Romance Novel : love knows no age

Author: Swati Mohandas

I am in my 40s, have a loving husband and two beautiful teenage children and I do not have any qualms about admitting that I enjoy reading romantic novels. 

I am a voracious reader and I tend to spread my romance reading in between psychological thrillers, murder novels and historical fiction. Switching around gives me a break between genres. A romantic novel is like the dessert at the end of the meal. 

Romance sneaked its way into my life in my teenage years when I first met the ‘tall, dark and handsome’ hero in the Mills & Boon books. The hero became my constant companion. These books were an integral part of my growing up days – a friend during the summer vacations. Every time I would see a new M&B at the local library in my neighbourhood, my heart would race and I would issue the book immediately. 

You know that age. The one where you read all those illicit and steamy romances under the covers because you are curious and you also don’t want your parents to catch you. During school days not wanting to let my parents know I would hide M&B in my school textbooks and pretend to be studying. However, during my college years, I could read them openly but the fun of reading them secretly was more exciting. 

Every M&B book had a fixed formula. A hero who is aggressive and rich; the heroine, a damsel in distress, doing secondary jobs is a beautiful virgin and submissive to the hero in every way. What really caught my fancy was the witty repartees between the two. Though the plots are repetitive, I enjoyed the ‘happily ever after’ and the simplicity of the writing style.

The raddi shops in my neighbourhood have been my best source of supply of these books. They had amazing collection. You can buy the book second-hand or pick up the book, read it and return it back to the shop for a nominal charge.

Over the years, many romantic novels have been written and read but the M&B would still be very special for me. 

To sum it up, my point of view is that romance has no age. The desire to escape into a illusionary state of happiness is pure enjoyment. After all, enjoying a bit of escapism isn’t harmful to anyone of us, right!!!

About the Author:

I am a Philosophy graduate and a certified computer professional from Mumbai and based in Pune with my family from the last 2 decades.

Literature always fancied me. I pen down short stories, blogs, poems and has forayed into freelance content writing. I even published an award-winning book of collected poems titled ‘Myriad Whispers’ which is available on Amazon.

When not writing, I enjoy listening to music, exploring the outdoors and scanning local bookstores.