On the art of Romantic Subplots!

Edited By VANSHIKA PRUTHI 3RD YEAR ENGLISH HONS.

What makes a love story truly memorable? Is it the grand gesture, the small acts of love or maybe the sweeping declaration? In my opinion, it’s subtler than that. A protective glance here, a lingering brush of clothes there, or even an almost unnoticeable smirk from the usually serious character. I feel the true beauty of romance shines when it’s written as a subplot. A full-blown romance novel could shower us with its kisses and confessions and tropes. But a subplot makes us savor every flicker of intimacy between characters, because we know, between a high-stakes fantasy and a suspenseful mystery, how fragile and fleeting they are.

I like to think of romance books as a cake with slightly too much frosting: sweet at first, but ultimately too overwhelming. A subplot, however, adds just the right amount of sweetness. This ephemerality makes us value what we have even more. Each bite, and in the case of books, each interaction between two characters becomes infinitely more powerful and valuable.

More than that, romance subplots also breathe life back into characters. When love isn’t a character’s sole purpose, we see them as who they actually are, whether that's warriors, scholars, detectives, or tricksters. They’re whole people who happen to fall in love, rather than lovers who happen to exist. Their love doesn’t overshadow them; it illuminates them. Since the point of the book isn’t just for these two characters to end up together, every choice they make feels deliberate and almost sacred, like a testament to their love for each other. That’s what makes subplots unforgettable. Instead of an inferno devouring everything in its path, you get sparks, quietly catching in the dark, flaring brighter and brighter as they draw closer. And I know I’d much rather be undone and consumed whole by the barest of those sparks than walk into a fire already burning.