Romance Book Tag


The oh-so-lovely Chai @ Like Chai Tea tagged me to do this Romance Book Tag. Never mind that it was (ahem) a month ago. Better late than never, right? Right. 

We all know that romance is my jam. As a wise person once said: If there's not a romance, why bother reading it? Actually it was me that said that. Just now. But let's move on.

There are a lot of questions - 25 of them (25?? What is this, am I back in school being tested??) - but this should be fun. :)

  

first romance you remember reading
I don't have a clue! I've been reading for 40+ years and reading romance for at least 30 years sooo... who knows? I'll take a wild guess, though and say that it was probably something by Danielle Steel that I borrowed from my mother or grandmother. 

last romance you read
Just For Now (Sea Breeze #4) by Abbi Glines

the romance you are most likely to recommend to a newbie
Oooh, tough one. I've never considered myself great at recommendations. I always want people to read the books I love (and obviously they have to love them, too *stomps foot*), but actually making helpful recommendations? Yeah, not so much. I guess I'd go with something on the lighter side and not scare them off with anything too angsty. Josh & Hazel's Guide to Not Dating by Christina Lauren would be a good choice (I think). 

the romance you are most likely to recommend to another romance reader
I'll go with Love and Other Words. Because as popular as Christina Lauren is, I feel like this one doesn't get enough love.

  
an underrated romance you wish more people would read
How much time do you have? I have so many underrated favorites. But I'll go with Goodnight, Nic by Marley Jacobs. With a measly 72 ratings (and 48 reviews) on GoodReads, it breaks my heart that more people haven't experienced this one. And, because I'm a rebel, I'm going to add a YA option. The Edge of Juniper by Lora Richardson is one I push recommend relentlessly.

an overrated romance you wish people would stop talking about
Oh, so we're getting salty, are we? This is difficult because for me to consider it overrated means I would have had to read the book. And I'm struggling to come up with a book that I consider overrated that people talk about. I'm stretching here, because this one goes back several years, but I remember the Confessions of a Shopaholic series being hugely popular and getting lots of buzz. But I read the first book and just thought... meh. It felt silly and the slapsticky (did I just make up a word?) humor left me unimpressed. 

an auto-buy author
Colleen Hoover. Forever and always. Amen.

an author you used to love that you have since abandoned
Jane Green. I used to inhale everything she wrote. Back when chick lit was a thing and made its debut (c. 2000) I discovered Jane Green. The first novel I read from her, Jemima J, meant so much to me and remains a favorite. But over the years her writing has morphed into bland stories that seem to feature the exact same setting and the exact same character types over and over again. 

    

favorite trope
Many! I have many favorite tropes! Second chance romance, friends to lovers, damaged hero, forbidden romance. I refuse to choose just one. You can't make me.

best book with your favorite trope
Archer's Voice is pure gold. He was a damaged hero - a recluse - and his story broke my heart. But in a good way. 

a book you didn't like even though it has your favorite trope
Misbehaved by Charleigh Rose. It was an age gap/forbidden romance but it just... wasn't good.   

most hated trope
Miscommunication. The Big Misunderstanding. It makes me ragey. 

a book you like even though it has the trope you hate
Nash by Jay Crownover. Saint had an unrequited crush on Nash in high school. When she heard him talking trash, she assumed it was about her and hated him after that. Years later he doesn't know why she hates him and them getting together was way more difficult than it should have been. Even so, I was a sucker for their story because I heart Nash so much. And, other than being an idiot about what happened in high school, Saint was a good person. 

your problematic favorite
First, I just have to say I loathe the word "problematic". It's become such a catch-phrase for anything anyone deems inappropriate in a book. But I'll stop before I get on my soapbox. (You're welcome.) And I'm skipping the question because if I had issues with a book it's doubtful that it would be a favorite. 

a book everyone else loved that has you scratching your head
Isn't this basically the same as question #6? An overrated book that you wish everyone would quit talking about? I don't really understand the difference so I'm skipping this one, too. (The rebel strikes again!)

