<p>In <i>Dangerous Men and Adventurous Women</i>, Jayne Ann Krentz and the contributors to this volume&mdash;all best-selling romance writers&mdash;explode myths and biases that haunt both the writers and readers of romances.<br /><br />In this seamless, ultimately fascinating, and controversial book, the authors dispute some of the notions that plague their profession, including the time-worn theory that the romance genre contains only one single, monolithic story, which is cranked out over and over again. The authors discuss positive life-affirming values inherent in all romances: the celebration of female power, courage, intelligence, and gentleness; the inversion of the power structure of a patriarchal society; and the integration of male and female. Several of the essays also discuss the issue of reader identification with the characters, a relationship that is far more complex than most critics realize.</p>