I've thought about romances novels a lot. Okay, I've over-thought romance novels, but they interest me...
I like novels where the characters learn something about themselves. It's like a reminder that people aren't static, are constantly changing.
One of my favorite examples is Shades of Twilight by Linda Howard. The heroine gives the appearance of being weak and fragile, but by the end it is obvious that she has a core of steel. The hero, Webb, is an alpha male who Roanna must convince to return to the family-fold in order to keep the family business going as her grandmother's health fails. Roanna has been in love with Webb since she was a teenager, has some sort of eating disorder, and is often ignored or put down by the family. So after Roanna convinces Webb to return home and they start a sexual relationship (which develops into a romance).
However, the reason this particular book is a favorite is because Roanna has a pivotal moment when she realizes that she can live without Webb. She loves him, but has decided she won't be with him if he doesn't love her, if they can't have a equal relationship. She puts her sense of self before romantic love. She even tells Webb that they can't have a one-sided relationship. The ball is then in his court to find a way to convince her that he does love her.
It was a striking moment to have a heroine who could have been weak and fragile (which would have made that book a wallbanger) turn into a heroine worthy of remembering.
My other favorite book that has that moment of self-awareness -- even if it is shoved in her face by another character -- is Maddy in Flowers in the Storm by Laura Kinsale. Through the first half of the book, Maddy is taking care of the Duke of Jervaulx as he recovers from a stroke at a very young age; she even goes as far as marrying him to protect him from his family. However, by the end of the story, Jervaulx has regained his ducal authority and Maddy, a Quaker, thinks he is wasteful in his spending and in is aristocratic lifestyle. After Maddy leaves him, it is his grandmother who tracks her down and calls Maddy a coward for taking the easy way out-- it is easy to take food to the poor, but the dowager duchess challenges Maddy to think about what she could do as a duchess: create jobs, build schools, etc. Maddy then has to look beyond the small world she has always known to find the strength to step out into the larger world and take on more responsibility, not only for herself, but for others.
For me, it is moments like these that make romance novels interesting. Romances that have some facet, some character, that we understand and can connect with.
I like novels where the characters learn something about themselves. It's like a reminder that people aren't static, are constantly changing.
One of my favorite examples is Shades of Twilight by Linda Howard. The heroine gives the appearance of being weak and fragile, but by the end it is obvious that she has a core of steel. The hero, Webb, is an alpha male who Roanna must convince to return to the family-fold in order to keep the family business going as her grandmother's health fails. Roanna has been in love with Webb since she was a teenager, has some sort of eating disorder, and is often ignored or put down by the family. So after Roanna convinces Webb to return home and they start a sexual relationship (which develops into a romance).
However, the reason this particular book is a favorite is because Roanna has a pivotal moment when she realizes that she can live without Webb. She loves him, but has decided she won't be with him if he doesn't love her, if they can't have a equal relationship. She puts her sense of self before romantic love. She even tells Webb that they can't have a one-sided relationship. The ball is then in his court to find a way to convince her that he does love her.
It was a striking moment to have a heroine who could have been weak and fragile (which would have made that book a wallbanger) turn into a heroine worthy of remembering.
My other favorite book that has that moment of self-awareness -- even if it is shoved in her face by another character -- is Maddy in Flowers in the Storm by Laura Kinsale. Through the first half of the book, Maddy is taking care of the Duke of Jervaulx as he recovers from a stroke at a very young age; she even goes as far as marrying him to protect him from his family. However, by the end of the story, Jervaulx has regained his ducal authority and Maddy, a Quaker, thinks he is wasteful in his spending and in is aristocratic lifestyle. After Maddy leaves him, it is his grandmother who tracks her down and calls Maddy a coward for taking the easy way out-- it is easy to take food to the poor, but the dowager duchess challenges Maddy to think about what she could do as a duchess: create jobs, build schools, etc. Maddy then has to look beyond the small world she has always known to find the strength to step out into the larger world and take on more responsibility, not only for herself, but for others.
For me, it is moments like these that make romance novels interesting. Romances that have some facet, some character, that we understand and can connect with.
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