Over the last few years, there’s been a shift. Romances, particularly the wildly popular contemporary romances with cute illustrated covers that led the explosion of the genre into the mainstream, seem to have all become rom-coms, regardless of how funny they are. Before I sat down to write this newsletter, I pulled a random sampling of contemporary romance novels off my shelves. Of those books, over half had back cover copy that billed them as romantic comedies or rom-coms. Some of them, like Written in the Stars by Alexandria Bellefleur and Act Your Age, Eve Brown by Talia Hibbert, are squarely in rom-com territory for me. Some of them are more ambiguous. And some of them, like Hook, Line, and Sinker by Tessa Bailey (a book I adore), are marketed as rom-coms but are actually sneaky fish hooks to the heart. Or I’ll be listening to a podcast and hear the hosts use the term rom-com to capture the whole genre. Or I’ll scroll through Instagram and see books that are high on emotional drama described as rom-coms.
I understand the appeal of the term, especially since we’re living in an era where the romantic comedy seems far removed from its big-screen glory days. It makes sense for rom-com fans to look for that rush of joy on the page instead. (Side note: I’m obligated to mention Set It Up, my favorite rom-com of the last five years, as a rare bright spot here. All I want in the world is for Glen Powell and Zoey Deutch to spar and flirt on screen in at least six more films, Hepburn and Tracy-style.) But for me, rom-com means a specific sub-genre of romance: low angst, high on humor, with a cast of great supporting characters, romantic shenanigans like fake dating or an elaborate bet, and maybe a grand gesture or two. Most of all, I want a rom-com to be funny. One lone chuckle or a side character deployed solely for comedic effect is not enough. It’s disappointing to pick up a book sold as a rom-com when I’m in a specific reading mood and realize it’s something entirely different.
I also feel like rom-com is sometimes used to distance today’s romance novels from the mass market paperbacks of the past, aka “those books with Fabio on the cover”. True, many older romance novels haven’t aged well. They were still ground-breaking in their depictions of female desire and heroines who embraced their own power, not to mention authors like Beverly Jenkins who paved the way for more diverse love stories. Romance didn’t spring out of nowhere in the late 2010’s and we would not have the genre as we know it today if it weren’t for those books, clinch covers and all. (Some of which are gorgeous. I have a soft spot for a good dramatic embrace on a cover.) It’s possible to appreciate both where romance came from and how it’s evolved.
Most of all, I think that calling everything a rom-com does a disservice to romance as a genre. Although many readers start with contemporary romance, there’s so much more to the genre: historical romance from medieval times to the 20th century, romantic suspense, fantasy romance, sci-fi romance, paranormal, Westerns, romantic mysteries…One of my favorite things about romance is that it contains multitudes. Whatever you like to read, however niche, there’s probably a romance version of it. Let’s celebrate that and make it easier for more people to discover the enemies-to-lovers sci-fi adventure, wolf shifter cowboy romance, or baking show love story of their dreams.
Currently reading: Never Ever Getting Back Together by Sophie Gonzales. I wanted something on the lighter side after a really heavy read and as someone who’s always rooting for two female contestants on The Bachelor to abandon whatever khaki-clad man is anchoring the season and run off together, the premise is deeply appealing to me.
What’s bringing me joy this week:
The little free library that someone keeps leaving Maggie O’Farrell books in. I’ve snagged both The Hand That First Held Mine and After You’d Gone. If you’re somehow reading this, let’s be friends?
The adorable bookmarks from this Etsy shop. They speak directly to my younger millenial heart, Taylor Swift references and all.
Season two of The White Lotus and its impeccable production design and cast. I’m currently engaged in a fierce battle with myself as I try to resist the urge to start looking up plane tickets to Sicily.