Love & Laughter
With the new Netflix movie Set It Up described by some as the diverse Rom-Com they've been waiting for, Harper Miller talks about the lack of representation in Romantic Comedies and offers recs for authors you should add to your TBR pile to get your Rom-Com fix.
Hey Folks, I’m back, and this month I’m talking about Romantic Comedies! Rom-Coms have always been my jam. Overcoming love’s complications with a little laughter is what lured me to the subgenre. The Rom-Com movies of the '80s and '90s from directors such as Cameron Crowe and John Hughes were my catnip. Give me a storyline where the loner nerd ends up winning over the girl, and I’m putty. Just One of the Guys, Splash, Revenge of the Nerds, Say Anything, Clueless, There’s Something About Mary, top my list of favorite movies in the genre. One thing I’ve noticed is, aside from Stacey Dash in Clueless and a couple of side characters in There’s Something About Mary along with Lamar and Toshiro in Revenge of the Nerds, there aren’t many people of color in the laugh-out-loud classic movies from my youth.
The same can be said for books that fall under the Rom-Com umbrella. Unfortunately, traditional Romance publishers don’t showcase many AoC, or queer authors, who write Rom-Coms. The material is being written, but are publishing houses acquiring many titles by authors who write in this subgenre and identify as PoC or queer or do the authors who fit into these categories prefer to self-pub because there’s less red tape? I wish I had answers to these questions, but unfortunately, I don’t. What I do know is I’d like to see more diverse listings when readers ask for recommendations. So, for this month’s post, I compiled a list of authors for all you Rom-Com fans looking for their next read. If you want something a little different, you should check out the following authors:
LGBTQ Rom-Coms with a Paranormal twist
Charlie Cochet’s THIRDS series
LGBTQ Rom-Coms that are pure hilarity, and feature an Own Voices perspective
Ethan Day (Own Voices)
Eric Arvin (Own Voices)
Anna Martin
ZA Maxfield
Amy Lane
Contemporary Rom-Coms written by WoC (Women of Color). These ladies will tickle your funny bone and deliver full-on belly laughs.
Charlie Cochet
Mia Sosa
Farrah Rochon
Rebekah Weatherspoon
Phyllis Bourne
K.M. Jackson
Jamie Wesley
Sugar Jamison
Cheris Hodges
Oh, your credit card might hate me for this post, but you might discover your new favorite author, and isn’t that the point of recs? To be a matchmaker for all your reading needs. Diverse storytelling is booming on screen, and rightfully, we should see more of it on the page. It’s beach season, so grab a book by one of these authors and have some fun in the sun! Don’t forget to leave a review and, if you like a book, pass it along. Sharing is caring.
Until next month... Happy reading!
Harper Miller's latest book Complexity is out now, it's the fourth installment in the Kinky Connect Chronicles series. All stories in the series are standalones. Harper loves connecting with readers, so please visit her website, or catch up with her shenanigans by following her on Twitter or Instagram.
What are your favorite Rom-Com books? Have you written or read any Rom-Coms where the protagonist is queer or a person of color? Share your Rom-Com recs here or on social media with the hashtag #HeartandHumor. We'd love to hear from you!
