I am almost eager for winter to arrive on the banks of the Clark Fork River. Winter gives me a chance to enjoy contemporary romance novels. (And get away from the wildfire smoke that has once more descended into the Missoula and Bitterroot Valleys.)
Even though I read other types of romance genres and other genres in general, I find I return to contemporary romance novels again and again. Here’s the reasons why:
Good contemporary romance novels have a strong sense of place. Susan Wiggs is brilliant at description. Although I haven’t yet read Return to Willow Lake (The Lakeshore Chronicles), I know when I get there, I’ll experience the romance of place. It brings me home again to the woods of New York and New England where I grew up. Because Wiggs’ description is so full of sensory details and images, you achieve a sense of place almost immediately. “The wedding wound down like a noisy parade fading in the distance,” is a line from her latest novel.
Isn’t it exquisite? I wish I had written that!
One of the reasons I enjoy contemporary romance novels is they tackle realistic problems. Sherryl Woods is another favorite writer of mine. I finished Where Azaleas Bloom (Sweet Magnolias) a few weeks ago. In the book Woods tackles the issue of a gay man who has hidden his desires behind a marriage. While I wish that Woods had portrayed the man more sympathetically, she confronts a problem that is contemporary in nature and requires the reader to think about his or her reactions to the story.
And finally, there’s the familiarity of characters in the contemporary romance novels I tend to like. As you can see, I enjoy series. I find it hard to let go of friends because I always want to know what happens next in their lives. It’s the same with books. I devoured Nancy Drew Mystery Stories like The Secret of The Old Clock and The Hidden Staircase when I was a kid.
Today I love returning to Virgin River with Robyn Carr and Fool’s Gold with Susan Mallory. That’s why I’ve made my first set of books a series that takes place in Costanoa on California’s Central Coast, tackled hard contemporary issues like abuse and adultry, and created a group of characters I hope you’ll want to hang out with again and again.
How about you? Why do you like contemporary romance novels? Leave a comment below.
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