I’ll admit–this article resonated with me. My own road to becoming a romance reader was bumpy. I picked up my first one quite by accident (Neanderthal Seeks Human by Penny Reid), being in search of both a bargain and a happy read which would rectify my lack of brain stimulation being a SAHM. So “smart romance” sounded like a win/win…and it was! In the interim, I have discovered that many people are offended by the phrase, assuming that the author is implying that the rest of romance is dumb. Let me summarize: she’s not. A better tagline might be “romance for people who like academia,” but that doesn’t quite roll off the tongue. People perhaps think the same thing about my own tagline: “real romance in unreal worlds.” It could be misconstrued, I realize, to say that some romance is unreal…which is not what I intended to say. Merely that I want to infuse real relationship advice into my books, something you can carry into your real life and use. Reading as an escape is perfectly acceptable, but sometimes, it’s just not what I’m looking for. Pure fantasy and perfect romances with all swoony kisses and no misfires gets…old? It’s like cotton candy. I like a little. I don’t like a lot.
Anyway, read this article (if you want), then tell me how YOU became a romance reader in the comments! https://bookriot.com/2020/02/25/on-becoming-a-romance-reader/
“Reading as an escape is perfectly acceptable, but sometimes, it’s just not what I’m looking for. Pure fantasy and perfect romances with all swoony kisses and no misfires gets…old?” @fionawestauthor shares her journey to becoming a romance reader
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Fiona West 