To wrap up my short summer podcast series on romance novels, I’m sharing broad musings on the genre’s trends, themes, and historical context. I’m getting pretty nerdy in this episode—if you like this conversational literary criticism, I highly recommend checking out my podcast with Sara Hildreth: Novel Pairings in which we hold educational chats like this one all the time.

Today I’m discussing:

* historical and social context in relation to romance novels

* the trend of “wholesome romance”

* starting over

* tight-knit friend groups and found families

* connecting today’s trends with our current moment in history

* I also reference: Recipe for a Summer Romance 2023

What romance trends and themes have you noticed in your summer reading this year? I would love to discuss this more in the comments with you!

Works Cited

* Where are romance novels headed given the current state of women’s issues? (Chicago Tribune)

* The Consolation of Genre: On Reading Romance Novels (Los Angeles Review of Books)

* Fascinating Trends in Romance 2023 (Book Riot)

* Popular Trends in Romance (Harlequin)

* Future Trends in Romance Novels (Reddit)

* Find your next romance read with the genre’s hottest trends (Goodreads)

* The Alarming Trend of the Wholesome Romance (Time)

Novel Pairings: Hot takes on the buzzy books of last summer & Summer book releases paired with backlist reads

Chelsey

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