I read plenty of different genres, but the one that I come back to most often, and the one that I read when I’m looking for a comfortable, lift my mood type of book, is romance. I’m happy to be a romance reader.
I love reading romance, I just love it.
Just as I enjoy watching rom-coms, I enjoy reading romantic fiction.
Why?
For me, they are reads that make me smile. I know there will be a happy ending, no doubt with some drama and maybe some tears along the way, but it will all work out in the end.
Most romantic fiction books are very focused on the two main leads, rather than a huge array of characters, and it’s fun to really get to know them and how they think. It’s a small fictional world, one that’s easy to fall into for a few hours.
I also love a series like this. Three or four books with the characters’ lives interwoven through them? Oh, just order them right now for me!
There are so many authors and series that I love in this genre, but if pushed to name a few, I’d go with Eloisa James, Talia Hibbert, Elsie Silver, Tessa Bailey, Sarah Maclean, Nora Roberts and Lynsay Sands. Honestly, I could list another dozen or two that I love, but I’ll stick with those few for now otherwise this post just becomes one huge list.
‘Romance’ is also a pretty wide genre.
I mean, just from the books that I can see on my shelves as I write this, I have historical romance, cowboy romance, YA romance, paranormal romance, classic romance, comedy romance, and the list could go on.
Why has there long been such a stigma around being a romance reader?
If you say you’re reading A Tale of Two Cities, that’s great, but say you’re reading Lucy Score’s Knockemout series? Not as impressive to some people. It’s literary snobbishness and it needs to change.
Don’t get me wrong, I do see the difference between reading a book that has historical, political, ethical and thought-provoking content over easy, comfortable, you know which way this is going to go books. And I think there’s a place for both of them. I read both of them.
Read what you want to read, when you’re in the mood to read it. And I am seeing a shift around this.
This is a genre that spans the centuries, people have written about love for as long as tales have been told. It’s not new, but I do think it might be having a resurgence.
There are more and more social media accounts dedicating themselves to this genre, sharing their favourite reads, shouting out about enjoying it, and I feel like there seems to be a ‘modernisation’ of the genre, if that makes sense? Reading 1970s Mills and Boon mightn’t have been the thing to do (yes, I read plenty in my teens!), but picking up the latest cowboy romance is almost on trend and a must-do. It’s great!
To a new generation, the TikTok girls reading with their Stanleys, romance IS the thing to read. And I am here for it.
Reading is reading. Reading books, taking breaks from screens, getting lost in other worlds is good for us. There are so many mental and physical health benefits of reading, we all know this, so if romance books are the hooks to get you into it, fabulous.
Of course with popularity comes more titles being published, which means a quick scroll through my Instagram feed, where I obviously follow lots of bookish accounts, and I’m adding loads of new books to my wish-lists. And as I said before, I do love a series so it’s the whole set I’m getting, not just one book!
Has there ever been a better time to be a Romance Reader? If there has, I don’t remember one, and long may this trend continue.
I’m happy being a romance reader. Happy to say that, and happy when I’m cosied up reading it.
There’s more than enough darkness in real life, let’s escape and smile when we can.
Are you a romance reader? Tell me your favourites!