Aggies reflect on how romance books have shaped their image of love and relationships
By AMBER WARNKE — features@theaggie.org
As autumn progresses and students prepare for the cold winter months ahead, many Aggies have turned to reading romance novels to get into a cozy mood.
Ariel Park, a third-year psychology major, is an avid romance reader, especially in the “Romantasy,” or fantasy romance, subgenre. She believes that this area of romance books can connect especially well with college students, who, like the characters in these novels, also face having to balance a variety of responsibilities.
“Everyone likes love, so it’s fun to read about connection and caring, specifically in Romantasy when the world is at stake,” Park said. “Characters have to balance the weight of the world with their loved ones, and it’s not the same for college students — but we can still have a lot on our plate that we have to handle while we learn how to manage our relationships.”
To Park, this has had an overall positive effect on her idea of love, as the genre has given her examples to learn from as she figures out what she wants in her own life.
“It definitely has raised my standards; I think it makes me expect someone to sacrifice for me and really put effort to show their love for me,” Park said.
It has been proven that reading fiction correlates with increased levels of empathy, as it encourages readers to learn how to look at any given situation through another person’s point of view. Empathy is a key factor to developing strong relationships, and romance books that have healthy portrayals of romance may help young adults as they navigate the often-messy world of college dating.
Heather Williford, a UC Davis alumna with a Bachelor of Science (B.S.) degree in cognitive science, suspected that this may be a key reason why romance books can be so popular within the college student age range, as many may be dealing with the often-difficult process of finding a compatible partner.
“People can live vicariously through the characters in [romance books],” Williford said. “So if you’re lonely, it can really provide some catharsis.”
Despite the many positives of reading romance books, Park acknowledges that romance is by no means a perfect genre.
“They can provide a lot of good examples of healthy relationships, but there are also other books, like a lot of the Colleen Hoover books, that are notorious for being questionable with their standards of what love is,” Park said.
Park’s comments are especially relevant due to Colleen Hoover’s increased popularity in recent years, with one of her books, “It Ends With Us,” adapted into a movie in 2024, along with “Regretting You” in 2025. Hoover has been criticized for her representation of domestic violence, trauma and controlling behavior in her books.
However, this issue is by no means isolated to a singular author. Other popular romance novels, such as “The Love Hypothesis” by Ali Hazelwood, have also faced criticism for their portrayal of power imbalances between characters.
Despite the inconsistent portrayals of relationships within many romance books, UC Davis English professor Jennifer Tinonga-Valle warns against overly simplistic dismissals of the genre as a whole.
“I think too often people criticize romance as not having much literary value or lacking depth, but a lot of that is tied to the fact that women are the primary readers of many romance books,” Tinonga-Valle said. “Because the genre has always been centered around female readers, it has always been criticized for that.”
Romance is not given nearly enough credit for its depth as a genre — with many of its books exploring themes around human existence and meaning, according to Tinonga-Valle.
“Many of the books we think of today as classics, like ‘Pride and Prejudice’ and ‘Jane Eyre,’ are romance novels, which allows them to use these relationships to explore what human connection means,” Tinonga-Valle said. “Romance has always stayed a popular genre throughout literary trends, which I think is a testament to how universally applicable its messages are.”
Valle recommended “Persuasion” by Jane Austen for its timeless themes to those looking to read romance books this fall season.
“I think it’s something that you can return to at any age and get something different out of,” Valle said. “When I first read it, I related to different points than I do now, and that has made it really special to me.”
When the months get cold and the quarter system feels like a constant stream of midterms and essays, it can be helpful for many students to take a moment to stop and read a cozy romance book. Amidst times of romantic turmoil, according to Park, romance books can also act as a beacon of hope for readers, reminding them not to lower their standards or accept treatment that is less than what they deserve. Most importantly, there are a plethora of romance books to choose from, with reading — for many — serving as a simple, non-academic activity to help promote a healthier school-life balance.
Written by: Amber Warnke — features@theaggie.org
