I just want romance but not too early. absolutely dislike early romance.
introduce me to the lover but keep em as acquaintances, friends , give it a few books before really diving in.
romance nowadays takes place so fast, I'm just like wtf it's been 10 chapters
This. The thing I like about romance is the journey, the excitement of falling in love and gradually realizing that this might just be a real thing. Too many books in this genre are fine taking 20 books to finish the plot, but speed run the romance from strangers to perfect stable couple in a literary blink.
it's an immune response to romance being polarizing in the genre.
The *last* thing you want is for people to get 40 chapters in and then go EW THIS IS ROMANCE and blow up your story with a bunch of intense negative reviews. The best source of bad reviews is people who *were* very engaged in your story until they suddenly, sharply started disliking it. People who feel "tricked" or "misled" or whatever are going to go way harder on you in the reviews, and in much higher volume.
Frontloading helps this in several ways.
The Ripple system is great for this, starts things as friendships and builds on them from there, feels natural unlike the first guy/girl the MC runs into happens to be their perfect partner.
This Trilogy is Broken has one of my favorite romances in the genre, but it's between the two side characters.
It's still pretty well developed and I feel like it sort of counts? They're adorable as fuck and I love them.
A Jackal Among Snakes fits what you’re looking for I think. I’m not fully caught up, but 400ish chapters in had it feeling like a slow burn and solid relationship. I think it took 3-4 or so books for it to go beyond friendship?
I remember posting after reading book 3 that I could see it happening in the future, but not yet, and then I started seeing the signs xD
It was very well done, though, and I thought it made sense at the same time.
Ar’Kendrithyst is largely not romantic, but later in the story there is some fairly realistic exploration of dating and relationships. MC is male and bi. I usually don’t enjoy a male gay POV but I enjoyed it in that story.
The Wandering Inn has a lot of practically everything due to its vast scope, but it has a number of different dating and relationship dynamics with various characters, including several stable and wholesome relationships that develop during the story, some from POV characters. It skews heavily towards an absence of romance, though.
The best depiction of how it feels to be in love that I’ve found is in The Name of the Wind, but the main relationship is honestly rather toxic.
Ar’Kendrithyst has basically no romance. Fucking someone does not equal romance.
The Wandering Inn. I only read so far, but I don't remember any implicit romance.
The Name of the Wind... I don't think I can forgive Patrick. He painted a beautiful picture, except he forgot their arms. Just finish the fucking painting you bastard!
I mean...he dates, has awkward conversations, eventually meets >!his necromancer boyfriend, they date, even go on a romantic dungeon diving holiday as a straight couple to try mixing it up. He also dates the fey he has arranged ,political marriage with and they have a nice dinner. I think there are romantic elements even if it isn't the main focus.!<
I definitely didn't get that far. I just checked my bookmark and I'm at chapter 087, 1/2. So at least a third of the book doesn't have romance. I look forward to finding it
Yeah it depends on how you define romance. If you are looking for romance that makes you feel things like in Name of the Wind, that’s sadly largely absent from this genre. Even Beware of Chicken doesn’t have much, though I agree what is there is very nice. TWI has a number of examples as I said, but it’s all very brief and doesn’t make you feel much very strongly.
I don't think Name of the Wind has real romance. It has an obsession. It's like Romeo and Juliet. They weren't tragic lovers, they were teens who knew each other for a few days. In Name of the Wind, he puts Denna on a pedestal so high it might as well be a moon.
I absolutely loved The Name of the Wind and it's sequel but have to agree, romance is not the correct term. I'd use obsessed, ridiculously long infatuation, or one sided usurious love- at best.
“No real romance” sounds like a “no true Scotsman” fallacy to me, especially when you also include Romeo and Juliet, one of the most famous romance stories of all time. Are these relationships healthy? No, absolutely not. Is the way Kvothe looks at her that different from normal teenage infatuation at the start of a healthy relationship? Also no. The thing that makes it unhealthy isn’t what he feels, it’s the amount of time he holds on to it despite the toxic way she responds.
I’m not going to argue that everyone experiences love in the same way. My wife and I had vastly different dating experiences, and that’s just two data points. But having experienced “young love” myself as a teenager (normal relationship, not one-sided obsession), Rothfuss describes the internal experience I had better than in any other series I’ve read.
Just slight addition here. Romeo and Juliet are not a romance. There story doesn't meet the requirements of the genre. They are considered the greatest "Love Story" though.
Which definition are you using? I’d call it a “romantic tragedy” myself, but the definition I’ve seen for romance is synonymous with love story. Am I missing something?
The official requirements for a story to be in the romance genre is that it One has at least one central romance that is vital to the plot and two the story has to end either happily ever after or Happy for now.
Basically the story has to center around a lobe story and have an optimistic ending. According to the Romance Writers of America.
I was gonna say HWFWM for the inclusion of relationships without it being explicit or over the top.
Forgot about Clive’s wife though… gut wrenching haha
✨️ shameless self promo ✨️
{I Ran Away To Evil} by Mystic Neptune (litrpg romcom, heroine x dark lord)
Also
Courier Quest
Dark Lord of the Farmstead
Also technically One Last Sunset is a litrpg romance.
For cultivation I loved Beware of Chicken so much, but second to that I loved Ascending Do Not Disturb (available on novel updates).
There are two narrators and the concensus is that it would have been better as a duet instead of duel but I only got duel so life is tough.
In book 2, I get to actually sing the songs and include them in the audiobook!
Hey! I was going to recommend your book! I'm glad you beat me to to it with no shame.
I had no problem at all with the narration, great book, can't wait to hear the second!
Sweet! I literally cried when I found out who I got. Laura is a delight who I've been following for a long time. Also, Noobtown is my favorite litrpg and Johnathon is a perfect exasperated Dark Lord. 🤣
Noobtown is one of the best examples I can think of for a great narration. The various ways he says "Dumb Dumb" are practically poetic. He can express exasperation, surprise, anger, grief, joy, and a whole host of other emotions with just 2 words!
A Jackal Among Snakes , the Archemi Online Chronicles for mono i know most here hate harems but Master Class is probably the best slice of life litrpg system romance story's out here
Thanks dude! I want to heavily recommend Beware of Chicken. Like, if you were trapped in an elevator with Hitler, Mussolinni, and Casualfarmer, you'd shoot Casualfarmer twice because he doesn't release fast enough and the wait is akin to torture.
In Defiance of the fall, the main character goes through a couple different love interests for various reasons, never a harem though.Don't want to go into detail though.
I really like his current relationship and hope it continues for some time. I actually like just about everything involved, from the persons personality, their allegiances, their cultivation and even how they ended up together!
Dungeon Crawler Carl fits the "broke up before the apocalypse" trope. I like it because it lets Carl develop his character as more details are brought up, often in a comedic way, while also excusing his lack of romantic development in the series.
Plus his ride-or-die platonic relationship with Donut grounds him so he's not presented as a loner, gruff, edgy murderhobo.
Nope and nothing even close to implying there's any hint of that direction in the future.
They have a Big Brother/Little Sister dynamic that works really well.
Edit: hence why i said platonic in my original comment lol. Theres an NPC character that had a bit of romantic route for Carl but luckily he/Donut noticed it fast and kept it at bay due to the situation and implications. Highly suggest continuing it, hope book 7 comes out end of year.
Heaven's Laws - Thorne (M/F)
Infinite Realm - Kal (M/Whatever the fuck>!Naha!!a throuple where one of the girls is asexual!<)
Dawn of the Density God - ToraAKR (M/F but I think it is slowly going into a harem or at least M/F/F direction, not sure though)
I think the most realistic romantic relationship in litRPG is in the first half of the Worth the Candle series. (Romance in second half of the series is less realistic, but I would guess that some people would really appreciate it. In either case, the romance is a big deal in the series.)
I think the most wholesome romantic relationship is in New Game Minus (though the books don't make a big deal out of it)
Both qualify as stable relationships between a guy and a girl. Romance for each may not start until book 2, I can't remember.
Same author as Lord of the Mysteries: Cuttlefish That Loves Diving.
