By Kelcie McKenney

The increase in popularity of the Romance genre has had us at Catcall kicking up our feet and giggling. What’s better than watching new readers find out that romance is totally for feminists too? We’re clearly big fans (I mean, check out our smut guide or our whole Catcall Reads section!) and we’ve been salivating at the rise of #BookTok and the influx of romance-books-turned-movies/shows. And now things are gettin’ local.

This week, Romance writer and TikTok’s #BookTok sweetheart Katee Robert is in town on the Cruel Seduction Tour, hosted by the Lawrence Public Library and the Raven Book Store—which has a romance-themed shelf and IG at @ravenaboutromance. Katee is celebrating the release of her newest book, Cruel Seduction, in the Dark Olympus series. It’s a collection of Greek Mythology retellings that are spicy AF (highly recommend!). On the tour, she’s bringing friends Ana Huang, author of Twisted Love, and Sierra Simone, author of Priest and a KC local. The three are lining up a panel about all things romance, plus chattin’ with readers and singing books. 

The event booked up FAST, and is wait-list only. But Catcall will be swingin’ by to hear from the authors and let you know how it goes.

But ahead of Romance royalty arriving, we spoke with Polli Kenn, a librarian at Lawrence Public Library and one of the organizers we can thank for bringing Katee and crew to LFK. Polli is a lover of what she calls “kissing books” and a total feminist (we love!). 

“I am a huge romance fan and I’m so excited to see the response we’ve gotten for this. (I mean, I thought we would, but… wow!),” Polli said in our first correspondence with her. “I’ve presented on this topic as a librarian, but I love being able to show people that feminists read and champion romance and why, plus letting folks know that romance has something for everyone.”

We asked Polli some questions as a librarian and reader ahead of the event. 

Catcall: Why do you read romance books? 

Polli: Oh, for a number of reasons, but primarily I love to know I’m going to get a Happily Ever After (HEA). I read plenty of things that leave me wrecked and bereft and hopeless. I like Romance for the pleasure of seeing things all work out in the end. I’m a fan of sugar AND spice in my Romance, and I love seeing it done well! And I’m a feminist and I love centering books by women, for women, that center women’s agency and pleasure and getting what (and who) they want in the end. 

Why do you think the romance genre is such a popular one? 

Primarily the HEA, but also the fun. Romance has at its heart (usually) two people working through obstacles to find love and fulfillment by being true to themselves. But it also has witty banter and social commentary and the delicious feelings of attraction and first kisses and satisfying sex and seeing people you fall in love with then fall in love with each other.

As a librarian, have you seen an increase in the popularity of Romance books? 

Yes, or at least, I’ve seen an increase in the popularity of telling people you read romance! Bookstagram and Booktok tags have given people a platform to bring the love of reading Romance out of the shadows and (I think) have destigmatized talking about all the reasons we love Romance. Trends come and go—monster romance, enemies to lovers, billionaire romance, retellings—but as long as the author honors the promise of Happily Ever After, new readers will keep showing up. I think social media has also shown that the stereotype about who and why people read Romance is, in a word, hooey. 

You mentioned in your email that you “love being able to show people that feminists read and champion romance and why.” Could you expand on that a bit? In your words, why do feminists read romance? 

All the reasons I mentioned above, but in addition, I appreciate that Romance authors are really working to show consent can be sexy and that all kinds of sexuality can be healthy when you center consent and pleasure. Being a feminist means exploring the reasons things are the way they are for women and femmes and the best Romances are nodding toward the complicated ways the political and the personal intersect in the bedroom. (Or the vampire lair. Or the enchanted forest. Or on an ice planet. Or BDSM club.) I despise the fact that because Romance is written primarily by and for women that it is automatically a target for derision. Case in point: all the negativity around the Barbie movie. We have a habit in our society of labeling things for girls and women as silly, less than, weak, and unimportant. I think reclaiming Romance takes a bite out of that nonsense. 

Do you have a favorite book from the Cruel Seduction Tour visitors—Katee Robert, Ana Huang, and Sierra Simone? 

I love, love, love Priest by Sierra Simone. (I call it Inspirational Erotica, lol!)  She’s been a favorite for a long time, she’s out there writing some of the smartest smut around. Her Christmast Notch series (it starts with A Merry Little Meet Cute) with co-author with Julie Murphy, and it’s delightful. I love a retelling, though, and I’m about to dig into Katee’s Dark Olympus series. 

Where else are you bookish? (Pssst. Tell me about your Book Squad Podcast!) 

For the library, I am the co-host of the Book Squad Podcast. It started years ago with my former colleague (and current bestie) Kate Gramlich, and now my colleague Adam Lopez and I have been running it. It got a bit sidelined during the pandemic, but we’re working on getting back up to speed. And we definitely talk about kissing books there! Adam is a big fan of queer Romance and they bring a lot of great suggestions to the table. 

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