A cosy reflection on why romance is my ultimate comfort genre—familiar, reassuring, and always there when I need it.
There are days when life feels loud. Not necessarily bad — just busy, demanding, a little overwhelming. On those days, I don’t reach for surprise twists or literary experiments. I reach for romance. Soft covers, familiar tropes, guaranteed feelings, and the quiet promise that no matter what happens along the way… things will work out in the end.
And honestly? I’m not sorry about it.
Romance isn’t a guilty pleasure for me. It’s comfort. It’s reassurance. It’s emotional safety wrapped up in a story where connection matters and hope always shows up — even if it takes a while.
📚 How Romance Found Me as a Reader
I’ve always been a reader. Long before tropes, spice scales, or bookish corners of the internet, there were stories.
As a child, I lived in the pages of Tracey Beaker, The Suitcase Kid, and The Lottie Project. Jacqueline Wilson wrote characters who felt real — messy families, big emotions, kids trying to figure themselves out. I didn’t have the language for it then, but that emotional connection? That was the seed.
Then came The Girls series — still very much teen-focused, but with friendships, crushes, and that first gentle brush with romance. Nothing dramatic. Nothing spicy. Just feelings.
And then… Twilight happened.
That was my first proper introduction to young adult romance — longing, devotion, the intensity of first love. It was escapism in its purest form, and I was hooked.
Not long after, I raided my mum’s bookshelf and discovered The Gilded Cage by Josephine Cox. No spice. Just emotional storytelling, love tested by hardship, and relationships that mattered. That book quietly cemented something in me: thiswas the kind of story I wanted to keep reading.
🔥 The Spicy Era Found Me (Not the Other Way Around)
Fast forward to 2012. I was heavily pregnant with my eldest, exhausted, uncomfortable, and very much over being pregnant. Enter: Fifty Shades of Grey.
Yes. That book.
I picked it up thinking, Maybe this will help induce labour. (Spoiler: it did not.)
But it did open a door.
From there, I discovered the Crossfire series by Sylvia Day — similar vibes, but better written, deeper characters, and emotional intensity that went beyond shock value. I devoured everything she’d written. Romance had evolved for me, and I evolved with it.
Then in 2023, I stumbled into Bookstagram — and honestly? That changed everything. Tropes. Indie authors. Audiobooks. Community. Suddenly my love for romance wasn’t something I did quietly anymore — it became something I shared.
And here we are.
✨ Why “Predictable” Doesn’t Mean Boring
One of the biggest criticisms romance gets is that it’s predictable.
And yes — that’s kind of the point.
Predictability in romance doesn’t mean lazy writing. It means trust. I trust the story to take me somewhere emotionally and bring me back safely. I don’t read romance for shock — I read it for the journey.
The tension.
The yearning.
The slow burn.
The inevitable moment when everything clicks into place.
Knowing there’s a happy ending doesn’t ruin the story — it lets me relax enough to feel it.
🤍 Emotional Safety & the Comfort of Knowing Things Work Out
Life doesn’t always resolve neatly. Conversations go unfinished. Problems linger. Real-world endings are often messy.
Romance gives me something different: emotional closure.
Even when characters struggle — and they do — there’s a sense that love is worth the fight. That communication matters. That vulnerability leads somewhere meaningful. When life feels uncertain, romance reminds me that connection is possible and that hope isn’t naïve — it’s necessary.
🌙 Romance as Escapism and Reassurance
Romance lets me step outside my own head for a while — into castles, small towns, dramatic love stories, or modern messy relationships. But it doesn’t just distract me. It reassures me.
It says:
Love shows up.
People grow.
Happy endings are allowed.
That kind of escapism doesn’t pull me away from reality — it helps me return to it a little steadier.
🍂 Romance Fits Every Mood & Season
Sometimes I want light and fluffy.
Sometimes I want emotional devastation followed by healing.
Sometimes I want spice.
Sometimes I want sweet, closed-door comfort.
Romance adapts. It grows with me. It meets me where I am — whether that’s exhausted, reflective, hopeful, or just craving something familiar before bed.
There’s a romance book for every version of me.
🌸 Permission to Love What You Love
Somewhere along the way, we were taught to justify our tastes. To defend them. To rank genres by worth.
I’m done with that.
Romance brings me joy. It soothes my nervous system. It makes me feel connected when the world feels a little too much. That’s not something to apologise for — that’s something to celebrate.
If romance is your comfort too, you’re not shallow. You’re human.
And if it’s not? That’s okay too.
💬 Final Thoughts
Romance has been with me through childhood, motherhood, exhaustion, rediscovery, and joy. It’s familiar. It’s reassuring. And it’s always there when I need it.
💛 Come Chat With Me
👉 What’s your comfort genre?
The one you reach for when life feels loud?
Let’s chat!
The Reading Nook 