Modern romance novels are leaving readers spellbound and hungry for more


By AGENCY

‘The pandemic had pushed so many people toward reading for escape and comfort, and romance became a lifeline for a lot of folks,’ says Kanter. — Photos: AP

Romance novels have always spiced up quiet nights. Now, a genre that has sometimes been dismissed as a guilty pleasure is bringing readers and writers together through social media, book clubs and a growing number of romance-specific bookstores.

At a recent launch party for Nora Dahlia’s enemies-to-friends romance novel Pick-Up at Lovestruck Books, a romance-dedicated store in Cambridge, Massachusetts in the United States, a crowd of women sipped cocktails from the bar-café as they browsed the shelves.

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Romance , Bookstores , Books , Novels , Reading

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