Nothing Better

...than a good beer and a romance novel: two of my (many) weaknesses.

The beer in question is Anchor Porter. Can you tell I was on a local beer kick on my last trip to Bev Mo? The San Francisco brewing company has a pretty good selection, and between the Steam, Liberty Ale, and Porter I had a very nice weekend.

You've seen my thoughts on Anchor Steam and Liberty Ale. I didn't include a review of the Porter before because it's such a completely different beer. It's also my favorite of the three.

I drink it straight from the bottle, because it's less to clean up. Much easier to toss a bottle in the recycling than to hand wash another glass, right? I can tell you this is a very dark, nearly opaque black color, with hints of red when held to the light. (I poured one of them, okay?) The smell is nice and strong, (which is good for my weak little scent receptors), and includes molasses, hints of coffee and something fruity. The flavor is as close to perfection as you can get in a dark beer. It's not too weak, and not overly bitter. You can taste the fruitiness--maybe raisins or some other kind of sun-withered deliciousness--along with the coffee. The internets tell me it's thin-bodied, whatever that means. I find it smooth, with a similar creaminess to a Guinness, but more flavor. Bottom line, this is a beer I could drink anytime, anywhere and be perfectly happy. 

This evening, I happen to be pairing it with Daring to Dream, by Nora Roberts. For the uninitiated, Nora Roberts is a Goddess among romance novelists. Her stories have more heart than any other romances I've read. And I've read a lot. A whole lot. Daring to Dream is the first in the Dream Trilogy. I have read the series no fewer than 5 times, and it continues to be a go-to when I'm in the mood for a little escapism or between trips to the library. The story is about Margo Sullivan, the disgraced former-supermodel who returns home to rebuild her life, only to find that love and family are far more important than the material possessions she's been chasing after for a decade.

Margo grew up the daughter of a housekeeper on the Templeton Estate, home to the proprietors of a global hotel empire. Her best friends were Laura, the Templeton heiress, and Kate Powell, the Templetons' orphaned niece. Laura's older brother, Josh, always seemed to be getting the girls into or out of trouble. When he first came to Margo's rescue after scandal struck, she looked at it as an annoyance. By now, you know where this is going.

To save herself from financial ruin, Margo opens a boutique in which she sells all her old designer clothes and trinkets. Her friends go into business with her, and so solidify the foundation of love and support they'd been building since childhood. Love between Margo and Josh blossoms, but not without it's complications, of course.


So we've established a fairly typical romance novel plot. What makes the story great is, as I said earlier, the heart. I think the mid-90s represent the best of Robert's books. The Enchanted Series, the MacGregors, The Stanislaskis, I could go on. The key to these stories is the importance that Roberts gives to each character. In so many romances, supporting characters are boring and one-dimensional. For Roberts, it's not just the love interests who matter. The stories are about families, however traditional or non-traditional they may be. These are books where the sex scenes, however steamy and plentiful they may be, are not front and center. The real memorable moments are the quick banter between old friends, the periods of insanity that lead to major turning points, and the way romance smolders between the main characters for nearly half the book before anything, ahem, significant happens.


Bottom line, the entire Dream Trilogy is highly enjoyable. My favorite is the third, where Laura Templeton's story is told. But it's absolutely no hardship to read the first two before I get there.



Huh. Beer and Books is fun. I might make this a new thing.