HEA. MoC. BBW. MLM.
If these acronyms seem like gibberish to you, it means that you’ve probably not yet been exposed to the romance book genre. Although this genre that explores love and relationships has been around for decades, it has long been dismissed as too vapid to have any serious purpose or value.
I grew up reading books by Cecelia Ahern, Julia Quinn, and the like, and often found myself feeling guilty, forcing myself to alternate them with more ‘intellectual’ reads. Romance never really got its moment in the limelight.
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Table of Contents
Rise of the Romance Genre
But something has shifted in the last few years. Romance is now the hottest genre in the book world. Amidst an overall decline in book sales, romance sales are booming. Now accounting for almost a fourth of all book sales in the U.S., dedicated romance book stores (such as The Ripped Bodice and Love’s Sweet Arrow) went from only two to more than twenty such stores across the country in a matter of years.
Some of this resurgence can be traced back to the pandemic, when more and more people returned to reading. Romance novels became the gateway genre: typically quick, easy reads with a guaranteed emotional payoff. To be classified as a romance, a book must have a happy ending: a rule that, in itself, makes the genre enticing. Picking up a book and knowing with certainty where the story is headed offers solace in a time of global uncertainty. It creates a sense of hopefulness.
Romance books feature elaborate world-building that fully engrosses readers in the story. You feel like you’re in that world, experiencing everything the protagonists do, with heightened emotions. You become distanced from your everyday realities: life’s struggles, obligations, and sometimes even your own identity. These books offer escapism in its purest form.
The rise of BookTok (a hashtag used by TikTok creators to share their favorite reads) has also fueled romance’s growing popularity. These influencers have attracted younger audiences by debunking outdated myths and spotlighting a modern, inclusive genre. Romance is no longer confined to the ‘bodice-ripper’ paperbacks women once bought in grocery store checkout lines. Many romance authors now publish independently, and their stories feature a far more diverse set of characters and contemporary settings.
This might seem counterintuitive for younger audiences often accused of having short attention spans. But books that whisk you away to a world that isn’t yours and invite you to imagine a life you’d rather live? That’s bound to make you stop scrolling and start reading.
The Power of Romance Readers
I recently attended a romance panel featuring bestselling authors at New York’s iconic Strand Bookstore. I walked in just 10 minutes after doors opened with 20 minutes to spare before the scheduled start time – only to find a fully packed room with just a few (not-so-great) seats left. The space buzzed with energy as romance fans met others like them and bonded over shared interests. This is what the romance genre offers to readers today: a community for people from diverse backgrounds, ages, and ethnicities, to bond over one of humanity’s most powerful emotions: love.
Romance readers are a hyper-engaged community, not unlike fans of comic book universes like Marvel. 831 Stories, a new entertainment company launched last year, is tapping into this energy by building an expansive fictional universe and an active fan community just for romance lovers.
In the world of marketing, this is more than just another interesting subculture to keep an eye on. The shame once attached to being a romance fan has faded. People now wear their love of the genre like a badge of honor. Romantasy themes (a subgenre that blends romance and fantasy) have even infiltrated unexpected domains like politics and comedy.
How Might Brands Leverage This Community?
This signals to brands that they need to start thinking about ways to engage this passionate, vocal community. Take Hinge, for example: the dating app recently launched a campaign titled “No Ordinary Love,” featuring love stories from real couples who met on the platform. The stories were compiled into a limited-edition hardcover anthology and distributed through select book clubs.
Another example is Neutrogena’s “Bank Your Glow” campaign featuring influencer Serena Kerrigan. The idea connected the flushed glow you get from reading a spicy romance novel and the glow delivered by Neutrogena’s new skincare product. To bring the concept to life, Kerrigan wrote two steamy short stories released on Wattpad, the independent publishing platform, engaging the BookTok audience.
As fandoms go, few are as emotionally invested, or as overlooked, as romance readers. Brands that understand this are unlocking something deeper than just reach or relevance. Ignore it, and you might just be missing the love story of the decade.
Still wondering about those acronyms? Here’s a quick guide:
HEA = Happily Ever After, the first rule of the genre
MoC = Marriage of Convenience, a trope where the main characters aren’t in love (at first!) but agree to marry to achieve a goal
BBW = Big Beautiful Woman, a curvy, plus-size heroine
MLM = Man Loves Man, a shorthand for male/male romantic pairings
