The Evolution of the Small Town Romance: Shannon Stacey’s New Series

Image source: someecards

It’s no secret that I have a love-hate relationship with Small Town Romance (STR) and that one of the authors on the love side is Shannon Stacey. This year she published two new series, one with Carina, one with Berkley, and I wanted to talk about them, not because I loved them, but because I admire what Ms. Stacey is doing with the familiar sub-genre. Also, I have three review books, and everyone knows that the opinion post is the lazy reviewer’s shortcut to multiple reviews!

The Wanderer and The Newcomer: A Robyn Carr Twofer and a Couple of Thoughts on Small-Town Cotemporaries and Branding

Source: both books were provided by the publisher through NetGalley.

After many, many books, Ms. Carr has left Virgin River and moved to Virgin River, I mean, Thunder Point. But it is a change, even if it doesn't feel like a change at all.
After

The Wanderer and The Newcomer both make references to Cooper, the former Marine who comes to Thunder Point to visit an old friend and ends up staying when said friend dies and leaves him everything. At first, Cooper plans to settle everything and leave, but once he develops a relationship with the community and with helicopter pilot, Sarah, his plans become roots.

Cooper’s story serves as a thread that unites a series of secondary characters whose lives are featured as prominently as his, making this a true ensemble cast. So we also get to know the town’s sheriff, Mac, a single father of a bunch of kids, including a teenage daughter who gets a secondary, YA-ish romance, and Mac’s friend, Grace.

Review: Sultry with a Twist by Macy Beckett

This will teach me not to judge a book by its heroine’s name. I almost didn't read it because knowing nothing about the author, and with a heroine named Mae-June July Augustine, I didn't get a good first impression to make me want to read the book. But then I read a couple of favorable reviews and decided to give it a chance. I’m glad I did. 

You already know that our heroine has an unfortunate name, and she’s aware of it. But her name is also a reminder of her parents, who loved her very much, and represent the fondest memories of a childhood that became tragic when they died and she went to live with her strict grandmother.  But June wasn't the only one who ended up living there; Luke, her neighbor and friend, was abandoned by her mother and came to live with them. June was in love with him her whole life, but things didn't end well between them. She left the small town and swore never to come back. But those are the type of promises that come back and bite you in the ass, and that’s exactly what happens to June several years later.

Small-Town Romances: How Many is Too Many?

LOL by Lilyofthevalley

I’m a fan of Small-Town Romances. The main reason why I like them is because they tend to be character-oriented stories that mostly focus on the romance. They deal with a variety of subjects that go from the hilarious to the dramatic. The secondary characters are interesting, as they should be considering their main role is to keep us interested to read the next book. And overall they feel like comfort food; they make me feel good and, well, comforted. 

However, the same reasons why I love Small-Town Romances are the reasons why I dislike them: the characters can be repetitive; the lighter tone means that the subject remains underdeveloped; the secondary characters overtake the story; and comfort food becomes boring after eating it repeatedly. I've noticed that these issues tend to develop when the series extends beyond the third book. What starts as a trilogy, becomes a sextet, and in Robyn Carr’s case, twenty books and counting. 

One example of this is the Fool’s Gold series by Susan Mallery. The first book was fantastic, and even though the next two weren't as good, they had fully developed characters and interesting, albeit incredible, stories. But the series kept growing and the stories and characters started to blend in together. And the last set of books was so appalling that I decided to quit the series.