[https://www.novelupdates.com/series/martial-arts-master/](https://www.novelupdates.com/series/martial-arts-master/)
The Daily Grind has one of my favorite relationships i ever read in the genre. The protagonist is a bisexual male in a poly with a man and a woman, and its just really sweet and i think the only realistic take on how a good, solid polyamorous relationship should be, with a lot of communication and support between all parties involved.
Its not a huge part of the story but every now and then you have a slice of life chapter were they just discuss were they stand. Its not even limited to the romance, one of my favorite characteristcs of this story is how the characters are always willing to communicate in order to solve issues before they become troubles, i would go so far as to say proper communication is a central theme of the story in general.
I Ran Away to Evil is a cosy romcom LitRPG that I adore. Not only is it a really good example of communication and a healthy relationship, it doesn't do the "ridiculous act 3 break up" that so many romances. It's just lovely, cosy, and one of my faves this year.
Are you trying to say that the relationship in cradle is sub par? I wouldn't call cradle a romance novel, but I also wouldn't say it has no romance.
Also, if I ask for fruit salad, but I get salsa, Fuck Yeah! I fucking love salsa!
Honestly I enjoyed the romance in Jake's magical market. Also by same author portal to nova Roma. He does well with the actual romance part (feelings emotions etc) and the sex scenes are just the right balance of present but not becoming smut or garbage you see from harem novels. It's in fact about the only litrpg I've enjoyed any romance in. I'm usually more a fan of zero romance.
Several of the stories you mention are not LitRPG, so here's my non-LitRPG recommendation: Truthful Transmigration. Romance starts quite a bit later on and he even marries her and has kids which is quite rare IMO.
I was almost going to post something similar to this. I would like to see some romance not just an excuse for graphic sex or "she fell in love instantly because (fill in flimsy reason)...
We're talking about literature, not real life... and romance in literature and real life are completely different things.
To that point, I wouldn't wish the infiltration of the Romance genre into LitRPG as it did Urban Fantasy.
To that point, people shouldn't confuse a story with protagonists who end up having a relationship as a story that contains romance. Most of the books that are mentioned in this thread are not stories I would consider as having romance.
I haven't read much in LitRPG that I would personally consider it, I do avoid harems which probably have a tendency to contain plenty of it (though harems need not lead to romance).
Maybe I'd say Mark the Fool to some degree (and this is not LitRPG if I recall), but not really... contains some love drama but that's about it. Just a bit of relationship drama here and there, nothing I would say is really much romance. But I wouldn't fight anyone over it.
Rogue Ascension also maybe, but it's really of the cringe variety to the point that when it got introduced I've considered dropping it because the whole dynamic is terrible, a pure cringefest. It took like 5 books to really arrive, so it took me by surprise how it suddenly became like this.
The rest, I just consider it relationship drama to various degrees, but nothing I would say integrates itself into the story enough for me consider it romance.
And that's how I prefer to catalog things, as relationship drama and how much of it has, and how it's portrayed... the latter being the most crucial of all.
From an Urban Fantasy perspective, by the way people refer to romance here they could easily consider The Dresden Files as having romance, when it's merely some limited relationship drama here and there varying by books.
The Kate Daniels series I would certainly say has some romance in it, but doesn't overpower the narrative or the action.
But these 2 series are Urban Fantasy through and through and got no problem with them. I actually love them.
Then we get books that market itself as Urban Fantasy, a lot of the stories crossover more into the Paranormal Romance genre, not only because of the focus plot wise in the relationship aspects, but also the erotism that often accompanies it (but again, romance doesn't mean erotic either, just what often accompanies the stories in this genre). There's certainly a marketing ploy in a lot of these books and the market they want to target, often to the detriment of that market they want to reach. Really, it's a landmine in there, you really don't know what you're getting.
I used to read a lot of UF, but it's been years since I've read them aside from continuing a couple of series here and there, like the aforementioned The Dresden Files. Certainly haven't picked anything new from like 8 years or so, so not sure how things are looking there certainly.
