As a Scorpio, I’m always in the deep end of the conversational pool. In the past five years or so I’ve started reading more and more romance. I have enjoyed some of the same-sex stories, as they have been new to me sub-genres, and appreciate that these relationships are being explored. Because my degree is in English, I definitely used to have the idea that romance novels were subpar literature, but I am super happy to have dispelled that for myself. Favorite romance I’ve read in recent years is Emily Henry’s Book Lovers. I’d love to see more books with older (midlife and beyond) heroines. I’ve also enjoyed the “romantasy” books I’ve read, though some are miles better than others. Jasmine’s books are always fun. And I enjoy contemporary settings or fantasy settings over regency. I adored The Idea of You, despite all the criticism it got for being Harry Styles fanfic.
Book Lovers and Beach Read are the two Emily Henry books that got me into the genre this summer. Both with main characters who are in publishing (authors, agents editors) which is super fun. Def. recommend
I agree with wanting to see more books with older protagonists! I just finished Heartwaves by Anita Kelly and the two main characters are in their 40s (and it’s in a contemporary setting).
I really enjoyed Book Lovers too, it was the first book that got me into the genre this summer. Would also recommend Mhairi McFarlane and Yulin Kuan for Romance with a lot of emotional complexity and depth.
GRINNING ear to ear as I say, Thank You, Courtney! For this piece centering our pleasure, baby! As a sexuality educator for decades, I celebrate this fun move. Yasssss—to value, include, delight in, lean into all of who we are in these juicy lives—-which includes our energy, our sexuality (yes to real sex written and welcomed), our woven lives in and out of relationships. Oh—and extra credit for noticing that joy lives there! I’ve loved me a good romance over the years—-AND, always had this “ya but” guilty pleasure sort of tinge. Like I KNOW I love them. I KNOW they’re what I reach for sometimes. And yet—-ya know, sorta not “counting” them as legit reads. Or, ya know—sort of privately just enJOYing! What if we share the enjoying. Fling open all the portals and bodices! Unleashing women IS sacred work. Yesing the pleasure zone—-in all things—-that’s holy ground! I’m reminded of seeing Bobby McFerrin one time—newly guest artist in residence at the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra. He came onto stage—barefoot. He turned to us—-the perhaps stuffy chamber music goers—and said something like this. Oh YES. I love that you love chamber music. Me too. AND, it’s like you’re living in a mansion with SO many rooms and you just stay in one. Let’s play! And we did! So——as always, you’ve flung open a fresh zone. Blown open perspectives too small for us. That weren’t serving. And HERE we ARE—and my Big Fan book is already on its way to me! Mwah!!
Wow. I recently realized that I have had the same bias and been going through a very similar discovery process this summer! Loved this post. Would also highly recommend Mhairi McFarlane (British) and Yulin Kuang (doing the screenplay/script for a couple of Emily Henry's books). Also Ashley Herring Blake (queer romance).
I liked Colleen Hoover’s “It Ends With Us” and “It Starts With Us” because they addressed the huge issue of domestic violence as well as conventional romance. They are both high on the NYT Best Sellers list continually. As such, they complement nonfiction studies of domestic abuse such as “No Visible Bruises” an outstanding work on the subject by Rachel Snyder. DD
I have loved romance novels since I borrowed my some from my grandmother’s already read pile when I was 13 years old. I will say that the umbrella of romance is so broad that if you aren’t looking for what you really want and like, you will probably run into some ones you really really hate on the way.
Some of my faves are:
An Extraordinary Union by Alyssa Cole (civil war, undercover spies in love in the south, loosely inspired by a real life woman) She also has a contemporary series tied to royalty (the first one has a plot that is African prince spam email but real, and the second one is did you love outlander and want your own Jamie)
The Proposal by Jasmine Guillory (starts with the heroine getting proposed to on a jumbotron at a baseball game and saying no)
When Beauty Tamed the Beast by Eloisa James (the tv show House meets beauty and the beast but in like 1810 in wales)
I have so many smart, deep-hearted women friends who love the romance genre. I've never gotten into it myself (mostly too busy reading zillions of other things and then just plain tired of reading). But I can definitely see the appeal. I think it's a little like video games for some folks — a chance to stimulate neurological and psychoemotional capacities (around imagination, sensuality, empathy, gratifying romantic attachment, adventure, etc.) that are generally underused in our Unhealthy Default Reality. And also a way to nourish ourselves with some healthy pleasure in a world where most of us rarely feel we get enough of that.
