Tag Archives: Romance

30 Day Book Challenge: Day 20 – Favorite Romance Book

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There’s no love quite like unrequited love. The longing. The stolen glances. The sexual tension. What’s not to love?

Here’s the dish on my favorite romance novel:

They parted in disgrace…But desire would bring them back together.

Years ago, in one explosive instant, childhood rivalry turned into wild passion for Jeremy, handsome young Duke of Rawlings, and Maggie Herbert, the object of his affections. Unfortunately, the ensuing scandal found them banished to separate corners of the world.

Now fate has joined Jeremy and Maggie again– for a long-overdue dance of desire as uncompromising as the lovers themselves. Jeremy, a decorated soldier, is determined to claim Maggie at last. And Maggie, engaged to be married to another man, finds her secret fantasies of Jeremy spinning out of control. All that stands between them and the steamy passion the years can no longer chain is the past– and a present steeped in jealousy, intrigue, and danger…

Ok- I love the characters so much because they’re hilarious and passionate. I love stories about love that endures, especially with fire and passion. To be honest, the love scenes are descriptive enough to get the point across while being tasteful.

Also, this book is by Patricia Cabot AKA Meg Cabot! Read about my love for her here!

I have read and re-read this book book to the point that the pages are distressed. It’s no longer in print, but I found an edition online and got Meg Cabot to autograph it when I met her! Needless to say, this was my method of brown nosing her, and it totally worked.

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30 Day Book Challenge: Day 13- My Favorite Author

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Meg Cabot. (Rhymes with “rabbit,” just an FYI)

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Reasons I Love Meg Cabot:
-We’re very similar! We’re both from southern Indiana. She attended Indiana University, and I did too for a while. We both love to draw. We both have cats. The list goes on.
-She writes SO much! Once I got to meet her (which was a pinnacle of my existence), and I asked her how on earth she is so prolific. She essentially told me that she knew no other way. She just did it all the time. This is awesome because I can always look forward to a new book and have so many others to go back and re-read.
-She started out under the pseudonym Patricia Cabot and wrote a series of period romance novels which were my first introduction into the romance genre. I used to dream of writing books like those. Maybe it will happen someday.
– I love her characters. There’s never a character who I can’t relate to on any level. Seriously, I couldn’t even pick a favorite. I always find myself thinking that I would react the same way her characters would. Her female protagonists are so endearing because they’re humans who have flaws, for better or for worse and have character and heart. I want to be them or be best friends with them!
-Cabot herself is awesome. She writes a great blog which she updates regularly. I love reading her take on everything from books to pop culture.
-She supports good causes, often writing for anthologies when the proceeds go to charity.
-She has often said that she never sets out to write The Great American Novel or the next War and Peace. She just wants to write to entertain and make people happy. I think this is what all writers should aspire to do with their stories.
-Her sense of humor is spot on. I constantly laugh out loud while reading her work!

She gave this sage writing advice:
“Write the kind of story you would like to read. People will give you all sorts of advice about writing, but if you are not writing something you like, no one else will like it either.”

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The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by Jennifer E. Smith

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It’s a mouthful, like, I even have trouble typing it, but the title grabbed my interest. I used to argue vehemently about how love at first sight was an urban myth. Love is more than just liking how someone looks or feeling a spark during eye contact (I have learned this the hard way before). My pragmatic and romantic sides are constantly battling each other, and this book is a good example of that.

Hadley is on a flight to London to be in her father’s wedding to her new British stepmother whom she’s never met. She misses her flight and has the usual unpleasant interactions with strangers in the airport when she meets Oliver, a boy her age that is willing to extend some much-needed kindness her way. Turns out, he’s sitting next to her on her new, rescheduled flight to London, and he’s a good-looking Brit (don’t you love when that happens?). He helps her with her claustrophobia during their flight, and they talk all night and have some adorable sexual tension laden moments. They are clearly on the track to some romance, only to be separated after they get off their flight thanks to stupid airport security.

Of course, as fate would have it, they happen to meet again.

