(For @snailords #readfreakingromance giveaway thing on Instagram!!)
Freaking romance spoilers ahead!!
Well…
It’s kind of hard to put into words just how much I love it, and all the reasons why…but I’ll try my best.
I’m not the kind of person who reads romance often, (at least not in novels.)
It would take too long to fully say why, but I find romance often bores me, I’m not always super interested in the main couple, and the genre has too many tropes that annoy me. I pretty much never pick up a romance that has no fantasy or sci fi elements.
So, as such...Freaking Romance originally drew me in with the premise of the supernatural--of a girl falling in love with a ghost.
And the sci fi lover in me only became more hooked when in became clear it was a parallel universe instead.
I absolutely adore it when stories play with their genre, and don’t just stick to a set category. Almost every one of my favorite stories fits into multiple genres. And I think Freaking Romance does a rather amazing job at this.
I’m the kind of person who’s fairly good at predicting plot twists (perhaps one of the reasons romance in general isn’t my favorite), so it always makes me very happy, and makes me respect the author more, when I don’t know what’s coming.
Let’s just say, the plot twists are very unexpected and ...and I applaud Snailords for the incredible writing!!
Not just overall, FR plays with norms in romance with the characters themselves too, which is a big pull for me.
I absolutely love that the girl is the one who’s more strong-headed, who hates romance, and loves horror movies, who’s interested in sex more than romance, and the boy is the one who is soft, and sweet, who loves romance movies, and is more interested in a lasting emotional romance, as stereotypically the roles are the opposite. It’s refreshing to read something new and different, where I feel like the characters are characters and not just archetypes or stereotypes.
I goes without saying, the art is incredible:
Many webtoons use music, and while I always love it, I don’t usually remember the tunes, because, to be honest, generally they’re fairly generic. In FR, it struck me immediately that the music was unique, and even most of the instrumental songs I can remember--(believe me when I say I remember that song that played when Mr. Purrfect was gonna get taken away...). And the songs truly do add to the emotions of the scene. I was frozen to my chair in horror in that chapter ^^ of course because of the actual chapter, but the song just put the emotions of the song of the age. And I cried harder when they kissed because of the song...it was expertly done. I’ve also listened to the song “Destiny” from the S3 trailer many times!! I was shocked and delighted when I heard words, the tune is wonderful and the words beautiful...and it makes for the best WEBTOON trailer I’ve seen yet!!
The characters feel all the more real, because they have very real problems. The main character’s having to deal with abusive pasts is heart-rending, and impactful. Zylith running from an abusive father who tainted her view of love, Zelan who’s had to be perfect his entire life, and still must put on a smiling face for his fans...It gives the story such meaning and emotion.
I’m always a sucker for mirroring in writing, and I just love the way Zylith and Zelan mirror each other: the tale of a dreamer risking everything, and of the dreamer who lost his dream in the success. Both these stories are powerful to me, and telling those stories together, comparing and contrasting the duel struggles of creative fields, makes them much more powerful.
As someone who is creative, and pursuing a creative profession, I need stories like this one, of the dreamer risking everything, and of how difficult it is if and when you do succeed in a creative profession too. I’ve cried many times when Zelan encouraged Zylith, because I felt like he was talking through the pages to me.
Perhaps more than anything I love what the title suggests: that this is he story of a girl who has learned that love is a vicious monster, taught what it really means. I think a number of romances try to do this, but few do it so well. The depth behind this theme is so beautiful, and applicable to real life. This makes the story so much richer, and it’s something that always sticks with me after I’m done reading the week’s chapter. I wish I could explain more in depth just what an amazing job snailords does with the theme of love and why I love it, but I think that’ll have to wait for another time.
Last, but certainly not least I really appreciate its creator. I’ve read a number of webtoons, and most of the creators don’t interact with their readers, let alone their characters. Going along with the genre breaking, I absolutely adore the fourth wall breaking at the ends of some chapters. Not only is it a fun little comedic thing to read, it makes the characters feel all that much more real, like people we can talk to. But I also love these little things where the author talks to the audience.
I love when I see snailords actually responds to people in the comments at times as well. Even if the creator cant respond to everyone, it’s really nice when I see them respond to at least some people.
In the end, all I can say is thank you Snailords for bringing this amazing story into my life (and happy birthday!!)
Zylith reciting my philosophy on love almost word for word. I literally had to put my phone down. I’ve never, ever heard anyone else say or feel the exact way that i do.
