by Guest Blogger, Rachel Milano

I’m a hopeless romantic at heart and I just love funny, mushy and just plain feel good romantic stories. Who doesn’t love it when a strong, handsome, strapping young hero gets together with the beautiful, fiery and smart as a whip heroine? They just make me melt and make me want to believe that true love really does exist.

In this sometimes jaded and cynical world that we live in where divorce rates are unbelievable, romantic stories give us hope that if we find the right partner, love will conquer anything and everything. They add color to our otherwise dull existence.

I used to collect romance novels. But recently I discovered that there are also romantic stories online. The best part is you can read the stories for free. They are usually short, quick reads but they still manage to capture the very essence of true love. I have managed to read several short romantic stories in an hour and each has left an indelible imprint in my heart.

For me, what makes for a good romantic story is its ability to hold my interest just in the first few sentences. This is what keeps me reading on. Who can ever forget famous opening lines such as:

What can you say about a twenty-five-year-old girl who died? That she was beautiful. And brilliant. That she loved Mozart and Bach. And the Beatles. And me.

This from one of my favorites of all time – Erich Segal’s Love Story. Made popular by the movie, this is one of the romantic love stories that has left a mark on me forever. This poignant tale tells the story of how Oliver met, fell in love and eventually lost the love of his life, Jennifer. The book was written with just the right balance of humor, wit and heart wrenching emotion – just perfect for the hopeless romantic in me. Other authors have also managed to score high marks with me. Authors like Alene Roberts and Nicholas Sparks have created masterpieces that I have read over and over.

What’s a world without romantic stories? I picture a world that is cold, gloomy and dull. Now who would want to live in such a world?