Every body in writing knew the term deus ex machina, which basically means something comes in at the end and saves everyone (usually God, in the old morality plays). It makes for a really lame ending, because the protagonist didn't do anything to resolve his or her problems.
It's surprising how often this happens in romances, that writers who wrote themselves into a corner, rely on such trope to get them to end of the book.
EX: intern romancing his boss lady but blackmailed by boss lady's evil brother to sabotage her company from within as a spy suddenly didn't have to do it any more because the evil brother found a guru while traveling and is a totally changed man who abandoned his evil ways.
EX: guy intending to buy out historic bar from female owner (for demolition and redevelopment) fell in love with the bar owner, and didn't have to do it any more when his father had a stroke and a total change of heart about the plans.
EX: guy took his daughter on the run away from evil in-laws after wife passed away at childbirth and fell for the ER nurse after he wrecked his car. Suddenly the evil in-laws found God and decided to leave the poor father alone so the guy married the nurse for the HEA.
EX: guy wanted to romance the popular megastar hiding out in his B&B, but he can't ever leave the B&B. He was freed when his mother sold the B&B to their cousins who runs big corporate hotels, so he's now semi-rich and can afford to follow his love and live anywhere he wanted.
I swear these are actual published full-length novels available on Amazon. As this is not a name-and-shame blog, I shall refrain from mentioning the actual novel names and authors.
And yes, I read all of them.
When you write, please don't use deus ex machina endings.
