i’ve been thinking about this for a while, but two romance books i picked up this week really made me question what’s going on with contemporary romance. both were published in 2025 by two different authors, and i swear they felt like they were written by the same person. and i don’t mean because they had similar tropes or anything like that, but because the actual writing was SO similar that, for a moment, i genuinely wondered if they were the same author writing under different pen names. but NO, that wasn’t the case. the sentence structures, the vocabulary, the metaphors, the dialogue, the way the characters thought about their feelings, all of it felt eerily similar across two completely different books. i know this doesn't prove anything, but it’s honestly wild that i picked up two books by different authors and came away feeling like i’d been reading the same person the entire time.
this is where ai comes into the conversation for me. i don't have proof that either of these books was written with ai, and i'm not accusing the authors of using it, but there are so many examples and discussions out there about the way ai writes, the words it tends to favour, the sentence structures it repeats, and the weird little habits that make its prose so recognisable. and then you pick up a book, start noticing those same things, and it's difficult not to wonder if there's a connection.
for example, why does everything have to be sharp? a sharp smile, a sharp laugh, a sharp breath, a sharp look, a sharp edge to someone's voice. and why does everything have to happen deliberately? someone deliberately tilts their head, deliberately looks away, deliberately touches someone's skin, deliberately takes some steps, deliberate something that could've been described in a much more natural way. then there's quietly, something about him, something in her expression, something neither of them could explain, something they couldn't name. i know these are perfectly normal words and expressions, but when you start noticing how often they appear in this kind of prose, you can't really unsee it.
and the metaphors. oh my god, the metaphors. silence that screams, tension that crackles, gazes that burn, words that cut like knives, hearts that stutter. everything is either burning, breaking, aching or somehow settling into someone's bones. and i say this as someone who LOVES lyrical prose and purple prose, i reaaaaally love it but cmon, this is ridiculous. i don't need writing to be simple or minimalist to enjoy it, but there's a difference between an author having a flowery writing style and a book throwing the same recycled metaphors at me every other page. sometimes i read these descriptions and wonder if the author actually wanted to describe the scene that way or if they just felt like every sentence needed to sound beautiful.
the sentence structures are another thing that really gets me. the constant “it wasn't anger. it was grief.” or “he wasn't looking at her. he was seeing her.” or “not because she wanted him, but because she couldn't bear the thought of losing him.” why does everything have to be phrased like a revelation? these constructions can work, obviously, but when they're used over and over again, they become so predictable. you can practically guess how the sentence is going to end before you've finished reading it.
BUT THE THING THAT HAS BEEN BOTHERING ME THE MOSG (and this one really pisses me off and makes me even more suspicious of ai usage) IS THE STACCATO PROSE, PLEASE. i understand that it's a writing style. i understand that sometimes you NEED short sentences, fragments and one-sentence paragraphs to create tension or emphasise a particular moment. i'm not against it at all, trust me. what i don't understand is WHY does itt feels like EVERYONE is writing like this now. like, just... why? you'll get a paragraph describing something, then (i will put here an
“He looked at her.
She looked away.
Neither of them spoke.
The silence was unbearable.
She wanted him to say something.
Anything.
But he just stood there, watching her, and somehow that was worse.”
and so on and on and on... EVERY SINGLE THOUGHT gets its own paragraph. every movement needs emphasis, every feeling needs a dramatic pause, and every vaguely important realisation has to be presented like it's the most devastating thing that's ever happened to a human being. and listen, i know this style can be effective. that's precisely why writers use it. but when the ENTIRE BOOK is written like this, it stops being effective. there's no variation in the rhythm, no room for a paragraph to develop naturally, no sense of the prose flowing from one thought to another. it's just sentence, paragraph break, sentence, paragraph break, another sentence that is supposed to make you feel something. sometimes i genuinely feel like i'm reading a collection of tumblr posts instead of a novel.
this is one of the things that makes me think of ai, because i've seen so many examples of ai-generated writing that rely on these same patterns. short, emphatic sentences. repetitive constructions. dramatic little conclusions at the end of paragraphs. everything is written as though it's trying to sound profound. obviously, using staccato prose doesn't mean someone is using ai, but WHY does this particular style seem to be everywhere lately? why do so many different authors seem to be making the exact same choices?
the overexplaining doesn't help either. a character does something, and then the narration explains what it means. someone looks away, and we get a paragraph about how they're afraid of being vulnerable. someone feels jealous, and instead of letting that jealousy show through their behaviour, the narration gives us a whole internal monologue explaining their feelings. characters are constantly analysing themselves in ways that feel almost too articulate, even when they're supposed to be confused about what they're feeling in the first place.
and the dialogue! why does everyone sound the same? everyone is witty, everyone has the perfect comeback, everyone knows exactly what to say at the right moment. even during an argument, characters seem capable of delivering these perfectly constructed lines that sound like they were written to be posted on social media. nobody says something stupid, nobody makes a joke that doesn't land, nobody gets awkward in a way that isn't immediately turned into something charming. it's like the characters are all sharing one personality, just with different names.
i think what bothers me is that all these things start adding up. one metaphor doesn't mean anything, one sentence fragment doesn't mean anything, one repetitive construction doesn't mean anything. but when a book is FULL of the same vocabulary, the same sentence patterns, the same dramatic pauses and the same way of describing emotions, it starts feeling less like an individual writing style and more like a formula.
i have read about ai writing habits, compare those examples to what i'm seeing in published books, and i start wondering. i don't think that's an unreasonable reaction, and again, i can't prove anything about those two books, and i don't want this to turn into accusing authors without evidence. but i also don't think we should pretend there's nothing worth discussing here just because we can't definitively identify which books have been written with ai. i also wonder if some authors genuinely think readers won't notice. do they assume that as long as the prose is grammatically correct, the metaphors sound pretty and the sentences are polished, nobody will question it? because people ARE starting to notice (or that's what i want to believe). i'm seeing more discussions about these writing habits, about how similar different authors sound, and about how difficult it can be to distinguish one writing voice from another.
and honestly, that's what worries me more than anything else. i don't want every romance book to sound the same, i don't want every author to use the same metaphors, the same sentence structures, the same dramatic little paragraphs and the same dialogue. i want different writing styles. i want to read something and feel that there's an actual person behind the words, someone with their own peculiarities, their own way of looking at the world, their own rhythm. because you can write about the same trope, the same kind of relationship, even the same basic storyline, and still create something that feels completely different from another author's work. that's part of what makes reading so interesting to me. and i hate the idea that we're moving towards a literary landscape where everything is becoming increasingly interchangeable, where you can pick up two books by different authors and feel like you're reading the same voice.
i don't have proof that ai was involved in those two books published in 2025. what i have is a reading experience that made me question why they felt so similar, and a growing list of writing habits that keep reminding me of the examples i've seen of ai-generated prose. maybe it's ai, maybe it's authors imitating the same trends, maybe it's a combination of several things. but i really want to know if other people have noticed this too, because lately i've been finding it harder and harder to ignore.
have you read romance books published in 2024 or 2025 or 2026 that made you feel the same way? not because they had similar tropes, but because the actual prose felt like it could've been written by the same person? and do you ever read certain passages and find yourself wondering if the author has been using ai, even though you obviously can't prove it? (you don't have to name those books, really)
