Once upon a time, books had to meet some standards of quality to be published. Today, it seems any recycled romance storyline can be published, printed, and put on the best sellers list. Of course you shouldnât judge a book by its cover, but just a glance at the romance section in a bookstore today makes me cringe.
At the risk of sounding too Carrie Bradshaw, I couldnât help but wonder⊠why have we settled for low quality, mass produced romance novels?
A Romance-Loverâs Reading
If your guilty pleasure is consuming terrible romances, Iâm not here to judge. In fact, my friend and I have a tradition of getting those âblind date with a bookâ romances from Barnes and Noble, or exchanging the worst-looking romances we can find. We love reading them while we tan in the summer.Â
But Iâm always shocked at how even the most highly-recommended, best-selling romance novels are simply recycled plots. The characters are always two-dimensional with predictable traits that lend themselves to popular tropes, not to mention the unrealistic, flat, and often cringeworthy dialogue that plagues these books. Youâve probably heard of the BookTok-popular Icebreaker by Hannah Grace, which I could only read a few pages from before becoming overwhelmed by the terrible writing. Based on my observations from this and other romance novels, it seems many of these authors wanted to write a sex scene but forgot they had to build a narrative around it.
Despite the mass online criticism of how terrible these books are, readers keep consuming them.
Why Are We Settling?
Iâm sure youâre tired of hearing itâs because of your phone, but unfortunately, I believe subpar romance is another symptom of dwindling attention spans. Studies by psychologist Gloria Mark have shown that the median attention span today is around 40 seconds. When someoneâs attention span is this low, they often start doing one thing, switch to another, then return to the original task, all within a short time frame, which forces the brain to frequently reconstruct different mindsets.Â
Applying this to bad romance novels, predictable plots, and poor writing makes these books easier to comprehend. So, when your attention span strays from the book to another task, itâs easy to pick up where you left off without missing much. Also, the low quality of these romance novels makes them quick to read, so the dopamine-addicted brain can get the benefit of reading without the commitment to a long-form task.
Another reason, a little less clinical, is that the predictability of these novels is comforting. In a world with a constant stream of information about crazy, out-of-our-hands events, we can find comfort in knowing what comes next and how these novels will end. Think about how many times youâve rewatched your favorite TV show; you know how itâll unfold, but you still watch it instead of a new series. With bad romances, you can pick up a new book and still have that safe feeling because you can rely on its plot. But we shouldnât sacrifice quality for comfort.
Reviving Real Romances
So, if you are like me and want better romance books, how should we go about changing this? My first recommendation would be to limit the number of poor-quality books you buy or engage with. Yes, this does mean you need to stop buying Colleen Hoover books just to âlaugh at them.â Stop supporting authors who only put out low-quality work!
Look out for hidden gems on your next bookstore scavenge, like Love and Other Words by Christina Lauren, which was a unique and fun romantic story that actually incorporates tropes well. To find these, ask bookstore employees or read many reviews from different sources in advance. This can be annoying, but itâs totally worth it for a good read.
However, to find more consistently amazing romance novels, romance readers should make a return to the classics. Yes, this does mean you will have less smut to read, but itâs worth it. I know youâve seen the iconic Pride and Prejudice movie, but have you read the original novel? Jane Austen is one of the best romance writers in history, with the text being even more witty and romantic than the movie.
It wouldnât be an article truly written by me unless I recommended you read some novels by Edith Wharton, my favorite author of all time. While I wouldnât classify many of her works as dedicated romances, popular books like The Age of Innocence and The Custom of the Country (this copy contains an excellent foreword by Sofia Coppola) explore different aspects of love and romance in uncommon and hilarious ways. For a more traditional romance, her lesser-known Glimpses of the Moon is incredible. Once you start reading better romances like these, youâll (almost) never want to return to the bad romances you were subjected to before.