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How to Write a Romance Novel: The Complete Guide

Krystal N. Craiker

So you want to write a romance novel ?

The romance genre has consistently remained one of the best-selling genres of all time and is currently the most lucrative one. People love love, and love sells. It’s no wonder so many authors want to get in on the action.

But if you’ve never written a love story, you might be wondering how to do it. Have no fear. Today we’re going to answer all of your questions. And we’ll take it a step further. You don’t want to write just any romance novel. You want to write a good one.

Before we get down to the heart of the matter (see what I did there?), there’s one piece of writing advice that applies to every genre.

How Do You Start Writing a Romance Novel?

What are the subgenres of romance, how do i choose my romantic leads, do i need world-building in romance writing, how do i structure a romance novel, what are the most common romance tropes, how do i pick the right pov for my romance novel, fall in love with your characters, do you want to write, publish, and sell a bestselling romance novel.

Read in the genre you want to write.

And read extensively. You need to read the genre to have a full grasp of reader expectations. So, load up your shopping cart with all the romance you can find. Start with the best romance books of all time to get a broad sense of the genre.

All read up? Good. Now we can get to the juicy stuff.

Romance is a wide umbrella. The only essential component of a romance novel is a romantic focus and a happy, or hopeful, ending.

Before you get started, you need to narrow your genre down. Let’s look at some of the popular subgenres of romance.

Contemporary Romance

Contemporary romance is the book form of a chick flick. The setting is realistic and familiar, even if it takes place in a fictional town.

Within contemporary romance you might find even more niches, like military romance, mafia romance, billionaire romance, and small-town romance.

Historical Romance

One of the most popular subgenres is historical romance. You might have heard these referred to as “bodice rippers.” But I’m here to tell you that no bodice has to be ripped to write historical romance.

Any story set more than about fifty years ago is considered historical fiction. Many historical romances take place in the Regency era, such as the Bridgerton series by Julia Quinn.

Wild West romances and World War II romances are also very popular. But romance has happened throughout time and space, so pick the era that feels right.

Paranormal Romance

Werewolves, vampires, shapeshifters. Oh, my! Paranormal romance, often abbreviated to PNR by authors and fans, is any romance that involves the supernatural. Typically, one or both of the main characters is/are a supernatural creature. A Discovery of Witches series by Deborah Harkness is an example of paranormal romance.

Fantasy Romance

If you prefer your love stories to occur in another world full of magic, then fantasy romance is the subgenre for you. When magic occurs in a real-world setting, the line between paranormal and fantasy gets blurry.

If you’ve created an alternative world, you’re writing fantasy.

Within fantasy romance, fae romance is extremely popular. Sarah J. Maas and Holly Black are two bestselling fantasy-romance authors.

Religious Romance

If you prefer your romance clean with a focus on spirituality, then religious romance might be the way to go. Most religious romances are Christian fiction.

They can be contemporary or historical. Besides the normal plot structure of a romance, one or both of the main characters should also find salvation by the end of the story.

Young Adult Romance

Move over, Romeo and Juliet. The young adult (YA) genre is one of the most lucrative genres out there for writers. It doesn’t appeal to just teenagers. Young adult fiction, especially young adult romance, appeals to readers of all ages.

There’s just something about young love that everyone can relate to. Just look at Divergent by Veronica Roth or The Fault in Our Stars by John Green.

Queer Romance

As the publishing industry continues its push for diversity, queer romance is gaining in popularity. People are glad to have characters that they can relate to falling in love. Rainbow Rowell is one of the bestselling queer romance authors.

Erotic Romance

Most of these genres can feature explicit sex scenes, with the exception of Christian romance and YA romance. But in erotic romance, sex is one of the key points of the story, but the love story is equally important.

In erotica (different to erotic romance) sex is the focal point, and any romance or character development is secondary.

Blending and Bending Genres

You might have noticed some overlap with the genres listed above. For example, Twilight by Stephenie Meyer is a young-adult paranormal romance. You can blend genres in any way that makes sense to you.

You can also bend genres . Take genre expectations and mash them together for something completely unique.

One example is the Sookie Stackhouse series by Charlaine Harris. These books are both paranormal mysteries and paranormal romance. The stories don’t work without both the mystery and romance aspects.

The Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon is steeped in two different eras of history, but the author also throws in time travel for a fantasy element.

Do you want to write a queer, young-adult, sci-fi mystery romance with alien werewolves? Go for it! The sky’s the limit for writing romance. As long as the love story is the most crucial component of the plot, it counts as a romance.

A lot of advice about writing romance tells you to pick your setting first. Of course, setting and characters go hand-in-hand. However, romance arcs require strong character growth. For a compelling romance, your story should be primarily character-driven.

What sort of traits do you want your characters to have? Are you writing brooding heroes and brazen heroines? Are your characters rich or poor, timid or outgoing, humble or arrogant?

Your two love interests should have some conflicting personality traits. This creates the interpersonal conflicts that drive the romance forward.

Also, make sure that your heroes and heroines fit the subgenre that you write in. A noble duke might be out of place in your small-town werewolf paranormal romance.

How do you want your characters to grow together? How do you want their love to change each other? The point of a romance is that love makes both main characters better. What character flaws do they overcome by falling in love?

World-building is an important part of any story. You might think you don’t need to focus on world-building if you aren’t writing a fantasy or historical romance. But the world your story takes place in is important, even if it looks like our world.

Setting is crucial to world-building. Setting determines the logistics of your story. What do your characters do for a living? How will they meet? Social expectations and character behaviors are also dictated by setting.

If you’re writing fantasy or paranormal romance, you’ll also need to define your mythology and magic systems and determine how your characters fit into them.

The world-building stage is a great opportunity to find a plot conflict if you haven’t thought of one. In religious romance, the world-building might show you the two different, conflicting belief systems and how they converge in your characters.

In historical romance, you might find class or race differences are a great starting point for conflict.

You might think all you need for a romance novel is love, right? Well, if you plan on marketing your love story as a romance novel, there are some basic guidelines that avid romance readers expect.

The typical plot structure of a romance novel, in its most basic form, looks something like this:

1) Meet cute

2) Building of romantic tension

3) Couple gets together/almost gets together

4) Couple is torn apart

5) Happily ever after

Let’s dive into each of these in greater detail.

She’s a barista who wants to be an actress. He’s a playboy Hollywood exec who stops by her coffee shop.

He’s an earl with a dark secret. She’s a lady who has secrets of her own. They meet at a ball.

She’s a teacher in a small town. She falls in love with the new, mysterious woman in town after spilling coffee all over the both of them at the Fall Festival.

The meet cute is the term for the inciting incident in a romance. How do your characters meet? What draws them together?

The meet cute sets the tone for the entire story. While it doesn’t have to be love at first sight—and probably shouldn’t be for realism’s sake—you must establish strong romantic tension.

They don’t have to like each other at first. You could be writing an enemies-to-lovers story or have a grumpy love interest, but there should be a spark of something.

This is also an important place for characterization. How your characters speak to each other says a lot about their personalities and how their relationship will work. They might lean toward sarcastic banter or heated flirtations.

It’s also where you’ll describe the love interest through the eyes of your main character. Use description in a way that makes sense for the character’s point of view.

Need help with description? Use ProWritingAid’s Sensory Report to help develop the sensory details associated with your characters. It’s important to use all of the five senses and not rely too heavily on a single one.

Build the Romantic Tension

Now your characters have to interact so they can develop a relationship. Some plot structures suggest that there should be a minimum of three scenes where they interact before the characters kiss or get together.

Determine what sort of events can draw your characters together. Be sure to give them ample opportunity to be alone together.

Through each scene, make their observations of one another deeper and more intimate. Hint at any emotional wounds or baggage, and show how falling in love might heal them.

Couple Gets Together but Is Torn Apart

Your couple must get together. After all, that’s the whole point of the romance. But your story will be very short and underdeveloped if your happily ever after comes too soon. I’m covering these two plot points together because they are so intertwined.

A first kiss or a tryst is common for this first union in romance. Your couple can date for a while as the external plot progresses, or they may decide that they cannot be together after just one night.

Work within the confines of your world and story to determine what this will look like. Here are a few examples.

The couple spends a night together, but then one is offered their dream job the next morning, and it’s two thousand miles away.

Something nefarious occurs after a kiss, and one of the love interests is kidnapped or is forced to run away.

Their love is forbidden, and they are discovered and pulled apart by family.

One wakes up with guilt because of the nature of their relationship (not accepted by society, is the enemy, is the widow of their childhood best friend, etc.)

How long the couple is able to be together before being inevitably pulled apart depends on the length of your novel and how you want any external plots to develop.

Are they able to meet in secret for months before they are discovered? Or is there just one night of passion before one decides to leave? All of this varies from story to story.

Happily Ever After or Happily for Now

You know how the fairy tales end: “and they all lived happily ever after. The end.” But we can’t end romance novels quite that simply. What does a happy ending look like for your characters?

If there is one plot component that is expected by the vast majority of romance readers, it’s the happy ending.

Happily ever after means that you somehow show or imply that your couple is together forever. Nothing will tear them apart, and the worst of times are behind them. But that might not work for your story.

Enter the world of “happily for now.”

It means that when the story ends, everything is going well. However, you don’t allude that everything will be fine in the future.

Sarah J. Maas does this in her series. The first love interests of her main characters are never the endgame relationship. If you’re planning a series, a “happily for now” ending might work well.

What if You Want a Sad Ending?

Some authors have had great success with tearjerker endings, like Nicholas Sparks. In this case, there should have been a “happily for now” or “happily ever after” before the end. In other words, the ending should leave the reader satisfied with the culmination of the romantic relationship.

If one of the characters dies, does the remaining character still have a chance at a happy life? Did the love story change the remaining character for the better?

Tread carefully with non-traditional romance endings. There should still be a degree of happiness at the end of the book. If your story ends too much like a Shakespearean tragedy, your readers will lose trust in you.

There is an endless number of romance tropes, and they stay popular because people love them.

Of course, tropes that are overused in the same way can become clichéd. Figure out a way to freshen up some of these tropes and use them in a new, creative light.

Romance tropes are great for developing plot and building romantic tension. Here are some well-known romance tropes that stand the test of time.

• Enemies to lovers
• Friends to enemies to lovers
• Friends to lovers
• Marriage of convenience
• Fake relationship
• Arrogant playboy finds his heart
• Forced proximity (roommates, coworkers, hostages, etc.)
• There’s only one bed!
• Secret billionaire/secret royal
• Love triangles
• Forbidden love
• Girl next door
• Brother/sister’s best friend
• Second chance romance

These are just a few. There are so many tropes you can play with. Mix and match them to create a completely original story!

The last major factor when planning and writing your romance novel is the point of view (POV). Alternating POV between two or more lovers is a common occurrence.

Third-person omniscient allows you to get in the heads of not just the couple, but secondary characters as well.

You can write in first or third person. There are advantages and disadvantages to both. All readers have their preferences.

Think about your story without writing. How do you imagine telling this love story? Is it easy for you to see both love interests’ perspectives? Does one character have a stronger arc than the other? Who do you want readers to relate to the most?

It’s okay to start a story in one point of view and realize it’s not working. You can always rewrite scenes with a new POV during editing.

Most importantly, writing a romance novel should be fun. Write in a way that makes you fall in love with your characters and makes you want them to have a happily ever after. Focus on the emotions rather than the events. Romance readers are in it for the feelings—the angsty, the warm, the cozy, the heart-wrenching.

They did just so and all the romance writers lived happily ever after. The end.

Learn from bestselling authors and writing experts like Taylor Jenkins Reid and Sarah MacLean at Romance Writers’ Week, October 24–28, 2022.

Be confident about grammar

Check every email, essay, or story for grammar mistakes. Fix them before you press send.

Krystal N. Craiker is the Writing Pirate, an indie romance author and blog manager at ProWritingAid. She sails the seven internet seas, breaking tropes and bending genres. She has a background in anthropology and education, which brings fresh perspectives to her romance novels. When she’s not daydreaming about her next book or article, you can find her cooking gourmet gluten-free cuisine, laughing at memes, and playing board games. Krystal lives in Dallas, Texas with her husband, child, and basset hound.

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108 Romance Writing Prompts & Love Story Ideas

Everybody loves a good love story – here are 108 romantic writing prompts and love story ideas to inspire you!

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Everybody loves a good love story, and with these romance writing prompts for romantic fiction, you are sure to find some inspiration to write a story for the ages.

These romantic writing prompts are free for you to take and let your imagination run wild. Use them as novel ideas, short stories, screenplays, or just try them as creative writing exercises to stretch your imagination.

Romantic Fiction Writing Prompts and Story Starters

Please note : We use the pronouns “she and he” in some of these examples, but of course you have the freedom to reverse and change genders as you see fit!

1. Their story begins on a bright summer morning when they both awake in bed together with no memory of who they are or where they came from.

2. She is determined to go on an epic road trip this summer. When her best friend bails out at the last minute, she talks one of her co-workers into joining her as a reluctant sidekick for the adventure of a lifetime. 

3. Write a story where one character finds the other character in their tent while camping alone.

4. Our heroine catches the hero stealing food from the restaurant where she works. Is he a bad guy or is there more to this story? What happens when she realizes she is falling for him?

5. A mysterious stranger leaves an item at the main character’s front door with a note attached saying “For a rainy day”.

6. Our hero is a jet-setter whose father has died and just left all of his possessions to someone else. He’s about to demand the rights to his inheritance when he realizes maybe he likes this person.

7. Write a romance story about an undercover cop investigating a person for a crime they didn’t commit. As the cop learns more about them, they realize they are innocent and they might be falling in love.

8. The heroine’s father warns her that she’ll be in terrible danger if she accepts the hero’s marriage proposal.

9. Our two characters are shipwrecked after an unexpected storm. They find themselves on an island where they are forced to spend their first night together under the stars.

10. An impromptu dance competition is announced at the bar where two characters are enjoying an evening of drinks. Do they have what it takes to win the contest and at love?

11. The hero is the brother of the person our heroine has had a crush on for years – who is also her best friend.

12. Write a love story where two single parents drop their kids off at the same daycare every morning. When they run into each other, will they be ready to give love a second chance?

13. She has a secret thinking spot on the roof of a nearby building. When she goes there after learning she lost her job, she discovers someone sitting there.

14. Our characters are both recovering addicts. They both have had problems with alcohol and drugs – will they be able to stay clean long enough for true love to find them?

15. Our characters are on vacation in the countryside of a foreign country when they accidentally crash their cars into each other, resulting in them being sent to the same hospital where they share a room for a week.

16. Our hero and heroine meet in line at the grocery store almost every week. After constantly running into each other, he finally asks her out.

17. The heroine’s wedding is cancelled the day before she was supposed to walk down the aisle. She isn’t sure how to pick up the pieces so goes to the beach to sort herself out, where she finds herself falling for someone new.

18. The might be lawyers on opposite sides of many cases, but they can’t deny that there is something between them…

19. The two of them are in a band together, hoping to get their music heard by the world. They start falling for each other, but will it rip the band apart?

20. Our main characters are both struggling to find their places in the world – one feels like their parents never supported their dreams, and the other left their hometown behind without any plans to return. Together, they learn what it’s like to be true to themselves for the first time.

21. They’ve lived together in the same apartment building for years and have a somewhat passive aggressive relationship with each other. It sparks into something more when he asks her to try his new hot sauce recipe.

22. Our two characters find themselves thrown together and in love after they meet while on vacation in a tropical paradise – only to discover that they live in different countries on separate continents. Can they make it work?

23. He likes her… she likes him… but he’s a total ladies’ man. Can she ever get over this fear and see him as more than a player?

24. They are both running from something in the woods and help each other to escape and survive a dangerous situation. What are they running from and could it make them fall in love?

25. She thinks she’s found the perfect guy – until she discovers he has a secret identity. Will he tell her on his own or will she call him out for it?

26. After a mix-up with their reservations, the characters find they both booked the same rental for the week. Rather than forfeit the deposit and ruin their plans, they decide it to share the space together. Will temporarily living together spark romance or will it be a disaster?

27. The story begins with our heroine rescuing the hero from a life-threatening situation. After they meet, sparks begin to fly. What we don’t realize until much later is she’s the one who caused the accident in the first place.

28. The protagonist is a famous chef who is loved by everyone in the neighborhood – except the frustrating food critic who keeps writing terrible things about their cooking. Can the chef woo them over?

29. Our characters meet when both of their cars break down in the middle of nowhere, and they need to wait together until their cars are repaired.

30. The two of them are sharing the back seat of a limousine after a logistics mix-up at their job when things take a turn for the passionate…

31. They have been friends since they were kids vacationing together every summer – but now it’s getting serious. They might not be just friends anymore…

32. The heroine has been hired by the hero’s start-up company to test his new product for attracting love. However, the product is so effective that she finds herself falling for him!

33. He is a famous actor and she is a waitress at a restaurant he frequents – but they both know that he’s tired of the glitz and glamour and wants to settle down. Can she show him that romance is real?

34. One of them is a real estate agent and the other is a home buyer looking for the perfect house, but they end up finding so much more than either of them expected…

35. They go out on a blind date with the hopes of finding love. But what if one of them ends up being the other’s boss and part owner of the company?

36. They had a casual romance in high school, but they both went their separate ways and have both changed a lot. When fate has them meet again, will it spark the magic from their old relationship?

37. They’ve both reached fame in their careers – but when the cameras are on at all times, how can they be honest with each other and their feelings?

38. Frustrated with life on earth, our hero and heroine volunteer to go live on the space station as part of an experiment for two years. They might have escaped all their problems on earth, but can they actually make a relationship work?

39. The two main characters work together at a local animal shelter and they both have secrets to hide about themselves and their lives. When their paths cross on a daily basis, can they resist the pull to tell each other everything?

40. The story begins with two high school sweethearts who are reunited years later only to discover that they are both unhappily married to someone else. Is it too late or will their love prove to be stronger?

41. He’s a famous musician with all kinds of problem. His life is falling apart and now he starting to fall for the person who tends the gardens at his mansion.

42. They’re both on the run from the law. When they cross paths to form an unlikely bond, can they both get out of their current situations to make it work?

43. He wants his lost love back, but how can he convince her he’s changed?

44. The two of them are on a business trip in a foreign country when there is unrest in the streets – can they make it out alive?

45. A famous actor and a famous actress are both staying at the same hotel during the filming of a romantic movie. Could the sparks be more than just what’s in the script?

46. She has had a crush on him for years, but he never notices her. Will he finally realize that true love is right under his nose?

47. Our main character is always setting up their friends on dates and playing matchmaker – what happens when someone tries to match them with someone new?

48. One of them is a soldier, the other an army nurse. They meet on a helicopter ride after being evacuated from a dangerous situation.

49. They broke up years ago but then run into each other after not talking to each other anymore. When they stop and actually listen to what the other person has to say, do they realize that maybe they never really stopped loving one another?

50. Our main character’s dog is missing – but will they find love in an unexpected place instead?

51. Write a love story where one person is a tech mogul and the other person thinks technology is evil. When they start to fall for each other, will technology get in the way?

52. They are both running for mayor in their small town. Only one person can win the election – but can they both win in love?

53. Write a romance story where one character believes that love isn’t for them, so the other person must prove them wrong by showing them how wonderful love can be.

54. Two people meet after finding out they’ve both been dumped. As they try to plot their revenge on their exes, they discover maybe they have feelings for one another.

55. Our main character’s father is determined to find them a match and has arranged for them to have a new date everyday. Will they ever meet the one?

56. When two people who have never met before get into an argument, they end up trapped in the same room together for hours on end. Will this argument push them together or tear them apart?

57. Our main character finds themselves having vivid dreams that feel real about someone from their past. Use this romantic writing prompt to write a love story that transcends the test of time.

58. They are both avid readers who frequently go to the library but one of them believes they can read people’s future through their books. When they finally meet will they be able to read the other’s mind?

59. Our main character is an adrenaline junkie living life on the edge. When they meet someone who wants to tame them, will they be able to gain some balance in their life?

60. She lives in a world where men are forbidden. When she finally meets one face to face, will she be able to resist her feelings or fall into temptation?

61. Write a story where the main character is the president’s daughter. Can she have a relationship with the son of a political rival?

62. Two discover that both their horoscopes describe what their ideal mate would be like and how they will meet – and it’s each other!

63. One of them is a hard working chef and the other is a photographer who wants to take pictures in the kitchen. When they meet, they find that they have more in common than just their love of food.

64. When our main character gets a new puppy, it turns out to be more than they bargained for. After the dog tears up their neighbor’s flower bed it might just turn into romance.

65. She’s an actress and he’s a cop on location providing security for the movie – but what happens when reality mixes with fiction?

66. Two lovers forced apart by war are reunited only to discover that one of them has been injured physically and the other mentally. Can they get past their scars and move forward?

67. Two people who have gone through terrible things in life meet in a support group and learn how to live again together.

68. The Civil War has just broken out – but one of them is from the north and the other is from the south. Will the war tear them apart or bring them closer together?

69. In a post-apocalyptic world, our two characters are both on the run. When their lives cross paths, they decide teaming up could benefit them both – but does their alliance turn into something more?

70. After accidentally sending an email to a stranger, they become online pen pals. When they meet for the first time in real life, will it be love at first sight or disaster?

71. Their tempers have both gotten them in trouble in the past. When they meet at an anger management class, will they finally learn to control their anger and let love in or will it all blow up?

72. Two con artists meet and decide to team up. They have great chemistry but will they ever be able to fully trust each other?

73. After a tornado devastates a small town, our two characters are drawn together by their grief. Can they rebuild a new future together?

74. When two detective partners need to catch the bad guy, they go undercover as a married couple. Could it be more than just a ruse?

75. Write a romantic love story where two friends start having dreams about each other. Will will these dreams be prophetic or turn into a real life nightmare?

76. When our hero finds himself trapped in another dimension, he takes refuge in an abandoned warehouse only to discover that there is another guest who also happens to be beautiful.

77. The two are travelers who both stop at a diner at the same time. When they are served something otherworldly, they suddenly find themselves with the ability to see ghosts – and each other’s pasts.

78. After finding a wallet in the parking lot, the main character is determined to find out who it belongs to and return it. After a long goose chase of research, they finds themselves falling in love with them. When they finally meet, is the person everything they imagined?

79. A group of people are forced to live in a small bunker together when nuclear war breaks out. Can they find love with each other or will they all turn on each other?

80. Our main character starts seeing a vivid symbol in mysterious places. They try to brush it off as nothing until meeting a stranger who has a tattoo of the symbol. Could it be fate?

81. During their first date, two people receive terrible news. Can they still find happiness together despite all of their problems?

82. After being ditched by their friends at the prom, two loners meet and decide to spend an exciting evening together.

83. While skeptical of psychics, our protagonist is also desperate to find love. After being told of a terrible misfortune about to happen, will it turn out it makes them meet the one?

84. Two people from different social classes find themselves attracted to one another. Can they make it work or will it be torn apart by their differing backgrounds?

85. Two long-time friends find themselves thrown together by a terrible accident. Can they be there for each other or will their differences tear them apart?

86. A young couple find themselves responsible for protecting a powerful and ancient weapon. Will they be able to keep it together and stop the evil that is trying to destroy it?

87. A woman confronts her ex-boyfriend at the wedding of a mutual friend – and their hate for each other is unleashed. Can they make up or are they determined to destroy each other?

88. Our hero meets a woman who teaches him about true love and everything he’s ever dreamed of finding in a relationship. Before they can be together, however, she disappears – only to return mysteriously years later.

89. Burned out by the dating scene, two people decide it’s best to sign up for a service that sets up arranged marriages. Will they be able to make it work?

