Romance has a reputation for turning up the heat and getting steamy. It goes as far back as the bodice rippers we all know and love, the ones with the bare-chested men and women with dresses unbuttoned and—gasp!—shoulders exposed, caught in a passionate embrace, and it's only endured with the rise of BookTok. Although it seems the market is teeming with spicy romance, there are just as many sweet romances to be found. The exact degree the heat gets turned up to depends on the

If there is one genre known for tropes, it's romance. Whether it's the dynamic of the central relationship or a particular scene, it's safe to say that every romance reader has their favorite tropes that they have fallen head over heels for. But for every trope that gets love, there's one that gets shade—and none seems as disfavored as the miscommunication trope. The trope is exactly as it sounds: a miscommunication between characters causes tension and a conflict they must o

Romance readers eagerly await and expect to see a variety of key moments when they dive into a new book. The first kiss. Grand gestures and professions of love. Maybe even spicy entanglements. And, of course, the happily ever after (or at least happy for now). But before any of these must come the meet-cute. The meet-cute is the scene where your love interests cross paths for the first time , and there tends to be sweet or humorous or dare I say adorkable about this interac t

It can be tough to choose your next read. Many romance readers might let a favorite trope guide their selection, like an Enemies-to-Lovers plotline teeming with banter and angst or a second-chance romance that offers a unique blend of redemption and feelings of nostalgia. Among the most timeless romance tropes is a personal favorite: Friends-to-Lovers. You know what they say: nothing's better than falling in love with your best friend! Some who truly gets you. Who celebrat

I've been reading romance novels since I was thirteen years old and started writing them shortly thereafter. Most people knew I was reading romance novels and striving to write one of my own. And while some supported these endeavors, there were those who poked fun at me for it. I will NEVER forget the time during the silence of the mandatory reading hour at my high school that a classmate decided to blurt out, "Mr. H... Avril's reading porn again." On poor Mr. H's first day a

Around this time last year, I wrote a post about Second-Chance Romances , exploring the reasons behind my love/hate relationship with the trope. Back then, I described myself as being mostly "lukewarm" towards it. Much to my surprise, my project for NaNoWriMo 2023 , A Tided Love , just so happened to be a Second-Chance romance. I didn't set out to write a Second-Chance Romance when I decided to take on NaNoWriMo (but, then again, I didn't set out to take on NaNoWriMo, so the