No wonder I'm having trouble finding modern fiction I like

Further to my recent post lamenting the state of modern novels, I stumbled across this today, from the Wall Street Journal:

“A Court of Thorns and Roses,” or “ACOTAR” to fans, is a flagship title in the booming genre of “romantasy,” a blend of romance and fantasy. Heroines wield lightning, ride dragons and read minds, all while having sexual encounters that rarely stop at one orgasm. When a love is finally consummated—after rising stakes and a great deal of tension—the lovers typically fight the forces of darkness together.

Sales in the genre have electrified the publishing industry, reaching nearly 20 million in 2023 when U.S. book sales overall dipped. While there is no hard data on readership, the audience for romance novels generally is over 80% female, according to the Romance Writers of America, a trade group. These stories are clearly answering a profound need among their largely female readership. What is it? 

The rise of romantasy comes at a time when romance in general appears to be in decline in the U.S. Young people are engaging in fewer romantic relationships and are having less sex. Today’s female readers, the most educated and financially independent in history, are also the most likely to say they are resigned to staying single.

The mass-market paperback romance first took off in the 1970s, when publishers began distributing them at grocery stores. But unlike past generations, who preferred tales of women who use their guile and virtue to charm—and transform—gruff and quasi-abusive men, women today have abandoned earthly plausibility altogether.

The “ACOTAR” series, for example, features a romance between a 19-year-old woman and a Fae, or faerie, lord who is around 500 years old (perhaps the age at which a male’s emotional maturity peaks). It is set in a timeless world where the main characters essentially sext each other all day via a magical telepathic bond.

In both “ACOTAR” and Rebecca Yarros’s “Fourth Wing,” two of the most popular series, mind-reading and “mental bonds” figure prominently. They are a big part of romantasy’s appeal, says Ty Watkins, a 24-year-old caregiver and administrator at a small medical practice in Clayton, N.C. “You always want to know what your partner is thinking,” she explained.