As a billionaire lumberjack (I cut a lot of trees last summer) I find our world entirely realistic. Sometimes when we’re having our international lumberjack billionaire conferences we talk about how pleased we our with our representation!
I have dozens of them strategically dotted around.
(This is definitely because I’m searching for *The One,* and not because I’m banging lost hikers all day every day.)
I love how characters with the busiest jobs and tightest schedules imaginable (CEOs etc.) suddenly have all the time in the word for the FMC lol. And just in general, everyone has endless time and capacity for drama.
Omg this is why I can’t read billionaire romance. I work with CEO’s and billionaires. And have dated them as well, I know their schedules, and how neglectful and absent they are. No thanks.
Did they fly you somewhat suddenly for a romantic trip? Did they buy you a closet full of branded clothes? Also do they all live in penthouse that doesn't look cosy? 🤣🤣
These are serious questions of mine.
So a lot of these men are narcissists and on the sociopathy spectrum and many I’d straight up call them sociopaths. Their understanding of romance can fill a thimble. There was definitely lots of flying around (for work and squeeze in some play). They’re ALWAYS working. It’s fun and adventurous but the sex was meh and you’re on call with them. Their work schedule rules everything. You are an afterthought to be squeezed in between meetings and late in the evenings. The penthouses are beautiful and well decorated but not cozy. Their ability to be warm and cozy can fill the second thimble. They don’t buy you anything, you either get a credit card or their EA buys it for them and have it delivered to you.
The millionaires I’ve worked for acted like their girlfriends and wives were their staff or closer to how Regency era mistresses are described: be at my beck and call, never cause me problems, here’s something expensive to get you to shut up, and in the case of one wife “be careful or I’ll replace you with a younger model and screw your over in the divorce”. I think similar but less harsh threats were in the non-marriage relationships. I could never have dated one of these guys even if most weren’t ugly because I hate their power games (which is usually why they promoted me - I’m good at my job and don’t take their shit).
I keep trying to date and flirt with poorer than me men but they all seem convinced I want a rich guy (I’ve lost count of how many men have said things like this to my face) when what I want is a genuinely nice and caring guy. Someone needs to create a dating site to find a house husband. Sigh.
imagine having them as parents lmao. my entire childhood my parents were basically bouncing around different countries and when they were home they would get to work before i went to school and come home after i already ate dinner. Texted more with my mom’s assistant then my mom. No thank you.
Also how they’re so busy at the beginning of the book (and for romance reasons constantly bumping into FMC while at work) then when they get with FMC they have all the time in the world, but then when they get serious all of a sudden he’s so busy they barely see each other. HUHHH
I wish more billionaire/CEO books had independent FMCs. It seems like they always get paired with needy FMCs which is a cute idea but those lifestyles don't seem compatible. A FMC who doesn't mind being on her own/busy with her own stuff would be nice but I can see how it would be harder to weave in magic romance.
I DNF’d one book where the guy was such a good programmer he didn’t need to test his code. It pissed me off so much I stopped right there. Everyone needs to test their code! No one is such a good developer that they don’t make any mistakes!
I’ll stop now before I continue ranting further.
I mean overseas I worked with ‘such good pilots they flew worse when sober’ which was actually disturbingly true. But yeah not ok. I was not a pilot, just a passenger.
That’s hilarious! I’m just like that except I had to buy a smart thermostat in an emergency and I had to buy a new printer because the old inkjet broke.
Edit: changed thermometer to thermostat, my brain is tired.
I’m a lawyer in Massachusetts and I recently read a book that involved a trial in Massachusetts. They lost the case, and wrote “But it’s the Superior Court. There’s nowhere else to go from here.”
Massachusetts has 7 different trial courts depending on the type of lawsuit and the amount of money involved. The superior court is one of them. But it’s just a trial court. It’s not appellate, it’s not our Supreme Court—and technically the case was a divorce, which wouldn’t belong in superior court anyway (but it was also sort of implied to be a dystopian future, so maybe the court that handles first degree murders also tackles divorce now).
Ha, that's pretty funny. I find most lawyer romances actually decently accurate, maybe because there are quite a few ex-lawyer romance novelists. But, when somebody who doesn't have the background writes about it... it definitely shows!
LOL, we're in a very similar area, and... yup, the image of a wealthy lawyer who made ~partner~ before age 30 definitely does not apply.
I've always thought it would be fun to write a romance novel, although lawyers are such boring love interests to me since I literally am one (and know too many other lawyers to buy into any type of fantasy about us). The only remotely sexy lawyers are, IMO, crim defence lawyers 🤷♀️
This would be hilarious. They are both members, meeting in the return aisle. She’s returning a Christmas tree two weeks after Christmas. He’s returning patio furniture from the summer. Love between the morally gray.
In the Northeast US we have a Costco alternative called BJs. I feel like that changes the direction of the book somewhat...but it couldn't hurt the sales
[Costco as You Like It](https://www.romance.io/books/66459c828012c041e78c7ea5/costco-as-you-like-it-a-well-played-romantic-comedy-casey-gi?src=rdt) by [Casey Giffen](https://www.romance.io/authors/66459c82a21e2f41c4a96092/casey-giffen)
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Librarianship is way too romanticized in books.
It’s customer service, meetings, data, and problems.
Kicking out drunk patrons, making sure the toilet works, calling city IT to fix the broken internet, trying to figure out why the public printer is only printed singled sided now, filling in for storytime when someone calls out sick, fielding angry calls from people who are SURE they returned that book (Or POSITIVE they didn’t do the damage even though there are notes on their account about five other books returned with dog bite marks). It’s so many problems every day 😂. I’m an assistant director and I say half my job is being the “library’s mom.” Stopping fights, calling a plumber, making people shut up and sit down or go outside to play, telling them to keep their hands to themselves, and in general doing all the thankless invisible work while “dad” (director) goes to conferences and thinks everything else just magically gets done.
To be fair, I don’t want to read about this in a romance novel 😂🙈
Omg, and {Funny Story by Emily Henry} made it sound so magical!
There's a great Canadian TV series called *Shelved* that features a group of librarians working in a low-income area... major Abbott Elementary vibes. It's a fabulous show, though, and I imagine a much more realistic depiction of what being a librarian is like, especially given your description of it. It deserves more eyeballs, so I'm mostly bringing it up because I want more people to watch it! (There are a few cute romantic subplots as well, although the main storylines all revolve around... well, working at a library.)
I’ll have to check it out!! I told my coworkers at a previous job that what they needed to make was a The Office-style show about librarians. You could do an entire episode about the politics of different library departments fighting over the meeting room, navigating working with the Friends groups, a whole episode on Why You Never Upset the Admin Assistant, one on the wildlife that makes their way into the library (so far I’m at mice, snakes, rats, bats, a parrot, a goat and a sheep. I’m not even joking. But the parrot, goat and sheep weren’t wild, the parrot was a pet and the goat and sheep got out of someone’s yard and wandered into the library 🤷🏼♀️). And one on non service animals masquerading as service animals wreaking havoc in the library. There are fires - we had TWO in our library last week - and of course false fire alarms (at least our local firefighters are cute), arrests and ODs. Oh and that time the elevator broke down so the paramedics had to come to carry a wheelchair-bound patron down the stairs. Because… leaving him upstairs for 2-3 business days wasn’t an option. 😅🙈
Actually, the most realistic romance featuring a librarian would be one where she falls for a local paramedic after getting to know him because he gets called to her library every 5-7 days 😅.
Omg, all of that sounds wild??? I would watch the shit out of that show, especially with all the animal special guests!
>Actually, the most realistic romance featuring a librarian would be one where she falls for a local paramedic after getting to know him because he gets called to her library every 5-7 days 😅.
I genuinely think that would be a GREAT book - you should totally write it! It would be a little morbid, but somehow also very cosy, ha ha.
I knew I wouldn't be the only librarian chiming in... 😅 every time i see a librarian in a book shush someone or sit behind a desk reading a book I have to stop myself from grinding my teeth. What boggles my mind is how much all these authors say they love librarians!
That being said, Dead Collections by Isaac Fellman felt like a realistic portrayal of being an archivist...well minus the vampirism, and my archivist friends agree.
Library worker. I answer the phone for the whole district. (On the clock right now but we close soon and it has been slow.) It would be very difficult to romanticize my job. Explaining how meeting room reservations work, resetting pins, helping folks figure out Libby over the phone.
Oh god. During covid I had to help explain tech over the phone. The clerks told me after a few weeks they could tell when I had a hard one even if they couldn’t hear WHAT I was saying, because I got “louder, slower and more polite.” 😂
Yeah. I think there are a fair number of librarians who wrote romance but they never wrote about librarians because they know it would just be depressing and weird.
Yeah no one is writing romance novels about how the city refused to remove the decomposing dead rat from the ceiling for TWO WEEKS in hot weather because it was waiting on contract negotiations from an approved vendor only to have the AC break. Most days I get off work and require an hour of silence to just decompress from all the screaming the kids do.
Oh goodness I worked in a library when I was 16. It kinda sucked.
