This spring, I read a blog post about romance novels, which led to another post, which led to another post. The gist of what I read is that more women should give romance a try: It’s written by women, for women, about women, and it’s about what women want. That’s pretty unique in the literary world, and the world in general.

I haven’t read a romance novel since high school, and the few I read then kind of shocked me. I didn’t make the genre part of my repertoire after that. After reading the articles, I felt perhaps I should give this underappreciated area of fiction another try. I found a few lists of recommended titles, and picked The Duchess Deal, by Tessa Dare. It seemed interesting: a period piece described as being both smart and funny.

I requested it from the library. The day I went in to pick it up, there were two male librarians at the desk. As you can see, the cover is typical for romance novels, and the librarian and I completed the transaction with poker faces. It felt like purchasing hemorrhoid cream.

I knew that the book would be steamier than my usual fare, and I was hoping to use it as a warm up for other activities, since even after all the life change that has happened in the past year, it can still sometimes be hard to get in the mood after a challenging day.

I knew I was in the right place when I read the author’s note on the inside cover: “I grew up a PK (“preacher’s kid”). Emma, the heroine of this book, is a vicar’s daughter. […] Thanks, Dad. This book’s for you. Please don’t read chapters 7, 9, 11, 17, 19, 21, or 28.”

As a PK myself, there’s a certain unspoken understanding between those of us who were raised in the ministry. I knew the author and I “got” each other. Just a page in, I was laughing aloud. The book certainly contained a fair amount of cliche – that’s part of the reason one reads a romance novel. But the author made it clear through dry wit and cheeky comments that she knew exactly what she was doing and didn’t take herself too seriously.

The book is explicit. It’s also tender, funny, witty, and had a good plot line with interesting characters. It took me about 4 nights to read it, and it worked every time. There was only one scene that made me really uncomfortable, and it was more about my own baggage than it was about the scene.

I’ve been reading a lot of heavy and thought-provoking material. I was reading 4-5 other titles while I was reading this one, all nonfiction, and this was a welcome break from all the hard work. It often had me laughing aloud, and many times had me turning to the internet to look up period clothing. (Do you know what a fichu is?)

I could definitely see this genre as being a good, light break as part of a diverse reading list. Romance also seems like it could very easily be hit or miss, so I’ll likely stick to recommended titles in order to hopefully decrease the likelihood of hitting a dud. This definitely wasn’t a dud, though, and if you’re open to trying the genre for yourself, The Duchess Deal is a fun place to get started.