Romance book sales last year made up 32% of the market and 39% of ebooks sales. We readers love immersing ourselves in love stories. Sweet, hot, contemporary or historical, with suspense, with paranormal elements–readers consume romances in many varies. We love identifying with the heroine, who may be youngish or more mature and we readers especially love, love, love romance heroes.
Why? I’ll tell you what I’ve noticed. Yes, many heroes are described as hotties with great bodies, but some also have scars. Whether they are kilted or suited via the best tailors in NYC, they are troubled humans and they have issues that need to be addressed. They find what they need in the arms of the heroines we identify with and not only because the sex is good. (Admittedly, great sex is involved or hinted at or certainly expected because–why not? In just makes life better.)
In most novels, the hero may start off a jerk, but he learns to listen. This is powerful. Who doesn’t want their special person to listen? They have lessons to learn, but by the time the book journey has progressed to it’s conclusion, they’ve usually seen the path of righteousness. In addition, heroes tend to help heroines deal with issues they need to see, need to feel successful at. In romances, the relationship makes the characters better. This is why we dip into the books as readers; this is why we write them.
