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The main thing all romance novels have in common is the focus on character. If the audience cares about the characters, and can bond with the characters, they will love the book. I haven’t seen this illustrated anywhere better than in Out Of The Blue.
Out Of The Blue, by Lila Rose, is a m/m/m book about a paramedic and two police officers. There is also a motorcycle club involved, which I don’t think I realized when I picked up the book. (Hey, one-clicking these BookBub deals is way too easy… and fun… I’m just saying.) Anyway, this is a second chance romance (which is my kryptonite, as I’m sure you’ve all figured out by now) and a workplace romance.
The book has everything I want in my entertainment. It’s got mayhem, murder, violence galore, sweet and tender moments, some very steamy portions, and dogs. My personal favorite character, Easton, has six dogs. This may be why he’s my favorite character.
I absolutely fell hard for Easton. I loved that he wasn’t this perfect, suave hero. I loved that he was awkward. I loved that he had moments of fear and doubt. I also loved that he overcame them.
Lan took a little longer for me to overcome, largely because of the way he broke Easton’s heart in the past. As he came to acknowledge what he’d done, and I could see he understood his issues, I could accept him and love him.
Parker – I won’t say I ever came to love him. He made Lan and Easton happy, but I was never a fan. He kind of embodied Toxic Masculinity, and his certified Tragic Backstory didn’t excuse that sort of behavior. He was an ass.
Now, I have to take a moment to acknowledge some issues with the book. The sex is all back-loaded (pun not intended, but I’m leaving it in there because I’m secretly twelve.) There are a lot of scenarios that just plain aren’t realistic or don’t make sense. Easton’s father, Amit, is evil for the sake of being evil and considering his background it makes me a little nervous about stereotyping.
The thing is, I never noticed the issues in the story until after I put the book down. I had to step away at the 50% mark because of work, and then illness. I didn’t pick up on any of the above issues until I’d been away from the story for twenty-four hours. I was in the car on the way to my daughter’s first NHL game when I caught myself thinking, Two cops in a motorcycle club and it’s not going to raise any red flags with Internal Affairs? Not likely.
And then a couple of other little things stood out at me.
When I went back to the book, once again, I no longer cared. That is how powerful strong characters are in romance. I loved Easton, and Lan, so much I didn’t care about any of the plot holes. I noticed them, but they weren’t important to me.
The biggest takeaway for me from Out of the Blue, as a writer, is the lesson of character. These were characters I could love and care for so much nothing else mattered, no matter how over-the-top the situation. As I work on my current projects, I’ll try to hold that lesson in mind.