I love paranormals because of the wild imaginativeness. I’ve got werewolves who behave the way wolves behave in nature, werewolves who get crankier and crankier as the moon waxes, and werewolves from the Scottish Highlands. I’ve got witches, shapeshifters, gorgeous powerful elves–I’m seeing it all and loving it! The world-building is an essential part of this subgenre, though, and it’s really essential to bring something new and fresh.
Historicals are an incredible journey for me, as a Jane Austen fanatic and this is where I cut my teeth. I love the details of daily life during a quieter, more restful time period, and the manly noblemen and the feisty ladies. With social mores so well defined, there’s no limit to the ways the rules could be broken and scandal could ensue!
Romantic suspense rocks my world–I love the fast paced plots, the military and the law enforcement lingo, the alpha alpha heroes and the kick-ass heroines! Credibility is a big issue in this subgenre, though–too many coincidences don’t work. The internal logic has to hold airtight, and I have to be able to believe what I’m reading.
Contemporaries are a little tougher, but I’m a complete sucker for romantic comedy, and if you give me a chance to laugh, you can lead me around by the nose.
Finally, erotic romance is so hot! Gotta have a strong love story in there, though, and a reason for the relationship other than the sizzling sex–otherwise (and I know it’s heresy to say this) it gets boring.
In every case, I’m looking for a heroine who I would love to be, or who I’d want for a best friend, a hero I can fall madly in love with (if he makes me fall in love with my husband again, that’s great too!) I’m also looking for a world I can escape into, and if it’s a book I’m looking to acquire, I need a hook I can sell with in 2-3 sentences, and a career arc for the author.
I was a latecomer to the romance category, but now I’m hooked for life!
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I agree with each paragraph…good reasons to love them all…for paranormal, Eileen Wilks, for historical Eloisa James and Jo Beverly, and Sherry Thomas, for romantic suspense Suzanne Brockmann is the queen, and close seconds are Gayle Wilson and Debra Webb, and for contemporaries Karen Templeton, Kristin Higgins and Ellen Hartmann…I’m sure there are other great writers I forgot, but as I read your paragraphs I was nodding to myself and these authors came to mind.
For erotic, Emma Holly and Megan Hart… and I’d add JR Ward here…and some writers do ‘mixtures’ so well… like Virginia Kantra with sort of contemporary-toned paranormal (that’s how I think of it). I like contemporary the best, so I like when a book has that ‘tone’.
Your post had me checking out your website.
::applauds:: I always say I’ll read anything as long as it’s good. I don’t like to limit myself!
No genre of novel focuses so much on character as good romance. Romance writers are people observers, and we all love to play with folks’ emotions!
That’s what makes romance novels so powerful, their depiction of people and the infinite variety of relationships!
Romance, at its heart, is about relationships. What form those relationships take is ultimately up to each writer and what form readers enjoy is again personal preference. But within romance there is such a wide diversity of worlds and characters that almost every reader and writer can find something to match her tastes.
As a genre, romance has also withstood the challenging economic times, which to me stands out at the supremacy of the genre and the loyalty of its readers.
Thanks for a great post!
What I love about science fiction romance (which I’m sure you meant to include
) is its character-driven, love against the odds stories.
I can follow a hero and heroine to all kinds of fascinating settings and the speculative elements are like candy for my brain. I also dig that the heroines are just as likely as the heroes to be starship captains, scientists, or space pirates.
After SFR, I enjoy a good historical. And when I can combine my love of SFR with historicals (steampunk romance, I’m looking at you)? Priceless. Only in romance could that happen!