Take a second. Imagine your favorite book’s/movie’s main character. How would you describe them? What makes them who they are? How are they different from yourself? How are they similar?
Now, I’m guessing we all have different answers—and that’s exactly what makes the character you thought of special. They are unique. Out of the billions of fictional characters that have been created and the countless ones you’ve encountered, you picked one because they stood out.
The Risk of Blending In
Enter the current fantasy romance (or “romantasy”) BookTok space. In recent years, the genre has been dominated by books featuring female main characters (FMC) who are beautiful, strong, traumatized, and armed with both a sharp tongue and an even sharper dagger. In the same vein, the male main character (MMC) is ancient, brooding, and emotionally unavailable—until the FMC appears. He is ruthless, feared by all, and exists in a permanent state of nonchalance on the outside and simmering rage on the inside, but the moment he meets the FMC, she becomes his entire world. His main personality trait? Being absolutely ensnared by our FMC. His purpose? To protect her at all costs. His hair? Dark, obviously.
Look Beyond the Trends
These character traits can make for a fun, banter-filled story. However, with BookTok’s growing influence, it’s hard to ignore how frequently these same attributes keep appearing. When developed well, these characters might fit certain tropes, but they aren’t defined by them. There is nothing inherently wrong with including trendy characteristics in books.
Except when…
The author—or worse, the publisher—pushes the use of tropes not because they fit the story, but because they know it’ll sell. That’s when these characters become empty versions of themselves. Instead of developed protagonists, we get one dimensional FMC and MMC again and again. The tropes themselves aren’t bad, but the chase for the almighty dollar makes them shallow.
Furthermore, it is important to note the lack of diversity. The FMC is often portrayed as fierce and powerful, hardened by life on the streets—yet she is thin, pale-skinned, and conventionally attractive. Authors build expansive fantasy worlds with intricate magic systems, yet somehow struggle to craft characters that reflect the diversity of their audiences. It’s not just about adding a single token character from an underrepresented background; it’s about making diversity the norm rather than an afterthought. Heterosexuality and whiteness should not be the default.
Redefining Who Gets To Be The Main Character
Fantasy romance isn’t failing because of tropes—it’s failing when those tropes are used without thought, depth, or originality. BookTok has made reading exciting and accessible again, especially to younger audiences. Young readers are impressionable, and the books that dominate these spaces shape their understanding of storytelling, identity, and whose voices deserve to be heard. Fantasy should challenge, inspire, and reflect the diversity of the world it comes from, not just the algorithm that decides what sells.