Fans say new romance bookstores and online groups are giving the genre some overdue respect

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — Romance novels have always spiced up quiet nights. Now, a genre that has sometimes been dismissed as a guilty pleasure is bringing readers and writers together through social media, book clubs and a growing number of romance-specific bookstores.

At a recent launch party for Nora Dahlia's enemies-to-friends romance ''Pick-Up'' at Lovestruck Books, a romance-dedicated store in Cambridge, Massachusetts, a crowd of women sipped cocktails from the bar-café as they browsed the shelves.

After Dahlia's reading, patrons stuck around to mingle, swap contact info and trade author recommendations.

It was a particularly social event for a book talk. But the communal atmosphere is typical of events for romance fans.

Dahlia likened romance readers to ''Comic-Con folks,'' referring to the deep-rooted passion that defines comic-book fandom.

''They're educated on the genre in a real way,'' Dahlia said. ''Many of them started reading romance — Danielle Steel, V.C. Andrews, Jude Deveraux — as teenagers.''

At The Ripped Bodice bookstore in Brooklyn, New York, manager Katherine Zofrea said romance fans who have connected online frequently come into the store to meet in person. Along with author events, the store hosts three different book clubs and a romance comedy night.

''We've had a couple proposals here, we've had a wedding here which was really fun,'' Zofrea said.

She said customers range ''from teenagers who are starting to really get into the romance genres to older folks who have been romance readers for their entire lives and remember way back when they were reading the Harlequins and romance wasn't as widely accepted.

"Now they're loving seeing how widely accepted romance has become.''

A boom in romance bookstores

Bookstores like Lovestruck and The Ripped Bodice (which has a flagship store in Los Angeles) have begun popping up all over the U.S., from Wichita, Kansas, to Wilmington, North Carolina, to Hopkinsville, Kentucky.

Of the 157 romance-dedicated bookstores in the American Booksellers Association, more than half opened within the last two years, said Allison Hill, CEO of the trade group for independent sellers.

''Romance books have been one of the fastest growing book sales categories in recent years, driven by a number of factors including the need for escape reading and BookTok,'' Hill said.

And the genre has evolved. ''The romance genre is more diverse in every way including character identity and plot,'' she said.

Lovestruck's owner, Rachel Kanter, called the boom ''incredible — and honestly, overdue. Romance has always been one of the most commercially successful genres, but for a long time it didn't get the respect or space it deserved in the literary world.''

Romance-specific bookstores, she says, "are places where readers can feel joy, comfort, and connection — and where love is taken seriously as a literary theme.''

A lifeline during COVID

As with many hobbies, romance fandom solidified and expanded after the COVID-19 pandemic.

''The pandemic had pushed so many people toward reading for escape and comfort, and romance became a lifeline for a lot of folks,'' said Kanter.

''At the same time, there was a wider cultural shift happening — people were rethinking what mattered, craving joy and softness, and looking to support indie businesses that reflected their values. Romance, with all its hope and heart, met that moment beautifully," she said.

Reimagining the romantic bond

Romance has countless subgenres — hockey romance, Western romance, LGBTQ romance, even romance set on prison planets. But a common theme is their ''inherently hopeful storylines,'' says Elizabeth Michaelson Monaghan, a 52-year-old freelance writer and editor in New York who said she's read ''hundreds'' of romance novels.

''Romance must have a happily-ever-after — or at least a happily-for-now. Romance writers and readers are very clear on this,'' she said.

Romantic fiction that doesn't end that way? That's just a love story.

Traits of the romance genre also include strong character descriptions, attraction, conflict, and a satisfying resolution and emotional growth. Expect plenty of steam — some authors deploy it explicitly, others are more tame.

There's a long-standing culture of (mostly) women reading and sharing these books across generations.

''It is pleasurable to reimagine courtship or the romantic bond,'' said Jayashree Kamble, professor of English at LaGuardia Community College and president of the International Association for the Study of Popular Romance. ''There is limited risk involved.''

Kamble has been a voracious romance reader since her teenage years in India, where she devoured Harlequin romances.

Romance novels, she said, are ''a lovely reminder that individualism and companionship can go together. These are basic bonds.''

Community: online and in real life

Podcasts, too, have become a source for discovering what's trending. Andrea Martucci, creator and host of the romance-focused ''Shelf Love'' podcast, said romance bookstores have become places of connection akin, in some ways, to churches — for the romantically devoted.

''I can go to a bookstore and not just find people who love books,'' she said, ''but find people who love the very same books I love.''

As Annabel Monaghan, author of several love stories including ''Nora Goes Off Script,'' puts it, ''People who read romance want to feel good. And when you gather a bunch of people who want to feel good, it's magic.''