   

your favorite romancelandia person to follow on twitter
Fact: I'm not a big Twitter user. I go days and days without ever checking it. I mostly follow authors and fellow bloggers on Twitter. I like seeing the bookish artwork Charlie Bowater creates and I'm always amused by Brooding YA hero. :)

a place or person you go to for recommendations or reviews
Sophie @ Beware of the Reader is a professional book pusher and my book twin so I get plenty of recs from her. BookTubers Jessica @ Peace Love Books and Lacey @ Lacey Booklovers also give great romance recommendations.

a book that has a character that reminds you of yourself
This is a tough one. I've never read about a character and thought, "Oh, this is me exactly." But I have seen some aspects of my personality or life in characters. One that comes to mind is Annika from The Girl He Used to Know. Her anxiousness in social situations and her need for solitude were relatable.

romance cover you love
I'm a sucker for a pretty cover. Aren't we all? The Boy & His Ribbon and the UK cover of Who Do You Love are two favorites.

a book you've reread more than twice
I've reread nine of the ten Addicted/Calloway books, but I think I've reread Fuel the Fire more than any of the others.

   

best romance audiobook
Intercepted by Alexa Martin was so excellent on audio. And Royally Screwed by Emma Chase is another favorite. The narration in both was so spot-on and really brought the stories to life.

best romance/rom-com movie
Love Actually (yes, I'm that basic) and Four Weddings and a Funeral. Does anyone else see a Hugh Grant theme? Hmm.

   

favorite heroine
Lily Hale from the Addicted/Calloway series. Love her. And Stella from The Kiss Quotient. I get these women. They are my people. 

favorite hero
I had to laugh because Chai and I share the same two favorite heroes! :) Loren Hale from the Addicted series and Cam Hamilton from Jennifer L. Armentrout's Wait For You.


your all-time favorite romance
What absolute sadist came up with this question? You don't ask a book lover to pick one favorite book! That's madness! But for the sake of the tag I'll play along. If I had to pick one it would be... drumroll, please (which is actually quite unnecessary since you can plainly see the cover of the book right above there)... The Bronze Horseman by Paullina Simons. Oh, the sweet agony of this book. It was sheer torture but in a good way. (That's a thing, right?)

And now I feel like I've been working on this post for 137 hours and my mind is mush. I'm tagging Jessica @ Booked J and Deanna @ Deanna Reads Books but only if they want to do it. And if I didn't tag you and you want to do it... consider yourself tagged. Go forth and spend 137 hours creating your own post. I'd love to see your answers!



22 comments

  1. I have Love and Other Words, but haven't had a chance to read it yet! The Royally series is one of my all-time favorites! I've been meaning to do a re-read myself. The Kiss Quotient was spectacular! I pre-ordered The Bride Test and it's happily sitting on my reading cart. It stares at me every single day. ;) This was such a fun book tag!

    Lindsi @ Do You Dog-ear? 💬

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    1. I hope you'll give Love and Other Words a try, Lindsi! I loved that one so much! Chases's Royally series is so, so good. I listened to all three on audio and they were perfection.

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  2. The Kiss Quotient and Josh & Hazel are favorites of mine, too. This tag does seem like it'd take a while to work up! Lol!

    Just wondering how you're doing with the hurricane? Are you close to the danger? Hope you're okay, Tanya!

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    1. It was looking dicey for a while, Rachel. Thankfully the hurricane veered a little to the east and stayed off the coast. We got some tropical storm force winds and rain but that was a lot better than a Category 2 hurricane!

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  3. I can tell that this post took you a long time to put together. I know it would take me forever - these types of posts usually do - but you did fantastic!

    Josh & Hazel is a favorite of mine and represents the type of romances I love. Funny, romantic, people working to do better.

    Miscommunication or something that could be resolved with one conversation drives me nuts!

    Karen @ For What It's Worth

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    1. I feel it was 137 hours well spent. :)

      So much ♥ for Josh & Hazel!

      And miscommunication is my #1 bookish pet peeve. Makes me so ragey!

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  4. I remember when Confessions of a Shopaholic was EVERYWHERE lol. Wow I'd forgotten about that. :)

    Four Weddings and a Funeral- fun movie. :):)

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    1. I never get tired of Four Weddings and a Funeral. Even though I can basically recite dialogue at this point. LOL

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  5. This is so fun! And I can imagine quite time consuming hah. I feel you SO MUCH with the Miscommunication trope UGH it has to be my least favorite too. Like just talk to each other and bam, 98% of the plot is resolved. Amateurs.