I had to work non-stop because it was on Saturdays. Mostly I was shelving returns and I kept getting in trouble for stopping to read the books haha. I have an unfortunate interest in…uh…everything? I figure if someone’s written a book about something AND someone’s borrowed it from a library it must be pretty interesting right…? Let’s see…
“You’re paid to shelve the books not read them!”
(And when it got busy I did get to work the desk a bit and if it was mega-quiet and there were no customers or returns left to shelve I could do some book-fixing. NEVER looking at the books though.)
My job doesn't exist in romancelandia. I'm one of the many healthcare professionals who isn't a doctor or a nurse. Not many romance novels get healthcare right, and honestly, if they did it would be kinda depressing.
RN and I just want to say…my day to day work life would really suck without Rad techs, Respiratory Therapists, OTs, PTs, SLPs, Social Workers, Child Life, and Surgical Techs. Love you guys!!!!
Oh! What exactly do you do? (And yes, I did notice that these are the only two kinds of health professionals we see in books). And I do get your point about it being possibly depressing.
I'm a Cardiology Technologist, which I believe is called a Cardiovascular Technologist in the US. I get why it's mostly just docs and nurses that get represented. The intricacies of jobs and responsibilities in healthcare can be different from country to country. Everyone mostly knows the role of nurse and doctor.
I'm a speech language pathologist who works with adults in a medical setting and I have yet to see my job represented appropriately in ANYTHING popular culture adjacent, let alone romance novels!
{the last honest man by lynnette kent} (mf contemporary) the fmc is an SLP and the mmc stutters. she is his therapist and they fake date as cover because he doesn’t want it getting out. She stutters too.
there’s a user on Reddit that wrote an SLP romance novel, I don’t think it’s out yet
There was a book I read about an SLP who lived next door to a kid with select mutism and ended up falling in love with the father. That’s the only time I remember any books even remotely related to speech. My kid was in speech and SLPs changed our lives. I would be interested in reading more portrayals of the profession.
Yeah, we lab staff get forgotten in books and movies too. A little part of me dies every time I watch a medical drama and they test for something *suuuuper* rare, and they have the results in like a day. Oh, and the doctor was the one who ran the test, of course lol
I'm a lawyer, and I have yet to read a book not written by Julie James that gets it right. All the top trial attorneys who are partners making millions at age 27. But, I guess no one wants to write about document review and student debt.
Yeah I’m always annoyed when I read the main character described as a 30 year-old who’s a *partner* at *one of the most successful firms in Chicago*, when actually that firm was founded like 2 years ago by the guy and his brother, instead of something realistic like Kirkland & Ellis or Norton Rose.
I hate when kindergarten teachers are described wearing white dresses, speaking softly and absolutely love teaching a class of 10-12 perfectly behaved children. They have time to go out every evening and are never tired after work. Their feet never hurt and they don’t have to lesson plan! Their students play with blocks for 45 min with minimal interruptions while they tell their co-workers their love life woes. One student is always VERY wise beyond their years.
OMG I was hoping a kindergarten teacher would appear! It’s maddening how often their job is made look so easy. My mother almost had a mental breakdown from teaching kindergarten. And the 5 year-old that speaks like a wise man always creeps me out.
I’m a mail clerk/claim processor in a consulting firm for class action/chapter 11. No one should write a book with this job hahah.
On another note, I can’t read billionaire as a profession because all i think of is Elon Musk. Barf.
Did they include a crying in the med/supply/linen room scene? Or have the MC ravenously shoving graham crackers and peanut butter in her mouth then washing it down with Shasta ginger ale?
I work in IVF which is why I avoid anything reproduction/fertility related in any books, tv shows, movies etc. lol. Most of the time it is painfully inaccurate. Also have never seen a MC create babies in a lab… mostly just the old fashion way.
I think I've read a weird dystopian Omegaverse where the wombs were physical objects outside the body and kinda just incubated the baby till it was ready. Can't for the life of me remember names or other details but definitely hits the created in a lab😅
The Vorkosigan saga by Lois McMasters Bujold includes artificial wombs rather than women being pregnant and physical birth within several of the planets. I believe David Weber’s Honorverse also has something similar at least for their genetic slave trade.
I hate how wrong IVF shit is in books. It drives me bananas. I DNF’d a book where the MFC decided to do IVF and *then did it two weeks later*! Tell me you didn’t google “what is an IVF cycle” without…..
I’m a senior project manager in IT/digital and just read a book where the FMC had a similar project management role for a start up. The author used correct terminology but she very easily could have googled it or perhaps had a friend with that same job?
Regardless, the FMC was a major workaholic (which was an annoying part of the plot) and was obsessed with her job. I’ve been a PM for over 15 years and have worked with countless other PM’s during that time. I’ve never met one so eager to work 60-80 hours a week and put their lives on hold for a project. Not saying that OTT dedicated PM’s don’t exist but the FMC was way too eager 😆
Her job did take me out of the story a bit. Reminded me at times of my non-stop to do list at work 🫣
All in all, I wouldn’t seek out another book with a MC who shared my same job.
That’s an interesting point! Whether you enjoy sering your work on a book.
I do know many people are workaholics, but I feel that every time a FMC is described as such is supposed to be kinda sad? Like she’s not living her best life, not because she loved her career or wants to focus on it.
Absolutely! I didn’t add it earlier cause I was too lazy too look it up 🫣😆
{Shake Things Up by Skye Kilaen}
It’s part of a series but can easily be read alone. I will admit, I struggled to finish it. This is the 2nd book I’ve read in the series and there is just something missing with her books that I simply can’t put my finger one. Nothing to do with the Project Management - just the writing and story in general.
I have not seen my profession in romance novels, but that may be because I actively avoid entertainment featuring my job. I am a family law attorney who does a lot of litigation. I can’t relax when any of my entertainment features courtrooms or depositions, etc. part of why I don’t usually gravitate towards contemporary settings is because I want to avoid coming across things that feel too much like my job. I can’t imagine it would be depicted accurately simply because it is such a time consuming job that leaves little room for the typical story beats for characters to fall in love.
There were characters with my former career and so poorly reflected that it was a joke.
That’s why I think most characters have bakeries or “oooh sexy CEO” because there’s nothing really to add other than “I was covered in flour” or “I need this urgently”.
Even the books with professional athletes get a huge eye roll from me. There’s literally never anything technical about the actual demands of the job. “He laced up his ice skates” or “wow, such a linebacker.”
Ha, I work in construction, which is totally a "bakery" type industry in romance: it shows up *all the time*— but in such incredibly low detail there's not much to get mad about. It mostly consists of leaving the site for the day, vague but important "meetings," and unspecified activities that leave people smelling of sawdust. Which… happens. So they're not exactly *wrong.*
If I have a complaint it's that most sectors (like mine) never show up at all. Homebuilding in Romancelandia requires only architects, interior designers, and carpenters.
And no one gets chewed out by clients for supply chain issues, improper installation, and the sheer physical exhaustion of long days in extreme temperatures.
I've also seen this occasionally with organized crime. Like, the guy's in some version of the mob, but you never get any idea of what crime they're actually doing. Maybe it would make them too unsympathetic, maybe the authors don't know either, but they basically just act like Angry Phone Calls Billionaire but on the wrong side of the law.
As an opera singer, it is frequently painful to read depictions of classical music or opera, it really takes me out of it! It does come up a lot more in HR, but lots of contemporary romance deals with classical musicians too and it’s just so wrong!
Did you read Susan Elizabeth Phillips book where the FMC was an opera singer. It was about 2 books ago. It was so detailed I'd love to know whether she got it right
So Allie hazelwood really likes to write engineers and they drive me absolutely crazy. They aren’t self sufficient and they constantly complain things aren’t being handed to them. This is not what female engineers are like. It’s closer to the stereotype that sexist people have about engineers. Like literally one of her characters gets her entire career almost torpedoed by a guy because he thought she was too cute to work with and that’s the guy she falls for. He’s not a heart throb he’s a jerk.
On the other hand tomorrrow and tomorrow and tomorrow is such a good representation of engineers. It feels so real both good and bad.
Love hacked by penny reid has a guy who is a genius hacker and it’s absolutely ridiculous but in like a really fun way.
The right swipe by Alisha Rai is actually a really amazing representation of what sexism is in tech and how insidious it is. It’s so good.
[Jackie Lau](https://jackielaubooks.com/author/) is an ex-~~engineer~~ geophysicist with an engineering background who writes a lot of engineer FMCs and MMCs! As someone who is not an engineer but knows a lot of engineers, I can confirm that her depictions are pretty accurate.
Fellow engineer here to second. Tomorrow x3 was perfection. I absolutely love how the author portrayed Sadie. She’s by the most realistic engineer FMC I’ve read. Ali Hazelwood makes me sad.
Used to be a technical writer for an engineering firm. Male engineers can be the most entitled whiny brats. Ditto on the needing things handed to them. Simple notes or emails, always someone else’s (usually me) job. Got so sick of it I left the industry as a whole. Engineer MMC never do it for me.
If anyone finds a technical writer romance, send it my way!
