The RomCom Resurgence
Happy belated Valentine’s Day! I had to share this picture of Libby loving the pup cup she got as a present!
I was shopping with a friend today for an auction basket and we were trying to decide what romcoms we should include. It turns out there are a lot of options!
If you haven’t seen and/or heard, Emily Henry’s book The People We Meet On Vacation was made into a movie by Netflix and came out several weeks ago. I have heard mixed reviews for people who liked the book better - as is often the case! But most people seemed to really enjoy it. I haven’t read the book but truly enjoyed the movie so now I’m on the waitlist at the library. I’m something like #63 in line! I better find some other things to read in the meantime!
I wanted to write today about how I feel like the romcom is making a comeback. Post apocalyptic and YA took the lead for a while there and then romantasy in the last couple of years has completely dominated the market. Hockey romance, including the recently released television adaptation of Heated Rivalry, is also taking the world by storm. But these past six months, and especially looking at the other books coming out in 2026, things are looking love-ly! I saw an excellent interview with Emily Henry about why she loves the romcom as a genre. She had a great point which is that even if the material is sometimes light, there is still true meaning and romance in it.
I do love other types of romance novels, dramatic, tragic, cliche, and the like. But I have loved romcoms for as long as I can remember. My first memory of reading a romance novel was a romcom, although I have no idea which one! One of the reasons I find them so valuable is that they are what I call “feel-good.” There is always strong romance, a creative hook, a challenging situation the couple has to go through. I do sometimes get tired of the third-act breakup but sometimes it just works so well! I also really enjoy reading romcoms because I think it brings hope. And yes, real life is not like a book or a movie, but it still gives us as readers hope and encouragement. No person is perfect and so when the romcom couple can see the flaws in each other and embrace them, I love to see it. I am a sucker for the “return to childhood home and find your love child” trope. I think a big part of that is probably the encouragement it gives me to believe in second chances.
I have been ruminating on why the romcom is coming back with such a surge and there are a couple of things that have been coming up a lot. For me, and for many people, romcoms have often been a good escape. When the world gets to be too much, or too overwhelming, we as readers can disappear into a story for a little bit. We know the story will have a happily-ever-after and so we can find comfort in that. When a book finally comes out, it has been in the works for quite a few years. So in this way it seems a little strange that now is the moment for it, when much of it was decided a couple years ago. Despite that, it has great timing. I think it’s a sign that strong romcom writers have been working hard and that we as people need a little hope and positivity.
I also have to say that I feel so lucky that we are having a romcom resurgence right now. The world feels dark, sad, hopeless, frustrating, negative, and scary right now. So any glimpse of light, anything that makes us laugh, any glimmer of hope, anything that brings us joy, is so valuable. It doesn’t fix the things that are broken, but it gives us a reprieve so that we can come back and face the world feeling better and stronger.
