I've been reading romance a lot lately. I mean I've been reading this for years now but nowadays, it's like all I want to read is this. I won't lie, back then I didn't even wanna tell people I read romance because they either laugh at me for reading something so "cliche" or they just look down on romance books. But I grew out of that, I don't even give an f-word anymore *cries I can't curse here so here we are lol*.

This is a random post because I need more content in my blog since I'm quite inactive lately.
And this has been in my drafts for a while now but I just finished editing it so.. 😅

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1. I enjoy the tension between the characters. And I don't mean tension as the negative kind. I meant the kind of tension where both characters are so close to admitting they like each other but it's still not happening. Enemies to lovers? Hate to love? Best friends to lovers? Marriage inconvenience? Idiots to lovers? Friends to enemies to lovers? This one applies to majority of tropes. Nothing screams like "GET TOGETHER ALREADY OH MY GOD" while you're feeling the frustration AND excitement at once.

2. I get amazed by some stories where the author is capable of making me feel all kinds of emotions. Romance authors should really get some credit for how they're able to weave stories that could tug our heartstrings. It's not that easy to write a romance book with a story that can make your readers feel a rush of emotions that either knock them off their feet or have them grinning so wide like a Cheshire Cat or being able to connect with the characters emotionally. There are just those certain books where you have to pause because you're feeling so many things but loving it at the same time. Books that made/make me cry are ones I'm always wow-ed at. I'm a picky romance reader so making me cry is a big deal.

3. Some stories where the main character is successful also makes me feel successful. This is so random but yes. I love reading the main character's journey to success and the things they went through to be there. I feel a sense of pride for the character and I don't know, I love feeling it even if it's just fictional. Some stories are pretty inspiring too. I know this applies to other genres too but with contemporary romance, I feel it so much closer to home since it's set in the real world. I'll give Georgie from Tessa Bailey's Fix Her Up as an example. Georgie is successful with her work because it's something she's passionate about and her main goal is to make her customers - or people - happy, and they are, and it gave me a sense of pride and happiness for her because she fought for that job. It's something she believed in and there's this "WOW I FELT THAT" moment talked about it passionately.

4. Because the romance books I read are contemporary, I see myself in a lot of characters. Back then, I enjoyed this genre (NA/Adult) because the age of the characters and my age are closer. Now, it's more than that. Like my point in number three, it's set in the real world so it's a lot closer to what I also feel in real life. I relate to characters whether their feeling is related to school, or their family, or their love life, or even to the things they want or not want to do. This is where that hashtag #RELATABLE is applicable.

5. Romance has a very wide variety of stories to choose from. It irks me when someone who's never read romance generalizes all books as the typical "CHARACTER A FALLS IN LOVE WITH CHARACTER B AND THEY LIVE HAPPILY EVER BLAH" because the ones I've read are so much more than that. Every character has their own story to tell that doesn't just float around inside the romance bubble. There are romance books that also tackle the issues of society and are explored in the story. There are also so many tropes to choose from I mean, you're like eating a buffet.

6. I like to get lost in the couple's love. I don't know if I worded this right but I love feeling the love... you get me.. Like I love reading about their journey of falling in love or falling out of love and then finding each other again. And sure, that moment where you'd find your OTP.

7. I love feeling happy. This is like all the points in one. I love picking up a romance book because most of them put me in a good mood even if the story's journey was rough. The ending's always worth it *granted if the story's good and it has a HEA though

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I don't know if I made enough sense in this post to get message across but like I said, I've been reading more and more romance books these days. I just wanted to express how much I enjoy them and why it's my go-to read. 💖