Raunchy Romance and Steamy Covers?!?!?---got a clue?

I am kind of wishing that I did my blog hopping yesterday. I didn't and now I am a day late in reading the latest criticism to the Romance genre and the avid fans. Thanks to Heather posting "What A Load Of Crock" yesterday, I was able to not only read the current criticism but also some of the responses that have been directed to the author of this ridiculous so called review.  The Berkley Beacon decided that they were going to Judge a raunchy book by its steamy cover.

I have to say that I definitely agree with Heather... what a load of crock!!! Did this person read the novels or did she/he do just what the title of the article say... judge the book by its cover and subsequent blurb? This drivel definitely doesn't deserve the attention that it's getting. To say that she/he has riled the fans of romance is an understatement. Nora fans every where are going to want to scratch this one's eyes out!! All of the commenters to the article have definitely done a superb job in letting the author of the article know just how far she/he has over stepped in stereotyping all of us who read these books.

I am not a single woman with a house full of cats. I am happily married, a stay at home mom with two kids, two dogs and yes I do own a cat. My cat would take offense to being a called a cat...she is more dog than my Westie. OK I know that Lancelot is not going to appreciate that comment, but hey what can you say...
I read romance because I enjoy it, just like I enjoy sitting down and watching an excellent movie. However I have found that I enjoy the book much more than I enjoy the movie.

OK lets get back to the title of this article for a moment...Judging these books by their steamy covers The Beacon reviews raunchy romance novels from Danielle Steel to Etherington's NASCAR sagas

The books chosen for this article are:
Full Throttle by Wendy Etherington 
Her Colorado Man by Cheryl St. John
Irish Thoroughbred by Nora Roberts
Toxic Bachelors by Danielle Steele

Is it just me or is there nothing racy or steamy about these covers. They are surprisingly mild, and IMHO kind of boring!! Nora Roberts book is the only one that is showing being published before 2000, being published in 1981.

I am not going to break down this article piece by piece. Let it be known that it is blatantly obvious that this columnist didn't do her homework/research. She must have been in a hurry to meet a deadline with nothing better to write about. While romance books are not every ones cup of tea they do appeal to a very large group of people that come from all walks of life and are very diverse in professionalism and education. To insult these readers and the authors who write these books shows us just how ignorant and self absorbed, not to mention small minded, that this person really is.

And by the way I have never bought a book from the grocery store!!! My books come from book stores, Wal Mart (because there is not a bookstore in my town), and Amazon!