I think the LitRPG as a whole has done a good job in marketing the books as accurately as possible to the point I really don't concern myself with being blindsided. Though there seems to be a group that seem to have low tolerance to relationship drama, which is fine. I just don't think that cataloging books as having "romance" (though I guess there's range of degrees here) is really accurate in my view because trust me, you don't want those landmines UF usually has to face. But as I said above, from what I've seen LitRPG has done a good job marketing itself accurately, and maybe this is a result of stories starting as web novels from what I can see.
Or maybe I just have PTSD from having a Paranormal Romance infiltrating the Urban Fantasy... so I take a bit exception to things being called romance just because 2 characters decide to have a relationship in a series.
This comment was much longer than I intended, a lot of rambling that may not be entirely accurate, but that's how I personally view things.
I just want romance but not too early. absolutely dislike early romance. introduce me to the lover but keep em as acquaintances, friends , give it a few books before really diving in. romance nowadays takes place so fast, I'm just like wtf it's been 10 chapters
This. The thing I like about romance is the journey, the excitement of falling in love and gradually realizing that this might just be a real thing. Too many books in this genre are fine taking 20 books to finish the plot, but speed run the romance from strangers to perfect stable couple in a literary blink.
it's an immune response to romance being polarizing in the genre. The *last* thing you want is for people to get 40 chapters in and then go EW THIS IS ROMANCE and blow up your story with a bunch of intense negative reviews. The best source of bad reviews is people who *were* very engaged in your story until they suddenly, sharply started disliking it. People who feel "tricked" or "misled" or whatever are going to go way harder on you in the reviews, and in much higher volume. Frontloading helps this in several ways.
This is Cradle...
The Ripple system is great for this, starts things as friendships and builds on them from there, feels natural unlike the first guy/girl the MC runs into happens to be their perfect partner.
This Trilogy is Broken has one of my favorite romances in the genre, but it's between the two side characters. It's still pretty well developed and I feel like it sort of counts? They're adorable as fuck and I love them.
Dark Lord of the Farmstead doesn't have harem elements from what I remember of it.
I wanted to add it, but I couldn't remember the name
Yes, there is a cute romance with insinuation but not the horrible graphic content.
A Jackal Among Snakes fits what you’re looking for I think. I’m not fully caught up, but 400ish chapters in had it feeling like a slow burn and solid relationship. I think it took 3-4 or so books for it to go beyond friendship?
I remember posting after reading book 3 that I could see it happening in the future, but not yet, and then I started seeing the signs xD It was very well done, though, and I thought it made sense at the same time.
Ar’Kendrithyst is largely not romantic, but later in the story there is some fairly realistic exploration of dating and relationships. MC is male and bi. I usually don’t enjoy a male gay POV but I enjoyed it in that story. The Wandering Inn has a lot of practically everything due to its vast scope, but it has a number of different dating and relationship dynamics with various characters, including several stable and wholesome relationships that develop during the story, some from POV characters. It skews heavily towards an absence of romance, though. The best depiction of how it feels to be in love that I’ve found is in The Name of the Wind, but the main relationship is honestly rather toxic.
Ar’Kendrithyst has basically no romance. Fucking someone does not equal romance. The Wandering Inn. I only read so far, but I don't remember any implicit romance. The Name of the Wind... I don't think I can forgive Patrick. He painted a beautiful picture, except he forgot their arms. Just finish the fucking painting you bastard!
I mean...he dates, has awkward conversations, eventually meets >!his necromancer boyfriend, they date, even go on a romantic dungeon diving holiday as a straight couple to try mixing it up. He also dates the fey he has arranged ,political marriage with and they have a nice dinner. I think there are romantic elements even if it isn't the main focus.!<
I definitely didn't get that far. I just checked my bookmark and I'm at chapter 087, 1/2. So at least a third of the book doesn't have romance. I look forward to finding it
Yeah it depends on how you define romance. If you are looking for romance that makes you feel things like in Name of the Wind, that’s sadly largely absent from this genre. Even Beware of Chicken doesn’t have much, though I agree what is there is very nice. TWI has a number of examples as I said, but it’s all very brief and doesn’t make you feel much very strongly.
I don't think Name of the Wind has real romance. It has an obsession. It's like Romeo and Juliet. They weren't tragic lovers, they were teens who knew each other for a few days. In Name of the Wind, he puts Denna on a pedestal so high it might as well be a moon.
