Today I’ve got two book reviews for you from Harlequin author, Lisa Dyson. Today I’m talking about two of her ‘Super Romance’ novels. I actually had the extreme pleasure to attend the Washington Romance Writers Luncheon and sit at the table with Lisa, whom is an absolute gem. She is the sweetest AND she loves gloves….which I also love. When you live on the East Coast in the DC area you gotta love your gloves. I got the opportunity to read two of Lisa’s books, Prince Charming Wears a Badge and A Perfect Homecoming. One of the reasons why I love the Super Romance category of Harlequin is that there is more of a story line and more ability to really investigate the characters for some really deep character development.
Military Monday and *Giveaway*
If you saw my last post about Military Romance novels you might have read its become a recent curiosity for me. It’s not really an obsession, per se….but I do now find myself scanning the shelves for uniforms when at Wal-Mart or Target. I’ve run across a common thread and I haven’t decided how I feel about it. So while updating you on my recent reads, and giving you a chance to win some books, I thought I would open this up for discussion.
Here’s my discovery. Most of the books that I’ve read have the same, but very interesting conclusion. They have all ended with the military member miraculously timing his declaration of true love and marriage with him someone being able to end his career in the military. Many times the conclusion is portrayed to the reader by inference that he is choosing his love, and his women, over his career. The women in the story almost always doesn’t know if she can handle his career and either wonders this allowed all through the book or actually makes that a prerequisite for the returning of her love, or for accepting a proposal. I don’t know about you but this completely sticks in my craw. For one it portrays us women in a completely negative light. Why yes, I will love you, but only if you give up the career that you’ve been in for however long, because I am too week and fragile to handle this difficult lifestyle. Why yes, I’ll love you but only if you completely give up who you are so that I can have everything I want. Clearly loving and being with me is a fair trade for whatever you will now have to do to find a career after what seems to me to be a sudden and quick break from your current career.
Now I know I’m totally thinking about this too much, and I’m most definitely reading too much into this. Are these books not more likely to appeal to the Military Women? I mean, I don’t know about the rest of us in this category but I wouldn’t mind reading a romance novel that ends with the guy remaining in the military. It seems to me that there can be love and romance within the military life! So now that everyone is rolling their eyes at me, LOL, how about I give you a chance to check the out yourself. Personally I think they are better than any Shades of Grey book out there even though I haven’t read Shades of Grey. But the military life, while not to be completely romanticized to the point where reality has to place….is pretty darn romantic if you ask me.
What are your thoughts?
Prize: 3 Harlequin American Romance/Operation Family Books
I found all of these at Wal-Mart at different times. I’d never noticed them before, so I wonder if being in a high volume military location has anything to do with that or not; or maybe I never really paid attention to them before. This is my first dive into Romance Novels.