Cate Roser
Romantic love is beautiful… exciting… spicy, if you will — so much so that it’s been the subject of countless novels and has made romance one of the most successful literary genres. From love triangles to fake dating, romance novels offer a unique form of entertainment — one with something for everyone.
Now, I’ll be honest, for a long time I was quite embarrassed to admit that I liked to read romance. The stereotype of romance readers is sappy at best and scandalous at worst, and it was easier to face my English-major classmates and say that I liked classics or thrillers. But really, romance is just another genre — one that’s primarily female-written and read — and feeling shame for enjoying it, as I’ve come to realize, is doing more harm than good to the incredible authors and fans.
For me, at least, I think it all started with Stephanie Meyer’s “Twilight.” Twelve-year old me was hooked from the start with the tale of Bella and Edward’s epic love, and from there my zeal for the genre only grew. I’ve found laughs with Emily Henry and shed tears with Colleen Hoover, but these contemporary romances are only the tip of the romance iceberg.
Whether you like fantasy, science fiction, paranormal, historical, or any other genre, you can find a romance within. Look to Sarah J. Maas for faerie love, Kiera Cass for young adult dystopian, or Jane Austen for classic enemies to lovers — just to name a few examples.
Sure, romance novels are unrealistic, but that’s the fun part. In a romance novel, you can lose yourself in a fictional world with absolutely no consequences. Root for the main character to end up with the villain! Swoon when someone has a dagger to their throat! Cheer when they get to the hotel and there’s only one bed!
Of course, real-life love is exhilarating in its own right — getting butterflies when you see your crush in class on Mondays and Wednesdays, waiting anxiously for a text back. But nothing can compare to finding out your boyfriend is a prince or a vampire, and there’s only one place to get that kind of thrill!
Other mediums of romantic entertainment — i.e. movies — can give you a quick glimpse into a love story, but they don’t compare to a detailed, drawn-out novel. Seeing all of a character’s thoughts written out on a page or imagining what you think the love interest looks like makes a story more engaging, and movies just can’t give you that.
So, if you’re looking for love this Valentine’s Day, might I recommend starting with a book?