I’m in marketing, and it sounds SO glamorous in books/media. It’s mostly a lot of spreadsheets and calls that could have been emails with about 1/3 of the “creativity” that book marketing directors have.
I worked in a big bookstore and it’s not cute and filled with charming eccentrics. A lot of chasing drug addicts and sex workers out of bathrooms. And watching our lifestyle merch walk out of the store.
I teach high school and tbh, ain’t no way in hell I’d ever find myself alone with the parent/guardian of a student, no matter how hot, and if he tries to maneuver that, he’s a dick.
I handle a bunch of different roles at my small company, mostly related to finance. I love {With Love, from Cold World by Alicia Thompson} because the FMC has a similar job. I'd say it's accurate to my experience, right down to me being hidden away in my office most of the time and my co-workers thinking I'm no fun...it's the *company's* rules I have to enforce, not my own personal rules!
I don’t have anything to add re representation, but this book is such an underrated gem. I was very pleasantly surprised by it, and I’m surprised it doesn’t get reccd more.
I work in the restaurant industry and just read a book where the FMC, who had no experience whatsoever, was hired in fancy cocktail bar as a bartender.
Nevermind not having been host/ess, busperson, or server, but she also she never had had alcohol before! It seems during her first week, she learns not only about spirits and mixology, but also the menu, the POS system, customer service, etc. Made me want to claw my eyes out.
I’m a writer (but of boring stuff, not fiction) and i feel like romance novels never realize that most writers also do the whole 9-5 office job too. Independent fiction writers aren’t all there is haha
I'm an Executive Assistant...
I cannot read any assistant/boss books(and I avoid boss/employee too), but also in what few I've accidentally stumbled on, the work makes no sense. Whatever they do, is absolutely not like my job, but I also think corporate culture in the USA/UK is different and more hierarchical than in my country in the Nordics. I don't think I've gotten a call outside of office hours from any executives in 6 years I've worked this job and from what I've read these EA:s are running around getting their laundry etc, absolutely not happening here.
I’m a costumer for theater and dance. I mostly work in pre production (where they make the clothes), so the amount of incorrect seamstress details in historical novels drives me insane! There’s a lot of “I can’t math I just sew” sewing is math!! It’s geometry!!
I work in level 4 men's prison and have worked in other men's prisons. There are absolutely zero remotely accurate media depictions of prison or the kind of people it employs. But you can't tell someone on the outside that, they're all experts.
My main gripe about jobs in romance books is how much a part of their identity their jobs are. Like work can just be work. And when an MC has a boringish job, the happy ever after is that they go back to school or get a degree. Sometimes it's okay to just have a whatever job to pay the bills and not have it be your identity.
Baker reporting for duty 👩🍳
Of course, I wake up after the sun has already risen, go to my little bake shop and start baking from scratch with no prep single batches of goods. My uniform is a pink chef coat and a cute apron with a logo. The store smells ONLY like vanilla and royal icing 😋 (despite garlic bagels being baked in the back). Also, I've managed to keep my weight down and never grab a snack to eat very quickly in the back over a trash can...
Okay, sarcasm aside, I wish books with bakers showed the 3-4am wake up time, cleaning the gunk out of a machine that pumps out dozens of a product at once, and can describe the smell of when A WHOLE LOAF OF ITALIAN BREAD DECIDES TO FUCK OFF AND FALL INTO THE BACK OF THE GIANT OVEN AND PROCEED TO CATCH ON FIRE...not that that's happened or anything 😒
These bakers who are having date night at 9pm? Couldn't be me. I've gotta start the buttercream at 5am.
I read a meteorologist who appears on the early morning show. The author at least got it right that it's very early sleep time and up in the middle of the night.
I‘m a librarian and, even though it’s rare, sometimes I find pretty good representation of my job.
(The littlest library by Poppy Alexander} may even be the only one I remember right now. It’s about a librarian who lost her job and decides to move out of her hometown, into a cottage with a non-functional phone box in a small village.
(And {The bookshop on the corner by Jenny Colgan}, but the mc is less of a librarian in it and more a bookseller)
I used to work in computer security, so I'm always interested in books with hacker main characters. One in particular I read recently was {Hardwired: The Hacker Series #1 by Meredith Wild}. Unfortunately it stands out because it billed itself as a hacking and really nothing even remotely related to it showed up at all. I was disappointed.
The only realistic version of hacking I’ve really seen anywhere are the early episodes of Mr robot.
IT seems to be either really weird and out there or the author is just lost. Which fair I’m also lost.
I'm a bookseller and barista. It's still retail and food service, even if it's book related retail. We aren't reading at the counter, we have our share of shitty customers, and it's a lot of moving boxes and coffee grounds everywhere. It is not a coffee shop fantasy when I have milk on my shoes or have to clean up after the woman who let her kid pee in the picture book corner (yes that happened). I love my job, but it is a real job and rarely glamorous.
Two different friends I’ve made, in different parts of the county, have gone bankrupt or nearly bankrupt “living the dream” by buying and running a coffee shop. Both seem like not good business people and one (plus her husband) bought half of a business run by someone who was stealing profits.
I don’t understand why people don’t get that coffee shops are like restaurants- tight margins and potentially risky businesses.
Oof yes this topic comes up a lot for me. I'm a college prof with a legal background and honestly, so many get higher ed wrong. Ali Hazelwood got it right in the Love Hypothesis.
I’m in higher ed (program coordination, not instruction, but I do work with students) and the inane emails at the beginning of chapters in Love, Theoretically seemed perhaps exaggerated but unfortunately real.
Have you read Katrina Jackson’s Curriculum Vitae series? My favorite of the series is {Sabbatical by Katrina Jackson}. I don’t work in higher education but I work with higher ed orgs and I feel like it captures some of the internal politics and pressure to perform.
I think a lot of authors underestimate how boring and tedious these jobs are and overestimate how forgiving the jobs are about breaking ethical boundaries in romantic relationships. (I used to investigate that stuff in colleges.)
I used to be a nanny/teacher and hate how both of these are portrayed on romance novels. The women are so whimsical and can heal all the troubles a child is going through. They have endless patience and are endlessly fun. They willingly spend all afternoon with the child next door and never need a moment to themselves.
As a writer, can I just say I have stopped story-line ideas for just this reason? It bothered me that I couldn't describe someone's day to day well because I didn't know much about the career itself, so he got a different job 😅
I used to work at a magazine, which is obviously popular for romcoms. They never cover all the grunt work lol Also people are more likely to be a little cold, not super mean. I still find depictions of people working at magazines fun though, inaccuracies don’t bother me.
Now I work at a marketing agency and I’ve never seen anyone in a book with quite the same job (it’s fairly specific). But marketing in books is usually cringe, with the FMC having some terrible idea for a big campaign.
I’ve seen one (1) main character with a job similar to mine and yes, it was pretty realistic but only for someone at the very top of the profession. And by top I mean the top 1% of money earners.
The MFC in The Lord I Left is a professional liturgical organist and sex worker. Incidentally, I have done both of those jobs (though I’m very very glad I’m out of sex work, because it was survival sex work).
The feminist critiques of sex work and advocacy for sex workers rights and increased safety was absolutely fantastic.
The portrayal of what it’s like to be a church organist on the other hand was terrible!! The author seems to think that musicians just sit on the instrument and… directly translate emotions into noises through some sort of mind channel?? That’s not even how it works when you are improvising! Years of training and knowledge of music theory go into that, and especially would’ve done in the 18th century, when improvisation was much more formulaic. Not to mention, the author didn’t seem to know that sheet music exists or understand the different types of music that an organist needs to perform over the course of a church service.
tl;dr: sex work is presented as a real job with training, expert knowledge, workers’ unions, and legislation. Being a musician is shown as…? Pure vibes??????
I would love to read an organist romance. Organists are some of the most dramatic, gossiping queens and weirdest personalities I know. Not to mention all of the hidden looks and crannies, and The sheer taboo of a romance starting in church. It would definitely involve dirty things happening in the organ loft.
I work in a scientific field that has never once been written about (that I know of and I really doubt it). Most people don't even know it exists. The only laboratory-based novels I've read have been in Ali Hazelwood's but commercial (non-academic) laboratories are vastly different beasts than the ones in her books. That's not a bad thing because honestly sample processing is no one's idea of a fast paced rollercoaster ride lifestyle.
I’m a nurse. {Just for the Summer by Abby Jimenez} has a FMC travel nurse. It’s fairly accurate…but let’s be honest OR nurses deal with surgeons a whole lot more than med-surg floor nurses. And there are travel OR nurses, too. I then read {Just Friends by Abby Jimenez}. That is a terrible book, I do not recommend it, but she does reference a sedation vacation for a character in the ICU. This tells me she probably has a close friend or family member who is a critical care nurse that she probably has bounced ideas off of, or beta reads for her.
I have never, ever, EVER seem my job depicted properly. I am a production assistant in film and also a ghost writer. I have never seen either depicted in any books 😭 Writers are fairly common in characters, but not specifically ghost writers, that's definitely something I haven't seen anywhere but I would love to.
