The Crying Test

I’m a crier. I cry in weddings and movies and television shows. I even cried at the end of Terminator 2 when they lowered Schwarznegger into the pit of molten metal. *sniff*

That’s my litmus test for reading. If at some point I get that tight, pinching feeling in my chest and I start to tear up, then I know the writing sucked me in and affected me. I still may not say that it’s a good book overall, but I’ll definitely give the author props for invoking emotion in me. I feel the same if the writer made me laugh out loud as well, but that seems to be a harder task than making me tear up.

I just finished reading Twilight and I have to say, I enjoyed that book. Of course, I’m not alone. 🙂 I expected to be underwhelmed after Stephen King’s remarks and my Little Sis being so-so on it. But I can honestly say I really liked where this book went. Are there issues with it? Sure, but even my most favorite books are not flawless.

I think one of the reasons I can say I loved parts of this book is that it made me sniffly, sniffly in parts. I’m not even going to go for the fallback answer of “I can see why teenage girls would love this” review. I can be a picky, discerning reader, but at the same time, I’m also ready to be swept off my feet.

Happy Valentine's Day!

heartsI supposed a romance blog can’t be without a Valentine’s day post. I’ve got nothing spectacular planned, so I thought I’d just post of a list of those romance books that captured what good heart-warming, gut wrenching romance should be. They’ve all influenced my writing romance writing and I re-read them for pointers.

So without any explanation other than I love these stories and in no particular order:

Vows – Lavyrle Spencer
Suddenly You – Lisa Kleypas
Blue-Eyed Devil – Lisa Kleypas
Once a Princess – Johanna Lindsey
Renegade Bride – Barbara Ankrum
Gone with the Wind – Margaret Mitchell
Pride and Prejudice – Jane Austen
Ain’t She Sweet – Susan Elizabeth Philips
Jane Eyre – Charlotte Bronte
Born in Ice – Nora Roberts