Usually within any genre there's lots of different styles for different preferences. Even if I don't like the popular books in a genre I can usually find stuff I like, just takes a bit of digging or recommendations from people who know your reading preferences.

It’s okay to like what you like, and if you don’t like romances that’s okay. There’s also a massive variation in what people think of as romances, from cozy to erotic, historical, contemporary, supernatural, etc.

In general though, romances are highly character driven—the story isn’t about what happens, the story is about how what happens changes the people in the story. It can make it feel like nothing much is happening, because what is happening isn’t the important part.

It may be worthwhile to look at “Women’s Fiction” or “beach reads” rather than outright romance. There’s some great stuff out there. It’s still going to be a large departure from a thriller, but I’d recommend Modern Lovers by Emma Straub or The Arrangement by Sarah Dunn.

You could also try contemporary fiction such as Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng, or for something dark and unsettling but in a different way, Room by Emma Donoghue.

It’s not you. I’m only really interested in science fiction/thriller/horror/speculative fiction. It’s a plus if there’s a romantic aspect, but if it’s the focus, I lose interest.

Well, the reality is that not all romance novels are the same. I used to read romance almost exclusively in my teens/very early 20s. I've tried rereading some of the books I liked back then and found them both boring and kind of 'meh' on writing. Romance is a very popular genre and that kind of means there's a lot of dreck, even among the "bestsellers."

I'd recommend playing around with the subgenres.

Urban fantasy with light romance: Kate Daniels series by Ilona Andrews
Sci-fi romance: Sirantha Jax series by Ann Aguirre

The last thriller romance I remember really liking was by Lauren Bach, but that was like over a decade ago and my tastes weren't always great back then. That said, Nora Roberts may be a good choice, given that she also writes a long-running mystery/thriller series as JD Robb.

Horror romance... Ehh, not really a subgenre. The closest you'll really find is horror elements in either urban fantasy, fantasy or sci-fi romance. Maybe thrillers, too, if you count serial killers as horror. But that first book in the above-mentioned Kate Daniels series might work as there are some dead folks and missing folks with something or someone supernaturally strong responsible.

Aside from all that, Lisa Kleypas is one of only a handful romance writers I can still enjoy. Straight romance though.

I intentionally read a wide variety of genres and one thing I've learned is there are boring and poorly written books in all genres and great stories and characters I fall in love with in all genres. However, some genres are harder for me to find gems in.

When I was in school, horror especially the occult was my favorite genre and that continued into my young adult life. Work then required a lot of nonfiction reading on topics of health, psychology, mindset, and business building. I retired a few years ago and I'm actively exploring a wide variety of genres and authors from around the world. I don't research much about the books I read I prefer to go in without expectations and for the most part, I've been pleasantly surprised by the books I've read.

I will say, last year when I was in a book club that had a "genre of the month challenge" romance was the month with the most poorly written books, I did find a few that were written well and had a good story line.

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I'm the same, romance just doesn't interest me!

Many romance books are pulpy and not high quality. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society is an excellent romance.

I have been dipping out of "chick lit" for years, and I like some, but most leave me cold. I did like Beach Read.

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