For anyone who is interested in queer romances, I have loved Anita Kelly and Cat Sebastian’s books (especially the ones by Cat Sebastian that are set in the mid 1900s)!
This is perfectly timed! I’ve been wanting to start reading this genre but don’t know where to start. What books did she recommend to you, Courtney? I would love some suggestions!
She recommended The Idea of You, which I didn't love, and Seven Days in June by Tia Williams, which I loved. She also recommended Honey & Spice by Bolu Babalola, which I think I forgot to read!
More boundary-busting reading permission! As a (former?) nonfiction-only "serious" reader, I'm just finishing up "All Fours" (riveting!), which I first learned of here. Now romance novels??! (Which may very well be in my DNA, as my no-nonsense VT grandmother was paradoxically a devout reader of Harlequin Romances with racy covers.) Now wishing I'd asked her about this back in the day!
There are a lot of avid fans of romance novels within the readership of Anne Helen Peterson's Culture Study community. It is a great place in general for reading recommendations across genres.
As a nerdy sort of individual myself, I will say that there is some fairly formulaic sort of writing/viewing in which I indulge- mysteries, particularly of the British or Scandinavian type.
Every genre has good and bad books in it, which is why having a curated source is of such great value.
My new closest public library has a massive mystery section. Really makes me wonder if I need to delve into that genre, too. Do you have any recs for a newbie?
Romance novels got me through grad school! I've read - and continue to read - so much of it (usually queer romance) that I joke with my friends that I could start a podcast about romance novels. LOL
As a Scorpio, I’m always in the deep end of the conversational pool. In the past five years or so I’ve started reading more and more romance. I have enjoyed some of the same-sex stories, as they have been new to me sub-genres, and appreciate that these relationships are being explored. Because my degree is in English, I definitely used to have the idea that romance novels were subpar literature, but I am super happy to have dispelled that for myself. Favorite romance I’ve read in recent years is Emily Henry’s Book Lovers. I’d love to see more books with older (midlife and beyond) heroines. I’ve also enjoyed the “romantasy” books I’ve read, though some are miles better than others. Jasmine’s books are always fun. And I enjoy contemporary settings or fantasy settings over regency. I adored The Idea of You, despite all the criticism it got for being Harry Styles fanfic.
Best of luck with 831!
Love these recs. I've seen that Emily Henry book a million times but didn't realize it was romance. I'll put that on my list, thanks Kris.
Book Lovers made me cry so many times and I am decidedly not a crier!! As an older sister, it hit all the right notes.
Book Lovers and Beach Read are the two Emily Henry books that got me into the genre this summer. Both with main characters who are in publishing (authors, agents editors) which is super fun. Def. recommend
I agree with wanting to see more books with older protagonists! I just finished Heartwaves by Anita Kelly and the two main characters are in their 40s (and it’s in a contemporary setting).
Thanks for the recommendation!
Yes, me too! Another great book to add to my list, thanks Kelly.
For anyone interested here’s my Goodreads:
Check out my profile on Goodreads!
https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/40692
I really enjoyed Book Lovers too, it was the first book that got me into the genre this summer. Would also recommend Mhairi McFarlane and Yulin Kuan for Romance with a lot of emotional complexity and depth.
Thank you!
GRINNING ear to ear as I say, Thank You, Courtney! For this piece centering our pleasure, baby! As a sexuality educator for decades, I celebrate this fun move. Yasssss—to value, include, delight in, lean into all of who we are in these juicy lives—-which includes our energy, our sexuality (yes to real sex written and welcomed), our woven lives in and out of relationships. Oh—and extra credit for noticing that joy lives there! I’ve loved me a good romance over the years—-AND, always had this “ya but” guilty pleasure sort of tinge. Like I KNOW I love them. I KNOW they’re what I reach for sometimes. And yet—-ya know, sorta not “counting” them as legit reads. Or, ya know—sort of privately just enJOYing! What if we share the enjoying. Fling open all the portals and bodices! Unleashing women IS sacred work. Yesing the pleasure zone—-in all things—-that’s holy ground! I’m reminded of seeing Bobby McFerrin one time—newly guest artist in residence at the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra. He came onto stage—barefoot. He turned to us—-the perhaps stuffy chamber music goers—and said something like this. Oh YES. I love that you love chamber music. Me too. AND, it’s like you’re living in a mansion with SO many rooms and you just stay in one. Let’s play! And we did! So——as always, you’ve flung open a fresh zone. Blown open perspectives too small for us. That weren’t serving. And HERE we ARE—and my Big Fan book is already on its way to me! Mwah!!
