The Book That Started The Obsession | How I Fell In Love With Historical Romance

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Leonora
Hello, ladies. You're listening to Fancy for Romance, a podcast for historical romance fiction lovers. And I'm your host, Leonora, a fellow fan.

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Leonora
Today we're delving into a journey down memory lane in episode four titled The Book that started the Obsession. How I Fell in Love with Historical Romance.

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Leonora
As I was in the planning phase of the podcast, I decided I did not want to only do book reactions, but also wanted to share some story time topics in between episodes.

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Leonora
I also have several other ideas for the podcast and I'm looking forward to sharing them with you all.

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Leonora
Now, for today's episode, I thought it would be fun to talk about the book that started the obsession. Like literally the book that got me reading Historical Romance and the way I came across the historical romance genre in the first place.

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Leonora
I feel like we all have one moment where we decide uuu I like this and begin the general pursuit of consuming said content or hobby, be it music, craft, art. You name it. So without further ado, let's get to it.

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Leonora
Let's rewind the clock to when I was in high school, navigating through high school was like going through a never ending maze where the exit just always kept on moving.

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Leonora
At least that's how it felt. Always focused on the next assignment, project or test. At the time I was an introvert and a bit of a nerd. Okay, maybe more than a bit. Now, while I wouldn't say I was an avid reader back then, I did have my head buried in the world of fantasy novels and manga. Think Dragons, Demigods, Ninjas and pirates. Historical romance. Not even a blip on my radar.

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Leonora
Fast forward to the end of the year in the sunny, vibrant city of Miami, a place known for its lively culture. And as it happens, the renowned Miami International Book Fair. For me, this meant the key to fulfilling some high school community service hours. The book Fair is a lively, cultural and colorful event.

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Leonora
It is held in the center of downtown Miami by the Miami Dade College Wolfson campus, and the area is shut down for blocks while the fair is being held. The event consists of stalls running parallel down the streets with all kinds of bookshops and small businesses. There are live events scheduled throughout the fair, author, meetups and food galore.

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Leonora
There is even a section for children where they offer face painting and small quests for the kids to fulfill. As you can imagine, this is a pretty fun way to fulfill some of your high school community service hours. You get to go to the fair and enjoy yourself once your volunteering shift is complete. That year, I found myself assigned to the information booth and to be honest, it was a tad mundane.

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Leonora
I had wished to be a part of the Children's Pavilion because it's fun. And near live performances. Alas, it was not meant to be. And I was stuck in the information booth, assisting authors and guests all the while. I had one goal running through my mind. Snag a book before the day is over. Any book.

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Leonora
It was the end of my shift and I was waiting for my sister to finish work.

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Leonora
I began roaming around the book fair, searching blindly with no clear objective as to what I wanted. I went through a couple of comic book booths, but nothing caught my eye. And then I got distracted with a few performances, wandering through the bustling fairgrounds, I stumbled upon a grand booth with a plethora of books. Not only did they have shelves full of books, there were tables and crates full of books.

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Leonora
As I was browsing, a silver haired man well into sports approached me. He was the storekeeper. The stall keeper asked me if there was anything in particular that I wanted. Going back to the fact that I'm a pretty big introvert, when he asked me, my mind went blank. Coupled with the fact that I had no idea what I wanted.

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Leonora
So I said the first thing that came to my mind. Something with magic. To his credit, he took me quite literally and handed me a book about magic. Real magic. Not exactly what I had in mind. But hey, my vague request was a challenge. I wanted something fictional that had fantasy and magical elements in it. He was such a kind older gentleman, really patient with me on account that I was being very vague.

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Leonora
After a few more awkward exchanges, I could see the wheels of his mind working on his recommendation. Then he finally landed on a book and he explained to me that his wife is a big fan of it. He told me that it's about time travel and has a bit of magic at that point. He handed me Diana dabbled in Outlander.

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Leonora
The book he handed me was not a paperback edition. No, no, no. It was a beautiful hardback. Pretty old, too, from what I could tell at the time. The hardcover had an embellished sleeve illustrated on the sleeve was a broken clock and a dagger on top of a Scottish plaid. Now I know it's the first edition hardcover. I found it so beautiful.

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Leonora
And the summary in the back of the book was interesting enough that I bought it. I bought a mint condition first edition Outlander for a whopping $5. Of course, this is way before it was turned into the HBO series. Little did I know that this book would bewitch me, as I began to read, time itself seemed to blur.

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Leonora
Claire, the fearless protagonist, embarked on a journey through the ages, and I couldn't help but be swept away with her. School hours designated for reading became my refuge. Like I literally could not stop reading for that week. All I did in my spare time was read Outlander. Suffice it to say, I may not have comprehended every nuance of the romantic scenes, but their allure was undeniable.

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Leonora
Outlander. Well, the spell around me kindling the fervor for the historical romance genre. From that moment on, I looked for books that were set in the past and started becoming obsessed with reading historical romances set in Scotland or England.

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Leonora
So there you have it, my friend. The book that started The Obsession Outlander is still easily one of my favorite books to this day and is such a great read.

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Leonora
This got me curious. Do you have a book that sparked your obsession? Feel free to reach out to me on Instagram at a fancy for romance. Looking forward to hearing your stories.

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Leonora
Thank you for joining me on this trip down memory lane and episode four of A Fancy for Romance, the book that started the Obsession. I hope you enjoyed our little time travel adventure.

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Leonora
If you're as captivated by historical romance as I am, don't forget to subscribe to our podcast and share it with fellow romance aficionados. Until next time, happy reading.