It's fine to make it fit modern values as long as it's not a historical work but changing the story is a big nope for me

I actually love it but only if it's done well. I don't need predictable and forced romance

It's so annoying because it's so damn predictable and boring. In every of the last 8 thrillers I read, the romance always followed the same scheme. First the protagonist falls in love with the first pretty girl he sees, she rejects him and he's pissed and then he falls in love with the not so beautiful but mysterious girl that somehow opens up to him very quickly. Usually she has a bad backstory too and pretends to be tough but after they get together, she's super vulnerable. Only exception I saw was when the protagonist not only fell in love with the mysterious tough girl but also with his damn teacher. It's annoying when the good story is getting ruined by the forced romance. Why can't the protagonist be single or at least have an unpredictable love story. As soon as that kind of girl is introduced, I immediately know she's going to be his love interest. Sooo boring...