WHO NEEDS ROMANCE NOVELS?
Romance novels – who needs them? What is good about them?
Are they not just a complete waste of time?
That was what I used to think; even though I consider myself to be a pretty romantic person. I’m also a very literary person and my first thoughts were that all romance novels are alike. They are so predictable. You always know how they are going to end.
In other words; they are pretty boring. I typically found them to be very uninteresting. On top of being totally boring novels that never hold my attention; some of them are just plain trashy and worldly.
THE ICE BEGINS TO THAW
Well, that was then; in the times before Christian romance novels became more popular.
At least if these types of novels were labeled “Christian” you did know they were not going to be trashy and worldly; but did that really help very much in the end? Didn’t you think like I did at first that even though they might be a bit more “pure” they still might be a bit boring and predictable?
Didn’t you always expect a certain kind of superficial heroine and the same old hero every time?
Everyone loves a love story – but romance novels usually couldn’t hold a candle to movies or real life happenings for me. They simply did not live up to the high expectations of a perfect romance in the modern-day.
Come on now – just admit it.
We all thought that!
Fortunately; that was then…….
THE TIMES THEY ARE A CHANGING
Live and learn. Updating to the present; a few great novelist have completely changed our minds about romance novels! I stand corrected and my hat is off to each of these brave new pioneers of the literary world.
To name a few of these amazing and now acclaimed Christian romance writers who have now become very popular favorites we could quickly take notice of Jan Karon, Francine Rivers, Karen Kingsbury, Janette Oke, Dee Henderson and Debbie Macomber, who have totally managed to change the writing of romance novels forever.
These wonderful writers have given birth to a whole new world of readers; and a whole new generation of Christian Romance writers.
All of these tried and true and totally surprising and uplifting Christian Romance writers are my heroines.
This same list of wonderful Christian authors (and there are now many more out there) has helped huge numbers of choosy/picky readers who had completely given up the pursuit of ever reading romance novels again.
We now have a great deal of published Christian romance novels for our reading pleasure. This is such good news for those of us who occasionally desire to escape our own tiny little worlds and take a peak retreat into another’s vast universe.
Love stories have definitely made a come-back!
GETTING HOOKED ON GOOD READS
Now I’m hooked on many of these novels in spite of the fact that there once was a time when you could not pay me to touch a romance novel.
Confession is good for the soul, and I’ll confess right now that several of the up-coming authors have received my full attention. I do not seem to be alone in that opinion either. We all have our favorites; and I also have mine.
I’ll give one rising star (who was not even listed among the Christian romance authors I noted above) as the main reason for my change of heart. Her name is Rachel Hauck.
She is without question my very favorite Christian romance writer; bar none.
WHY I LOVE READING RACHEL HAUCK NOVELS
Her novels are amazing!
They move fast, and are easy to read but hard to put down. Each page will hold you in suspense and perk your interest on thoughts related to all of the tiny little things that can happen to a person falling in love while undergoing daily life. Rachel Hauck knows and completely understands that love is a very complex subject.
I adore the fact that this author does sequels. That is a very good thing when you fall in love with her main characters every time you first read about them. You just don’t want to let them go. After you finish one good reading you catch yourself constantly wondering what happens next in their lives. You long for more! The sequels tend to calm down the character addictions that you develop as you read.
Rachel Hauck’s Royal Wedding Series novels are a great example of the magic of her sequels. Each new episode is as good as the last, if not better. They are all page-turners!
Apparently Hallmark thought so too. You can catch some of her novels that have been turned into movies on the Hallmark channel these days. Recently they aired a production of her much-loved book called “Once Upon A Prince.”
I do love the Hallmark channel and occasionally I enjoy their movies a lot; but I would also have to admit that reading the books was a much better experience for me than watching the movie productions. However, once you have read the books; the movie productions are greatly appreciated and well received. Just don’t watch the movies until you have first read the novels; then you will tend to enjoy the movies so much more.
HISTORY AND GEOGRAPHY FINE TUNED WITH LOVE
I also admire the way Rachel Hauck incorporates the life and times of different local areas (mostly the Southern states) into her stories.
