Debra Mullins | What Makes a Book a Keeper?

I recently asked this question on Twitter: “As a romance reader, what makes a book a keeper for you?”  Out of the replies that came my way, the two most common responses were one, a compelling hero/heroine and two, a story that generates an emotional reaction in the reader, whether that means laughter, crying, et cetera.

I think we all read romance novels to escape, at least temporarily, the conflicts of our normal lives.  Even the people with the happiest of marriages, the best of health, and the most wonderful of jobs have some kind of problems.  Everyone needs to play a little hooky once in a while, and romance novels are a great way to do that.

When you read a romance, you get caught up in someone else’s problems.  And even if you’re biting your nails on page 300 wondering if these two will ever get together, you know in the back of your mind that everything is going to turn out happily ever after, which leaves you with a feeling of satisfaction and hope at the end of the book.  (But you still nibble on those nails.)

A book that gets a reader so emotionally involved is what we call a keeper.  But how do you bring a reader so deep into your story that she reaches for the hanky when the dog gets hit by the car?  That she laughs when that guy whose pickup line the heroine flicked off the night before turns out to be her new boss?  That her heart melts when the hero shows up on the heroine’s doorstep with a diamond ring after she was certain he was gone from her life forever?

Character, that’s how.

Don’t get me wrong.  Plot is important.  We need a believable situation where the hero and heroine interact and fall in love.  That might be an unexpected baby, an arranged marriage, a mystery to solve or any other situation that puts both of them in trouble.  But you need great characters to pull it off.

The hero and the heroine of a romance novel need to get you on their side from the get-go.  You need to be rooting for them throughout the whole book, worrying for them when it looks like things are not going to work out and cheering for them when it finally does. 

I read somewhere that if the traditional historical hero met a modern woman, that woman would probably think him an arrogant jerk and want nothing to do with him.  But in his own timeframe and with a woman from the same era, suddenly that arrogant duke seems like a very manly hero, and female readers admire him and want him for the heroine.

By the same token, in a historical setting women tended to be considered second-class citizens.  Often they were expected to look pretty and play dumb.  Again, today’s woman would never stand for that—and they don’t like it in a historical heroine either.  That heroine has to be smart, different and willing to sacrifice whatever it takes to reach her goal.  Because she is willing to take risks, the modern reader is on her side.

There are some books that seem to have the perfect balance of compelling characters and engaging plot, stories that we read over and over again.  One of my favorite keepers is Lord of Scoundrels by Loretta Chase.  What’s yours?

Debra Mullins
DebraMullins.com