Not Just Another Romance Novel - Lisa Suzanne

Piper loves to read romance novels and she often daydreams what it would be like to date one of the leading men in her novels. They just seem to be much better partners than anyone she’s met in real life. However, it dawns on her one day that perhaps she is spending too much time reading romance novels and not enough time concentrating on her masters psychology degree. She suddenly realises that while her friends have made a start on their thesis’, Piper’s been too busy with her head stuck in yet another romance novel. One day, Piper’s best friend Scott suggests that perhaps she should mix her reading with her thesis and research how a romance novel man creates unrealistic expectations for relationships. Of course she thinks this is a brilliant idea and begins finding men to date for case studies for her project. 

Not Just Another Romance Novel was actually a real surprise for me. I really wasn’t sure how the story would play out and I definitely wasn’t sure that I would be so keen on Piper. I thought perhaps her going on multiple dates with different men would make me dislike her especially when she starts to begin a somewhat series relationship with Dax but she is truly a likable character and completely relatable. Ok perhaps at times she went from 0-100 with her emotions real quick but overall I found her funny and just plain brilliant to read about. 

I absolutely loved the story too. I know I’ve read far too many romance novels for my own good and I’m sure a lot of the readers of this book will be the same. I think it’s only an advantage as you’re already well acquainted with the stereotypical men that appear in these books which Piper uses as her case studies. I’m sure everyone has fallen in the love with characters in books and you will particularly favour a certain type e.g the rockstar and I am sure your favourite is included in the book somewhere. Everything from the CEO to the bad guy to the athlete, even step brother! Even vampires are mentioned! I don’t think if this book was real life, Piper would ever have been allowed to undertake a project like this but regardless of this it was still a great storyline. I really loved the ending too, it really finished off well. Without revealing too much on how it ends it really proves that perhaps boys in books aren’t necessarily better. 

If like me you love your romance novels, this is the book for you! 

Synopsis – 

Is it really wrong to have more than one boyfriend? 

I brought a new one into my bed almost every night. 

From conference rooms to broom closets, I escaped reality with my leading men. Okay, so they were fictional book boyfriends. 

In reality I should have been concentrating on classes while I looked for a living, breathing man to help me achieve my romantic fantasies. It was a friend who suggested combining my passions for romance novels and psychology to generate my Master's thesis research topic: Does the modern day romance novel leading man create unrealistic expectations for a prolonged adult relationship? 

To find out, I’d run a social experiment. I’d be the constant. The variables would be my leading men. I’d date every stereotype in the books, from billionaires to bad boys, rock stars to bikers, dominants, athletes, and…my stepbrother? 

If my research was successful, I'd end up with a degree and maybe even my very own happy ending.