Kids get fairy tales, adventures of love and derring-do; but grownups, alas, aren't usually as lucky. Male fairy tales appear to be westerns and thrillers of the Tom Clancy type. Women get the old fashioned term, which once referred to action of the most thrilling type: slaying dragons, swordfights, chivalrous pursuits of holy Grails (or chalices if you prefer), not to mention incest, betrayal, and all that other mundane stuff.

Now it just means “love stories.”

Some of the greatest literature ever written is just that, so it's kind of annoying that the genre as a whole is so denigrated. I have a passion for championing just such lost causes—bead stringing, illustration...love stories. None are particularly highly thought of by the powers-that-be: art fair jurors, University Art Teachers, the Public in General.

Maybe it's not such a bad thing I like writing essays after all, though a funny satire would probably do more for my causes. Of course that requires a sense of humor, one trait I'm not blessed in abundance...ah, well.

Since my criteria for what makes a four star romance is probably somewhat different that what is considered typical, I've provided a list of my favorite romances to give an idea what I like. I will state flatly that I do not require the protagonists to meet within the first ten pages, nor for there to be sex scenes, nor even for there to be a happy ending.

So far, the only romance I consider to be truly four stars is Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice; I've loved Robin McKinley's Beauty for fifteen years, and I expect if I still hold it in the same regard in another five years that I'll add it to the list. There are several others I'm considering—none of which are marketed as romance—but I've encountered them too recently to make such a momentuous decision. Four star romances are sublime, as close to perfect as I can imagine.

Anything rated three and a half stars, therefore, is a story I really liked, and three star books are likely to retain a place on my shelves for some years. Two and a half I wouldn't feel bad buying the book for full price, and two means I've been able to read it all the way through; anything below that means I skipped to the end. I haven't encountered any zero books, yet, but presumably they would be offensive from a moral, as well as a literary point of view.

Each review includes a scan of the cover (if available), author, title, and boilerplate info, and typically starts out with a description of the setup (if I don't get distracted by the cover art) along with my reasons for liking or not liking the book. I try not to give the plot away, but sometimes they're so obvious that I can't resist dropping little hints. Double ratings mean I was able to extract an opinion of the book from my spouse, a man of few words. Occasionally the stories inspire digressions, which appear as links to little essays I call rants, but the rants are certainly not necessary for the reviews. Feel free to contact me with opinions (especially differing ones), and Enjoy.

Note: sylvus@inxpress.net is no longer valid, but I'm too lazy to excise it from all those old files.

Unless otherwise noted, text, image and objects depicted therein copyright 1996--present sylvus tarn.

Sylvus Tarn