#respectingromance

[pollyssecretlibrary]

respectingromance reblogged your photo and added:

I love your handwriting!

Isn’t it too childish? Awww you’re so much kinder than I am <3

[doublel27]

Book haul: Romance novels with blue collar heroes. All contemporary for this run. A few came off of this list of recommendations. Getting into reading. Where to start?

[yankeecountess]

Romance Readers Tag

While my blog is not dedicated (entirely) to romance novels, anyone who knows me knows I love reading them (and my goodreads account, under the same name, is dedicated predominately to romance) BUT ANYWAY, when I saw this, I really wanted to participate, so TA DA! :oP

Originally posted by @respectingromance; and open to anyone!

1. How did you get into reading romance?

My mom and her mother both had a collection of Georgette Heyer books, as well as other “regency romance” authors. I started flipping through those at a young age, then accompanied my mother about once a month to a nearby second-hand bookstore and quickly took notice that the romance section was THE BIGGEST (and most colorful) section in the entire shop. When I was in middle school, I started reading and buying my own, and have continued to do so since :o)

2. Preferred subgenre?

Historicals for the most part, mainly set in the Regency-era or early-Victorian period of Britain. Every so often I enjoy a good contemporary or paranormal romance, but historicals are my bread and butter.

3. What’s your catnip?

SO MANY. I have always loved cross-class romances, but I go absolutely ga-ga when it’s the hero who is of a “lower class” to the heroine. Love “plain janes”, “plus-size heroines”, “virgin!Heroes” and “older-heroine/younger-hero” couples.

4. Favorite authors and/or favorite books?

In no particular order: Mary Balogh, Elizabeth Hoyt, Lisa Kleypas, Maya Rodale, Eva Leigh, Tracy Anne Warren, Amanda Quick, Julia Quinn, Tessa Dare, Edith Layton, Caroline Linden, Anne Gracie, Megan Frampton, Kate Meader, and Georgette Heyer...to name a few :oP

5. Author(s) you think deserve(s) more attention or are underrated?

So this past OctoberI discovered the “Roaring Twenties” series by Jenn Bennett, and they are paranormal historicals set (wait for it) in the roaring twenties in San Fransisco! But the paranormal elements don’t “hit you over the head”; sometimes I would forget that this was a paranormal romance--but I loved the characters, loved the historical era, basically just loved!  So I’m hoping she will write more, and that more people read her work!

Also, while not strictly romance, the Mr. and Mrs. Darcy Mystery series by Carrie Bebris definitely deserve some love, and are my favorite when it comes to Pride and Prejudice continuations

6. Favorite series (or favorite books if you don’t read series)?

*LOVE* Mary Balogh’s Bedwyn saga, as well as her “Simply” quartet, which really are a continuation of the Bedwyns. Lisa Kleypas’ “Wallflowers” series, Kate Meader’s “Hot in Chicago” series, Tessa Dare’s “Spindle Cove” series, Jenn Bennett’s “Roaring Twenties”, Carrie Bebris’ “Mr. & Mrs. Darcy Mysteries”, Anne Gracie’s “Chance Sisters”, Eva Leigh’s “Wicked Quills of London” and Elizabeth Hoyt’s “Maiden Lane” saga

(*gasp* I haven’t started, if you can believe it, Julia Quinn’s Bridgerton’s which I know is sacrilege in the romance world)

7. Do you need to read a series in order or can you dive in anywhere?

I really like to *try* to read a series in order, though I have sometimes read one or two books of a series out of order, or later learned that they were part of a series and found myself back-tracking for the others

8. How about things you hate in romance novels? What will make you throw a book at a wall?

Ugh, alphaholes, all the alphaholes.  Just want to bury them all up to their necks and leave them there for vultures to peck at. Personally, I’m much more of a “beta-hero” kind of girl, but I don’t mind a little alpha broodiness once in a while. But a little can go a long way, and sadly, that line between alpha hero and alphahole is a thin one.

Also can’t stand when characters show a “lack of growth”--I’m not expecting the hero or heroine to be perfect or a saint, but I am expecting them to have experienced some kind of “growth” between where the book starts and when it ends. And along those lines, I really can’t stand when an author won’t allow the hero or heroine to have faults.  I remember reading a book where the hero had done some terrible things in his past, but during the “confession” scene to the heroine, it was revealed that he was “justified” for all the terrible things he had done, because his ex at the time didn’t love him. I want to scream at these authors, “stop making excuses for when your characters make bad decisions! Let them realize what they have done, seek forgiveness and repent and strive to be a better person!”