90. They might both be rich and beautiful, but they always feel like the people they date only care about their looks and money. One decides to pretend to be poor while the other wears a disguise. Have they finally met someone who loves them with no regard to money or looks or will the truth be too much to handle?

91. They just met and really hit it off but one of them has to leave for a work project overseas for the next 5 years. Can they make a long distance relationship work?

92. Two people who hate each other become stuck on the same ocean liner together and must work together to survive a violent storm.

93. He might only be 28 and has a successful career, but he’s starting to go bald. Is it too late for him to find a partner?

94. As journalists for their school’s newspaper, they are always on assignment together. Could an innocent stop for breakfast one morning turn their casual relationship into something more?

95. The older couple in a photograph she discovers looks familiar – but she doesn’t know who they are. One of the people looks a little like her, only older. Could it be a view of the future to come?

96. Two people who have known each other since childhood must fight to survive against an army of zombies that are trying to turn them into meals. Can they make it out alive or will their pasts consume them?

97. She is out of work and lives in a trailer park with her sister. She decides she will marry someone rich and sets off to win over the heart of the local millionaire. Will she learn there’s more to love than just money?

98. They have been growing apart for years – but when they each meet someone new, they realize that maybe it’s time to stop running and face the past head on.

99. When you are born, you are assigned three potential love matches. You meet them all on the same day at the same time on your 21st birthday and must choose one by the end of the night to spend the rest of your life with.

100. They are both from different cultures, but when they meet each other for the first time, they are instantly drawn to each other. Can their love survive all the forces that want to tear them apart?

101. She is kidnapped and sold into slavery, but he will do anything to find her.

102. When he ends up in prison, will she find a way to help him or will his past always be too strong for her to overcome?

103. The two of them have been best friends since they were kids, but when they go into business together, their love for each other may become more than it was before.

104. Write a romantic love story that is inspired by whatever you ate for lunch yesterday.

105. A man travels back in time to find his true love and change the way things ended.

106. She has been sent on a mission by the king to find and return the prince before something terrible happens to him.

107. He is one of the best bounty hunters in the galaxy – but when he meets someone who can be considered his greatest catch yet he realizes he is in love with them.

108. Two leaders of planets on the way to extinction decide to join forces and create a new species of people to continue their worlds. Will their attempts to play matchmaker and procreate work?

I hope these romantic writing prompts and love story ideas inspire you to write something great. If you do happen to write a story with these prompts, you know we would love to check it out so please let us know about it in the comments below!

Looking for even more great story ideas and writing prompts? Check out these other resources at ThinkWritten!

• 365 Creative Writing Prompts for Everyday
• 42 Fantasy Writing Prompts
• 101 Poetry Writing Prompts

Do you have any other romantic love story ideas to add to this list? Share your own romantic writing prompts in the comments below!

Chelle Stein wrote her first embarrassingly bad novel at the age of 14 and hasn't stopped writing since. As the founder of ThinkWritten, she enjoys encouraging writers and creatives of all types.

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Why You Should Be Reading Romance Novels

Valentine’s Day is, at its best, an excuse to do what you want. Go on a fancy date, spend all night having sex, buy a bunch of sale chocolate to eat alone in the bath. And though it’s hardly the only time of year to celebrate romance novels (I personally find romance better for lazy summer days), it’s our excuse for it, so here we are.

I don’t want to spend too much time on romance’s bad reputation, which is born of misogyny, snobbishness, bias against small paperbacks, misogyny, and a lack of appreciation for delightfully cheesy book covers. But if you’re thinking, Bad reputation is right, and fairly earned! , then please just keep reading. Because if that’s what you think, odds are you haven’t read any romance, at least not recently, and February 14 is my excuse to tell you how much you’re missing out on, and why you might consider a change of heart.

Sad and challenging books have their place in the world, but there is plenty of room on your bookshelves. Romance is written to be enjoyed. Romance is a genre overwhelmingly written by and for women, where women’s desires, experiences, and rich inner lives are given value, center stage. It is fun, smart, savvy, increasingly inclusive, and a guaranteed good time. (And I wrote you a guide of five books to get started with right here!)

To clarify: I’m not talking about love stories here, or romantic books. I’m not talking about erotica, either. I’m talking about the genre of romance, which you may associate with Fabio’s bared chest or Fifty Shades of Grey . It includes those. But it also includes worlds and worlds more. If you give it a chance, you might — sorry, it’s Valentine’s Day! — fall in love.

Most romance readers grew up reading romance. They grabbed a paperback off of mom’s shelf, or squirreled one away to a quiet corner of a library, and thus a lifelong habit was formed. The fact that for many readers this happens when they were 12 or 14 probably makes you think it was about the sex. It probably was, in part. Reading about sex when you’re a teenager is pretty exciting.

But beyond that, think about what you were reading when you were 14. An approximated, reconstructed ninth-grade syllabus: Catcher in the Rye , An Separate Peace , The Great Gatsby , Lord of the Flies , Romeo and Juliet . Boys, boys, boys, boys, a dead girl. Maybe you read outside of school, too. When I was 15 I read the entire Dune series. (No one had warned me, as I warn everyone, to stop after book three.) What I was missing out on, and maybe you were, too, was books about women and girls.

After growing up on Madeleine L’Engle or Louisa May Alcott and graduating into a high-school canon so dominated by men, imagine the relief and delight to read about women . And to read about such adult things — not adult as in sex, but adult concerns, like love and courtship and family strife. To see in those pages possible paths forward, worlds and happy endings to imagine yourself into.

That’s not a thing we stop needing when we grow up. But it can take deliberate effort to diversify our reading lists beyond straight white men. You might not be missing women from your shelves today. You might have, like many people I know, devoted yourself to reading more or only women (and authors of color), especially in the last few years. If we aren’t acquiring editors at a publishing house, we work to change this with our book-buying dollars and with our eyes.

Women have been historically excluded from the canon, and that carries on through to publishing today. Women’s voices and stories — as authors and characters — have been systematically devalued in literature. We see how a man’s thinly veiled autobiographical musings are hailed as revolutionary, but a woman’s are dismissed. How male authors write women who only serve their male characters’ journeys and are lauded for the bare minimum beyond that. How sex, in literary fiction, is rarely actually fun, and if it is then someone must pay the price.

Romance is full of women’s voices and women’s stories. There are male and nonbinary authors, too (and not all romances pair a man and a woman), but romance authorship may be the arena least dominated by straight men in the entire world. “But wait,” you, my straw man, might say. “Romance reduces women’s lives to love stories. That’s not empowering; that’s practically telling them to get back in the kitchen!” Straw man, I promise you, romance makes no such reductions. These books show women finding love, sure, but even the thinnest hypothetical opponent that I’ve conjured up to make my point wouldn’t object to that being a part of a person’s life, right? And while women in romance are falling in love, they’re also coming more fully into themselves, discovering strength and independence, or vulnerability and honesty, or the bravery to stand up to their parents or fight a war or be proud of who they are. And, almost more important than these women falling in love, is them being fallen in love with. For being strong, independent, vulnerable, honest, brave, smart, funny, and stubborn. Those are stories about women that I think are extremely worth reading.

I’m not going to try to convince you that you should read books about women. I’m just going to tell you that if that’s a thing you care about, read romance.

I didn’t start reading romance when I was 14. I was too busy digging into Frank Herbert’s back catalogue, and I don’t have a time machine to remedy that now. I started reading romance when I was in my early 30s, working at a website where romance was a major focus. Well, I figured, if I’m going to be editing people writing about romance, I should know what’s going on.

I started for work, but I kept going because it was 2016. It wasn’t November yet, and of course now, looking back, however bad that summer felt, after November was worse. But soon enough it was, of course, November, and then it was 2017, and I left that job, and the world kept finding new ways to be bad. And I wasn’t going to not read books, but there was so much I couldn’t handle or just didn’t want to in my time of escape from the manic news cycles of the world. I remember reading one book and needing to DM the author to find out if anything bad happened to the delicate dog who was traipsing through the pages.

So there were two problems: bad things happening in books and the anticipation that they might.

One of the best things about romance is tied up in one of the things it’s most derided for: predictability. Romance, like any other genre, has its genre conventions. That’s what generic means. For a romance to be a romance, two criteria must be met: The central plot must be a love (or lust, or like) story, which is resolved by the book’s end, and the ending must be happy. It can be “happily ever after” or “happily for now,” but it is happy. (Rule 2.1, then, is that while the main characters may suffer, they and their closest loved ones don’t die. 2.2: neither do any pets.) This is why not every love story is a romance, and it’s why romance is the perfect genre for 2019.

There is great power in a happy ending. For women, people of color, queer people — the stories we see, in the world and in fiction, very often promise suffering and despair. Lots of that suffering is real, though some of it is baked into narrative tropes .

The best thing about romance is knowing how it will end. Or rather, knowing where it will end up — with the main characters happily together. Because what you still don’t know is how they will get there. What obstacles will they face? How will they overcome them? What will they do or say? It’s the same pleasure we get from mysteries, Marvel movies, and rewatching movies we’ve already seen. Romance, with its prescribed endings, lets you enjoy the journey without worrying about the destination.

And those journeys, I discovered once I started reading romance, are extremely good. They’re full of banter and barely suppressed longing . They’re full of beautiful dresses and people sincerely working through their shit , full of fantasy and the emotional realities of trying to connect with another person . They’re full of millionaires and dukes and strippers with hearts of gold . And, yes, sometimes they are full of sex.

People love to demean romance as “smut,” as if the only thing worse than women writing stories about women is women writing stories about women having sex. But if you’re just looking for titillation you are going to be very disappointed with all the pages spent on things like plot and character development. Some romances end with a chaste kiss. Some demurely fade to black when a couple makes their way to the bedroom. Some are euphemistic. Some are explicit. And some are fun and hot! Because here’s one thing that hasn’t really changed since we were 14: Reading about sex is fun. Or it can be, when the sex itself is fun. Literary fiction has plenty of sex, but it’s rarely about the characters’ pleasure. Literary sex tends to be sad or gross, often enough presaging a character’s tragedy, as if she’s a promiscuous teen in a horror movie. In romance, people get to have sex, and it’s good.

Let us also not forget that in 2019 it is still, somehow, politically daring to say that good sex — for pleasure, love, or connection — should be a part of a woman’s life if she wants it to be. I will never forget that in the first romance I read, the heroine had three orgasms — two, I believe, by cunnilingus — before her partner even got his dick out. As good as the sex may be, it’s not there (only) to titillate. These are stories about love, after all. And sex can be an important part of that. In books and in life, sex is part of a story. It advances plot, it reveals character.

Books don’t need to be sad or challenging to be worthwhile. Sometimes you need to replenish your stores of good feelings, to remind yourself that stories can end happily, that people can fall in love, that a guy can want to get you off three times before he takes off his own pants.

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The Unexpectedly Subversive World of Romance Novels

Helen taylor on books that truly embrace female autonomy and desire.

In the 1980s, feminist academics (including myself) became intrigued by romance reading, partly because—paradoxically—the rise of the women’s movement in the 1970s was matched by significant growth in sales of romantic fiction. Aware of dismissive or hostile attitudes to the genre, Marxist, Freudian and feminist psychoanalytic critics debated issues around mass readership, cultural representations of desire and fantasy, and the conservative or transgressive nature of popular fiction. This was also the shoulder-pads decade of career feminism and the UK’s first woman Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher.

Throughout the 1980s, the British were captivated by the doomed marriage in 1981 of 33-year-old Prince [“Charming”] Charles and 20-year-old Lady [“Cinderella”] Diana, step-granddaughter of “Queen of Romance” Barbara Cartland. Diana was believed to read little except her step-grandmother’s novels which—as Cartland later admitted—did her little good. Cartland herself became a much-parodied figure coloring public perceptions of romantic fiction: as romance writer Veronica Henry suggested, “[romance] has suffered from the clichéd image of the eccentric novelist dressed in pink dictating her novels from the chaise longue.”

This decade produced a new batch of bestselling blockbusters which I have called “the sexy greedy saga,” by writers such as Susan Howatch, Jackie Collins, Shirley Conran, and Zoe Fairbairns. Strong, career-driven female characters have many a sexual relationship, but this no longer defines them—and a healthy bank balance makes up for lost love. The 1980s also saw re-imaginings or pastiches of romance by writers like Margaret Atwood ( Lady Oracle , 1976), Marilyn French ( The Bleeding Heart, 1980) and Jeanette Winterson et.al. (Passion Fruit: Romantic Fiction with a Twist, 1986), with lesbian characters and themes entering the scene. Critical studies of romance by American critics such as Tania Modleski and Janice A. Radway, and British academics Alison Light, Cora Kaplan and Jean Radford, signaled a new serious attention to the genre, and put the subject on the academic curriculum and thus national cultural agenda.

Critics have suggested the romance provides women with the opportunity for self-transcendence, to imagine being ravished, adored, protected and loved. It also enables women imaginatively to resist the constraints and excesses of a male-dominated society, and to find a cathartic space in which to explore fear and guilt, as well as revenge fantasies, around fathers and husbands. Radway’s Reading the Romance analyzed the romance reading habits and preferences of 42 women in a small US town, and confirmed what critics had argued about the complexities of romance reading.

As I too discovered when discussing Gone With the Wind with readers, women gregariously swap romance books, memories and ideas; exchange with each other on and offline favorite lines, narratives, and playful comments on characters and endings. Women can be fierce critics but also enjoy banter and erotic fantasies around the stories. Readers devour romances actively, discriminating between texts and having a shrewd sense of how to find stories and characters that appeal—often via recommendation from friends or family members.

Gone With the Wind enthusiasts were acutely aware of the shortcomings of the central characters, and were able both to understand and also criticize the flawed heroine Scarlett O’Hara, and they spent many a long hour debating with other girls and women whether Scarlett ever gets back bad boy Rhett Butler (and if not, why not). Romance, it seems, allows a declaration of independence (this is “my space, my time, my choice of books”).

The romance story is owned in a special way by women—in novelist Violet Winspear’s words, “a dream world for women only. An escape from the ironing board and the frying pan.”  Books of simple plots with single narrative strands and strong central characters can be picked up and put down between bouts of housework, breastfeeding, demands of a job or caring, chemotherapy and more. Three of my correspondents summarized the self-deprecatory or sardonic attitude to this kind of reading.

Amy W (aged 26) told me of her mum, “A large body of free escapism has lured her into Mills and Boon… something you can read and be absorbed in without engaging the brain.” Sixty-year-old Lucy M’s enthusiasm for romantic fiction “waxes and wanes. It’s never been a substitute for the real thing, and when a relationship is going well, I don’t need to retreat into a book.” Liisa [sic] O (36) wrote to me, “I read a lot of what I call trashy fiction, something that takes me out of the real world and into the dreamy world of happy endings…I read more women [Sophie Kinsella, Susan Lewis] as they tend to write the soppy romances I enjoy.”

Successful romantic novelist Katie Fforde told me she read romances obsessively while a young mother, when all she could talk about was nappies, and so her reading was “a place to be away from [my] own life.” Although she was “addicted” to these books, she claimed that the fantasy of a powerful man sweeping her up and taking her away from all this was a pleasurable fantasy. “I’d say most women know the difference between these and their real lives and I don’t think they think they’ll marry a millionaire. They know the difference between fantasy and reality.” For her, these novels were a “prop, like anything that’s easy to digest”—but she admitted that eventually “you get fed up with junk food.”

As I’ve already suggested, the “escape” element of reading is often equated with secretive indulgence in sweet things, the easy palate-pleasing power of forbidden (“junk”) rather than improving food. As one woman commented online, “Reading a general fiction book is like a five course meal with dessert afterward. A romance novel is like a tub of ice-cream eaten when no one’s looking.” The greedy pleasure, guilt, and slight self-disgust, women feel as binge-eaters and romance readers are a reminder of the ambivalent attitudes women have towards “naughty but nice” food and fiction.

Writers like Fforde get irritated by the “massive snobbery” of critics towards the genre, while one romance writer I contacted (whose website is scattered with references to her long- and short-listing for romantic novel awards) claimed defensively neither to write nor read romance, and instead to be a writer of “contemporary novels for women.” Most romantic novel writers use pseudonyms, perhaps as a way of distancing themselves from what they know to be a discredited literary form. Emily Murdoch (a pseudonym) told me she describes herself to women as a romance writer, while to men , a writer of historical fiction. Veronica Henry, on the other hand, claims that people are coming round to the notion that romance “boasts some of the best writing around,” and observes wryly “there will always be prejudice against anything that has commercial success. Who’s laughing, though?”

Along with erotica, the only fictional genre written by women for women, modern romance puts women at the center of the narrative, addresses our deepest desires for love, committed and sustained relationships, and also speaks strongly to us about our dreams and fantasies (two words that crop up repeatedly). In real life the Second Sex, in romance women are never just someone’s daughter, wife or mother. Instead they are the central drivers—and in Emily Murdoch’s words, “the prize.” Although a woman reads a romance alone, often in secret away from male family members and workmates, she joins a virtual communal realm of female readers who share experiences and thus understand one another’s responses.

On the AllAboutRomance.com website, a retired rabbi and marriage counsellor (sounding like Woman’s Own circa 1958) claims that women love romance because “it made them anticipate sex/caring/love in a fictional context” and neuroscientists and many agony aunts claim that the anticipation of sex is more erotic than sex itself. Cultural historian Alison Light wrote wittily, “The reader is left in a permanent state of foreplay, but I would guess that for many women this is the best heterosexual sex they ever get.”

Given the plethora of sexologists’ accounts of female disappointment with sexual partners (usually around an inability to achieve orgasm), and women’s increasing knowledge about their bodies and sexual potential, it’s not surprising readers are turned on by narratives of male characters who understand, and know how to excite and satisfy, women’s bodies. Benedict Nightingale suggested that the fantasies in these books were “actually complaints about men,” so here is a unique space in which a woman can voice such complaints to herself and others, and dream of the ideal partner who will—in the HEA—appreciate her for everything she is and cater to her every physical and emotional need.

And of all genres, romance (like romcom films) allows women a form of expression associated most closely with femininity—namely, crying. My own research on Gone With the Wind found many women referring to it as a “twelve-hankie” book and film, while the blurbs inside Jojo Moyes’ dystopian bestseller Me Before You praise it as “a real weepie,” with reviewers urging readers to devour it “like candy, between tears” and to “Make sure you have a box of tissues to hand!” This emphasis on great romances (often with gothic themes or subtexts) as “weepies” suggests they’re designed to arouse in women bittersweet emotions and internal conflicts, best indulged in private away from the real people in our lives.

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Coming Out As A Romance Geek: Why I Love Reading Romance

A love for the written word has led Oishani to structure her life around reading. Books introduced her to a world filled with so many possibilities, and helped her understand the power of a well-written story. With an educational background in English Literature and Film & Television Studies, she has worked as the editor for an arts magazine in the past. She believes in the healing powers of a perfectly brewed cup of coffee and the chance to explore a new city. And, no matter where she might be, her Kindle (loaded with books) is never too far from her person.

She is the editor at The Curious Reader. Read her pieces, here .

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Insightful essay, Oishani. I confess I’ve scorned romance books myself, having read only one so far — a Nora Roberts. I wanted to dislike it, but found it entertaining.

Both by taste, and because it’s what I want to write myself, it’s literary fiction, and the classics, that I’ve mostly read. But in my fiction I struggle to create a plot. Frustrated at my inability to write plot, I used to actually look down on plot down-driven novels! (The grapes are sour :-/ )

Recently, I’ve acquired an interest in popular novels. They have things to teach me. Plotting, structuring, creating well-defined characters. After all, ideas and language alone can’t drive a novel that most people would want to read.

My interest in popular, fun writing has remained largely theoretical. This essay reminds me to actually start reading some popular books, including romance.

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• Mental Health

I Highly Recommend Romance Novels If You’re Really Going Through It Right Now

By Jennifer Chen

A friend gifted me Royal Holiday by Jasmine Guillory when it came out in late 2019, and when I finally picked it up in March 2020, I had no idea a heartwarming Christmas romance was about to change my life. The last time I had read a romance novel before this was in high school, when I inherited a stack of bodice-rippers from my older cousin. Holiday ’s charming pink and mint green cover looked different from the busty books I’d read years ago, though. I knew I couldn’t handle my typical harrowing fare—memoirs, psychological thrillers, and self-help—and wanted something fun and light to help me feel good. And I wasn’t the only one turning to rom-com novels during the dark early days of the pandemic: From January through May 2020, 16.2 million romance e-books and print books were sold, and sales continue to soar .

The same day I started reading Royal Holiday , I wrote about why calling COVID-19 the “Chinese Virus” and “Kung Flu” was deeply harmful to the Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) community. Social media trolls told me it wasn’t racist to use those terms. At that point, my four-year-old twins, my husband, and I had been in lockdown for five days. It felt like five months.

At night, I dove into Guillory’s novel. The charming romance, set in modern-day England and complete with freshly baked scones and leisurely strolls on the green grounds of a castle, was the perfect place to escape my overwhelming reality. Under stay-at-home orders in Los Angeles, I felt squeezed on all sides as a mother, a writer, and an Asian American. I was constantly caregiving —searching for activities to keep my kids entertained, cooking meals, and tending to a sick dog. My brain felt like Swiss cheese by my children’s bedtime. But when I got lost in the sweet love story between an American mom and a debonair British gentleman who works for the queen, I felt swept away from the chaos of my life.

Over the next few months, as the world continued to feel upside down, I went on a romance novel binge. I blew through all of Guillory’s books, then dove into Talia Hibbert and Helen Hoang . Reading these stories was my spot of sunshine amid the doom and gloom of the news . When I had trouble sleeping, my comfort reads lulled me into relaxation. And though I’m no longer feeling as emotionally drained as I did in 2020, I haven’t quit my habit.

Here’s exactly how romance novels helped my mental health through the first year of the pandemic—and why I continue to rely on them to bring me pleasure.

Reading happily-ever-afters brought me comfort.

According to Stop Asian Hate , a coalition of three AAPI social service organizations, 6,600 hate incidents were reported from March 2020 to March 2021. AAPI women and girls were more than twice as likely than men to report a verbal or physical assault. I read countless headlines about Asian seniors being beaten. My worst day was reading a local New York news story about an elderly Asian woman who was set on fire (her shirt was burned, but she managed to avoid serious injury). This woman reminded me of my grandmother who always walked to get groceries. I cried while writing at my desk.

By Amy Norton

By Katie Camero

At night, I eagerly looked forward to reading the romances I downloaded from the Los Angeles Public Library. Some I devoured in three nights. Others I turned to when anxiety woke me up at 4 a.m. There was safety in the routine of knowing that every story I read ended happily; I didn’t have to wonder if the people I read about were hurting.

Romance novels also helped me with anxiety, depression, and loneliness.

As the height of the pandemic wore on, I slipped into depression. At first, I dismissed my symptoms —irritability, hopelessness, and physical exhaustion—as caregiver burnout mixed with stress from writing about the rapid rise in anti-Asian sentiments . I tried melatonin and meditation to help me relax, but reading romance worked better and seemed to pause the constant anxiety loop in my brain. To be clear, romance novels are not a substitute for mental health treatment—it ultimately took a combination of medication and therapy to help me manage my depression and anxiety —but the stories I read did help me unwind at a time when I desperately needed it.

It turns out, there’s some science to support the mental boost I got from my fictional companions. A 2022 study in the American Journal of Emergency Medicine found that reading books was an effective coping strategy for emergency health care workers during the pandemic, reducing feelings of stress, anxiety, and depression. I would never compare my situation to theirs, and, again, you can’t read your way out of a mental health condition, but it’s encouraging to know that books can, in fact, make you feel a bit better when life gets dark and overwhelming.

