Image © Vanessa Anderson
It’s the season of love, and romance remains one of publishing’s most consistently successful genres for a reason: readers return to it for emotional intensity, satisfying character arcs, and the promise that love matters. But while “romance” may sound like one broad category from the outside, the genre itself contains a wide range of subgenres, tones, settings, and storytelling expectations. A small-town second-chance love story delivers a very different reading experience than a dark billionaire romance or a magical enemies-to-lovers fantasy.
For writers, that variety is exciting — but it can also feel overwhelming. If you know you want to write romance but are not sure what kind of romance novel best fits your voice, interests, or story idea, understanding the most popular categories can help. Each subgenre comes with its own reader expectations, emotional rhythms, pacing styles, and market opportunities. Let’s explore some of the most beloved types of romance novels, what makes each one work, and how to decide which lane feels right for your own writing. Contemporary Romance Contemporary romance is one of the broadest and most popular branches of the genre. These stories are set in the present day and often focus on relatable emotional conflicts, modern relationships, and realistic personal growth. Because the setting feels familiar, the emotional stakes tend to carry much of the story’s weight. Readers come for believable chemistry, compelling internal struggles, and the satisfaction of watching two people build trust, vulnerability, and intimacy. Popular contemporary romance themes include:
Best for writers who: enjoy modern settings, character-driven storytelling, emotional realism, and relationship dynamics grounded in everyday life. Historical Romance Historical romance transports readers into another era while delivering all the emotional payoff romance lovers crave. Popular time periods include Regency England, Victorian settings, the American West, the Gilded Age, and World War-era stories. These novels combine romantic tension with rich atmosphere, social constraints, and historical detail. Class expectations, reputation, inheritance laws, and cultural limitations often create compelling obstacles between love interests. Readers expect immersive worldbuilding alongside swoony emotional development. Best for writers who: love history, enjoy research, and want to blend romance with lush settings and period-specific conflict. Romantic Suspense Romantic suspense combines love stories with danger. Alongside the emotional relationship arc, readers get mysteries, investigations, criminal threats, espionage, stalking cases, or life-or-death stakes. The romance develops under pressure, which naturally heightens tension. Characters may need to rely on each other for survival, protection, or uncovering the truth. Balance matters here: both the suspense plot and romantic relationship need satisfying development. Best for writers who: love fast pacing, external conflict, mystery elements, and high-stakes storytelling. Paranormal Romance Paranormal romance introduces supernatural elements into the love story. Think vampires, witches, werewolves, ghosts, demons, psychics, or magical worlds where extraordinary abilities shape relationships. These stories often lean into heightened emotion because the world itself already embraces intensity, danger, and wonder. Paranormal romance can be dark, playful, gothic, adventurous, or deeply sensual, depending on tone. Best for writers who: enjoy imaginative worldbuilding, supernatural mythology, and blending fantasy with emotional intimacy. Fantasy Romance / Romantasy One of the fastest-growing corners of publishing right now, fantasy romance (often called romantasy) places the love story inside a fully built fantasy world. Unlike paranormal romance, which often layers magic onto recognizable reality, fantasy romance usually takes place in entirely invented settings with original political systems, magical rules, creatures, and large-scale external conflicts. Readers expect both: 1. A compelling romance arc 2. A strong fantasy plot/world Popular elements include:
Best for writers who: love expansive worldbuilding, magic systems, and emotionally charged relationships set against epic stakes.
