Friday Reads: A Surprise

This week I read a book I normally would not read. I bought this book not because the story appealed to me, not because I read a recommendation, but because I have interacted with this author out there on the internet, and she is very nice and helpful and funny. Then, I read a post on her blog that really helped me get through a tough writing spot, and I thought… why shouldn’t I go buy one of her books?

So, I downloaded The Inherited Bride by Maisey Yates. This was my first Harlequin Presents book because, honestly, the “promise” of the line does not appeal to me. I prefer to read about places I know rather than international locales, and I hesitate to read anything with royalty or super rich people. I’m the small town, cozy, homey romance reader, so admittedly Presents is out of my realm.

Still, I don’t write about books I don’t like, and I was surprised to find myself liking this book that had so much of what I normally dislike. It wasn’t perfect. For instance, I was a little put off with how instant and immediately physical the attraction was between the hero and heroine, and I wasn’t totally sold on the conflict resolution… seemed to happen really fast. BUT the thing that really struck me, hooked me, and made me keep reading and end up liking this book was the depth of emotion that the author created, especially in such a short amount of words.

As I was reading, I realized these characters were feeling the absolute depths of their emotions, where in my current WIP I had been holding back a little, not letting my characters feel the entire breadth of anything, especially in scenes where they were together. As I was reading this book, I was continually thinking… THIS is what my story is missing. The emotions I was reading in this book weren’t just cerebral or musing, they were honestly felt and shown. It made it a compelling read from both a reader and writer’s standpoint, and I love that a short book could satisfy both parts of me.

I am not a Presents convert by any means, but I learned something about my own WIP from reading The Inherited Bride, and to me that makes it a book well worth reading. While I may not pick up every Maisey Yates book from here on out, I will definitely keep reading any where the story lines sound like something I could get into.