angelreads, Author at Angel Reads

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Stigma and Reading Genre | Discussion

Jun 27, 2020

There has always been a stigma regarding reading and writing certain genres. It’s something that I noticed even before I started blogging over eight years ago now. But as the years have gone on and I have started to read more widely, it’s something that I have noticed even more.

Two of the main genre/readerships that have a lot of stigma around them is romance and young adult. I do want to make a quick note and say that young adult literature is not a genre, it’s a readership. But in the sense of this discussion, I’m grouping romance and YA together. With that out of the way. Romance and YA are two of the most popular but also the most stigmatised genre and readership that I know. And it just so happens that they are my two most favourite reading chooses.

I started reading YA when I was 12 years old and at 23 it’s still one of my most read readerships. While it took me a while to start reading adult romances, most of the YA I read included a romance. I’ve been reading romance for nearly five years now. And over the last two maybe three years it’s become mainly what I read. And I don’t think it’s something that will ever change. I think I will be reading YA and romance for a very long time.

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Stigma and Young Adult Lit

While at high school I didn’t notice the stigma in regards to young adult novels. But as the years went on and I got older and continued to read and write YA, I noticed it more. And then I went to university – and that is when it hit me.

If you don’t know I did a writing and editing degree straight out of high school. And let me tell you I loved it. I recommend my degree to anyone that I can because it was brilliant. However, it was through this degree that I was able to witness the stigma about YA first hand. I can’t tell you how many times I said I read YA/Write YA and class members would look down on me. At first, it was dishearting. It was all I had read up till that point. It’s what I lived and breathed. I read it, I wrote it and I blogged about it. And to have someone look at you like they are better than you was hard. But as the course went on and I got to talk about young adult more and what it is, things became a lot better.

I don’t understand where the stigma comes from reading YA. But as I write this post I keep on thinking about it. I think it stems from the notion that teens ‘don’t know anything’ or that they only care about ‘being popular’ and the internet. But I find that I learn and understand things so much more when I read YA novels over adult books. They aren’t just these happy go lucky books that make the world seem like it’s dandy. But they are so much more than that.

Young Adult novels are educational, political, inspirational while also teaching readers about human life and being fun and adventurous. They can take the reader on a journey that I don’t think you can get from anything else. Some of the books that have hit me the most have been young adult, and they are the ones that I always recommend to others.

I’m also a bookseller and I cannot even begin to tell you the looks I get and the things that I hear in regards to reading YA. It has such a bad connotation that even people that don’t regularly read believe that it’s a waste of time and not for them. I sometimes even have parents come in looking for something for their child. And then I recommend them YA – and they ask for something ‘good.’ It feels like a neverending cycle sometimes.

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Stigma and Romance Novels

Even before I started reading romance novels, I knew the stigma that came along with it. That it was all about sex. That there is no substance. And for some time I believed them until I started to read romance. As I said I’ve been reading romance for the past five years or so and I have learnt a lot of things.

There are so many sub genre’s in regards to romance and I think the general public and people that I call ‘gatekeepers’ of reading, only focus on certain ones. This comes down to certain novels and series becoming popular and mainstream. And those are the books that people focus on and attribute to all of the romance.

I don’t think I need to talk about this much, but 50 Shades of Grey has to be one of the most popular and mainstream romances in regards to the general population. It’s what people associate with romance and where their minds immediately go with you say you read romance. But that is only one part of romance. It’s one sub-genre and that is all. Don’t get me wrong there are sexy times in most romances, but they are not all like 50 Shades.

Another thing that has come to up over the past few weeks is the negative connotations in the way that relationships are presented. 365 Days has pushed this. I’ve been seeing a lot on social media about how the relationships were presented – and while it might be bad in the book and show it’s not how all the relationships are in romance.

Something else that I’ve seen highlighted over the last couple of weeks is the stigma in relation to MC and Mafia romances. Again I think this because of media and hype around movies like 365 Days. I’ve been reading a lot of MC romances over the last couple of months, and just because I enjoyed reading does not mean I like and support the things that happen in the novels in real life. It’s this barrier of reality and fiction.

