What constitutes a Good Romance Read?
Francine's reveal:
Having asked RRM reviewers to reveal
what makes for a good historical romance, it occurred to me that I too must
reveal the nitty-gritty, so here goes. All in all I have a curious nature and
throughout life I’ve always wanted to know what makes other people tick, and
authors of historical novels–
in general– are an intriguing
species as are fans of historical novels.
It’s a given readers will time-slip
through pages to wild windswept moors, tread through harsh stone mediaeval castle
and manor halls, or step to the more elegant domain of royal courts and
ballrooms. In reality each historical period has memorable events such as 1066,
1485, 1812, 1815, so on and so forth, but not all authors include major events
as a backdrop to their stories.
Many of the old romances often afford little
more than a dateline sub header per chapter to denote time and place, e.g.
Yorkshire 1759, or perhaps London 1814, and nothing else beyond the social
standing of the characters and all that arises within their immediate circle is
provided to latch onto. After all, a red shawl is a red shawl, and it’s up to
the reader to determine knitted, woven, or silk etc, according to the character's social standing. Often within old
books there was no in depth description of clothes, but the story was no less
thrilling. In this instance the novel “Wuthering Heights” leaps to mind, and
there are those within literary circles who will declare WH is not a romance, that it is merely a love story because it doesn’t have a happy ever after. I beg to differ, because two
people fall in love, conflict arises, and tragedy ensues, just as it did in
Romeo & Juliet, as it does in many of the great love/romance stories where the
hero or heroine has to turn from the other and walk away. Some of the most
memorable novels of loss leap to mind: Gone with the Wind; Frenchman’s Creek;
and Brief Encounter. These novels were no less enthralling throughout, the endings somewhat tragic in the emotional sense, though in GWTW it
was an open ending – would Rhett return; unable to live without Scarlet?
So you see I don’t believe romance
novels have to have an HEA. Romance and tragedy is memorable; sad yes, and yet
fulfilling in so many ways. So whatever romance comes my way for review, I can
in all honesty say I have an open mind as to what constitutes a good or great
romance read, though I do revel in books where emotions run deep, characters
reveal their inner self, or the story lines have darker elements at play. Historical accuracy counts too, but please no antique sales catalogue descriptions of items, whether personal or household. Other
than that I am a tart for handsome military heroes.
