Before I get stuck into book three on my list of 'best romance novels of all time', I had to mention a couple of things.
Firstly, I've just finished reading a Harlequin romance, and the cover model was a brunette when the heroine is, quite distinctly, blonde. Every time I looked at the cover, it irritated me. I found myself picturing the heroine as the cover model, then being rudely reminded of how wrong I was when the author referred to her as a 'tall blonde' *growl*. Ever had this experience? How hard is it to get a cover right? Did it ruin the book for you?
Secondly, there was an article in Ralph Magazine (such a reliable and news-worthy source!) about the 'neosexual male'. Basically it's a new term someone has coined for a man who can sing and dance, yet be also a hunter/gatherer type as well. They've used my fave hero as an example, so it's well worth thinking about *wink*.
Okay, so the third book I've decided to look at which romance readers apparently adore, is Julie Garwood's The Secret. I've never read Julie Garwood before, but I do have another book of hers that readers rave about, and that's The Bride, which I'll look at another time.
Anyway, The Secret is set in Scotland in the 12th century. English Lady, Judith Hampton, is to attend the birth of her Scottish friend's first child, and the Laird, Iain Maitland, is to escort her safely from England to the Highland home of his sister-in-law (Judith's friend). Of course, romance develops, but there's a big secret - Judith is the daughter of Laird Maclean, an enemy of Iain Maitland and his clan.
It's beautifully written and an engaging tale, although I did have trouble believing some elements of the story/some dialogue because of the time period. I'm no expert on 12th century Britain, but there was certainly a modern feel to the story.
The hero and heroine were great characters. The heroine had guts and determination, and the hero was gorgeous, despite being a bit surly at times. The romance between them was believable, the author was quite humorous throughout, and I was really pleased by the ending.
I'm looking forward to reading The Bride, and I can understand why Julie Garwood is so popular. The Secret is a great book, but not necessarily one I'd consider as an all time favourite. I enjoyed it, but it didn't make my heart sing as much as I'd hoped it would. I will, however, be putting it on my 'keepers' shelf, and hopefully I'll be adding more of Julie's collection in the future.
Anyone else a Julie Garwood fan? What do you think of The Secret?
Have a great week,
:-) Mon
Mon's random thoughts on writing, life and anything else that catches her attention
2 comments:
I have noticed errors in the covers of romances, and they're really annoying! I may not judge a book by its cover, but it should at least reflect what's inside. I've also caught the same image on the cover of two different romance novels, with one being a cropped version of the other, along with photoshopping a different color dress. Is it really that hard to get an original, correct image?
I know what you mean, Sandra. I believe Harlequin now use a lot of stock images, and I've also seen the same covers being used for different authors(especially when covers are changed for different markets around the world).
I agree, you shouldn't judge a book by its cover, but it's incredibly distracting when they get it so wrong. Part of the marketing involves producing an appealing cover, and if they can't get the image right, it's bad/sloppy marketing, as far as I'm concerned. Doesn't do the author justice at all.
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