The Contemporary Romance Reader | Tag

I am such a huge contemporary romance reader, so I was thrilled that Aiofe tagged me in her original tag. Click here if you want to check out her answers to these wonderful questions!

What’s the first contemporary romance you remember reading?

I was 11 when Confessions of a Shopaholic was published. I don’t remember exactly how old I was when I read it, but it was definitely around that time. I think I read the first three books in that series before I decided that was enough. I was also reading Nicholas Sparks at that time…

What’s the last contemporary romance you read?

I recently finished Love & Other Disasters, and I absolutely adored it. It has my new favourite setting in romance- on the set of a cooking competition TV show! This was super steamy and very sweet, with a lot of hilarious moments and delicious food descriptions.

Who are your favourite contemporary romance authors?

Definitely Helen Hoang and Abby Jimenez. I have many auto-buy authors within the contemporary romance genre, but these two are at the top of my list. I will always read their books the day that they come out! I have already read an eARC of Abby Jimenez’s 2022 release, A Part of Your World, and it is my favourite of hers. I cannot wait for it to be out in the world!

Who are your favourite underrated contemporary romance authors?

N.G. Peltier (Sweethand) and Vanessa King (A Certain Appeal) both released debuts romances recently and neither of them has gotten the attention that they deserve! The sequel to Sweethand, which is called Don’t Go Baking My Heart, comes out later this year and I hope that it puts N.G. Peltier on more readers’ radars. No word on Vanessa King’s next novel, but I am always checking!

What book do you recommend to a contemporary romance beginner?

I completely agree with Aoife’s choice of The Unhoneymooners. I truly think that is the perfect contemporary romance book for beginners. It was one of the first ones I read when I was getting back into the genre. I didn’t want to copy Aoife though, so I settled on If the Shoe Fits by Julie Murphy. I think a Cinderella retelling might appeal to a lot of people and The Bachelor trope will be very familiar as well. It is also not steamy at all, so it is a good way to dip your toe into the genre.

What are your favourite and least favourite contemporary romance tropes?

My favourite romance trope is fake dating. I don’t know what it is, but that trope almost always works for me, even though I don’t think it is something people really do in real life. My newest favourite is food romances, and I have an entire post where I explore this trope.

I can’t handle any romance where there is cheating. I don’t mind if the main character is cheated on and the romance is them falling in love again, but when the relationship we are supposed to root for involves cheating in any way, I just can’t do it.

What are your favourite contemporary romance settings?

Once again, I completely agree with Aoife here! Give me all of the romances set in small towns. I want to feel like I am reading about Stars Hollow from Gilmore Girls. I especially love when the main character is from a big city and ends up falling in love with someone from a small town, which is definitely the case in both It Happened One Summer and Part of Your World!

What was your favourite contemporary romance you read last year?

See above! It Happened One Summer and Part of Your World (I read the eARC in October!) were two of the best contemporary romances I read in 2021. Some others I adored were Life’s Too Short by Abby Jiminez and The Heart Principle by Helen Hoang.

What are your top three all time favourite contemporary romance reads?

It is so hard to choose! There is something about You Had Me at Hola that just hit me in the feels and it is one I think about a lot. As I have made clear, I adore Helen Hoang, and The Bride Test is my favourite book in The Kiss Quotient series. I have talked about Part of Your World a lot for a book that isn’t out yet, but just me on this one!

What are your top three all time favourite contemporary romance reads?

I have an entire post about this, but the three that I am most excited about are all sequels! Hook, Line, and Sinker is the sequel to It Happened One Summer, Husband Material is the sequel to Boyfriend Material, and By the Book is the sequel to If the Shoe Fits.

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