The figures speak for themselves: 63% of men surveyed consider themselves die-hard romance enthusiasts, slightly more than women (60%).
Men’s love of romance literature is all the more striking in that they devote an average of 364 hours per year to it, compared to 312 hours for their female counterparts.
Before plunging into the world of romance novels, many readers harboured certain preconceived notions about the genre.
Many expected stories with systematically happy and predictable endings (38%), formulaic plots (27%), or even tales that were too tame, lacking in passion (19%).
However, as they explored this literary genre further, they were surprised to discover well-written romances (54%), tales with serious spice (46%) and plots often featuring unexpected twists and turns (37%).
Romance novels are often based on the same major narrative arcs, which have varying degrees of success with readers.
Among the most popular tropes, “forbidden romance” tops the list with 45% of fans, closely followed by “friends to lovers” (44%) and “enemies to lovers” (42%).
On the other hand, readers are beginning to tire of certain scenarios, such as love triangles (23%), office romances (22%) and fake dating scenarios (21%).
Plots that speak to readers
But beyond fiction, these stories also seem to resonate with reality. In fact, 78% of readers claimed to have experienced a love story similar to a literary trope.
“More than a few had love-at-first-sight encounters, with one respondent saying they married a man after knowing him for just five days,” said Barbara Hagen, vice president of marketing at ThriftBooks, in a statement.
Another interesting finding is that readers like to give a face to the characters in the romance novels they’re reading.
Single readers like to imagine famous people in their novels: Zendaya and Timothée Chalamet are the dream loves of younger readers, while Halle Berry and Brad Pitt appeal more to Baby Boomers.
Among married readers, 17% imagine themselves in the story alongside their spouse, while 21% prefer to imagine themselves with their favourite star.
Even more surprisingly, 7% confess to attributing the traits of their ex to their favourite heroes…
When it comes to continuing to read a romance novel, character development is a key criterion (49%), closely followed by the quality of the dialogue and the strength of the memorable scenes (33% each).
And while the beginning of the book plays a decisive role, Gen Z readers are more patient than others: on average, they give a story 45 pages before deciding whether or not to continue.
Often perceived as an outdated literary genre, romance has never been more relevant.
Timeless classics such as Jane Austen’s “Pride and Prejudice” and Margaret Mitchell’s “Gone with the Wind” stand alongside contemporary bestsellers such as Colleen Hoover’s “It Ends With Us” and EL James’ “50 Shades of Grey,” proving the ever-growing appeal of the genre.
Far from being a simple guilty pleasure, romance is establishing itself as a genuine cultural phenomenon, captivating an increasingly wide and diverse readership.