Some die-hard Mills & Boon fans share their stories with us…

Love at first sight…

Sarah Raine-Blake

Picture the scene: it's the start of summer, 1978, and two fourteen-year-old girls dressed in flares are sitting on a park bench in London. The one shedding tears straight from a crocodile's eyes is my best friend.

"Please," she wheedled, "you know if I have to pick up those two romantic books for my mum, I won't have time to meet Philip. You could get them for her. It's not as if you have a boy to meet..."

Sore point, but true. So I agreed to help. While she dashed off with spotty Phil, I would pick up her Mum's books and hand them in. Anything to help Love's Young Dream...

Fifteen minutes later in the small bookshop, my own love affair started. I had already picked up the books intended for my friend's mum, but I could hardly drag my eyes away from the rows of passion before me! Nor could I resist flicking through some of the Regency romances. History had never interested me in school, but Mills & Boon writers made history come alive- so much so, I bought two, stuck them in my duffel bag, and hurried home.

That afternoon changed my life forever. I got so involved in history, I took my degree in it, and went on to lecture. No wonder I love Mills & Boon books so much, and I'm not alone. Wherever I go, I meet people who share my passion. And why not? A good plot, well written, can take me to exotic locations, introduce me to luxurious lifestyles, or bring me into the tension of a medical romance. All this for a price that won’t break the bank, and makes my pleasure far from guilty. Best of all, I love Mills & Boon books because they confirm that no matter how challenging the world (or my life!) becomes, things like love, loyalty, passion and caring, never go out of fashion.

Forbidden Passion!

Star Mungai:

When I was about 13, my parents decided to send me to a mixed boarding school. As it should be, romantic relationships were severely frowned upon. In a bid to prevent all this ‘love nonsense’ as the principal called it, all romantic literature was prohibited. Top of the list of the tabooed books were Mills & Boon novels. However, that never stopped my classmates from sending cutesy love notes and kissing under the stairs. And, as is expected with hormonal pre-pubescent teens, Mills & Boon novels became the most sought after, the most read, the most relished.

My siblings have always teased me for being a late bloomer; my boobs filled out long after my younger sister’s- and are yet to catch up, my baby fat did not even out till I was out of high school. This means that at 13, nobody was sending me love notes of how pretty my eyes are and how I smelled like sunshine. However, my mind was way ahead of my body; I noticed cute boys and how they smiled at cute girls.

When I read Mills & Boon novels, I escaped. I became the enchanting heroine with little idea of her immense worth with a drop-dead gorgeous guy dying to show her how beautiful she really was and wanting to cherish her for the rest of his existence. I learnt from Mills & Boon that there is a ‘one’ who wants only you, who loves you for your shortcomings and adores you for your virtues. Since 13, because of Mills & Boon, I decided to wait for my ‘one’.

Eventually my body caught up with the rest of me, I became quite the striking lady even if I do say so myself. Then I met my ‘one’ in campus. And he was every bit as gorgeous as Mills & Boon promised; from his magnetic smile, his toned body, right down to the ripped abs. When I see how much I mean to him, I realize my intrinsic worth. In accordance with Mills & Boon protocol, we recently got engaged, and are one step closer to allowing him to cherish me for the rest of his existence...