https://episodes.ghost.io/romance-novels-infidelity/?ref=episodes-newsletter

Yet I still find myself wishing more of the romance novels I read at least considered entering this territory, even if they didn't ultimately go there. We all want to believe we'll find our person, yes, but if once they're found, we pin themselves to us so tightly that they cease to exist independent of us, are they still "our" person? When infidelity saves couples, it saves them because it forces them to remember what they value in each other, and that, to me, is a great love story.

https://episodes.ghost.io/happily-ever-after-romance-novels/?ref=episodes-newsletter

At the core of most romance novels I like is an unstated assumption that true love follows not just from a physical attraction one cannot deny no matter how hard they try but also from a kind of psychological healing. Both of the characters have an incorrect assumption about either themselves or the way the world works, one that keeps them from being capable of accepting love when it comes. To achieve happiness, they will have to learn to let go of that assumption and realize the world still has room for surprises. What separates good romance from great romance, for me, is how skillfully a book navigates those straits.

Yet the deeper I dive into the genre, the more I realize that the romances I respond to the best, at least, are just as much stories about finding a community you belong to or a family that feels like home. By falling in love with the right person, you can find a whole life that makes sense to you.