9. What do you want more of in romance novels?

Diversity is always good; more racial diversity, cultural diversity, religious diversity, age diversity--and not just between the main couple, but even in their friendships with other characters. Would also like to see a broader spectrum of interracial romances, historical romances featuring a broader spectrum of people of color, more LGBTQ inclusion in romance series (meaning, if an author writes a series where each character in that family/group has his or her own story/romance, why not include LGBTQ characters amongst that family and group?)  Also would like to see “older” romances, meaning characters who are 35+ (both in historicals and contemporary)--INCLUDING *gasp* 35+ unmarried people! Because sometimes it would be nice to find a book where the heroine is in her late 30′s, nearly on the cusp of 40, and HAS NEVER BEEN MARRIED--that’s right, she’s not a widow, she’s an “old maid” (at least from a historical perspective) and she’s accepted this and is perfectly fine, happy, and badass, but not against the idea of falling in love (AND THEN IT HAPPENS!)

10. You’re stranded on a desert island. All of your other needs are met. You can take ONE romance novel with you. Which one do you take?

This is an evil question. Ok, I can only take one, it will have to be...

Right now, the one that keeps popping up in my mind is Anne Gracie’s The Winter Bride, because that love story was so moving and sweet, and I adore the hero and heroine and the journey they take, and the growth they have, both individually and as a couple, and it was such a wonderful and satisfying ending *le sigh* so yeah, I’ll take that one.

Now, I noticed you said “ONE romance novel with you” and since there are some things that have romantic elements but technically aren’t “romance novels”, does that mean I can throw in a Mr. & Mrs. Darcy mystery, or a YA book, such as Jekel Loves Hyde by Beth Fantaskey? ;oP And since you said that the island has all our other needs met, does that include a working laptop with WiFi? Because so long as I have access to my fav fanfic authors, I think I’ll be good ;o)

Bonus question: Romance novel covers – love them or hate them?

LOVE! :oD The older ones are fun to snark at ;oP but there is something incredibly pleasing about seeing these two characters whose story you’re about to read, looking so lovingly at each other, and just hoping the story will sweep you up as much as the image does

[betweenthecoversofbooks]

Romance Readers Tag

Responses to @respectingromance‘s original post.

1. How did you get into reading romance? I saw a post on Tumblr when I was 20 about romance novels by Eloisa James that were based on fairy tales. I have always loved fairy tales and love stories, so I bought her novel When Beauty Tamed the Beast. Hooked ever since!

2. Preferred subgenre? Historicals, but I also have a thing for paranormal.

3. What’s your catnip? May to December romances, female scientists, meddling older women, football/baseball, supernatural

4. Favorite authors and/or favorite books? Oh, goodness. Are you ready for this? Eloisa James, Julia Quinn, Courtney Milan, Vivienne Lorret, Kerrilyn Sparks, Lauren Willig, Lisa Kleypas, Tessa Dare, Suzanne Enoch, Sophie Kinsella, Ruby Dixon, Jesse Donovan, Grace Calloway, R.L. Mathewson, Sarah MacLean, Kristen Calihan. Basically, if these women write it, I will buy it.

5. Author(s) you think deserve(s) more attention or are underrated? Ruby Dixon and Tehya Titan for sci-fi. Jesse Donovan has some excellent dragon shifter romances that deal with prejudice and race. Grace Calloway has some fun mystery romances. Vivienne Lorret’s books have been delightful. And Kristen Calihan has written some amazing sports romances with heroes who are not alpha jerks, but sensitive and smart and all-around good humans. I read Christie Caldwell, and they are fine...I just think she needs some editing.

6. Favorite series (or favorite books if you don’t read series)? Eloisa James’ Essex Sisters quartet, the Pink Carnation series by Lauren Willig, the Smythe-Smith quartet by Julia Quinn, and the Brothers Sinister series by Courtney Milan. When I am having a bad week, these guys get me through!

7. Do you need to read a series in order or can you dive in anywhere? I have definitely started series in the middle, and I don’t mind that, but I prefer going through in order.

