800 Romance Novels Later...
How a former Creative Writing major (re)discovered romance novels in the pandemic and then read 800+ books in the next three years.
My (recent) history with romance.
I don’t remember when I read my first romance novel but I also don’t remember not reading.
I read Anne of Green Gables in the second grade because someone said I couldn’t.
I’ve absolutely done the Belle reading a book and walking thing (it makes TSA lines go by quickly) without falling.
I secretly switched my major from Pre-Med to Creative Writing/English Lit two months into my college journey. I spent nearly four years inhaling books and penning my own works.
And then I stopped. Like many voracious readers I know, sometime after college my desire to read books was pushed further and further down my priority list.
Occasionally, I would pick up a recommended self-help or business book but it took weeks to get through them because they felt like extra “work” on-top of an already heavy workload. On top of that, I realized my adult learning style is mostly kinesthetic. Reading about a thing is never going to get me as far as doing a thing.
Understanding this gave me permission to embrace books for what they were for me in the beginning—fun.
That fun started early pandemic with one romance novel (I distinctly remember devouring Talia Hibbert’s backlist and reading Mia Sosa’s The Worst Best Man in those early days), and then another, and then so many more. Since 2021, I’ve read about 200-250 books per year (I read quickly, have great recall, and read a mix of physical, digital, and audiobooks) across many romance subgenres.
Reading is so much enjoyable now that I read things that make me happy and not just things that I’m “supposed to read”.
Romance novels are my place to escape, a place to engage with hard topics in a safe place (because of HEAs), and learn about other cultures. Reading romance helps me do life better and decompress between a chunk of pages whenever I need.
I don’t get to talk about the books I love nearly enough so if you’re here, thank you for giving me a space to do that! I hope this space invigorates your reading journey whether you’re just finding romance novels for the first time, the fifth, or looking to diversifying your reading.
Welcome, here’s just a little hint of what you’ll find (and what you might not find) in Aleia’s Library!
1. Yes to diverse, mostly contemporary romance recommendations.
I read lots of styles of romance: contemporary, historical, omegaverse, mafia, dark-ish romance, indie, and occasionally a fantasy title. Some of my favorite authors are Kennedy Ryan, Denise Williams, Farrah Rochon, Adriana Herrera, Talia Hibbert, Tia Williams, Natasha Bishop, and Nisha Sharma.
Again, I read LOTS of types of books but when I recommend books, I often recommend books written by and about Black women, women of color, and people of color. The stories that are under-sung but mainstream channels but not any less talented, emotional, riveting, or without the special sauce we love about romance.
2. No to ‘cyclical bookish drama’.
If you’ve spent any amount to time on BookTok, Bookstagram, BookTwitter, BookTube, or BookThreads you know that there are topics that come up over and over, often for clickbait purposes so I’ll just get these out of the way now:
Listening to an audiobook does equal reading the book.
Some popular authors/books are problematic. The non-affected party does not get to decide what is or is not problematic and does not get to accept an apology on behalf of a group they are not apart of.
People who read a lot of books per year (hi!) do retain what they read and don’t need to fake reading counts. Also, no one cares about your number.
Don’t tag authors in negative reviews because reviews are for readers.
It’s not cool to smut shame people for reading romance. Don’t feel comfortable doing it here.
Books with out HEAs (happily ever afters) are not romance books. A romantic storyline does not a romance novel make.
This list is a work in progress.
3. No to negative reviews.
I think objective negative reviews have a space but I don’t dwell in that space unless I believe a book is harmful. Publishing a book is a very vulnerable act so I don’t want to contribute to critiquing an author who didn’t invite me into their writing process on the internet when my dislike of the book is my personal opinion.
For example, I don’t love the miscommunication trope but its existence in a book doesn’t make it horrible. It just makes it not the best for me. I save more negative commentary for my private DMs/group chats and focus on promoting the things I love!
I also have an extensive TBR (to be read list) that doesn’t leave time for hate reading or not DNFing (do not finish) books I’m not feeling. This includes the list of authors and popular series that I haven’t (and won’t) read.
4. Yes to lots of lists!
Some weeks all you will get from me is a list of books I’ve read recently, a list of series I want to dive into, or a list of X books about single parents with children that have main character energy. I aim to help you filter your ‘TBR list’ into a ‘read write now’ list.
5. Yes to requests!
If you are looking for a very specific type of novel, please ask and it might find it’s way into an upcoming post! Pairing internet friends with really specific requests is a passion of mine. Ask below in the comments.
Okay, bye for now. I’m off to read!