was no cheating. It's just a meaningless signed piece of paper. Though, I will concede and point out the lie by omission on the hero's part.
When it's an on again, off again relationship or the couple has called it quits for a time and one of them has a one night stand, does that equate to cheating? I was looking over an older review of mine and noticed that I referred to the get-with-someone-else called-it-quits moment in the "relationship" as a mistake on the heroine's part. I don't remember enough about the story to form an opinion on it today, but it made me think about how my tolerance for these kinds of situations has gotten smaller over the years. If I were to read a book that featured that kind of situation today, regardless of who commits the act, I don't think I would like it very much. But then I start thinking about how they were, for the moment being, over as a couple so why should I be bothered by it? It's an endless cycle of should I or shouldn't I.
On a different note:
Can you overlook cheating if you care about the characters enough?
When it's an on again, off again relationship or the couple has called it quits for a time and one of them has a one night stand, does that equate to cheating? I was looking over an older review of mine and noticed that I referred to the get-with-someone-else called-it-quits moment in the "relationship" as a mistake on the heroine's part. I don't remember enough about the story to form an opinion on it today, but it made me think about how my tolerance for these kinds of situations has gotten smaller over the years. If I were to read a book that featured that kind of situation today, regardless of who commits the act, I don't think I would like it very much. But then I start thinking about how they were, for the moment being, over as a couple so why should I be bothered by it? It's an endless cycle of should I or shouldn't I.
Have you encountered marriage of convenience in a book and liked it?
Can you overlook cheating in a book?
Let's discuss in the comments below!
I am ok with cheating in a book, if the author does it properly. I never like it if the main character cheats. It can be the main character's boy/girlfriend, but not the MC. It also matters where the two were in their relationship. I finished a book the other day, where the character had physically distanced herself from her boyfriend, like months earlier, and then she kissed someone else. Once the someone-else found out she had a boyfriend, he was hands off. I thought the author handled it well, and I was ok with it, because she was not physically involved with BOTH of them at the same time. She was even sort of emotionally distant from him. I don't consider it cheating, if the characters were "on a break". If they were not together, it's not cheating. It may be a little shady and not my thing, but they were technically apart. So, for me, the set up plays a huge role in how I would feel about that plot.
ReplyDeleteSo it comes down to how the author handles it/spins the story. I can understand that. Technicalities do wonders for shady character actions. Though I have come across a lot of reviews that will still call on-a-break storylines and marriages of convenience as cheating. So I never know what I'm actually walking in on when I base it off those types of reviews. Thank you for your input on this subject :)
DeleteInteresting topic! Cheating is definitely a touchy subject. I'm trying to think if I've encountered cheating in a book before. I mostly read YA...and I probably avoid it if I see it in the synopsis...so I'm not sure that I have actually read a book with cheating in it! Not that I can remember, anyway. So, I guess I don't have much of an opinion on it. I don't think I would be a fan of reading about it, though, as I don't agree with it in real life.
ReplyDelete--Sam @ Sharing Inspired Kreations
Cheating is a topic, that I would guess, would be more prominent in new adult and adult titles. I totally understand where you're coming from, but as I mentioned above "technicalities do wonders for shady character actions". :)
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