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    1. Yes! When a conflict could be resolved in two minutes flat with one conversation, and yet the author stretches it out over a whole book (because, gee, why have your characters talk to each other?)... ugh! So annoying!

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  6. Truth! But, I think the famous quote is, "Give me romance, or give me death", right? I love Kinsella. She is one fo the few women's fiction authors, that I always enjoy. When I saw "overrated", one author immediately popped into my mind, but I am not a fan of doing negative prompts, so, good for you for abstaining. Technically, wouldn't some of those fairytales we read as kids qualify as romances? (I'm just saying). Love Actually was a good movie, though my favorite rom-com/romance is a toss up between: Pretty in Pink and Say Anything (the 80s forever!)

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    1. So funny you mention Say Anything because it was on TV just a few days ago. (Labor Day, I think?) Such a classic.

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  7. YOU DID THE TAG!! 💗
    Now that you've mentioned it, Christina Lauren's always around the romance universe in literature but I agree that Love and Other Words is underrated because this is the first time I've heard about the existence of this book. ALSO YAY WE HAVE THE SAME FAVORITE HEROES! I mean I got a long list of favorites but those two are on the top of the list! 😄 I've come across The Bronze Horseman for years now but I don't know if I'm ever going to be ready for an emotional book. It's emotionally-heavy isn't it?

    Congrats on completing all 25 questions, Tanya! I also remember how much my back hurt from doing this tag lol but I enjoyed answering the questions so worth it I guess 😂

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    1. I can't remember the last time I did a tag but this was a fun one. Love and Other Words is such a good one. I think it was the second one I read by Christina Lauren and is still one of my favorites. The Bronze Horseman is definitely emotionally heavy. If you prefer lighter reads... avoid that one at all costs. LOL

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  8. Fun tag! I definitely agree with you on recommending Josh & Hazel to someone new to the romance genre. I just loaned my copy of that to my sister because, like me, she tends to shy away from romance. Christina Lauren's books totally changed my mind on that so I'm hoping they'll work their magic on her too.

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    1. I was actually going to loan Josh & Hazel to my mom since it's so fun but then I remembered several pretty explicit scenes between J&H. My 74 year old mom would not be a fan. LOL I hope you sister loved it!

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  9. I remember love hated Confessions of A Shopaholic. Then love hated the second... Then the third. They were so samey and Becky was so freaking annoying and never learned! But the romance had me. I shipped Becky and Luke so hard. I gave up around book four because I just couldn't take it any more.

    Nash was my least favourite book of the Marked Men because I found Saint so bloody irritating but I adored Nash and that saved it for me.

    I adore Love Actually... I can't believe I failed to watch it last Christmas! I always watch it on the run up and last year I didn't fit it in! I blame it on getting married...

    Goodnight Nic is on my amazon wishlist because you mentioned it on another list long ago. I'll definitely read it at some point. It's on KU and I'm planning on a KU binge soon. :)

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    1. OMG, I can't believe you KEPT reading the Shopaholic series. LOL Becky was totally annoying and you're right - she never learned. Just kept doing the same dumb things over and over.

      Yeah, Saint did annoy me the way she held the past against Nash. I mean, it was a one-sided crush and yet she acted like he did her wrong and broke her heart? Uh, reality check, please! Nash was awesome, though. Seriously loved him.

      Get married... miss Love Actually. I think we need to reevaluate this marriage thing. LOL

      I hope you do pick up Goodnight Nic eventually! :)

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  10. It's never too late for a romance book tag. Love the look of this tag... might just have to tag myself in it. And I'm the same, I don't know what the first romance I read was but it's fine. Who needs to remember their first anyway? I'm adding both your recs for romances you wish more folks had read, always good to show love for these underappreciated reads. I am with you raging about miscommunication, the number of times I shout at a book because folks do not use their words is ridiculous. Why? I want a romance with good communication, is that so much to ask?

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    1. I hope you do the tag, Becky! I'd love to see your answers.
      Oh my goodness, the miscommunication thing drives me crazy! Do not make a book-long conflict out of something that could be resolved with one conversation! Grrr!

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