Diff btw rom-com & chick lit?

[Jessica]

Hi all! :) Just joined this group & am excited to chat about all things rom-com/chick lit. Which got me thinking... What exactly IS the difference between the 2? I mean, some people use them interchangeably, but in my mind, there is a difference. Chick lit is light, humorous stories that focus mainly on the heroine's journey + romantic interest alongside it, whereas rom-coms have the romance as the main theme, and are funny.

What do you think the difference is?

[Sabi]

I truly am with your definition, Chick Lit is more about the female leads' journey throughout the story, I think it lights more on the friendship and family part rather than the romance between the main pair.

ROMCOM,on the other hand, focuses most of the time between the conversing/bantering/working and mainly, the journey of the couple. It has much wider sub genres in it; friends to lovers, enemies to lovers, second chance romance,etc. Aside from being romantic, a perfect romcom would have fifty percent laugh out loud moments as well! 'Bet Me' by Jennifer Crusie and 'You don't have to say you love me' Sarra Manning are perfect examples of them.

[Jessica]

Hi Sabi,
Glad you agree! :) Thanks for chiming in. I think you're right - the rom-coms do have a wider range of subgenera with all the various tropes you mentioned.
I also think the covers are slightly different between the two as well; in my view, chick lit covers have just 1 woman on them & are usually drawings/cartoons, whereas rom-com covers have a photo and usually have a couple on them... What do you think?

[Sabi]

Yes, most of the time. I'm with you on Chick lits part, 90% the cover will be an art cover rather than a 'real' cover. But also, many of romcoms also have cartoon/art covers as well. For example: The hating game, The unhoneymooners, Bet me, etc.

[Jessica]

Yep, good point! The cartoon/art covers seem to be really popular! Did you read 'The Hating Game'? I'm debating whether to start it...!

[Sabi]

oh,yes I have, just last year, it's a solid three star for me though. I know people really like it but to me, it was just, that the ending felt flat.

[Meg]

I would like lots of suggestions for funny rom-coms? Something like Jennifer Crusie, Penny Reid, Christie Craig, Melanie Summers?