Romance novels have become increasingly popular due to social media like Tik Tok and Booktube. But are these romance recommendations really as good as they seem? Or is Booktok just another way to sell a happily ever after?
Correction: a previous version of this story spelled Amanda Anderson’s name incorrectly. The error has been corrected.
A WAR BEING WAGED ON DRAGONBACK. A BUSINESS MOGUL NURSING A REVENGE PLOT. A SMALL TOWN MAGIC USER HARBORING A SECRET CURSE. WHAT DO THESE THREE THINGS HAVE IN COMMON, YOU MIGHT ASK? THEY’RE ALL THE PLOTS OF ROMANCE NOVELS —- AND THEY’RE ALL ON THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER LIST.
ROMANCE NOVELS HAVE ALWAYS MADE UP A SIGNIFICANT PERCENTAGE OF THE BOOK MARKET, ESPECIALLY IN PAPERBACKS, BUT IN RECENT YEARS, ROMANCE NOVELS HAVE BEEN SELLING BETTER THAN EVER BEFORE. WHEN I ASKED FOR THE REASON, PEOPLE GENERALLY HAD ONE ANSWER.
[overlapping voices]
I DECIDED TO SPEAK WITH NORTHWESTERN STUDENTS AND ROMANCE NOVEL ENTHUSIASTS TO EXPLORE WHY ROMANCE NOVELS HAVE MADE IT TO THE FOREFRONT OF THE BOOK INDUSTRY, AND HOW SOCIAL MEDIA MAY PLAY A PART IN THAT.
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ROMANCE NOVELS MAY BE THE BOOK DU JOUR, BUT WHAT EXACTLY IS A ROMANCE NOVEL?
Amanda Anderson: So by standard definition, a romance novel, it has to have a happily ever after in it.
THAT WAS AMANDA ANDERSON, THE PROPRIETOR OF THE LAST CHAPTER, A ROMANCE NOVEL ONLY BOOKSTORE IN CHICAGO. SHE SAYS IN RECENT YEARS, THAT DEFINITION HAS EXPANDED TO INCLUDE A WIDER RANGE OF BOOKS.
Amanda Anderson: What I would just consider romance are just books that are just about so much more than obviously, like the physical aspect like that just really dive deep into what it is to truly love in life, whether we see that in books, through partners, or through friendships or, you know, found families or like, you know, family sagas, like, it’s just really celebrating the love that we as humans can have for each other.
ANDERSON SAYS SHE WAS MOTIVATED TO START THE LAST CHAPTER BECAUSE SHE WASN’T SEEING THE ROMANCE NOVELS SHE LOVED REFLECTED ON THE SHELVES OF BIG BOOKSTORES.
Amanda Anderson: It was the same five authors. And I really wanted to create a space that not only just celebrated romance as a whole, but like, really shine a light on just how diverse romance is. And really just create like a safe haven for romance readers and readers of all kinds.
MCCORMICK FRESHMEN DABNE CUELLAR, A ROMANCE FAN, AGREES. SHE POINTED OUT THAT SOME CLASSIC ROMANCE NOVELS STILL RELY ON “TROPES” OR NARRATIVES THAT REFLECT OUTDATED IDEAS ON GENDER ROLES AND SOCIETAL VALUES.
Dabne Cuellar: The one trope I do not like, is the pregnancy trope. And then sometimes the books the girl will be like, oh, I want to get an abortion. And the guy was like, “No, you can’t do that.” And I hate when that happens. I’m like, it’s her body, let her do what she wants.
ROMANCE NOVELS CAN BE A REFLECTION OF LARGER SOCIETY, BUT FOR MUCH OF THEIR HISTORY THE GENRE, LARGELY CONSIDERED TO BE ONE FOR WOMEN, WASN’T CONSIDERED LITERATURE AND WAS EVEN A LITTLE TABOO.
Amanda Anderson: I think that romance definitely used to have this, like hush-hush kind of feel to it. And it’s so interesting, because historically, romance has been the genre that has truly kept other genres afloat. And it was still so frowned upon. And now that we’re at a place, I think, in the world, where, like, we’re actually going to be so prideful about what we love to read, and what we’re reading, it’s so beautiful to see, it’s so beautiful, that people are not afraid to speak up by how much they love romance.
MEDILL SOPHOMORE ELENI TECOS SAYS THAT THEY OCCASIONALLY READ ROMANCE NOVELS THAT HAVE BEEN RECOMMENDED TO THEM ONLINE, AND THAT WHILE SOME CAN BE A MISS, THEY OFFER AN OPPORTUNITY TO READ ABOUT EXPERIENCES THAT THEY CAN RELATE TO. ONE OF THOSE BOOKS WAS THE SEVEN HUSBANDS OF EVELYN HUGO.
Eleni Tecos: I really identified with how specifically sapphic love was described in that book. Because it was one of the novels that I’ve read recently, that wasn’t, I didn’t feel like the coming out aspect really took center stage. And you could just focus on how beautiful it is, and how unique Sapphic love is compared to mainstream media’s representation of love. So I think that that’s partly what I like, is looking for that connection to my own experiences.
