Behind the Sundays: HBG Files #1

"Why do readers fall for the Heart Breakers?"

Welcome to blog post number one in the Miniseries, "HBG Files." This post is exactly what it sounds like: why do we like it when characters who don't want love fall in love? My guess is it's a combination of reasons. Here is my personal insight.

I think readers love watching the evolution of a character that goes from practically running from love to embracing it. Seeing the bad boy jump through hurdles to avoid love just to end up being the biggest lover boy around. As a reader myself, I think the reward is watching a man yearn for the one woman who changed his views on love.

Personality and looks

Who doesn't like a good-looking man chasing after a woman who is deserving of everything the world has to offer? In the world of books, men who are characterized as heartbreakers tend to already be set up as "ideal husbands." They've got the looks, the money, and the vibes. Unfortunately, they are missing the most important component, the desire to be in love or to have relationships.

I know that I love to read about a good-looking couple, fictional or otherwise. So, when I read about a good-looking woman catching the attention of a good-looking man, I desperately want to read about their journey. Not to mention, I love to watch the evolution of a man when they go from single to taken. That transition from a bachelor pad to a love nest. When a man goes from entertaining anything on two legs to stiff-arming any random woman who smiles too hard at them.

The attractiveness of getting something that is off limits

We all know how enticing window shopping can be. That nice bag that gleams in the light with that premium leather, pristine stitching, and shiny gold hardware. The issue is that the bag costs more than you're willing to pay. Not to compare a man to an expensive bag, but there are men that we wouldn't dare entangle ourselves with, but they look so good from a distance. In a book, the MMC, that's covered in tattoos, unhinged, and keeps a black card in his wallet, is that bag in the window. The currency we use to pay is the hours we sit with our noses between the spine of the book. I don't know about you, but I am willing to invest hours in a good book featuring a fine man with deep pockets willing to change the FMC's entire life.

The attractiveness of watching a man fall in love should be studied. That nostalgia that we get when an MMC confesses his love to the FMC. The way we all become frustrated when the MMC swears that he isn't in love, but we all know he is. Or even the satisfaction with the part of the book where the MMC finally claims the FMC as their own, warning other MCs to completely disappear from the FMC's life. I think we all love it when the FMC gets the one thing that the MMC declares is off limits, his heart.

The Heart Breaker Gang and their "avoidance" issues

In the series "Heart Breaker Gang," I explore the different causes of a group of men's distaste for love. Why are they open to everything but love? They all get the chance to experience that one FMC that they just cannot stop thinking about. The woman who gets under their skin and makes them risk it all. The turn in the tides, you could even say.

So why do I believe that readers fall for MMCs that are heartbreakers? Simply because they have something that we want to read about. We want a chance to experience what a heartbreaker could be like when they are in love, without real-world repercussions.

Dive into the world of the Heart Breaker Gang, starting with "The Dare: Remastered," available now on Amazon.

See you next Sunday for the next edition of "Behind the Sundays: HBG Files".