Whether you’re a fan of The Bachelor, Survivor, The Real Housewives or MasterChef, odds are that reality TV is a part of your life—particular if you’re under the age of 35. Over the past four decades, the genre has gone from niche curiosity to its own unique economy where former reality stars can launch a whole career off of a one-season appearance. As reality TV stars turn into pop singers, talk show hosts and, yes, politicians, it makes sense that the genre is influencing romance novels too.
We’re not talking about reality TV fan fiction, though there is plenty of that available on sites like AO3. We’re talking about original characters starring on fictional TV shows, albeit often very lightly fictionalized versions of hit series.
For example, look at the numerous romance novels set on fictionalized versions of The Bachelor: The show is called “Ever After” in The Charm Offensive by Alison Cochrun; “Main Squeeze” in One to Watch by Kate Stayman-London; and “Before Midnight” in If the Shoe Fits by Julie Murphy. And, each book involves a large group of women competing to win the heart of a handsome eligible bachelor.
There are so many contemporary romance novels based on reality TV shows that the trend has become its own subgenre, with well over 100 titles listed on Goodreads. While the genre has existed almost as long as reality TV itself, it saw an explosion of popularity in the late 2010s and early 2020s. Today, the trend seems to be slowing down but the upcoming movie version of The Charm Offensive, which was first published in 2021, may just revive it.
Along with tapping into the show’s built-in fanbase, reality TV romance novels allow authors to play with and subvert the genre. There are several queer romance novels, for instance, set on versions of The Bachelor. In The Charm Offensive, the male lead falls for a male producer; in One to Watch, two female competitors fall for each other.
In 2022, reality TV scholar Danielle J. Lindemann, author of True Story: What Reality TV Says About Us, told ColumbiaMagazine: “I see reality TV as a kind of fun-house mirror, because it can show us ourselves in caricatured or amplified form.”
You can see why this appeals to romance writers—and readers too. As Vogue editor Daisy Jones wrote earlier this year: “For anyone deeply interested in the minutiae of what it means to be human, reality TV is king.”
Personally, I’ve found myself drawn to romance novels based on reality shows even if I don’t watch the show. I am not a member of Bachelor Nation, but I’ve read at least half a dozen romance novels based on The Bachelor. But for fans who love the show, the novel often adds an extra oomph.
“I’m a girl who has a slight addiction to Love Island, so OF COURSE as soon as I read the blurb of this book I was going to be all in,” wrote one Goodreads reviewer about The Re-write by Lizzie Damilola Blackburn. “I can confirm, I had a great old time.”
Want to try out the genre? Here are some additional recommendations for those interested in novels based on reality TV shows:
The Bachelor and The Bachelorette:
• Real Love by Rachel Lindsay
• Here for the Wrong Reasons by Annabel Paulsen and Lydia Wang
• Cupid Calling by Viano Oniomoh
• Insert Groom Here by K.M. Jackson
Love Island:
• Summer of Love by Lily Easton
Love Is Blind:
• D’Vaughn and Kris Plan a Wedding by Chencia C. Higgins
• Reality Check by Lizzie Huxley-Jones
The Great British Bake-Off:
• Winner Bakes All series by Alexis Hall
• Battle Royal by Lucy Parker
MasterChef:
• Love & Other Disasters by Anita Kelly
• Recipe for Persuasion by Sonali Dev
Ex on the Beach:
• Never Ever Getting Back Together by Sophie Gonzales
• Alice Chen’s Reality Check by Kara Loo & Jennifer Young
Survivor:
• Marooned by Ben Chalfin
• Attached at the Hip by Christine Riccio
Dancing with the Stars:
• Take the Lead by Alexis Daria
The Amazing Race:
• Winging It with You by Chip Pons
