Diffrent Types of Romance

After I finished my first novel Love and Honor I decided I wanted to get it published. I had to figure out what category my book fell into. This was a little confusing to me. All I had read at that point was historical romance. ( My tastes have opened up to more genres since then). I've put together a little summary of the different types of romance for your reference.

Contemporary Series Romance - Series romance novels that focus primarily on the romantic relationship and typically set after 1945.


Contemporary Single Title Romance - Romance novels which focus primarily on the romantic relationship, released as individual titles, not as part of a series and set after 1945.

Historical Romance - Romance novels set in any time period prior to 1945, and taking place in any location.

Inspirational Romance - Romance novels in which religious or spiritual beliefs (in the context of any religion or spiritual belief system) are a major part of the romantic relationship.

*Novels with Strong Romantic Elements - A work of fiction in which a romance plays a significant part in the story, but other themes or elements take the plot beyond the traditional romance boundaries. (*An example of a publisher that handles this would be Harlequin’s Luna line; elsewhere such fiction is sometimes labeled 'Womens' Fiction')

Paranormal Romance - Romance novels in which the future, a fantasy world or paranormal happenings are an integral part of the plot.

*Regency Romance - Romance novels in which the majority of the story is set against the Regency period of the British Empire. (*What was once considered the ‘Traditional Regency’ romance, of the kind Mary Balogh and Carla Kelly once wrote – with a shorter word count than longer format historical romances - is considered if not dead, then on life support, and published mostly by smaller presses or as reprints of classics. Therefore, in most cases ‘Regency Romance’ simply refers to romances set in the Regency period.)

Romantic Suspense - Romance novels in which suspense, mystery, or thriller elements constitute an integral part of the plot.

Young Adult Romance - Novels with a strong romantic theme geared toward young adult readers.

Category Romance - Mostly Harlequin romances, books in a numbered series identified by ‘line’. Eg: Harlequin Presents, Silhouette Desire.

Erotica - Romance novels with a powerful erotic element, but still following the guidelines of an- Happily Ever After ending.