I finished college in 1995, Niece and Nephew just in the last some years. We all bonded tonight over smutty romance novels and shows. Life. Is. Good!
I listened to The Deal by Elle Kennedy with a couple friends recently, because one of them had watched Off-Campus, the TV show based on the book series, and loved it. It was fun, lighthearted, and reminded us all of those impetuous college years. The three of us are almost ten years apart in age, and now I also share this spicy diversion with extended family members 20+ years my junior. We can all relate and it is positively gleeful. Plot, characters, music, smut… This could be one of the most unexpected and gratifying aspects of having grown children. We agreed I will now watch Heated Rivalry, then gather at my house to cook and watch the Season 2 Premiere together. Can’t wait!
“She’s about to make a deal with the college bad boy…
“Hannah Wells has finally found someone who turns her on. But while she might be confident in every other area of her life, she’s carting around a full set of baggage when it comes to sex and seduction. If she wants to get her crush’s attention, she’ll have to step out of her comfort zone and make him take notice…even if it means tutoring the annoying, childish, cocky captain of the hockey team in exchange for a pretend date.
“…and it’s going to be oh so good
“All Garrett Graham has ever wanted is to play professional hockey after graduation, but his plummeting GPA is threatening everything he’s worked so hard for. If helping a sarcastic brunette make another guy jealous will help him secure his position on the team, he’s all for it. But when one unexpected kiss leads to the wildest sex of both their lives, it doesn’t take long for Garrett to realize that pretend isn’t going to cut it. Now he just has to convince Hannah that the man she wants looks a lot like him.”
Family of origin drama and abuse, sexual assault without accountability, healing trauma, found family, high pressure college athletics, cultural stereotypes, coming of age… It’s all in there, lending depth and character to the sexy stuff. Nothing too heavy or tragic, but enough to slow us down and think about–wonderfully–relationships!
“Humans. *sigh*” Just carve it onto my headstone.
The longer I live the net calmer I get about our species. I rage daily about the current shit show of US government (see Fucking Shit, Holy Shit song for both catharsis and uplift)–congratulations, we are now a nation of measles again, multiple pillars of evidence-based medicine and public health and safety actively dismantled. [facepalm] And yet, every day I encounter and gather with humans whose deep and loving hearts actually save us. Take Dr. Cindy and Dr. Jen Gunter, who counter the ubiquitous misinformation online with evidence and the edcuational rationale that helps us all consume information more wisely. Take Kim Hannay, cofounder and CEO of Digs With Dignity, a growing non-profit that furnishes homes for people emerging from homelessness while saving tens of thousands of pounds of home goods waste out of landfills. How can I not have great hope in humanity with these people on the planet, among so many others? And the next generation, my friends. Son, Daughter, Nieces, Nephews–I take so much pride in them all and have all the faith in the world in their strength and resilience to lift us all as they start running the world. And I will be right here holding them up right back.
I will keep saying it–romance fiction benefits us all. It connects us as fellow humans, stimulating the most vulnerable and intimate emotions and showing us how love really does win. Happily Ever After is guaranteed in romance novels and not necessarily in life, but when we choose love actively, live into all its possibility despite difficulty and adversity, I am convinced we have much less to regret regardless of outcome. It is almost always easier said than done; but maybe the more we consume romance, the more we can absorb and integrate and take on the courage, perseverance, humility, and surrender to love of our favorite heroes and heroines, the better we can step up and save ourselves and one another. If nothing else, we could all just have much better sex lives.
