Altered Book - Project 7

Top Picks - Romance Genre

When my kids reached the age of sleeping through the night, and life got a little less hectic with potty training and feeding schedules, I made a return to my love of reading. I'll admit I took quite a hiatus before I returned to my book shelf. I re-read Lord of the Flies by William Golding, The Long Fatal Love Chase by Louisa May Alcott, and The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Emmuska Orczy.

After re-reading some old favorites, I decided to get familiar with the library system. I scanned the bookshelves for a book with a good cover, and LOVED my random pick, Black Olives by Martha Tod Dudman

Then my friend had loaned me some of her books, like The Undomestic Goddess by Sophie Kinsella, The Devil in the Junior League by Linda Francis Lee and Twilight by Stephenie Meyer.

Once I got to Twilight I almost tossed it aside. Vampires? High School? Not my thing. But another friend I was chatting with on the phone said she couldn't put it down and suggested I give it another try. Needless to say, I saw her wisdom and loved the escape I found in this story.

Top Picks Insert - detail

For anyone who knows me, knows that I am a person that gets into a rut and stays there until I'm so sick of it, I never look back. One example is when I discovered Chicken Scampi at my favorite Italian restaurant, Veloce. Every time I visited there, I ate Chicken Scampi until the one day when it suddenly didn't taste good anymore. I've never set foot in that restaurant again.

It's me. It's definitely me.

Second example, is with my new reading genre. Twilight opened up a new interest into the world of fantasy and vampires. I watched multiple vampire movies (Bram Stoker, Anne Rice) and read any vampire story I could get my hands onto until...I found myself out of vampires and into romance. The two were many times intertwined. I began to loose interest in blood and fangs and gain momentum in the romance side of things.

So...I've been studying up on romance reads. I love to compare and contrast and with such easy predictable reads, I can spot exactly where and when a story goes wrong. Plus, I don't feel like I have to finish it if it's not above par, because I already know hot it's going to end. Trying to find that perfect romance story is like finding a diamond in the rough. So, I put together my list of favorites because that's what I do.

If you want a copy of my list? Let me know, I'd be happy to share. Want a hysterical online overview? Check out the website Smart Bitches, Trashy Books. Also, these bloggers have written an equally hysterical book, called Beyond Heaving Bosoms: The Smart Bitches' Guides to Romance Novels by Sarah Wendell and Candy Tan. Laugh out loud funny!