Boston is bustling with romance book clubs — where happy endings aren't just possible, but required
The circle of
eight
readers nodded in agreement.
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'But I was like, 'I don't care.'' Everyone began to nod again.
Discussion leader Hannah Barrett, who cofounded Read My Lips — a local curator that hosts pop-up book shops and events — agreed: 'It's nice to live in a fantasy.'
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Just a show of hands at the late February Romance Book Club hosted by Read My Lips Boston, a curator of inclusive romance stories.
JOSH REYNOLDS FOR THE BOSTON GLOBE/Josh Reynolds for The Boston Globe
While romance may be dead on planet Earth — succumbing to the blows of dating apps, red flags, and podcast bros — it's certainly alive and well in books. So, for some readers, 'book boyfriends' are a much better object for their affection. After all, why scroll through a dating app when you can engross yourself in an emotionally charged enemies-to-lovers epic with a guaranteed happy ending?
While the genre has existed long before love became as rare as first editions, the rise of #BookTok redefined how readers talk about the genre. It provided a digital space where tropes, once considered cheesy or cringe, thrive, and intellectualism is met with a not-so-sexy
Offline, the popularity-fueled discourse has translated to a rise in romance book clubs — groups dedicated to exclusively reading and unabashedly discussing the genre, organized by the likes of booksellers, cafés, libraries, and friends. There, everything from third-act breakups to 'open door' sex scenes can be safely discussed not only without judgment, but with enthusiasm.
Greater Boston has its share of like-minded gatherings — like
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Barrett started the Read My Lips book club
with her twin sister Lily in September 2024. Like the book club trend itself, the Barrett twins had first built community online via an
But even IRL, some essentially 'online' tasks must be settled. Before the readers began to discuss book's juicy details, they set upon the difficult, yet necessary task of '
Twin sisters Lily and Hannah Barrett lead the monthly meeting of the Read My Lips book club at The Speedway in Brighton.
JOSH REYNOLDS FOR THE BOSTON GLOBE
For Viggo, member Osler suggests, 'Ryan Gosling but with shaggy hair.' Dot Brown rebuts with 'the cartoon version of
Osler joined after her own fateful meet-cute at
Rite, home to a permanent Read My Lips bookshelf — where readers can browse and buy from their curated collection.
There, she met shop owner Ren Wheeler who spotted Osler at the bookshelf and told her about the club's meetings.
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'The proverbial voice on my shoulder said, 'You know, I'm just gonna show up and see if I can meet more people outside my circle,'' Osler said. Now, Osler and Read My Lips have been going steady for months.
Brown, on the other hand, was on the search for romance — that is, fellow
romance lovers.
'I'm a big reader,' Brown says. 'Not a lot of my friends read romance. I don't have a space to [talk about it], like, I'll talk about the books, and they're like, 'What are you talking about?''
Before joining Read My Lips, she had tried several other reading groups throughout Greater Boston, including the
Its focus is on discussing tropes (enemies-to-lovers), subtropes (forced proximity), and the historical accuracy of bodice-rippers, rather than a single, specific novel. Readers are told to arrive with topic-relevant romance books — and to then defend their honor. The only catch? Any books brought to the table
must
end happily ever after.
An assortment of books displayed for the Read My Lips book club at The Speedway in Brighton.
JOSH REYNOLDS FOR THE BOSTON GLOBE
About a dozen members meet in a BPL conference room for tea and to participate in Wimbledon-worthy back-and-forth's about the meaning and enjoyability of the trope du jour — which is picked by club-creator, BPL staffer, and romance reader Veronica Matasy.
'It was a little experimental in the beginning,' says Matasy, 'Just thinking how many people are gonna show up, you know? Is this something that we can sustain?'
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Matasy started the book club in September 2023 to provide a designated space for romance readers who wanted to discuss their theories and analysis, but feared skepticism because of the genre.
'Part of [the stigma] has to do with the fact that, historically, romance has been considered to be the province of women,' explains Matasy.
Its next meeting — which takes place April 13 — features
The club's topic-centered approach — much like dinner party conversation starters — may be unconventional, but can create a more dynamic space for discussion of literary value and authorial intent. And while not everyone will be on the same page, members could leave with a new perspective on a trope, or at least a few new titles to check out from the library's stacks.
'Giving readers a space to seriously discuss romance novels is destigmatizing and helpful,' says Matasy, 'and, at least I hope, makes the people who read romance novels feel that what they read is worth discussing.'
Upcoming events
Romance Book Club;
Discussion: 'The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo' by Taylor Jenkins Reid
April 7, 7 p.m, Trident Booksellers, 338 Newbury St., Boston,
Read My Lips Book Club;
Discussion: 'I Got Abducted by Aliens and Now I'm Trapped in a Rom-Com' by Kimberly Lemming
April 10, 6 p.m. The Annex at the Charles River Speedway, 525 Western Ave., Brighton,
Happily-Ever-After Book Club
; Discussion: STEM Romances
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April 13, 2:30 p.m. Boston Public Library, Central Library, 700 Boylston St., Boston,
Marianna Orozco can be reached at
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