Romance Reading Stereotypes

Hey everyone,

The romance genre and the people who read it are a misunderstood bunch. We’re maligned by the press, public and publishing houses alike, despite being an industry worth $1.4 billion. Therefore I thought I’d share some of the questions I’ve received over my favourite genre.

People: Aren’t romance books just all about sex?

Me: No, unless you’re reading erotica.

People: Romance, like Fifty Shades of Grey?

Me: Did I say I was reading badly written, mis-informed BDSM erotic romance?

People: Isn’t that just all Mills and Boon, you know the charity shop books?

My March TBR List

Hey everyone,

So if you follow me on Twitter you’ll know that I have recently become obsessed with Booktubers and in particular their Wrap-Up and TBR videos at the start and end of each month. Therefore I decided why not do a post in that vein, after all I find them fascinating (cause I’m a nosy nora) so hopefully others will to! Below is the list of all the books I hope to read in March:

• My Dear Bessie by Chris Barker, Bessie Moore and Simon Garfield

This is a non-fiction book that chronicles the growing relationship between Chris and Bessie through the letters they exchanged during World War Two. They started as friends and became so much more.

My Top Eight Period Dramas!

Hey everyone,

Over the last week I’ve been watching a lot more movies than I’ve been reading books. In part this is because I’ve just got a Netflix accounts but also because I’ve been on way too many long haul flights.  There is only so many times a person is meant to cross the Atlantic Ocean in one month. Therefore rather than reviewing a book I thought it would be interesting to tell you about my favourite Period Dramas that feature a strong romantic element.

Since the popularity of Downtown Abbey the amount of people producing, writing and watching Period Dramas has increased and below is just a small selection of my favourite Period Drama movies with a strong romantic element. Also because I found it impossible to rate by favourite I decided to order them chronologically based on the time they are set, starting with the oldest.

Tristan & Isolde (2006)

Set in Britain and Ireland during the Dark Ages this movie is based on the medieval legend of Tristan & Isolde. In my opinion they are the original Romeo and Juliet as these star-crossed lovers are separated by feuding nations instead of feuding families. Tristan played by James Franco is a ‘British’ warrior who is extremely loyal to his Lord Marke, who is attempting to unify the various clans that rule Britain in this period.

Let's talk about re-writes

Hey everyone,

So this week I was all set to review a paranormal M/M romance novel, however, at the start the author acknowledged it was a re-vised and re-written version of a previously published novel. This simple statement got me thinking about re-writes or revisions or whatever people want to call them. Do we like them? Do we think they're just a publishing scam to make more money? Do we think the author is just trying to improved a book for his/her readers?

I don't have the answers but I'd thought it'd be interesting to start a dicussion about authors and publishers re-vising, re-writing and then re-publishing old novels.

Like most arguments there are always mulitple sides to the same coin, and like most arguments there is no clear cut right and wrong answer, what I hope to achieve with this post is other all sides of the arguments and perhaps (although unlikely) start a discussion on this topic.

Romance Covers and What They Mean

Hey everyone,

Whether you've been reading romance books for decades or have just discovered the genre, one thing all of us have in common is that we will have looked a romance cover. Perhaps that cover, or covers, may have convinced you to pick up the book in the first place. I know the first romance book I read was partly chosen because of the pretty cover. Today I want to take an indepth look at what a romance cover can tell us and the key identifiers you should look out for when trying to find you're favourite sub-genre within the romance world.

Most, if not all, of what I'm about to say is purely based on observation and therefore it could all be fairly obvious, however, I thought it be interesting to discuss the differences between the sub-genres of romance covers. Partly because despite what people think they are not all the same.

Contemporary Romance

Contemporary is a huge category and in many ways is a bit of a catch-all as it can incorporate mutliple sub-genres under one roof. Due to this I would argue that there are different styles within the Contemporary Romance Covers umbrella.

Perhaps the most obvious to identify from their covers are small-town romances. Often it'll feature a smiling couple who are probably hugging or embracing or just about to kiss, and the background will most likely be some rural setting. Perhaps a mountain and blue skies in the distance, or a deck with a lake/sea/river in the background. I've also noticed that pastel colours, particularly pink is extremely popular for small-town romances. If you like this genre look for nature, a happy couple and pink.

