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<\/figure>\n\n\n\nThis rabbit hole is exhausting, and it\u2019s like hey \u2013 I just want to read my book. But this is also the quagmire I kept in mind as I was drafting The Dirty Version<\/strong><\/a><\/em>, my debut Contemporary Romance. I kept questioning whether each of my creative choices was feminist. I had the most fun doing this in crafting Caleb, a Hollywood Intimacy Coordinator and the novel\u2019s leading man. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Is it anti-feminist to admit that? Is loving Caleb an inverted trap? I wanted his good-<\/em>ness to be extremely hot \u2013 for it to make him hotter than a Bad Boy. For his thoughtfulness to make him dreamy. A beach read is not political, and yet. <\/p>\n\n\n\n I mean, he\u2019s also very handsome. To keep things highbrow, I put a different test to when he took off his clothes. The Intimacy Coordinator I interviewed as background for Caleb\u2019s character said he often begins his work by asking how a sex scene furthers a project\u2019s plot \u2013 so I did the same thing, and the process became meta. It helped me think about the novel as foreplay. Just like the burlesque show Caleb takes Tash to in The Dirty Version<\/em> \u2013 the best part is The Tease.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Tash, The Dirty Version<\/em>\u2019s main character and the indie author of the feminist dystopia Caleb is hired to help adapt, is easier to explain. She\u2019s caught in the dissonance of female existence I mentioned earlier. It has turned her angry. She is an homage to my girlfriends, and in the novel, she is buoyed by her Sisterhood. She also secretly wants to believe in good men, in a world where it can be difficult to have faith. <\/p>\n\n\n\n And yes, Tash wears stilettos. She probably plucks her eyebrows and puts on lingerie \u2013 then ponders whether it\u2019s feminist. She probably spins out on contradiction, just like a reader who\u2019s finished an amazing romance novel and has to reluctantly re-engage with reality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Luckily for us, though, there is always another book waiting to sweep us away. Here are some of my personal favorites:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Everything\u2019s Fine<\/em> by Cecilia Rabess<\/a><\/strong> \u2013 A sharp, sexy, and provocative debut workplace romance that questions whether you can love someone while hating their politics \u2013 equal parts desperate attraction and cultural commentary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We Could Be So Good<\/em> by Cat Sebastian<\/a><\/strong> \u2013 Another workplace romance! I guess I have a type. This one is tender and set gorgeously in 1950s New York, full of longing, wit, and chosen family.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Romantic Comedy<\/em> by Curtis Sittenfeld<\/a><\/strong> \u2013 A brainy, inside-Hollywood slow burn between a late-night sketch writer and a pop star, with biting gender politics and real heart.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Less<\/em> by Andrew Sean Greer<\/a><\/strong> \u2013 Technically a break-up book, but really a sweeping, comic love story in disguise \u2013 with a Pulitzer and a passport full of longing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Do This For Me<\/em> by Eliza Kennedy<\/a><\/strong> \u2013 A messy, ferocious, laugh-out-loud novel about a high-powered lawyer unraveling after her husband\u2019s betrayal \u2013 and deciding whether revenge or reinvention is the better look.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Such a Fun Age<\/em> by Kiley Reid<\/strong> <\/a>\u2013 A compulsively readable debut about transactional relationships, race, and performative allyship \u2013 with just enough romance to keep your heart in it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Rachel Incident<\/em> by Caroline O\u2019Donoghue<\/a><\/strong> \u2013 A sharp coming-of-age novel about friendship, betrayal, and falling in love with the wrong people \u2013 told with hilarious specificity and aching insight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Elsewhere<\/em> by Gabrielle Zevin<\/a><\/strong> \u2013 A surreal and beautiful story set in the afterlife, where love still lingers and growing up doesn\u2019t end at death. Romantic, strange, and unforgettable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Thank You for Listening<\/em> by Julia Whelan<\/a><\/strong> \u2013 A deeply moving, meta-romance about two audiobook narrators falling for each other \u2013 smart, sexy, and saturated with love for the genre.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Early Morning Riser<\/em> by Katherine Heiny<\/a><\/strong> \u2013 A gentle and quietly brilliant novel about small-town life, chosen family, and a love that evolves past its fairy tale expectations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/vervebooks.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Untitled-design-33-1024x512.png\")
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