New York – In an industry long dominated by chiseled abs, flowing gowns, and airbrushed perfection, a new kind of romance novel is beginning to turn heads and change hearts. Publishers and readers alike are embracing stories that feature protagonists who look a lot more like the people buying the books: characters with soft bellies, stretch marks, and imperfect bodies that still yearn, desire, and love.
At the forefront of this movement is a new imprint showcasing romance covers with models who proudly defy convention. Instead of the familiar glossy torsos of gym-sculpted men and airbrushed curves of women, readers are seeing something startling in its simplicity: a heavyset woman leaning into a tender embrace, and a man with a full “dad bod,” complete with a hint of love handles, confidently gazing into her eyes.
“Romance should not be reserved for the Photoshopped few,” said editor-in-chief Marissa Lane, who spearheaded the project. “We wanted to reflect the truth that passion, intimacy, and beauty come in every size. Readers are hungry for it, and frankly, they are relieved to finally see themselves on the page and on the cover.”
The new line, branded under the banner of Realform Romance, has already released several breakout titles, including Curves at Sunset, The Weight of Forever, and Love Without Running Shoes. These books are gaining traction not only for their strikingly inclusive covers, but also for the heartfelt writing inside.
Gone are the tropes of heroines who must transform themselves before finding love. Instead, readers are met with passages that celebrate love as it is lived. In The Weight of Forever, for example, a pivotal moment unfolds:
“When his arms circled her waist, he did not hesitate at the curve of her stomach. He held her as if that softness was a secret he had waited years to discover.”
Or in Curves at Sunset, the hero is described not as a flawless icon of masculinity, but as a man both ordinary and deeply magnetic:
“His belly pressed against hers when he leaned in, not hidden, not disguised. She laughed into his kiss, thinking how much better it felt to be desired in this unvarnished truth than in all the glossy fantasies she had been sold.”
Readers have responded with enthusiasm, sharing photos of the books online and writing heartfelt reviews about seeing themselves reflected for the first time. One fan noted that the first time she saw a plus-sized woman depicted on a cover in a romantic clinch, she “cried a little, because it finally felt like permission to believe that people like me are worthy of swooning over too.”
To understand the heart behind this shift, we spoke with Elena Moretti, author of Curves at Sunset.
“When I started writing romance, I felt like I had to apologize for my characters,” Moretti said. “I made them lose weight, or magically gain confidence after some makeover. But that was not the love I knew. The love I knew was my husband bringing me coffee when I was in sweatpants, or telling me I looked beautiful when I had not brushed my hair. I wanted to capture that tenderness. That is why my characters look the way they do, because love does not wait for us to fit a mold.”
Moretti said she never expected her book to become part of a cultural conversation, but she has been humbled by the letters she has received. “A reader in Texas told me, ‘I bought your book because the woman on the cover looked like me. For once, I did not feel invisible.’ That is the kind of feedback that makes all the work worthwhile.”
Industry insiders say the timing is right. Romance remains one of the most lucrative sectors in publishing, and the demand for inclusivity has been rising steadily. Social media has accelerated the push, as readers share side-by-side images of traditional covers next to the new ones, often with captions celebrating the “revolution of the relatable.”
Of course, not everyone has welcomed the change. Some traditionalists argue that aspirational imagery is part of the fantasy appeal of romance. But the publishers behind Realform Romance argue that there is room for all kinds of fantasies, and that one of the most powerful is simply the fantasy of seeing ordinary bodies treated as extraordinary.
For now, the image of a man with a gentle paunch holding his partner close, or a woman with full arms and a radiant smile meeting his gaze, feels both radical and refreshingly ordinary. And in the world of romance novels, ordinary might just be the new extraordinary.
Truth Bureau 