Behind the Blogger: Jamie from For The Love of Romance

Welcome to Behind the Blogger. Behind the Blogger is a feature where I interview and get to know fellow bloggers from different blogs in the blogosphere.

This weeks guest is Jamie from For The Love of Romance. Jamie is super awesome and is always down to talk about books and share pics of hot men. She really is super nice and I love chatting with her on Twitter. So without further ado, I give you Jamie.

1. Why did you become a blogger?

Well, I started out reviewing for The Season For Romance a few years ago and I was fine with just reviewing. I always commented on blog posts, leaving just a bit of information about what I thought when it dawned on me that I could start a blog. So I finally decided to do it and let my ideas and thought run wild.

2. Can you tell me a little bit about your blog?
I just started For The Love Of Romance a few months ago. It’s a place where I talk about the books I love, post some hot man candy pictures and just a place to be me. I’m still working things out with it but I’m hoping to get some book reviews up soon.

3. What is your favorite book(s)? Why?
Oh, this is hard. I have so many! Lord of Scoundrels by Loretta Chase is a classic and I have re-read more times then I can count. Lisa Kleypas’s Wallflower Series (I can’t just pick one) has amazing heroines and the hero’s aren’t bad either. I’m also addicted to JR Ward’s Black Dagger Brotherhood series and if I have to pick a favorite from that I would say Zsadist’s story, Lover Awakened. I’m also throwing in Lead Me On by Victoria Dahl. Two words: Skull. Tattoo.

4. Is there a scene from a book that just stands out to you? What is it?
I recently read Eileen Dreyer’s Never a Gentleman and it just about broke me. The heroine spies on the hero with his mistress. I don’t want to spoil it for readers but I physically threw the book after reading it.

5. Who are some of your go-to authors?
The top of my list is Victoria Dahl, whether it’s her historicals or her contemporaries it doesn’t matter. I recommend her to all my friends. Though you can never go wrong with Julia Quinn or Lisa Kleypas.

6. What are some of your favorite genres?
Historical romance will always be my favorite because it’s what I started with. But now I find myself gravitating more towards contemporary romances and erotic romances. Though give me a vampire and I’m a happy girl too.

7. When reviewing, do you stick to the books that you normal like to read, or are you more open?
I prefer to stick to what I like to read which is romance. I love getting that HEA but I’m not picky when it comes to types of romances. Whether its vampires, rakes or Navy SEALs I’m in. I’m willing to give anything a go and sometimes going out of my comfort zone and upping the heat index is very rewarding.

8. What are some of your favorite tropes? What about those tropes pulls you in?
I love when the hero falls for the best friend’s sister, gets me every time. Or a really good marriage of convenience story.

9. What was the last book that blew your mind?
Scarlett Parish’s By The Book. It’s one of those books that everyone was talking about on Twitter and I don’t know why I waited to read it. It was also my first M/M.

10. Do you have any advice for other aspiring bloggers?
If you want to start a blog then do it. Do what you want and don’t try to fit into any molds. Do what makes you happy and have fun.

11. When you aren't blogging, what do you like to do in your spare time?
Spare time? What’s that? I’m going to school for nursing so that keeps me busy and I’m trying to find a job that will pay for my book habit. But my family is really important to me so on Wednesday nights you can usually find me having tea with Aunt Sue and chatting with my cousins.

Stepping out of your comfort zone

When I started reading I would have never thought that I would into reading erotic romance. I would’ve classified my self as a vanilla reader who stuck with her Julia Quinn historical romance. Now, while I still love my “vanilla” historicals, I love reading something with an edge.

I also would’ve never thought I would be into reading paranormal romances either. I wanted nothing to do with vampires until I picked up Dark Lover by JR Ward on a recommendation from a friend. Now I’m addicted to the Black Dagger Brotherhood.

I’m all for trying something new now and pushing my comfort zone. I think everyone needs to get out of their comfort zone and try something different. Whether it’s switching up a contemporary for a historical, or maybe trying a new author who’s heat level is hotter then you are used too.

I remember the first time I took a big leap of my comfort zone and read Bound To Please by Lilli Feisty. It was my first BDSM romance and I was nervous to start it. Was I ready for this? Could I handle reading about being tied up and whipped? It seemed everyone was talking about it on twitter and I was intrigued (there is this one scene with a strawberry… HOT). So I gave it a go and I loved it. It wasn’t at all what I was expecting.

A few months ago I just took another big leap by reading By The Book by Scarlett Parrish, which had my first M/M romance. Again, I learned about it on Twitter and was trying to decide if I was ready for that. Now, this isn’t everyone’s cup of tea and that fine but I will tell you it is one of my favorite stories.

So I’m going to continue to push my reading limits and I think that maybe you all should too. The best part about reading something and maybe out of your comfort zone… you can always stop reading it. Now, I’m not suggesting you go from reading chick lit to a hard core BDSM book but start slow. Up the heat level the next time you want to read something, who knows you just may find a new favorite author.

So tell me, have you read something out of your comfort zone? Are you read to try something else or would you rather just stay with what you know?