Look, I've talked about this before. There was a rather tongue-in-cheek post a while back about things males writers do in their books that would NEVER happen in romance novels (and for GOOD reason). I've also talked about characters who were completely let down by their writers. I've also mentioned things that the television and movie industry can learn from romance novels. But lately, I'm seeing more and more examples of writing atrocities, 99% of which are being committed by men (sorry guys), that could've (should've) been avoided. There's also A LOT of disrespect going on in the fandoms towards shippers (i.e.: folks who want to see a particular set of characters get involved in a romantic relationship). But guys, I'm here to tell you, embracing romance novels and shippers is a good move for EVERYONE. And now, more than ever, it's time to try new things. Here's what I mean: 

Any critics who say that all romance novels are light and fluffy CLEARLY haven't read these high-stakes reads (and they should read them, because they're AWESOME): 

​I’m a word-sensitive person. My first realization of this came with awkward squirming and heavy facial sweating in seventh grade Health and Family Living (sex ed) class when Mr. Benson employed certain rather necessary words (puberty, menstruation, ejaculate, breasts) that I… uh, had a problem with. Worse was speaking such words aloud in a prepubescent public discussion of the birds and the bees. Singing these words was out of the question. Unfortunately, my middle school guitar teacher, Mr. Lindemann—in all his long-haired, hipster glory—insisted upon teaching me to strum along to “singable” songs. “Rock-a My Soul in the ____ of Abraham! Rock-a My Soul in the ____ of Abraham!” Bosom was on my no-no word list. Guitar lessons ended almost before they began.
 
Severe word-sensitivity scarred twelve-year-old Mia.

Did you think that paranormal romance was too dark and scary to help you escape grim reality? Well, think again! I'm here to tell you that there are some truly awesome feel-good paranormal romances out there that'll make you forget all about viruses and elections and murder hornets. (aka: 2020) And just to be clear: my criteria for "feel good" is lots of laughs, plenty of snark, and very few super-scary or dark moments. So without further ado, here are the BEST feel-good paranormal romances to help you escape reality:   

I've seen some disturbing things on social media lately. Lots of BAD advice is being thrown about. Readers are doing things to authors that will NOT end well. The publishing business is really hard, and it's stuff like THIS that might throw a romance author over the edge and make them stop writing at all:

First of all, I binge-watched this series in 2 days. It's that good. Whether you were a fan of the original 1984 movie, or you were a Gen X kid who wants to wallow in some good old nostalgia, this is the series for you. It also helps that it's funny, at times heart-warming, and incredibly well-written. The great writing alone should keep any youngsters who weren't even born when the original movie came out interested. So, that said, this post is a combo Cobra Kai review, and book recommendations list. 'Cause that's just how I roll. You're welcome. Here it goes:   

Look, I try really hard not to let the drama that goes on in the book reviewing world (especially Romancelandia drama) impact anything that I'm doing. The fact of the matter is that someone is always pissed off about something. But there was another HUGE dust-up this past week that got me thinking: why am I doing this again? Why am I putting myself through this? And the decision I ultimately made was that it would be in my best interest to cut WAY back on the number of books I review each month. Not to say that I'll be reading less, because that'd be a big ole lie, but I will not be reviewing every book I read from this point on. Here's why:  

In looking back at the posts I've done since starting this blog (and there have a crap-ton of posts, y'all), I was somewhat surprised to discover I've never talked about fated mates before. You know, that "she/he is absolutely my one true soul mate", love at first sight kind of thing that happens every so often in paranormal romance? Maybe that was a conscious decision on my part, because let's face it, the trope is POLARIZING. But when it's done right, it's also kinda fabulous. So, with that in mind, here are my picks for the fated mates trope done right. Enjoy: