With Valentine’s Day coming up, you’re sure to see a slew of romance book recommendations, many tagged with terms you might find baffling. What’s a “HFN” ending? What is a “BBW” heroine? What’s a “closed door” romance? Here’s your ultimate guide to romance genre terms, where there’s no shame in asking.
BBW
An acronym describing a heroine who is a Big Beautiful Woman – this can range from slightly more curvy than your bog-standard rake-thin female main character to a very, very large woman who finds love.
Examples: If The Shoe Fits by Julia Murphy, Love In The Time Of Serial Killers by Alicia Thompson, At First Spite by Olivia Dade
BIPOC
An acronym for Black, Indigenous, and/or People of Colour – romance books that feature non-white characters in leading roles, and/or romance books written by non-white authors.
Related: Own Voices romance (an author from an underrepresented or marginalised community writing a romance about characters from that same community)
Examples: The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang, By The Book by Jasmine Guillory, That Time I Got Drunk And Yeeted A Love Potion At A Werewolf by Kimberly Lemming
Closed door
A term describing a romance book where all sexual encounters occur off-page, or behind the “closed door” of a bedroom.
Related: fade-to-black (drawn from movies, where the scene ends or “fades to black” before anything sexy takes place), clean romance (a somewhat outdated term that implies no sexual content takes place in the book because sex is “dirty”), sweet romance (where encounters between the romantic leads don’t progress beyond kissing/hand-holding)
Examples: Check & Mate by Ali Hazelwood, The Flatshare by Beth O’Leary, Our Stop by Laura Jane Williams
Contemporary romance
A sub-genre of romance books that are set in the real-world present(ish) day. These romances could be happening in our world in our time, rather than being set at some point in history or in a fantasy world with paranormal elements.
Examples: Beach Read by Emily Henry, The Pairing by Casey McQuiston, Icebreaker by Hannah Grace
Enemies to lovers
A romance book where the main characters begin as enemies or in opposition before they come together and form a romantic relationship
Examples: Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston, Well Met by Jen DeLuca, A Not So Meet Cute by Meghan Quinn
Fake dating
AKA: fake relationship, fauxmance
The lead characters of the book pretend to be in a relationship for (often convoluted) external reasons – inevitably, they fall in love for real.
Examples: The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood, The Ex Talk by Rachel Lynn Solomon, The Catch by Amy Lea
Fantasy romance
A sub-genre of romance books that take place in a fantasy world, or with fantastical elements.
Related: paranormal romance (romance books with paranormal elements such as werewolves, aliens, vampires), romantasy (a fantasy book where romance is the main plot vehicle)
Examples: A Court Of Thorns And Roses by Sarah J Maas, Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros, The Dead Romantics by Ashley Poston
FMC/MMC
Acronyms for Female Main Character/Male Main Character
Related: FF, MF, MFM, MMF, etc. (acronyms indicating the romantic pairings by gender: female/female, male/female, male/female/male – where the male characters are not romantically interested in each other, male/male/female – where the male characters are romantically interested in each other, etc.)
Forced proximity
A romance book with a plot that forces the lead characters together in circumstances beyond their control
Examples: The Roommate by Rosie Danan, Wildfire by Hannah Grace, Next Of Kin by Hannah Bonam-Young
Friends-to-lovers Romance
The lead characters start the book as friends, or become friends early on in the story, before a romantic relationship develops.