And romance novels may be particularly helpful when it comes to loneliness and isolation. In a 2013 study in the journal Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts , researchers talked to readers of specific book genres—domestic fiction, romance, science fiction/fantasy, and suspense/thriller—to understand how they might pick up on social and emotional nonverbal cues. Participants were asked to “decode emotions from black-and-white cropped images of people’s eyes” and the researchers found that romance readers “tended to perform better on picking up social cues” compared to readers of other genres.

Translation: Reading romantic novels might help make you feel more connected to other people, Katrina Fong, PhD , a researcher of social and personality psychology and the lead author of the study, tells SELF. And it’s not all that surprising, considering that romance, more than other genres, focuses so heavily on relationships. “Reading stories and connecting to the characters can help meet our personal psychological needs,” Dr. Fong explains. “It's possible that connecting to fictional characters can create a sense of closeness that staves off loneliness, especially if characters feel like real people to readers.”

Of course, this is just one study, and it didn’t specifically look at whether romance stories made readers feel less lonely or isolated. But it does suggest that the strong sense of connectedness I felt when I got to hang out with my romance-novel characters may have been the reason these books eased my loneliness during a very isolating time.

I felt emotionally validated by the characters.

Unlike the romance novels I read as a teen, my new reads had relatable characters. I saw myself in Chloe, the perpetual planner in Get a Life, Chloe Brown by Talia Hibbert. As someone who married her BFF, I understood Alex and Poppy’s best-friends-to-lovers relationship in Emily Henry’s People We Meet on Vacation . And as I was grappling with caregiver burnout and depression, I felt understood by Helen Hoang’s The Heart Principle , a deeply vulnerable novel centered on Anna Sun, a young woman who is caring for her sick mother, and a guy she meets for a one-night stand.

When Anna felt guilty for wanting alone time in the midst of tending to her sick mother, I felt seen. Anna’s dilemmas, exhaustion , parental guilt, and depression mirrored my life in 2020. To see Anna speak up for herself allowed me to feel validated in meeting my own needs. “You may think you’re the only person who's experiencing something, but being able to see somebody else in a similar situation, coping with the same feelings, can help you feel less alone,” Dr. Fong says.

I spoke with Hoang about her experience drafting The Heart Principle while going through depression (which she details in her author’s note at the end of the book), and it was affirming for her too. “Writing about my personal experience made me cry. A lot. There were certain scenes that were so difficult to relive that I spiraled into bouts of depression after writing them,” Hoang tells SELF. “But as challenging as that was, I think that type of confrontation and self-reflection was healing as well. It was catharsis and validation. Through the power of storytelling, I was able to not only explain but show everyone what it was like to walk in my shoes.” Perhaps I was picking up on that too—Hoang’s own healing through her character’s stories. I was seeing and being seen, and therefore felt less alone.

It’s been nearly three years since I first cracked open Royal Holiday late at night while my kids and husband slept (oh, wonderful silence!), and I’ve been reading and loving romance novels ever since. I credit Red, White, & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston for getting me through my dog’s cancer diagnosis at the end of 2020, and dozens of other stories have helped me cope with hard times, restore my happiness, and express my needs. The joy in reading romance novels—however small it may seem—kept me anchored during a time when I felt like I was floating away in hopelessness, and now my to-be-read pile is more colorful and hopeful than it's ever been.

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Friday essay: romance fiction rewrites the rulebook

Associate Professor in Publishing and Communications, The University of Melbourne

Professor in Writing, Deputy Associate Dean (Research), Faculty of HASS, The University of Queensland, The University of Queensland

Disclosure statement

Beth Driscoll received funding for this research from Australian Research Council Discovery Project DP160101308, 'Genre Worlds: Australian Popular Fiction in the 21st Century.'

Kim Wilkins received funding for this research from Australian Research Council Discovery Project DP160101308, 'Genre Worlds: Australian Popular Fiction in the 21st Century.' Some of the interviewees cited in the article are industry peers.

University of Melbourne provides funding as a founding partner of The Conversation AU.

University of Queensland provides funding as a member of The Conversation AU.

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Romance fiction has one of the most recognisable brands in book culture. It is known for a handful of attributes: its happy-ever-after endings, the pocket Mills & Boon and Harlequin editions, the covers featuring Fabio (in the 1990s) or naked male torsos (the hot trend in the 21st century). It is known for being overwhelmingly written and read by women, and for being mass-produced.

But romance fiction is also the most innovative and uncontrollable of all genres. It is the genre least able to be contained by established models of how the publishing industry works, or how readers and writers behave.

Contemporary romance fiction is challenging the prevailing wisdom about how books come into being and find their readers.

For our book Genre Worlds: Popular Fiction and Twenty-First Century Book Culture , coauthored with Lisa Fletcher, we conducted nearly 100 interviews with contemporary authors and publishing professionals. Our research shows that fiction genres are not static. They do not constrain artistic originality, but provide the kind of structure that sparks creativity and passion.

Genre fiction can be understood as having three dimensions. The textual dimension is what happens on the page. The industrial dimension is how the books are produced. And the social dimension is the people who write, read and talk about genre fiction.

These three dimensions interact to create what we have called a “genre world”. Each distinct genre world (such as fantasy or crime) combines textual conventions, social communities and industry expectations in its own way. And romance is the most fast-paced, rapidly changing genre world of them all.

When it comes to genres of articles, we have a soft spot for the listicle. So, here are five things you may not know about contemporary romance fiction – five things that show the dynamism at the heart of book culture.

1. Romance is at the forefront of digital innovation

Twenty-first century publishing has seen fundamental shifts in the way books are produced, distributed and consumed, largely thanks to digital technology.

The romance genre is notable historically for its rapid production and consumption cycle. As a result, it has been well placed to adapt to the widespread uptake of digital publishing, which also moves rapidly. Romance writers and publishers are entrepreneurial and comfortable taking risks. The moment constraints are released, romance writers rush in.

This is exactly what has happened with self-publishing. Since the advent of Kindle Direct Publishing in 2007, hundreds of thousands of romance books have been self-published there. Other opportunities have blossomed on sites such as Wattpad or through print-on-demand services such as IngramSpark . In Australia, for example, there was a 1,000% increase in the number of self-published romance novels between 2010 and 2016.

Some self-published romance novels have achieved mind-boggling success. Anna Todd’s 2014 romance novel After , originally fan fiction based on the band One Direction, drew more than 1.5 billion reads on Wattpad. It was subsequently acquired by Simon & Schuster and has spawned a movie series.

In other cases, romance authors have formed co-ops to publish work together. Tule Publishing is a small, largely digital publisher with a limited print-on-demand service that produces multi-author continuity series as part of its publishing model. The Tule authors we interviewed spoke of their strong community and creative connections.

The self-publishing of genre fiction has blurred the lines between author, agent, editor, cover designer, typesetter, publisher and bookseller.

Stephanie Laurens , one of the world’s most successful romance novelists, began writing with Mills & Boon before moving to HarperCollins. In 2012, she gave a keynote address to the Romance Writers of America convention. She used the opportunity to reflect on industry change. Soon after, she began reconfiguring her own publishing arrangements.

Now Harlequin publishes her print novels, while she self-publishes the e-book versions. She also self-publishes novellas that are prequels to, or that sit between, the novels in her traditionally published series.

Laurens is a prolific author with loyal fans, an author who can afford to take risks. She realises that self-publishing potentially offers her a better deal and has been able to pursue that while retaining ties to a traditional publisher.

Her career complicates any view of self-publishing as second best. Her example has been much emulated among romance writers. Such a career move challenges how we might typically theorise the power relations of literary culture.

Read more: 'Goodreads' readers #ReadWomen, and so should university English departments

2. Romance readers are active and engaged

The dynamism of romance fiction is intimately linked with its engaged readers. Unlike other kinds of publishing, where the fate of each book is relatively unpredictable, romance has historically had many loyal readers who subscribe through mail-order systems to receive books regularly – a model that has not worked successfully at scale for any other genre.

In the 21st century, many of these loyal romance readers are online. They tweet about their favourite authors, write Goodreads reviews, and run blogs and podcasts.

People read romance fiction for different reasons. They might be drawn to its focus on the emotional nuances of relationships, its escape into various times and places (romance subgenres really do cover the gamut), or its gold-plated promise of happy endings and pleasure. They might read casually or intensely, with curiosity, scepticism or devotion.

All of these are active modes; they can’t be reduced to consumerism. There is an element of feeling to the involvement. The shared pleasure and sense of belonging that comes with being in the genre world came up regularly in our interviews.

Author Rachael Johns , speaking of romance fiction, said “this is my passion, I fell in love with the romance genre”. Agent Amy Tannenbaum described the romance community as “tight-knit”. Harlequin marketing specialist Adam Van Roojen suggested the romance community’s supportive nature makes it “so distinctive I think from other genres”.

People say the same thing about other genres, of course, but these claims show how people imagine genre worlds as a kind of community.

Communities have boundaries and can be exclusionary. Kristina Busse has written about the impulse to police borders in fan-fiction communities, and of how ascribing positive values to some members of a community may exclude other people.

This dynamic is at work in genre worlds, even if it is low-key or not openly acknowledged. What’s more, the inside world of romance fiction has an inside of its own. This is evident in the way readers relate to one another (there is an implicit hierarchy of fans) and in the industrial underpinnings of the genre.

For example, there is a distinction between a writer’s core audience and fringe audience that affects sales formats and international editions. Core romance readers tend to read digitally, and therefore can often access US editions of a book. Casual romance readers are more likely to pick up a print book from a store like Big W or Target and are therefore more likely to be the target audience for local editions.

In general, though, both core and fringe romance readers know how to read romance fiction. They are attuned to the codes that run through the novels. Back in 1992, Jayne Ann Krentz and Linda Barlow argued that certain words and phrases in romance fiction act as a hidden code “opaque to others”.

Committed romance readers have a deep knowledge that makes them experts in their genre. When these readers express their views online, authors and publishers take note.

One recent example involves a tweet from romance fiction author, podcaster and blogger Sarah McLean . She asked her nearly 40,000 Twitter followers to “Tell me the best romance you’ve read in the last week. Bonus points for it being 🔥🔥🔥.”

The tweet was directed at the hardcore readers of the romance genre world. It assumed an audience that reads more than one romance novel per week. The 300 or so replies constitute a mega-thread of recommendations.

Romance readers are generous to one another this way, as the sheer abundance of commercially and self-published romance fiction makes it hard to sort and choose. The replies also offer an up-to-the-minute map of the subgenres and tropes to which readers are responding. These include shape-shifters, second-chance love stories, queer romance, and dukes and duchesses (possibly a Bridgerton effect).

Read more: To the mattresses: a defence of romance fiction

3. Romance fiction is global

Far from being circumscribed by small horizons, romance fiction is globally connected and inflected. This is amply demonstrated by the example of Australian romance fiction, which is formed and sustained across international literary markets and creative communities.

Pascale Casanova’s theory of the world republic of letters notes the cultural force of London and New York as anglophone publishing centres. This mitigates against the inclusion of Australian content in popular fiction. Stories set in New York or London seem to have no limits in terms of international portability. But stories set in Australia, or another peripheral market, can be harder to pitch.

Australian writers are conscious of this, as it directly affects the viability of their careers. But export success is possible for Australian work. The subgenre of Australian rural romance or “RuRo” is the best-known example. Authors like Rachel Johns are bestsellers in other territories. Romance novels set in Australia are popular in Germany – the Germans even have a name for them, the “ Australien-Roman ”.

Romance fiction is energised by transnational communities of readers and writers, often mediated online. Australian romance author Kylie Scott , for instance, credits American romance bloggers with driving the popularity of her books, and thanks book bloggers in the acknowledgements of her books.

These cultural mediators assist the transnational movement of books in genre worlds. The development of digital-first genre fiction publishers and imprints also supports such movement, not least through promoting global release dates and world rights, so that genre books can be simultaneously accessible to readers worldwide.

But nothing comes close to the romance fiction convention, or “con”, in demonstrating the international cooperative links of the romance community. Cons, such as Romance Writers of America, support romance writers by providing professional development opportunities; they offer structure to participants’ professional lives.

For example, Regency romance writer Anna Campbell has oriented her career towards the United States. Campbell began to professionalise by joining the Romance Writers of Australia , but then entered professional prizes run through US networks, and it was these that gained attention for her writing and enabled her to get an agent. American success followed:

My agent ended up setting up an auction in New York, and three of the big houses wanted to buy it. The auction went for a week, and at the end of Good Friday 2006, I was a published author and they paid me enough money to become a full-time writer.

Campbell went on to write five books with Avon, then moved to Hachette for a number of books. She has now moved to self-publishing. The majority of her readership remains in the US.

Romance’s capacity to reflect the local concerns of writers and readers, coupled with its responsiveness to global industrial processes, makes it one of the most intriguing genres for considering what “Australian books” might look like in the 21st century.

Read more: 'I believe in romance': remembering Valerie Parv, the Australian author who sold 34 million books

4. Romance can be socially progressive

It has been more than 50 years since Germaine Greer, in The Female Eunuch, dismissed romance fiction as women “cherishing the chains of their bondage”. The perception that the genre is conservative persists.

But romance writers and readers are more and more concerned with inequality across gender, race and sexuality. They are pushing back against old conventions.

In 2018, Kate Cuthbert, then managing editor of Harlequin’s Escape imprint, gave a speech that revealed romance’s internal debates. She addressed the responsibilities of romance fiction writers and publishers in the #MeToo era, arguing that

if we want to call ourselves a feminist genre, if we want to hold ourselves up as an example of women being centred, of representing the female gaze, of creating women heroes who not only survive but thrive, then we have to lead.

For Cuthbert, this means “breaking up” with some familiar romance fiction tropes, such as the coercion of women:

many of the behaviors that are now being called out – sexual innuendo, workplace advances, stolen kisses because the kisser couldn’t resist – feel in many ways like an old friend. They exist in the romance bubble […] and they readily tap into that shared emotional history over and over again in a way that feels familiar and safe.

Cuthbert’s compassionate acknowledgement of readers’ and writers’ attachment to established genre norms sits alongside her call for evolution, for renewed attention to “recognising the heroine’s bodily autonomy, her right to decide what happens to it at every point”.

Structural hostility in the publishing industry towards people of colour has also become a cause romance writers and readers rally behind. In 2018, Cole McCade , a queer romance writer with a multiracial background, revealed that his editor at Riptide had written to him:

We don’t mind POC But I will warn you – and you have NO idea how much I hate having to say this – we won’t put them on the cover, because we like the book to, you know, sell :-(.

In the wake of this revelation, multiple authors pulled their books from Riptide, as a further series of revelations about the publisher’s bad behaviour emerged.

The following year, the Romance Writers of America examined the past 18 years of its RITA Awards finalists and published the results: no black author had ever won a RITA, and the percentage of black authors represented on shortlists was less than half a per cent.

In response, the board published a “Commitment to RITAs and Inclusivity”, in which it called the shocking results a “systemic issue” that “needs to be addressed”. In 2020, they announced they were employing diversity and inclusion experts to help diversify their board, train staff, and help “design and structure” more inclusive membership programs and events, including the annual conference.

The Romance Writers of America’s intentions have not always been successful. The ongoing visibility of marginalised groups in the genre continues nonetheless, in part driven by romance’s rapid and robust uptake of digital publishing. Access to publishing platforms has allowed micro-niche genres to proliferate. LGBTQIA+ romance subgenres have become particularly visible: from lesbian military romance to gay alien romance to realist asexual love stories.

Sometimes these stories go spectacularly mainstream, as with C.S. Pacat’s The Captive Prince , a gay erotic fantasy about a prince who is given to the ruler of a neighbouring kingdom as a pleasure slave. Originally self-published, The Captive Prince started as a web serial that gathered 30,000 signed-up fans and spawned Tumblrs dedicated to fan fiction and speculation about where the series would go.

The book was rejected by major publishers, so Pacat self-published to Amazon and within 24 hours it had reached number 1 in LGBTQIA+ fiction. A New York agent approached Pacat and secured her a seven-figure publication deal with Penguin. The queer fantasy or paranormal romance has continued to thrive in Pacat’s wake.

In our interviews with romance authors, questions of diversity, inclusion, representation and inequity arose again and again. In representation and amplifying marginalised voices, romance has enormous potential to lead the way.

Read more: If the Romance Writers of America can implode over racism, no group is safe

5. Romance has gates that are kept

Romance fiction is more progressive than some stereotypes might suggest, but it is not free from exclusion or discrimination. The genre is influenced by its gatekeepers – human and digital.

One form of gatekeeping takes place through the same voluntary associations that nurture community. In late 2019, the board of the Romance Writers of America censured prominent writer of colour, Courtney Milan , suspending her from the organisation for a year and banning her from leadership positions for life.

The decision was made following complaints by two white women, author Katherine Lynn Davis and publisher Suzan Tisdale, about statements Milan had made on Twitter, including calling a specific book a “fucking racist mess”.

This use of the organisation’s formal mechanisms to condemn a woman of colour and support white women was controversial, provoking widespread debate across social media and email lists.

Milan had long been an advocate for greater inclusion and diversity within Romance Writers of America and the romance genre. As the Guardian reported , the choice not to discipline anyone for “actually racist speech” made punishing someone for “calling something racist” seem like a particularly troubling double standard. “People saw it as an attempt to silence marginalised people,” observed Milan.

The board retracted its decision about Milan. It is difficult, however, to calculate the damage that may have been done to readers and writers of colour in the romance genre world. Conversely, the use of Twitter to extend debate and eventually correct the Romance Writers of America shows change happening, in real time.

Another form of gatekeeping in romance fiction happens through the same digital platforms that put the genre at the forefront of industry change.

Safiya Umoja Noble’s book Algorithms of Oppression demonstrates how apparently neutral automated processes can work against women of colour — for example, the different results that come up from a Google search of “black girls” compared with “white girls.”

In the world of romance fiction, Claire Parnell’s research has shown the multiple ways in which the algorithms, moderation processes and site designs of Amazon and Wattpad work against writers of colour. For example, they make use of image-recognition systems that flag romance covers with dark-skinned models as “adult content” and remove them from search results. They can also override the author’s chosen metadata to move books into niche categories where fewer readers will find them, such as “African American romance” rather than the general “romance fiction”.

Concerted activism and attention is needed to work against this kind of digital discrimination, which risks replicating the discrimination in traditional publishing.

There is no simple way to account for the dynamics of contemporary romance fiction. It is inclusive and policed; it is public and intimate. Its industrial, social and textual dimensions are not static, but interact dynamically, incorporating the possibility of change. Only by understanding these interactions can we gain a complete picture of the work of popular fiction.

Contemporary romance fiction is formally tight, emotionally intense and digitally advanced. It’s where the heartbeat of change and action is in book culture.

• Book publishing
• Literary culture
• Friday essay
• Romance fiction

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Why I Finally Learned to Love Romance Novels

After two difficult years, one romance-leery writer reveals how she unexpectedly dealt with the hardships of the pandemic by going all in on modern love stories.

Confession: I’m not exactly digging the state of the world. Obviously, this doesn’t make me unique — in the last two years, we’ve had to deal with a pandemic, political strife, civil unrest, and even a pending war. To put it mildly, we’re all a little stressed. But rather than bake bread about it, I’ve been coping by reading. A lot. But it wasn’t until recently that I began noticing an emerging trend. As it turns out, I really love women’s literature.

No wonder it took me so long to dig in. Thanks to a strong helping of internalized misogyny and a film-school education that gave me more tools to discuss French New Wave than the works of Paul Rudd, I assumed that I was simply too good for this particular genre. Even my initial dip into the romance-novel pool didn’t come from a place of open-hearted exploration but rather a “this will be a fun way to turn my brain off for a bit.” It’s the same mentality I also apply to movies on airplanes, locations that cater to Instagram aesthetics, and fluffy desserts.

But actually cracking the sherbet-colored book spines tells a different story. While my social skills atrophied and life gained the kind of emotional cobwebs I’m still trying to clear, these books allowed me to travel to places that were off-limits ( People We Meet on Vacation , The Layover ), get embroiled in life and love situations I’d never find myself experiencing in real life ( The Heir Affair , Head Over Heels ), or just imagine seemingly normal interactions as something other than an incubator for disease ( Big Summer , The Party Crasher ). Any worries that romance, racial issues, and the complexities of human existence couldn’t be smartly and enjoyably chronicled disappeared mere pages into The Wedding Date , the first of Jasmine Guillory ’s interconnected series of novels about friends who — yup — fall in love. I began ordering books faster than I could read, and even cranked out a 200-page manuscript of my own because I simply couldn’t get enough.

Like me, Sabina Wex , a podcast producer from Toronto, Canada, never saw herself as a women’s-lit fan. As she recalls, she associated the idea with the likes of Fifty Shades of Grey and braced herself for drivel when her informal book club decided to read Red, White & Royal Blue , Casey McQuiston’s smash-hit novel about the blooming romance between the First Son of the United States and a British prince. But what she discovered was a gateway to a world she had previously written off.

“It’s not just people falling in love and being weird,” she laughs. “It’s a nuanced conversation about what it’s like to be a person in the world who also happens to be falling in love. It’s not the singular point of focus. It’s fun to talk about, but you don’t want a character who is one-dimensional in that way. And that’s why people are going crazy for them. … I think as I get older and I care less, I’m like, I don’t really care where the line is, because I’m enjoying it. So, it doesn’t matter the way books are marketed.”

For Emma Lord, the author of Tweet Cute , You Have a Match , and When You Get the Chance , the romantic element of storytelling was the gateway into her career, as she fell in love with the world of fan fiction as a teenager.

“I would say from 16 on, a lot of my plotlines were just focused on sort of the romantic things that get overlooked in a movie like Spider-Man . You’ve got two hours you need to work with. They do what they can, you get your romance, and you get your adventure, and then you walk away from it. You’re like, I want more! That was kind of the instigating factor.”

The good news: Anything that encourages people of any age to read and write will strengthen their ability as storytellers. Lord’s books, largely featuring teenagers, are nuanced explorations into identity, pop culture, and social media as much as they are fun romances worth reading in a single sitting. What’s more, they’re money-making driving forces in the publishing industry. So, why is the genre still so publicly poked at?

.css-1n3l8cl{font-family:GTWalsheim,GTWalsheim-weightbold-roboto,GTWalsheim-weightbold-local,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:1.625rem;font-weight:bold;line-height:1.2;margin:0rem;}@media(max-width: 48rem){.css-1n3l8cl{font-size:1.75rem;line-height:1.2;}}@media(min-width: 64rem){.css-1n3l8cl{font-size:1.875rem;line-height:1.2;}}.css-1n3l8cl b,.css-1n3l8cl strong{font-family:inherit;font-weight:bold;}.css-1n3l8cl em,.css-1n3l8cl i{font-style:italic;font-family:inherit;} We’re living in a different world now. I would say people are much more public about [loving romance novels]. But I do think we’ve got a really long way to go before it becomes something that’s just normalized.

“Both fan fiction and romance as a genre are very female-dominated spaces, and it is incredibly easy to dismiss those interests as trivial and make people feel silly about them simply because it’s girls that are interested in them,” Lord notes. “I feel like we have a lot of economic power when it comes to these stories that are being told, but we don’t have a lot of cultural power in the ways that they’re discussed outside of our little bubbles. … I know for me in high school, I was so deeply terrified and ashamed that somebody would find out that I was writing fan fiction, that I was reading it, or that I was interested in anything romantic. We’re living in a different world now. I would say people are much more public about it. But I do think we’ve got a really long way to go before it becomes something that’s just normalized.”

It’s a position that Wex agrees with. Why make fun of something that gets people to enjoy reading and language? We already have enough issues without adding book shame to the list.