Bookshops: Canada vs Britain!

Hello everyone,

So i'm currently on a five month trip around Canada and America. So after spending a week in Toronto without visiting a single bookstore, on my first full day in Ottawa I stumbled into something amazing... The Canadian bookstore (Chapter's on Rideau Street to be specific). Now I'll be honest I mainly wandered in due to the cold rather than any real need to buy books, of course being a self-confessed bookoholic I always want them but rarely need them.

Also just for complete disclosure that picture isn't mine and is actually of the Chapters in Dublin not Ottawa but it was the best I could do. Anyway back to the main reason I'm writing this post despite planning on writing a completely different one today. When I went into this bookstore I was expecting it too be fairly similar to a large Waterstones back home. A large selection of general fiction, a whole floor for non-fiction in varying sub-genres, a children's section etc etc. If I was lucky this store might even have a reasonable sized romance section. Potentially even a whole shelf. I was not prepared for what I saw once I went up the stairs.

Gender and the Romance Community

Hey everyone,

Since starting this blog I have become more aware, shall we say, of the trends and pattern in romance books. Why I have no idea because honestly I'm not reading anymore than usual! Perhaps I'm just more aware/involved with the romance community as a whole? Your guess is as good as mine. Anyway I transgress as what I really want to talk to you about to day is the increasingly male present in our traditionally female dominated community.

For decades the Romance genre has been classified as the 'female' genre. When the genre first started to gain popularity in the 1980s and 1990s it was seen as the trashy and intellectually lacking book genre that was only for women. It was the books nobody admitted to reading. The books you hid from prying neighbours. If we're being honest with ourselves a lot of people are still dismissive of the romance community today.

I myself have been known to highlight the less romantic parts of the book I'm reading in favour of the sub-plot. For example when asked by my mum what book I was reading on holiday (A Gentleman's Madness) I described it as a book that showed the distreatment of gay men in the Victorian period. Conveniently missing out the love story between one of the patients at the mental asslyum and his ward attendant. I know my own brother refuses to read my blog because he doesn't want hear about 'heaving chests' and men in kilts (I may have left a scottish romance book with a bare-chested man in his room by accident when he was ten and apparently the incident scarred him for life).

The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies - The Romance

Hey everyone,

Yesterday I went to see The Hobbit: Battle of the Five Armies and it was potentially the best film I have seen this year. I loved it! Although this is hardly a surprise as I am a huge Lord of Rings and The Hobbit fan. I loved it so much I decided why not write a post about The Hobbit and the romance within it.

WARNING MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS FROM DoS & BotFA

Also before I start, if you haven’t guessed I will be focusing on the romance elements present in Battle of the Five Armies. I loved the film for lots and lots of reasons but for this post I am merely focusing on this element. If you didn’t like the romantic additions to the film feel free to stop reading here.

Now we all know that Peter Jackson made quite a few changes to The Hobbit story, one of these being the romance between Kili and Tauriel. Now I know some people will have hated this, others will have been indifferent and then others, like me, will have LOVED these two in The Hobbit Desolation of Smaug. From witnessing the Jail scene in DoS I was shipping these two, I wanted them to get together and have Dwelf babies. I mean just look at face, even by this point he was clearly in love.

So knowing the changes Peter Jackson had already made I was hopeful that Dwelf babies, or at least the possibility of them would happen in The Hobbit Battle of the Five Armies. I mean why add this romance plot just to take it away again?

Romance is my life

Welcome everyone,

I’ve decided to start blogging about my favourite book genre in the world... romance and I figure if you’re on this site you probably agree. To give a little backstory i’ve been reading romance since the age of thirteen when I first picked up a Julia Quinn in my local library, its been love ever since. Since then i’ve branched into many sub-genres of the romance world including contemporary, paranormal, historical, category, male-male, science-fiction, steam-punk and even the occasional new adult. To be honest i’ve probably missed a couple but those are the main ones that I read!

So to get the ball rolling some quick fire questions:

Favourite author?

Honestly it changes a lot but at the moment i’m loving Heidi Cullinan, is anyone else seriously excited for Fever Pitch? I also love Nalini Singh, Lisa Kleypas, Kresley Cole and Erin McCarthy as well as hundred more.