But romance is so much more than the stigmas that surround it. Like I said there are so many sub-genres of romance and that means there are so many ways that romance can go. I mostly read historical romance along with MC, College and Miltary romances. I do dapple a little in other genre’s, but that is what I mostly stick to. And it’s so much more than sex. They can explore things that are hard to read. From family and death to mental health and disability. They also just happen to have a romance at the centre of it all.

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Overcoming these stigmas

I think one of the most important things we as readers need to do in regards to stigmas and genre is to squash them. Readers are one of the main driving points of stigmas and mostly it’s from people that don’t read the genre or readership. You can not like a genre, you can not read. But please don’t hate on it or keep these stigmas going. It only flues the fire and creates more of a distance.

We need to be able to move away from these stigmas because they are not only wrong, they stop a lot of people from reading the genre and readership. There could be many reasons why people don’t pick up certain genres or readership, please don’t give them another reason.

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What do you think of stigmas and genres? How do you think we can knock down the wall and have people reading whatever they want? Do you have any stigmas about certain genre’s? Let’s Chat!

Book Review: A Duke, the Lady, and a Baby by Vanessa Riley

Jun 26, 2020

A Duke, the Lady, and a Baby (Rogues and Remarkable Women #1) by Vanessa Riley

Pages: 320
Publish date: June 30th 2020
Publisher: Zebra
ISBN: 9781420152234
Purchase: Book Depository – Amazon UK – Amazon US – Amazon AU – QBD

When headstrong West Indian heiress Patience Jordan questioned her English husband’s mysterious suicide, she lost everything: her newborn son, Lionel, her fortune—and her freedom. Falsely imprisoned, she risks her life to be near her child—until The Widow’s Grace gets her hired as her own son’s nanny. But working for his unsuspecting new guardian, Busick Strathmore, Duke of Repington, has perils of its own. Especially when Patience discovers his military strictness belies an ex-rake of unswerving honour—and unexpected passion…

A wounded military hero, Busick is determined to resolve his dead cousin’s dangerous financial dealings for Lionel’s sake. But his investigation is a minor skirmish compared to dealing with the forthright, courageous, and alluring Patience. Somehow, she’s breaking his rules, and sweeping past his defences. Soon, between formidable enemies and obstacles, they form a fragile trust—but will it be enough to save the future they long to dare together?

A Duke, the Lady, and a Baby:

I received an earc of A Duke, the Lady and a Baby by Vanessa Riley from Kensington Books via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This has in no way influenced my thoughts and feelings of the book.

As soon as I read the synopsis for this one I knew that I needed it. And while I wasn’t disappointed per se, it didn’t live up to what I was hoping it would. It wasn’t bad at all, but I felt that it was missing a few things that would have made it pop.

A Duke, the Lady and a Baby follows our protagonist Patience as she tries to get back with her baby boy. After the death of her husband, Patience is throw out of her home and her baby is taken away. And Patience will do anything to get his baby back. Even act as the baby’s nanny when Busick takes over the house. Meanwhile, Busick is determined to fix his dead cousin’s financial dealings for baby Lionel. Wounded from the war Busick just wants to make thing right. However, he keeps on getting distracted by the new nanny. After a common enemy arises between the two, Patience and Busick must trust each other for both their sakes and Lionel’s.

Photo by Luma Pimentel on Unsplash

Patience was an interesting protagonist. Most of the time I enjoyed her. I liked her determination and will. From the start, the reader can see how much she cares for her baby. But that also gets in her way. She just wants her baby back and she doesn’t care too much about anything else. And this leads to her being in some dangerous situations. I loved the moments between Patience and Lionel. I loved seeing her care so much about him. It was really sweet.

I also really enjoyed seeing Busick throughout A Duke, the Lady and a Baby. He was easier to get along with than Patience and I liked knowing his story. The banter he had with his men and even Patience was a nice touch. I do wish we got to know more about him, but that wasn’t a massive deal for me. I feel that his character arc was more rounded out though.

The romance was quite sweet in A Duke, the Lady and a Baby. I do wish that we were able to see Patience and Busick connect more, but I could see where the author was going with it. I liked their banter and the interactions a lot. It was different from most historical romance. Simply because the female protagonist has already been married and has a child and I enjoyed that a lot.

