Welcome to The Lounge: Your monthly reading guide to tropes, TBR additions, and bookish plans. A cozy space to discover new releases, and dive into seasonal tropes that’ll make your reading life even better. Grab a cup of coffee (or tea) and settle in—we’ve got a lot to explore!
The Lounge #02: Excuse Me... Dystomance? + What to Read in February 2025
📫 From the Desk of Under the Covers
Hiiii besties! Let’s drop some ✨news✨ because January 29th is double iconic:
1️⃣ It’s my birthday! 🎂 (Age? A mystery. Cake emojis? Mandatory.)
2️⃣ Lunar New Year 🐍—we’re entering the Year of the Wood Snake, aka the “Green Snake” if you’re into the Chinese Five Elements. Fun fact: Snakes this year = charming, creative, low-key sneaky. Me? I’m here for the big main character energy. 💚 Happy New Year to everyone that celebrates!
February? Oh, she’s LOADED. My book database for paid subscribers just got a huge update with 170+ new releases for February (and I even filled up the Valentine’s Day tag with over 50 books!) Need the deets? 👇
PSA: Romanceopoly’s Winter Market Square event announcement is coming FEBRUARY 5! 🎡❄️ Prompts drop first on our YouTube channel (go smash that follow button), and the Substack newsletter will hit you with ALL the details and recs shortly after.
ALSO— We’re diving DEEP into bodice-rippers, Regency hotties, and new authors shaking up the historical romance genre in February. Who’s your historical romance MVP? Julia Quinn? Lisa Kleypas? That indie author you found on Kindle Unlimited at 2am? Tell me everything. 💌 I love getting recs from you guys so hit reply and share. And I’ll even share them with you all after.
League of Lusty Ladies Book Club: February’s book club pick is… yasss… HISTORICAL ROMANCE. 🕯️ You guys voted for that and I’ve picked the book already. You’ll get all the details tomorrow, but if you’re a paid subscriber, I told you what it is in this podcast episode. Grab it, read it, and join our live chat in March to scream about it.
What’s on your February TBR? New releases? Smutty V-Day reads? Swoony corset drama? Spill it all below. 👇 And paid members, keep scrolling for all the Kindle Unlimited gems, new releases, Valentine’s Day books in this February 2025 reading guide. Plus you can listen to the Extra Bite podcast ep where I yell about these books for 30 minutes.
xoxo,
Francesca 🐍🔥
📢 Valentine’s Vibes in the Shop!
Whether you're all about the romance or feeling a little anti-Valentine's this year, I've got some fun, bookish goodies in our shop perfect for the season!
💖 Love Potion Pink Accent Mug: For cozy reading mornings with a hint of magic. Grab Yours Here
📚 Coquette Bookish Tee: Soft and sweet, perfect for Valentine’s and bookworms. Get Cozy Here
😈 Anti-Valentine’s Club Sweatshirt: Not in the mood for hearts? Say it with sass. Snag It Here
📖 Retro Comic-Style Tee: Buy me books and tell me to STFUATTDLAGG—basically a mood. Check It Out
🖤 Born to Read Forced to Work Tote: For your TBR hauls and cozy bookshop runs. Grab Yours Here
🌟 Psst... Valentine’s is coming up! Whether you’re shopping for yourself or dropping hints, these picks make perfect gifts for romance lovers and bookish besties alike
📚 Tropes You Should Read in February
Strong female friendships to celebrate Galentine’s
Valentine’s Day themed books
Historical romances of all kinds!
Try a historical mystery too
❄️ Which trope are you gravitating toward this month? Hit reply and let me know what’s on your TBR!
Stop the Mashup Madness: Why We Don’t Need New Genre Names Like “Dystomance”
Okay, real talk: Is the book world just playing Mad Libs with genre names now? 🧩 First, “romantasy” dropped because “fantasy romance” was too boring, I guess. Now “dystomance” is trending? Like, hello—dystopian romance has been here since Katniss everlarked. 🙃
Let’s be clear: This isn’t about genres evolving (we love that!). It’s about slapping shiny new labels on existing vibes to make them ~marketable~. Jenna Bush Hager recently hyped “dystomance” as ~the new genre~, and I’m side-eyeing so hard my contacts are shifting. Babe, we’ve been reading this for years. It’s not groundbreaking—it’s just rebranding.
And don’t get me started on “spredges” (sprayed edges, for the uninitiated). At this rate, we’ll have “shelfie-lit” for books that look cute on your IKEA Billy. 📚💀
Romantasy: The OG Mashup (But Do We Need More?)
Romantasy blew up, right? But let’s not act like Sarah J. Maas invented it. Authors like Juliet Marillier were mixing magic and slow-burn kisses decades ago. ACOTAR just gave it a TikTok glow-up. The pandemic had us all craving cozy magic + smoldering tension, and publishers ran with it. Now romantasy’s a Goodreads category? Iconic.
But here’s the tea: The stories are what matter. We don’t need a trendy label to make fantasy romance valid.
Dystomance? More Like Why-stormance
Dystopian romance has been thriving since Peeta passed Katniss that bread. Authors like Kit Rocha and Keri Lake have been serving gritty, love-in-the-apocalypse vibes forever. Calling it “dystomance” now feels like your mom trying to say “rizz.” 🚨 Please stop.
It’s giving “how do you do, fellow kids?”—a desperate grab for clout. But readers aren’t dumb. We know dystopian romance doesn’t need a makeover. And we don’t want to discount the hard work that authors have already put into their work in this genre.
Why This Actually Sucks for Readers
Imagine being new to romance and seeing “romantasy,” “dystomance,” all over TikTok. It’s like trying to decode hieroglyphics! 😵💫 These buzzwords don’t help—they gatekeep. “Wait, is romantasy different from fantasy romance? Do I need a flowchart?!”
And authors? They’re pressured to fit their books into these boxes. What if your dystopian romance isn’t “dystomance” enough? Does it get shelved in the shadow realm? 🗑️ Creativity shouldn’t be crushed by trend-chasing.
Let’s Keep It Simple
Books don’t need a viral label to be valid. Celebrate the stories, not the buzzwords. And if you’re looking for more dystopian and post-apocalyptic romance recommendations, I’ve got you covered with this list.
Your Turn!
Drop your vote + the wildest genre mashup you can think of below. Paranormal-cozy-mystery? Rom-com-zombie-apocalypse? (Romcomageddon? I’d read it.) Let’s laugh through the chaos. 💬
📚 Ready for Some Swoony February Reads?
This month, I’m sharing all my top picks for the swoony and romantic vibes and fresh reads for the month of February:
📖 Kindle Unlimited Romance Picks:
Lots of KU books this month and some are super spicy!
❄️ New & Upcoming Releases:
February’s recommendations from what we’ve already read and a couple we’re looking forward to reading.
🔥 Seasonal Book Recs:
Deep diving the perfect trope for February (Valentine’s!) Plus you have even more in the book database.
👉 Upgrade to a paid subscription to continue reading the Lounge for my full February book recommendations!
