Romance Book Club

“Romance” refers to the mass-market popular fiction written primarily by and for women that constitutes 50 percent of the American paperback fiction market. It typically revolves around a central romantic relationship, usually between a hero and a heroine, and requires an emotionally uplifting and optimistic ending. The Encyclopedia of Literary and Cultural Theory

In short, a romance must have a central love story as its main plot and end in Happily Ever After (HEA) or Happily For Now (HFA).

Here's a quick guide to commonly used terms in the romance genre and/or among readers:

• Hero/Heroine: Also called male and female main character (MMC/FMC).
• HEA: Happily Ever After
• HFN: Happily For Now
• M/F, M/M, F/F: A male/female pairing, a male/male pairing, and a female/female pairing.
• Insta Love: When two characters instantly fall in love with each other
• Sapphic: A book featuring women who love women, usually two women protaganists.
• Slow Burn: Characters fall in love gradually, these books feature, deep characterization, complicated relationships, and unresolved tension building up to The Moment.
• Trope: Repeated themes, plot devices, or characters that we see frequently in romance. These include:
  • Best Friend's Brother/Sister
  • Enemies to Lovers
  • Fake Relationship
  • Friends to Lovers
  • Forced Proximity
  • Marriage of Convenience
  • Second Chance
  • Workplace Romance

This rating scale is subjective tool. Please do your due diligence to determine what works best for you. 

🔥 Mild: There is kissing but no sex implied on the page. 

🔥🔥 Medium: There is no sex on the page. Instead, the sex is closed door or fades to black.

🔥🔥🔥 Warm: There are few sex scenes on the page, but most of the description relies on emotion rather than graphic details.

🔥🔥🔥🔥 Hot: There are multiple sex scenes with detailed descriptions. 

🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥 Scorching: There are a significant amount of sex scenes with explicit descriptions. These books may be erotica or near erotica.