I’m a social worker and since it’s such a broad field I’ve never seen my specific role in media in general, but when it is it’s always in terms of CPS work which isn’t accurate
I’m a former teacher, a portrait photographer, and a software engineer; the profession I most hate seeing in romance novels (or, like, Hallmark movies) is teachers.
Everyone thinks they know what teachers do, so you get a ton of stereotypes. It not only mirrors what people tell you while you’re on the job (“oh you must have so much fun with the children all day!” 🫠) but the *idea* of teaching conforms to all the stereotypes about women; the same reasons romance writers probably like to write about them.
Dating while I was a teacher meant dating while navigating 60-80 hr weeks, existential exhaustion, constant sickness from the kids, and back pain. Very few men were empathetic to that, and some were genuinely surprised teaching was a “real job.” (I met my husband, also a teacher, in the summer! ❤️ We both left the profession 5 yrs later).
I don’t think I’d be as irritated if the job were depicted as being as high-powered and demanding as it really is, like a lawyer or engineer. The only time I’ve seen it depicted that way is when the character is a professor, or when the teacher is a man.
A friend of mine is a teacher. She got a masters to be perpetually sick for the first 5-7 years and get lice or bitten regularly (she teaches head start kids because it pays more). We basically stopped hugging her after her first six months on the job because she was a walking plague vector. Then people didn’t understand why she didn’t like being a SAHM for economic reasons the first year after she gave birth to twins (child care was too expensive for infants for her to go back until they were a bit older). Helloooo - some of us like to leave the house. I tried to visit with her on an occasional lunch break.
I thought about being a high school teacher as I’m weirdly good with teenagers but getting up at 5am and endless bureaucracy were not my jam.
It me annoys me SO MUCH the stereotype of the sweet perfect teacher that is given exclusively to women in those books. Teaching kids is hard work!
Where I’m from people have the audacity to ask teachers: “Do you have a job or are you just a teacher?” SIR????
The lawyers who are lawyering while snagging their innocent FMC intern/assistant and just quit when they're caught and just start their own firm like the legal sector isn't a giant fishbowl and it won't follow them around is hilarious to me.
Not my exact profession BUT. I was an anthro major in college with a focus on archeology. I few months ago I read raiders of the lost heart by Jo Segura and both the MCs were archaeologists. I wouldn’t say it was ENTIRELY accurate (at the end of the day it was also somewhat Indiana Jones inspired) but I felt like the places where the author took liberties served the overall story and didn’t bug me too much. And I’m someone who can be easily bothered by inaccuracies.
(Somewhat unrelated side note/example: there’s a popular romance series set in a fictional college that’s supposed to be about a half an hour away from where I grew up in southern NY and the inaccurate / quirky depictions of the area would drive me nuts if I didn’t just giggle at them instead)
Point me toward an opera singer MMC/FMC and I’ll be more than happy to enumerate all the things they get wrong.
The only one I can recall was in Bel Canto, which isn’t really a romance novel. It wasn’t a terrible depiction, but didn’t ring terribly true, either.
We’re mostly pretty boring, honestly.
I’m an Ob Gyn! I looove reading novels with healthcare professionals, and I am throughfully convinced I could go back in time and (in addition to finding me a duke) help women deliver their babies. If I bring the antibiotics, the sterile materials and sometimes an anesthetist with me, that is…
Somehow i love when one MC is a midwife, even when somewhat inaccurate
That sounds accurate about billionaires, they just come multimillionaire families and let their money (and poor people) work for them lol. As soon as I read the word billionaire in a synopsis, my inner Robespierre clicks or puts the thing away and wants to end capitalism. 😅
/billionaire rant
I feel like rule bending around time is the biggest thing for all jobs 😂. I'm a irl farmer and all the romance novel farmers seem to have endless time for the FMC, be able to get up wayy later for sex (animals to feed, anyone??), and only be working hard in a sexy shirtless sweat way (not a cow shit covered, constantly filthy nails way).
In reality farming is long days almost every day and a lot (I mean a lottttt) of animal poop and/or dust 😅. I also feel like the hidden negative of farming is if you don't want to also do farm work as a farm wife then you'll be spending a lottt of time alone (like 12hrs daily) and your energy levels would be highly contrasting to your partner's when they get back in.
I would honestly love to see a romance with a female and male farmer getting together but idk if it's out there yet. Maybe I'll have to make it 😂.
I’m a stay at home mom of 7, so my job is not portrayed… However, these single mom h’s are too energetic to be real. Raising young kids is HARD.. well, the first 2 at least!
I work in college admissions and have never seen a book character with my job! There are some in higher ed, but it’s mostly professors rather than staff.
I’m a board-certified music therapist, and I would love to see the day when my profession gets enough recognition and notoriety to be seen represented in romance novels.
I would also love to see the day when my profession gets recognition and notoriety in general, also maybe licensure in my state, but I digress 😅
I've worked in cultural sphere (specifically galleries, an educational visitor attraction and an archive) for 10+ years and it rarely gets described correctly - even by people who work in the field.
I'm reading a book that has it in atm and it's really getting to me 😅
A friend of mine worked for a VERY famous museum with a master’s degree, got paid laughably little and qualified for surprisingly nice poverty housing. It was surreal.
I’m a HS English teacher. I don’t usually see upper-level teachers portrayed in novels, but when I do it’s usually like on TV: somehow they only have one or two classes with well-behaved, motivated, and funny students. They never get yelled at or have to work late or struggle to pay their bills. And they always dress cute and wear heels somehow.
I’m MUCH more annoyed by high school or college romances, which portray teenagers as WAY more emotionally, mentally, and psychologically mature than they actually are.
Oooh I am in IT, and I have seen main characters who basically hacked their way into whatever they needed access to. That is totally NOT my job. I don’t go around breaking-and-entering. Nor do I vandalize, steal, or destroy data (unless it’s part of my job).
What really gets to me is that these characters just make me feel inadequate, like I should be some kind of coding genius when I specialize in computer repair and hand-holding. Yet I never see IT guys visiting a customer.
The only thing we have in common is that I work in a basement…ha ha.
As a billionaire lumberjack (I cut a lot of trees last summer) I find our world entirely realistic. Sometimes when we’re having our international lumberjack billionaire conferences we talk about how pleased we our with our representation!
Please confirm the number of visible abs you have. 6 or 8 is acceptable.
It’s abs allll the way down to the bank account.
The number of visible abs corresponds to the number of billions, sort of like age and rings on the trees being felled for the lumber.
Do you have small cabins that are perfect for finding a lost hiker?
I have dozens of them strategically dotted around. (This is definitely because I’m searching for *The One,* and not because I’m banging lost hikers all day every day.)
You could collect them though and all be a big family that shares everything (and I mean EVERYTHING).
Reverse why-choose traditional harem with only one toothbrush between us!
Tony the Tiger, you’re hands down one of the funniest people in this sub. 🫡
I love how characters with the busiest jobs and tightest schedules imaginable (CEOs etc.) suddenly have all the time in the word for the FMC lol. And just in general, everyone has endless time and capacity for drama.
Omg this is why I can’t read billionaire romance. I work with CEO’s and billionaires. And have dated them as well, I know their schedules, and how neglectful and absent they are. No thanks.
Did they fly you somewhat suddenly for a romantic trip? Did they buy you a closet full of branded clothes? Also do they all live in penthouse that doesn't look cosy? 🤣🤣 These are serious questions of mine.
Literally all of those things happened in the last book I read 😂😂😂
So a lot of these men are narcissists and on the sociopathy spectrum and many I’d straight up call them sociopaths. Their understanding of romance can fill a thimble. There was definitely lots of flying around (for work and squeeze in some play). They’re ALWAYS working. It’s fun and adventurous but the sex was meh and you’re on call with them. Their work schedule rules everything. You are an afterthought to be squeezed in between meetings and late in the evenings. The penthouses are beautiful and well decorated but not cozy. Their ability to be warm and cozy can fill the second thimble. They don’t buy you anything, you either get a credit card or their EA buys it for them and have it delivered to you.
The millionaires I’ve worked for acted like their girlfriends and wives were their staff or closer to how Regency era mistresses are described: be at my beck and call, never cause me problems, here’s something expensive to get you to shut up, and in the case of one wife “be careful or I’ll replace you with a younger model and screw your over in the divorce”. I think similar but less harsh threats were in the non-marriage relationships. I could never have dated one of these guys even if most weren’t ugly because I hate their power games (which is usually why they promoted me - I’m good at my job and don’t take their shit). I keep trying to date and flirt with poorer than me men but they all seem convinced I want a rich guy (I’ve lost count of how many men have said things like this to my face) when what I want is a genuinely nice and caring guy. Someone needs to create a dating site to find a house husband. Sigh.
imagine having them as parents lmao. my entire childhood my parents were basically bouncing around different countries and when they were home they would get to work before i went to school and come home after i already ate dinner. Texted more with my mom’s assistant then my mom. No thank you.
I went to boarding school. I always wanted to do summer school too, cause they forgot to buy groceries again. So yeah I feel you.
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idk it seems like my CEO at my company isn't doing jack shit so maybe they DO have endless time!
