Episode 176: Romance Book Roundup
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In honor of Valentine’s Day, today on Fable and the Verbivore we’re talking about our favorite recent romance reads as well as some of our all-time favorites.
As we open this conversation, we touch on the diversity and wide range of the genre – as well as the array that our own list of favorites covers. There really is something in this genre for everyone and we encourage exploring what it has to offer in terms of books out there that we feel are ours.
But we also talk about how reading about experiences, perspectives, and lenses - including sexual ones - that are different from our own can teach us, grow our empathy, and widen our view of the world. We get to step into someone else’s shoes and cheer for them to get their happy ending – and we all deserve to see ourselves represented in stories with happy endings.
In this episode, we share over 40 romance books and series that we’ve enjoyed reading and a little about what we liked about them. We cover a wide range of subgenres - including YA to Adult Contemporary to Romantic Comedy to Fantasy Romance to Historical Romance – as well as a variety of steam levels.
Towards the end of the conversation, we touch on Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice and how foundational that work is to the genre – as well as the debt that the enemies to lovers trope owes to it. We also share a few retellings of this book that have been entertaining to dig into.
We hope you enjoy this episode. Keep reading, writing, and putting your voice out there!
Into the woods,
Fable & The Verbivore
Notes:
The Verbivore references a quote from romance author Chandra Blumberg (Digging Up Love, Stirring Up Love), who we interviewed back in 2021. That episode was “Episode 89: Interview with Chandra Blumberg”. Here is her full quote:
“There’s definitely a stigma about different levels of heat in romance. Some people aren’t comfortable with the high heat and they think it’s all the high heat. But there’s all sorts of romance for all different people. I was worried that if I write the sort of romance that I want to, will there be a place for it. And the answer is yes because there is. It’s the same thing with fantasy and so many other genres – they run the gamut. Just like there’s cozy mysteries or there’s dark, gritty mysteries.… There’s so much diversity in the genre and there’s really something for everyone.“
Towards the beginning of the conversation, we talk about the Romance genre being wide and growing, with characters that are starting to more accurately reflect the world around us - but there is still a long way to go. We strongly believe representation matters and that we all should be able to see ourselves reflected in stories with happy endings. If you’re curious to learn more about where the industry is at, here are a few articles on this topic:
NY Times Article “The Changing Face of Romance Novels”
The Ripped Boddice “The State of Racial Diversity in Romance Publishing Report”
Writers Republic Article “Diversity in the Romance Novel Industry: Has there been any progress?”
Fable references the link between reading fictional stories, learning, and empathy. Here are a few articles that discuss this topic:
Discover Magazine Article “How Reading Fiction Increases Empathy and Encourages Understanding”
Medium Article “Reading Fiction Increases Your Empathy and Understanding of Others”
Harvard Business Review “The Case for Reading Fiction” by Christine Seifert
Here are a few articles and websites we referenced for this conversation:
MasterClass Article “Writing 101: What Is a Romance Novel? Learn About the History and Characteristics of Romance Novels”
AllAboutRomance.com Review Power Search
Books and Films Mentioned:
Book Lovers by Emily Henry
The Heart Principle by Helen Hoang
The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang
The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood
Love on the Brain by Ali Hazelwood
Two Wrongs Make a Right (The Wilmot Sisters Series) by Chloe Liese
Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare
The Charm Offensive: A Novel by Alison Cochrun
The Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard Series Books 1 - 3 Collection Box Set by Rick Riordan (Sword of Summer, Hammer of Thor & Ship of the Dead)
Better Than the Movies by Lynn Painter
The Wedding Date by Jasmine Guillory
Ice Planet Barbarians by Ruby Dixon
The American Roommate Experiment: A Novel by Elena Armas
The Spanish Love Deception: A Novel by Elena Armas
The Marriage Game by Sara Desai
The Dating Plan by Sara Desai
The Singles Table by Sara Desai
Yes & I Love You: A Steamy & Emotional Contemporary Romance (Say Everything, 1) by Roni Loren
We Can't Keep Meeting Like This by Rachel Lynn Solomon
Today Tonight Tomorrow by Rachel Lynn Solomon
Radiance (Wraith Kings Book 1) by Grace Draven
Spin the Dawn (The Blood of Stars) by Elizabeth Lim
Unravel the Dusk (The Blood of Stars) by Elizabeth Lim
The Wrath & the Dawn (The Wrath and the Dawn Book 1) by Renée Ahdieh
The Rose and the Dagger by Renée Ahdieh
A Far Wilder Magic by Allison Saft
The Hating Game by Sally Thorne
The Hating Game - Directed by Peter Hutchings
The Roughest Draft by Emily Wibberley & Austin Siegemund-Broka
To Kill a Kingdom (Hundred Kingdoms) by Alexandra Christo
Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge
The Bodyguard: A Novel by Katherine Center
Secrets of a Summer Night (The Wallflowers Book 1) by Lisa Kleypas
The Devil in Winter (The Wallflowers Book 3) by Lisa Kleypas
My Beautiful Enemy by Sherry Thomas
Beguiling the Beauty (The Fitzhugh Trilogy Book 2) by Sherry Thomas
Tempting the Bride (The Fitzhugh Trilogy Book 3) by Sherry Thomas
Not Quite a Husband (The Marsdens) by Sherry Thomas
Bombshell: A Hell's Belles Novel (Hell's Belles, 1) by Sarah MacLean
One Good Earl Deserves a Lover: The Second Rule of Scoundrels (Rules of Scoundrels, 2) by Sarah MacLean
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Bridget Jones's Diary by Helen Fielding
Mr. Darcy's Diary: A Novel by Amanda Grange
Austenland – Directed by Jerusha Hess
Austenland by Shannon Hale
Geekerella: A Fangirl Fairy Tale (Once Upon A Con Book 1) by Ashley Poston
The Dead Romantics by Ashley Poston
We don’t mention them here by name, but we also have several bookclub episodes where we talk in-depth about books or series that have romantic pairings we enjoy. Here are those:
Episode 21: Mixing fairytale, myth, and good character development - Hunted by Meagan Spooner
Episode 95: Six of Crows and Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo
Music from: https://filmmusic.io
‘Friendly day’ by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com)
Licence: CC BY (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)