Romance books popped off over lockdown, and their sales have yet to die down. In an Instagram post last month, Penguin Random House announced that romance novel sales are up more than 50 percent from last year. What used to be a small, closed-off section of most book stores has advanced to several tables full of popular titles, and the question is… why?
Romance books have always been good, but why are they only starting to get popular now? Short answer: lockdown and TikTok.Â
When people are asked why they like romance, one response mentioned time and time again is the escapism that comes with it. When you pick up a romance novel, you can generally expect a happy ending when you turn the last page. And there’s a certain comfort in that. No matter what subgenre of romance floats your boat, be it dark romance, fantasy, or a classic new adult, you always have a good idea of how things are going to pan out. Person meets person, they get close, a few things get in their way, but it all works out in the end. The world we live in has become incredibly unpredictable, and sometimes, you just need something predictable to counteract that lack of control.Â
Romance books give you that, and a little extra.Â
There’s another reason why romance novels have skyrocketed in sales this year, though: BookTok. It’s become more and more clear over the last two years just how powerful social media marketing can be, especially in terms of novels and entertainment. One person makes a recommendation, that recommendation is seen by millions of others, some will make their own videos recommending it…. and the rest is history.Â
Social media has always been a powerful tool, but it has only grown since the beginning of the pandemic. After hundreds of thousands of people were forced indoors and away from their jobs, there was a massive increase in time spent online, and people took advantage of it. All it takes is a quick 30-second review, and a book that might’ve otherwise slipped through the cracks becomes one of the most popular books of the year.Â
Last year, we saw this with dozens of romance novels, such as Ali Hazelwood’s The Love Hypothesis and Tessa Bailey’s It Happened One Summer. Nearly every major Booktok influencer was talking about these novels, recommending them to millions of readers all across the globe. Hazelwood’s debut novel was released in September, quickly gaining popularity through the magic marketing tactic that is social media. It is currently sitting at number three in its 15th week on the New York Times Bestseller’s list. Not only that, but Hazelwood’s bonus content release in October actually managed to crash her website’s server within seconds of it going online. The same instant popularity hit Tessa Bailey’s novel, which was released back in July. On Goodreads, Bailey’s novels (not including her 2021 release) have an average of 6000 ratings each. It Happened One Summer has over eleven times that with almost 70,000 ratings on just that one book.
So, the question now is, will they stay popular? It’s hard to say. The sudden influx in romance readers will likely mean the genre will have a much higher readership than it did before, but it’d be difficult to measure just how long that will last. That, and the returning threat of another lockdown, especially here in Canada, might mean readers will have more time on their hands for the next little while. As far as social media marketing goes, though, I think it’s safe to say that as long as BookTok is still alive and offering new recommendations, the romance genre will continue to thrive.