Exceeding Expectations

Since it's still Friday in most parts of the world, this blog post isn't technically late. Much.

I would have posted something earlier, but I got caught up watching a Christmas movie. You know, one of those made-for-TV movies that appear at this time of year, with not a single familiar face in the cast and a predictable story line? As you might have guessed, I'm not a big fan of these kinds of movies. [Give me The Proposal any day!] But this one really hooked me.

It was called A Christmas Kiss. Romance readers will recognise the story line as a tried and tested theme: girl kisses hot guy, then finds out he's her bosses' boyfriend. Okay, so the usual trope would be he turns out to be the boss, so the movie makers at least managed to put a fresh spin on this one.

What I enjoyed about this movie was that it has a fresh, young, contemporary feel, and wasn't too schmaltzy. Whether you adore every holiday themed movie out there, or whether you're more picky like me, watch this film. It's guaranteed to put a smile on your face.

There was only one thing I didn't quite like about this film, and it was only as the end credits rolled that I finally worked out what it was. The hero.

As a romance writer, I've diligently studied what makes a good romantic hero, and I've developed my own ideas of how a hero (especially an alpha hero) should behave. And it's spoiled me. I can no longer sit back and enjoy a book or movie without constantly measuring up the hero against my own very high expectations.

A hero who manages to get through an hour and a half of TV time not realising that his girlfriend is a witch spelled with a B, and in all that time doesn't realise that the girl he kissed right at the start of the movie is the heroine, just doesn't measure up for me.

So I'm going to dig out my battered copy of The Proposal and remind myself how a true alpha hero behaves. Because Ryan Reynolds always exceeds my expectations - especially when he's shirtless.