A lovely escape, when I needed it most!

The Taste Test #5: Romance (by Canadian authors) 🔦📚

Hi friend,

As you know, in 2026, I’m doing an experiment I’m calling: The Taste Test. It’s a reading challenge where I’m choosing one genre per month and reading a few recent/popular books from it, in an attempt to figure out what my reading taste is as an adult… and maybe (hopefully!) even find a new author/genre to obsess over!

At the end of each month, I write a recap of my thoughts, including the list of books I read and how I experienced each one. In January, I read 4 memoirs and remembered why I like them. In February, I read 6 mystery/thrillers and LOVED that genre! In March, I accepted that I don’t really like historical fiction. And in April, I discovered I enjoy science fiction so much more than I’d imagined!

I took May off, while I was in Canada. But my trip inspired me to do something fun for June: read romance written by Canadians! 🇨🇦 And there was A LOT to choose from. If you’re a romance reader, you probably already know: Canadians are at the top of the charts, these days! Rachel Reid, Carley Fortune, Elsie Silver… they have become household names, and they are all Canadian. If nothing else, that was fun to see!

But what did I think of this genre, before/after these books? Let’s find out. 🤓

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The Story I Told Myself About Romance

I start each of these recaps by sharing what my initial thoughts were on the genre. Any assumptions I had, judgments I made, and any resistance or intrigue I noticed in myself before reading any books. Because this is all an experiment, you could say this is the “hypothesis” of the month! And I knew what mine was…

The story I told myself about romance books is that I find most of them boring. I don’t hate romance. I don’t judge romance. But I’ve started and stopped enough of them, over the years, to know: if the outcome is too obvious, I get bored.

Of course, you know that most romance novels are going to end with the potential couple getting together—so it’s not even that. I’m happy to read the occasional love story, and have finished many over the years! But it’s when the writing makes that happy ending too obvious… that’s where I lose interest. If I can guess exactly how it’s going to end, my brain gets bored and it’s hard for me to keep reading.

So, could I find something that would keep my attention? And what’s true of those books versus the ones that lose me? That’s what I wanted to try to figure out!

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The Reading Experience

I had a lot of fun researching which books I might read this month. I gave myself a mini education on the various “tropes” you might find in romance. Explored and celebrated just how BIG some of these Canadian names had become in the romance world. And I even found other ways to consume some of their content, i.e. through a TV adaptation and/or podcast interviews with the authors (both Carley and Rachel have done recent interviews for Open Book with Jenna).

And yet… I only finished two of the books I chose for this month, friend.

As you read my recaps, remember I’m trying not to write these as reviews (though I’m sure a few notes will slip in). I want them to reflect my personal experience of each book. Why I chose it. How it felt to read. What pulled me in, or where I got lost. And if I can find any patterns of thoughts/feelings. Anything that will help me figure out what I like/don’t like! I’ll start by telling you about the books I finished, then give a short list of reasons why I DNF’d the others.

Here’s what I learned about myself, while reading these books:

1. ANNIE KNOWS EVERYTHING by Rachel Wood - I first heard about this book on Instagram, when I noticed a bookshop in Edinburgh I follow was posting about it. A debut novel written by their owner? I thought. That’s fun! Then I discovered the author/owner is originally from Toronto. Another Canadian in the UK. I’d been in a few times before and had no idea! Anyway, I bought my copy from Bolen Books when I was in Victoria, but waited to read it until I got back from Canada. And the first thing I’ll say is: I finished it in a week. That’s fast for me! If I were to give you a more formal “book review” I would say just two things: the banter is amazing (between all characters, not just the people flirting with each other) and I can totally see this being adapted for film or TV. It’s a GREAT romantic comedy, friend. I think the banter, and the fact that there’s more to this story than just a potential romance (it’s a workplace romance, and the author nailed how it feels to work in tech) is what kept me interested. But after I finished it and moved onto other books, I realized something bigger about how I feel about this genre on the whole: I like stories about friends. This book was filled with so many different kinds of relationships. There’s the potential couple, of course. But there are also best friends, lifelong friends, friends at work. The friendships between Annie and her male colleagues might have been some of the most enjoyable/satisfying to read!? All-in-all, this was a fun read… and really helped me learn what I like! Romance that’s not solely focused on the couple, and includes some great friends too!

2. OUR PERFECT STORM by Carley Fortune - I feel like anyone who reads contemporary romance will have heard of Carley Fortune by now. Her debut (EVERY SUMMER AFTER) came out in 2022, was a #1 NYT bestseller, and was nominated for the Goodreads Readers’ Fave Romance and Readers’ Fave Debut Novel that year. She’s written a new book every year since, and all of them have ended up on that Fave Romance list. She’s also from Toronto, and her Canadian-ness is a huge part of what she’s known for. All of her novels are set in real places (usually small towns) in Canada. I decided to read her most recent book, because it’s set in Tofino on Vancouver Island—a place I’ve been more than a dozen times. I wanted to see how she described it (it felt pretty generic, and the “long drive” followed by “another long drive” are under 2 hours in total?). I liked that she named real places (like Rhino Coffee) but then also imagined the locals may not be as enthusiastic about that choice. Tofino is one of those small towns that wants to stay small, and seems to wish nobody knew about it (while, ironically, also being a town that survives almost entirely on tourism), so the locals can enjoy it all to themselves. Of course, the cat has been out of the bag for a long time, and it’s now one of the most affluent and expensive towns on the island. But I could still imagine hearing what locals might say about this book… anyway! OUR PERFECT STORM almost lost me a few times, not because it was too obvious, but because it felt really slow. It’s the only one I listened to on audiobook, and there were more than a few times where I thought: JUST GET ON WITH IT! Meaning: can something actually happen, other than a lot of talking? (This is also why I increased the speed of the audio, which is something I don’t normally like to do.) But that’s how me and my attention span work, I guess. I like intrigue! And a little action! It took a while for the action to happen… but I stayed interested, probably because of what I learned after reading ANNIE: it’s about friends. Old friends. Friends-to-lovers. I seem to like that trope. There’s an intimacy that exists between old friends that’s hard to capture, but she does it well. Based on my research, that’s what most of her books seem to be about, so maybe I’ll read more of them in the future. With Canada as the backdrop, it’s worth a try. When messaging with one friend about them, she said Carley’s work is “more tourism board than anything and you know what, it hits for me.” I think it hits for me too.

