Personally, if only given one choice I’d far prefer a bad beginning to a bad ending. The beginning sets the stage and opens the book, but who are we kidding? We’re romance readers. The ending’s the clincher. The ending’s our couple’s future. It’s the reader’s conviction that everything we just read is legit. If I don’t believe in the happy ending, then the story is sunk.
I’ve read hundreds of romance novels now, and I’ve got them pretty well sorted out. Many romance novels end in a big sexfest, but I’ve never liked these – the book feels like it’s celebrating hormones rather than hearts. Then there are Hallmark endings – you know which ones I’m talking about. They melt in each other’s arms. They declare undying love eternal. They become Lord Virile and Lady Fertile. They are, in fact, so busy being in love I’m more certain they aren’t. Saccharine endings do not appeal to me because they dwell in fairyland, and I like my stories dosed with reality.
