My romantic lead is revealed to be the villain the whole time. Basically, he's like Hans-ing it (Frozen's Hans). To be clear, he actually does love the heroine — he's trying to (covertly) stick it to the governments of his world so they'll collapse and he can emerge as ruler with her as queen. Both of them are descended from (long lost) royalty, so it's like a "divine" birth rite type of deal. So, character arc: seems like a good, well meaning chap but whoops here comes world dominating Hans personality –> struggling with divisive political views with the heroine/rest of the world. —> resolution. Conclusion? don't be rude and try to rule the world for the sake of it. Comes out on the other side beat up but ultimately okay.
Is "genuine love but divided by strong opposing political/moral views" enough for a forbidden romance type? Is it interesting enough?
**to be clear, I am planning this as a trilogy
Yes, it is enough and I think it can be interesting!! You might want to have him do something that shows his genuine love or something that he thinks shows his genuine love but she gets super angry and stuff and they have a gigantic fight and then BOOM something bad happens where he has to sacrifice something for her. agghghghhghgh I love this stuff! I love "forbidden" romance. :)
OKay, you also want to make sure that he truly believes in his government or something. If he's like, "ohh, I don't actually support my government, I actually love you and I'm unloyal", that stuff is just really stupid.
I think that the character should grow. If he has the same views throughout the entire book/series, it can be quite boring and I'm always disappointed by that. He should be sort of messed up, I mean he IS the villain.
Are you planning to make it all from the heroines p.o.v. or will his pop in will there be any way to know hes actually the bad guy? Same note when do you plan to reveal he is the bad guy? Also how do you plan on resolving it will it be a fight to the death ,if this is a fighting type of novel, or will she try subtly changing him? Its a great idea but the better question is how are you gonna build it up and take it down. That's what really makes the romance forbidden, weather she choses to continue seeing him even though she knows what he's doing or note.
Point of View style. Heroine is lonely, and when he crosses to the Shadow world to find her, she takes that as a big gesture of love (like Destined Lovers). Planning it as a trilogy, so his villain reveal will be the cliffhanger of book1 - I am writing it to make the reader think the romantic lead and the villain are two separate characters. The reveal is to the readers though, not the heroine/other characters. He's doing shady stuff but in a "Long Con" way. Like setting up dominoes, and waiting for the pieces to fall. So by night a villain but by day, a "dashing prince" type (at least in her eyes). Genuinely believes in what he's doing. Subtle hint of external corruption wearing on his mind via a third party that makes him develop in this villainous way. (recap: Earth is the "bad place" created from a magical cataclysm. They're part of the same species, and the way the species is structured she's is the one female capable of successive reproduction. Like ant/bee queens. So if he can't get to her, the species goes extinct. He is driven by biological instinct). When he takes her to the True world, she's just happy to be there and learn about this awesome place and her awesome new boyfriend (totally starstruck, you get the idea). So when he's revealed as a villain partway through book2 she struggles with it. She wants just wants him, not all this political strife. That's not what she thought she was signing up for. So she falters a bit, staying with him out of emotional dependence but eventually walks away. But they can't stay apart. Their biology is driving them nuts, .. like really, really strong "mating" instincts. Almost a doomed romance. He's got issues, she has to grow up. Neither can stay with each other as they are…but there's that biological instinct to seek each other out. So there's that emotional tension of recognizing he's not good for her and having to accept that. And the guilt of refusing him not only brings him suffering but essentially the extinction of the species.
And then there's that possibility that he's ultimately a puppet of a Big Bad. Does this big bad actually exist or is it just wish-fulfillment that she can slay the proverbially dragon and bring back her lover? Even if this "dragon" exists and is slain, will he ever be the same? Was he ever allowed to be his own person? Or was this really who he was all along?
This sounds amazing to be honest but is there going to be another potential love interest or a friend who wants to help her out of this situation but knows they cant really do anything because they know that if they break them up that it would ultimately lead to the extinction of their entire species. Or could there be like an entire colony (going with the ant theme here) of other people that could possibly reproduce with her if she so choses to. And how technologically advanced is this universe could there be a way for her to artificially become pregnant and continue on the species that way in order to escape her (possibly abuse because he's a bad guy hiding behind a princely mask) boyfriend, and still continue the spiecies. Could this government be plotting to kill her to finally end their species and maybe that's why he goes 'bad' because he's really just trying to protect her and only doing it the best way he knows how. Who will the side characters be will she have parents (who are telling her this guys bad for her) or will they be gone because of the big cataclysm that happened before. Will she having siblings are they older younger, that may try helping out?
Ok I'll bullet point this LOL
is there going to be another potential love interest or a friend who wants to help her out of this situation but knows they cant really do anything because they know that if they break them up that it would ultimately lead to the extinction of their entire species.
No other love interest planned at this point, only because as a reader I find love triangles annoying. She will have friends that travel with her but they get separated by accident once they get to the True World.
Or could there be like an entire colony (going with the ant theme here) of other people that could possibly reproduce with her if she so choses to.
Nope. That's one of the key things fueling my romantic lead/villain.
And how technologically advanced is this universe could there be a way for her to artificially become pregnant and continue on the species that way in order to escape her (possibly abuse because he's a bad guy hiding behind a princely mask) boyfriend, and still continue the spiecies.
It's mostly spirit/magic based. There is some technology but in like a steampunk way. More like medieval, only because advanced technology as on Earth isn't needed. In Shadow world (Earth) humanity has evolved to create all sorts of tech bc they don't have the magic to do it.
Could this government be plotting to kill her to finally end their species and maybe that's why he goes 'bad' because he's really just trying to protect her and only doing it the best way he knows how.
There is no one overarching government. Just several governments that are connected by economy. The remnants of their species are nonreproductive and are in hiding. Romantic lead thinks he's doing the right thing but is being corrupted by someone else (offscreen, not interactive with other characters until book 3).
Who will the side characters be will she have parents (who are telling her this guys bad for her) or will they be gone because of the big cataclysm that happened before.
I'll put this in a reply later. Too long to type out now LOL
Will she having siblings are they older younger, that may try helping out?
Only child
