Silent Night Shadows

I confess that during my youth I spent an inordinate amount of time reading Harlequin Romance Novels. By the time I reached the tender age of 16, I had read enough of them to think that I, too, could write a decent Harlequin. The manuscript, typed on onionskin paper with my grandma’s old electric typewriter, lies in the bottom of a box somewhere in my basement.

Harlequin has come a long way since the days of wilting women and macho (one might even say ‘abusive’) men. I had no idea how far, until I volunteered to join the launch team for Sarah Varland’s newest book, Silent Night Shadows.

As part of the launch team, I got to read the book months ago on my Kindle app. I don’t usually pay attention to publisher names and copyright dates when I read an eBook. When I received a hard copy of the book in the mail this week, the Harlequin logo on the back surprised me.

As a teenager, I kept the Harlequins tucked inside the cover of my math or biology textbooks. Partly because I felt guilty reading romance novels, and partly because I wanted teachers to think I had become engrossed in their subject. Once I finished high school and moved on to college, my reading tastes widened. I still indulged in the occasional romance novel, though.

Not Your Mother’s Harlequin

Silent Night Shadows is light years away from the old Harlequins. It belongs to the publisher’s ‘Inspirational Romantic Suspense’ line of books and combines a suspenseful story with a little romance. The characters wrestle with questions of faith and acceptance—just like I do at times.

Romance for Claire and Nate, the protagonists, grows out of relationship, unlike in the old Harlequins where relationship grew out of romance. The suspense will keep the reader flipping through pages from start to finish as the threats on Claire’s life intensify.

Sarah Varland’s characters breathe faith rather than having it tacked on like an invitation to the family shrew to Christmas dinner. Silent Night Shadows, the third in a series about the same town (I haven’t read the others), makes perfect sense without having read the other books.

So if you’re looking for a great book for your favorite suspense or inspirational romance aficionado, Silent Night Shadows fits the bill. In fact, buy one for yourself and another for a friend!

I have an autographed copy to give away to someone who comments on this blog post.

Q4U:  How have your reading tastes changed from when you were a teenager? Why do you think they’ve changed?

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