Why You Should Try Romance

Unfortunately, there are a lot of negative, preconceived notions about romance novels. And these negative ideas are often from people who’ve never even tried a romance novel. Are you one of those people? Maybe you think that romance novels are silly or fluffy, or that they contain nothing of substance. It’s okay. I was once one of those people, too.

But recently I decided that I would try a romance, and I was determined to find one I liked. Surely, I thought, there must be something out there for me. After all, romance contains within it almost any type of book you could want: historical, suspense, paranormal, western, erotic, fantasy, contemporary, and Scottish, to name a few. Romance is also the second most popular type of book that sells in the US, and the number of male romance readers is growing, too. Chance and luck were two big factors in what led me to the book I chose. And that’s fitting, because a gambling hall plays a big part in the romance series that made me fall in love with the genre.

At first glance, A Rogue by Any Other Name: The First Rule of Scoundrels by Sarah MacLean looks like your typical romance novel. There’s a girl in a flouncy dress on the cover, she’s holding a flower, and there’s a lot of shades of pink. But I was barely five minutes in before the storyline and excellent writing grabbed me and wouldn’t let go. It’s a tale of long-awaited revenge, of bucking societal norms, and of the secrets of London’s Upper Crust. The heroine, Penelope, is smart and independent. There’s nothing about her that would make you think of the swooning, fainting heroines of Romance. Her opposite, Bourne, will likely please fans of Jane Eyre’s brooding Rochester. In short, there’s nothing silly or fluffy about these characters.

Really, give a Romance Novel a try.

The writer of the Rule of Scoundrels series, Sarah MacLean, is a bestselling author, a Harvard graduate, and a columnist for The Washington Post. Aside from being smitten by her Rule of Scoundrels series, reading it made me realize a few things. In romances 1) the woman has power, 2) the man adores her and, 3) the ending is optimistic. Remind me again why romances are silly? If you’re still skeptical, you should try reading a romance, too.