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The books I didn’t finish (DNF):

• WILD LOVE by Elsie Silver - You know what doesn’t hit for me? Tropes like enemies-to-lovers, forbidden lovers, or brooding/hyper-masculine men. I also don’t do cowboys. Or billionaire men, even if they are made to be emotionally intelligent (maybe because: that doesn’t seem even remotely realistic, lol). I wanted to DNF this book, after reading the first sentence. I gave it 20 pages then told myself to stop. I love that this BC author has made such a huge name for herself! I just don’t think her work is for me, and that’s ok. Because what I’ve realized is that romance IS all about the tropes! So you can find and enjoy the things you like, and let go of the rest! (Kind of like when you’re dating around and trying to find the right person for you!)

• IT’S DIFFERENT THIS TIME by Joss Richard - Another debut, written by another author from Toronto. I really wanted to like this. It’s a “second chances” story, and I thought parts of it were sweet! But the ending was SO obvious from the start. I read 150 pages, then skipped ahead and read the last chapter and confirmed it. I truly have nothing bad to say about this book, and if you’re looking for a nice story to fall into: it’s cute! And set in NYC! I could even see it being turned into a film. My brain just saw the little seeds being planted and went to that place of: I know what’s coming, so I’m not interested. ☹️

And finally, I bought one of Rachel Reid’s books, but didn’t have time to even start it. (It took a while for me to finish Carley’s book.) I did read samples of some of her most popular books though, and had some great convos with family/friends who have read them all. So I think I’ll give them a shot one day! PUN INTENDED 🏒

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The Aftertaste

The main reason I’m doing this challenge is to figure out what my reading taste is as an adult. The story I told myself about romance books is that I find most of them boring—and I was right!? I did DNF half the ones I started. I only finished two in total. And it was kind of a struggle to finish that second one…

But the first book I read? ANNIE KNOWS EVERYTHING? I LOVED this book, friend. Like, I would say it’s one of my faves of the year. Maybe that’s because the comedy of this rom-com shined through!? I have DNF’d most of Emily Henry’s books, but I remember liking FUNNY STORY and it had similar vibes. I finished it and started recommending it to friends. That’s what I’ve been doing with ANNIE too.

Really, what remains true about my initial hypothesis (based on a lot of reading experience in the past too) is that I get bored when the ending of a story is too obvious. So the story needs to be about more than just the couple. And the writing can’t just be constantly planting seeds. It needs to do more, for me to stay engaged!

I learned some other great lessons too:

• I don’t enjoy tropes like: enemies-to-lovers, forbidden lovers, or brooding/hyper-masculine men. And I think that’s because: I genuinely don’t find any of that sexy in real life. It literally doesn’t do it for me, so I don’t enjoy reading about it either. I don’t know if all romance readers would say that’s how they feel about this genre, but that’s what’s true for me! If I’m cringing at the characters/traits, I’m out.

• When it comes to romance: friends-to-lovers seems to be the trope for me! That kind of intimacy feels so much more attractive to me personally, and feels warm and interesting to read about.

• I love good banter. I’m not good at it myself, lol. But good banter is great reading material. Bonus points if it makes me laugh!

• And I’m happy to read a couple good sex scenes in a romance book, but I don’t need it. And if there is sex, it needs to feel like it’s happening in a healthy (even if only “budding”) relationship, not one that feels problematic or toxic in any way. Two consensual people? Yes, I’ll read that! Anything else, I wouldn’t consent to myself… and probably don’t want to read about either.

I’m left with the thought that: I don’t think romance is a genre I’ll become obsessed with, but I’m happy to continue reading a couple of them each year! This genre felt like a really lovely escape, in a month where I was stressed about things like a back injury, immigration stuff, etc. But after typing all of this out, I’m wondering if actually I prefer stories where romance isn’t the main focus… and is instead something that happens between two main characters of a bigger story. I’ll sit with that.

I’ve finished this month with a few romance novels on my future TBR list: Rachel Reid’s book (Canadian author), THIS BOOK MADE ME THINK OF YOU by Libby Page (British), and ONE & ONLY by Maurene Goo (American). I’m also curious about Annabel Monaghan’s work? Have you read any of hers?

If you’ve gotten through all of this and know of some books you think I’d like, I’d be happy to take your recs, friend!

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In July, I’m Exploring: Romantasy

…and I have A LOT of feelings going into it, friend.

And by feelings, I mean judgments.

But I am AWARE that I’m judging this genre… and I’m happy to challenge my assumptions and see what I really think! For this month, rather than do a lot of research, I’m simply going to try reading some of the most popular books from the last few years. Here’s what’s on my list:

• FOURTH WING by Rebecca Yarros

• YA Option: POWERLESS by Lauren Roberts

• YA Option: OUR INFINITE FATES by Laura Steven

• …and yes, I’m going to attempt to read A COURT OF THORN AND ROSES by Sarah J. Maas. This is the one I’ve judged the most…

Have you read any of the books I finished this month? Or any of the romantasy choices on next month’s list?

I’d love to hear your (spoiler-free) thoughts!

xx Cait

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