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I’d like to thank romance novels, without which I may not have survived this year. I’ve read more from the genre this year than ever before — almost three times what I read last year, according to my StoryGraph. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out why: ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Reading romance brought laughter, love, and certainty to a year without much of any of those things. If scientists studied me, I’m betting they’d find that most of the serotonin I produced this year was while reading romance. 🤣 ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Whether reading or listening, contemporary or historical, enemies to lovers or friends to lovers, open door or closed door, these stories were filled characters who made mistakes, grew through uncertainty, and learned to love fearlessly. I found so many new favorite authors and read so many incredible stories, and I can’t wait to see what a new year of reading brings! ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ID 1-2: I’m visible from the neck down, wearing a peach tie-dye Sherpa pullover and gray tie-dye leggings. I’m hugging an armful of contemporary romance books. ID 3: A screenshot of a bar graph from my StoryGraph showing my most read authors of the year: Christina Lauren, Sarah MacLean, Chloe Liese, Talia Hibbert, Lyssa Kay Adams, Helen Hoang, Martha Waters, Sally Thorne, Sarah Adams, and Abby Jimenez. All are romance authors. via Instagram https://instagr.am/p/CX_ZWjor2Ui/