Patience Bloom

Who better to understand real life romance, love, and marriage than a romance editor at Harlequin, right? Well, yes and no. Romance cannot be forced. It will appear, or not, in its own time. Patience Bloom's new memoir, Romance is My Day Job, details her own search for happily ever after outside the pages of a book.

Bloom has been a romance reader for most of her life. She devoured the books, watched the tv shows and movies, and fantasized about when her own Mr. Right would come into her show more life. Her romantic life has ups and downs from her high school years through college, early career, and into adulthood even as much of the rest of her life unfolds along the path she wants live. Bloom has humorously captured modern dating life and the number of Mr. Wrongs you have to kiss before you find "the One." Bloom deftly portrays high school crushes, the intensity of college loves, the awkwardness of online dating, and the uncertainty of finding love after a certain age. She is honest and forthright about her myriad of disappointing relationships, the destructiveness of fighting for the wrong relationship, the desire to take a break from the pressure of dating, and the wariness that comes from long experience. But she's also honest about the sweetness of a remembered kindness, the glow of a potential relationship, and finally the unexplainable giddiness and joy of finding the right person.

The structure of the book is charming as she breaks down the chapters of her life based on the men present in them, comparing them to the heroes in the books she edits, to characters in the shows she watched, and to the stereotypes so prevalent in all forms of the fictional world. Bloom has had some whoppers of bad experiences in her dating life but she's had some pretty universal experiences too and her continued optimism is a nice change from the usual cynical stance about finding love and companionship. While the memoir focuses in large part on her romantic explorations, it also lays bare her relationships, both good and bad beyond repair, with family, her brother, her mother and stepfather, and her father and his wife. All of this adds up to a funny and quick reading book. It is perfect for those who love their happily ever afters in romances but sometimes despair over the lack of realism. A book with the subtitle A Memoir of Finding Love at Last must surely promise the best of both worlds and Bloom does deliver. show less

I don't read much nonfiction, but this was on a recommended list. I enjoyed her angst, some whining about not finding her true love she is destined to marry. It's true that love comes when you are least expecting it, and that's when the book was at it's best. A high school acquaintance resurfaces and much to Patience's surprise, love grows. Recommended.

I give Bloom enormous credit for being very funny and for explaining IN DETAIL the compete picture of her efforts to find her Prince Charming---and in that sense it really is a charming true to life fairy tale although I would like to see another book in about 10 or 15 years with a "this is where I am now" look at her life. How long does one remain a princess? I was most interested in her actual work life even though it was her "day job." Her efforts to tie her life in with characters in show more movies and books doesn't work too well if you are not familiar with the huge quantity of movies/books she has read and relates to. show less

If you are a forty something intovert who grew up in the 80s reading romance novels I think you will love this book like I did. If you aren't, you might find it a mix of ridiculous and boring.

The writing is fine, the plot predictable, and the comparisons to Harlequin heroines will either make you laugh or drive you crazy.