Stepping outside the genre for a night

Posted by Meesh in Mouthing Off with Meesh | 8 comments

When I was 17, I found Harlequin romance novels. Before that, I read horror stories. Lots of horror stories. Stephen King and John Saul were two regular reads for me, and I’m not sure I really knew much else existed outside of horror and teen angst. But then I had a baby and a rotten relationship that went with it, and in the midst of the horror that my life had become, I wandered the library looking for something different.

I found this interesting section in the library, books with shirtless men and busty women and I thought I’d read one, just to see what it was about. I had discovered cheap romance and an escape from the idiot I’d become way too involved with, and I was hooked. For awhile, anyway. The guy I was with treated me with such disdain. We dated for five years and never once went on a date. Seriously – five years with this guy and he never once took me out on a date. Don’t ask. I can’t explain what the hell I was doing with him.

I devoured every romance novel I could get my hands on from the time I happened upon the genre until I was 20, which was ironically when I ended my mistake with the mouth breather who fathered my oldest child. I don’t think the timing was a coincidence. I went back to the genre I loved so much, horror and gore, vampires and monsters, leaving those fluffy stories of women who needed saving and the men with whom they had a love/hate/OMFG-I-love-you-more-than-air relationships. I was embarrassed that I’d ever gotten caught up in those stories, that I’d read them with such fervor. I knew they were crap, that there is no Prince Charming waiting to fall into my life by happenstance, but they really helped me escape a terrible situation in my life. I still had no problem abandoning them as soon as I no longer needed the escape.

So now that I’ve bored you all with another tale from the emotional battlefield that was my late teen years, I’ll get to the point. Today I finished An Unforgettable Lady by Jessica Bird (otherwise known as JR Ward when she’s writing about the warrior vampires we all love to pant over). It’s a romance novel, almost perfectly to formula. Damsel in distress. Aloof stranger with a rock hard body and enough sex appeal to send any woman into a tailspin. They’re attracted to each other, but they can’t be together, but they can’t be apart, but there is no way to make it work. Blah, blah, blah. Really, it’s very much a romance novel in every sense.

Except it was also really good. Even without needing a world to escape into, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. The “damsel in distress” was really strong and wanted to be even stronger. She didn’t wilt in the face of trouble, never went crying for help when she was faced with a situation where help would have been nice. And the hero was very likeable. He wasn’t exactly a Fabio type. Very hard ass, very dark and angry, and also very hot for the heroine, and unable to help himself.

I don’t often wander outside of vampires and monsters these days, even though I know most of the books I read now qualify as romance novels. When I saw JR Ward wrote a novel as Jessica Bird I bought it immediately, the day it was released, with no idea what it was about. I had much faith that I’d love her writing no matter the genre and I was right. The sex scenes weren’t nearly as graphic as those in the Brotherhood series, which was okay with me. The attraction between the two main characters was so intense and well written, and there is also a mystery/whodunit aspect to the story which was fantastic. It took me almost to the end of the book to figure out who the killer was. I usually can guess way earlier than that.

If you want to take a walk outside the vamp stories but still want an edge of violence, this is a good book. If you just want a great romance that has you cheering on the two leads with everything in your heart, this book has it. Really, get the book. It’s worth the time and money.

Oh, and if you want me to shut up with all the personal stuff about why I read what I do, just say so. I tend to ramble and then leave it as is instead of editing. If you’d like it to be edited out, I can do that.