Related: friends with benefits (where the main characters are friends and agree to engage in sexual activity without romantic entanglement)
Examples: The American Roommate Experiment by Elena Armas, Love, Just In by Natalie Murray, Next To You by Hannah Bonam-Young
Golden Retriever
A character who is warm, affectionate, caring, and somewhat goofy – a character who is the human equivalent of a golden retriever dog
Grumpy/Sunshine
A romance book where one of the main characters is “grumpy” (surly, depressed, introverted) and the other is “sunshine” (happy, outgoing, energetic)
Related: black cat/golden retriever (an “opposites attract” romance where one character is stand-offish and independent and the other has golden retriever energy; see Golden Retriever above)
Examples: Late Bloomer by Mazey Eddings, Things We Never Got Over by Lucy Score, Swift And Saddled by Lyla Sage
HEA
Acronym for happily ever after
HFN
Acronym for happily for now – where the main characters conclude the story happy, without any implicit guarantee that they remain that way forever (i.e., they aren’t married, or engaged, or pregnant, and there’s no epilogue “proving” these milestones are reached)
Insta-love
When the main characters (or at least one of them) fall in love instantly, often at first meeting
AKA: love at first sight
Examples: The Hook Up by Kirsten Callihan, Not In Love by Ali Hazelwood, Kiss The Girl by Zoraida Córdova
Love Triangle
Where one main character has two competing love interests, often in sharp contrast to one another; particularly common in Young Adult romances (see below) for some reason
Examples: Outlander by Diana Gabaldon, Confessions Of An Alleged Good Girl by Joya Goffney, Shadow & Bone by Leigh Bardugo
Mary Sue
A character who is too perfect, usually female. The concept has its origins in “self-insert” characters where authors represent an idealised version of themselves in a story.
Marriage of convenience
Two main characters come together to marry (or become engaged, or equivalent) for reasons other than love, before becoming romantically involved
Examples: What Happens In Amsterdam by Rachel Lynn Solomon, The Fiancee Farce by Alexandria Bellefleur, The Partner Plot by Kristina Forest
May-December romance
A romance plot where one character is significantly older than the other
AKA: age-gap romance
Meet cute
The sweet, charming story of how a couple meets
New Adult romance
A romance featuring main characters who are in the early stages of adult life (usually ages 18-30)
Examples: One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston, Tangled Up In You by Christina Lauren, Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell
Only one bed
A common plot point in romance books across the genre, where the lead characters discover that there is only one bed available to them and they will be forced to share for the night (in a motel room, or any other type of accommodation)
Examples: Business Or Pleasure by Rachel Lynn Solomon, Boyfriend Material by Alexis Hall, The Seven Year Slip by Ashley Poston
Regency romance
Ostensibly romance books set in England’s Regency period (between 1811 and 1820), though may be expanded to include books set in the preceding Georgian era or the subsequent Victorian era
Examples: Reputation by Lex Croucher, The Duke And I (Bridgerton) by Julia Quinn
Second chance romance
A romance book where the main characters were previously involved (usually prior to the book’s beginning) and come back together
Examples: Fool Me Once by Ashley Winstead, Happy Endings by Thien-Kim Lam, The Bromance Book Club by Lyssa Kay Adams
Slow burn romance
A romance book that has a long build up to any romantic pay-off (whether it be a declaration of love, or a sexual encounter)
Examples: Attachments by Rainbow Rowell, The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion, The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
Spicy romance
Romance books that feature sex scenes (which can range from brief, mild descriptions of sexual encounters to extended and explicit erotica)
AKA: steamy romance, open-door romance, smut, NSFW (not safe for work), erotic romance
Examples: Weather Girl by Rachel Lynn Solomon, Love, Hate & Clickbait by Liz Bowery, The Heart Principle by Helen Hoang
Standalone romance
A romance book that is not a part of a series, a story that can be read and enjoyed without any context from other novels
Examples: He’s A 10 by Jessica Yale, Thank You For Listening by Julia Whelan, Yes No Maybe So by Becky Albertalli and Aisha Saeed
Taboo romance
A romance book where the characters violate some kind of social taboo by being together (e.g., step-siblings, teacher-student)
Third act break-up
A frequent (and frequently bemoaned) plot point in romance books where the main characters break up towards the end of the book, before coming back together at the very end
Examples: People We Meet On Vacation by Emily Henry, Hello Stranger by Katherine Center
Young adult romance
Romance books with main characters who are in their teenage years (13-18), often in high school
Examples: To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny Han, The Fault In Our Stars by John Green, The Surprising Power Of A Good Dumpling by Wai Chim
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