One of the great joys of romance is that it offers light when life feels dark. Right now, when stress seems to shadow much of life, laughter isn’t just a luxury–it’s a necessity. Romances that make us laugh remind us that joy belongs in the everyday, that wit and warmth can live right alongside longing….
Since 1996, All About Romance has been where readers come to swoon, to squabble, and to share the joy (and occasional outrage) of a genre that never stands still. For almost three decades, we’ve written about the books that made us laugh, sigh, roll our eyes, and, sometimes, want to throw them against the wall….
A love story is rarely just about desire. Often, it is also about power—who holds it, who is denied it, and what it takes for two people to meet as equals. Some romances bring that struggle to the surface, making politics part of the story rather than background noise. Perhaps, in this time of siloed…
Some romances I enjoy once and set aside. Others I return to, again and again, not because I’ve forgotten the ending–although my aging brain certainly does that far more frequently than I’d like–but because knowing the denouement lets me read the story differently than I did at the first go. A reread shifts my focus—I’m…
Romance novels have always depended on barriers. At the heart of the genre is the idea that two people want each other but cannot, at least for a time, have each other. Class, family, pride, circumstance—something stands in the way, and love must be tested against it. Readers turn the pages not simply to reach…
The marriage of convenience is one of romance’s most enduring plots. Whether the bargain is struck to save a fortune, secure a future, or escape a scandal, watching two strangers discover that vows made for practical reasons can blossom into true love, hot sex, and/or a perfect partnership is, for many, a lot of fun….
I’ve always loved romantic suspense. Done well, it offers the joys of a thriller wrapped around a love story that complements rather than distracts from the danger. Linda Howard, for instance, made her name with books like Dream Man and Mr. Perfect that still stand for many as benchmarks for a sexy blend of romance…
I read this recent article in Book Riot with amusement. Honestly, I found it a bit simplistic and, well, a bit silly. First of all the idea that a swath of fiction, or all fiction, can be reduced to a set number of plots seems restrictive. Secondly, the titles here–Let’s Work Together, Let’s Fight, etc…–are…
This column is not, I promise you, written by AI. I’ve never published anything that is wholly written by AI. I have, however, published work that is helped by AI–sometimes for editing, sometimes for a first draft, sometimes for brainstorming. (It is a great travel planner.) In the past month, I’ve used ChatGPT to help…
I’ve read, several times, the New York Times’ list of the Best Films of the 21st Century and, man, does it miss the mark. (You can see the list at IMDB here.) The top choice—Parasite—has been celebrated as a masterpiece but I could barely get through it. The film is violent, yes, but more troublingly,…
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