They say confession is good for the soul. Despite a brief infatuation when I was a teenager, by the time I got out of college, my lip would curl in distaste if the words “romance novels” were even mentioned to me. Yeah, I was one of those.
I’m not proud of it, but there you have it. I blame my ignorance on the years I spent in academia earning the two college degrees that were necessary for me to get my dream job as a librarian. I got out quicker than most, but the trauma left me slightly warped.I quickly changed my tune when I landed a job buying adult fiction for a small, rural library system. We had a whole lot of romance readers using the library, and none of them looked like pathetic bored housewives who sat around eating bon-bons and wearing feather boas. I decided that it might be possible (just possible mind you) that my opinion of the genre was slightly “off.” So I started frequenting online romance review sites, went clicking through the positive reviews, and started checking out books.
It didn’t take long for me to get hooked.
That being said, my snobbery was still firmly intact. Because while I now admitted to loving romance novels it’s not like I was reading ::gasp:: Harlequins!
What can I say? I’m a slow learner.
I’ve learned over the years that my misguided opinion of the category format was not unique. There are plenty of romance readers out there who love the genre, but the thought of reading a Harlequin is too much for their fragile little minds to handle. The dopey titles, the shorter page count, the “hooks” found in many of the plots – they just cannot get past all that. To which I reply: “Why not try a SuperRomance?”
SuperRomance is one of the longest category lines that Harlequin offers, which means readers not only get a strong, central love story, but there can also be secondary characters and sub plots thrown into the mix. SuperRomance has a little bit more meat on the bone, and are often emotionally charged stories featuring conflict central to the lives of every day women. The characters are what I call “normies.” Normal, real, authentic characters. I often say that the characters in a SuperRomance are people you could see at the grocery store, your son’s little league game, or walking down the street.
All this translates into solid, honest-to-goodness contemporary romance. No vampires. No Dukes. No serial killers. SuperRomance stories give hope to the rest of us that yes, romance is possible. Yes, we too can fall in love. And no, we don’t have to wait for a Greek tycoon to knock on our door in order for it to happen.
So sit back, relax, and join us here at TGTBTU as we spotlight the Harlequin SuperRomance line all during the month of May. If you’re already a fan of the line, share with us why you love it. And if you’ve never read one before? We’re going to pull out all the stops to try and convert you.
Contest Alert! Debra Salonen has graciously donated books for us to give away to TGTBTU readers during our May HSR Spotlight! I will randomly draw winners from the comments (from all the HSR Spotlight posts) at the end of May. Two grand prize winners will receive three titles: Baby By Contract, Love By George and A Baby On The Way. Three runner up winners will receive a copy of Debra’s May release, Baby By Contract.
Please don’t enter me in the contest–not doing contests anymore. But I have to confess I haven’t read a SuperRomance since Kathleen Giles Seidel went to writing mainstream (dating myself, I know). However, if you have a few good suggestions, I’m open to trying them again.
Wendy–I like the idea of SuperRomances (for all the reasons you say), but why do soooooo many of them involve babies?! I’ll look at the store and there’s not a single one I want to buy because they all have baby in the title. Seems like anyway.
I love the Harlequin lines because they are short. So tell me what have I missed by not reading SuperRomance titles? Where do I start? 🙂 I don’t mind babies, but please not in every book.
OK – None baby titles. Kathryn Shay’s older titles – I’m specifically thinking of her America’s Bravest series which starts with Feel The Heat. These are older though, so you’ll need to hit the used bookstore.
A couple by Janice Kay Johnson – Snowbound (which was just nominated for a RITA) and her current release, The Man Behind The Cop. Both of these titles have “older” kids in them. Not a baby in sight though.
The HSR line is pretty “family focussed” these days. So you’ll see a lot of single dads, moms, and kids. Also brothers, sisters, extended family – you get the idea. I don’t mind babies in my books, but I also don’t want a steady diet of them. Older kids I’m pretty cool with as long as the author writes them convincingly.
Oh, and I should add I have a several HSR titles to review this month. So stay tuned, cuz something might tickle your fancy. I will say I’m really enjoying the one I’m reading right now!
I don’t really worry about the page count with Harlequins because my family buys them used. A pack of five or so is $1 at Half-Price, so we aren’t overpaying.
I love the SuperRomance line for the very reasons you mentioned. Janice Kay Johnson and Kathryn Shay (the firefighter series you mentioned is a favorite of mine!) are two of my favorite writers in that line.
Jennie~huh. I never noticed all the babies LOL I guess as a SAHM small children are just a part of my life so I never noticed.
That’s what I love about these blogs~the different perspectives you get!! :o)
Keep my name in the mix for the contest~I love free stuff~~esp BOOKS!!
Wendy, I agree, I love that these books are about every day people. I enjoy a Greek tycoon hero as much as the next girl, but theres something to be said for an everyday hero.
I’ve been reading HSR for years. In fact, one of my first romance books was an HSR. I typically enjoy them, though I have spaces of time when I don’t read them — mainly because I’ll be focused on a different sub-genre like paranormal.
