November 25, 2013
As an editor at Harlequin, Bloom’s life was filled with romance—brooding, chiseled heroes and beautiful, headstrong, virginal heroines “realizing they’re destined for each other.” She’s familiar with the formula, but wasn’t able to apply it to her own dating life—she jumps from one short-lived relationship to another. As Bloom describes in this mostly lighthearted memoir, when she reaches her 40s, fresh out of another unfulfilling relationship, she finally concludes that “romance doesn’t exist.” Then, via Facebook, Bloom reconnects with Sam, a high school acquaintance with whom she shared one dance at a winter formal back in 1984. Bloom and Sam, who’s now divorced and living in Israel, are soon swapping instant messages and making regular Skype dates. As their long-distance relationship blossoms and they make plans to meet up in person, Bloom realizes that this love story isn’t much like the ones in her beloved harlequins—in most ways, it’s better. Throughout her memoir, Bloom riffs on dozens of romance novel tropes with a practiced hand, and her painstaking analysis of the differences between romantic fiction and real life is undeniably poignant. Unfortunately, the real love story picks up far too late in the book, after numerous digressions that range from pedestrian to tonally erratic.
December 15, 2013
A veteran editor of romance novels at Harlequin delivers a witty memoir of her history with romance. Unlike the novels she edits, her real-life relationships have been messy and the happy endings elusive. Bloom's story begins at a private high school in Connecticut, when she invited "Harlequin-hero gorgeous" Kent to a formal dance only to be ditched, then rescued by the popular, "fiendishly cute" Sam, who swirls her around the dance floor and insisted they have their picture taken. The photo becomes an important factor later in the story. From high school to college to teaching to a successful editing career, readers follow the author's quest for Mr. Right. She cleverly juxtaposes the conventions of romantic novels and movies with the challenges of maintaining a real relationship, avoiding maudlin territory. She chronicles her series of at-first-exciting but ultimately deficient boyfriends, and her encounters inspire a humorous contrast of romantic archetypes--"The Secretive Hero (Who May Be Hiding Something Really Bad)," "Dangerous and Sexy Alpha Male Heroes That Are Supposed to Have a Heart of Gold," "The Beta Hero (Who Cooks and Isn't a Tool)"--to their real-life counterparts. This is classic girls'-night-out dishing. Though the men in her memoir, with the exception of one, are more typecast than fully formed, the deeper thread here is the idea of self-evaluation and betterment. "This is the part of any romance novel that is never included, the mundane details, the forging ahead, the suffering that doesn't involve pining for a boy," she writes. Despite insecurities, Bloom, a survivor of a violent crime, reveals an inner strength and resolve to carry on. In the end, it's not romance but something more elusive that Bloom finds: intimacy. Romance may wane as the quotidian details of cohabitation intrude on hearts and flowers, but that's when true love begins.
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Starred review from February 1, 2014
The beautiful irony of the title says it all--erudite romance editor by day, lonely girl by night. Bloom (editor, Harlequin) offers the American, real, and highly relatable version of Helen Fielding's Bridget Jones. A lovably quirky narrator and an abundance of self-deprecating humor give this book the appeal of a good New York-girl-in-publishing chick lit title that's bound to be consumed in great gulps. That said, this is a very well-packaged and well-written memoir, containing a great deal of substance. Bloom doesn't gloss over the seriousness that underpins her experience, but she folds it into a larger tale to tell a phenomenal story--not of a fabulously flawless twentysomething but rather the warts-and-all saga of a woman approaching middle age who's been fruitlessly searching for love as long as she can remember and whose story has (how could it not?) a happy ending. VERDICT Readers who are appalled at the demise of Fielding's Mark Darcy, snap this up. It will ease your pain. Highly recommended for romantics of all stripes.--Audrey Snowden, Orrington P.L., ME
Copyright 2014 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
January 1, 2014
Using the characters and plots from classic romance novels, television shows, and movies, Harlequin editor Bloom compares and contrasts her up-and-down love life from age 15 to 41. On the hunt for Mr. Right, Bloom begins in a boarding school where she's the shy redhead always looking in from the outside. Her one act of bravery occurs when she asks Kent to the Sadie Hawkins dance. When Kent ambles off, it's crazy, funny Sam who saves her by asking her to dance and bringing her into his crowd. So goes the saga of Bloom's love life with winners and losers, all of whom turn out to be Mr. Wrong. At Oberlin College, she meets self-destructive Craig and tries and fails to save him. She studies in France, teaches in New Mexico, and ultimately ends up in New York, always involved in a hunt for love and a lasting relationship, and finally finding her happily ever after. While not a tell-all about Harlequin authors or editors, as some readers may hope, Bloom's lively memoir is sure to captivate those engrossed in the worlds of romance fictional and real.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)