Sacramento Public Library discussion

Hi, my name is Brendle and I read romance!

This month, I’m inviting you to read one along with me.

As the new year turns to February, love is in the air. Valentine’s Day is coming and so is The Fifty Shades of Grey movie. If that makes you wrinkle up your nose and say “eeewwww”, that is absolutely fine, but don’t judge all romance books by one single title. (Seriously, nothing makes this romance reader more frustrated.) There are so many subgenres within romance, so many different settings, so many different writing styles there is surely something out there you would enjoy. What is more, romance is a universal theme found in many books including great works of literature such as in the classics by Jane Austen or the more modern works of Sarah Waters or Jo Jo Moyes. Many a fantasy or science fiction book contains romantic themes…I could go on and on and on.

Me, I really enjoy the emotional journey and guaranteed happy ending of a work of romantic fiction and I love the way there are so many different types, as I mentioned above, and so many different settings in which to escape. I can read a steampunk romance set in an alternate Australia, a romance set in the present day, a Bollywood themed romance, or one set in 19th century China.

For this challenge, I have chosen two historical romances to read: Say Yes to the Marquess by Tessa Dare, an author I know well, and Never Desire a Duke by Lily Dalton who is a new author for me. You can read either of these books along with me or choose any other book with romantic elements you are interested. Then post about it below for your chance to win a free advance reader’s copy of a book.

Happy Reading!

Oh how I wish I'd had this a month ago! I had just stepped outside my comfort zone and read some romance and enjoyed it very much actually! Time to search out that perfect Romance novel, I'm a bit picky about genres that I don't often read so if anybody has any suggestions that have some Urban Fantasy, or just plain old Fantasy, influence I'd really appreciate it! :)

how funny that you mentioned JoJo Moyes! I just finished reading "Ship of Brides" and was so upset with myself. yes, I suppose she is a "romance" writer, but she always makes the reader cry......and not tears of joy. her romances don't always end with the ride off in the sunset. I really like that fact but then find myself suckered in again....and crying!

while the stereotypical harlequin romance is not my cup of tea, I usually have a few romance books run through my stacks.

yes I am down with this adventure ...but I refuse to read 50 shades of Grey ...but I will find another romance book ...I did finish Another uses of OLd Boyfriends :) cute romance and I believe that this will be a series ..I also want to read Rebound by Noelle August :)

@David I would suggest Alex Hughes, Ilona Andrews, Patricia Briggs, Lois McMaster Bujold, Seanan McGuire, and Jacqueline Carey among others. The list is quite long!

@Susan When I was in the UK last year I stumbled across shelves of JoJo Moyes books, all of which were in the romance section. She is really marketed differently there. Have you tried One Plus One? I thought that one was pretty much straight up romance--no crying except tears of happiness.

@Julie Fifty Shades of Grey is not my cup of tea either, but there are plenty more romance books to chose from. I'm sure you will find a good one!

@Brendle there was plenty of angst in One Plus One! I suppose it was romance but it was hard to see in between all the stressing about kids and money, etc.

I like a good challenge, and I haven't read a romance in a while. I think I'll visit one of my old favorite authors, Jennifer Crusie. I like her sense of humor.

@Brendle I'm going to go ahead and give Rosemary and Rue by Seanan McGuire a chance! Thanks for the list it made it much easier to find a romance that I could get into!

Chelsea wrote: "I'm going to take on teen romance (and angst, sigh) this month by reading ALL THE BRIGHT PLACES by Jennifer Niven. I'm not usually a fan of romance, and I avoid teen romance especially, but this bo..."

Thanks for playing along! I hope you like the Jennifer Niven, but if you don't I can definitely recommend the My True Love Gave to Me anthology which, I'm sure you know, is a collection of romantic holiday stories from some outstanding YA authors. The short story format might make the romance theme a bit easier for your reading pleasure.

Okay, I'm gathering all the romance titles and am getting ready to read. I'm going for My true love gave to me, Never desire a duke, Clean, and All the bright places. I keep saying I don't read romance but to be honest I took a reader's advisory class and quite a few of the books I read turned out to be romance!

Teresa wrote: " I keep saying I don't read romance but to be honest I took a reader's advisory class and quite a few of the books I read turned out to be romance!"

Yes! I have had many people tell me that they don't like romance and then they tell me what they read. I have to break it to them that that suspense novel they are reading is actually a romantic suspense novel.

@David I like Seanan McGuire a lot. The romance in that series is on slow burn so you won't see much in that first book, but there is more later on. She also has a second series starting with Discount Armageddon that has a more overt romance.

I haven't read any romances since my twenties many moons ago but @Chelsea I have All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven on my "to read" list so I think I'll try that one too.

If you're looking for a romance for this challenge--or maybe just because you want to read one!--check out our list of some of the best romances of 2014:

http://www.saclibrary.org/Home/Great-...

I don't read traditional romance novels, but will The Rosie Project work for this challenge?

Francie wrote: "I don't read traditional romance novels, but will The Rosie Project work for this challenge?"

ABSOLUTELY! The Rosie Project is very much a romance! It is also a delightfully funny read that pretty much everyone will enjoy. Sadly, labeling it a romance rather than a comedy will put some off, and that is a true shame.

ps: Don't miss the sequel, The Rosie Effect.

