The resurgence of historical romance novels
Photo courtesy of Goodreads
This year on the popular book section of YouTube, known to many loyal viewers as BookTube, there has been a resurgence of historical romance novels – the very same romance novels with the covers people would make fun of because of their dramatic stepbacks and titles. Who would have thought that in 2020, historical romance novels, whose covers used to be ridiculed by many, would make a comeback?
The historical romance genre is in no way or form dead, but it has been looked down on for many years, not just for the books’ covers, but because of the fact that they are romance novels. People have been quick to label historical romance novels as “mom-rom” because they are most likely to be read by someone’s mother, not anyone younger. For example, when Diana Gabaldon’s “Outlander” series was adapted for television, many younger readers began reading the series to pass time in between seasons. The fact that historical romance was drawing in younger readers disproved the “mom-rom” stereotype, but the genre still wasn’t very popular.
A popular romance BookTuber, Jess from PeaceLoveBooksxo, started featuring more of the older historical romance titles earlier this year on her channel. During a reading vlog she posted back in April, she did an unboxing of old historical romances she bought through a secondhand site. She had purchased some books by Judith McNaught, an author who published in a time where many problematic plot elements were a norm in the genre.
Another BookTuber, Lacey from LaceyBookLovers, is a huge fan of historical romance. She has multiple videos on her channel dedicated to the genre. For example, she has a guide for popular author Lisa Kleypas. Together, Lacey and Jess hosted a Historical Romance read-a-thon this past March with another BookTuber. After the read-a-thon, these BookTubers started showing and reading more historical novels on their channels.
Flash forward to a few months into quarantine, when Jess bought a mystery historical romance box from eBay for a video she planned to film. This unboxing contained 20 books for just under $30. She requested pirate romances, highlander romances, beautiful stepbacks and some specific authors, like Jennifer Ashley and Lynsay Sands. Her video inspired a couple of other BookTubers to do an eBay unboxing of their own. These unboxings not only highlighted older historical titles, but also helped to support independent bookstores in the middle of a global pandemic.
Besides showcasing historical romance on their YouTube channels, Jess and Lacey participate in #StepbackSaturday on Instagram. This hashtag is where romance readers and reviewers are able to share their favorite stepback covers from their favorite historical romances with their followers. As a fun little challenge, they have their followers guess the title of the book based on the stepback. The year 2020 saw an increase in the number of BookTubers participating in the hashtag. Some of the most common stepbacks displayed are Judith McNaught’s “A Kingdom of Dreams” and Kat Martin’s “Midnight Rider.”
Before reading an older title, readers should keep in mind some of the problematic plot elements by looking up the content warnings for the specific book. BookTubers Jess and Lacey are really good at referencing any content that might require a warning. Another easy way to look up content warnings is by checking out reviews on Goodreads. While there are still newer historical romances to choose from, readers should give an older title a try! You may find your next favorite book.
