Hey Everyone! Welcome to another Romance and Me discussion, this time on our shiny new and very festive site! 🙂 (don’t you just love the snowflakes? They are a favourite of mine!)

 

Are you wondering what we’ll be talking about today? A sub-genre of contemporary romances that I particularly like, namely: small town romances!

 

But what are small town romances? A lot of contemporary romances feature a trendy hero or heroine who has a hip job in the big city returning for whatever reason to their small hometown, and hating the small town life at the beginning. Then chapter by chapter the big city big shot character starts to see and value the advantages of small town life: how people are friendly and nice, noone is ever in a hurry, and all in all life seems sweeter and saner. And usually at the end of the novel we see the big city guy/girl forsake their trendy big city job and return home to live with either their high school sweetheart or the newly arrived guy/girl in town and live happily ever after in their small community.

 

But I wonder what is the appeal of small town romances? Why do authors and readers both like it so much?

 

I am and have always been a big city girl. Lived my whole life in cities with a population of at least 2 million. I love the constant buzz of the city, the lights, the variety of programs and events and couldn’t imagine living in a small town with just a hundred people where everyone knows everyone and nothing stays secret. And yet I love reading about small town romances. Why? Because I still enjoy reading about a life where people are friendly and are there for each other, where one feels part of a community and there is a sense of belonging. Where life is un-hurried and people seem to have more time to focus on family, friendships and other relationships. Where there is a feeling of security due to some things being constant. Isn’t it adorable when a 30something big shot hunky hero returns to his hometown and his old school teacher who is now well over 70 still knows who he is, remembers his past mischiefs and is his biggest fan? Or when a heroine has problems and feels lost and the whole community rallies to give her a hand and help her out? It is heartwarming seeing that people can be unselfish and good. Gives me hope and makes me believe that the world can be a better place if there are enough good people in it.

 

So that’s my take on why I enjoy reading small town romances. Because they are heart-warming and give me that warm and fuzzy feel good feeling. 🙂 But I am curious so please tell me,

Do you like small town romances?

What is the appeal for you of small town romances?

Do you have any favourite small town romance recommendation you could share?