Why Saucy?
When we were little bookworms, we were unaware of the complexities of book classification and were excited by the simple pleasure of reading. Our eager imaginations gobbled up stories, both fanciful and true.
At Saucy, we still feel the same way. We can prove it: it’s on our logo tagline: read, dream, review!
Our goal is to bring together romance novel enthusiasts who are looking for information to assist with their next book choice and who enjoy posting their own reviews.
Whether you belong to a book club or prefer reading to be a solitary engagement, or whether you like to enjoy works in print or digital or audio, all fans of romance are welcome.
“To encourage the reading and reviewing of romantic writing, including traditional and non-traditional works, by fans of the same genre.” ~SaucyReadz.com Mission Statement (c.2017)
We’re not here to judge – oh wait, we are! As a review site, our role is to empower readers to share their opinions of their reading experience. Reading experiences are as varied as the individuals who write them, as are the books and authors who write them. We should be mindful that our role is not to question the author’s right to produce the work, but rather to critique our experience…always with the knowledge that romantic fiction is just that – fiction.
Reading a work of fiction and taking satisfaction in the emotions evoked within you are not the same as saying that the content matter is approved for real life. Although life may imitate art and art may imitate life, enjoying a book is not living a book. Isn’t that the point of creative writing? To step outside yourself? We recognize that some subjects are more controversial than others, and sometimes a topics may trigger a negative experience for a reader. Fair warning: this site does not shy away from diversity or controversy, but rather celebrates the freedom to be found in exploring the wide-wide-world of books. The choice is literally at your fingertips.
“A person who publishes a book willfully appears before the populace with his pants down.” ~Edna St. Vincent Milla (c.1920)
How to choose from such a massive selection? If book retailers and libraries didn’t set a book’s category for you in advance, would you know how to categorize what you read? Does it even matter? Usually, we know it’s romance, but if the setting takes place in Regency England with horny, raging vampires, is it Historical Romance or Supernatural Romance? Or maybe even Erotic Romance? (Hmm…sounds like a saucy book!)
There is no “one size fits all” for most books. Great books contain a blend of key elements that could fit into more than one category. Yet, we’re trying to cram the wealth and breadth of the entire book into one tiny label.
To add to the debate over labeling a book, there is an ongoing debate on the definition of each romance sub-genre, and even a debate over what is or is not actually a sub-genre. Yikes! We’re here to explore and share reading experiences and hope any debate will be from Saucy reviewers about reading likes and dislikes, and not what we call “housekeeping issues”.
So, it’s unanimous, we don’t need labels! No one likes being pigeonholed.
But wait! When you are trying to find information, labels are a necessary evil for organizing information into bite size pieces. Or at least, to help you find that sweet apple pie vs the spicy raw tuna, depending upon your reading craving.
At Saucy, we call the different types of romance novels “categories”, not genres or sub-genres.
We use the categories to simplify the process so you can find a book review or post a book review efficiently.
“Whenever I need to find myself, I lose myself in a good book.” ~Paula McGregor (c.2014)
We believe reading and reviewing is a democratic process. You pick the book you read. You pick the category for your review posting. You decide what to share about your reading experience. And even though you did not write the book, we can’t forget that the author is a key part of this democratic process too. We are so thankful for these creative individuals who put pen to paper (or pen to cocktail napkin or finger to keyboard etc) so we may reap the benefits. It’s true that for every book someone called “trash”, someone else called it “treasure”.
Time for a treasure hunt, anyone? Hunt your next romance read at Romance Book Reviews.
(Not yet a Saucy Reviewer? You can post your review in minutes! First, log in at Saucy Sign-up/Log-in. Second, select Romance Book Reviews/Read & Share , and then select your book’s category and get posting!)