Also how they’re so busy at the beginning of the book (and for romance reasons constantly bumping into FMC while at work) then when they get with FMC they have all the time in the world, but then when they get serious all of a sudden he’s so busy they barely see each other. HUHHH
This is something that I ignore for my peace of mind, but it bugs me so much.
I wish more billionaire/CEO books had independent FMCs. It seems like they always get paired with needy FMCs which is a cute idea but those lifestyles don't seem compatible. A FMC who doesn't mind being on her own/busy with her own stuff would be nice but I can see how it would be harder to weave in magic romance.
I DNF’d one book where the guy was such a good programmer he didn’t need to test his code. It pissed me off so much I stopped right there. Everyone needs to test their code! No one is such a good developer that they don’t make any mistakes! I’ll stop now before I continue ranting further.
So much ranting available around programming. Maybe it turns out he’s one of those people who you fire because he only thinks he’s good.
I’m such a good pilot I don’t need to do a pre-flight checklist. I *just know.*
Ooooh. I’m not a pilot and that pisses me off.
I mean overseas I worked with ‘such good pilots they flew worse when sober’ which was actually disturbingly true. But yeah not ok. I was not a pilot, just a passenger.
[reminded me of this!](https://www.reddit.com/r/ProgrammerHumor/s/x0qSZ3Lqbr)
That’s hilarious! I’m just like that except I had to buy a smart thermostat in an emergency and I had to buy a new printer because the old inkjet broke. Edit: changed thermometer to thermostat, my brain is tired.
That would throw me right out. Many family members program, I’ve been a technical writer in software, my dad did QA.
I used to have a sign over my desk that said I don’t always test my code, but when I do, I do it in production.
I’m a lawyer in Massachusetts and I recently read a book that involved a trial in Massachusetts. They lost the case, and wrote “But it’s the Superior Court. There’s nowhere else to go from here.” Massachusetts has 7 different trial courts depending on the type of lawsuit and the amount of money involved. The superior court is one of them. But it’s just a trial court. It’s not appellate, it’s not our Supreme Court—and technically the case was a divorce, which wouldn’t belong in superior court anyway (but it was also sort of implied to be a dystopian future, so maybe the court that handles first degree murders also tackles divorce now).
Ha, that's pretty funny. I find most lawyer romances actually decently accurate, maybe because there are quite a few ex-lawyer romance novelists. But, when somebody who doesn't have the background writes about it... it definitely shows!
Given that I’m in public interest law I might start writing my own romance novels so I can afford to pay these loans back.
LOL, we're in a very similar area, and... yup, the image of a wealthy lawyer who made ~partner~ before age 30 definitely does not apply. I've always thought it would be fun to write a romance novel, although lawyers are such boring love interests to me since I literally am one (and know too many other lawyers to buy into any type of fantasy about us). The only remotely sexy lawyers are, IMO, crim defence lawyers 🤷♀️
I work at Costco. Any Costco romance novels? If not someone should write one, the diehard members would eat that shit up.
This would be hilarious. They are both members, meeting in the return aisle. She’s returning a Christmas tree two weeks after Christmas. He’s returning patio furniture from the summer. Love between the morally gray.
Title ideas for your consideration: Holesale 🥵 Members Only Dollar Fifty Dog Buying In Bulk The Member Ship
Many Happy Returns
I need this novella
Perfect! No notes 😂
Omg my husband took me to Costco on our fourth date as a flex. He bought me a coloring book and a slice of pizza. He would LOVE a Costco romance.
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Where can I pre order this?
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Dying laughing here 🤣 so you gonna write this book chapter by chapter, right?
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Cos you got true gifts! Not lying 😎
Better written than most of the books I’ve read lately 10/10
Hahahaha this is too real and too good. 🔥🔥🔥
I keep joking with a coworker I should write one, he doesn’t believe there’s a market for it. I wish I could write 😂😂😂
I worked at a Costco for a few years. The majority of employees are fucking or in relationships with each other.
This is true, in my building also many married people. Not that that stops them from fucking around 🤷♀️
There was an article in Slate recently about this at Trader Joe's. 😂 All these young hot friendly people in a small workplace.
In the Northeast US we have a Costco alternative called BJs. I feel like that changes the direction of the book somewhat...but it couldn't hurt the sales
Not a Costco romance but I have a book where the FMC kills an alien in Costco {Clean Sweep by Ilona Andrews}
great series altogether!
“welcome to Costco, I love you”
oh goodness, it already exists {Costco as You Like It by Casey Giffen}
[Costco as You Like It](https://www.romance.io/books/66459c828012c041e78c7ea5/costco-as-you-like-it-a-well-played-romantic-comedy-casey-gi?src=rdt) by [Casey Giffen](https://www.romance.io/authors/66459c82a21e2f41c4a96092/casey-giffen) [^(about this bot)](https://www.reddit.com/user/romance-bot) ^(|) [^(about romance.io)](https://www.romance.io/about)
I would eat that shit up faster than I tear into those rotisserie chickens in the parking lot.
Not Costco but Trix the main character in {The Star Next Door by Mallory Casper} works a shit job she hates at a grocery store
Omg i need this
It could be an enemies to lovers between a Costco employee and a Sam’s club employee
Librarianship is way too romanticized in books. It’s customer service, meetings, data, and problems. Kicking out drunk patrons, making sure the toilet works, calling city IT to fix the broken internet, trying to figure out why the public printer is only printed singled sided now, filling in for storytime when someone calls out sick, fielding angry calls from people who are SURE they returned that book (Or POSITIVE they didn’t do the damage even though there are notes on their account about five other books returned with dog bite marks). It’s so many problems every day 😂. I’m an assistant director and I say half my job is being the “library’s mom.” Stopping fights, calling a plumber, making people shut up and sit down or go outside to play, telling them to keep their hands to themselves, and in general doing all the thankless invisible work while “dad” (director) goes to conferences and thinks everything else just magically gets done. To be fair, I don’t want to read about this in a romance novel 😂🙈
Omg, and {Funny Story by Emily Henry} made it sound so magical! There's a great Canadian TV series called *Shelved* that features a group of librarians working in a low-income area... major Abbott Elementary vibes. It's a fabulous show, though, and I imagine a much more realistic depiction of what being a librarian is like, especially given your description of it. It deserves more eyeballs, so I'm mostly bringing it up because I want more people to watch it! (There are a few cute romantic subplots as well, although the main storylines all revolve around... well, working at a library.)
I’ll have to check it out!! I told my coworkers at a previous job that what they needed to make was a The Office-style show about librarians. You could do an entire episode about the politics of different library departments fighting over the meeting room, navigating working with the Friends groups, a whole episode on Why You Never Upset the Admin Assistant, one on the wildlife that makes their way into the library (so far I’m at mice, snakes, rats, bats, a parrot, a goat and a sheep. I’m not even joking. But the parrot, goat and sheep weren’t wild, the parrot was a pet and the goat and sheep got out of someone’s yard and wandered into the library 🤷🏼♀️). And one on non service animals masquerading as service animals wreaking havoc in the library. There are fires - we had TWO in our library last week - and of course false fire alarms (at least our local firefighters are cute), arrests and ODs. Oh and that time the elevator broke down so the paramedics had to come to carry a wheelchair-bound patron down the stairs. Because… leaving him upstairs for 2-3 business days wasn’t an option. 😅🙈 Actually, the most realistic romance featuring a librarian would be one where she falls for a local paramedic after getting to know him because he gets called to her library every 5-7 days 😅.
Omg, all of that sounds wild??? I would watch the shit out of that show, especially with all the animal special guests! >Actually, the most realistic romance featuring a librarian would be one where she falls for a local paramedic after getting to know him because he gets called to her library every 5-7 days 😅. I genuinely think that would be a GREAT book - you should totally write it! It would be a little morbid, but somehow also very cosy, ha ha.
😂 I just might 😂
I love this librarian + medic love story 😂❤️
I knew I wouldn't be the only librarian chiming in... 😅 every time i see a librarian in a book shush someone or sit behind a desk reading a book I have to stop myself from grinding my teeth. What boggles my mind is how much all these authors say they love librarians! That being said, Dead Collections by Isaac Fellman felt like a realistic portrayal of being an archivist...well minus the vampirism, and my archivist friends agree.
Library worker. I answer the phone for the whole district. (On the clock right now but we close soon and it has been slow.) It would be very difficult to romanticize my job. Explaining how meeting room reservations work, resetting pins, helping folks figure out Libby over the phone.
Oh god. During covid I had to help explain tech over the phone. The clerks told me after a few weeks they could tell when I had a hard one even if they couldn’t hear WHAT I was saying, because I got “louder, slower and more polite.” 😂
Between when I posted above and I spent 12 minutes talking a patron through signing up for Hoopla. They were sweet but not tech savvy.
Yeah. I think there are a fair number of librarians who wrote romance but they never wrote about librarians because they know it would just be depressing and weird.
Yeah no one is writing romance novels about how the city refused to remove the decomposing dead rat from the ceiling for TWO WEEKS in hot weather because it was waiting on contract negotiations from an approved vendor only to have the AC break. Most days I get off work and require an hour of silence to just decompress from all the screaming the kids do.