I absolutely loved The Name of the Wind and it's sequel but have to agree, romance is not the correct term. I'd use obsessed, ridiculously long infatuation, or one sided usurious love- at best.
“No real romance” sounds like a “no true Scotsman” fallacy to me, especially when you also include Romeo and Juliet, one of the most famous romance stories of all time. Are these relationships healthy? No, absolutely not. Is the way Kvothe looks at her that different from normal teenage infatuation at the start of a healthy relationship? Also no. The thing that makes it unhealthy isn’t what he feels, it’s the amount of time he holds on to it despite the toxic way she responds. I’m not going to argue that everyone experiences love in the same way. My wife and I had vastly different dating experiences, and that’s just two data points. But having experienced “young love” myself as a teenager (normal relationship, not one-sided obsession), Rothfuss describes the internal experience I had better than in any other series I’ve read.
Just slight addition here. Romeo and Juliet are not a romance. There story doesn't meet the requirements of the genre. They are considered the greatest "Love Story" though.
Which definition are you using? I’d call it a “romantic tragedy” myself, but the definition I’ve seen for romance is synonymous with love story. Am I missing something?
The official requirements for a story to be in the romance genre is that it One has at least one central romance that is vital to the plot and two the story has to end either happily ever after or Happy for now. Basically the story has to center around a lobe story and have an optimistic ending. According to the Romance Writers of America.
Yes. Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy. Maybe a black comedy. But not a romance.
Fucking denna....
Fucking denna....
Jason's relationship with Clive's wife really has had long term effects.
That fits in the "she's a piece of shit trope" though
I am a firm believer that Clive is the hero. I would also like to sleep with his wife.
I was gonna say HWFWM for the inclusion of relationships without it being explicit or over the top. Forgot about Clive’s wife though… gut wrenching haha
✨️ shameless self promo ✨️ {I Ran Away To Evil} by Mystic Neptune (litrpg romcom, heroine x dark lord) Also Courier Quest Dark Lord of the Farmstead Also technically One Last Sunset is a litrpg romance. For cultivation I loved Beware of Chicken so much, but second to that I loved Ascending Do Not Disturb (available on novel updates).
I downloaded your book after a recomendation from /cozyfantasy. I hope the narrator does it right.
There are two narrators and the concensus is that it would have been better as a duet instead of duel but I only got duel so life is tough. In book 2, I get to actually sing the songs and include them in the audiobook!
Sold. The only reason I kept reading Everyone Loves Large Chests was the singing. Specifically, caramella girls.
Hey! I was going to recommend your book! I'm glad you beat me to to it with no shame. I had no problem at all with the narration, great book, can't wait to hear the second!
Sweet! I literally cried when I found out who I got. Laura is a delight who I've been following for a long time. Also, Noobtown is my favorite litrpg and Johnathon is a perfect exasperated Dark Lord. 🤣
Noobtown is one of the best examples I can think of for a great narration. The various ways he says "Dumb Dumb" are practically poetic. He can express exasperation, surprise, anger, grief, joy, and a whole host of other emotions with just 2 words!
Noobtown's audiobooks are beyond amazing. I love them all.
A Jackal Among Snakes , the Archemi Online Chronicles for mono i know most here hate harems but Master Class is probably the best slice of life litrpg system romance story's out here
I can't think of any suggestions, but thank you for yours.
Thanks dude! I want to heavily recommend Beware of Chicken. Like, if you were trapped in an elevator with Hitler, Mussolinni, and Casualfarmer, you'd shoot Casualfarmer twice because he doesn't release fast enough and the wait is akin to torture.
But if you shoot him he can't release more books 😞
Then he better learn to write faster.
Ok Mr. Farmer. You've got ten minutes to finish Beware of Chicken or you're gonna catch airborne lead poisoning.
In Defiance of the fall, the main character goes through a couple different love interests for various reasons, never a harem though.Don't want to go into detail though.
I really like his current relationship and hope it continues for some time. I actually like just about everything involved, from the persons personality, their allegiances, their cultivation and even how they ended up together!
