Reader Kris recently commented that when she reread Lisa Kleypas’ Dreaming of You it DID NOT hold up at all. She wrote:
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the ask@AAR: How are we doing?
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the ask@AAR: If you could pick five romance novels could change haters’ minds about romance, what would they be?
I’ve been asked, by friend who runs a few newspapers, to write a column about what are five romances that would change haters’ opinions about the genre. Whew. Tough gig. One way I considered is to list five misapprehensions about romance–it’s not funny, it’s too frothy, you can’t learn anything from it, the plots are…
the ask@AAR: What’s the best vacation you’ve ever taken?
I am on a mediocre vacation. It’s a large family trip to a very boring beach with accommodations that unfortunately resembles a cave. The weather has been on the chilly side and the traffic is a bummer. Now any vacation with my very fun giant family is a good thing but, as vacations we’ve taken,…
the ask@AAR: Have you seen any of the Best Picture Nominees? What did you think?
It’s Oscar time and, as usual, I have seen almost none of the nominees–currently I’ve only seen Barbie. The nominees are: American Fiction Anatomy of a Fall Barbie The Holdovers Killers of the Flower Moon Maestro Oppenheimer Past Lives Poor Things The Zone of Interest I do plan, this weekend, to watch Oppenheimer although I…
the ask@AAR: What romances help you cope?
Sometimes, a book is more than just a book. It’s a refuge. Lately, almost everyone I know feels anxious and uncertain. Right now, life feels like a pressure cooker—though, let’s be honest, no one under 50 knows what that is. (For the younger set, imagine an Instant Pot that never releases steam, just rattles ominously…
the ask@AAR: What are some great romances that are overtly political?
Let’s be clear: Wars cause harm. Novels do not. Literature may raise uncomfortable questions or explore unpopular viewpoints or establish reasons to empathize with a character a reader might otherwise find repugnant. A novel’s story, characters, politics and theme may not appeal to a particular reader. That reader does not have to like those books…

This is an experience we’ve all had. There are romances we loved back in the day that now make us shudder or, at the very least, wonder what on earth we were thinking.
Earlier this year, I tried and failed to reread Devil’s Bride by Stephanie Laurens. The prose was absurdly purple, Devil is kind of a dick, and Honoria is just plain silly a great deal of the time. Today, it is a hard pass and yet, when I look at Goodreads, I see that in 2013 I gave it four stars which, for me, is high praise.
How about you? What are books that really no longer work for you? Why?