“To write off popular culture is to write off so much of what actually is happening in society,” Wex says. “I remember for a while when reading was seen as weird and like something only annoying people did. I think the pandemic fueled a lot of people’s boredom, and they’re like, there’s only so much TV you can watch. There’s only so many puzzles you can put together. But people want more, and these books are a great entry point for people who don’t like to read. How can you get mad at somebody for that? That’s amazing!”

It really is amazing. With society only just beginning to claw back toward normalcy, and real life constantly promising new forms of stress, I refuse to deny myself the pleasures of a world where the two characters are guaranteed to fall in love and develop positively as humans in the process. Yes, we still don’t live in a world where women’s lit is given equal footing to other subgenres in the literary world. But rest assured, it’ll happen. In the meanwhile, I have some reading to do.

Laura Studarus is a Los Angeles-based travel writer with bylines at Fast Company, BBC Travel, and Thrillist . Sometimes she can go several hours without a cup of tea. Follow her adventures on Twitter .

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Romance Novels That Bring the Heat

Our columnist on sexy, swoony new releases.

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By Olivia Waite

Some authors try to make their craft invisible to the reader; others, like Chencia Higgins, write to steal the spotlight. In A LITTLE KISSING BETWEEN FRIENDS (Carina, 303 pp., paperback, $18.99), we meet a Black Sapphic stud music producer and a femme fat bisexual dancer at Houston’s premier strip club, Sanity. Cyn Tha Starr (a.k.a. Poppa) mixes the tracks, and Juleesa (a.k.a. Jucee) makes the dance videos that turn them into viral hits. They’re best friends and absolutely, definitely, not even a little bit in love with each other. Until they start hooking up, that is.

Romance loves a couple who have to overcome a messy shared history: Lizzie and Darcy, Harry and Sally, and now Poppa and Jucee. They know each other so well, yet somehow not at all. It’s a wonderful, low-stakes ride as each relearns who their partner really is.

Time-travel romances are often a fantasy of knowledge: Someone ventures back into history and dazzles the rubes by understanding germ theory, or else a historical figure is brought forward and gapes at the marvels of present-day technology. They can also be fantasies of power, as Kaliane Bradley’s THE MINISTRY OF TIME (Avid Reader Press, 339 pp., $28.99) makes clear.

When the Arctic explorer Cmdr. Graham Gore is hauled into the 21st century along with a handful of other expats, their government handlers — bridges, as they’re called — are granted an extraordinary amount of control. Bridges are not only responsible for explaining modernity, they also share quarters with their expats, monitoring their bodily functions, mental health, internet searches, geographic movements and political adjustments.

But of course, when you have two strangers with secrets trapped in a house together, someone’s bound to ruin it by falling in love.

Gore’s bridge and eventual lover is a protagonist whose name we never learn, like the second Mrs. de Winter from “Rebecca,” or the narrator of R.F. Kuang’s “Babel.” Bradley’s story blends the claustrophobic passion of the one with the bloody anticolonial critique of the other. It’s a bold, uneasy romance that defines history as both something we make, and something that makes us. We are implicated — in every sense of the word — in the events of our particular era. Or, as Gore’s bridge puts it, “If you ever fall in love, you’ll be a person who was in love for the rest of your life.”

Finally, we have two short historicals in a series by Bronwyn Scott, where Victorian friends widowed by a catastrophic flood find second chances at romance. LIAISON WITH THE CHAMPAGNE COUNT (Harlequin, 280 pp., paperback, $7.25) sees the gin heiress Lady Emma Luce banished from her home by her late husband’s horrid heirs. Left with only the Champagne chateau where they honeymooned — we should all be so destitute — Emma decides to use her marketing savvy to turn the languishing winery into a success.

Standing in her way is Julien Archambeau, the chateau’s capable land steward and the former Comte de Rocroi. Descended from the vineyard’s pre-revolution owners, Julien has made it his dream to regain his family’s estate — even if it means undermining Emma’s power. She may have legal title, and she can fire him at any time, but he has the weight of winemaking expertise, not to mention experience with fussy local politics. This is an elemental little masterpiece, where earth and fire and water become terroir and passion and tears. The cameo from Madame Clicquot herself is the cherry on top.

In the sequel, ALLIANCE WITH THE NOTORIOUS LORD (Harlequin, 265 pp., paperback, $7.99), Emma’s swift second marriage baffles her friend Antonia Lytton-Popplewell. Like Emma, she has a business enterprise — the department store her late husband envisioned — and a partner who’s keeping things from her: Cullen Allardyce, the estranged son of a marquess. Cullen once fled scandal for life in the tropics, and now he’s eager to get back to the warmth and waters of Tahiti. It’s only his growing admiration for Antonia that’s slowing his return.

There’s a long sordid history of using “exotic” locales to give white romance heroes flavor, but this book leans more “tropical beaches are superior to London chill” and less “I made my fortune in India.”

One of the great games of romance is seeing writers riff on a premise, like a classical composer improvising variations on a theme. Where Emma’s vineyard blossomed into an Edenic refuge in the first book, Antonia’s department store is an anchor, chaining her to the past and threatening to drag her under. But in both stories momentum comes from the pursuit of knowledge: Our heroines are exploring a new world and new selves, and are also driven to delve into the heroes’ secrets. Because mystery can encourage a romance, but only full understanding can complete one. You’ll know, if you’re in love.

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Kevin Kwan, the author of “Crazy Rich Asians,” left Singapore’s opulent, status-obsessed, upper crust when he was 11. He’s still writing about it .

Each week, top authors and critics join the Book Review’s podcast to talk about the latest news in the literary world. Listen here .

Feb 20, 2023

250-500 Word Example Essays About Love and Romance

Got an Essay assignment about Love and Romance? Let us help you out with these inspiring Examples!

Love, an emotion that has captivated the hearts and minds of poets, authors, and artists throughout history, remains a profound and multi-faceted subject. While the depth and complexity of this emotion can make it a daunting topic to explore in an essay, the right resources can turn this challenge into a rewarding endeavor. For those looking to capture the essence of love and romance in their writing, our essay writer can be a beacon of inspiration and assistance. This tool, powered by Jenni.ai, offers a seamless journey through the essay-writing process, from brainstorming ideas to refining the final draft. 

Whether you're delving into argumentative, persuasive , or reflective essays about love, Jenni.ai ensures clarity, coherence, and a touch of elegance in your prose. It's a trusted companion for students, educators, and seasoned writers alike, simplifying the writing journey every step of the way.

1. The Evolution of Love: A Study of the Changing Nature of Romance throughout History

Introduction.

Love is one of humanity's most complicated and mysterious emotions. People have strived to comprehend and define Love throughout history, resulting in many works of literature, art, and music dedicated to the subject. Despite its universal appeal, the nature of Love has evolved significantly throughout time, reflecting evolving cultural, social, and economic situations. In this essay, we will look at the evolution of Love, from ancient times to the present.

Ancient Love

A. Greek and Roman Love

Love was viewed as a complex and varied feeling in ancient Greece and Rome, comprising characteristics of desire, friendship, and awe. Love was frequently represented as a tremendous force in ancient civilizations, capable of both propelling individuals to high heights of success and bringing them down into the depths of sorrow. This was especially true of romantic Love, which was glorified in epic poems like the Iliad and Odyssey , as well as works of art and literature depicting the hardships and sufferings of star-crossed lovers.

B. Medieval Love

A chivalric code known as courtly Love emerged in medieval Europe. Its core tenants were the importance of Love, honour, and devotion. During this time, romantic Love was typically portrayed as an unrequited emotion, with the lover pining for the affections of a faraway and unreachable beloved. Medieval poets and troubadours mirrored this romanticised picture of Love in their works by singing and writing about the highs and lows of passionate Love.

Modern Love

A. The Renaissance

The idealized picture of Love that had ruled for centuries was called into question by artists and intellectuals during the Renaissance, marking a turning point in the development of romantic relationships. During this time, romantic Love was portrayed as more tactile and visceral. Shakespeare, for instance, reflected the shifting beliefs of his day by exploring the nuanced and often tragic nature of Love in his works.

B. The Enlightenment

The concepts of reason and individuality began to gain root during the Enlightenment, and with that came a shift in how people saw Love. Political marriages and alliances were often formed based on Love, which was now considered a more sensible and practical feeling. Thinkers from the Enlightenment period, including Voltaire and Jean-Jacques Rousseau, shared this perspective on Love as a tool for bettering society and the individual.

C. The Modern Era

Today, the word "love" is most often used to describe a feeling one has when they are in a committed relationship or when one has achieved their own goals. Love has become a consumable good thanks to the spread of consumerism and the worship of the individual. The media and arts reflect this conception of Love by depicting it as a means to one's fulfillment and contentment.

The changing cultural, social, and economic conditions of each historical epoch are reflected in the history of Love. The essence of Love has changed dramatically throughout the years, from its idealised image in ancient Greece and Rome to its depiction as a spiritual tie in mediaeval Europe to its current identification with romantic relationships and personal fulfilment. Despite these changes, Love remains a strong and enduring force in human existence, inspiring numerous works of art, literature, and music and affecting how we live and interact with one another.

2. The Power of Love: Examining the Impact of Love on Our Lives and Relationships

Love is a strong feeling that may dramatically alter our life and the bonds we form with others. love, whether romantic, familial, or platonic, can unite us and improve our lives in countless ways., the benefits of love.

A. Improved Physical Health

Love has been demonstrated to improve physical health by decreasing stress, lowering blood pressure, and increasing immunity. The hormone oxytocin, which is released in response to social bonding and has been demonstrated to reduce physiological responses to stress, is thought to be at play here.

B. Enhanced Mental Health

In addition to its physical benefits, Love has been shown to have a beneficial effect on our mental health, lowering stress and anxiety levels and boosting our general sense of happiness. The protective powers of Love against the negative consequences of stress and other difficulties in life are well accepted.

C. Strengthened Relationships

A stronger tie may be formed between two people via the power of Love. Relationships of all kinds, whether romantic, familial, or platonic, may benefit from the strengthening effects of Love by increasing their levels of closeness, trust, and mutual understanding.

The Challenges of Love

A. Love can be painful

Sometimes Love hurts, as when a relationship ends or when we can't find the one we're looking for. One of life's most trying events is losing someone we care about, which may leave us feeling isolated, discouraged, and empty.

The Power of Love to Overcome Challenges

Despite these difficulties, Love may help us overcome them and grow closer to one another. The strength of Love is that it may help us learn and grow, both as people and as a community, via its many forms, such as forgiveness, compromise, and the willingness to persevere through adversity.

Finally, Love is a strong and transformational force that may profoundly influence our lives and relationships. Love may provide us joy, comfort, and a feeling of purpose, whether between friends, family, or romantic partners. Despite its numerous advantages, Love may also bring with it difficulties such as heartbreak and strife. Nonetheless, never underestimate the power of Love. 

It has the potential to draw people together and form deep, long-lasting bonds. Love has the power to make the world a better place, whether through acts of kindness, selflessness, or simply being there for one another. So, let us embrace Love in all of its manifestations and harness its potential to improve our lives and the lives of those around us.

3. The Science of Love: Understanding the Biology and Psychology Behind Love and Attraction

For millennia, people have been drawn and intrigued by the intricate and intriguing feeling of Love. Despite its enormous global significance, the science of Love is now being thoroughly investigated. This paper will investigate the biology and psychology of Love and attraction, delving into the different elements that impact these powerful emotions and how they form our relationships.

The Biology of Love

A. Hormone Function

Love is a biological process controlled by chemicals such as dopamine, serotonin, and oxytocin. These hormones influence our sensations of attraction, enthusiasm, and enjoyment and boost sentiments of trust and closeness.

B. The Influence of Genetics

Genetics also has an impact on Love and attraction, with some personality qualities and physical characteristics that are considered to be appealing to potential spouses being handed down from generation to generation. This suggests that particular preferences for specific sorts of people are hardwired into our genetics, influencing our romantic and sexual attraction patterns.

The Psychology of Love

A. The Role of Attachment Styles

Our attachment types, which we acquire from our early connections with our caretakers, also affect our Love. These attachment types can significantly influence our later relationships, influencing how we build and keep deep attachments with others.

B. The Impact of Social Norms and Values

Cultural Values

Social conventions and cultural ideas also impact Love and attraction, with societal expectations and values impacting our romantic and sexual impulses. These social conventions and cultural ideas influence everything from who we are attracted to and how we approach and pursue relationships.

The Meeting of Biology and

Love Psychology

The biology and psychology of Love are inextricably linked and interdependent, with one having a complicated and subtle impact on the other. This suggests that, while biology influences our sentiments of attraction and Love, our psychological experiences and beliefs may equally shape these emotions.

To summarise, love science is a complicated and intriguing discipline that encompasses the biology and psychology of this strong and transformational emotion. By investigating the elements that impact Love and attraction, we may gain a deeper understanding of the systems that underpin these feelings and how they shape our lives and relationships. The study of Love is a vital and beneficial effort, whether we seek Love, attempt to preserve Love, or wonder about the science underlying this feeling.

4. The Fine Line Between Love and Obsession: Exploring the Dark Side of Love

Love is a powerful and transformative emotion that can bring immense joy and fulfilment to our lives. But Love can also turn dark and dangerous when it crosses the line into obsession. This essay will examine the fine line between Love and obsession, exploring how Love can become unhealthy and dangerous.

The Characteristics of Obsessive Love

A. Unhealthy Attachment

Obsessive Love is characterized by an unhealthy attachment to another person, with the obsessed person becoming overly dependent on their partner for emotional fulfilment. This can lead to feelings of possessiveness and jealousy, as well as a need for constant attention and validation.

B. Control and Manipulation

Obsessive Love can also involve control and manipulation, with the obsessed person trying to control every aspect of their partner's life and behaviour. This can range from minor acts of manipulation, such as trying to dictate what their partner wears or who they spend time with, to more serious forms of control, such as physical abuse or stalking.

The Dark Side of Love

A. Stalking and Harassment

The dark side of Love can take many forms, with stalking and harassment being among the most extreme and dangerous forms of obsessive behaviour. Stalking and harassment can have serious and long-lasting consequences for the victim, causing fear, stress, and trauma that can impact their mental and physical well-being.

B. Domestic Violence

Domestic violence is another form of the dark side of Love, with physical, sexual, and psychological abuse being used as a means of control and domination. Domestic violence can have devastating consequences for the victim, often leading to serious injury or even death.

The Roots of Obsessive Love

A. Psychological Issues

Obsessive Love can have its roots in psychological issues, including depression, anxiety, and borderline personality disorder. These conditions can lead to feelings of insecurity and low self-esteem, making it difficult for individuals to form healthy relationships.

B. Cultural and Social Factors

Cultural and social factors can also play a role in the development of obsessive Love, with certain societal beliefs and norms promoting possessiveness and control in relationships. This can include gender roles, expectations, and cultural beliefs about Love and relationships.

In conclusion, the fine line between Love and obsession is delicate and dangerous, with Love crossing over into unhealthy and dangerous territory when it becomes obsessive. By understanding the characteristics of obsessive Love and how it can take dark and dangerous forms, we can better protect ourselves and our loved ones from the negative consequences of this powerful emotion.

5. The Concept of Unconditional Love: An Analysis of the Ideal of Selfless Love

All kinds of different things count as Love since it's such a complicated and diverse feeling. Unconditional Love is frequently depicted as altruistic, all-encompassing, and unshakable, making it one of the most romanticized types. In this essay, I'd discuss the idea of unconditional Love, defining it and contrasting it with other types of affection.

An Explanation of Selfless Love

A. Selfless Love

The term "unconditional love" is commonly used to describe a type of Love that puts the other person's needs before its own. In this kind of Love, one person cares for another without any thought of return or compensation.

B. Love that encompasses everything

Many people use the term "all-encompassing" to express how unconditional Love embraces a person regardless of who they are or what they've done in their lives. A love like this doesn't depend on the other person changing or improving in any way; rather, it's an unconditional embrace of the person as they are.

The Ideal of Unconditional Love

A. Love Without Conditions

Unconditional Love is a romantic ideal in which the lover places no restrictions on the object of his affection. Since it involves so much giving of oneself, this kind of Love is typically held up as the pinnacle of romantic relationships.

B. Putting the Feeling into Action

However, since we are all flawed human beings, practising unconditional Love can be challenging in daily life. Although this may be the case, the ideal of unconditional Love is still significant since it motivates us to improve our Love and compassion towards others.

The Advantages of Unconditional Love

A. Stronger Connections

Unconditional Love has the potential to improve our connections with others, leading to deeper and more meaningful bonds. This kind of Love creates a non-judgmental and welcoming attitude towards people, which can assist to lessen conflict and improve understanding.

B. More Joy and Satisfaction

As a result of the more profound relationships it fosters, unconditional Love may also increase a person's sense of well-being and contentment. Finding Love like this may give our life new meaning and make us feel whole.

In conclusion, many of us hold unconditional Love as a relationship goal. Even if it's not always possible, the ideal of unconditional Love is worthwhile since it motivates us to increase our Love and compassion. The concept of unconditional Love may lead us to a more meaningful and happy lifestyle, whether our goal is to better our relationships or to find more pleasure and contentment in general.

6. The Importance of Communication in Love Relationships: A Study of the Role of Communication in Maintaining Love

Love relationships, like all others, benefit greatly from open lines of communication between partners. Connecting with one another on a regular basis, whether it's to chat about the day, express emotions, or problem-solve, is crucial to keeping the Love alive between you. This essay will discuss the significance of communication in romantic relationships, specifically how it helps couples stay together and grow closer over time.

Advantages of good communication

Increased Compatibility and Mutual Understanding

Love partnerships benefit significantly from open lines of communication that facilitate mutual understanding and closeness. Sharing our innermost ideas, emotions, and experiences with our partners via direct and honest communication strengthens our bonds with them.

Reduced Conflict

As we can better address difficulties and find positive solutions to differences when communicating effectively, we experience less conflict in our relationships. Relationships may be stronger and more loving by talking through differences and finding common ground.

The Difficulties in Expressing Your Feelings in a Romantic Relationship

A. Confusing Messages and Confused Intents

Good communication can sometimes be difficult, especially in romantic partnerships, despite its many advantages. Conflict, anger and a lack of trust may all result from poor communication and misunderstandings in relationships.

B. Vulnerability and Emotional Safety

Likewise, it takes courage and trust to open up and talk about your feelings with the person you love. It may be nerve-wracking to communicate our innermost thoughts and feelings with a partner because of the risk of being judged harshly or rejected.

The Importance of Active Listening

What is Active Listening?

Maintaining positive connections with others requires not just good talkers but also good listeners. Paying close attention to the other person as they speak and making an effort to get their viewpoint and requirements is an essential component of active listening.

The Benefits of Active Listening

The ability to listen attentively and process information can have a significant influence on interpersonal bonds. You may show your spouse how much you value their opinion and the commitment you have to the relationship by listening attentively to what they have to say.

Finally, it's important to note that communication is a cornerstone of successful, loving partnerships. Communication is crucial for developing and maintaining healthy relationships , whether it is via problem-solving, venting, or just listening. Your relationship may grow stronger and become more rewarding and loving if you put an emphasis on communicating well with one another.

Final Words

Love is a complicated and varied theme that has inspired numerous works of art, literature, and music. Whether it is the science of Love, the power of Love, or the development of Love, there is a great deal to learn and comprehend about this universal feeling. 

Students now have access to a potent tool that may assist them in writing essays about Love with ease and assurance thanks to Jenni.ai. From giving ideas and recommendations to leading you through the writing process, Jenni.ai is the ideal option for anyone who wants to write about Love and relationships. Why then wait? Sign up for a free trial of Jenni.ai today and explore its numerous writing perks!

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18 Feel-Good Books That Will Make You Believe In Love

As recommended by Goodreads users.

BuzzFeed News Reporter

BuzzFeed Books recently asked Goodreads about the romantic books — rom-coms , YA, fiction, or nonfiction — that its users have been loving lately. Below are 18 titles that have been getting high ratings and ample attention from the site's many lovers of love.

1. my grape year by laura bradbury.

When Laura Bradbury arrives in Burgundy, France, for an exchange year at 17 years old, she is determined to fit in with her host family and their community. This means learning local customs and skills and adapting to the general rules — including a disapproval of dating. Unfortunately, the local young men are very charming and Burgundy seems to be made for romance. My Grape Year is the first in Bradbury's Grape Series memoirs.

Promising review: "Easy to read, funny, but with some deep and serious emotions and relationships. It provides amazing details about moving to a new country, where the simplest things can turn out to be surprising and challenging. I love all the details about Burgundy, the cuisine, the wine. I felt like I found a kindred spirit." — Aniko Nagyne vig

Get it from Amazon or Barnes & Noble for $15.99, or find it through Indiebound or your local library .

2. My Not So Perfect Life by Sophie Kinsella

When Katie Brenner is unexpectedly fired, she finds solace in her family's farm in Somerset and soon takes their burgeoning vacation business on as a new project. Everything is miraculously going well, until Katie's former boss Demeter — the chic, brilliant, always-put-together woman whose life seems to be as close to perfect as anyone could get — shows up as a guest, turning everything upside down.

Promising review: "An engaging protagonist, check. Romance, check. An amazing leading man, check. A bit of a mystery to solve, check. Hilarious moments, check. Aww , moments, check. Serious, more profound moments, check. It's the perfect romantic comedy!" — Sara

Get it from Amazon for $14.82+ , Barnes & Noble for $16.23+ , or find it through Indiebound or your local library .

3. The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion

Don Tillman is a brilliant but socially awkward professor who's decided it's time to get married — with the help of a very scientific 16-page "Wife Project" survey he developed to ensure he'll end up with someone possessing only the qualities he seeks. On paper, Rosie Jarman is all wrong. But she's on a search of her own — to find her biological father — and when Don helps her develop the "Father Project," their relationship takes on a life of its own.

Promising review: "It is one of the all-time best romantic novels I have ever read — a thought-provoking, as well as highly entertaining, all-night read. [...] It is endearing proof that love can be scientifically explained, but must be artfully tested to confirm its existence." — Margitte

Get it from Amazon for $13.40+ , Barnes & Noble for $14.44+ , or find it through Indiebound or your local library .

4. Unmarriageable by Soniah Kamal

In this retelling of Pride and Prejudice set in Pakistan, the Binat family is struggling to save face in the aftermath of a social scandal that has emptied their fortune and all but guaranteed that the five daughters will remain unmarried. When they receive an invitation to a big wedding, and one of the daughters catches the eye of a successful bachelor, it seems the family's luck is about to change. But the bachelor might not be as good as he seems — and perhaps his curmudgeonly friend has more to offer.

Promising review: "This is one of those books I just want to hold close to my heart and never let go. An absolute delight, but also insightful and educational." — Julie

Get it from Amazon for $17.70 , Barnes & Noble for $22.95 , or find it through Indiebound or your local library .

5. The Magnolia Story by Chip and Joanna Gaines

The Magnolia Story is the first book by Fixer Upper 's Chip and Joanna Gaines, and it offers a behind-the-scenes look at their family, faith, and shared passion for home renovation.

Promising review: " Their devotion to God, their family, and their business is so inspiring, and their honesty and integrity is motivational. This book was very encouraging to my own entrepreneurial efforts." — Sarah Grace Grzy

Get it from Amazon for $13.25 , Barnes & Noble for $22.94 , or find it through Indiebound or your local library .

6. Let's Talk About Love by Claire Kann

After Alice comes out as asexual to her girlfriend — and then quickly gets dumped — she's determined to give up dating for good. But then she meets Takumi, a fellow employee at the library who just so happens to fill Alice's mind with romantic fantasies. Will she follow her heart — and risk Takumi breaking it?

