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Feb 2011 Issue
by Annette Lyon
There’s a reason romance is the best-selling category of any kind of fiction . . . by a mile. The bad news: thousands of romance titles don’t exactly espouse LDS values. The good news? Plenty of others do, if you know where to look.
First, why are romance novels so popular in the first place? I think it boils down to the fact that everyone has experienced love, or a desire for it, in some way. The same can’t be said of other genres: not everyone can relate to an alien invasion or being a spy, a wizard, or a detective. But everyone who has ever lived can relate to love, whether it’s loving someone else or being loved, love for family, friends, or a romantic love interest.
And we all know how tangled relationships can be.
It makes sense, then, that stories about love, particularly ones that target the entire point we’re on the Earth—marriage and family—would strike a chord. It’s logical, even in spiritual sense, that we gravitate toward romantic stories where a man and a woman move toward love, marriage, and commitment.
It also follows that Satan would try to warp those stories, turning them from something beautiful and uplifting into something base. That is exactly what happens with some novels classified in this genre: they’re getting more and more graphic in the bedroom, to the point that even literary agents and editors debate where the line is between erotica (books written with the point to titillate the reader) and simply graphic romances.
It’s no surprise, then, that the term “romance novel” has developed a negative reputation. Latter-day Saint women should steer clear of the books that deserve the negative stereotype.
Some women have found themselves inadvertently sucked into (and even addicted to) the pages of books that are no better for them than visual pornography would be for their husbands.
However, there is great news: readers who love to read and who enjoy a good love story—without the graphic smut—have more options today than ever.
Many industry insiders have clued in that not all readers are looking for so-called “hot” books, and several have publishers even have entire lines devoted specifically to cleaner reads, such as Harlequin’s Steeple Hill imprint, which puts out only clean, Christian romances. (As opposed to their Spice line, which you can guess is very different.)
Another good place to look is Tyndale House, which publishes books by writers like Dee Henderson, a Christian novelist who writes adventurous romances like The Negotiator. Another writer to try is Lawanna Blackwell (with Christian publisher Bethany House). Her books are popular, clean, (great!) historical romances.
And of course, LDS publishers such as Deseret Book and Covenant regularly publish romance titles, and women can know that they’re reading a “safe” book and don’t have to be on edge, ready to skip pages.
Below are some LDS romance titles I recommend:
• Counting Stars and All the Stars in Heaven, by Michele Paige Holmes. She writes romances that are unpredictable, fresh, smart, and funny. You’ll laugh and cry.
• Courting Miss Lancaster and Kiss of a Stranger, by Sarah M. Eden. If you’ve ever swooned at Pride and Prejudice, these books are for you. Eden’s books are Regency romances (which, by definition, aren’t LDS), but they’re published with Covenant—who have realized that LDS readers don’t necessarily want to always read about fellow Mormons and sometimes just want a great alternative to potentially offensive national titles. I adore Eden’s work.
• Cross My Heart, by Julie Wright. A light-hearted, funny romantic comedy that left me smiling for hours.
• Spare Change, by Aubrey Mace. Another fun romantic comedy that will put you in a great mood.
• Isabell Webb: Legend of the Jewel, by N. C. Allen. An adventurous (and romantic) trip through late 1800s India. A great yarn with a fun love story mixed in.
• What the Doctor Ordered, by Sierra St. James. A classic romantic tale that’s laugh-out-loud funny. All of St. James’s books are fantastic reads. (Also look for Masquerade and Trial of the Heart.)
• Illuminations of the Heart, by Joyce DePastina. Another non-LDS book from an LDS publisher, this romance is set in medieval Europe. It’s got adventure, intrigue, and characters you won’t forget.
Just because some romantic books have smut doesn’t mean you have to abandon the genre altogether. Remember, some of the most popular stories of all time had romantic themes. This would be a very different (and lacking!) world without all-time classics like Darcy and Lizzy or Romeo and Juliet.
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