IN FACT, A GROWING COMMUNITY ON SOCIAL MEDIA, WHETHER ON TWITTER, TIK TOK, YOUTUBE, OR EVEN INSTAGRAM, HAS DRIVEN CONVERSATION. CUELLAR SAYS SHE APPRECIATES HOW SOCIAL MEDIA ALLOWS FOR GREATER OPENNESS SURROUNDING CONVERSATIONS ABOUT THE MORE ROMANTIC PARTS OF ROMANCE NOVELS.
Dabne Cuellar: I really love how social media has really normalized reading romance, but especially you know, as people call it spicy. Like, I just love how normalized it is now.
TECOS AGREED THAT BOOKTOK AND BOOKTUBE ENCOURAGING PEOPLE TO READ CAN BE A GOOD THING.
Eleni Tecos: I would say that it’s probably a net positive. I do think it’s, I’m glad that there are clear novels that we have and that people are reading. I’m glad that people are sharing the things that they enjoy and that they like to read.
HOWEVER, NEARLY ALL THE READERS I TALKED TO MENTIONED THAT BOOKTOK, AS WELL AS OTHER POPULAR WAYS OF RECOMMENDING BOOKS ONLINE, CAN HAVE A NEGATIVE EFFECT ON THE KIND AND QUALITY OF THE BOOKS THEY PUSH.
Dabne Cuellar: I will say that recently, I’ve noticed a lot of romance authors. They write books, just to put In a specific trope. They do target certain readers just by promoting a book, oh, this book has this trope, this trope, this trope. And I feel like that’s kind of actually killing the romance book hype, because so many people are reading these books. And the plot is not there. But the tropes are there. And it’s just not the same.
BIENEN AND WEINBERG SENIOR SKYE TARSHIS HAD A SIMILAR SENTIMENT. ALTHOUGH IT’S AMAZING TO CULTIVATE A HABIT OF READING BOOKS THAT YOU LOVE, THEY SAID, AND THAT PROVIDE AN EMOTIONAL REACTION, THE COMMERCIALISM OF THE SOCIAL MEDIA– BOOK RECOMMENDATION ECOSYSTEM CAN BE AGGRAVATING.
Skye Tarshis: I feel like it’s just important with like, with books, or music or any kind of media to cultivate your own tastes, which is hard because market forces are constantly telling you like, hey, buy this book, especially for this kind of girl— like those shelves on Barnes and Noble that are like, “women versus the void” because they know that if you’re a young woman who finds you know, solidarity and being like, oh, yeah, like I get sad sometimes, and that’s going to be the kind of shelf that you gravitate towards.
TECOS AGREED, ADDING THAT THE PRESSURE TO TAILOR RECOMMENDATIONS TO SITUATIONS OR AESTHETICS CAN IRONICALLY RESULT IN A PARADE OF SIMILAR OR IDENTICAL READING LISTS.
Eleni Tecos: I feel like a lot of times, people are like, we’ll make videos recommending books of like this, these are the books that you want for this specific time of year. And you know, like, you know, right now, it’s all like the dark academia novels because it’s fall. And so you get a lot of these recommendations from people that all sort of become compounded on each other of everyone’s recommending the same things, and no one really tries to read anything else.
HOWEVER, THE ROMANCE NOVEL INDUSTRY IS IN CONSTANT FLUX. TECOS HOPES THAT CHANGE CAN EXTEND TO ROMANCE NOVELS THAT ACTIVELY WORK TO SUBVERT COMMON TROPES.
Eleni Tecos: I think that’s really where I would like to see queer novels and romance novels go, is just adding that level of depth that we don’t really get in some of like the quicker summer lighter reads. Because I feel like when we reduce specifically queer love to just the coming out narrative, that it eliminates all of the complexity and beauty of queer love to like, the actual experience of being queer, being in love, being in a relationship. And I feel like there aren’t that many books out there like that yet, but hopefully there will be.
ANDERSON SAYS THAT THE ONLINE ROMANCE COMMUNITY IS HOW SHE WAS ABLE TO OPEN A BRICK AND MORTAR STORE, AND THAT BEING ABLE TO MEET ROMANCE FANS IN PERSON HAS ONLY MADE HER MORE GRATEFUL FOR IT.
Amanda Anderson: Nothing could have prepared me for the romance community that I get to experience every single day at the bookstore, like to have people come in that are just so excited to have a place that celebrates something that we all love. I truly believe that romance books not only shaped who I am as a person today, but really just, like, changed my life.
FOR THE ASPIRING ROMANCE FAN, THERE IS NO SHORTAGE OF RECOMMENDATIONS:
[overlapping recommendations]
IN FACT, THE ONLINE FRENZY OVER ROMANCE NOVELS AND LITERATURE MIGHT MEAN THAT YOU CAN SKIP THE SOCIAL MEDIA ALTOGETHER — JUST ASK YOUR FRIENDS WHAT’S ON THEIR SHELVES.
FOR WNUR NEWS, I’M MIKA ELLISON.