Dark Romance Admittedly, a personal fav, dark romance explores attraction within morally complicated, psychologically intense, or dangerous circumstances. These stories may include obsession, power imbalances, antiheroes, revenge plots, captivity themes, or taboo emotional territory. Consent, boundaries, and reader expectations become especially important in this space because the stories often intentionally push into discomfort while still aiming to create emotional investment. Dark romance readers typically expect intensity over softness. Best for writers who: are interested in psychological complexity, morally gray characters, and emotionally extreme storytelling. Romantic Comedy (Rom-Com) Romantic comedies prioritize charm, humor, banter, and emotional warmth. While the relationship stakes still matter, the reading experience often feels lighter, more playful, and delightfully awkward. Miscommunications, forced proximity, embarrassing encounters, and witty dialogue frequently shine here. That said, the strongest rom-coms usually balance humor with genuine emotional depth. Best for writers who: love voice-driven dialogue, comedic timing, lovable chaos, and heartfelt emotional payoffs. Small-Town Romance Small-town romance has become wildly popular thanks to its comforting atmosphere and strong sense of community. If you love the charm of small-town romance, second chances, holiday sparks, or opposites who somehow end up decorating a Christmas festival together, there is a good chance you already understand why Hallmark and Lifetime-style love stories remain so enduringly popular. Readers — and viewers — return to these narratives for the same reason they return to romance novels: emotional payoff, familiar pleasures, and the deeply satisfying hope that love can still surprise us, even after someone reluctantly moves back to their hometown and accidentally falls for the flannel-wearing owner of the local bakery (ha). These stories often include:
The town itself often feels like a character. Best for writers who: enjoy cozy world-building, recurring side characters, community dynamics, and emotionally restorative love stories. Sports Romance Sports romance gained popularity in the 80s and 90s during two formative decades of high school football romance dominating the silver screen. Most notably, it pairs emotional vulnerability with ambition, competition, fame, discipline, and public pressure. Popular leads include:
The appeal often comes from seeing highly driven characters navigate both performance pressure and personal intimacy. Best for writers who: enjoy ambition-driven characters, physical tension, and balancing public success with private emotional growth. Billionaire / Celebrity Romance These stories explore love complicated by wealth, status, fame, or power. External glamour can create escapism, but the strongest versions also examine vulnerability beneath public image or privilege. Arguably, the most notable title in this genre is The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald — a personal all-time fav. If you skipped it in high school and are interested in writing this genre, it’s a must-read. Readers often enjoy:
Best for writers who: like fantasy escapism, glamorous settings, and emotional contrast between public power and private longing. Young Adult Romance In YA romance, characters who are 18 or younger is the norm, but the bigger question is whether the story feels rooted in teen emotional experience. And often focuses on teenage protagonists navigating first love, identity, self-discovery, and emotional awakening. The feelings often feel especially immediate because everything is being experienced for the first time. As such, these stories are often very nostalgic and are widely read by all ages. These stories may overlap with:
Best for writers who: enjoy capturing emotional intensity, formative life experiences, and the excitement of first connection. New Adult Romance New Adult romance bridges the space between YA emotional discovery and fully established adult life. These stories usually center protagonists in their late teens through twenties who are navigating first experiences with independence — college, early careers, roommates, financial responsibility, identity shifts, and relationships that feel more serious because adulthood is beginning to take shape. Romantically, New Adult often explores:
Because the characters are older than typical YA protagonists, New Adult romance often allows for more emotional and physical intensity while still holding onto that powerful sense of becoming. Many popular college romances, sports romances, and emotionally angsty contemporary love stories fall into this category. Best for writers who: want to explore transitional adulthood, heightened emotional vulnerability, independence, and love stories shaped by major life firsts. LGBTQ+ Romance LGBTQ+ romance spans nearly every romance subgenre while centering queer love stories and is one of the biggest breakout genres of the 2000s. While the readership may be more targeted than broad mainstream categories, those readers are often highly engaged, actively recommend favorite books within their communities, and are eager for authentic representation across tropes they already love — whether that is small-town romance, fantasy romance, sports romance, or rom-com. That means readers can find:
The category is defined not by structure alone but by whose love stories are centered. Best for writers who want to explore queer relationships across any romantic framework or subgenre. How to Decide Which Type of Romance Novel to Write Knowing what is popular is helpful — but popularity alone should not choose your project. The strongest romance novels usually happen when market awareness meets genuine creative enthusiasm. Here are a few questions to help you decide where your story belongs. 1. What kind of emotional experience do you want readers to have? Do you want readers to... laugh? cry? feel comforted (aka less alone)? stay up all night because the tension is unbearable? swoon over tenderness? The emotional atmosphere you want to create often points naturally toward the right subgenre. 2. Which settings excite you most? Your enthusiasm for the world matters. Are you energized by:
Choose a backdrop you genuinely want to spend time building. 3. What kinds of conflict interest you? Romance thrives on obstacles. Do you prefer:
The type of conflict you most enjoy writing can guide genre fit. 4. What do you naturally read for fun? Your reading habits reveal a lot. The romance stories you devour recreationally often reflect pacing, tone, and emotional rhythms that already resonate with your instincts as a writer. 5. What strengths do you bring to the page? Be honest about your creative superpowers. Are you strongest at:
Lean toward subgenres that let those strengths shine. Romance is not a single storytelling formula; it is an enormous, flexible genre built around emotional connection and satisfying relational payoff. Whether your story includes dragons, detectives, dukes, hockey players, haunted houses, rival coworkers, or two people reconnecting in their hometown after years apart, what matters most is emotional authenticity. Readers return to romance for the feeling of falling — for hope, vulnerability, longing, trust, desire, healing, and earned happiness. The “best” type of romance novel to write is ultimately the one that lets you explore those emotions with the most passion, confidence, and curiosity. Start where your excitement lives. The market matters. Reader expectations matter. Craft absolutely matters. But genuine enthusiasm on the writer’s side? That spark matters, too. And in romance, spark is where everything begins. ✒ Dive deeper in my companion post on Writing Sex in Fiction: How Not to Fuck it Up
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