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This book was a fast, fun read that was just adorable. I kept reading it, thinking this would be the book that I would want to write if I wrote YA lit.

I’ve read some criticism online about the plot being unrealistic, but I think that’s the point. I mean, the title kind of pokes fun at the idea of love at first sight. People like myself enjoy these stories because they don’t happen so often. Sometimes you have to suspend disbelief to enjoy these types of stories.

This brings me back to the pragmatic vs. romantic argument.

My pragmatic side thinks it’s completely ridiculous for Oliver and Hadley to fall in love so quickly, especially in a sequence of happenstances. It tells me love is something that grows out of a long time of talking and getting to know each other, and, even after that, it’s rare for it to last. Long-term relationships are like business partnerships with a lot of negotiations.

But my romantic side says that love doesn’t follow any rules. There’s no mathematical formula for falling in love. Sometimes it’s fast. Sometimes it’s slow. Sometimes it grows out of a long relationship. Sometimes it happens in a second. Sure, it’s rare, but it’s not impossible. Pragmatism helps us survive, but love keeps us going because it gives us hope.

There are some interesting insights into how family dynamics work and how change can help and hurt that I enjoyed reading.

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I liked Hadley, and I liked hearing her take on things.  She’s funny and real, someone you’d be friends with. I love the banter she and Oliver share. It’s a pleasure to read.

This book is about hope and the happy moments in life that can sneak up on you. It’s not the most well-written book I’ve read, but there’s an undeniable sweetness in it. Read this book if you’re looking for a fun, simple read that will make you smile. I look forward to reading more from Smith.

My favorite thing: there are references to Charles Dicken’s Our Mutual Friend that are just great. Like this opening page!

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Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell

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One of the most buzzed about books in the past year! I was draw to this book for some shallow reasons: I love the name Eleanor; I loved the cover art; I love red hair; I thought it looked like a super cute love story. Though these were superficial attractions, the heart of the book drew me in.

I was going to summarize this one for myself, but the Goodreads blurb is PERFECTION.

A stunning debut young adult novel about cassettes, comic books, misfits, and the incredible experience of first love.

Bono met his wife in high school, Park says.
So did Jerry Lee Lewis, Eleanor answers.
I’m not kidding, he says.
You should be, she says, we’re 16.
What about Romeo and Juliet?
Shallow, confused, then dead.
I love you, Park says.
Wherefore art thou, Eleanor answers.
I’m not kidding, he says.
You should be.

Set over the course of one school year in 1986, this is the story of two star-crossed misfits—smart enough to know that first love almost never lasts, but brave and desperate enough to try. When Eleanor meets Park, you’ll remember your own first love—and just how hard it pulled you under.

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What I liked:

  • I AM SO STUPIDLY IN LOVE with Rowell’s characters. I love how endearingly and realistically human they are. They have flaws. They’re stubborn. They make mistakes. But they’re funny, kind, brave, and loving.
  • I love that Eleanor is not a size negative three. I feel like I either read books about characters who are reed thin and tall and lanky, or they’re overweight and suffer because of it. Rowell makes it clear that Eleanor isn’t skinny without making the character’s identity revolve around her weight. THANK YOU! It is so refreshing! She’s not super beautiful or super hideous (in her mind). She’s just a girl, and her world doesn’t focus on her appearance, even when people make fun of her or call her “Big Red.” She wears what she wants and isn’t afraid to be who she is.
  • I love that Park is part Korean. Rowell manages to orchestrate a humorous and interesting family dynamic between Park and his family: his younger, more masculine brother, his white father, and his cosmetologist Korean mother. There are moments when the family is light and happy, but there are also moments that really touch on important issues like parents’ expectations of their children, being mixed race, and having family problems that are bigger than what to have for dinner.
  • Eleanor and Park don’t hit it off right away. They bond through reading comics on the bus.
  • The story manages to be sensual without being over the top. It’s extremely appropriate in the best way possible.
  • The plot is great and full of little twists and turns. I couldn’t stop thinking about it as I went through my day, and I devoured the book because I needed to know how it ended.
  • It portrays people and circumstances in a real way. I don’t want to give anything away, but Rowell does a great job of giving each person layers and real emotions.
  • It portrays young love (or any love for that matter) as it is: beautiful but sometimes difficult and awkward with great moments mixed in.
  • There are righteous nerdy references.
  • It was written in third person which presented a unique narration and perspective on the characters that I enjoyed.
  • The ending is amazing. I like Rowell’s style. Many people have said that they’d like to see a sequel to this book, but I think there’s something to be said for a good, solid stand-alone book that doesn’t necessarily wrap everything up with a perfect little bow.