Since there is a couple of paranormal romance series I read but don't have new books until March or June (Feehan and Kennyon). I did just re-read A Civil Campaign the weekend before last. It's one of my favorites of Bujold's. I might read Captain Vorpatril's Alliance this weekend too.

Just completed my first on purpose read of a romance, Never Desire a Duke by Lily Dalton. It was a bodice ripper but fun with an expected outcome. Would I read more of the same? Probably not, but I would recommend it to a reader. Now on to the next in a romance genre - sci-fi called Clean by Alex Hughes.

I started and finished the start of me and you by emery lord. it was a 2nd chance at love :) I can't recommend it enough. I have a book hungover because it was so good.

I finished and loved The Rosie Project and requested The Rosie Effect from the library. TRP is a perfect February romance. It's laugh out loud funny in parts and poignant in others. I'm now reading The Girl on the Train but have mental whiplash reading these novels back to back. Nothing funny about TGOTT and while I could make the argument that it, too, fits the romance genre, it's definitely the dark side of romance. A really creepy book.

I went to the library because I have heard of jojo moyes books so I got them to read :)

I read the first of my challenge books this weekend, or rather I tried to read it. Sadly, Say Yes to the Marquess by Tessa Dare was a DNF (did not finish) for me. It was simply too fluffy. Sometimes I like that, but it did not suit my reading mood at the time. It was a disappointment as I had quite liked the first book in the Castles series. Ah well. I ended up picking another romance book from my pile, Maybe This Christmas by Sarah Morgan. It's a friends into lovers contemporary romance, the third in a series set at a ski resort in the northeast. It had everything I wanted to read this weekend and I happily spent an entire afternoon with it.

@Teresa I am so glad that you gave a historical romance a try and found it to be a generally fun experience. I might hesitate before describing a historical romance as a "bodice ripper" though. Yes there is usually sex in these books, often fairly explicit and many use that phrase to mean exactly that. The phrase originates, however, in the "old school" romance era (the 1970-80's) where many an actual bodice was ripped on the page (sometimes on the cover!). Romances have come a long way since then, thank goodness. Today you are much more likely to find a message of empowerment than anything else. If you want to read an old school romance and compare, Kathleen Woodiwiss would be your best bet.

Brendle, I appreciate your explanation of "bodice ripper" (a term I've used for years, but didn't realize how relatively "modern" it is) in contrast to contemporary romance novels (whose covers do often resemble the styles of the b-r's).

Francie wrote: "Brendle, I appreciate your explanation of "bodice ripper" in contrast to contemporary romance novels (whose covers do ..."

Ah yes, romance covers. I'm glad you brought those up! They have veered from the explicit in that old school era to embossed flowers to women in flowing dresses with an embrace on the stepback cover to images of objects or flowers to shirtless men to explicit embraces once again. Oh and then there was the whole Fabio era in the 90's too!

So, can you judge these books by their covers? I can certainly tell when a romance was written by the cover. I can also usually tell if a book is of the sort I want to read. With so many subgenres in romance, the cover style is a big help when one is browsing. (For example, the contemporary romances featuring a shirtless man on the cover are usually not for me.) But at the same time I have read more than a few books that I think were hurt by their explicit cover. There are many who simply won't read a book with that sort of cover and that is a shame.

But then again, the rise of ebooks has changed the equation. You can read what you want without displaying the cover to all. That is one reason romance readers are some of the biggest ebook users out there.

I'm almost done with All the Bright Places too. I'm so glad someone mentioned this as a romance choice for February's challenge. It started out a little slow to me but little by little it got better and now I don't want it to end. I love Finch; he is such a great character. His romance with Violet has been so sweet. I absolutely loved his trip to the nursery to get emergency flowers.

Here it is the last day of February. Where does the time go? Have you finished your romance reading? If not, don't worry--I won't be wrapping up the challenge until Tuesday so you still have a bit of time to pick up a book!

I finished my second romance Never Desire a Duke earlier this week and enjoyed it. It was a slightly different story than most romances in that the couple were actually already already married, but estranged in a distressingly public way. Naturally they end up snowbound in a small village (Always one of my favorite tropes) and are given an opportunity find their way through their misunderstandings and pain. After the fluffy humor of the Tessa Dare, this emotion was a welcome change. I will definitely be checking out other books by the author.

I think I will also be checking out All the Bright Places too after such nice reviews from Chelsea and Marie!

Brendle, thanks so much for this February challenge. It opened my eyes to a genre that I typically avoid. I'm eagerly awaiting my turn to read The Rosie Effect from the library reserve list, and will seek others in this genre in the future.

Thank you to everyone who participated in our February Romance challenge. Several of you really made an effort to go outside of your comfort zone and a few others read books in your comfort zone in a new light. I hope that everyone will continue to be adventuresome in their reading and discover some wonderful new authors and books in the process.

I've put everyone's name into a hat and our winner is...Francie. Congratulations! We'll be sending an ARC to your local branch.

Happy Reading everyone!

Thank you, Brendle! And thank you to everyone who posted such interesting recommendations for this month's challenge.