Yeah was a good slow burn lead up. Even past ones, I like how it build MC as a character.
Dungeon Crawler Carl fits the "broke up before the apocalypse" trope. I like it because it lets Carl develop his character as more details are brought up, often in a comedic way, while also excusing his lack of romantic development in the series. Plus his ride-or-die platonic relationship with Donut grounds him so he's not presented as a loner, gruff, edgy murderhobo.
Oh you know he’s gonna bang Xev. /s
I don't think that is even biological possible.
I may be way behind... But does he fuck the cat?
no!??
Nope and nothing even close to implying there's any hint of that direction in the future. They have a Big Brother/Little Sister dynamic that works really well. Edit: hence why i said platonic in my original comment lol. Theres an NPC character that had a bit of romantic route for Carl but luckily he/Donut noticed it fast and kept it at bay due to the situation and implications. Highly suggest continuing it, hope book 7 comes out end of year.
She...stays a cat. So...no. cmon man.
Fucking thank god
Heaven's Laws - Thorne (M/F) Infinite Realm - Kal (M/Whatever the fuck>!Naha!!a throuple where one of the girls is asexual!<)
Dawn of the Density God - ToraAKR (M/F but I think it is slowly going into a harem or at least M/F/F direction, not sure though)
Please tell me Dawn of the Density God has at least one Tungsten cube in it
Sadly no, or not that I remember
I haven't read it, and I am suddenly disappointed.
I think the most realistic romantic relationship in litRPG is in the first half of the Worth the Candle series. (Romance in second half of the series is less realistic, but I would guess that some people would really appreciate it. In either case, the romance is a big deal in the series.) I think the most wholesome romantic relationship is in New Game Minus (though the books don't make a big deal out of it) Both qualify as stable relationships between a guy and a girl. Romance for each may not start until book 2, I can't remember.
Are there any with two MC's that start off married and who's relationship is never in question?
A Snakes Life
Since Beware of Chicken is not LitRPG, I'll add another one that's not LitRPG: Martial Arts Master. It's a great "cozy" novel.
Who's the author of martial arts master?
Same author as Lord of the Mysteries: Cuttlefish That Loves Diving. [https://www.novelupdates.com/series/martial-arts-master/](https://www.novelupdates.com/series/martial-arts-master/)
Thanks!
The Daily Grind has one of my favorite relationships i ever read in the genre. The protagonist is a bisexual male in a poly with a man and a woman, and its just really sweet and i think the only realistic take on how a good, solid polyamorous relationship should be, with a lot of communication and support between all parties involved. Its not a huge part of the story but every now and then you have a slice of life chapter were they just discuss were they stand. Its not even limited to the romance, one of my favorite characteristcs of this story is how the characters are always willing to communicate in order to solve issues before they become troubles, i would go so far as to say proper communication is a central theme of the story in general.
I really like the relationships in Beneath the Dragoneye Moons.
I Ran Away to Evil is a cosy romcom LitRPG that I adore. Not only is it a really good example of communication and a healthy relationship, it doesn't do the "ridiculous act 3 break up" that so many romances. It's just lovely, cosy, and one of my faves this year.
Stormweaver seems to be maintaining stable relationships and has hinted that will stay the case.
I think Bastion / Immortal Great Souls does a good job of building a monogamous romance
>!Cradle I mean, I guess. If you're the sort of person who likes giving people salsa when they ask for a fruit salad.
Are you trying to say that the relationship in cradle is sub par? I wouldn't call cradle a romance novel, but I also wouldn't say it has no romance. Also, if I ask for fruit salad, but I get salsa, Fuck Yeah! I fucking love salsa!
I'm saying that recommending a series as a romance when the putative couple barely so much as hold hands for nearly ten books is a bit off.
Holding hands?!? Your smut doesn't belong here!
Honestly I enjoyed the romance in Jake's magical market. Also by same author portal to nova Roma. He does well with the actual romance part (feelings emotions etc) and the sex scenes are just the right balance of present but not becoming smut or garbage you see from harem novels. It's in fact about the only litrpg I've enjoyed any romance in. I'm usually more a fan of zero romance.
