The art of romance

Are you a self-proclaimed hopeless romantic, an “analysis paralysis”, a love sceptic, a person who “leaves-before-it-gets-too-serious” or a love horoscope addict? All these tropes lay the foundation for the world of romance and contemporary fiction which has garnered a loyal, new and emerging fandom — just ask Nicholas Sparks, Jojo Moyes and now Colleen Hoover.

In the past year, there has been a hot topic in any book-related conversation: #BookTok. The sub-community of the uber-frenzied TikTok platform has attracted readers into a global virtual book club, corralled by organic, emotional reviews and influencers. To call them “passionate about reading” would be to do them a disservice. Commercially, #BookTok books have been sectioned with “chicklet” or “spicy” tags and are distinguished by their “innocently deceiving cartoony covers”.

#Bookstagram, an inhabitant of its mother ship, Instagram, houses a similar following. The hashtag features books that have cross-pollinated between platforms in static images rather than the creator videos found on TikTok. #Bookstagram is known for its grids of aesthetic curation — merging a love of art, words and design.

Art, like reading, cultivates personal reflection. Art, like books, has a romantic affiliation. Cleopatra and Frankenstein, an electrifying debut by Coco Mellors, is set against the rhythmic backdrop of New York. The cover’s striking oil painting of a woman with emerald eyes, rosy pink lips and winged eyeliner, painted by Gill Button, draws you in at first glance — is she sad, lacklustre or withholding a question? Like the painting, Mellors's cast of complex creatives navigates love and its hardships, its coy mask and manipulation of identity, as well as the convoluted pressures love projects when it seems easier for others. Cleo meets Frank at a New Year’s Eve party. Their undeniable chemistry is fortified by Frank’s wit and need to always have the last word, and Cleo’s fresh rebuttals and confidence. Their 20-year age gap doesn’t deter them from pursuing a life together, but insecurities, addiction and self-destruction do.

Rene Magritte’s surrealist Golconda painting was the inspiration for Sloane Crosley’s Cult Classic, the cover of which features a display of suspended raining men. The symbolism tips its hat (literally) to the protagonist Lola’s past loves and the state of purgatory that love can sometimes leave you in —  between closure and moving on.

These books ideate love — its themes, transitions and evolutions. Reading about love and romance lends fiction to reality, by living vicariously through these worlds. Books are an invitation to love.