Promising review: "I can’t even express to you all what it felt like to see the words 'biromantic asexual' in an actual book. I don’t have the ability to express what seeing representation like that for the first time ever means. So you’ll have to see it for yourself by reading the novel." — kav (xreadingsolacex)

Get it from Amazon for $6.85+ , Barnes & Noble for $8.22+ , or find it through Indiebound or your local library .

7. The Proposal by Jasmine Guillory

After being on the receiving end of a proposal gone very, very wrong, Nik swears off men — or she would if she could stop thinking about the man who, with his sister, rescued her from the disastrous moment. Realizing they're both drawn to each other, they promise each other they'll keep it casual. But that so rarely goes as planned.

Promising review: "I loved this story. It’s filled with women supporting women, has a cast of diverse characters, and loads of body positivity. My only complaint is that I wanted more at the end." — Stacee

Get it from Amazon for $11.11 , Barnes and Noble for $11.67 , or find it through Indiebound or your local library .

8. It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover

When Lily Bloom, a former small-town girl running her own business in Boston, starts dating neurosurgeon Ryle Kincaid (despite his apparent aversion to relationships) she finds herself overwhelmed by questions about this new setup, and by thoughts of her first love, Atlas Corrigan — thoughts that only get stronger when Atlas finds his way back into her life.

Promising review: "Emotional. Incredibly insightful. Empowering. Eye-opening. Not to mention completely original. It Ends With Us is filled with such raw truths I had to stop a few times and just think about a line or passage I just read. It is filled with SO many heartbreaking moments I didn’t think my heart could endure it all." — The Crazy World of a Book Lover

Get it from Amazon for $10.87 , Barnes & Noble for $13.60 , or find it through Indiebound or your local library .

9. Intercepted by Alexa Martin

Marlee swears she's done with dating after she finds out her NFL-star boyfriend of 10 years has been cheating on her — but Gavin Pope, a quarterback and former fling, hopes she'll change her mind. Trying to navigate both her growing feelings for Gavin and a group of football wives who are less than welcoming when it comes to her possible return, Marlee realizes it's more than just her reputation on the line.

Promising review: "An unputdownable, feel good, MUST READ romance — I couldn't get enough. I'm ready for more where this came from, Alexa Martin. I'm ready to feel more of the giddy joy I felt while reading this book. I'm ready for more of that yummy heartache and the fury and the sweet romance. I'm here for all of it and I can't wait for more." — Jessica (Angie & Jessica's Dreamy Reads)

Get it from Amazon for $10.40 , Barnes & Noble for $13.50 , or find it through Indiebound or your local library .

10. The Way You Make Me Feel by Maureen Goo

Clara Shin likes to make trouble. When she takes one prank too far, she is punished by her father to spend a summer working in his food truck. It seems like a miserable sentence — until Clara realizes her coworker Rose maybe isn't as uptight as she'd previously thought, and this boy who keeps coming by is kind of cute, and maybe a job is something she could actually become invested in.

Promising review: "This is everything I love about contemporary YA, and everything I look for in a summer read. It's like an adorable love note to LA, food, and families, which ends with the most beautiful messages. Basically, it's one of those feel-good reads that's in no way forced or super cheesy." — Cait (A Page With a View)

Get it from Amazon or Barnes & Noble for $9.99+, or find it through Indiebound or your local library .

11. A Princess in Theory by Alyssa Cole

Naledi Smith is juggling grad school and multiple jobs and has no time or patience for romance — especially the kind described in these emails she keeps getting claiming she's due to marry an African prince. A former foster child, Naledi is big on self-sufficiency and low on trust, so she assumes it's all a scam. Except it isn't — and when Prince Thabiso shows up, and his betrothed doesn't recognize him for the royal he is, he decides to keep his identity a secret and get to know her as a regular guy.

Promising review: "This book was a lot of fun, sexy, with a compelling story. [...] Lots of erotic tension and a deeply satisfying ending. Definitely dive into this one." — Roxane Gay

Get it from Amazon for $5.99+ , Barnes & Noble for $7.19 , or find it through Indiebound or your local library .

12. Josh and Hazel's Guide to Not Dating by Christina Lauren

Josh and Hazel have known each other since college, and they've always been opposites — Hazel, spontaneous and action-seeking; Josh, responsible and mild-mannered. After Josh ends his relationship with a cheating girlfriend, he's relieved to find Hazel again and go out for some easy fun, with no plans for a relationship. But then they find each other again, and again, and again.

Promising review: "If pure FUN is what you’re after, look no further than Josh and Hazel. [...] Their journey to love is intoxicatingly quirky, perfectly paced and all around fun. It’s one I could reread over and over. In fact, when I turned that final page, my love-drunk heart wanted to go back to the beginning and experience it all again." — Melissa

Get it from Amazon for $8.79 , Barnes & Noble for $13.60 , or find it through Indiebound or your local library .

13. Neanderthal Seeks Human by Penny Reid

In one day, Janie Morris loses her boyfriend, apartment, and job. This would be bad enough — but then there's Quinn Sullivan, the very attractive man who unnerves Janie more than anyone or anything, and who happens to witness her entire life turn upside down.

Promising review: "It's original and refreshing like a breath of spring air after a long, cold winter. I loved it because of it's excellent characters who weren't like a million others I've read before. I loved that it was sweet and light but NOT fluffy. You don't want to skim over a bit of it because every page is filled with humor, wacky philosophy, and unknown factoids. You don't want to miss a second inside this girl's brain." — Christie (SHB Blogger)

Get it from Amazon or Barnes & Noble for $16.99, or find it through Indiebound or your local library .

14. What If It's Us by Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera

Arthur's in New York for only one summer, but he knows the universe has a way of presenting a person with a love story when he least expects it — his love of Broadway shows has taught him this much. Ben, who's just broken up with his boyfriend, is feeling less whimsical when it comes to fate and romance. But when the two bump into each other at the post office, neither can ignore the possibility of happily ever after — or disaster.

Promising review: "I can’t believe this book was written by two different authors, because it was seriously seamless perfection. This was one of the best and most realistic romances I’ve ever had the pleasure of reading. [...] Seriously, friends, please read this masterpiece; it’s so very heartwarming and I think this is the happiest I’ve been while reading a book all year." — Melanie

Get it from Amazon or Barnes & Noble for $10.99+, or find it through Indiebound or your local library .

15. The Hating Game by Sally Thorne

Lucy Hutton and Joshua Templeman are true work nemeses — they aren't simply annoyed by each other; they detest each other. But when they're up for the same promotion, their competitive and passive aggressive games morph into something more like sexual tension.

Promising review: "Books like these are exactly why I have stupidly high expectations in men. In relationships in general. Damn you, fictional characters! And books like these are exactly why I ADORE reading. Why my soul is bound to books." — Warda

Get it from Amazon for $10.19 , Barnes & Noble for $12.74 , or find it through Indiebound or your local library .

16. My Lovely Wife in the Psych Ward by Mark Lukach

Mark Lukach's memoir describes the way mental illness has affected his marriage. His wife Giula had her first psychotic break at 27 years old and spent nearly a month in a psych ward; her second and third followed the birth of their son. My Lovely Wife in the Psych Ward explores the challenges of loving someone with a mental illness while caring for ourselves.

Promising review: "This book just gripped me from page one. I could not put it down and I will be passionately recommending it to most everyone I know. It is full of raw, beautiful, easy-to-read writing, depicting a very real and very hard story with glimmers of hope throughout… I cannot recommend it enough!" — Stephanie

Get it from Amazon for $12.19 , Barnes & Noble for $14.39 , or find it through Indiebound or your local library .

17. Fight or Flight by Samantha Young

Ava Breevort just wants to get home to Boston after a trip to Phoenix for a childhood friend's funeral. But first her flight is delayed, and then her chance at a first-class seat is thwarted by an arrogant (but handsome) stranger, and then the antagonism between the two leads to a very steamy encounter. Ava thinks that's all it is, until that stranger shows up at her doorstep with an unexpected proposition — it turns out he's stranded in Boston, and maybe they can have some fun.

Promising review: "This book is what enemies-to-lovers romance dreams are made out of. [...] Everything about this book was perfection: the banter, the chemistry, the romance, and OMG the hate lust. These two were absolutely incendiary together and I couldn't get enough of them." — Lana (Dirty Girl Romance)

Get it from Amazon for $12 , Barnes & Noble for $13.50 , or find it through Indiebound or your local library .

18. The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang

Stella Lane is 30 years old, highly successful in her career as an economist, and almost entirely inexperienced in the romance arena. Her parents are itching for grandchildren, but interpersonal relationships have never come easily to Lane (she, like author Hoang, has Asperger’s syndrome) so she decides to call in a pro to help as she navigates the dating world. Enter Michael Phan, Daniel Henney lookalike and male escort.

Promising review: " Friends, The Kiss Quotient is so deserving of every ounce of hype it has received thus far. I am not sure I’ve ever been so happy, and had such a lame grin on my face, while reading any other book. This was heartwarming, beautiful, and a treat to read. Don’t sleep on this one. Also, Michael and Stella are both partner goals, I swear." — Melanie

Get it from Amazon for $10.20 , Barnes & Noble for $10.91 , or find it through Indiebound or your local library .

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Modern Love, Revised and Updated: True Stories of Love, Loss, and Redemption Paperback – September 3, 2019

Purchase options and add-ons

• Print length 304 pages
• Language English
• Publisher Crown
• Publication date September 3, 2019
• Dimensions 5.16 x 0.63 x 8 inches
• ISBN-10 0593137043
• ISBN-13 978-0593137048
• See all details

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About the author, excerpt. © reprinted by permission. all rights reserved., product details.

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Crown; Updated edition (September 3, 2019)
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• Paperback ‏ : ‎ 304 pages
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0593137043
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0593137048
• Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.31 pounds
• Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.16 x 0.63 x 8 inches
• #812 in Essays (Books)
• #1,338 in Love & Romance (Books)
• #2,731 in Short Stories Anthologies

About the authors

Daniel jones.

Daniel Jones has edited the Modern Love column in The New York Times since its launch in 2004. His books include “Love Illuminated: Exploring Life's Most Mystifying Subject with the Help of 50,000 Strangers,” “The Bastard on the Couch: 27 Men Try Really Hard to Explore Their Feelings About Love, Loss, Freedom, and Fatherhood,” and a novel, “After Lucy,” which was a finalist for the Barnes & Noble Discover Award. His new book, "Modern Love," is an anthology of many of the best Modern Love columns from the past 15 years. Jones appears weekly on the Modern Love podcast and is consulting producer for Amazon Studios’ show “Modern Love.” He lives in Northampton, Massachusetts and in New York City.

Deborah Copaken

DEBORAH COPAKEN is the New York Times bestselling author of several books, including Shutterbabe, The Red Book, and Between Here and April. A contributing writer at The Atlantic, she was also a TV writer on "Emily in Paris," performer (The Moth, etc.), and a former Emmy Award-winning news producer and photojournalist. Her photographs have appeared in Time, Newsweek, and The New York Times. Her writing has appeared in The New Yorker, The New York Times, The Guardian, The Financial Times, The Observer, The Wall Street Journal, The Nation, Slate, O, the Oprah Magazine, and Paris Match, among others. Her column, “When Cupid is a Prying Journalist,” was adapted for the Modern Love streaming series. She lives in Brooklyn with her family.

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Best Romance Writing Contests in 2024

Showing 45 contests that match your search.

Spring Microfiction Battle

Writing Battle

Genres: Crime, Fantasy, Fiction, Flash Fiction, Horror, Humor, Mystery, Romance, Science Fiction, Short Story, Thriller, and Young Adult

Two days to write a 500 word short story. The peer-powered quarterly writing contest where every story receives oodles of feedback. Write one. Read ten. Win thousands.

Genre Winner (x4): $1,500

Additional prizes:

Genre Runner-up (x4): $375 | Feedback by industry professionals

💰 Entry fee: $20

📅 Deadline: May 03, 2024 (Expired)

Imagine 2200: Climate Fiction for Future Ancestors

Grist Magazine

Genres: Crime, Fantasy, Fiction, Humor, Mystery, Romance, Science Fiction, Short Story, Thriller, and Young Adult

Imagine 2200 is an invitation to writers from all over the globe to imagine a future in which solutions to the climate crisis flourish and help bring about radical improvements to our world. In 2,500 to 5,000 words, show us the world you dream of building. A great Imagine story is not afraid to explore the challenges ahead — the path to climate progress will involve struggle and adaptation, and we invite you to show that — but ultimately offers hope that we can work together to build a more sustainable and just world. We want to see stories that incorporate real world climate solutions and climate science, as well as cultural authenticity (a deep sense of place, customs, cuisine, and more) and characters with fully-fledged identities.

Publication in magazine

📅 Deadline: June 24, 2024

The Carolyn Readers' Choice Awards

North Texas Romance Writers

Genres: Romance

The Carolyn Readers Choice Award contest is open to all authors of traditional, e-published, and self-published books. Romances featuring characters of all races, creeds, ethnicities, genders, and sexualities or with disabilities or containing spiritual/religious elements are welcome to enter. Please enter the category that best suits your entry over all.

Digital medallion for runners up

💰 Entry fee: $35

📅 Deadline: March 01, 2024 (Expired)

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Maggie Award for Prepublished Writers

Georgia Romance Writers

Genres: Fiction, Novel, and Romance

The purpose of the Prepublished Maggie Award for Excellence is to encourage, recognize, and reward the mastery of romance writing by Prepublished authors of romantic fiction. The Maggie Award is a symbol of achievement given by the Georgia Romance Writers (GRW) to bring special attention to these writers. The Maggie Award, a silver medallion commissioned by GRW, receives national attention.

💰 Entry fee: $40

📅 Deadline: April 21, 2024 (Expired)

Storytrade Book Awards

Genres: Crime, Fantasy, Fiction, Horror, Humor, Memoir, Mystery, Non-fiction, Novel, Poetry, Romance, Science Fiction, Science Writing, Script Writing, Short Story, Thriller, and Young Adult

The Storytrade Book Awards recognizes excellence in small and independent publishing. Open to all indie authors and publishers including self-published authors, university presses, and small or independent presses, our annual awards program spotlights outstanding books in a number of fiction and nonfiction categories.

Medal, Book Stickers, Digital Seal

💰 Entry fee: $75

📅 Deadline: June 30, 2024

HOLT Medallion Contest

Virginia Romance Writers

Genres: Fiction and Romance

The Virginia Romance Writers Chapter of the Romance Writers of America® is pleased to announce the 27th Annual HOLT Medallion competition for the best romantic fiction. Entries must be a single work of romance fiction, with an original copyright date (not a release date) of January-December 2021 regardless of format (e-book or print).

Certificate and a pewter HOLT medallion

💰 Entry fee: $30

📅 Deadline: January 15, 2024 (Expired)

Edinburgh Short Story Award

Scottish Arts Trust

Genres: Crime, Fantasy, Horror, Humor, Mystery, Romance, Science Fiction, Short Story, Suspense, Thriller, and Young Adult

£3,000 first prize for writers worldwide and stories on any topic up to 2,000 words. We welcome stories in all genres: literary, historic, crime, romance, gritty realism, contemporary, humour and more.

2nd: £500 | 3rd: £250 | Publication

💰 Entry fee: $12

📅 Deadline: February 29, 2024 (Expired)

The Paul Cave Prize for Literature

Tim Saunders Publications

Genres: Crime, Fantasy, Fiction, Flash Fiction, Horror, Humor, Mystery, Novella, Poetry, Romance, Science Fiction, Short Story, Thriller, and Young Adult

The Paul Cave Prize for Literature, established in 2023 by Tim Saunders Publications, is in memory of Paul Astley Cave-Browne-Cave (1917 to 2010), a hugely inspirational magazine and book publisher. What we are looking for All forms of poetry: haiku, free verse, sonnet, acrostic, villanelle, ballad, limerick, ode, elegy, flash fiction, short stories and novellas. Work must be new and unpublished. International submissions welcome.

Best Short Story: £50 | Best Flash Fiction: £25 | Best Poem: £25

💰 Entry fee: $15

📅 Deadline: September 30, 2024

Writer's Games

The Writer's Workout

Genres: Fiction, Short Story, Crime, Fantasy, Horror, Humor, Mystery, Poetry, Romance, Science Fiction, Script Writing, Thriller, and Young Adult

The Writer's Games is a free competition with six surprise challenges over six weeks, designed to help each individual writer improve his or her craft fast. ​FREE registration is required in advance (opens May 1, 2024). Every entry from a registered participant receives honest, unbiased feedback from multiple judges. There's no elimination; push yourself to try each challenge and see what you alone can do in 72 hours each week. The top five winners each week are published in a competition anthology (that's 25 chances, plus the Judges' Choice!).

Publication in anthology, 72 Hours (26+ spaces)

📅 Deadline: July 22, 2024

Genre Smash Short Story Challenge

Genres: Crime, Fantasy, Fiction, Flash Fiction, Horror, Mystery, Romance, Science Fiction, Short Story, Thriller, and Young Adult

For this short story challenge, all participants will be randomly assigned a genre pairing. As soon as you receive your ‘smashed’ genres you'll have until the closing time to write and submit a short story of any length up to 5,000 words, that perfectly and seamlessly combines both genres into one amazing short story.

Publication

💰 Entry fee: $11

📅 Deadline: October 23, 2023 (Expired)

Ironclad Creative Short Story Competition

Ironclad Creative CIC

Genres: Fiction, Short Story, Crime, Fantasy, Flash Fiction, Horror, Humor, Mystery, Novella, Romance, Science Fiction, and Thriller

We are looking for short stories that respond in any way to: 7:12am. You can use that in the text, as a theme, or any way you want. We accept any prose genre and any length of story up to 6k words. We’re looking for writers who have exciting voices and can move us - that can happen in any genre of prose. We’re not accepting plays or poetry for this competition.

2nd: £50 | 3rd & 4th: £25 | 10 short-listed entries: publication

💰 Entry fee: $8

📅 Deadline: April 30, 2024 (Expired)

Oxford Flash Fiction Prize 2024

Oxford Flash Fiction

Genres: Flash Fiction, Fiction, Crime, Fantasy, Horror, Humor, Mystery, Romance, Science Fiction, Thriller, and Young Adult

Write yourself into history and become one of the greats with the Oxford Flash Fiction Prize. For centuries, the greats have come to Oxford to ink masterpieces. Now, in one of the oldest towns, where the history of the English language can be traced back to its ancient streets, we are celebrating one of the newest forms in literature – flash fiction.

2nd Prize: £200 | 3rd Prize: £100 | New Voice Prize: £200

💰 Entry fee: $9

📅 Deadline: January 31, 2024 (Expired)

Interactive Narrative Writing Contest

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, and Romance

An interactive narrative writing contest. Four categories, capped at 20 participants in each category, and 3 prizes for the winners in each. No need to write a complete novel, just 3 shorts "episodes". We're hosting the contest to find amazing writers and get feedback on our interactive narrative writing tool!

2nd: $150 | 3rd: $100

📅 Deadline: May 22, 2024 (Expired)

Maggie Award for Published Writers

Genres: Novel and Romance

The purpose of the Published Maggie Award for Excellence is to recognize the achievements of published authors of romantic fiction. The Maggie Award is a symbol of achievement given by the Georgia Romance Writers (GRW) to bring special attention to these authors. The Maggie, a silver medallion commissioned by GRW, receives national attention. Books will be ranked by librarians, booksellers, and other professionals in the publishing industry.​​

📅 Deadline: April 05, 2024 (Expired)

The Book of the Year Awards

The Independent Author Network

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Horror, Humor, Memoir, Mystery, Non-fiction, Novel, Novella, Poetry, Romance, Science Fiction, Science Writing, Thriller, Young Adult, Crime, and Short Story

The Independent Author Network presents the 10th Annual IAN Book of the Year Awards, an international contest open to all authors with 55 fiction and non-fiction categories. Winners are eligible to receive a share of cash prizes of $6,000 USD. Open to all English language print and eBooks available for sale, including small presses, mid-size independent publishers, university presses, and self-published authors.

$6,000.00 USD in total cash prizes

💰 Entry fee: $49

📅 Deadline: August 16, 2024

HNS 2024 First Chapters Competition

Historical Novel Society

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Novel, Romance, Thriller, and Young Adult

The HNS UK 2024 First Chapters Competition is for the first three chapters of a full-length historical novel that has not been previously published in any form. We are looking to recognize and promote excellence in storytelling and the craft of historical fiction and its subgenres. The competition coincides with the HNS UK 2024 conference and the overall winner will be announced at the conference.

Category winners: £500 and HNS UK 2024 conference ticket

💰 Entry fee: $50

📅 Deadline: February 15, 2024 (Expired)

Goldfinch Books Novel Award

Goldfinch Books

Genres: Crime, Fantasy, Fiction, Horror, Humor, Mystery, Novel, Romance, Science Fiction, Thriller, and Young Adult

Goldfinch Books, an independent bookshop, café and event space in Alton, Hampshire, UK has announced a UK nationwide literary competition to coincide with the inaugural Alton Arts Festival. The Goldfinch Novel Award 2024 is a prize for emerging authors (aged 16+) with completed young adult or adult novels. This competition is open to authors in the UK and will have a prize of £300 for the winning novel, chosen by judge Kiya Evans, Associate Literary Agent at Mushens Entertainment.

Goldfinch Membership

💰 Entry fee: $14

📅 Deadline: May 27, 2024 (Expired)

The Letter Review Prize for Books

The Letter Review

Genres: Crime, Essay, Fantasy, Fiction, Horror, Humor, Memoir, Mystery, Non-fiction, Novella, Poetry, Romance, Science Fiction, Science Writing, Short Story, Thriller, and Young Adult

The Letter Review Prize for Books is open to writers from anywhere in the world. Seeking most unpublished (we accept some self/indie published) novels, novellas, story collections, nonfiction, poetry etc. 20 entries are longlisted.

$1000 USD shared by 3 winners

💰 Entry fee: $25

I Am Writing Competition

Genres: Children's, Crime, Fantasy, Romance, Science Fiction, Suspense, Thriller, and Young Adult

Please submit the first 3,500 words of your novel. A one-page synopsis is also required.

30-minute consultation with genre expert

💰 Entry fee: $13

📅 Deadline: May 28, 2024 (Expired)

Stella Kupferberg Memorial Short Story Prize

Gotham Writers Workshop

Genres: Crime, Essay, Fantasy, Fiction, Flash Fiction, Horror, Humor, Memoir, Mystery, Non-fiction, Romance, Science Fiction, Short Story, Thriller, and Young Adult

The Stella Kupferberg Memorial Short Story Prize is a writing competition sponsored by the stage and radio series Selected Shorts. Selected Shorts is recorded for Public Radio and heard nationally on both the radio and its weekly podcast. This years entries will be judged by Carmen Maria Machado (In the Dream House, Her Body and Other Parties).

$1000 + free 10 week course with Gotham Writers

Not Quite Write Prize for Flash Fiction

Not Quite Write

Genres: Crime, Fantasy, Fiction, Flash Fiction, Horror, Humor, Mystery, Romance, Science Fiction, Science Writing, Thriller, and Young Adult

The Not Quite Write Prize for Flash Fiction challenges writers to create an original piece of flash fiction based on two typical writing prompts plus one ""anti-prompt"". An anti-prompt is a challenge to break a specific “rule” of writing while telling a great story. Participants compete for AU$2,000 in cash prizes, including AU$1,000 for the winner, cash prizes for the entire shortlist and two bonus ‘wildcard’ prizes. Winners are read aloud on the Not Quite Write podcast, where the judges share in-depth analysis about the entries and offer free writing advice. The Not Quite Write Prize for Flash Fiction is hosted in Australia and open to all writers of any age and level of ability around the world.