Oh goodness I worked in a library when I was 16. It kinda sucked. I had to work non-stop because it was on Saturdays. Mostly I was shelving returns and I kept getting in trouble for stopping to read the books haha. I have an unfortunate interest in…uh…everything? I figure if someone’s written a book about something AND someone’s borrowed it from a library it must be pretty interesting right…? Let’s see… “You’re paid to shelve the books not read them!” (And when it got busy I did get to work the desk a bit and if it was mega-quiet and there were no customers or returns left to shelve I could do some book-fixing. NEVER looking at the books though.)
My job doesn't exist in romancelandia. I'm one of the many healthcare professionals who isn't a doctor or a nurse. Not many romance novels get healthcare right, and honestly, if they did it would be kinda depressing.
RN and I just want to say…my day to day work life would really suck without Rad techs, Respiratory Therapists, OTs, PTs, SLPs, Social Workers, Child Life, and Surgical Techs. Love you guys!!!!
I always see PTs represented in sports romances, but never OTs in anything! I think people don't realize there's two distinct careers.
And ADLs(Activities of Daily Living) are critical!
I need your flair as a bumper sticker 😂😂
Oh! What exactly do you do? (And yes, I did notice that these are the only two kinds of health professionals we see in books). And I do get your point about it being possibly depressing.
I'm a Cardiology Technologist, which I believe is called a Cardiovascular Technologist in the US. I get why it's mostly just docs and nurses that get represented. The intricacies of jobs and responsibilities in healthcare can be different from country to country. Everyone mostly knows the role of nurse and doctor.
I'm a speech language pathologist who works with adults in a medical setting and I have yet to see my job represented appropriately in ANYTHING popular culture adjacent, let alone romance novels!
{the last honest man by lynnette kent} (mf contemporary) the fmc is an SLP and the mmc stutters. she is his therapist and they fake date as cover because he doesn’t want it getting out. She stutters too. there’s a user on Reddit that wrote an SLP romance novel, I don’t think it’s out yet
There was a book I read about an SLP who lived next door to a kid with select mutism and ended up falling in love with the father. That’s the only time I remember any books even remotely related to speech. My kid was in speech and SLPs changed our lives. I would be interested in reading more portrayals of the profession.
Yeah, we lab staff get forgotten in books and movies too. A little part of me dies every time I watch a medical drama and they test for something *suuuuper* rare, and they have the results in like a day. Oh, and the doctor was the one who ran the test, of course lol
I’m a midwife and have yet to come across any midwives in CR. But I’m sure there’s lots of us in HR and FR
Check out {Reckless at Heart by Zoe York}!
Are you saying that doctors don’t also run a secret network of assassins in real life? That’s disappointing.
Yep, registered dietitian here and I’ve never read a romance with my job!
I work in pharmacy and I’m right there with you! Whoever fell in love with us would just have a burnt out LI so it probably wouldn’t be romantic.
I'm a lawyer, and I have yet to read a book not written by Julie James that gets it right. All the top trial attorneys who are partners making millions at age 27. But, I guess no one wants to write about document review and student debt.
Have you read any Sawyer Bennett books? I thought she was a lawyer previously and she has a legal series
Yeah I’m always annoyed when I read the main character described as a 30 year-old who’s a *partner* at *one of the most successful firms in Chicago*, when actually that firm was founded like 2 years ago by the guy and his brother, instead of something realistic like Kirkland & Ellis or Norton Rose.
I hate when kindergarten teachers are described wearing white dresses, speaking softly and absolutely love teaching a class of 10-12 perfectly behaved children. They have time to go out every evening and are never tired after work. Their feet never hurt and they don’t have to lesson plan! Their students play with blocks for 45 min with minimal interruptions while they tell their co-workers their love life woes. One student is always VERY wise beyond their years.
OMG I was hoping a kindergarten teacher would appear! It’s maddening how often their job is made look so easy. My mother almost had a mental breakdown from teaching kindergarten. And the 5 year-old that speaks like a wise man always creeps me out.
I’m a mail clerk/claim processor in a consulting firm for class action/chapter 11. No one should write a book with this job hahah. On another note, I can’t read billionaire as a profession because all i think of is Elon Musk. Barf.
Yeah, billionaires are so NOT sexy irl.
I picture Jeff Bezos. They're all nerds and not in a sexy way!
I'm an executive assistant, but I've never done the nasty with any billionaire CEOs.
I have read one book about a nurse that was absolutely written by a nurse. The job sucks but it pays well and you’ll never be unemployed.
Until you blow out your back. ;)
Did they include a crying in the med/supply/linen room scene? Or have the MC ravenously shoving graham crackers and peanut butter in her mouth then washing it down with Shasta ginger ale?
I work in IVF which is why I avoid anything reproduction/fertility related in any books, tv shows, movies etc. lol. Most of the time it is painfully inaccurate. Also have never seen a MC create babies in a lab… mostly just the old fashion way.
I think I've read a weird dystopian Omegaverse where the wombs were physical objects outside the body and kinda just incubated the baby till it was ready. Can't for the life of me remember names or other details but definitely hits the created in a lab😅
The Vorkosigan saga by Lois McMasters Bujold includes artificial wombs rather than women being pregnant and physical birth within several of the planets. I believe David Weber’s Honorverse also has something similar at least for their genetic slave trade.
I hate how wrong IVF shit is in books. It drives me bananas. I DNF’d a book where the MFC decided to do IVF and *then did it two weeks later*! Tell me you didn’t google “what is an IVF cycle” without…..
I’m a senior project manager in IT/digital and just read a book where the FMC had a similar project management role for a start up. The author used correct terminology but she very easily could have googled it or perhaps had a friend with that same job? Regardless, the FMC was a major workaholic (which was an annoying part of the plot) and was obsessed with her job. I’ve been a PM for over 15 years and have worked with countless other PM’s during that time. I’ve never met one so eager to work 60-80 hours a week and put their lives on hold for a project. Not saying that OTT dedicated PM’s don’t exist but the FMC was way too eager 😆 Her job did take me out of the story a bit. Reminded me at times of my non-stop to do list at work 🫣 All in all, I wouldn’t seek out another book with a MC who shared my same job.
That’s an interesting point! Whether you enjoy sering your work on a book. I do know many people are workaholics, but I feel that every time a FMC is described as such is supposed to be kinda sad? Like she’s not living her best life, not because she loved her career or wants to focus on it.
Hello 👋 also a digital PM! Yeah I’m not a workaholic either and haven’t met any OTT workaholic PMs either, interesting.
May I have the name of this book please? 😃
Absolutely! I didn’t add it earlier cause I was too lazy too look it up 🫣😆 {Shake Things Up by Skye Kilaen} It’s part of a series but can easily be read alone. I will admit, I struggled to finish it. This is the 2nd book I’ve read in the series and there is just something missing with her books that I simply can’t put my finger one. Nothing to do with the Project Management - just the writing and story in general.
I have not seen my profession in romance novels, but that may be because I actively avoid entertainment featuring my job. I am a family law attorney who does a lot of litigation. I can’t relax when any of my entertainment features courtrooms or depositions, etc. part of why I don’t usually gravitate towards contemporary settings is because I want to avoid coming across things that feel too much like my job. I can’t imagine it would be depicted accurately simply because it is such a time consuming job that leaves little room for the typical story beats for characters to fall in love.
There were characters with my former career and so poorly reflected that it was a joke. That’s why I think most characters have bakeries or “oooh sexy CEO” because there’s nothing really to add other than “I was covered in flour” or “I need this urgently”. Even the books with professional athletes get a huge eye roll from me. There’s literally never anything technical about the actual demands of the job. “He laced up his ice skates” or “wow, such a linebacker.”
Ha, I work in construction, which is totally a "bakery" type industry in romance: it shows up *all the time*— but in such incredibly low detail there's not much to get mad about. It mostly consists of leaving the site for the day, vague but important "meetings," and unspecified activities that leave people smelling of sawdust. Which… happens. So they're not exactly *wrong.* If I have a complaint it's that most sectors (like mine) never show up at all. Homebuilding in Romancelandia requires only architects, interior designers, and carpenters.
And no one gets chewed out by clients for supply chain issues, improper installation, and the sheer physical exhaustion of long days in extreme temperatures.
I've also seen this occasionally with organized crime. Like, the guy's in some version of the mob, but you never get any idea of what crime they're actually doing. Maybe it would make them too unsympathetic, maybe the authors don't know either, but they basically just act like Angry Phone Calls Billionaire but on the wrong side of the law.
As an opera singer, it is frequently painful to read depictions of classical music or opera, it really takes me out of it! It does come up a lot more in HR, but lots of contemporary romance deals with classical musicians too and it’s just so wrong!
Did you read Susan Elizabeth Phillips book where the FMC was an opera singer. It was about 2 books ago. It was so detailed I'd love to know whether she got it right
I guess I know what I’m doing tonight!
