Romance Experience: A Reflection

Catherine Coulter's Night Storm (1990) was my first. I was a freshman in high school, and it happened in Civics class. "Girl, you gotta read this!" a classmate exclaimed. She grinned as she beckoned me to read a sizzling passage from the novel.

Fourteen and innocent, I could not believe that such eroticism existed in the pages of books that were readily available at my local library.  After such temptation, I could not wait until she finished the book to lend to me, so after school, I walked down to my local library to get my copy. I consumed it within a couple of days, read the other two books in the Night series, and began my love affair with reading romance novels, in particular, and reading, in general.

Membership into the Harlequin book club quickly followed. (How I found the money to retain my membership remains a wonder to me because I did not work throughout high school.) I spent every waking hour reading the Harlequin 
Presents series; Penny Jordan and Miranda Lee became favorites.

In the early years, I "experimented" a bit and became familiar and likely read all the books by the following authors: Catherine Coulter, Jayne Anne Krentz/Amanda Quick, Johanna Lindsey, Judith McNaught, Judith Michael, Karen Robards, Nora Roberts, and Kathleen E. Woodiwiss. I also read titles by other authors whose names I don't recall. Along the way, I gained understanding of the type of romances I like to read: historical/Regency romances all the way!

• Viking romances don't seem romantic enough. I also didn't care much for the kidnapped, weak woman who eventually fell in love with her captor storylines.
• I don't really enjoy romances with Americans going to Europe and vice versa. Not escapist enough.
• Having said that, I also don't like romances with seafaring men--American or otherwise. The only "romance" that I love that fits this bill is Austen's Persuasion, which is my favorite of her novels.
• Other than Coulter's stories which are generally one and dones, I don't care much for romances taking place in small towns where I am introduced to many characters who are part of an ongoing series. Those tend to lack sizzle and are too realistic. 
• I don't do paranormal (other than Krentz/Quick's Arcane Society novels) or fantasy romances--just too unrealistic.
• I am somewhat selective in reading contemporary romances. While not my first preference, depending on the writer's style, I am able to get lost in and enjoy some. I just find that I am less willing to suspend belief when I read them.

In my twenty years of reading romances, I have not strayed from the authors who I read when I got started. Many of them, (Coulter, Lindsey, Robards, Roberts) to my chagrin, have transitioned from writing pure romances, which has created a bit of a problem for me. I am in a slump because I find newer romance writers lacking. In reading new authors, such as Julia Quinn who I found out about two years ago, I find myself comparing her to Amanda Quick. While Quinn's novels fit my criteria of being period romances, her romances are much like Jane Austen's: nothing really happens. Though Quinn's characters are likable, her stories lack the sexual sizzle and dramatic suspense that are found in Quick's romances.

As a result, I find myself reading some bad romances, downloaded from Amazon, of late. I get what I pay for, I guess, but who knew that everyone who fancies herself a writer would also think that romance was the right niche for her? 

It is with nostalgia that I reflect on my experience with romance novels. It is through reading them that I developed my vocabulary and my love of reading. Reading them (re-reading my favorites, specifically) offers me the tranquility and escapism that I seek in moments of stress and relaxation.