Publication on the Not Quite Write website and podcast

💰 Entry fee: $16

📅 Deadline: July 21, 2024

Elegant Literature's Monthly Award For New Writers

Elegant Literature

Genres: Crime, Fantasy, Fiction, Horror, Humor, Mystery, Romance, Science Fiction, Short Story, Thriller, Young Adult, Flash Fiction, and Science Writing

One of the largest awards open to unpublished writers and closed to professionals. We are the first magazine to pay pro rates and only accept submissions from new writers, putting over $150k into the hands of emerging talent around the globe so far. One new writer receives the grand prize. We also choose the best stories, pay the authors professional rates, and publish them in our magazine. April guest judge is Christopher Fielden.

10x Paid publication, 25 x $20 USD | Free entry to Novelist Accelerator

💰 Entry fee: $10

📅 Deadline: May 01, 2024 (Expired)

The Daphne du Maurier Award For Excellence in Mystery/Suspense Unpublished Division

RWA Kiss of Death Chapter

Genres: Mystery, Suspense, Romance, and Thriller

The Daphne du Maurier Award for Excellence in Mystery/Suspense is named for Daphne du Maurier, the author of Rebecca, a suspense novel with romantic and gothic overtones and a precursor to today’s romantic suspense. The writing contest is for unpublished authors of mystery, suspense, and thrillers with or without romantic subplots.

📅 Deadline: March 15, 2024 (Expired)

100 Word Writing Contest

Tadpole Press

Genres: Essay, Fantasy, Fiction, Flash Fiction, Humor, Memoir, Mystery, Non-fiction, Science Fiction, Science Writing, Thriller, Young Adult, Children's, Poetry, Romance, Short Story, Suspense, and Travel

Can you write a story using 100 words or less? Pieces will be judged on creativity, uniqueness, and how the story captures a new angle, breaks through stereotypes, and expands our beliefs about what's possible or unexpectedly delights us. In addition, we are looking for writing that is clever or unique, inspires us, and crafts a compelling and complete story. The first-place prize has doubled to $2,000 USD.

2nd: writing coach package

📅 Deadline: November 30, 2024

Reader Views Literary Awards

Reader Views

Genres: Crime, Fantasy, Fiction, Horror, Humor, Memoir, Non-fiction, Novel, Novella, Poetry, Romance, Science Fiction, Science Writing, Short Story, Thriller, and Young Adult

The Reader Views Literary Awards program helps level the playing field for self-published authors, recognizing the most creative and exciting new books in the industry. Our awards program is recognized industry-wide as one of the top literary awards programs for independent authors.

Several marketing prizes (e.g. book review)

💰 Entry fee: $89

📅 Deadline: December 15, 2024

The Christy Award

Genres: Christian, Fantasy, Novel, Novella, Romance, Science Fiction, Short Story, and Young Adult

The Christy Award® was established in 1999 to acknowledge the value and impact of the novel of faith in contemporary culture. Since that time, the Christys have been a focal point for the writers and publishers in our community.

💰 Entry fee: $175

📅 Deadline: March 31, 2024 (Expired)

Indignor Play House Annual Short Story Competition

Indignor House Publishing

Genres: Fiction, Flash Fiction, Short Story, Crime, Essay, Fantasy, Horror, Humor, Memoir, Mystery, Non-fiction, Novella, Poetry, Romance, Science Fiction, Thriller, and Young Adult

Indignor House Publishing is proud to announce that our annual writing competition (INDIGNOR PLAYHOUSE Short Story Annual Competition) is officially open with expected publication in the fall of 2024. Up to 25 submissions will be accepted for inclusion in the annual anthology.

2nd: $250 | 3rd: $150

Passionate Plume

Passionate Ink

Genres: Fiction, Novel, Novella, Romance, and Short Story

The 2024 Passionate Plume celebrates the best in erotic fiction, both long and short, and features a special category for emerging authors.

Engraved award

Publication in the Passionate Ink Charity Anthology

📅 Deadline: March 21, 2024 (Expired)

Winter Flash Fiction Battle

Genres: Fiction, Flash Fiction, Short Story, Crime, Fantasy, Horror, Humor, Mystery, Romance, Science Fiction, and Thriller

Three days to write a 1000 word short story. The peer-powered quarterly writing contest where every story receives oodles of feedback. Write one. Read ten. Win thousands.

Genre Winner (x4): $2,000

Genre Runner-up (x4): $500 | Feedback by industry professionals.

📅 Deadline: February 01, 2024 (Expired)

National Excellence in Romance Fiction Award

First Coast Romance Writers

The National Excellence in Romance Fiction Award celebrates published romance novels and novellas and is judged by romance readers. All entries must have an original copyright date of 2021 and must have been available for purchase in the United States beginning in 2021.

NERFA Winner web logo and trophy

Writing Peers Summer Short Story Prize

Writing Peers

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Flash Fiction, Science Fiction, Short Story, Crime, Horror, Mystery, Romance, and Thriller

Are you seeking lots of feedback? Ever wondered what it’s like to step into the shoes of a jury? Pick one of our prompts and let your creativity soar. Submit your piece, then review other entries and develop an eye for what makes a story stand out. Receive detailed feedback, evolve as a writer and you might even walk away with the prize money!

📅 Deadline: June 21, 2024

The Letter Review Prize for Unpublished Books

Genres: Crime, Essay, Fantasy, Fiction, Flash Fiction, Horror, Humor, Memoir, Mystery, Non-fiction, Novel, Novella, Poetry, Romance, Science Fiction, Science Writing, Short Story, Thriller, and Young Adult

Free to enter. Seeking 0-5000 word (poetry: 15 pgs) excerpts of unpublished books (Fiction, Poetry, Nonfiction), including most self-published and indie-published works. 2-4 Winners (publication of extract is optional). We Shortlist 10-20 writers. Open to writers from anywhere in the world, with no theme or genre restrictions. Judged blind.

Optional Publication of Excerpt, Letter of Recommendation

Best Indie Book Award

Genres: Crime, Fantasy, Fiction, Horror, Humor, Mystery, Novel, Novella, Poetry, Romance, Science Fiction, Short Story, Thriller, and Young Adult

The annual Best Indie Book Award® (or BIBA®) is an international literary awards contest recognizing self-published and independently published authors from all over the world. Entries are limited to independently (indie) published books, including those from small presses, e-book publishers, and self-published authors.

💰 Entry fee: $65

📅 Deadline: August 15, 2024

Summer Nanofiction Battle

Genres: Crime, Fantasy, Fiction, Flash Fiction, Horror, Humor, Mystery, Romance, Science Fiction, Science Writing, Short Story, Thriller, and Young Adult

Two days to write a 250 word short story. The peer-powered quarterly writing contest where every story receives oodles of feedback. Write one. Read ten. Win thousands.

📅 Deadline: August 02, 2024

The Daphne du Maurier Award For Excellence in Mystery/Suspense (Published Division)

The Daphne du Maurier Award for Excellence in Mystery/Suspense is named for Daphne du Maurier, the author of Rebecca, a suspense novel with romantic and gothic overtones and a precursor to today’s romantic suspense. The writing contest is for published authors of mystery, suspense, and thrillers with or without romantic subplots.

Discover the finest writing contests of 2024 for fiction and non-fiction authors — including short story competitions, essay writing competitions, poetry contests, and many more. Updated weekly, these contests are vetted by Reedsy to weed out the scammers and time-wasters. If you’re looking to stick to free writing contests, simply use our filters as you browse.

Why you should submit to writing contests

Submitting to poetry competitions and free writing contests in 2024 is absolutely worth your while as an aspiring author: just as your qualifications matter when you apply for a new job, a writing portfolio that boasts published works and award-winning pieces is a great way to give your writing career a boost. And not to mention the bonus of cash prizes!

That being said, we understand that taking part in writing contests can be tough for emerging writers. First, there’s the same affliction all writers face: lack of time or inspiration. Entering writing contests is a time commitment, and many people decide to forego this endeavor in order to work on their larger projects instead — like a full-length book. Second, for many writers, the chance of rejection is enough to steer them clear of writing contests. 

But we’re here to tell you that two of the great benefits of entering writing contests happen to be the same as those two reasons to avoid them.

When it comes to the time commitment: yes, you will need to expend time and effort in order to submit a quality piece of writing to competitions. That being said, having a hard deadline to meet is a great motivator for developing a solid writing routine.

Think of entering contests as a training session to become a writer who will need to meet deadlines in order to have a successful career. If there’s a contest you have your eye on, and the deadline is in one month, sit down and realistically plan how many words you’ll need to write per day in order to meet that due date — and don’t forget to also factor in the time you’ll need to edit your story!

For tips on setting up a realistic writing plan, check out this free, ten-day course: How to Build a Rock-Solid Writing Routine.

In regards to the fear of rejection, the truth is that any writer aspiring to become a published author needs to develop relatively thick skin. If one of your goals is to have a book traditionally published, you will absolutely need to learn how to deal with rejection, as traditional book deals are notoriously hard to score. If you’re an indie author, you will need to adopt the hardy determination required to slowly build up a readership.

The good news is that there’s a fairly simple trick for learning to deal with rejection: use it as a chance to explore how you might be able to improve your writing.

In an ideal world, each rejection from a publisher or contest would come with a detailed letter, offering construction feedback and pointing out specific tips for improvement. And while this is sometimes the case, it’s the exception and not the rule.

Still, you can use the writing contests you don’t win as a chance to provide yourself with this feedback. Take a look at the winning and shortlisted stories and highlight their strong suits: do they have fully realized characters, a knack for showing instead of telling, a well-developed but subtly conveyed theme, a particularly satisfying denouement?

The idea isn’t to replicate what makes those stories tick in your own writing. But most examples of excellent writing share a number of basic craft principles. Try and see if there are ways for you to translate those stories’ strong points into your own unique writing.

Finally, there are the more obvious benefits of entering writing contests: prize and publication. Not to mention the potential to build up your readership, connect with editors, and gain exposure.

Resources to help you win writing competitions in 2024

Every writing contest has its own set of submission rules. Whether those rules are dense or sparing, ensure that you follow them to a T. Disregarding the guidelines will not sway the judges’ opinion in your favor — and might disqualify you from the contest altogether. 

Aside from ensuring you follow the rules, here are a few resources that will help you perfect your submissions.

Free online courses

On Writing:

How to Craft a Killer Short Story

The Non-Sexy Business of Writing Non-Fiction

How to Write a Novel

Understanding Point of View

Developing Characters That Your Readers Will Love

Writing Dialogue That Develops Plot and Character

Stop Procrastinating! Build a Solid Writing Routine

On Editing:

Story Editing for Authors

How to Self-Edit Like a Pro

Novel Revision: Practical Tips for Rewrites

How to Write a Short Story in 7 Steps

Reedsy's guide to novel writing

Literary Devices and Terms — 35+ Definitions With Examples

10 Essential Fiction Writing Tips to Improve Your Craft

How to Write Dialogue: 8 Simple Rules and Exercises

8 Character Development Exercises to Help You Nail Your Character

Bonus resources

200+ Short Story Ideas

600+ Writing Prompts to Inspire You

100+ Creative Writing Exercises for Fiction Authors

Story Title Generator

Pen Name Generator

Character Name Generator

After you submit to a writing competition in 2024

It’s exciting to send a piece of writing off to a contest. However, once the initial excitement wears off, you may be left waiting for a while. Some writing contests will contact all entrants after the judging period — whether or not they’ve won. Other writing competitions will only contact the winners. 

Here are a few things to keep in mind after you submit:

Many writing competitions don’t have time to respond to each entrant with feedback on their story. However, it never hurts to ask! Feel free to politely reach out requesting feedback — but wait until after the selection period is over.

If you’ve submitted the same work to more than one writing competition or literary magazine, remember to withdraw your submission if it ends up winning elsewhere.

After you send a submission, don’t follow it up with a rewritten or revised version. Instead, ensure that your first version is thoroughly proofread and edited. If not, wait until the next edition of the contest or submit the revised version to other writing contests.

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Colleen hoover's 10 best books, ranked.

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How To Read Colleen Hoover's Books & Series In Order

10 romance books that deserve tv show adaptations after netflix’s one day, where silverado was filmed (& how the location became a legacy).

• Colleen Hoover's novels showcase a range from young love to dark suspense, captivating readers with unforgettable characters and gripping narratives.
• From complex dynamics in Too Late to enduring love in 'November 9,' Hoover's storytelling talent shines through in her diverse works.
• Reminders of Him'and Verity offer emotionally driven stories of redemption and mystery, solidifying Hoover's reputation as a masterful writer.

With over 20 novels to her name, Colleen Hoover has proven to be one of literature’s most popular contemporary authors, and these ten are among her best. Hoover, affectionately known as CoHo, has demonstrated an impressive range in her writing, spanning from heartfelt romantic stories filled with yearning and young love to spine-chilling thrillers that keep readers on the edge of their seats. Her journey to success is a fascinating tale in itself, starting with self-published works that became smash hits, leading to the sale of film rights for one of her most notable novels, It Ends With Us.

With several books that became popular on BookTok , Hoover's ability to consistently produce bestsellers year after year is a testament to her skill as a writer and her deep understanding of what captivates readers. While each of her novels offers a unique and engaging experience, some stand out for their exceptional storytelling, unforgettable characters, and the indelible impact they leave on readers.

Colleen Hoover has 26 novels under her belt, and here's how to read each of them in order.

10 Too Late (2016)

Explores darker, more complex dynamics.

Too Late delves into the dangerous world of drug trafficking and the complex dynamics between its central characters, Sloan and Asa Jackson . The narrative explores the dark underbelly of their relationship, highlighting the constant danger and emotional turmoil that Sloan faces as she navigates her feelings for Asa while being entangled in his illicit activities. The introduction of an undercover DEA agent adds an extra layer of tension and moral ambiguity, as Sloan finds herself drawn to him, further complicating her already precarious situation.

The psychological suspense that permeates the story sets Too Late apart from the popular BookTok author ’s other works, showcasing her ability to craft a gripping and intense narrative. The mature themes and the exploration of the characters' motivations and choices elevate the book beyond a simple romance, making it a thought-provoking and emotionally charged read. While the subject matter may not be suitable for all readers, those who appreciate a darker, more complex storyline will find Too Late to be a compelling and unforgettable experience.

9 Layla (2020)

A classic love triangle story.

Layla is an interesting glimpse into the character, Leeds', internal struggle to navigate his relationship with Layla following her traumatic attack. As Layla's behavior becomes increasingly erratic, Leeds is forced to confront difficult questions about love, loyalty, and personal growt h, creating a narrative that is both emotionally charged and thought-provoking. The tension in their relationship escalates, pushing Leeds to his limits and challenging his understanding of the woman he loves.

The bed and breakfast setting, which holds special significance for the couple, serves as a poignant backdrop for the unfolding drama, as Leeds finds himself drawn to a mysterious guest staying at the same location. This new love interest introduces an extra layer of complexity to the story, as Leeds grapples with his feelings for both women, further complicating an already difficult situation . Hoover expertly explores the emotional turmoil that Leeds experiences, crafting a captivating love triangle that showcases her ability to create multi-dimensional characters and engaging storylines.

8 Never Never (2015)

Interesting themes keep the novel engaging.

The unique premise of Never Never lies in the couple's sudden and inexplicable loss of their shared memories, which sets the stage for a gripping exploration of love, identity, and the power of connection . As the protagonists embark on a journey to rediscover their past and the reasons behind their relationship, the story focuses on the complexities of long-term partnerships and the challenges of maintaining love in the face of uncertainty. The authors' combined talents shine through in the creation of a suspenseful and emotionally charged narrative.

Colleen Hoover cowrote Never Never with Tarryn Fisher

Hoover and Fisher's collaboration brings a unique blend of romance and mystery to the table, making Never Never more than just a love story. The characters' quest to unravel the truth behind their memory loss and the nature of their relationship makes the plot all the more intriguing, adding a compelling twist to Hoover's bibliography . The story's exploration of the enduring nature of love, even in the face of seemingly insurmountable obstacles, resonates and contributes to the book's popularity and critical acclaim.

7 Heart Bones (2020)

The perfect beach read.

Heart Bones ' engaging storyline unfolds against the backdrop of a picturesque seaside town, creating an immersive atmosphere that draws readers into the story. The contrast between Beyah's challenging past and the promise of a brighter future through her scholarship adds depth to her character, making her journey all the more compelling. As she navigates the complexities of her newfound relationship with her father and the unexpected connection with Samson, the story touches on themes of love and transformative.

Hoover's ability to capture the intensity and vulnerability of first love is one of the book's greatest strengths. The characters' agreement to engage in a casual summer fling adds an element of tension and uncertainty to the story , as readers are left to wonder how this decision will ultimately shape their lives. While Heart Bones may not rank as Hoover's absolute best work, it offers a poignant and emotionally resonant tale that showcases her skill in crafting relatable and memorable characters.

6 Ugly Love (2014)

A unique friends-with-benefits love story.

Ugly Love 's nonlinear narrative structure, which alternates between the present and Miles' past, is an element of the book that truly makes it stand out. The gradual revelation of Miles' backstory through flashback chapters provides insight into his character , shedding light on his emotional struggles and the reasons behind his reluctance to commit to a serious relationship. This storytelling technique effectively heightens the emotional impact of the present timeline, as the reader becomes increasingly invested in understanding the complexities of Miles' character and his connection with Tate.

The exploration of the friends-with-benefits dynamic and its potential pitfalls is a central theme in Ugly Love , and Hoover's handling of this subject matter showcases her undeniable talent. The book's heartbreaking turn serves as a powerful reminder of the risks involved in such arrangements, particularly when one person's feelings develop beyond the initial agreement. Ugly Love remains a compelling and emotionally charged novel that demonstrates her skill at creating complex relationships and exploring the intricacies of human relationships.

5 Regretting You (2019)

A realistic and compelling mother-daughter story.

The complex and often strained relationship between Morgan and Clara serves as the emotional core of Regretting You , with Hoover's skillful exploration of their differing perspectives and the challenges they face in understanding one another. The tension between Morgan's protective instincts as a mother and Clara's desire for independence and the pursuit of her dreams adds palpable realism to their dynamic , making their journey all the more compelling. Chris' role as the mediator between mother and daughter highlights the importance of family bonds and the impact that a single person can have on maintaining harmony within a household.

The tragic accident that befalls Chris acts as the catalyst for Morgan and Clara's personal growth and the evolution of their relationship. As they navigate the profound loss and attempt to rebuild their lives, the story perfects the themes of grief, resilience, and the power of familial love . Regretting You 's authenticity places it among Hoover's most impactful works.

4 November 9 (2015)

A great exploration of enduring long.

The unique premise of November 9 , which revolves around Fallon and Ben's annual meetings on the same date for five years, sets the stage for a poignant exploration of love and fate. As the characters navigate their lives and the challenges they face between each meeting, the story explores the ways in which time and distance can both strengthen and strain the bonds between two people. The novel's structure, with its yearly snapshots of Fallon and Ben's journey, is especially engaging as one becomes more invested in their lives.

November 9 's ability to evoke a range of emotions and its exploration of the enduring nature of love places it among Hoover's most highly regarded works. The development of the characters’ relationship over the course of the five years is both heartwarming and authentic. With its unique premise, engaging narrative, and the depth of its characters November 9 solidifies its position as one of her most memorable books .

Following the success of One Day on Netflix, it's worth considering which other contemporary romance novels deserve a TV adaptation in the future.

3 It Ends With Us (2016)

Hoover’s most popular novel that explores overcoming trauma.

Lily's journey in It Ends With Us is a powerful exploration of the lasting impact of childhood experiences on adult relationships. As she navigates the complexities of her past and present, the novel offers a thought-provoking look at the challenges of overcoming trauma and the importance of self-discovery. Hoover's handling of sensitive subjects and her ability to create characters that feel genuine and relatable have contributed to the book's success and its place among her most highly regarded works.

The unexpected return of Atlas, Lily's first love, and the revelations about her current partner, Ryle, add layers of complexity to the story. These elements force Lily to confront difficult truths and make tough decisions about her future. It Ends With Us ' emotional resonance and its exploration of strength and resilience have struck a chord with many. With a film adaptation of It Ends With Us on the horizon, the story's impact and popularity show no signs of waning.

2 Reminders Of Him (2022)

A hopeful and tender novel.

Reminders of Him 's powerful narrative revolves around themes of redemption, forgiveness, and the unbreakable bond between a mother and her child. Kenna's journey to reconnect with her daughter after serving a prison sentence is fraught with emotional obstacles and societal judgments, highlighting the challenges faced by those seeking to rebuild their lives after incarceration. The story's exploration of the consequences of past mistakes and the struggle to overcome them makes this novel worth the read.

The blossoming romance between Kenna and Ledger adds an element of hope and tenderness to the novel. The unlikely connection that develops between the two characters, despite the obstacles that should keep them apart, is a powerful reminder of the capacity love has to heal even the deepest wounds . This masterful blend of drama and romance sets Reminders of Him apart, making it a standout in Hoover's body of work and a must-read for fans of emotionally driven stories.

1 Verity (2018)

A mysterious, psychological and unexpected story.

The captivating and suspenseful narrative of Verity propels it to the top of Hoover's impressive body of work. The story is full of mystery, psychological intrigue, and unexpected twists that promise an engrossing read from start to finish. The complex and morally ambiguous characters, particularly Verity and Lowen, add depth and richness to the plot , making it easy to question their motives and the reliability of their perspectives.

Verity 's exploration of the darker aspects of human nature, the blurred lines between truth and fiction, and the consequences of obsession and manipulation sets it apart from Hoover's other novels. The story's ability to elicit a wide range of emotions, from curiosity and suspense to shock and unease, is a testament to its impactful storytelling. The book's unforgettable conclusion and the ensuing debate it sparks among readers further solidify its position as Colleen Hoover 's most compelling and thought-provoking work to date.

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6 AAPI-Author Romance Books That Will Get You Hot & Sweaty

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If you grew up in a strict Asian-American household like me, dating was not an option till well after you entered the workforce. There’s no bringing the high school or college partner home to meet the family during summer vacation, or talking to your mom about the new match you went on a subpar date with from Hinge, until you’re grown and have a serious long-term significant other. I used to fulfill my youthful lovelorn fantasies through a good romance novel, particularly through AAPI romance authors with experiences similar to my own. 

Related: 8 Must-Read Books by AAPI Authors

Now with the weather heating up, the itch to dive into a good love story is more prevalent than ever. For AAPI Heritage Month this May, the warmer seasons always beckon for some sexy stories, whether that’s a fun and flirty situationship to full-blown tantric love. Below, our round-up of our six favorite romance books to lose yourself in by AAPI authors .

How to End a Love Story by Yulin Kuang

If you’re a fan of zesty second-chance stories, How to End a Love Story is right up your alley. The narrative explores Helen Zhang and Grant Shepard, who are tied together in a tragedy thirteen years prior. Now that they’re adults, the two meet again in Los Angeles in a writer’s room, where Grant shows up to work on a TV adaptation of one of Helen’s novels. Although the two have intertwined dark secrets that should keep them apart, becoming colleagues years later evolves into a star-crossed romance that might just heal their past.

How to End A Love Story

Dating dr. dil by nisha sharma.

A Taming of the Shrew re-telling with South Asian characters and auntie matchmakers, this rom-com read will keep you flipping page after page. Kareena Mann is the female protagonist, who on the morning of her thirtieth birthday places a bet with her widowed father – if she can find her soulmate in four months before her sister’s engagement party, she’ll win her childhood home from her dad. Meanwhile, Dr. Prem Verma of the “Dr. Dil Show” is looking for real love and ends up matching with Kareena, and their second date gone wrong becomes a public and viral disaster. Prem’s community center donor is threatening to pull out his money, and the only option for Prem to fix his image is for him and Kareena to kiss and make up.

