Yeah, romances do feel like a mixed bag, depending on how you play, how often you long rest, who you have in your party, an so on.
Overall, they do feel a little rushed in Act 1. And then in Act 2and 3 there seems to be barely any romantic content. I think Larian wanted to show romances so badly in Early Access, that they basically programmed in speedrun romances, that should develop much more slowly in a full game. Guess that's one downside of Early Access.
Some things that struck me as particularly odd:
The first time I was at camp talking to Shadowheart and asking what she thought of me, she was all like "Meh ...". And, no joke, the second time I tried this dialogue option, she basically said that my PC was the greatest of all people she has ever met. So, yeah ... I wasn't complaining, because I wanted to romance her, so, good for me that she like me.
The other weird thing was with Karlach. I literally just recruited her and basically never had her in my party, except for that time I did her quest, and after saving the grove, she was totally in love with me, and was super excited to spend the night with me. I was like, wow, you are great, but we literally just met !!!
On the other hand:
Gale's advances at the party were a lot more believeable, because I had him in my party constantly and he was opening up to me about his explosion issues. Plus I was a Sorcerer, so we could talk magic.
Halsin, Wyll and Astarion kept their distance, although I don't know why. I think, if I pushd it with the right dialogue options, I could have still started something with them, but I didn't want to, so I didn't try.
The biggest surprise, and the reason why I still think the romances are well done, was Lae'Zel, and how I came to romance her, even though I never thought I would:
I didn't have her in mind as a romantic option AT ALL, but I always had her in my party as a fighter and she grew on me, because she was a reliable asset and because of what we've been through until then. However, her views and actions seemed add odds with everything My PC stood for, and I distinctly remember seeing "Lae'Zel disapproves" A LOT. So I thought Lae'Zel hated me. I did not like her too much either, and I was planning on romancing Shadowheart. Shadowhear and my PC agreed much more often.
But then at the party, Lae'Zel suddenly starts to romance my PC (well, "romance" is probably the wrong word). The thing is, what she said and the way she said it, is just so much in line with her character that it was totally believable. And it kind of felt right, too ... even though it definitely felt very wrong, also (maybe that's the allure). Turns out she didn't hate me that much after all. Her romance scene was well done, too, I thought.
Afterwards, she says it's just sex and nothing more, so I thought it was a one time thing at a party and my PC could go back to a more professional relationship with her. Shadowheart, was still interested in me, too. We had that wine scene (even though we at camp in the underdark, but oh well), so I wanted to persue her romance further, which logically made much more sense than a romance with Lae'Zel.
But at some point Lae'Zel came back for seconds and ... even though, I initially didn't want to, My PC agreed to sleep together, again. This woman has some kind of spell over my PC, man.
Then the creche happened and after that the Act 2 romance scene with the fight, and that was it. I was locked in with Lae'Zel. She had completely won me over.
So what I'm saying is: because of how my playthrough went, I basically ended up with a very believable romantic story for my PC. It took me completely by surprise and managed to get me emotionally invested in someone, who I didn't think too highly of in the beginning.
So I guess, even though in Act 1, things can feel rushed, at least from my experience, there is great romantic content in the game that is also well executed.
