I have been an avid reader for almost my entire life. I read across genres - except most horror because I’m a chicken, but I have read a little here and there - and am pretty confident given enough information, I can recommend the right book to any English-reader that hasn’t sworn off reading altogether.
It wasn’t until very recently, that I started to conceive of a method to my madness. Why did I like this and not that? What about that novel left me wanting more? What about this author’s writing put them on my do not buy list? And this self-reflection started with the most unlikely of places.
It started with romance. To be more precise, it started with a friendship with a romance lover, whom sent me a long list of recommendations upon hearing I was a lover of books across genres.
I had read my fair share of YA romances in high school. I also read an extremely graphic supernatural romance in high school I discovered in my vampire phase, brought to you more by Spike from Buffy than Edward from Twilight. Other than that, romance, it turns out, was a genre I had almost less exposure to than horror. After reading a couple of this patient friend’s recommendations, I figured out why.
Now, I’m not going to go into all my baggage and purity culture trauma, but that and the fact that I listen to the majority of books I consume while doing data entry at work made it very awkward when 20 minutes in, the main characters are in bed together. And they weren’t sleeping if you know what I mean.
After figuring out that I probably should’ve known a second-chance romance would have a sex scene early on, and a little more trial and error with my friend’s recommendations, I found a few romances that I enjoyed immensely and some that still didn’t hit quite right. I began to evaluate what it was about the hits that I liked and misses that I didn’t and from there I looked at all the literature I’ve read over the years.
When it comes to romance, many people talk about spice-level. That’s where this came from. Yes, there are definitely books that are too spicy for me, but really, it’s less about the spice and more about the combination of flavors. A straight habanero pepper will never be for me, but pair it will some pineapple?
So what are the ingredients to a five-star book for me?
recipe for a satisfying book
Going with the hot sauce metaphor is going to fall a little short, just because there’s only so much you can do with hot sauce, so let’s broaden it to salsa.
For me, a good salsa is going to have a good tomato and/or tomatillo base. These are the characters, the foundation of the salsa, and the entry to the story.
Next, we got to have some flavoring from spices: cumin, cilantro, and salt. Spices are the flavor profile of the salsa, and they are the scene of the story. Where we are, what is happening, all that detailed stuff that makes the characters who they are. The spices and salt bring out the flavor of the base, the circumstances define the stakes.
Then, we ideally add a little treat. In the salsa, this could be mango or pineapple or tequila - the thing that makes it stand out. In a book, this is the hook. Just like it’s the ingredient that makes the salsa different, the treat is the most personal part of this recipe. Some little treats for me: a plus-sized protagonist, meet-cutes in bookstores, a Shakespeare re-telling, a murder, and/or a stern brunch daddy.
Lastly, for the metaphor, is the spice. It is last, because it is the mixture from the other ingredients that sets the level my body can handle (for salsa) or that my mind will enjoy (for books). No little treat? Then we should stick to a chipotle pepper, potentially without the seeds. Light on spices? Probably don’t want more than PG-13, because I’m not interested in getting hot and bothered if I’m not interested in the story the scene happens in. Characters are cardboard cutouts of tropes and cliches? Then it’s just hot sauce… without the base, it’s not salsa. Not to say that hot sauce isn’t great, but if you want salsa, hot sauce isn’t going to cut it.
In this metaphor, salsa is romance so that makes hot sauce erotica?
I’ve been thinking a lot about reviewing books this way, through the lens of what the genre recipe is, how well it follows the recipe, and what little treats make the book enjoyable for me.
I know better than to say it will happen here, but it might. And if it does, you now know where the idea came from.
With everything, it’s not a perfect metaphor. I’m not sure what recipes some genres are and for those books that don’t adhere nicely to one particular genre, I might have to broaden it to a soup with more delineated ingredients, or a whole meal…