The Things We Leave Unfinished

“My ruined heart jolted—just like every heroine in one of Gran’s books. He was the most gorgeous man I’d ever seen, and as the now-ex-wife of a movie director, I’d seen my fair share.”

This early passage captures the meet-cute, the first encounter between the protagonists that precipitates the romance. The moment, told from Georgia’s point of view, reveals her character’s obstacle, the wariness due to her previous heartbreak, but also uses the convention of instant attraction, which is a popular feature of the romance genre.

“But I wanted her. I was supposed to know this woman—I felt it with every fiber of my being.”

Noah also experiences the romance device of feeling immediately drawn to Georgia. He reflects on how he has used the ploy in his own novels, playing on the theme of romance elements from fiction crossing over into real life.

“Noah Harrison filled the doorway, but it felt like he consumed the room. He had that kind of presence—the kind that other men paid thousands of dollars in acting classes to try to pull off for Damian’s films. The kind those actors had to have because they were playing roles Gran had written in her books.”

Georgia’s strong physical attraction to Noah is a major part of his appeal to her. The idealization of the hero in his physical attractiveness and emotional integrity is another technique common to the romance—one of the unrealistic expectations Noah accuses romance books of establishing.