8. How about things you hate in romance novels? What will make you throw a book at a wall? Disguised abuse, plot twists/character choices that make no sense, when too much happens in the story to the point where you lose focus. (I burst into my roommate’s room at 1 a.m. to tell her everything that was wrong with a book that had that last point. She is a saint.)

9. What do you want more of in romance novels? More supportive female friendships, more heroes who are aware of their privilege as male.

10. You’re stranded on a desert island. All of your other needs are met. You can take ONE romance novel with you. Which one do you take? AH NO DON’T DO THIS TO ME. Okay, I think either Nine Rules to Break When Romancing a Rake by Sarah MacLean or Much Ado About You by Eloisa James.

Bonus question: Romance novel covers – love them or hate them? LOVE THEM. They are half the fun, in my opinion.

Feel free to participate, and include the tag “Romance Readers”!

[mariaslozak]

Romance Readers Tag

Respecting Romance’s romance readers tag. She writes, “Consider yourself tagged if you read romance novels.”

1. How did you get into reading romance? A most Victorian way: magazine serials. The periodicals my grandmother subscribed to when I was a child contained weekly chapters from two or three serialised novels. At least one of the serials was always a romance. It was the beautiful, full-page illustration that often accompanied them that first attracted my interest. Unlike my parents, my grandmother did not worry about the effect romantic fiction would have on the young girl I was. So I only read them when I visited her. She’d brew a pot of tea, serve up a selection of the most elegant pastries, and we’d discuss that week’s chapter in great detail and with great enjoyment.

2. Preferred subgenre? Historicals, especially Victorians, but as someone who has suffered from several unacceptably long bouts of reader’s block I make sure to mix them up with others to avoid burnout.

3. What’s your catnip? Non-traditional settings. Strong conflicts with angst that makes me reach for my handkerchief. [ETA: can’t believe I forgot to specify redemption romances!] Heroine-centric stories. Heroes who have substantially more between their ears than lustful thoughts. Marriage of convenience. Gothics. Historicals that pay more than lip-service to history. The combination of action and adventure.

4. Favorite authors and/or favorite books? Jeannie Lin, Meredith Duran, Eloisa James, Meljean Brook, Laura Florand.

5. Author(s) you think deserve(s) more attention or are underrated? Authors whose stories and characters reflect the historical and contemporary diversity of Western societies have nowhere near the position they should have among Caucasian romance readers.

6. Favorite series (or favorite books if you don’t read series)? Though I’ve grown reluctant to invest in series, Florand’s Provence-set La Vie en Roses is an exception. Matthieu Rosier from Once Upon a Rose, the first book in the series, is one one of my favourite heroes of all time despite being introduced to the reader and the heroine while drunk. I really don’t know how Florand pulled that one off. But he’s gruff, sensual, and adorable – and he grows roses for French perfume houses. How’s that for a hero with an unusual profession? And I fervently wish Meljean Brook would return to her Iron Seas steampunk series. I’ll even put up with the zombies without grumbling too much. Yasmeen, Captain Corsair, from the second book, Heart of Steel, might just be my favourite romance heroine ever. I would read an entire series just about her and Archimedes Fox, the hero.

7. Do you need to read a series in order or can you dive in anywhere? If I can’t dive into a series mid-way through, it’s not for me. I need series books to possess sufficient standalone qualities to help my poor memory keep up.  

8. How about things you hate in romance novels? What will make you throw a book at a wall? Rakes who’ve slept with the entire country - without contracting syphilis, snort - and amuse themselves by lining the heroine up to be their next mistress or conquest. Abusive behaviour treated as protectiveness. Too much egregious disregard for historical realities. Colonialism treated as fun adventuring.

9. What do you want more of in romance novels? a) Longer page-counts. It’s one thing I’d love to see brought back from old school romances. Their length allowed for much juicier story scope. b) Heroes who are sufficiently confident in their masculinity to talk about their feelings honestly and articulately. c) Historical heroines whose strength and appeal are not measured exclusively by how 21st-century their behaviour and attitudes are.

10. You’re stranded on a desert island. All of your other needs are met. You can take ONE romance novel with you. Which one do you take? Secrets of the Night by Jo Beverley or Heart of Steel by Meljean Brook.

Bonus question: Romance novel covers – love them or hate them? Love some of them. I like people on the covers but could they please get out of their painfully artificial poses and actually convey some of the emotions I read the genre for?

If you want to participate, tag your post with “romance readers tag” so other readers can find it.