Please don’t enter me in the contest, as I am getting a book from Ms Salonen already, but I wanted to comment on the line. I like that they are longer, which generally means deeper characterization, and I’ve learned to disregard the titles and (very often) the covers and blurbs. I go mostly by authors, reviews and recommendations–like with any other books 😉
Best of luck with the new book, Ms Salonen!
Are they sexy or sweet? I’m more interested in new titles.
Kris: They tend to be more sweet. What I consider anywhere from PG to PG-13 sex. You’ll typically get a sex scene, but not in graphic detail.
As for newer titles……reviews are forthcoming. Also a couple other authors out there I’d like to toss out for everybody’s consideration are Jean Brashear and Inglath Cooper.
The first HSR I remember reading was Janice Kay Johnson’s superb With Child. I’ve watched for her books ever since and have read a few others in the line as well. I don’t mind babies/children, although I don’t want a steady diet of them. But I do agree that these longer books generally are meatier and well worth reading.
I’d love to win the contest, because one’s TBR pile can never be big enough, right?
No time to read the previous comments :X – certain Super Romances are good – I like harlequin. They’re something of a guilty secret, but I still love them. I think the opposite happened – my 2 degrees actually drove me to read them. And professional school I think cemented it. 😛
I love love love contests – but aside from the “duh” – count me out b/c the thought of babies right now gives me hives :X.
Thanks so much for the answers and recommendations! My TBR pile is growing. I just bought “Snowbound” by Janice Kay Johnson.
I have another questions. What settings do you get with a HSR? Only North American? Small town or big city?
Looking forward to the reviews!
Kris: Mostly North America, but Margaret Way has a book out this month that takes place in Australia. Also, HSR tends to run heavy on small towns, BUT you can find big city settings. Janice Kay Johnson’s latest (The Man Behind The Cop) takes place in Seattle.
Wendy turned me on to HSR. I had a run of weak Harlequin reads, and was waxing nostalgic about the ones I used to pilfer from my mother, when I read one of Wendy’s posts and thought they might fit the bill. They really do have a lot of diversity going for them.
Brenda Novak writes really unusual stories. Very powerful, but sometimes the romance gets lost in the shuffle.
Babies seems to be a big spring thing with Harlequin. I actually have a weakness for accidental pregnancies, and I’ve got some lined up that I’m really excited for 🙂
Well, its time I added some more readers though I’ll have to get them from our library since I can’t fit any more books into my house! I haven’t made up my mind about the Nocture series. I liked one or two but for every one I liked I was disappointed in another. AND, my library doesn’t get them every month like they do some of the other Harlequins. So many books, so little time!
Hi, Wendy, I hope it’s okay for me to comment. I don’t want to drive anyone away because there’s an author in the house. 🙂 One of the best things about Harlequin is the diversity of lines. And I, too, had to be coerced into reading my first Harlequin. But it only took one to hook me.
LOL about the abundance of babies in the titles. My May book has my first pregnant heroine on the cover. I’ve heard they sell well, but I can’t imagine why. Doesn’t this imply that the juicy stuff is already done? 😉
Insider secret: authors are often left shaking their heads in puzzlement when we see our covers for the first time. And this after hours of submitting extensive art fact sheets AND praying to the cover gods.
Sigh.
Deb
Deb: Totally fine for you to comment! Comment away!
All readers have their foibles. There are themes I love (single parent, cowboys, friends to lovers) and themes I hate (sorry Devon – accidental pregnancy falls here for me!). Every reader is different, and Lord knows there isn’t one magical theme out there that won’t push ANY hot buttons for anybody. LOL
And it’s so true about the diversity of the HQ lines. There are lines I love and some lines that just aren’t my thing. Different strokes and all that.
Thanks Wendy! Australia sounds great. I like my armchair travels.
I love the diversity of lines. The only ones I try to stay away from right now are the ones with too much suspense. That might change later in the year. Last year I discovered the Harlequin American (so far I only liked select titles) and Love Inspired (I found I like some, but definitely not all authors) lines. This year I rediscovered Special Edition (Thanks!) and Blaze. HSR would be new and HH is a line I haven’t read in a while.
My favorite theme would be friends to lovers. Oh, and I’m so not fussy when it comes to covers. However, show me a beautiful cover and I will buy the book 🙂
I love Supers, too. It’s a line in which I can almost always find something I want to read, and I’m not disappointed.
Read very limited Serial romance but I rarely have found one that I didn’t enjoy. It’s almost like having a snack between meals. Just the right size.
Supers are the only harlequin line I tend to read, mainly because they are longer in word length, allowing the authors to write characters that are much more developed, thus giving the reader a better story, in my opinion. And yes, these are real people we read about, not vampires and other paranormal stuff (I have read paranormal romances, but find I really do not care for them).
A lot of great writing in this line of harlequin. for those who poo poo harlequins really need to check these out!