Passion Remembered or Wished for?

The best stories are those that evoke a strong feeling in us whether good or bad.  They disturb something inside us.  The word disturbs often carries with it a bad connotation but in this case that would be false.   If a stories does not move you in some way then it was merely words on a page.  A good romance novel will also evoke some sort of emotional reaction as well.  Granted those emotions tend to be on a lighter or more uplifting tone but it's an emotional response nonetheless.
I have found, though, that the emotion a good romance inspires can be put into one of two categories.  (Feel free to disagree.)  Either the story will have you remembering your own similar experience or it will having you wishing or yearning for such an experience.  I believe that this can also have an effect as to which romance books you tend to gravitate too.  (Which ones do I gravitate to?  Well that would be like kissing and telling now wouldn't it!)  For example,  I would say that those who generally reach for the more innocent and simplistic romance of say a Pride and Prejudice are probably going for the remembrance of a feeling, while those who gravitate  to say the Fifty Shade of Grey trilogy are more apt to be looking to vicariously live such an experience.    This is not to say that one can't enjoy both. But merely, the reading experience is at opposite ends of the spectrum.
The book currently on the kindle is Love's Portrait (Historical Erotic Romance) by Monica Burns which tries to straddle the line and incorporate both a side that many would wish for while trying to maintain the simple purity of love at it's core.  I'm about half way done and aside from getting annoyed at the mistakes a mediocre editor should have caught (red sheets on one page are suddenly white on another), the story is still intriguing enough to keep my attention.  At this point, it has me feeling...reckless is the word that comes to mind. But we'll see, the night is still young!  

Excuse Me While I Climb Onto My Soapbox

We interrupt this blog, so I may say a few words about a romance related matter.  I LOVE romance stories.   However, I recognize that, at least the ones most featured on this blog, are FICTION.  That means not real! Most, if not all of you, are probably now thinking, "well, duh!" and "What's your point?".  The point is this:  If we recognize that these are beautiful but fictional stories, why do we approach are real life relationships as though they should mimic fiction?!?  Many women believe, or behave as though they believe, that the relationship should always be about the passion and/or sexual attraction.  There is no such thing as a perfect man, but you can have a wonderful beautiful relationship as long as your willing to put forth the effort.  Relationships take hard work!  There will be dark times in every relationship.  The trick is to get through it TOGETHER!  How often have we heard someone say they have fallen out of love??  That's crap!  What it means is I no longer want to put the effort into making this relationship work!  It takes two and it takes a dose of reality mixed with even bigger helpings of hope and prayer.   Trust and Communication are the biggest factors in determining how well a relationship will hold up under pressure.  We need to stop expecting some man to magically know what we are thinking and to have all the answers and start being real with ourselves and acknowledging that we all have a responsibility and role that we play in our relationships.  To all the young ladies out there this is not intended to make you despair but rather to encourage you.  There is a prince charming out there for everyone but he won't come without flaws and it'll take hard work but if you are both willing to put forth the effort you can have the kind of relationship that romance writers write about.