Dating Dr. Dil

King of wrath (kings of sin) by ana huang.

Billionaire CEO Dante Russo is a dominating tour de force who never wanted to marry. Yet when extortion threats arrive, he’s forced into an engagement with the daughter of his most recent arch nemesis, Vivian Lau. Vivian agrees as she sees this as a long-term business opportunity, opening doors for her and her family that they’ve been waiting for. Although he’s determined to disregard her and their wedding pact, the two quickly realize their overwhelming yearning for each other overcomes all familial ties and logic. A spicy read brimming with enemies-to-lovers, wealth and power, this novel is perfect for fans of steamy and tension-filled romance.

Kings Of Wrath by Ana Huang

The kiss quotient by helen hoang.

A love story that highlights a neurodivergent female protagonist, The Kiss Quotient follows thirty-year-old Stella Lane, whose intrigue with math eclipses everything else. She realizes she needs some professional guidance in the flirtation and courtship department, so she contacts escort Michael Phan. Michael knows saying no to Stella doesn’t make financial sense, so he agrees to her request. Through the novel, the touching narrative follows Stella along as she learns everything from dates, romance, sex and unexpectedly, love.

The Kiss Quotient

One last word by suzanne park.

An exciting and witty read, the novel follows Sara Chae on her budding founder journey as she does her best to tackle tech stereotypes, build a company and entertain romance. Sara quits her job and decides to pour her heart and soul into her new app called One Last Word. The app’s function is to send messages to loved ones after you pass, but when another Sara Chae passes, the obituary triggers the app to send drunken messages to all the key people in her life, including her irresistible venture capital mentor, Harry Shim, whom she’s known from high school. What follows after are the shenanigan-filled consequences, as she works with Harry to launch her app while doing her best to suppress her own chemistry and desires.

One Last Word

Crazy rich asians by kevin kwan.

Although the masses are familiar with the popular movie starring Constance Wu and Henry Golding, the first book of a trilogy series that the film is based on is even more playful. This sardonic romantic comedy deals with Rachel Chu and her boyfriend, Nicholas Young, who travel to Singapore to attend a fabulously ornate wedding. Rachel discovers her boyfriend has been hiding his affluent background from her, as their love is tested on class and cultural differences, familial bonds and wealth. The story is set against the fabulous backdrop of the Singaporean “wedding of the century”, creating a moving fictional affair filled with glitz and glam.

Crazy Rich Asians

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The Best Romance Books of 2024, So Far

We believe it’s always a good time for a love story. But if you need a little inspiration this year, here’s where to start.

Every item on this page was chosen by an ELLE editor. We may earn commission on some of the items you choose to buy.

Part of becoming a mature adult, I’ve found, is admitting romance novels are great. Not all romance novels, alright? But when is any form of art unilaterally faultless? Romance novels feature some of the best character-driven stories on the book market; they often tackle far more complex issues than they’re given credit for; and they’re fun, in a way not all literature can (or should) be. They’re accessible, which is not to say trivial. Romance addicts have been fighting for the legitimacy of their passion, arguably, since the genre first took real shape, and while there are plenty of worthwhile critiques of happily-ever-after tropes and eyebrow-raising bedroom scenes, the enduring popularity of romance is itself an indication to take it seriously. If you haven’t already, it’s time to get on board.

Arya Khanna’s Bollywood Moment by Arushi Avachat

A debut high-school rom-com from author Arushi Avachat, Arya Khanna’s Bollywood Moment itself takes the structure of a Bollywood film, with all the heart and drama expected of the genre. It’s refreshing to root for Avachat’s protagonist, Arya, as she helps her family prepare for her sister’s wedding, all while juggling school, work, ample interfamilial strife, and the enemies-to-lovers lure of her student council rival. A sweet, colorful coming-of-age tale with the right serving of romance.

Don’t Want You Like a Best Friend by Emma R. Alban

Taylor Swift’s most yearning lyrics meet Bridgerton ’s pastel glitz and The Parent Trap ’s central conceit in Emma R. Alban’s buzzy series opener. This queer Victorian romance (so not quite Bridgerton ’s era!) unites two debutantes as they attempt to maneuver their widowed parents together, only to realize the real attraction is right in front of them. Sticklers for historical accuracy might struggle with immersion, but those eager to soak in the emotions will find a conceit to relish. Just make sure you have “Dress” on repeat .

Okay, Cupid by Mason Deaver

Mason Deaver, the author of I Wish You All the Best —now being adapted into a film directed by Tommy Dorfman —has returned with the LGBTQ romantic fantasy Okay, Cupid , the light-hearted tale of a real-life cupid-in-training who gets a little too involved with their latest attempt at matchmaking. Falling in love with a human is a No. 1 no-no in Deaver’s cupid community, but that can’t seem to stop Jude from following their own arrow. Queer joy abounds in Deaver’s whimsical tale.

Principles of Emotion by Sara Read

A panic-prone mathematician on the brink of a field-defining discovery falls for a second-chance romance in this thoughtful novel with traces of Lessons in Chemistry . In a genre too often dismissed as frothy, author Sara Read is game to tackle serious topics—mental health, legal troubles, family trauma, grief—while spinning a no-less warm and inviting tale of unlikely love.

Last Call at the Local by Sarah Grunder Ruiz

A neurodivergent opposites-attract romance set primarily in a remote Irish pub, Last Call at the Local has all the trademark warmth of its setting, but with the added care its subject matter necessitates. Protagonist Raine is an avid explorer, and her ADHD only makes her rolling-stone lifestyle feel more inevitable. Pub owner Jack, on the other hand, has OCD, and absolutely no plans to abandon the family business he knows (and loves). When Raine starts working (and living) at the Local, their forced proximity brings unexpected feelings—and life-changing choices—to the fore. Last Call at the Local goes down with all the pleasure of its namesake.

Say You’ll Be Mine by Naina Kumar

Fake engagement—one of the romance genre’s most stalwart, dependable tropes—reigns supreme in Naina Kumar’s Say You’ll Be Mine , in which a theater teacher and an engineer spark a sham romance to ward off the former’s recent heartbreak and the latter’s familial gripes. As Meghna and Karthik’s connection grows from contrived to genuine, Say You’ll Be Mine offers an insightful look at how cultural and familial expectations can shift even the best-known love stories.

A Love Song for Ricki Wilde by Tia Williams

There’s an immediate musicality to both the language and the atmosphere of this wonderful novel, which, of course, is fitting, given both the title and the setting. Tia Williams ’ latest after the 2021 bestseller Seven Days in June , A Love Song for Ricki Wilde is an enticing blend of contemporary and historical fiction, magical realism, and glittering romance. Williams plants readers in Harlem, where the titular Ricki has opened a flower shop in a bid to escape from the influence of her well-known Atlanta family. In New York (and under the watchful eye of her aging neighbor, Miss Della), Ricki meets the musician Ezra “Breeze” Walker, and a supposedly ordinary connection—and a supposedly normal leap year—becomes extraordinary.

Sex, Lies and Sensibility by Nikki Payne

Out February 13.

Pride and Protest author Nikki Payne boosts the drama (and the spice) in this Sense and Sensibility retelling that kicks up oft-trodden ground without betraying the source material. When Nora and her sister arrive at their inherited beach house in rural Maine, their lives have been upended: Their father has died, Nora’s the victim of a recent scandal, and neither of them knows how to run a proper inn. But when local (unauthorized) tour guide Bear shows up, it’s only a matter of time before they learn they work well together—in more ways than one.

Fangirl Down by Tessa Bailey

Out February 13 .

Genre icon Tessa Bailey is back this year with a story set in the (surprisingly sexy?) world of professional golf. Sports romances are a tried-and-true favorite amongst genre readers, and Bailey surveys the playbook with what can only be described as wicked glee—particularly given the grumpy-meets-sunshine manner of the central love affair. Fangirl-turned-caddie Josephine and superstar-turned-burnout Wells are a delight to cheer on; just be aware that the sex is frequent, and, uh, there are golf puns. You’ve been forewarned.

Ready or Not by Cara Bastone

Accidental pregnancy is a love-it-or-hate-it construct for most romance fans, which could leave Cara Bastone’s friends-to-lovers entry in a tough position. But for those willing to jive with that particular plot twist—and trust me, it’s worth it— Ready or Not is an absolutely buoyant read. Vivacious and funny, Bastone’s first-person perspective through protagonist Eve traces the tricky threads of single parenthood, long-term friendship, infertility, grief, and (yes) sex with skill.

Hannah Tate, Beyond Repair by Laura Piper Lee

Casually subversive simply for casting a barely-keeping-it-together new mother in the role of alluring romance protagonist, Hannah Tate, Beyond Repair is a snappy but emotionally resonant read about a fixer-upper Airbnb and the couple it was never supposed to bring together. Laura Piper Lee writes with a keen eye for the inherent humor of infancy—both literally, in terms of screaming babies, and figuratively, in the context of a weird-but-wonderful new love affair.

How to End a Love Story by Yulin Kuang

Out February 27.

How does Yulin Kuang find the time? Already an accomplished Hollywood creative, Kuang is only growing her influence as the writer of fellow romance author Emily Henry’s People We Meet on Vacation screenplay and the director of the same author’s Beach Read feature film. But this year, Kuang has a story out that’s all her own: How to End a Love Story opens with the remarkable first sentence, “All things considered, her little sister’s funeral is a boring affair.” So begins this marvelous work of contemporary romance—a complex, provocative tale about a terrible accident, an accomplished young woman, a traumatized young man, and the big question of blame when the two find each other impossibly drawn together.

Right on Cue by Falon Ballard

Falon Ballard injects the Hallmark rom-com with some much-needed acidity in this Hollywood co-stars-with-benefits sparkler. Right On Cue follows screenwriter and Tinseltown icon Emmy Harper as she begins production on yet another romantic comedy, this time having been convinced—after many years 0ff-camera—to take on the lead role herself. But when an injury forces her would-be co-star to back out of the project, the only available replacement is Grayson West. Emmy and Grayson’s baggage goes way back, which only makes their professional chemistry (and deepening sexual tension) all the more complicated.

Women of Good Fortune by Sophie Wan

Out March 5.

I love a heist. My husband and I have practically made a tradition out of watching Ocean’s Eleven together every time it’s on TV. So I’ll admit I’m predisposed to appreciate Sophie Wan’s Women of Good Fortune , a nontraditional women’s fiction-meets-romance novel that spins a heist—steal the wedding gifts, transform your life!—out of a high-society Shanghai affair. Best friends Lulu, Rina, and Jane want more out of life. When Lulu gets engaged to a man with whom she shares only middling feelings, the girls realize the answer is right in front of them. On her wedding day, Lulu will get showered with cash gifts. Now, all they have to do together is steal them. But as a crew and a plan come together and the occasion approaches, their friendship—and their romantic relationships—start to interfere with what they thought they needed.

Take Two, Birdie Maxwell by Allison Winn Scotch

Yet another smart spin on a would-be Hallmark heroine, Take Two, Birdie Maxwell gives the titular movie star a chance to explore her Reputation era as she crawls back to her hometown after an on-set scandal. Back home, she thinks she’s concocted a plan to earn back the public’s adoration: She’ll stage a public reunion with the ex-boyfriend who wrote her a letter, yearning for a second-chance romance. Problem is, she doesn’t know which ex sent the letter. Maybe reporter Elliot O’Brien can aid in her investigation...if only the two of them could stop accidentally catching the other staring. A hilarious, unbridled romp from bestselling author Allison Winn Scotch.

In a Not So Perfect World by Neely Tubati Alexander

Out March 19.

A delightful take on the forced-proximity and fake-relationship tropes, In a Not So Perfect World starts with the kind of premise that should have had its protagonist dashing to HR: While interviewing for a new role at a top gaming company, Sloane Cooper learns she shouldn’t date. The all-male hiring crew simply believes it’d be in her best interest to focus on her career! This ridiculous overstep aside, their “recommendation” launches Sloane into creative mode. She’s desperate for the gig, and so when her neighbor offers her his ex’s ticket to Turks and Caicos, she accepts, considering the vacation a sort of work retreat. In return, this neighbor wants Sloane to pretend to be his girlfriend: Their fake romance will definitely make his ex jealous. But under the Caribbean sun is an easy place to fall in love, and soon Sloane realizes that staying single is going to be a lot harder than she’d anticipated.

Just for the Summer by Abby Jimenez

Out April 2.

The beloved Abby Jimenez gives “it’s just a fling!” a whole new meaning in this ideal beach read, which follows a convenient summer set-up. Justin seems doomed in his relationships; every time he and a partner break up, that partner goes on to find their soulmate soon after. Emma’s heard about this so-called “curse” and wants to put it to the test, especially since she boasts the exact same problem. So when she and Justin start fake-dating, convinced it’ll break their respective “curses,” it’s pretty inconvenient that their complicated families start interfering...along with some unexpected feelings. Far more layered than its breezy, beautiful cover might suggest, Just For the Summer is yet another hit.

Here We Go Again by Alison Cochrun

I always hesitate to describe romance novels as “cute”—it feels so pejorative—but trust me, Here We Go Again is cute . It’s also disarmingly raw, a tragicomedy about aging and death, friendship, and finding one another. A sapphic roadtrip adventure, Alison Cochrun’s latest brings together former childhood friends-turned-rivals Logan and Rosemary as they shuttle their one-time English teacher, Joe, on what seems likely to be the last roadtrip of his life. In what the book describes as “the gayest van west of the Mississippi,” the three of them discover just what they’ve lost—and how to unearth a new path forward.

The Kiss Countdown by Etta Easton

Out April 9.

Amerie Price is running out of time. In Etta Easton’s lovely debut, the struggling Houston event planner has three months before her new fake-boyfriend Vincent leaves the country...for outer space. The two of them synced up to get Amerie back on her feet and Vincent out from under his family’s watchful eye, but now that the clock is ticking on liftoff, their relationship doesn’t feel quite so fake anymore. This charming NASA-adjacent romance is certain to win Easton loyal fans.

The Prospects by KT Hoffman

A queer sports romance and a triumphant debut from KT Hoffman, The Prospects is a heartstring-pulling tale of two minor-league baseball rivals who realize they play much better together. When Beavers player Gene—the first openly trans athlete in professional baseball—starts to recognize a connection that has nothing to do with field position between him and teammate Luis, he’s forced to learn that big, complicated feelings might, in fact, be what’s best for them both.

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Reader's Digest

20 Romance Book Series That Will Make You Swoon

Posted: February 18, 2024 | Last updated: February 18, 2024

Must-read romance book series

One of the more unhappy things about getting to a romance novel's happily ever after is having the compelling, swoon-worthy story come to an end. If you hate when that happens, I've got three words for you: romance book series.

While many romance novels are stand-alone stories, there are plenty of romance book series that build upon the original world created by the author. If you're looking to see how a couple's story evolves or are dying to know how a love affair between side characters works out, you've come to the right place.

As a reader of plenty of romance series, I've compiled some of the best books in the genre so you, too, can experience an extended universe of passion-filled novels. They're guaranteed to satiate romance fans of all tastes, whether you enjoy your novels with a side of enemies-to-lovers conflict or prefer the longing of a second-chance romance. From historical fiction to fantasy to contemporary, here are the romance book series you should read.

Join the free Reader's Digest Book Club for great reads, monthly discussions, author Q&As and a community of book lovers.

1. A League of Extraordinary Women by Evie Dunmore

Series starter: Bringing Down the Duke

What you're in for: Killer banter and independent women

With the release of Bringing Down the Duke in 2019, Evie Dunmore sent historical fiction fans clamoring for more high jinks in the Victorian era. Each of the series's four books focuses on a different suffragette studying at the University of Oxford. In the series starter, readers are introduced to Annabelle, a strong-willed scholar who intends to recruit politically minded Sebastian Devereux to the rising women's suffrage movement. Sebastian is a duke who shouldn't be falling for a commoner, but he can't seem to pull himself from Annabelle's orbit. The most recent of the novels ( The Gentleman's Gambit ) released late last year and is as deliciously entertaining and heart-meltingly swoony as the rest.

Looking for your next great book? Read four of today's bestselling novels in the time it takes to read one with Fiction Favorites !

2. Las Léonas by Adriana Herrera

Series starter: A Caribbean Heiress in Paris

What you're in for: A fun and flirty historical romance

Get ready for Dominican heroines and squee-worthy antics set in the Victorian era. Adriana Herrera's first novel in this book series was published in 2022, and the third ( A Tropical Rebel Gets the Duke ) is set to release at the end of this year. In A Caribbean Heiress in Paris, Luz Alana Heith-Benzan learns that she won't have access to her trust fund until after she marries, but Luz isn't in any rush to tie the knot. Her ultimate goal is to expand the family's rum business. But a constant slew of rejections from men who don't want to do business with a woman of color proves to be a challenge, and a marriage of convenience to James Evanston Sinclair, the Earl of Darnick, may be the only way to meet both parties' needs.

3. Once Upon a Broken Heart by Stephanie Garber

Series starter: Once Upon a Broken Heart

What you're in for: Fairy-tale twists and turns and a wicked heartthrob love interest

For those craving a romance with fantasy elements , Stephanie Garber's latest young adult series is a must-read. It follows the lovely Evangeline Fox, who makes a twisted deal with the devilish Jacks, the Prince of Hearts, and ends up with more than she bargained for in the form of cursed magic. Now that Evangeline is in Jacks's debt, she's forced into following his plans, which could either lead her toward a happily ever after or unfortunate tragedy. The first book was released in 2021, with the final installment hitting shelves last fall—good news for readers who love bingeing book series.

4. London Calling by Alexis Hall

Series starter: Boyfriend Material

What you're in for: Fake dating and big-time banter

First released in 2020, Alexis Hall's hilarious queer rom-com introduces readers to Luc O'Donnell, son of famous parents and a target for scathing tabloid headlines that do nothing to improve his reputation. Oliver Blackwood is a perfectly respectable gentleman and kind human. In other words, he's the perfect fake boyfriend to help improve Luc's appearance in the public eye. But will fake feelings soon turn real? The third of Hall's legitimately funny books in this series, Father Material , is expected to come out this October.

5. Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi

Series starter: Shatter Me

What you're in for: Incredible prose and yearning romance

Here's an oldie but a goodie for readers who gobble up romance book series. Tahereh Mafi's dystopian novels are heavy with yearning, which may be why the young adult series has recently seen a resurgence on BookTok. The first book published in 2011 and was followed by five more novels and a handful of novellas. So what's caught everyone's attention (again)? Seventeen-year-old Juliette has been locked away by the Reestablishment and told she's cursed: Anyone she touches dies. But then there's Adam, handsome and steely and understanding, who becomes Juliette's cellmate. Soon after, the two begin to learn there's more to the Reestablishment than what they've been told. And there's more to the romance than a simple Adam-Juliette bond (hello, Warner).

6. Bridgerton by Julia Quinn

Series starter: The Duke & I

What you're in for: Passionate yearning and blazing looks of longing

If you're the type to pick book recommendations based on TV shows , you'll want to grab this whole series, which inspired the massively popular Netflix show. Beloved by historical fiction fans, this Regency-era romance is the perfect series to start while you wait for Bridgerton Season 3. There are currently nine books in the Bridgerton book series, which began with The Duke & I in 2000. The series debut follows Daphne Bridgerton, a kind, intelligent young lady who is hoping to find a suitable match among eligible bachelors, though none have shown real interest. While Simon, the Duke of Hastings, doesn't plan to marry, he'd like to get the eager mothers of "the ton" off his back. So he agrees to fake-date Daphne, improving her reputation among suitors while placating those eager to see him married off. But this is a romance, so naturally real feelings get involved.

7. Outlander by Diana Gabaldon

Series starter: Outlander

What you're in for: A lusty time-travel romance with an unforgettable Scottish hunk

Start with fascinating historical fiction, add some time travel and throw in a sweeping romance. What do you have? Diana Gabaldon's bestselling romance book series, which begins with 1991's Outlander . (And yes, there's a TV adaptation. It first premiered on Starz in 2014.) There are nine books in the Outlander book series, which follows Claire Randall, a former British combat nurse taking a second honeymoon in Scotland in 1945. During her trip, she's accidentally transported to 1743, where she meets the charming and handsome Jamie Fraser. In the war-torn Scotland of the past, Claire becomes divided between two men—her husband and Jamie—and two vastly different periods of time.

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8. Heartstopper by Alice Oseman

Series starter: Heartstopper Vol. 1

What you're in for: A wholesome YA graphic novel filled with the heart-pounding exploration of falling in love for the first time

If you're hunting for feel-good books , look no further than Alice Oseman's Heartstopper graphic novels. This sweet YA romance book series follows shy, sensitive Charlie and amiable, rugby-loving Nick. The two boys navigate high school friendships, bullies and family, all while discovering a hint of a spark that's growing between them. The problem? Charlie is out, but Nick is still discovering his sexuality. Oseman has written five books in her Heartstopper book series, and the first and second were adapted into a hit Netflix TV series, with the third season on the way.

9. The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han

Series starter: The Summer I Turned Pretty

What you're in for: A perfect beach read that includes a swoony love triangle

Though the S ummer I Turned Pretty book series was only recently adapted into a TV series on Amazon Prime Video, with the first two seasons based on the first two books, the novels have stood the test of time; the first was published in 2009. The sweet and summery YA book series follows 15-year-old Belly Conklin, a teen who spends her summers at Cousins beach with her brother, her mother and her mother's best friend, Susannah. Then there are Susannah's two boys, Jeremiah and Conrad. The pair couldn't be more different, yet each owns a part of Belly's heart. You might pick up this teen book for the swoon-worthy summer romances, but you'll appreciate its depth in the parental subplot. Just come ready with tissues—you may experience a few tears during the series!

10. Slammed by Colleen Hoover

Series starter: Slammed

What you're in for: The sweeping intensity of falling hard for someone

Colleen Hoover book series are few and far between—the bestselling author mostly writes stand-alone fiction. But her Slammed series consists of three books, the first published in 2012. Eighteen-year-old Layken is struggling to be there for her mother and brother after the death of her father, but it's difficult. Then she meets Will Cooper, a neighbor with a passion for slam poetry. The two form an intense emotional connection only to discover a shocking secret that pulls them apart. But Will and Layken can't seem to suppress the feelings they have for each other, and it becomes impossible to stay away. Hoover is currently the No. 1 bestselling romance author, so you're going to want to get your hands on this series.

11. The Friend Zone by Abby Jimenez

Series starter: The Friend Zone

What you're in for: Laugh-out-loud banter and dual point-of-view storytelling

Abby Jimenez's four-book series can be read as stand-alone romance novels, but they each take place within the same world and thus feature familiar characters you've already met. If you're someone who enjoys romantic movies, this series is for you. The first book, 2019's The Friend Zone , follows Kristen and Josh. A sarcastic, smart entrepreneur, Kristen likes no strings attached when it comes to men. Josh is instantly drawn to her charisma, but she insists they can only be friends. She knows she needs surgery that will make it impossible for her to have kids, and Josh has expressed interest in having children. But as their chemistry grows, Kristen isn't sure she can stay away. Pick up the rest of the novels in the series to find out how side characters—aka your new bookish friends —find their happily-ever-afters.

12. The Brown Sisters by Talia Hibbert

Series starter: Get a Life, Chloe Brown

What you're in for: Lovable siblings, hysterical antics and steamy sex scenes

Talia Hibbert has written a spectacularly romantic three-book series, all set within the same universe, focused on three sisters: Chloe, Dani and Eve. You can read them in any order, but to experience them as the author intended, start with 2019's Get a Life, Chloe Brown . The titular protagonist is chronically ill, but she's determined to follow a list of ideas that will help her "get a life"—have meaningless sex, for example. Enter neighbor Red Morgan, a motorcycle-riding artist who agrees to help Chloe complete her list. As feelings between them grow, Chloe begins to see through Red's hardened exterior. The books are fun escapes all year long, but they make especially great beach reads .

