The Happily Ever After: A Memoir of an Unlikely Romance Novelist
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The Happily Ever After: A Memoir of an Unlikely Romance Novelist Audible Audiobook – Unabridged

Avi Steinberg (Author), Dustin Rubin (Narrator), Random House Audio (Publisher)
4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 8 ratings
See all formats and editions

A memoir about writing a novel about searching for love.

Is romance dead? Is that why there are so many vampires in today's romance novels?

When Avi Steinberg's love life took a grim turn, he did what he always does: He consulted his old books, the usual cast of great (very serious, usually male) authors. And he immediately realized that these books were part of the problem. Instead, he began to read romances, the books he - like so many of us - have been conditioned to dismiss as "trashy". What he discovered was a genre that was tremendously diverse and daring, along with a vast network of innovative writers who were keeping the novel as alive as ever. His own relationship problems, he realized, came down to a failure of his imagination. And so he set out on a quest to write and publish a romance novel and to find real-life love.

A hybrid of memoir, travelogue, and critical essay, The Happily Ever After chronicles an adventure in a brave new world of literature. Steinberg offers a report from the trenches of romance, moving between major industry conferences and writing groups at the local bar as he works and reworks his romance novel idea. He reveals the inside scoop from a major romance publishing house, crisscrosses the country meeting mysterious ghostwriters and Fabio's great unsung rival, and offers a running take on the fascinating history of romance writing, the genre that invented, and continues to reinvent, the modern novel. Along the way he meets many readers, each of whom sheds light on why we are so fascinated by - and phobic of - romance fiction and what the vitality and fractiousness of our biggest genre says about us.

With quirky wit and disarming honesty, Steinberg captures an often misunderstood literary culture and learns, from its devoted practitioners, how to take The Happily Ever After seriously in his own life.

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  1. Listening Length
    6 hours and 57 minutes
  2. Author
    Avi Steinberg
  3. Narrator
    Dustin Rubin
  4. Audible release date
    August 11, 2020
  5. Language
    English
  6. Publisher
    Random House Audio
  7. ASIN
    B081K5TFYS
  8. Version
    Unabridged
  9. Program Type
    Audiobook
  10. See all details
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Product details

Listening Length 6 hours and 57 minutes
Author Avi Steinberg
Narrator Dustin Rubin
Whispersync for Voice Ready
Audible.com Release Date August 11, 2020
Publisher Random House Audio
Program Type Audiobook
Version Unabridged
Language English
ASIN B081K5TFYS
Best Sellers Rank #474,855 in Audible Books & Originals (See Top 100 in Audible Books & Originals)
#1,847 in Literary History & Criticism
#7,514 in Love, Sex & Marriage Humor
#9,067 in Comedy & Humor

Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars
4.6 out of 5
8 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Beverly S
5.0 out of 5 stars It is a love story!
Reviewed in the United States on August 30, 2020
Verified Purchase
While being a thorough, thoughtful, and often entertaining exploration of the romance novel's history, this book is itself a wonderful love story, a real one, the best kind.
One person found this helpful
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Ben Mattlin
5.0 out of 5 stars Intelligent, thought-provoking, and FUNNY!
Reviewed in the United States on October 27, 2020
An intelligent, thought-provoking, and laugh-out-loud exploration of storytelling in our culture. Steinberg is a smart and clever fellow with a good sense of humor. The only drawback is the narrative meanders quite a bit, jumping around on the timeline. But it all comes together at the end.
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Nurse_bookie
3.0 out of 5 stars an interesting read
Reviewed in the United States on November 20, 2020
The Happily Ever After
By Avi Steinberg

This was an unusual read for me and quite the interesting topic that I did enjoy and wanted to especially read for Nonfiction November. Part memoir, essays and musings about romance novels, happy ever after's and also delving into his own life and his recent divorce. I found this funny and the honesty raw and appreciated.
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Rochelle Rochelle
5.0 out of 5 stars Funny and interesting.
Reviewed in the United States on November 17, 2021
I loved this book!
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