What Makes a Great RomCom?

By Latisha Sexton

Since January was a month full of amazing RomCom reads for me, I thought I would do a post about what makes a great RomCom.

But first, what is a RomCom anyway?

RomCom stands for…you guessed it! Romantic comedy!

Webster defines romantic comedies as “a light, comic movie or other work whose plot focuses on the development of a romantic relationship”.

With that in mind, when you think of romantic comedy, it may bring to mind scenes of Julia Roberts, Drew Barrymore, Kate Hudson, or Reese Witherspoon being their hilarious, charming selves while falling for a dreamy, swoon-worthy guy. Because everyone loves a good laugh followed by a happily-ever-after, right?

You might be surprised to find out that romantic comedies have been around since William Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing.

However, they became more popular during the 1920s with the rise of Hollywood and “screwball” comedies. These movies would feature two main characters who would have a meet-cute, only to be forced apart by circumstances, social class, misunderstandings, and more. Then, the hilarity would ensue as they started falling for one another.

One of my favorite RomComs of all time is, Bringing up Baby, starring Cary Grant and Katherine Hepburn. Hepburn’s character is a charming, sweet, and carefree woman who is fiercely independent and speaks her mind.

Grant’s character is a mild-mannered, professional who follows the rules. Until he meets Hepburn and chaos begins happening around them as they have misunderstanding after misunderstanding and Hepburn drags him from one crazy situation to the next.

It’s one of the funniest movies you will ever watch.

However, it’s one thing to watch a hilarious RomCom movie or even TV show (New Girl anyone?) where we can hear actors’ voices, see their facial expressions and chemistry on screen than to read that same story on a page.

So, what does it take to make a great RomCom book?

**Note, affiliate links are used in this post.

Relatable Characters

Okay, so I’ve loved RomCom movies for years! But, because I hadn’t read in years (see my post here about my writing journey for more info on that), I missed the fact that there was an entire genre of RomCom books out there!

via GIPHY

One of my favorite things since discovering RomCom books is that I can totally relate to each character on some level. This goes for any well-written character, but there is something about a RomCom characters inner dialogue that just resonates with me.

Mostly the fact that when I’m reading their thoughts I feel totally seen.

Wait!? I’m not the only one who has crazy thoughts like that?

Relatable characters help you to put yourself in that character’s shoes. You become that character. And it makes the reading all the better!

Embarrassing Situations

All good RomComs have at least one—but usually more—really embarrassing moment that happens for the main character/s.

This could be the way they meet the other main character. It could be something that happens at work or school. Maybe something happens that leads them to being fired or having to do something that will put them in close proximity of the love interest.

Whatever it is, it is BAD. And it makes your heart go out to them because I doubt there is anyone who has never been embarrassed in front of someone (or a group of someones) in their life.

And even if you haven’t—lucky you—then you can at the very least sympathize with the characters’ situation.

Deep-Rooted Issues

We’ve established that a romantic comedy is about romance and comedy, right? But, there have to be some elements of deep issues for the story to stick with you. For it to move you and change you.

If the book is just about two people getting into embarrassing situations and falling in love, it wouldn’t leave an impression. Sure, you may laugh at it, but it won’t be something you ever pick up again.

You need that extra depth in the character’s personality in order to really relate to the character and make them stand out from other characters you’ve read about.

It could be a huge flaw in their character. Maybe they have deep childhood trauma and it’s the reason they act in a specific way. It could be that they have a medical condition that causes them to close themselves off from other people.

Whatever it is, it has to make you feel…empathy, compassion, and be relatable. Even if you haven’t gone through what the character is, everyone has something in their life that makes them self-conscious or closed off at times. Or, you may have someone close to you that has been through something similar and this could be like a glimpse into their lives.

Great Side Characters

One of the best things about a good RomCom isn’t just the main characters. To get a well-fleshed-out RomCom, you need to have great side characters.

Oftentimes these side characters will have just as much of a background story as the main characters. And that’s a good thing! There have been so many books where I am just as invested in the side character’s lives as I am in the main characters’.

Seeing the MCs interacting with other people helps you see them as a real person. Especially when they are bantering with the side characters (more on bantering in a minute).

Seriously, having well-developed side characters can make or break a RomCom. If they are flat and one-dimensional, then the rest of the book won’t come alive for you.

Banter

There is no way to have a good RomCom without banter. It’s my all-time favorite thing about characters. I judge many books based on how well (or not well) the characters interact with one another.

The way the author writes characters interacting with each other will make you love them or hate them.

And I love some good banter between the two love interests. Especially if it’s an enemies-to-lovers trope. The potential banter between two people who don’t like each other—or tell themselves that anyways—can be amazing.

Happily-Ever-After

Although I do prefer a happily-ever-after with any book I read, I don’t think they are necessary for every story. However, when it comes to RomComs, I do think that we need to see a happily-ever-after by the end of the book.

And, unless the book is part of a series and we are going to see the couple later on, then I really, really think a good RomCom should end with either an engagement or a wedding.

It’s just the icing on the cake and makes the entire read even more delightful.

My Favorite RomCom Authors

So now that you know the ingredients of a good RomCom, I’m going to share with you my favorite RomCom author and series that will have you belly laughing your way through the entire book.

I discovered Emma St. Clair on Instagram—thanks bookstagram—and I haven’t looked back.

I bought her first book in the Love Cliché series, Falling for Your Best Friend’s Twin, and I hadn’t even finished it before I ended up purchasing the rest of the series. I bought them on e-book, but I love them so much, that I plan to buy the physical copies too!

These books have everything I’ve listed and more. They have heart, relatable characters, deep-rooted issues in the characters (AKA the characters have flaws!), amazingly written side characters, meet-cutes, banter upon banter, and so much more!

The best thing about this series? They are clean reads!

Do you know how hard it is to find a good, funny romantic comedy that doesn’t have swearing or loads of sex scenes?

It’s almost impossible!

At least, from what I’ve found. I’ve started reading so many books that sound hilarious but the first page is loaded with swearing or I get a few pages in and there’s sexual content.

No, thanks.

That’s why I really love and appreciate Emma St. Clair’s books. There is attraction and talk of “abs”, but that’s typically where it ends.

I’ve read all of the Love Cliché series and her newest book, The Buy-In, which is a spin-off from the Love Cliché series.