”It’s the little things you do together … that make perfect relationships/
The hobbies you pursue together, savings you accrue together, looks you misconstrue together/
That make marriage a joy.”
The above lines from Stephen Sondheim’s musical Company popped into my head as I was reading Patti O’Shea’s Edge of Dawn. I found this book spectacularifically generic in almost every way, except in its depiction of the couple’s pastimes. Unlike many romances in which couples seem to share everything but parents, Ms. O’Shea’s characters had mutually exclusive – exclusive, mind you – hobbies. He tinkers with cars. She loves art. Both hobbies bore the hell out of the other, and the other knows it. But does it affect their relationship? Not a whit.
Ah…Tuesday. A big, shiny new release day and judging by the look of my bookstore, the book & music fans were out in force. I’ve long since learned that the store by my office never has the new releases out on shelves on Tuesday itself, so I wait until Wednesday to go book hunting. I had several books in mind for this trip, so I set out over my lunch break.
True to my sanguine personality, I love to share my experiences and always hold out the hope that someone else will share equally so that we can make a party of it. If I’m excited about an upcoming trip or moved by a new-found musician or wowed by a recently released movie , I want to tell others. Within my circle of friends and family, I am very fortunate to have those who encourage my sharing of such things and give their own thoughts in return. However, when it comes to talking about the extremely moving historical romance book I finished last night or the impressive vampire romance series I’m reading or the hilarious romantic audio book that entertained me so thoroughly over the thump, thump, thump of my treadmill – well – there’s no family, friend, or neighbor with any interest whatsoever in the genre (as far as I know). So, I sometimes reflect on what fun it could be to have just one person close by who loves reading romance and enjoys talking about it.
I was discussing books with one of my friends. She doesn’t read much romance, but she likes urban fantasy and the occasional swashbuckling historical when she can find it. At one point, though, she told me that, “My favorite romance is probably 
I see frequent mention of the rapist heroes of old on the message boards, but I have encountered relatively few of them in my own reading. I think the first Catherine Coulter historical I read will be burned into my brain for ever and ever and I remember a particularly bad rape-deflowering from a Jennifer Horsman book, but most heroes I’ve read just didn’t cross that line. Then again, I first started reading non-YA romance in high school(early 90s) and those were almost all Harlequin Historicals, Harlequin Intrigue and Silhouette Shadows. The stories had sex scenes, but nothing like the rape-fests that were apparently all over the place less than a decade before.
We have five (5) lucky winners in our Toni Blake giveaway who will be receiving copies of One Reckless Summer. They are: Maureen, Kim D., Quilt Lady, Jennifer and Sea Grace. Congratulations to all of you and happy reading!
Last week’s Washington Post featured a 
Part of my morning ritual, along with looking at the news headlines, checking email, and stopping by AAR, is seeing what’s new in audio romance. It’s a little like opening a grab bag as I wonder if I will be thrilled, bored, or disappointed with the day’s audio romance releases. You see, I never know what to expect release-wise and I gave up seriously looking for a list of upcoming audio books after many failed attempts to find a complete romance listing. After all, that morning look always promised the possibility of a bit of excitement, even as my audio book budget toppled yet again from the lack of planning.