Photo by 德綱曾 on Unsplash

One of my major issues with the book was the changes in point of views. It was a mix of first-person with Patience and then in third person, limited with Busick. It was confusing at first and as the novel went on it only got more annoying. I wish that the author picked one and then stuck with it. By using both it felt unfinished and took away from the reading experience.

Another thing that I missed from this book was the feeling that I get when I normally read a historical romance. There were parts where I did get that feeling, but overall it wasn’t there enough. I can’t explain the feeling I get when I do read historical romance. I think others that do read it will know what I mean. But it just wasn’t there for me.

One of the things that I did like about A Duke, the Lady and a Baby was the inclusion of diversity. Patience is a West Indian living in England, while Busick injury from the war has left him permanently disabled. I loved the inclusion of both. I can’t talk about how the representation was but I thought that it was nicely included in the book. It didn’t feel out of place or forced and I enjoyed that.

Photo by Twitter: @jankolario on Unsplash

Overall, I enjoyed reading A Duke, the Lady and a Baby by Vanessa Riley. It was a good historical romance that has its faults but I still enjoyed reading it. I love that it includes diversity and sadly it isn’t something seen a lot in historical romance. Patience and Busick had chemistry and it was nice seeing them fall for one another. I will be continuing this series for sure. I enjoyed the secondary characters and would love to know how their lives turn out. If you are looking for a historical romance that is a little different, then this one is for you.

The Book Snob Book Tag

Jun 25, 2020

Today I thought I would do another book tag! They are always so much fun so I did a little hunting and found The Book Snob Tag. This was originally created by Tia and all the books over on Booktube. So check it out if not want.

1. Adaptation snob: Do you always read the book before you see the movie?

90% of the time. If it’s a young adult book then there is a very high chance that I will read the book before I watch the movie. However, if it’s something like a classic or crime novel, then most likely not. I’m not a massive crime reader, but I love watching crime movies and TV shows. There are also times when I have no idea that it’s a book to movie adaptation. That has happened a couple of times and it’s not until after that I realise.

2. Format snob: You can only choose 1 format in which to read books for the rest of your life. Which one do you choose: physical books, ebooks, or audiobooks?

A few years ago this would have been an easy answer for me. It would have been physical books. However, now I have to think about it hard. There are a lot of romance books that I can’t get in physical form – or they cost a hell of a lot of money. So right now at this moment, it would be ebooks – because then I also don’t need to worry about finding space in my shelves for them.

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3. Ship snob: Would you date or marry a non-reader?

Maybe? I don’t know. Would I prefer a person that loves reading? Yes, for sure. Would it be the be-all, end-all if the person I want to marry doesn’t read no? If they hated reading and didn’t like that I read as much as I do? Then they can go away.

4. Genre snob: You have to ditch one genre – never to be read again for the rest of your life. Which one do you ditch?

Non-fiction. I don’t read much of it now so it won’t make a massive difference for me. However, I do love learning about history so I think that is where it would take a nosedive for me. But I guess I can just watch more documentaries if I want.

5. Uber genre snob: You can only choose to read from one genre for the rest of your life. Which genre do you choose?

Why are these questions so hard? At this present moment, romance. There is so much variety and you can find anything that you want. From fantasy romance to historical, then we have some of my favourites like MC and military. There is just so much!

6. Community snob: Which genre do you think receives the most snobbery from the bookish community?

Romance again for this one. I don’t think I need to talk about this too much, but romance has always had people turn their noses down to it. It hasn’t changed in the whole time I’ve been blogging and reading it and sadly I don’t think it will change much.

I love romance, it’s always a genre that I have been drawn too. And over the last few years, it’s mainly what I have been reading. It’s so easy to fall in love with the characters, the story and all the tropes.

Photo by Alexandra Gorn on Unsplash

7. Snobbery recipient: Have you ever been snubbed for something that you have been reading or for reading in general?

Yes, yes and yes. If you don’t know I work in a book store so I talk about what I’m reading and what I read all the time. And I can’t tell you how many times I get this look of disgust or horror, especially when I say I read young adult or romance. I am always so hesitant to say what I like, but you know what I love what I read and I don’t want to hide away from it.

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And that is it for this post! Have you done this tag before? Let me know if you agree with anything that I said? Let’s chat!