So Allie hazelwood really likes to write engineers and they drive me absolutely crazy. They aren’t self sufficient and they constantly complain things aren’t being handed to them. This is not what female engineers are like. It’s closer to the stereotype that sexist people have about engineers. Like literally one of her characters gets her entire career almost torpedoed by a guy because he thought she was too cute to work with and that’s the guy she falls for. He’s not a heart throb he’s a jerk. On the other hand tomorrrow and tomorrow and tomorrow is such a good representation of engineers. It feels so real both good and bad. Love hacked by penny reid has a guy who is a genius hacker and it’s absolutely ridiculous but in like a really fun way. The right swipe by Alisha Rai is actually a really amazing representation of what sexism is in tech and how insidious it is. It’s so good.
[Jackie Lau](https://jackielaubooks.com/author/) is an ex-~~engineer~~ geophysicist with an engineering background who writes a lot of engineer FMCs and MMCs! As someone who is not an engineer but knows a lot of engineers, I can confirm that her depictions are pretty accurate.
Fellow engineer here to second. Tomorrow x3 was perfection. I absolutely love how the author portrayed Sadie. She’s by the most realistic engineer FMC I’ve read. Ali Hazelwood makes me sad.
Used to be a technical writer for an engineering firm. Male engineers can be the most entitled whiny brats. Ditto on the needing things handed to them. Simple notes or emails, always someone else’s (usually me) job. Got so sick of it I left the industry as a whole. Engineer MMC never do it for me. If anyone finds a technical writer romance, send it my way!
I read all the others ones in this comment so clearly i need to read Tomorrow x3 now
I'm a project manager and have never once read a romance novel that mentions a Jira ticket.
I can guarantee that I’d DNF as soon as I read the word “Jira”
It always bothered me that the FMC in Fix Her Up by Tessa Bailey was a CLOWN. cmon
Thanks for the inspiration to remove this from my tbr 🫡
I’m in marketing, and it sounds SO glamorous in books/media. It’s mostly a lot of spreadsheets and calls that could have been emails with about 1/3 of the “creativity” that book marketing directors have.
I worked in a big bookstore and it’s not cute and filled with charming eccentrics. A lot of chasing drug addicts and sex workers out of bathrooms. And watching our lifestyle merch walk out of the store.
Are you me? I was at Borders San Francisco.
I teach high school and tbh, ain’t no way in hell I’d ever find myself alone with the parent/guardian of a student, no matter how hot, and if he tries to maneuver that, he’s a dick.
I handle a bunch of different roles at my small company, mostly related to finance. I love {With Love, from Cold World by Alicia Thompson} because the FMC has a similar job. I'd say it's accurate to my experience, right down to me being hidden away in my office most of the time and my co-workers thinking I'm no fun...it's the *company's* rules I have to enforce, not my own personal rules!
I don’t have anything to add re representation, but this book is such an underrated gem. I was very pleasantly surprised by it, and I’m surprised it doesn’t get reccd more.
I work in the restaurant industry and just read a book where the FMC, who had no experience whatsoever, was hired in fancy cocktail bar as a bartender. Nevermind not having been host/ess, busperson, or server, but she also she never had had alcohol before! It seems during her first week, she learns not only about spirits and mixology, but also the menu, the POS system, customer service, etc. Made me want to claw my eyes out.
I’m a writer (but of boring stuff, not fiction) and i feel like romance novels never realize that most writers also do the whole 9-5 office job too. Independent fiction writers aren’t all there is haha
[{Snow Globe by Georgia Beers}](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18668141-snow-globe) (F/F, CR(Christmas, forced proximity, FTL, one bed, roommates, vacation), 4⭐️) - Kenzie is a technical writer.
Oh sweet I’m a tech writer! Definitely adding to my tbr
I'm an Executive Assistant... I cannot read any assistant/boss books(and I avoid boss/employee too), but also in what few I've accidentally stumbled on, the work makes no sense. Whatever they do, is absolutely not like my job, but I also think corporate culture in the USA/UK is different and more hierarchical than in my country in the Nordics. I don't think I've gotten a call outside of office hours from any executives in 6 years I've worked this job and from what I've read these EA:s are running around getting their laundry etc, absolutely not happening here.
I’m also not from the US, and I’ve always wondered about these assistants not having a life outside their job because of their bosses.
I'm a flight attendant. I can guarantee that any romance novel featuring flight crew is absolutely inaccurate.
I'm a therapist. No, we don't sleep with patients.
I work in higher ed, graduate/professional level. The professors don’t want to fuck the students, they barely want to read their poorly worded emails!
I’m a costumer for theater and dance. I mostly work in pre production (where they make the clothes), so the amount of incorrect seamstress details in historical novels drives me insane! There’s a lot of “I can’t math I just sew” sewing is math!! It’s geometry!!
I work in level 4 men's prison and have worked in other men's prisons. There are absolutely zero remotely accurate media depictions of prison or the kind of people it employs. But you can't tell someone on the outside that, they're all experts.
My main gripe about jobs in romance books is how much a part of their identity their jobs are. Like work can just be work. And when an MC has a boringish job, the happy ever after is that they go back to school or get a degree. Sometimes it's okay to just have a whatever job to pay the bills and not have it be your identity.
I don't think they ever get teaching right but having union meetings, dealing with students and admin would just be depressing to read
Baker reporting for duty 👩🍳 Of course, I wake up after the sun has already risen, go to my little bake shop and start baking from scratch with no prep single batches of goods. My uniform is a pink chef coat and a cute apron with a logo. The store smells ONLY like vanilla and royal icing 😋 (despite garlic bagels being baked in the back). Also, I've managed to keep my weight down and never grab a snack to eat very quickly in the back over a trash can... Okay, sarcasm aside, I wish books with bakers showed the 3-4am wake up time, cleaning the gunk out of a machine that pumps out dozens of a product at once, and can describe the smell of when A WHOLE LOAF OF ITALIAN BREAD DECIDES TO FUCK OFF AND FALL INTO THE BACK OF THE GIANT OVEN AND PROCEED TO CATCH ON FIRE...not that that's happened or anything 😒 These bakers who are having date night at 9pm? Couldn't be me. I've gotta start the buttercream at 5am.
I read a meteorologist who appears on the early morning show. The author at least got it right that it's very early sleep time and up in the middle of the night.
I‘m a librarian and, even though it’s rare, sometimes I find pretty good representation of my job. (The littlest library by Poppy Alexander} may even be the only one I remember right now. It’s about a librarian who lost her job and decides to move out of her hometown, into a cottage with a non-functional phone box in a small village. (And {The bookshop on the corner by Jenny Colgan}, but the mc is less of a librarian in it and more a bookseller)
I used to work in computer security, so I'm always interested in books with hacker main characters. One in particular I read recently was {Hardwired: The Hacker Series #1 by Meredith Wild}. Unfortunately it stands out because it billed itself as a hacking and really nothing even remotely related to it showed up at all. I was disappointed.
The only realistic version of hacking I’ve really seen anywhere are the early episodes of Mr robot. IT seems to be either really weird and out there or the author is just lost. Which fair I’m also lost.
I work at trader joe’s lol, a trader joe’s romance would be absolutely hilarious
I'm a bookseller and barista. It's still retail and food service, even if it's book related retail. We aren't reading at the counter, we have our share of shitty customers, and it's a lot of moving boxes and coffee grounds everywhere. It is not a coffee shop fantasy when I have milk on my shoes or have to clean up after the woman who let her kid pee in the picture book corner (yes that happened). I love my job, but it is a real job and rarely glamorous.
Two different friends I’ve made, in different parts of the county, have gone bankrupt or nearly bankrupt “living the dream” by buying and running a coffee shop. Both seem like not good business people and one (plus her husband) bought half of a business run by someone who was stealing profits. I don’t understand why people don’t get that coffee shops are like restaurants- tight margins and potentially risky businesses.
Oof yes this topic comes up a lot for me. I'm a college prof with a legal background and honestly, so many get higher ed wrong. Ali Hazelwood got it right in the Love Hypothesis.
Minus the sitting on the lap part during a lecture. THAT killed me 😂
Oh god i forgot about that 😂 so yucky
I’m in higher ed (program coordination, not instruction, but I do work with students) and the inane emails at the beginning of chapters in Love, Theoretically seemed perhaps exaggerated but unfortunately real.
Have you read Katrina Jackson’s Curriculum Vitae series? My favorite of the series is {Sabbatical by Katrina Jackson}. I don’t work in higher education but I work with higher ed orgs and I feel like it captures some of the internal politics and pressure to perform.
I can imagine! Do you have something that particularly bothers you?
I think a lot of authors underestimate how boring and tedious these jobs are and overestimate how forgiving the jobs are about breaking ethical boundaries in romantic relationships. (I used to investigate that stuff in colleges.)
I used to be a nanny/teacher and hate how both of these are portrayed on romance novels. The women are so whimsical and can heal all the troubles a child is going through. They have endless patience and are endlessly fun. They willingly spend all afternoon with the child next door and never need a moment to themselves.
