Quick take: Your romance subgenre decides who finds your book, which books it's compared to, and what readers assume before page one. This map of romance categories and subgenres covers each category's conventions, the tropes that perform in it, and typical lengths, so you can position your book on the right shelf.
Reader expectations: pacing, tone, heat, and worldbuilding norms differ sharply between a cozy small-town romance and a fae-court romantasy.
Comps and store placement: categories and "also boughts" are driven by subgenre. A clear label puts you beside the right books.
Packaging: covers, blurbs, and keywords follow conventions readers recognize at a glance.
Present-day, real-world settings: small town, workplace, sports, new adult, single parent, rom-com, billionaire. Top tropes: enemies to lovers, friends to lovers, second chance, fake dating, grumpy/sunshine, forced proximity. Typical length: roughly 50,000–90,000 words.
A past era with period-appropriate social rules: Regency, Victorian, American West, wartime, Highlander. Top tropes: marriage of convenience, reformed rake, wallflower, scandal, class difference. Typical length: roughly 70,000–100,000 words.
A romance and a danger plot (crime, stalker, investigation) running side by side, both resolved by the end. Top tropes: protective hero, bodyguard, forced proximity in a safe house, second chance. Typical length: roughly 70,000–100,000 words.
Paranormal: supernatural beings in a mostly recognizable world. Romantasy: fantasy-first worlds with a central romance arc. Top tropes: fated mates, enemies to lovers, forbidden love, slow burn, magical academy. Typical length: roughly 80,000–120,000+ words for romantasy; paranormal often shorter.
Space opera, alien, dystopian, and near-future settings with a central couple. Top tropes: alien/human pairing, bonded mates, forced proximity on a ship, rebels to lovers.
Closed-door or low-heat romance; inspirational adds a faith arc central to the characters. Top tropes: small town, second chance, single parent, friends to lovers, holiday. Expectation: no on-page sex, limited profanity, heat level stated clearly.
Is the world ours, a past version of ours, or invented?
Is the romance the main plot, or does a mystery or fantasy plot share the spotlight?
What heat level do your closest comparable titles carry?
Where do the top 20 books most like yours sit in store categories?
Lead keywords with trope + subgenre: "small town second chance romance," "Regency marriage of convenience."
Choose specific store categories that match your comps, not just the broadest option.
More in the romance metadata and keywords guide.