You really do feel like you are visiting these places for the first time as you read. Her novel titled “The Wedding Dress” was especially enjoyable to me because it was based on some partial truths that involved a lot of local history from my own hometown; Birmingham, Alabama.
Another novel; “The Writing Desk,” was loosely based on historical places and past facts of the Cocoa Beach, Florida area and she wrote much of the book from the period of time called The Gilded Age.
You can always find some vague sense of something true and real in these masterfully plotted stories Rachel Hauck effortlessly weaves like lovely tapestries for the imagination.
Faithful readers find themselves wondering right from the beginning to the end of each novel; which scene of the story will unwind and make an unexpected twist that reveals a different turn in the road, or connects to something extremely important now that was seemingly insignificant at the beginning of the story?
Rachel Hauck also has this amusing ability for making great conversations happen between her characters.
You feel as if you are eavesdropping on real conversations and receiving secrets that no one else could know.
I’ve stumbled across a lot of one-liners that stay and linger in the edges of my mind. One of my favorite lines of one such conversation was: “Everything can’t be wrong. It’s physically, spiritually and cosmologically impossible.” (Jonas from “The Writing Desk”) With such conversations as this happening all through her books you really get to know the heart of her characters. Just as you think you know exactly how they feel and think; they will step up and surprise you.
FIND OUT FOR YOURSELF
So; that is all I’m going to tell you.
Go buy “The Writing Desk” and clear your calendar for the next few days; because you will not be able to leave the story. I have some links posted at the end of this article for those who wish to make a book purchase; these links will lead you to other links for more Rachel Hauck books. She has written many other great editions since I first posted this article.
I posted hard cover copies; so don’t let the prices intimidate you. As a collector of her novels; I simply prefer to have the hard copies whenever available. Each hard-cover link will also show you a much less priced soft cover edition. As an Amazon Affiliate I get a slight commission off of each purchase; but that does not make your purchase cost one cent more than if you bought from Amazon directly. Think of it as a small way to support The IN SEASON Lifestyle blog. I hope you enjoy all the free articles we produce for you daily.
As I said; be sure to clear your calendar. If you buy two or three Rachel Hauck books – take a week off if you can arrange it. You won’t be able to put them down once you pick them up.
You could do like I did and call in sick; if that becomes absolutely necessary.
When you finish your first book; you might want to browse through Rachel Hauck’s own blog. I’m not sure how she has time to contribute articles to it with all the novels she is producing; but it is a wonderful place to visit. You can find it here: http://www.rachelhauck.com/blog/.
HOOKED ON A READING
I’ll warn you about another thing; once you read your first Rachel Hauck novel; you will be hooked and always long for the next one.
It is like a contagious disease that you enjoy instead of dreading. You can’t ever be cured.
You will have to have the next book.
Which; by the way, after “The Writing Desk” is a lovely little jewel called: “The Love Letter.“
“The Love Letter” was made available in the marketplace way back in June of 2018 and Rachel has done many new works since then. I’m going to go get all of them and talk a little vacation soon.
I can’t wait!!!!
KEEP THE PROPER ORDER
A little tip for all new Rachel Hauck fans is to double-check to be sure you are reading the first book of a series before you buy a book. Sometimes she will have a series of three, and you don’t want to know the ends before the beginnings.
Be sure you are reading these lovely tales in order; just check inside the book covers where you can usually find informative pages of information about the order of most of her series and other books for sale.
So that, my friends, is how I was miraculously cured of avoiding the reading of romance novels.
THE ICING ON THE CAKE
The fact that Rachel Hauck can present an intriguing love story full of history and adventure, with all the twists and turns of a mystery novel, without abusing the ten commandments one bit; and the way she gives testimony to the wondrous works of God without anyone even noticing that she is doing so; makes for the icing on the cake.
I love the way she usually puts a few questions for her readers to ponder at the end of her stories. Many a bible study group has enjoyed the pleasure of exploring the answers to those end-of-the-book questions together.
Even modern-day Christian romance novels can symbolically be a witness to the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
If you don’t believe me; just go read a Rachel Hauck novel.
Enjoy!