13. Sookie Stackhouse by Charlaine Harris

Series starter: Dead Until Dark

What you're in for: Immortal vampires and high stakes

You might recognize this paranormal romance book series by its TV adaptation name: True Blood . The first in the 13-book series was published in 2001, giving readers romance with a little bite. (Yep, it's a vampire book .) The novels are set in a small town in Louisiana, where Sookie Stackhouse is a cocktail waitress living a totally normal life—until she meets and falls for a vampire.

14. Old West by Beverly Jenkins

Series starter: Forbidden

What you're in for: Enemies-to-lovers and a whole lot of yearning

Dive into history—the Old West, to be exact—with Beverly Jenkins's three-book romance series. The first entry, 2016's Forbidden , follows Rhine Fontaine, a man whose success relies on him passing as white. But after he rescues Eddy Carmichael from the desert, he wishes he could put a stop to the charade. All Eddy wants is to save enough money from cooking to move to California, but she can't deny that there's an unsatiated yearning between them. Their attraction might be reckless, but is that enough to keep them away from each other? When you're done, check out even more stellar books by Black authors .

15. Reluctant Royals by Alyssa Cole

Series starter: A Princess in Theory

What you're in for: Mistaken identity and a ton of royal charm

Alyssa Cole's Reluctant Royals romance book series begins with A Princess in Theory . First published in 2018, the book introduces readers to Naledi Smith, a grad student who has received a slew of emails claiming she's an African princess. Yeah, right! She may have grown up in foster care, but she isn't buying into that fairy-tale scam. Prince Thabiso sets out to find his true betrothed, and when Naledi mistakes the heir to the Thesolo throne as a commoner, Thabiso can't resist dipping into a reality that lies outside his royal responsibilities. But what happens when the truth is revealed?

16. The Wedding Date by Jasmine Guillory

Series starter: The Wedding Date

What you're in for: Fake dating and real feelings

Published in 2018, the first book in Jasmine Guillory's six-book series introduces readers to Alexa Monroe, who accidentally gets stuck in an elevator with charismatic Drew Nichols. And when he asks her if she'll play the part of his fake girlfriend at his ex's wedding? Well, she agrees. But after they have an incredible time together, they're forced to return to their real lives in separate cities. The problem is, they can't seem to stop thinking about each other.

17. The Bromance Book Club by Lyssa Kay Adams

Series starter: The Br omance Book Club

What you're in for: A heartwarming, transformative and romantic journey

There are currently five books in Lyssa Kay Adams's binge-worthy series, which began with the 2019 publication of The Bromance Book Club . The first novel introduces readers to second baseman Gavin Scott, who discovers his wife, Thea, has been faking orgasms. With their relationship already in turmoil, Thea asks for a divorce. The request prompts Gavin into action, and he seeks coaching from an unlikely place: an alpha-male romance book club. A steamy read and some book club discussions with his new pals seem just what Gavin needs to become his own hero and win Thea back. But it's going to take a lot more than romantic gestures to fix their problems.

Once you've been sucked in by this novel, you'll want to pick up the rest, each of which focuses on a different member of the book club.

18. The Ravenels by Lisa Kleypas

Series starter: Cold-Hearted Rake

What you're in for: Heated stares and major hate-to-love tension

Fans of Bridgerton and enemies-to-lovers romances will enjoy Lisa Kleypas's rich London-set world within this seven-book series. In the first novel, published in 2015, readers meet Devon Ravenel, a rake who has inherited an earldom. But the estate is in shambles and, even worse, has the late earl's three sisters living there, which includes Lady Kathleen Trenear. Kathleen sees right through Devon's devious wickedness and won't fall for any of his scoundrel-like antics. Or so she thinks. She soon finds that, when it comes to Devon, her heart is in trouble.

19. Written in the Stars by Alexandria Bellefleur

Series starter: Written in the Stars

What you're in for: Sapphic fake dating and an out-of-this-world romance

If you're looking for LGBTQ books , don't miss Alexandria Bellefleur's Written in the Stars series . There are currently three books, each following a different set of characters connected within the same world. In the first, readers meet Darcy Lowell, a no-nonsense skeptic who lies to her well-meaning brother about her latest date, telling him it was a success. Elle Jones is a popular online astrologer who's baffled to hear from Darcy's brother that the two of them hit it off when, really, the opposite happened. Darcy convinces Elle to play along over the holidays to save face, but soon the pair discover they're developing real feelings—even though they're faking a relationship.

20. Virgin River by Robyn Carr

Series starter: Virgin River

What you're in for: A medical romance with small-town coziness

You might recognize this title from the Netflix TV show of the same name. So while you wait for Virgin River Season 5, consider starting this series. The first book released in 2007, and since then, Robyn Carr has published 21 more titles in the Virgin River books series , so it's sure to keep you busy. Experience lush Northern California through the fictional town of Virgin River. To escape the heartache of losing her husband, Melinda Monroe finds herself with a fresh start in the sleepy town. She hopes the move will re-instill her love for nursing, but the rental cabin is atrocious, and the local doctor isn't exactly welcoming. Just when she thinks she's made a mistake, an unexpected discovery makes her reconsider. And a blossoming romance makes her stay.

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At Reader's Digest, we're committed to producing high-quality content by writers with expertise and experience in their field in consultation with relevant, qualified experts. For this piece, Farrah Penn tapped her experience as an author and former book editor, and then Tracey Neithercott, Reader's Digest Book Editor and host of the Reader's Digest Book Club, gave it a rigorous review to ensure that all information is accurate and offers the best possible advice to readers. We relied on reputable primary sources and verified all facts and data and backed them with credible sourcing. We will revisit them over time to ensure they remain accurate and up to date. Read more about our team , our contributors and our editorial policies .

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When reading a book, we often imagine the characters and towns coming to life, quirks and all. But what's better than watching the author's vision come to life on the silver screen? Over the years, countless bestsellers have been adapted into movies and TV shows. Many romance movies based on books reaffirm the undeniable power of hope, love, and trust, while others leave a bittersweet imprint on the heart.

Whatever the end, love stories are meant to be relived repeatedly, and there's no way better than to experience them over and over again by reading the book or watching the best romantic movies based on novels. There's no shortage of upcoming movies based on bestselling books, with highly-anticipated flicks like It Ends With Us (June 21) keeping fans eagerly waiting for their favorite characters to come to life on the big screen. That said, viewers looking for existing beloved romantic book-to-movie adaptations also have an excellent selection to choose from .

25 'A Walk to Remember' (2002)

Based on a walk to remember (1999) by nicholas sparks.

There are plenty of Nicholas Sparks movie adaptations , but perhaps an underrated one is A Walk to Remember . The film tells the story of Landon Carter ( Shane West ), a rebellious teenager, and Jamie Sullivan ( Mandy Moore ), a kind and religious young woman. Despite their contrasting personalities, an unlikely yet beautiful relationship blossoms between them.

Landon's journey of transformation is at the heart of the story. Through his love for Jamie, he experiences a remarkable change, evolving from a carefree teenager into a mature and responsible young man. One particularly touching scene showcases Landon fulfilling every item on Jamie's wish list. This early 2000s romance offers a faithful adaptation of Sparks' novel, capturing an undeniable emotional depth that resonates with audiences .

Watch on Netflix

24 'Flipped' (2010)

Based flipped (2001) by wendelin van draanen.

Directed by Rob Reiner , Flipped is a romance movie set in the 1960s about the love story between Bryce Loski ( Callan McAuliffe ) and Juli Baker ( Madeline Carroll ). In it, Juli has a severe crush on her neighbor, Bryce, who in turn harbors a neutral and (even disgusted) attitude to her intentions. But as Juli’s affection wanes, Bryce begins to fall for her.

Exceedingly nostalgic and touching, Flipped takes a look at innocent young love. It has touched audiences both young and old, reminding them of how first love can be both simple and complex. The film is a powerful testament to the lasting impact of the people we meet. It faithfully captures the essence of its literary source, offering a heartfelt and genuine adaptation that reminds viewers of how even fleeting encounters can shape our lives and perspectives .

Flipped (2010)

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23 'The Time Traveler's Wife' (2009)

Based on the time traveler's wife (2003) by audrey niffenegger.

The Time Traveler's Wife is a captivating tale of love intertwined with the fantastical element of time travel. Eric Bana portrays Henry DeTamble, a man cursed with a genetic condition that causes him to involuntarily jump through time. Across from him, Rachel McAdams takes on the role of Clare Abshire , a woman who falls deeply in love with him despite the challenges his condition presents.

The film chronicles their tumultuous relationship, constantly disrupted by Henry's unpredictable disappearances and reappearances. Despite the seemingly insurmountable obstacles, The Time Traveler's Wife is a compelling romance. The chemistry between Bana and McAdams is palpable, evident even in the comfortable silences that speak volumes about their unconventional bond. The film also stays true to the emotional core of the novel, delivering a touching and memorable experience that grapples with the age-old question: can love truly conquer the limitations of time ?

The Time Traveler's Wife

22 'dear john' (2010), based on dear john (2006) by nicholas sparks.

Dear John , directed by Lasse Hallström , is a moving love story that explores the complexities of balancing love with duty. Channing Tatum stars as John Tyree, a soldier on leave, who falls for Savannah Curtis, a college student played by Amanda Seyfried . Their whirlwind romance is soon interrupted by John's call to duty.

The film follows their evolving relationship through heartfelt letters exchanged across continents. After a long separation, their reunion highlights the profound effect distance has had on them both, highlighting the emotional challenges and yearning inherent in long-distance love. Dear John excels as a romantic drama because it authentically portrays the heartbreak and joy of loving someone from afar . It’s a must-watch movie for fans of Tatum and Seyfried as their unbelievable chemistry transcends the screen and will make viewers swoon.

Dear John (2010)

21 'bridget jones's diary' (2001), based on bridget jones's diary (1996) by helen fielding.

For those who want a rom-com with a bite, they should check out Bridget Jones’s Diary . Renée Zellweger plays the titular character, who is a single woman in her 30s navigating the messy world of dating, career woes, and self-discovery. Determined to get her life on track, Bridget starts keeping a diary, chronicling her misadventures and triumphs with wit and honesty .

One particularly hilarious scene in the movie features a messy restaurant brawl between Bridget's two love interests , the charmingly awkward Mark Darcy ( Colin Firth ) and the smooth-talking Daniel Cleaver ( Hugh Grant ). Bridget Jones's charm lies in its relatable protagonist and sharp dialogue. Zellweger perfectly captures Bridget's vulnerability and humor, making her a character you can't help but root for. Forget the overly sweet rom-coms – Bridget's journey is refreshingly real.

Bridget Jones's Diary

20 'the kissing booth' (2018), based on the kissing booth (2012) by beth reekles.

Coming to fame from Wattpad, Beth Reekles ' The Kissing Booth is a well-received story that was adapted into a film series by Netflix after garnering a wide fan base in 2018. The story follows teenager Elle Evans (one of Joey King 's most popular characters ), falling in love with her childhood crush, Noah Flynn ( Jacob Elordi ).

Despite the critics having mixed opinions on how to exactly categorize the film, no one can deny that it was a romantic comedy that audiences absolutely adored. If its quick rise to popularity through Netflix is any indication, it's a must-watch if one is interested in light humor along with an ideal representation of the coming-of-age experience. The Kissing Booth was so popular that it spawned two more sequels, highlighting the demand for more mindless popcorn flicks.

The Kissing Booth

19 'twilight' (2008), based on twilight (2005) by stephenie meyer.

Based on the 2005 novel by Stephanie Meyer , Twilight is one of the most binge-watched romance movie series of all time. Considered the leading movie in the coming-of-age and vampire romance genres, it is centered around Bella Swan ( Kristen Stewart ), a teenage girl who meets a reclusive family of vampires, the Cullens. She soon falls for the brooding yet charming vampire, Edward Cullen ( Robert Pattinson ).

Although critics express mixed opinions on a few aspects of the plotline being ignored in favor of establishing a 'falling in love with a vampire' dynamic, it still retains its position as one of the most iconic and highest-grossing romance movies ever made . Twilight is a hit or miss for most audiences , but there's no denying that it has cemented its position as one of the most iconic and massively successful romance films in cinematic history.

18 'Paper Towns' (2015)

Based on paper towns (2008) by john green.

Based on the bestselling novel by John Green , Paper Towns is a fantastic coming-of-age and romance movie that follows the escapades of Margo Roth ( Cara Delevingne ), trying to explore her true personality away from the clutches of her dysfunctional family. Her neighbor Quentin ( Nat Wolff ), who is in love with her, enlists the help of his friends to track Margo with the clues she left behind when she mysteriously disappears.

With well-executed themes such as man-vs-society and soul-searching, Paper Towns manages to show wisps of teenage love coupled with light comedy . Although many claim that the on-screen adaption does not reflect the emotions within the book (which are significantly more hard-hitting), the movie displays outstanding screenwriting by Scott Neustadter and Micheal H. Weber , who bring the best aspects of the coming-of-age novel to life.

Paper Towns

17 'safe haven' (2013), based on safe haven (2010) by nicholas sparks.

The sudden arrival of a young woman named Katie ( Julianne Hough ) raises suspicions among the residents of the quiet, small town of Southport, North Carolina. But what's even stranger is her reluctance to form personal relationships with other citizens. But Katie's resolve withers away when she is drawn into reluctant relationships with Alex ( Josh Duhamel ), a widowed dad and store owner, and her neighbor, Jo ( Cobie Smulders ). As her past continues to haunt her, Katie must make the tough choice between a life of transient safety and one of riskier rewards.

Nicholas Sparks is the king of adaptations , and Safe Haven adds another badge to his honor belt full of romance books turned into movies . Despite being more formulaic and lacking the emotional depth of Sparks' past works, the chemistry between the stars, Julianne Hough and Josh Duhamel, plus the film's lovely North Carolina setting make it worth seeing.

Safe Haven (2013)

16 'emma' (2020), based on emma (1815) by jane austen.

Emma Woodhouse ( Anya Taylor Joy ) is a headstrong, level-headed woman living in Regency-era England with her wealthy father. When her governess, Miss Taylor ( Gemma Whelan ), marries and becomes Mrs. Weston, she decides to look for another companion. Emma finally settles on Harriet Smith ( Mia Goth ), an unclaimed child whose education has been provided for. Despite her promise not to, Emma meddles in Harriet's life, giving her advice she sees wise.

Emma is based on Jane Austen 's novel of the same name and features the protagonist's attempts at matchmaking and meddling in the romantic lives of those closest to her. It's known for its fantastic performances, notably that of Anya Taylor-Joy as the titular character, as well as its creative directing and faithfulness to the source material. Emma 's humor, charm, and historical realism will appeal to viewers. It was a critical and financial hit, praised for being an enjoyable and sophisticated adaptation of Jane Austen's novel.

15 'Me Before You' (2016)

Based on me before you (2012) by jojo moyes.

Louisa Clark ( Emilia Clarke ), an ordinary 26-year-old, takes the job as a caretaker for William Traynor ( Sam Claflin ), a bitter 35-year-old who lost his motor ability due to an incident. Louisa becomes enamored with William's adventurist side, eventually helping him come to terms with the reality of his situation and falling in love along the way.

Journey through a myriad of emotions in Thea Sharrock 's adaption of the 2012 novel by Jojo Moyes , Me Before You , which has a splendid blend of light-hearted comedy and moving moments revolving around two people from completely different worlds finding solace in one another. It's a masterpiece in terms of raw emotion, wonderfully translating the essence of the book. That said, many have criticized it for its very premise, especially towards the end of the story when William has to make a tough decision.

Me Before You

14 'p.s. i love you' (2007), based on p.s. i love you (2004) by cecelia ahern.

Holly Kennedy ( Hilary Swank ) couldn't live without her husband Gerry ( Gerard Butler )... until she had to. Inseparable since high school, the couple was everything to each other, but after Jerry succumbed to an illness and passed away, Holly wasn't sure she would survive. That's when she received the first of many letters from Gerry, ones he wrote to help her through the pain and grief before his death.

Inspired by Cecelia Ahern 's novel of the same name, P.S. I Love You is a story of holding on, letting go, and learning to love again . Despite feeling too sappy and manipulative at times, the film about love and grief is worth seeing for its performances, especially Hilary Swank's, and its handling of sensitive material. Viewers can expect to be brought to tears as Holly receives one letter after another, slowly finding herself again in the process.

P.S. I Love You (2007)

13 'to all the boys i've loved before' (2018), based on to all the boys i've loved before (2014) by jenny han.

Instead of admitting her feelings to all her crushes, Lara Jean ( Lana Condor ) has a letter for every one of them, a letter she never sent. One night, her little sister Kitty ( Anna Cathcart ) sneaks into her room and posts all of them, except one of the crushes is her sister's ex-boyfriend, Josh ( Israel Broussard ). So Lara and Peter Kavinsky ( Noah Centineo ) strike a deal. They decide to pretend to date until Josh leaves her alone and Peter gets his ex back. But how long can they resist before it's not fake anymore?

An adaptation of Jenny Han 's novel of the same name, To All The Boys I've Loved Before , is followed by two sequels, To All the Boys: P.S. I Still Love You and To All the Boys: Always and Forever . The first film's numerous strengths include its strong performances, especially those of Lana Condor and Noah Centineo, and its delightful and amusing portrayal of adolescent love. To All The Boys I've Loved Before became a Netflix sensation for a good reason, as it just exudes good vibes and a totally adorable love story.

To All the Boys I've Loved Before

12 'crazy rich asians' (2018), based on crazy rich asians (2013) by kevin kwan.

New York native Rachel Chu ( Constance Wu ) is living her best life as an economics professor at New York University. With her boyfriend, Nicholas Young ( Henry Golding ), she plans to visit Singapore for his best friend's wedding. Only when they board the plane does Rachel realize Nick is one of Asia's most eligible bachelors, and his family is stupid rich. With their status differences, she might as well be carrying a target on her back.

An impeccable depiction of the clashes in the poor guy-rich girl trope, Crazy Rich Asians , is based on Kevin Kwan 's book of the same name. Aside from the Hollywood film's portrayal of diverse Asian and Asian-American characters, the movie is notable for its luxurious setting that highlights various cultural aspects not often seen on the big screen. Crazy Rich Asians was a critical and commercial success, and it has since become a popular romantic comedy movie for numerous fans.

Crazy Rich Asians

11 'one day' (2011), based on one day (2009) by david nicholls.

One Day , based on the novel of the same name by David Nicholls , is a heartfelt romance that spans two decades, centered around the lives of Emma Morley ( Anne Hathaway ) and Dexter Mayhew ( Jim Sturgess ). The film begins on the day of their graduation in 1988 and revisits them on the same date each year, depicting how their initially "platonic" relationship slowly begins to change.

The 2011 film is remembered for its unique and ambitious narrative structure that makes it exciting to follow the movie's love story. Anne Hathaway's underrated performance as Emma also makes the film's powerful story of self-discovery (and its unforgettable ending) more relatable. While its uneven pacing may throw some viewers off, it's still worth watching for the one-of-a-kind way it tells its romantic plot.

One Day (2011)

10 'where the crawdads sing' (2022), based on where the crawdads sing (2018) by delia owens.

A film based on the eponymous 2018 novel by Delia Owens , director Olivia Newman 's Where the Crawdads Sing combines mystery, drama, and romance to weave an absorbing story. It follows Kya ( Daisy Edgar-Jones ), a spirited girl left alone to raise herself in a North Carolina marshland. She's soon known as the "marsh girl" when she reveals herself to the townspeople. Inspired by potential romance, Kya's story takes a dark turn when she's blamed for a recent murder.

While the film mostly focuses on the mystery/drama aspect of Kya's story, there's a central romance plot that focuses on Kya's attraction to the charming Tate ( Taylor John Smith ) and connection with the devious Chase ( Harris Dickinson ). This connection will haunt her and make her question her decision to ever leave the marshland, adding a thrilling element to the 2022 movie.

Where the Crawdads Sing

9 'five feet apart' (2019), created alongside five feet apart (2018) by rachael lippincott.

Created with the eponymous 2018 novel by Rachael Lippincott , Five Feet Apart is the embodiment of angst-filled love between two teenagers who are prisoners in their own lives. The rewatchable teen drama movie depicts a budding romance between Stella ( Haley Lu Richardson ) and Will ( Cole Sprouse ), who meet in a hospital during their treatment for Cystic Fibrosis (CF). Having to stay six feet away from each other due to vulnerability to infection, the two find a way to make the most of what they have or the time they have left together.

Stella tries to make the experience more lively for a cynical Will, so they can have a chance to enjoy their teens to the fullest. A true devastator of the heart, Five Feet Apart takes some unexpected turns , despite its already upsetting premise. As the characters emotional longing grows, the physical space between them becomes unbearable, leading to some intense moments.

Five Feet Apart

8 'carol' (2015), based on the price of salt (1952) by patricia highsmith.

Carol tells a captivating tale of forbidden love set against the backdrop of the 1950s, based on Patricia Highsmith 's 1952 novel The Price of Salt (which was later republished as Carol in 1990). Directed by Todd Haynes , the 2015 period drama depicts the chance encounter between Therese Belivet ( Rooney Mara ), a young aspiring photographer, and Carol Aird ( Cate Blanchett ), an older, sophisticated woman trapped in a loveless marriage.

Carol is a beautiful film, with its exquisite cinematography, meticulously crafted period details, and haunting score creating an immersive environment that draws viewers into the complicated romance it portrays. Of course, it's the undeniable chemistry and fantastic performances from Mara and Blanchett that have earned the movie its reputation as a masterclass in LGBTQ+ cinema. It's one of the best romantic dramas of the 21st century , making it a must-see for fans of the genre.

7 'Love, Simon' (2018)

Based on simon vs. the homo sapiens agenda (2015) by becky albertalli.

16-year-old Simon Spier ( Nick Robinson ) is a fairly simple guy. He wants no drama and no one to know he's gay except Blue, the boy he's been emailing. But when one of those emails falls into the hands of class clown Martin ( Logan Miller ), his sexual orientation and the real identity of Blue are at risk of being compromised. Now, change-averse Simon has to do everything he's afraid of doing if he wants a shot at happiness.

A remarkable adaptation of Becky Albertalli 's Simon vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda , Love, Simon is a heartfelt coming-of-age tale of teenage queer love and the struggle it can accompany . The film's wit, charm, and heart will resonate with viewers, as more than a love story, it's also a touching tale about identity and self-discovery. A modern teen romance destined to become a classic , Love, Simon is a touching and realistic depiction of adolescent life.

Love, Simon (2018)

6 'stardust' (2007), based on stardust (1999) by neil gaiman.

A whimsical odyssey based on Neil Gaiman 's eponymous 1999 novel, Stardust is a wonderful fantasy adventure centered on Tristan Thorn ( Charlie Cox ). The young protagonist embarks on a thrilling quest into the mystical world of Stormhold to find and retrieve a fallen star. Soon, he meets the mesmerizing Yvaine ( Claire Danes ), who finds herself in danger as villainous figures around the kingdom seek to use her power for themselves.

With a remarkable cast – that includes Robert De Niro playing Captain Shakespeare and Michelle Pfeiffer as the malevolent Lamia – and visuals ahead of its time, Stardust has gone on to become a niche yet beloved romantic fantasy film that has held up incredibly well . Audiences looking for a dose of magic alongside their romance should check out the underrated adaptation of one of Gaiman's best stories, which can take some surprisingly emotional turns.

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