The Romance Revolution: Is Romance breathing Life back into a dying industry?

When I was a teenager, my sisters and I would hide our Mills & Boons and read them only in the privacy of our rooms. Even imagining reading these books in a café or a restaurant would be gasp 'Oh so scandalous!'. While no one explicitly declared that reading romance was shameful, it was implied as much in the literary world. Where the only books recognised as 'acceptable' within the Romance genre, were classics like Wuthering Heights, Pride & Prejudice and few others.

Yet, the last 10 years has seen a drastic change in the way mass readers have started to view Romance books. Whether it was books like Twilight, Fifty Shades of Grey or even the recent craze of Bridgerton being turned into box-office hit movies OR the hype for Romance Fantasy books on Tik Tok and Instagram, who could say? Maybe it was a combination of it all. The consumers' need, for all things Romance has shifted and publishing houses are scrambling to meet the soaring demand.

To make matters more interesting, the rise of self-publishing (where authors are now able to directly publish their own books online, with no help from publishing houses) has led to hundreds of authors who are making their Romance (and fantasy) books available to the world at large, with just a click of a button. It's no wonder when you hear of small to medium sized publishers being bought up by bigger ones, or that the biggest publishers are being bought up by investment banks and stock market giants.

As more bookstores close down, I've read of dozens more opening all across the western world. But, these are a new kind of bookstores that are catering solely to Romance books. As people tire of superhero movie franchises, I've seen a wave of (Romance book) movie rights being acquired by giants like Amazon and Netflix. Book sales are declining in many genres, yet the obsession for Romance is sky rocketing. The publishing industry has taken note of it all. The percentage of Romance manuscript acquisitions by publishing houses seems to have tripled in the last 5 years. Whether it's contemporary, historical or fantasy, publishers are signing romance authors more so than any other genre.

From marginalised voices and LGBTQ+ stories, to historical, fantasy, mystery and comedy, the world of Romance is growing exponentially. This genre has audiences in every age bracket and shows no signs of slowing down. What Harry Potter did for children's books, or Game of thrones and Lord of the rings did for fantasy, we now have Bridgerton doing for spicy Romance and Fourth Wing along with A Court Of Thorns And Roses doing for Romantasy.

I, for one, am rejoicing! As the new generation of readers show-off their limited edition Romantasy books through their socials, I find myself gushing when buying hardcover copies of authors like J.L. Armentrout or Sarah J. Mass or any of my other favourite authors of Romance. Sitting in newly opened 'Book Bars' (where a consumer can get a glass of wine or cocktail while reading) or at the trendiest restaurant in town, I am one of many readers who are sporting their love for Romance books with pride. It may be that the 'craze' for Romance will eventually die down, but if i were to surmise a guess, I would bet it all on this genre being the main reason that the publishing industry stays relevant.

After all, Romance is now my bread and butter and I wouldn't have it any other way. Because I have always believed that True Love conquers All!