TITLE: YA
GENRE: SECRET
I first spotted him as I stood at the top of the ballroom’s sweeping stairs; his luminosity, perfectly tousled brown hair, and chiseled features drew the light from everyone around him. The breath left my lungs like I had been punched in the gut, and I tried to steady myself from this emotional tsunami.
It seemed impossible to tear my eyes away, but my dad’s aide interrupted my reverie by speaking.
“Ready, Mr. Secretary?”
My father nodded and gave a thumbs-up. “Born ready, Sam.” Dad let out his trademark guffaw, beaming as he began his descent down the marble stairs to the ballroom below, strutting in his custom-made designer tuxedo and Italian shoes. Music boomed from the speakers hidden around the room while lights glistened off the women’s fancy dress gowns.
Carefully, I straightened my tie and trained my eyes away from that spot below where I knew he had last been standing.
Political Romance?
ReplyDeleteNormally I would just have said Romance but the "Mr. Secretary" comment make it seem like it is based in a political arena.
Romance
ReplyDeleteIt has a First Daughter feel.
Contemporary romance
ReplyDeleteShe's the daughter of the politician but sees her future love interest at some sort of gala.
I CAN'T TELL
ReplyDeleteThe aide, the political figures, the MC's father's clothing and the setting signal contemporary.
But I disagree with others on romance bc the emotional gut punch in the first paragraph isn't clearly positive or negative to me. Could be LGBT romance, could be thriller, could be paranormal.
FWIW, I'd read on for a bit, because i can't tell the genre
I don't know the genre but the MC feels male to me instead of female making me think it's either contemporary or thriller (in part because of the MC's avoidance of looking where his father had been).
ReplyDeleteI'm torn between contemp and paranormal, but the only thing that makes me think paranormal is the luminosity (because this made me think sparkling vampire). The tie almost made me say LGBT but the voice is too female for this to be a boy.
ReplyDeleteGood luck!
Holly
Contemporary romance.
ReplyDeleteRomance since the mc's focused on someone's chiseled features in the opening paragraph.
ReplyDeleteRomance.
ReplyDeleteBecause the MC, straightening his tie, wants to impress the guy who caught his eye.
Romance
ReplyDeleteAlthough the word luminosity did make me think of a particular vampire...
Contemporary, with romantic elements.
ReplyDeleteI was a little ho-hum on this until I realized the MC was male and then I became very interested, especially since it seems he's still in the closet. The closeted gay son of a major politician, who likely has aspirations to the presidency? I'm intrigued.
CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE
ReplyDeleteIt seems like a story with a political and realistically-grounded plot, but the focus on the love interest right out of the gate makes me think this is a romance.
guy/guy contemporary romance
ReplyDeleteAt first I was thinking historical, but then Mr. Secretary is very contemporary. There's also waaay too much "he's so beautiful" for it to be anything other than romance.
Contemporary LGBT romance/drama. Curious as to what the perfect guy actually is to the main character, and if he's actually perfect. The MC seems to know him from before the (charity?) ball or he wouldn't be so emotional. I'm also liking the snapshots of his political family life, but not yet really seeing what the main character himself is like.
ReplyDeleteLGBT romance?
ReplyDeleteI thought it was a classic "girl sees guy and he's gorgeous" thing, until I got to the tie. Now, I understand that girls are allowed to wear ties, but it still seems like a male/male romance. Neat.
Contemporary romance.
ReplyDeleteCONTEMPORARY
ReplyDeleteI have a suspicion that the "he" in the first and last paragraphs is the same person, but I took the one in the last paragraph to mean her dad. Confusing, that.
But this is interesting.
You might pay attention to your word choice as well. "Emotional tsunami" is a good image, but also brings to mind a natural disaster, which may or may not be the connotation you want to drag into this scene. If it's foreshadowing something, great, otherwise consider a small word.
Just my opinion, of course. YMMV :-)
Romance
ReplyDeleteLove at first sight thing. Possibly historical. For a moment, I thought the mc might be Mr. Secretary, but that's dad. The tie adds tension - will a same-sex romance be acceptable in this ballroom? Or to dad?
Contemporary romance.
ReplyDeleteWardrobe of the characters is modern. This sounds like the beginning of Cinderella from the prince's POV.
Contemporary-Gay Romance.
ReplyDeleteWhile a little over the top, all the little details speak romance.
LGBT Romance.
ReplyDeleteLGBT
ReplyDeleteThe MC seems like a boy (wearing a tie, referring to "the" women as if not one of them), and he's reacting to another boy in an emotional "at first sight" way typical of some teen romances.
Other than that, I'm torn between contemporary (Mr. Secretary, Italian shoes, tuxedos, ties).... and sci-fi because I almost took the boy's luminosity literally and imagined that he's an alien.
CONTEMPORARY MALE/ MALE ROMANCE
ReplyDeleteThis one gave me whiplash. The beginning had a feel of a young lady in a regency historical, then all of a sudden it felt like a young man in a modern day political setting.
Romance
ReplyDeleteBut I have to admit I changed my mind. On first read, I thought Coming of Age story. I thought the MC (who I took for a girl until the 'tie' line) was admiring her father. My thought was she longed for a relationship with him, but he was too busy being whoever he was to care.
Then I got to the tie and thought, okay, it's a boy, not a girl. Then I started reading the comments and had to read it again, and it made much more sense as a same sex romance.
This makes me appreciate the cover on a book and the blurb on the back.
CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE
ReplyDeleteI can't point to any details to place it now rather than in the recent past, but the overall tone feels modern.
The focus on how gorgeous the guy is tells me it's romance.
Contemporary LGBT Romance.
ReplyDeleteMr. Secretary, custom made designer tuxedos and Italian shoes, and the booming speakers all point to Contemporary. Straightinging the tie implies male (though could potentially not be), and nobody describes someone as luminous unless they're smitten, so romance.
LGBT Romance
ReplyDeleteThe beginning is definitely romance and the tie made me think the President has a son, not a daughter.
Romance, but there could be intrigue going on there. I think the MC is a boy or young man. He adjusted his tie. Good luck, Sarah.
ReplyDelete