Special Topic Paper

Romance novels are having a bit of a renaissance as of late. The advent of TikTok coupled with the early days of the pandemic has caused a renewed interest in reading, especially within the romance genre. “Spanish-born Elena Armas, is a more recent arrival, a bibliophile who graduated from chemical engineering to multiplatform book blogging many years ago, but didn’t start writing novels until the pandemic. She self-published her debut romcom, The Spanish Love Deception, in 2021. “At first, sales were OK, at least for someone who had low expectations,” she says. “It wasn’t until months after publication that the book jumped into the Top 100 of the Kindle store on Amazon. It was all thanks to a TikTok featuring my book that had gone viral (Armitstead, 2022).” Gone are the day of the tawdry mass-market romance novels in supermarket aisles with a man clutching a woman in a dress that can’t quite contain her ample bosom. While those are still around and valid, there has been an uptick in contemporary romances and libraries and booksellers alike have to keep up. 

During the 1950s and 1960s, there was a shift in the romance novel. The narrative began involving “exotic locations and heroines who had careers outside of expected roles of housewife or mother. Stewardesses and nurses were popular choices (Pagan, 2019).” When Kathleen E. Woodiwiss published The Flame and the Flower in 1972, she introduced a new subgenre: the bodice ripper (Pagan, 2019).” This new subgenre changed the narrative from fierce virginal women who caught the attention of a man that would attempt to dominate and seduce her (Pagan, 2019).” Bodice rippers were notorious for feature abuse as a part of the love story, while the abuse has been removed and bodice rippers are a relic of their time their impact has been long-lasting. When Harlequin, a division of HarperCollins, first came onto the publishing scene they began targeting female readers. They created distinctive eye-catching covers. These covers often featured couples embracing each other. Other publishers followed suit in an effort to boost sales. An effort that was wildly successful. Now within the last twenty years, there has been a shift in the content of the novels toward reflecting the “diversity of their readership (Pagan, 2019).” There has been a steady shift where “Readers are simply demanding more representation and inclusivity within their romance novels, and many authors have taken up the calling (Pagan, 2019).” Contemporary romance works to reflect their modern audiences while still continuing “to offer up the same feisty leads, torrid love affairs, and dreamy adventures that made them popular, to begin with (Pagan, 2019).” 

Wyatt and Saricks define the romance novel as focused on “the emotional and physical union of two central characters (2019).” They go on to state that romance novels are stories of “courtship, love, mutual respect, and appreciation (Wyatt & Saricks, 2019).” These books are highly emotional, optimistic, and positive. Romance novels are evocative and emotional in order to draw readers in as the story works towards an emotionally satisfying ending. Male characters are powerful and confident while women and strong, bright, and independent. A big part of the central storyline hinges on a misunderstanding between the main male protagonist and the female protagonist or a circumstance that forces them apart. Wyatt and Saricks point out that “social and moral issues may play a role in storylines, although they are always secondary and do not interfere with the happy ending (2019).” The language of the romance novel is instantly recognizable. The language is very descriptive to “delineate characters, setting, and romantic or sexual interludes (Wyatt & Saricks, 2019).” Subgenres of romance include contemporary romance, historical romance, paranormal romance, and romantic thriller. 

There are four podcasts can be used as a reader’s advisory tool or can just be used to find titles and learn more about themes and tropes. The first podcast is Girl, Let’s Talk… which centers around black love and features black authors. The next podcast is Shelf Love which is hosted by Andrea Martucci and features the hosts giving “Romance readers writers, critics, and academics [giving] romance the respect it deserves by analyzing favorite and problematic tropes and current trends (Simmons College Library and Information Sciences, 2020).” Smart Podcast, Trashy Books focuses on the romance genre and includes a discussion of book reviews and changes to the genre. Lastly, there is Book Riot’s When in Romance Podcast which talks about romance news in a biweekly podcast. 

References

Armitstead, C. (2022). ‘After lockdown, things exploded’ – how TikTok triggered a books revolution. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/books/2022/jun/08/lockdown-exploded-tiktok-books-revolution-booktok

Pagan, A. (2019). A brief history of the romance novel. New York Public Library. https://www.nypl.org/blog/2019/02/15/brief-history-romance-novel-recommendations

Simmons College Library and Information Sciences. (2020). So kiss me: readers’ advisory tools. LibGuide. https://simmonslis.libguides.com/c.php?g=1087341&p=8033883

Whitehead, F. and Vinaver, . Eugène (2022, August 29). romance. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/art/romance-literature-and-performance