Love, Desire, and Community: The New Generation of Readers Bonding Over Romance Novels | books

IIn a packed room in Sydney, an enthusiastic crowd scrolls through stacks of posters and bookmarks in search of their favorite characters. Another group browses the clothing racks, pulling out T-shirts that say “Romance Readers Club” and “Maybe Read About Fairies.”

A poster on the wall, with torn tabs, invites visitors to take what they need: a love triangle, a love confession in a mean dragon fight, a morally gray man or a cowboy.

Half the tabs have already been taken. This is a pop-up shop for bookish goods: visitors already know the tropes they want to go home with.

I came with my sister, a devoted romance reader, and suddenly found myself in the middle of a vibrant and rich fan community. The pop-up shop is owned by Books With Jess, a small Australian company that makes handcrafted book-themed goods. The event was announced to the account’s 23,000 Instagram followers, and many showed up: The queue outside the warehouse in Chippendale stretched down the block.

It is one of many events to emerge from Australia’s rapidly growing online book community. Booktok and Bookstagram, on social media sites TikTok and Instagram respectively, have exploded since the 2020 pandemic, and romance and romance – a mix of romance and fantasy – have become the most popular genres.

The primary participants are women in their 20s and 30s who grew up with online fan communities.

One of those readers is Jess*, a 25-year-old high school teacher from Brisbane, who started reviewing romance novels on her Instagram in 2020.

“I grew up in what we like to refer to as the Wattpad era,” she says, referring to the fanfiction site. A lot of the writing was “pretty terrible, but a lot of it was based on romance, and I read a lot of it,” she says.

“Once I got to university, I started reading more romance books… and I’ve been reading them a lot since then,” she says.

She now reads between 200 and 400 books a year. Her Bookstagram has allowed her to connect with other romance readers across Australia and beyond – including her new housemate.

“We initially connected through Instagram and discovered that we were both teachers, we both read the same things and have met in person a few times, and we are now about to move in together next year as roommates,” she says.

“I have quite a few friends in America, Germany and elsewhere who all enjoy the same things, so it’s really nice to have someone to talk to about the same passion.”

The online community is a big draw for this type of gaming, say cousins ​​Alina* and Laila*. They started their online store, Trilogy of Romance, as a space to celebrate their love of romance novels.

“We noticed that romance — especially darker, trope-driven romance — didn’t always have a dedicated, judgment-free space in traditional bookstores, and starting online allowed us to connect directly with readers who shared that passion,” they say.

“The reception has been incredibly positive, we have built a loyal and engaged community that supports not only our store, but each other as well.”

Their clients are mostly women in their 20s to 40s “who are very attracted to morally gray characters” – although hockey romance, another subgenre, is also very popular.

“Dark romance is by far our biggest seller in both books and merchandise,” they say.

Despite being the fastest-growing genre alongside science fiction in 2024, according to Neilsen Bookscan data, Australian bookstores don’t tend to have well-stocked romance sections. Outside of great titles — like the hit romances A Court of Thorns and Roses and Four Wing — most romance readers rely on e-books.

If they want to browse the shelves, they travel to Romancing the Novel bookstore in Sydney. Shop owner Scarlett Hopper, 29, a romance novel author, says customers often plan their day around their visit.

Her favorites are those who haven’t picked up a book in years.

“We actually have guys who don’t read romance but want to dip their toes into it, or love reading fantasy and say ‘Oh, I just read The Fourth Ward’…what can I do next?” She says.

*Names have been withheld