.jpg)
My friend Gianni will probably say what he always says, “Elaine, we almost had a female president–you’re setting back the movement.” But there is nothing I can do about it, I love romance novels. Sue me. I’m just a sucker for a happy ending. I love picking up a book and knowing that things will work out in the end. There is something inherently safe about this.
It wasn’t always this way. My sister, Yani, and I used to make fun of my mom for reading this stuff. She’d be in the store and there in the middle of all the other normal stuff we were getting were paperback books with chiseled men and wind-blown hair embracing a damsel in distress. I swore I would never read one. Oh, former self, how little you knew. Flash forward a decade or so and I’m home from college. I find a book called Bet Me on the kitchen counter that Yani just finished. After I raz her about it for a little while, I decide I’ll give it a try. How about I’ve read this book five times since I picked it up all those years ago.
What makes romance novels so great, beside the happy ending that is? I’ll tell you.
- You get to fall in love. Who doesn’t like that? I’m right there with the heroine as she doesn’t want to fall but can’t help it anyway.
- Sometimes, despite knowing the ending, I worry that your hero/heroine really won’t get together. Those moments of anguish keep me on my toes.
- The heroes are always stubborn and handsome and sweet and remind me of Mike (is this cheesy?)
- I get to live vicariously through the stories. Will I ever witness a murder? Gosh, I hope not. So that makes it highly unlikely that I’ll get a tough, stubborn, hard-as-nails-but-handsome-as-all-get-out-FBI agent to watch over me. See? This will never happen in my life so why not read it?
- They are just plan fun.
Now, you might be wondering (probably not) if I read historical romance. You know, the ones with the dudes on the ships sailing to some island. No. I stick closely to contemporary fiction. Stuff that’s going on in real life. Or could possibly happen in real life. You might also be wondering (probably not) if this stuff ever gets old. No. Oh, and it’s not porn. Are there love scenes? Yeah, some a little more um, intense than others, but nothing crazy. In the end it’s all about the love.
And, just for clarity, I also read other more serious things. I was an English major after all. These are my escape from reality. Like that movie you’ve seen a hundred times but want to watch anyway.
One reason that I love reading romance novels that has nothing to do with the book itself is how it’s a “thing” between my mom, Yani and myself. We all read them. We all share. It’s like a book swap around here. This makes me happy.
Am I a total girl? Yes. Yes, I am. The fact that I read these books sort of contradicts the part of me that’s an independent, loud-spoken, proud, hispanic woman. But what are you going to do? All I know is that I’m going to spend a lot of time during my spring break curled up in bed or out in my serenity corner of the balcony reading a bunch of these bad boys. Then sharing them with Yani.
If you are interested, give these authors a try: Susan Wiggs, Susan Elizabeth Phillips, Lori Foster, Julie Garwood.
Happy reading!
Love, e
no comments