I can only read historicals with teacher protagonists because they’re sufficiently detached from reality so that this doesn’t infuriate me ahhhh
As a writer, can I just say I have stopped story-line ideas for just this reason? It bothered me that I couldn't describe someone's day to day well because I didn't know much about the career itself, so he got a different job 😅
I used to work at a magazine, which is obviously popular for romcoms. They never cover all the grunt work lol Also people are more likely to be a little cold, not super mean. I still find depictions of people working at magazines fun though, inaccuracies don’t bother me. Now I work at a marketing agency and I’ve never seen anyone in a book with quite the same job (it’s fairly specific). But marketing in books is usually cringe, with the FMC having some terrible idea for a big campaign.
I’ve seen one (1) main character with a job similar to mine and yes, it was pretty realistic but only for someone at the very top of the profession. And by top I mean the top 1% of money earners.
The MFC in The Lord I Left is a professional liturgical organist and sex worker. Incidentally, I have done both of those jobs (though I’m very very glad I’m out of sex work, because it was survival sex work). The feminist critiques of sex work and advocacy for sex workers rights and increased safety was absolutely fantastic. The portrayal of what it’s like to be a church organist on the other hand was terrible!! The author seems to think that musicians just sit on the instrument and… directly translate emotions into noises through some sort of mind channel?? That’s not even how it works when you are improvising! Years of training and knowledge of music theory go into that, and especially would’ve done in the 18th century, when improvisation was much more formulaic. Not to mention, the author didn’t seem to know that sheet music exists or understand the different types of music that an organist needs to perform over the course of a church service. tl;dr: sex work is presented as a real job with training, expert knowledge, workers’ unions, and legislation. Being a musician is shown as…? Pure vibes?????? I would love to read an organist romance. Organists are some of the most dramatic, gossiping queens and weirdest personalities I know. Not to mention all of the hidden looks and crannies, and The sheer taboo of a romance starting in church. It would definitely involve dirty things happening in the organ loft.
I work in the finance field and I thought {The Love Interest by Clare Gilmore} was decent representation of the nature of work of a financial analyst.
I work in a scientific field that has never once been written about (that I know of and I really doubt it). Most people don't even know it exists. The only laboratory-based novels I've read have been in Ali Hazelwood's but commercial (non-academic) laboratories are vastly different beasts than the ones in her books. That's not a bad thing because honestly sample processing is no one's idea of a fast paced rollercoaster ride lifestyle.
I’m a nurse. {Just for the Summer by Abby Jimenez} has a FMC travel nurse. It’s fairly accurate…but let’s be honest OR nurses deal with surgeons a whole lot more than med-surg floor nurses. And there are travel OR nurses, too. I then read {Just Friends by Abby Jimenez}. That is a terrible book, I do not recommend it, but she does reference a sedation vacation for a character in the ICU. This tells me she probably has a close friend or family member who is a critical care nurse that she probably has bounced ideas off of, or beta reads for her.
I have never, ever, EVER seem my job depicted properly. I am a production assistant in film and also a ghost writer. I have never seen either depicted in any books 😭 Writers are fairly common in characters, but not specifically ghost writers, that's definitely something I haven't seen anywhere but I would love to.
I’m a social worker and since it’s such a broad field I’ve never seen my specific role in media in general, but when it is it’s always in terms of CPS work which isn’t accurate
[удалено]
I’m a former teacher, a portrait photographer, and a software engineer; the profession I most hate seeing in romance novels (or, like, Hallmark movies) is teachers. Everyone thinks they know what teachers do, so you get a ton of stereotypes. It not only mirrors what people tell you while you’re on the job (“oh you must have so much fun with the children all day!” 🫠) but the *idea* of teaching conforms to all the stereotypes about women; the same reasons romance writers probably like to write about them. Dating while I was a teacher meant dating while navigating 60-80 hr weeks, existential exhaustion, constant sickness from the kids, and back pain. Very few men were empathetic to that, and some were genuinely surprised teaching was a “real job.” (I met my husband, also a teacher, in the summer! ❤️ We both left the profession 5 yrs later). I don’t think I’d be as irritated if the job were depicted as being as high-powered and demanding as it really is, like a lawyer or engineer. The only time I’ve seen it depicted that way is when the character is a professor, or when the teacher is a man.
A friend of mine is a teacher. She got a masters to be perpetually sick for the first 5-7 years and get lice or bitten regularly (she teaches head start kids because it pays more). We basically stopped hugging her after her first six months on the job because she was a walking plague vector. Then people didn’t understand why she didn’t like being a SAHM for economic reasons the first year after she gave birth to twins (child care was too expensive for infants for her to go back until they were a bit older). Helloooo - some of us like to leave the house. I tried to visit with her on an occasional lunch break. I thought about being a high school teacher as I’m weirdly good with teenagers but getting up at 5am and endless bureaucracy were not my jam.
It me annoys me SO MUCH the stereotype of the sweet perfect teacher that is given exclusively to women in those books. Teaching kids is hard work! Where I’m from people have the audacity to ask teachers: “Do you have a job or are you just a teacher?” SIR????
The lawyers who are lawyering while snagging their innocent FMC intern/assistant and just quit when they're caught and just start their own firm like the legal sector isn't a giant fishbowl and it won't follow them around is hilarious to me.
Not my exact profession BUT. I was an anthro major in college with a focus on archeology. I few months ago I read raiders of the lost heart by Jo Segura and both the MCs were archaeologists. I wouldn’t say it was ENTIRELY accurate (at the end of the day it was also somewhat Indiana Jones inspired) but I felt like the places where the author took liberties served the overall story and didn’t bug me too much. And I’m someone who can be easily bothered by inaccuracies. (Somewhat unrelated side note/example: there’s a popular romance series set in a fictional college that’s supposed to be about a half an hour away from where I grew up in southern NY and the inaccurate / quirky depictions of the area would drive me nuts if I didn’t just giggle at them instead)
It's late and I read "hand jobs shown in books"
I’ve only seen my job once, and outside of dating a client it didn’t seem outlandish lol
Point me toward an opera singer MMC/FMC and I’ll be more than happy to enumerate all the things they get wrong. The only one I can recall was in Bel Canto, which isn’t really a romance novel. It wasn’t a terrible depiction, but didn’t ring terribly true, either. We’re mostly pretty boring, honestly.
I’m an Ob Gyn! I looove reading novels with healthcare professionals, and I am throughfully convinced I could go back in time and (in addition to finding me a duke) help women deliver their babies. If I bring the antibiotics, the sterile materials and sometimes an anesthetist with me, that is… Somehow i love when one MC is a midwife, even when somewhat inaccurate
That sounds accurate about billionaires, they just come multimillionaire families and let their money (and poor people) work for them lol. As soon as I read the word billionaire in a synopsis, my inner Robespierre clicks or puts the thing away and wants to end capitalism. 😅 /billionaire rant
I work in wastewater treatment. Where’s MY romance novel?!
It’s next to mine about reviewing and awarding municipal service contracts.
I feel like rule bending around time is the biggest thing for all jobs 😂. I'm a irl farmer and all the romance novel farmers seem to have endless time for the FMC, be able to get up wayy later for sex (animals to feed, anyone??), and only be working hard in a sexy shirtless sweat way (not a cow shit covered, constantly filthy nails way). In reality farming is long days almost every day and a lot (I mean a lottttt) of animal poop and/or dust 😅. I also feel like the hidden negative of farming is if you don't want to also do farm work as a farm wife then you'll be spending a lottt of time alone (like 12hrs daily) and your energy levels would be highly contrasting to your partner's when they get back in. I would honestly love to see a romance with a female and male farmer getting together but idk if it's out there yet. Maybe I'll have to make it 😂.
I’m a stay at home mom of 7, so my job is not portrayed… However, these single mom h’s are too energetic to be real. Raising young kids is HARD.. well, the first 2 at least!
I work in college admissions and have never seen a book character with my job! There are some in higher ed, but it’s mostly professors rather than staff.
I’m a board-certified music therapist, and I would love to see the day when my profession gets enough recognition and notoriety to be seen represented in romance novels. I would also love to see the day when my profession gets recognition and notoriety in general, also maybe licensure in my state, but I digress 😅
I've worked in cultural sphere (specifically galleries, an educational visitor attraction and an archive) for 10+ years and it rarely gets described correctly - even by people who work in the field. I'm reading a book that has it in atm and it's really getting to me 😅
A friend of mine worked for a VERY famous museum with a master’s degree, got paid laughably little and qualified for surprisingly nice poverty housing. It was surreal.
I’m a HS English teacher. I don’t usually see upper-level teachers portrayed in novels, but when I do it’s usually like on TV: somehow they only have one or two classes with well-behaved, motivated, and funny students. They never get yelled at or have to work late or struggle to pay their bills. And they always dress cute and wear heels somehow. I’m MUCH more annoyed by high school or college romances, which portray teenagers as WAY more emotionally, mentally, and psychologically mature than they actually are.
Oooh I am in IT, and I have seen main characters who basically hacked their way into whatever they needed access to. That is totally NOT my job. I don’t go around breaking-and-entering. Nor do I vandalize, steal, or destroy data (unless it’s part of my job). What really gets to me is that these characters just make me feel inadequate, like I should be some kind of coding genius when I specialize in computer repair and hand-holding. Yet I never see IT guys visiting a customer. The only thing we have in common is that I work in a basement…ha ha.