Christian Romance Novels

I have a love/hate relationship with them.  I am addicted to reading.  It was not always this way, in fact, I used to hate reading.  That all changed when I took an Honors English class my junior year of High School.  During that year, I had to read several classics including Pride and Prejudice, Frankenstein, The Scarlet Letter, Sense and Sensibility, Oliver Twist, Northanger Abbey, and the Red Badge of Courage. By the end of the year, I had gotten so used to always having a book with me that I went out and got the Count of Monte Christo. From that point on, I was a goner.  I learned early on in my college career that I should not read for pleasure during the school year because it sidetracked me from my schoolwork.  During semester breaks, you can usually find me reading a book.  I love to read classics.  My three favorite authors have to be Jane Austen, Charles Dickens, and Alexandre Dumas.

As much as I love classics I have found myself reading a lot of Christian romance novels recently, but like I said in my first sentence.  We have a love/hate relationship.  I love that they are easy reads.  You do not have to dissect and figure out analogies or metaphors.  You do not have to get through a chapter like “it was the best of times.  It was the worst of times.”  In addition, never do you find an author like Victor Hugo, who has to give you a history lesson on the geography and layout of Paris before he can continue his story.  Christian romances are simple, which happens to be the thing I hate about them.

It is nice to know that when I settle down with a book that I will finish it in a few days… perhaps even hours.  I do not have to worry about the language or questionable content.  I find it very hard to put down the book.  I have to know how they couple ends up together.  With the exception of maybe two or three books, the following are usually the case: you always know which characters are going to fall in love by the end of the first or second chapter; and the books are predictable, and there is never any great shock over the course of the story.

The books leave me with one of three emotions.  I think they are sweet and worth reading again one day.  Second, I felt the book was merely adequate.  Third, I have no idea who these characters are!  For example, I just read a 300-page book and I still have no real comprehension as to whom the characters are and what makes them tick.  Who cares is the guy and girl fall in love.  I want to know more about them.  Because women write most of the stories, the woman’s character is developed more fully than the man’s.  The man is always some Mr. Dreamboat who the girl thinks is too good for her.  He is almost always tall dark and handsome.  Okay so this does not seem like a huge deal, but the stories do seem a little repetitive after a while.

Another thing I do not like is that God is not a main character.  Oh, the people talk about him… sometimes… but they do not have a full relationship with him.  I can understand that in a 120 pg book you can’t go all out like you might in a 400 pg  book; but if I don’t understand these characters’ walk with God how am I suppose to under their character?

I guess if I were to write a novel I would be very specific about its contents.  God will be the central character in my book.  Furthermore, the plan of salvation will be clearly presented.  Finally, maybe the girl will not even get the guy… now that would be different .  However, until I write this novel I think I will sit on the couch and read another book.