Author: Tanela

Lessons for a Book Lover

I have spent the last few months on a romance book binge. It has been fun and relaxing to read stories that are fresh yet relatable and enjoyable. The last 3 months I have read and listened to 14 titles that are strictly contemporary romance or adult romance. For those that know me, this may be a surprise. My love for paranormal, magical, world changing, empire reigning faeries stories has never wavered, but yet I found myself engulfed in love without wings.

I cannot pin point my shift in habit directly. It stills amazes and bewilders me that my first published novel is of the contemporary women’s fiction brand. Do not dismay friends, anything I write will always have elements of love, but my true heart is somewhere between a raising moon and its alternate reality. My next novel will please those with the same longing and I look forward to sharing the imaginative reality of the Blue Moon Series.

As I finish up this binge, I must make note of some delightful revelations about traditional romance novels.

You always want to root for the bad boy/bad girl.

In the book Heartless: Amato Brother Series by Winter Renshaw, the main character was so scared he was bitter, mean, and almost unworthy of the love being offered to him. However somewhere between ignoring his feelings, and fighting his feeling, I found myself hoping for his healing.

Story continuations do not have to be harmonious.

Often times with paranormal/fantasy stories, the series starts and then builds on the previous story. It is almost imperative to read book 1 before book 5. And if you enjoy the writing, you will be clenching to get to book 6 just to see how the story ends. During my binge I read most of Kristen Proby’s Boudreaux Series. While I did start with book one Easy Love, I skipped to book #6 Easy Nights, because I was interested in that character focus. Then I went back to book 5 Easy Magic. Reading the stories out of sequence did not take away from the knight in shining armor quality of her writing.

All romance novels aren’t about love, some make you feel.

This lesson was welcomed and has helped me understand my own creativity and development of my non-fantasy brand. A love story should make you feel for the character and anyone else you see and know in a similar situation. Brittainy C. Cherry is one of my new favorite authors. Her novel The Air He Breathes caught me totally by surprise and I enjoyed every minute of it. I felt every moment of Tristian’ pain and Elizabeth’s strong will to push forward despite her pain. The character’s development is nothing short of fiction perfection for me. The emotion the writer pulled through the words puts her in my top list for the year 2017. I enjoyed her story so much I followed up The Air He breathes with The Gravity of Us and I was not disappointment. The story showed me that not all romance has to portray the strength and trial of love between adults. Sometimes the triumph of learning to love your family and yourself is all the love story one needs. Brittainy C. Cherry story inspired my so much I have written separate full-length reviews, check them out then read her books.

I am not sure if I am done with the romance reads quite yet, but as I moved into the edit and 2^nd draft phase of my own urban fantasy novel, I find that it is helpful to stay balanced with my reading choices. Hopefully you are reading something engaging and amazing too this year.

~Dream~Create~Inspire

Tanela