Wow. I recently realized that I have had the same bias and been going through a very similar discovery process this summer! Loved this post. Would also highly recommend Mhairi McFarlane (British) and Yulin Kuang (doing the screenplay/script for a couple of Emily Henry's books). Also Ashley Herring Blake (queer romance).
Ooh! I also love Mahairi MacFarlane!
I liked Colleen Hoover’s “It Ends With Us” and “It Starts With Us” because they addressed the huge issue of domestic violence as well as conventional romance. They are both high on the NYT Best Sellers list continually. As such, they complement nonfiction studies of domestic abuse such as “No Visible Bruises” an outstanding work on the subject by Rachel Snyder. DD
I have loved romance novels since I borrowed my some from my grandmother’s already read pile when I was 13 years old. I will say that the umbrella of romance is so broad that if you aren’t looking for what you really want and like, you will probably run into some ones you really really hate on the way.
Some of my faves are:
An Extraordinary Union by Alyssa Cole (civil war, undercover spies in love in the south, loosely inspired by a real life woman) She also has a contemporary series tied to royalty (the first one has a plot that is African prince spam email but real, and the second one is did you love outlander and want your own Jamie)
The Proposal by Jasmine Guillory (starts with the heroine getting proposed to on a jumbotron at a baseball game and saying no)
When Beauty Tamed the Beast by Eloisa James (the tv show House meets beauty and the beast but in like 1810 in wales)
I literally could go on forever.
Thanks for the recs!
I have so many smart, deep-hearted women friends who love the romance genre. I've never gotten into it myself (mostly too busy reading zillions of other things and then just plain tired of reading). But I can definitely see the appeal. I think it's a little like video games for some folks — a chance to stimulate neurological and psychoemotional capacities (around imagination, sensuality, empathy, gratifying romantic attachment, adventure, etc.) that are generally underused in our Unhealthy Default Reality. And also a way to nourish ourselves with some healthy pleasure in a world where most of us rarely feel we get enough of that.
For anyone who is interested in queer romances, I have loved Anita Kelly and Cat Sebastian’s books (especially the ones by Cat Sebastian that are set in the mid 1900s)!
So excited for these recs!
This is perfectly timed! I’ve been wanting to start reading this genre but don’t know where to start. What books did she recommend to you, Courtney? I would love some suggestions!
She recommended The Idea of You, which I didn't love, and Seven Days in June by Tia Williams, which I loved. She also recommended Honey & Spice by Bolu Babalola, which I think I forgot to read!
More boundary-busting reading permission! As a (former?) nonfiction-only "serious" reader, I'm just finishing up "All Fours" (riveting!), which I first learned of here. Now romance novels??! (Which may very well be in my DNA, as my no-nonsense VT grandmother was paradoxically a devout reader of Harlequin Romances with racy covers.) Now wishing I'd asked her about this back in the day!
All Fours! Holy. moly. Sort of a romance novel wrapped up in experimental autofiction, right?
I don't know WHAT to call it -- defies neat descriptors -- but I'm totally digging it! Thanks for the rec!
There are a lot of avid fans of romance novels within the readership of Anne Helen Peterson's Culture Study community. It is a great place in general for reading recommendations across genres.
As a nerdy sort of individual myself, I will say that there is some fairly formulaic sort of writing/viewing in which I indulge- mysteries, particularly of the British or Scandinavian type.
Every genre has good and bad books in it, which is why having a curated source is of such great value.
My new closest public library has a massive mystery section. Really makes me wonder if I need to delve into that genre, too. Do you have any recs for a newbie?
You might start with Laurie King, the series featuring Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes. The first is called The Beekeepers Apprentice.
They are all well written and well plotted.
I hope the girls are settling into their new school and making friends.
Love this interview. I too am a talk-about-death-in-the-corner kind of guy turned romance-novel-fan. I wrote a bit about it earlier this month in my substack with some recs of the romance novels that accompanied me through my summer: https://open.substack.com/pub/groverwehmanbrown/p/reading-romance-novels-as-an-pessimists
Awesome, thanks for the link Grover! Excited to check this out.
Romance novels got me through grad school! I've read - and continue to read - so much of it (usually queer romance) that I joke with my friends that I could start a podcast about romance novels. LOL
For good queer romance recs, try Skye Kilaen's monthly newsletter (also published to her website): https://skyewritesromance.com/newsletter/.