Should Taylor Swift write a romance novel?
Out now: "Show & Tell: Romance Novels" with special guest Lauren Rowe!
This week we had SO much fun with Lauren Rowe (@rowe.reads) who is your bookish bestie on Instagram. While we have referenced so many books throughout this podcast, we decided it was time to dedicate an episode to romance novels. Join us as we discuss which Taylor songs we think would make the best romance novel scenes!
🎧 Listen above and ⬇️ scroll below to read Jenn’s extra credit about what romance novels Swifties should start with!
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🎒This Week’s Extra Credit - Brought to You by Jenn
This week we got to dive into one of my favorite things — romance novels! We discuss this more in the episode, but the biggest overlap between Taylor and romance novels, in my opinion, is that they consistently center women’s stories. Perhaps the second biggest overlap, that may be a result of the first, is that they are also consistently derided as “low brow” and not true art. I don’t know what it is about women getting a happy ending that really gets people upset, but I personally prefer those narratives!
That’s not to say that every romance novel is an instant classic or timeless piece of art, but also since when did everything have to be timeless? Enjoying things is a valid reason to do something. I also think that there are a lot of duds in the male-dominated world of action novels, but you don’t see people dismissing the whole genre because of that.
In honor of our female-centric storytelling, I wanted to share a few of my favorite books with you and how they tie in thematically to some of Taylor’s works. Think of it like a wine pairing but with music and books!
“Who’s Afraid of Little Old Me” and The Throne of Glass Series by Sarah J. Maas
I’m starting here because literally the first time I listened to “Who’s Afraid of Little Old Me,” the connection here was so obvious to me. Truly the song is just spot on. This series has a lot of twists and turns, so I won’t spoil it for you here, but it’s a fun (and sometimes intense) Romantasy series that has incredibly robust world-building and a range of female characters. The spice level is relatively low, but there is plenty of yearning going on!
“Cruel Summer” and Just for the Summer by Abby Jimenez
Admittedly the word “summer” is what made me first bring these two together, but I think the pairing works well. Just for the Summer follows Emma and Justin as they plan to spend a summer together before Emma leaves on her next assignment as a traveling nurse. Unsurprisingly as they start to fall for each other, more and more complications arise that make their relationship difficult. Just like the conflicting feelings in “Cruel Summer,” this book deals with the contrast of falling in love and the pains of reality getting in the way.
“Begin Again” and The Write Escape by Charish Reid
I am an absolute sucker for any sort of “starting over” or “new beginning” trope, which is exactly what we get in The Write Escape. Antonia is a literary agent who has just come out of a rough break up when she decides to head to Ireland and use her newfound freedom to finally write the book she has been dreaming of for years. She meets her new neighbor, Aiden, and well this is a romance novel list so you can guess what happens next. You can see why this story pairs so well with the narrative fresh start that Taylor writes about in “Begin Again.”
“Daylight” and A Duke in Shining Armor by Loretta Chase
I’m also a sucker for period romances. I somehow haven’t gotten into the Bridgerton series yet (not out of protest, just haven’t gotten there!), but I’ve enjoyed Loretta Chase quite a bit. This book embraces the ever-popular “reformed rake” trope of a man who has lived a less than virtuous life who is reformed when he falls in love for real. I enjoyed this story though because it wasn’t a “I Can Fix Him, No Really I Can” moment, it was just through proximity that both our protagonists fell in love and grew from that experience. That growth from love pairs so well with the story Taylor writes in “Daylight” about how everything looks different now that she’s found love.
In Summation
If you want more of these, make sure to check out this week’s full episode! We discuss multiple song and book pairings, so hopefully you should have some interesting books to add to your “to be read” (a.k.a. TBR) list. One other thing I wanted to note on this topic though is the idea of taste. I’ve seen so much content online about books that are “overhyped” or “so bad I don’t know why anyone would recommend this.” I think it’s easy to forget that personal taste is a real thing. Don’t believe me? Go look up some of your favorite movies on Rotten Tomatoes and read the negative reviews. It’s totally ok to not like a certain book, but please please please do not get down on other people’s preferences (a.k.a. don’t yuck their yum). If no one is being harmed, then just let it be. And don’t let anyone else yuck your yum. Read the damn book and enjoy every second of it!