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What I didn’t like:

  • If I had to pick something, I would have liked to have read more about Eleanor’s family situation.

A Love Letter to Rainbow Rowell:

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Thank you for being you. Eleanor & Park was fantastic, but learning more about you has made it all the better. I love that you interact with your fans (including me!) on your personal Twitter. I love that you’re not afraid to be wacky and write about real things, but you also have a great romantic streak. Your cover art for your books is awesome, even if you had nothing to do with it, it still reflects well on you. Thank you for writing this article about Eleanor’s weight and why Park is Korean. Your website is super cool. I can’t wait to read your other books: Attachments, Fangirl, and Landline. Finally, your name is Rainbow, and that is pretty freaking awesome.

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Also, John Green wrote this review of Eleanor & Park for the NY Times
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30 Day Book Challenge: Day 5: A Book that Makes You Happy

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Underneath my tough exterior (who am I kidding?), I have a deep love for sweet, sweet romance. Not even the kind that you read about in paperback romance novels where the man is a duke and the woman a secret princess (I really love those too). I love romantic comedy books, even more than I love rom com movies. I think that books just offer so much more in terms of letting my swooning imagination run wild.

That is why my selection is Queen of Babble Gets Hitched by Meg Cabot, the third and final book in the Queen of Babble series. First off, I ADORE Meg Cabot, of The Princess Diaries fame, WITH A PASSION OF A THOUSAND ETERNAL FIRES. I’ve read basically everything the woman has even written. I chose this particular book because it’s so sweet and funny and light that it never fails to make me smile. I have read the romantic scenes between Lizzie and the man she ends up with so many times, I probably have them memorized. I just love the characters.

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Publisher’s blurb:

Big mouth. Big heart.

Big wedding. Big problems.

It’s the wedding of the century!

Things are looking up at last for Lizzie Nichols. She has a career she loves in the field of her choice (wedding gown restoration), and the love of her life, Jean-Luc, has finally proposed. Life’s become a dizzying whirl of wedding gown fittings—not necessarily her own—as Lizzie prepares for her dream wedding at her fiancé’s château in the south of France.

But the dream soon becomes a nightmare as the best man—whom Lizzie might once have accidentally slept with . . . no, really, just slept—announces his total lack of support for the couple, a sentiment the maid of honor happens to second; Lizzie’s Midwestern family can’t understand why she doesn’t want to have her wedding in the family backyard; her future, oh-so-proper French in-laws seem to be slowly trying to lure the groom away from medical school and back into investment banking; and Lizzie finds herself wondering if her Prince Charming really is as charming as she once believed.

Is Lizzie really ready to embrace her new role as wife and mistress of Château Mirac? Or is she destined to fall into another man’s arms . . . and into the trap of becoming a Bad Girl instead?

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30 Day Book Challenge: Day One- A Book I’d Like to Live In

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The hard part about choosing a book for this challenge is that so many of the books that I love are set in a world with a lot of problems or danger. (Hence, why they make good books.) I stared at my bookshelves (a process I’m sure I’ll repeat throughout this challenge) and landed on a little known book.

The Stargazer by Michele Jaffe takes place during the Italian Renaissance. I have loved it since high school because of its elements of danger, mystery, sensuality, nobility, and romance. I’d love to dress in elaborate silk gowns while chasing after suspects with Jaffe’s characters. I’m all about historical romances.

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Michele Jaffe has written several other books in this series as well as crime fiction and YA lit that are all great reads. 

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