Christian fiction

摘要

Romance novels often get a bad rap. The assumption is that these books contain bad writing, unrealistic relationships, and a formulaic story line. Girl and boy meet and instantly dislike each other; they suffer and overcome hardship, and then realize they love each other; the end. It's true that romance is about a happy ending, a riding off into the sunset together. Yet, it is how these characters discover the metaphorical sunset that is important to fans of inspirational love stories. Today's Christian romances offer a variety of scenarios in which characters endure trying and relatable situations. Finding the ones that resonate depends on patron reading tastes. There are romances that are plot driven, usually in the romantic suspense genre (for example, Denise Hunter's Falling Like Snowflakes). Others are marked by a historical setting in which characters are bound by the conventions of their society (e.g., Roseanna M. White's The Lost Heiress). And still others, such as Tricia Goyer and Sherry Gore's Made with Love, are more character based, relying on actions and thoughts to drive the narrative forward. For romance fans, there are a multitude of choices. It pays to read widely and get a feel for the different kinds of romances so that your recommendations ring true with readers. For nonromance readers, there's enough variation to make a crossover easy to suggest.