Romance novels focus on love and relationships as the main plot element, with subgenres including historical, paranormal, and contemporary romance. The definition of a romance novel is strict, requiring a main plot revolving around building a romantic relationship with an upbeat ending. The characters and setting must be unique to keep readers interested, and the genre provides an outlet for women to practice literacy and build a sense of community. Despite criticism, the focus on positive outcomes and building strong relationships is gaining momentum.
A romance novel is a book that focuses on love and relationships as the main plot element. This type of novel usually has some other stylistic qualities, although these are not consistent. There are books about love that aren’t romance novels, and what exactly qualifies as a romance novel is usually in part determined by who published the book. Partly because of its subject matter, a romance novel tends to be more popular with adult women. Despite their reputation as low-grade works, romance novels constitute one of the most widely read genres of literature in the English-speaking world.
Many people apply a very strict definition to what can be called a romance novel. The Romance Writers of America, for example, only classifies a book as a romance novel if the main plot revolves around two people working to build a romantic relationship with each other and if the ending is upbeat. This means that a novel that tells the romantic story between Romeo and Juliet focusing solely on the plot would not be a romance novel, because while the main plot revolves around love, the ending is not emotionally satisfying or optimistic. In practice, the structure of romance novels may be more flexible, even though such books may not be as popular with romance readers.
Romance novels are often classified under a number of subgenres, including historical romance, paranormal romance, and contemporary romance. These niche novels often have extremely devoted followings and can gain fans who don’t typically read romance novels. There are also books aimed at different age groups, races and sexual orientations, although these are often more controversial because they can appear extremely stereotypical.
The characters in a romance novel are sometimes considered the most important part of the story. Love in a romance novel typically follows a predictable and upbeat path, so to keep readers interested, the characters and setting must be unique. Good use of language is generally not required for a romance novel to be successful, although many romance novelists are extremely gifted authors. Romance writers are necessarily adept at storytelling, though not always at literary phrasing.
Many women find they are able to bond with other women over romance novels. This genre provides an outlet through which many women practice their literacy and also build a sense of community with other readers. Despite criticism of the genre as a female-oriented form of pornography, the focus on positive outcomes and building strong relationships is gaining momentum for many women. As the type of man women seek evolved, so did romance novels written about finding love featuring perfect men.
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