How to Find Romantic Comedy Books to Fill Your TBR
As a romance writer, I’m always looking for more romance books. I call it research, though, sometimes it’s actually procrastination. REGARDLESS! I have some tips to help you find some romantic comedy books if you’re interested in reading more of that subgenre.
Admittedly, I became a writer because I loved reading. And the more I write, the more I get into the craft of it. (For more, read this post on creating a romance novel outline or this post on how to write a paranormal romance series.) But still, for me, the best way to learn more about writing is to read more.
I love a good romantic comedy, and I find the books generally do it better than the movies. Movies don’t get all the space to develop characters and too often they rely on the grand gesture to do too much work for an unearned happy ending.
So, I find myself reading more and more romantic comedy books and enjoying the relationship development and how fun the banter is. So, as someone who has recently found herself in need of more romantic comedy books, I thought I’d share how I get my grubby little paws on them.
(And if romantic comedy books isn’t your thing, check out these witchy Nora Roberts trilogies!)
How to Find Romantic Comedy Books to Fill Your TBR
If you like to read and write romance, there’s a chance you’re always looking for your next book to fall in love with. These tips will help you find romantic comedy books, even though you probably have a list of books to read that you’ll never catch up with.
001: Subscribe to your fav writers’ newsletters.
Okay. I know your inbox is full of tons of noise. But hear me out on this one.
If you like romance novels, particularly indie romance novels, know those writers are giving the milk away for free all the time even though you didn’t buy the proverbial cow. Here’s what I mean.
As a way to share audiences, writers use services like Bookfunnel and StoryOrigin to join promotions where other writers share their work. So, if you write something in a particular genre, you join a promotion for that genre. There may be fifty writers in that promotion, each with at least one book in that promotion.
Sometimes, the books are on sale. Sometimes they’re free.
But if you subscribe to an indie writer’s newsletter, it’s likely that you’ll see an image at the bottom for a promotion. And if you’re subscribed to a romantic comedy writer’s newsletter, you’re going to get so many stinkin’ promos at the bottom of a newsletter.
Not to toot my own horn here, but if you subscribe to my newsletter, you’re definitely going to see tons of promos.
002: See what Libby/Overdrive has to offer.
Whether you’re looking for the next book in a binge-worthy romantic comedy book series or you’re in the market for some steamy romantic comedy books, the public library has you covered.
I know I don’t need to tell most of you about this, but after a viral hack for getting books for free took TikTok by storm (a girl literally explained how Amazon used to let you steal from writers), it became clear that not everyone knew about Libby and Overdrive.
If you use ebooks or audiobooks, then you’re probably familiar with the Libby app. It allows you to log in using your library card, and then you can check out digital materials. If you don’t want to use an app and prefer to surf for books on an actual computer, then know you can access digital stuff via Overdrive as well.
Now, every library is different, and some may not have all the books you’re looking for. Know that you can always request them. And the more you request of a specific genre, the more likely your library is to order more of that genre in the future.
And I love how Libby allows you to search through what’s currently popular, or a specific subgenre so you can always find what you’re looking for.
003: Check out the romantic comedy book displays at your local bookshop.
If you’re looking for the top 100 romantic comedy books or any best selling romantic comedy novels, the bookstore is going to be your best bet.
Check out the display tables, and see how they’re arranged. A lot of stores now will also break down the best sellers into what’s hot on social media, or books featuring something specific.
Generally speaking, if a bookstore is carrying it, then it’s a good sign that the book is popular. Now, popularity is never a signifier of quality. But if the book were awful, no one would want to read it, right?
(We’ll exclude hate reads and voyeuristic reads for the sake of argument.)
004: Follow The Ripped Bodice on social media.
The Ripped Bodice is a bookstore in Culver City, California, and it’s a romance-focused indie bookstore. It’s women-owned, and their Instagram feed is full of books and fun images of the store.
I use their Instagram feed as a source of book recommendations. And the cool thing is you can order directly from them. Oh, and they have a ton of signed copies from various authors…if you’re in the market.
005: BookTok and Bookstagram can occasionally help.
This is no shade to online creators who share book recs on TikTok and Instagram. This is more a lament of how the content creation game works.
The book recommendations I see online are generally the same. There are like five books that both platforms are obsessed with for like a month, then a new five books come in. I know this is largely because these creators have to make content for their audience, but I do feel like a lot of these creators fear recommending something that people aren’t already talking about.
However! The smaller accounts tend to share some stuff that is more off the beaten path, which means that there are likely some romantic comedy books in there as well, instead of the same five New York Times bestsellers that you’ve already heard about a billion times.
How Do You Find Romantic Comedy Books?
Where do you get new book recommendations? Do you prefer to book shop at local bookstores? How many books do you currently have on hold at your local library via the Libby app? (I’m always maxed out at 10.)
Originally published at https://marisamohi.com on October 7, 2022.
