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Joined: 4/26/2011
Posts: 22
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There are so many times I pick up a romance novel...only to find that it is a continuation of another set of characters that I haven't yet read. While the author usually tries to write the current story where you aren't lost, it still makes me wish I would have read the other one first. Not only have I found this to be an issue with a series, but the book usually just says it belongs to a certain group and there is not a number sequence to clue you in on which one you happen to pick up. What I would like to know is -- do you take the time to read a possible romance series, or would you just like the stories to be individual with no connection between each book?
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Joined: 10/20/2011
Posts: 350
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I guess it depends. I don't actively seek out romance series, but if the book looks interesting I will pick it up. And if I like it, then I continue with the series. If not, I just move on to another book.
Just a note, while the book may not carry the banner "The Blah-Blah Series," there is generally some indication it is part of a series somewhere in the summary. Usually there is a part that says "Insert Title continues the story from Previous Title" or something along those lines. Also, there is usually a page that will tell you where the book falls in the series as it will list the other books.
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Joined: 3/13/2011
Posts: 102
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Judging by the number of romance series there are out there, I think I may be in the minority, but I'm a stand-alone story type of person. In the past, I have gone back and read previous books in a series, but was disappointed, so now I don't.
I'm picky about romance, so for that genre, it's just not enough for me to like a writer's style. The individual book has to appeal to me too. I won't read books just because they're in a series.
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Joined: 2/27/2011
Posts: 353
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Tabetha -
I think that you're more likely to find series in romance when the author is writing paranormal romance. Usually the author has invested a great deal of time and energy creating a believable secondary world, and the characters who inhabit it. It seems a shame to use that world only once.
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Joined: 3/13/2011
Posts: 412
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To me, a romance should be a one shot. If it's a series, then there had better be some other kind of story linking the novels, not just a LONG SLOW relationship building. In which case, I would consider it more of a love story, or another type of book with a romance sub plot.
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I actually am torn on this issue. I like some series a lot--the world/town it's set in, the core characters, etc. If I'm hooked on one of those things, I'll keep going back for more.
HOWEVER, I do feel that each book, unless it's a story arc that you are forewarned is told over the course of multiple books (like THE HUNGER GAMES trilogy, for example), I do feel that each book should be able to stand alone.
Each story in a series should be its own unique entity. The different between it and a standalone novel should just be that it's part of a whole instead of the whole.
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Joined: 4/26/2011
Posts: 22
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First all, I want to say thanks for the comments! I agree with Danielle in that sometimes I'm torn about reading a series or just a stand alone novel, though I DO want it to say if it is part of a larger picture. While it doesn't have to necessarily say 'Book 1', I would like to know that when I start a novel, I don't feel as if I'm walking into the middle of a previous story -- like a spinoff. And while I read historicals the most, it's not just paranormal where this happens.
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Joined: 3/13/2011
Posts: 412
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I think the problem with the series idea in a romance is we generally want a happy ending. I think after 3 or 4 books of the main characters having a crisis in their relationship and having to do the build up over again, or of losing the love interest and the main going after someone else, I'd get a bit tired of the characters, you know? I have no problem with people that move from one relationship to another, but someone who falls deeply in love with someone, deeply enough to warrant a romance novel, and then a few months later, someone else, bugs me.
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