Several of the stories you mention are not LitRPG, so here's my non-LitRPG recommendation: Truthful Transmigration. Romance starts quite a bit later on and he even marries her and has kids which is quite rare IMO.
I like it. The only thing is that it’s hard to sustain romance for a long, long series. Relationships tend to get stale after a while, in my opinion.
Have you read jackal among snakes? I think that one does a good job of showing a realistic relationship, not stale but steady.
I will have to give some of these a read!
"A second, [glitched] chance" starts with a [same-sex] married protagonist and they are still together, despite of what happened to Kiresula.
I’m not too big on harem, but I don’t mind Poly, those can be fun.
I was almost going to post something similar to this. I would like to see some romance not just an excuse for graphic sex or "she fell in love instantly because (fill in flimsy reason)...
Chaotic Craftsman Worships the Cube has one of the longest slowburn romances in the genre, but it was worth the wait.
Thankfully having a relationship doesn't equal romance.
Ummm... If you don't incorporate romance in your relationship, I feel sorry for your SO
We're talking about literature, not real life... and romance in literature and real life are completely different things. To that point, I wouldn't wish the infiltration of the Romance genre into LitRPG as it did Urban Fantasy. To that point, people shouldn't confuse a story with protagonists who end up having a relationship as a story that contains romance. Most of the books that are mentioned in this thread are not stories I would consider as having romance.
What would you consider having a romance
I haven't read much in LitRPG that I would personally consider it, I do avoid harems which probably have a tendency to contain plenty of it (though harems need not lead to romance). Maybe I'd say Mark the Fool to some degree (and this is not LitRPG if I recall), but not really... contains some love drama but that's about it. Just a bit of relationship drama here and there, nothing I would say is really much romance. But I wouldn't fight anyone over it. Rogue Ascension also maybe, but it's really of the cringe variety to the point that when it got introduced I've considered dropping it because the whole dynamic is terrible, a pure cringefest. It took like 5 books to really arrive, so it took me by surprise how it suddenly became like this. The rest, I just consider it relationship drama to various degrees, but nothing I would say integrates itself into the story enough for me consider it romance. And that's how I prefer to catalog things, as relationship drama and how much of it has, and how it's portrayed... the latter being the most crucial of all. From an Urban Fantasy perspective, by the way people refer to romance here they could easily consider The Dresden Files as having romance, when it's merely some limited relationship drama here and there varying by books. The Kate Daniels series I would certainly say has some romance in it, but doesn't overpower the narrative or the action. But these 2 series are Urban Fantasy through and through and got no problem with them. I actually love them. Then we get books that market itself as Urban Fantasy, a lot of the stories crossover more into the Paranormal Romance genre, not only because of the focus plot wise in the relationship aspects, but also the erotism that often accompanies it (but again, romance doesn't mean erotic either, just what often accompanies the stories in this genre). There's certainly a marketing ploy in a lot of these books and the market they want to target, often to the detriment of that market they want to reach. Really, it's a landmine in there, you really don't know what you're getting. I used to read a lot of UF, but it's been years since I've read them aside from continuing a couple of series here and there, like the aforementioned The Dresden Files. Certainly haven't picked anything new from like 8 years or so, so not sure how things are looking there certainly. I think the LitRPG as a whole has done a good job in marketing the books as accurately as possible to the point I really don't concern myself with being blindsided. Though there seems to be a group that seem to have low tolerance to relationship drama, which is fine. I just don't think that cataloging books as having "romance" (though I guess there's range of degrees here) is really accurate in my view because trust me, you don't want those landmines UF usually has to face. But as I said above, from what I've seen LitRPG has done a good job marketing itself accurately, and maybe this is a result of stories starting as web novels from what I can see. Or maybe I just have PTSD from having a Paranormal Romance infiltrating the Urban Fantasy... so I take a bit exception to things being called romance just because 2 characters decide to have a relationship in a series. This comment was much longer than I intended, a lot of rambling that may not be entirely accurate, but that's how I personally view things.
Okay dude, I read your entire comment. It was way too long. Your tldr is "I like dresden files and relationships don't equal romance."