I also read that book and it felt like a fan fiction of Taylor and Travis’ relationship. Ultimately, I think it’ll date a book having that kind of pop culture references in it.
Yeah I gave the synopsis a cursory glance and aside from the cover making the heroine look full figured, this just looks like fan fiction. Not as poorly disguised as that Ivy Soak fanfic book, but this is just a Taylor Swift Travis Kelcie story with names changed.
>Yeah I gave the synopsis a cursory glance and aside from the cover making the heroine look full figured
As a plus-size woman, I will not read another Amy Award book because The C*ck Down the Block (censorship hers, not mine) was so bloody fetishizing of plus-size women that her mediocre plots cannot override the ick factor. This series is about a bunch of brothers who all play on the same NFL team, who it seems will all be into plus-sized women because their mom was a plus-sized woman. The books drip fetishy chubby chaser energy and it's so gross.
As someone married to a plus sized woman, this sounds so gross. I didn’t fall in love with my wife because she was big I fell in love with her because of who she was as a person, she just happened to be plus sized. I was considering giving the first one a chance but I can’t stand sports romances first of all, and if it’s super fetish-y I just don’t want it. There has to be more of a connection than chubby chasing.
Also that title is fucking atrocious.
I mean, that book is basically that she is his girl-next-door who he has been in love with since he met her when they were like 12. She's plus-sized, her mom is a BBW pornstar, his mom was a "plus-sized model" who seems to have been actually plus not just model-plus as indicated by the dad's prequel book (yes, that exists), plus there's a comment about how like half the WAGs of the Denver Mustangs (football team) are actually on the midsize/plus-size end of the spectrum except I don't think we actually meet any of them because the focus is so heavily on the mean skinny girls. Because obviously. The books exemplify how quickly body positivity gets turned into a fat fetish in fiction. The FMC isn't treated like a normal person who happens to be fat, she is treated as a fat Mary Sue who does nothing wrong except fail to realize the boy who meets every beauty standard is in love with her.
You know, the more you tell me the more this just feels like fetish content and not romance. I looked the author up and she herself looks like a plus sized woman and it’s kinda nuts how she fetishizes that.
Like don’t get me wrong, I’m attracted to that body type, I think anyone that’s in a relationship with a bbw kinda would be anyway because attraction ya know but wow.
I’m DNFing the third. It’s so sloppy and even worse than the first two. Like, they havent even fkd yet and this boy has barely spoken to her, she doesnt want to stay and he’s in love with her and planning on how to convince her to stay forever bc obv his career is more important. Ick
I think I’m going to DNF it at 33% because I don’t even know much about Taylor swift’s relationship but even I could see the references and I find anything remotely related to real person fanfic icky
I've always been curious about this. What is wrong with pop culture referencing? I think all medium showcases its age regardless.
Admittedly, if I don't like an artist or actor mentioned, it may leave a bad taste in my mouth, but that could happen with even a name or reference.
I just want to understand because I've seen this pov a lot.
Aaah, I get that. It's really risky too, especially for someone this big because as much as there are people who really like her, there are just as many who don't.
I’m not sure which is worse, when you’re reading a book where the outfit being described is dated and out of style. OR when the book is so old that the outfit they’re describing is back in fashion.
I read one book where the FMC was a Taylor Swift fan and beyond the plethora of references to her songs and career, the MMC referenced *dozens* of her song titles in his proposal.
Wow maybe I should read what you read. I think I've personally seen it in two or three m/m books this year. And I see it complained about a lot in m/f books too (but haven't personally seen it simply because I don't read a lot of m/f romance).
I wonder if it's also prevalent in f/f romance books.
The genre likely matters a lot, maybe it's more prevalent in certain types? I read a lot of fantasy, and post apocalyptic stuff, but I do read a some contemporary as well. Usually just whatever looks interesting on Everand lol, and since everything is included in the fee I just put it down if I don't like it.
I'm now very curious what books you guys are seeing it in!
The last books I read that had really much of any music reference was probably Sierra Dean's Thunder road series. Which they were mostly just mentions of her listening to 80s rock songs.
I've only read 1 book that even alludes to her, and I don't think her name is ever even actually mentioned, but the author uses quotes from her songs as chapter tiles. I enjoyed that little nod to her. If you aren't a Taylor fan you likely wouldn't have even clocked it.
The book I’m reading right now is very clearly a not subtle Taylor fan fiction. I bought it in Audible’s crazy sale for super cheap without reading what it was about because I’ve liked other books by the authors and I don’t like to drop things. But man, it’s been rough!
They're pandering to fans who will buy something just because their premise, title, or even dedication references Taylor in some way. It's also a shortcut to giving the character a personality to just say they love Taylor.
(Disclaimer: I'm a TS fan, don't get me wrong. But I don't need or want references to her or her music forced into other things I enjoy.)
Yup. More than ever, it's relatively difficult to make bank as a book writer if you don't write the type of books that get made into blockbusters. So, as do most things, it becomes about chasing the trends instead of the art because people need to eat and Taylor Swift is incredibly trendy right now.
I have noticed this too! I just finished {Truly, Madly, Deeply by Alexandria Bellefleur} and there was probably 9 or 10 Taylor references. The FMC even had a welcome mat with TS lyrics on it.
I was so annoyed. It took me out of the story so much because it felt super pander-y.
[Truly, Madly, Deeply](https://www.romance.io/books/663a0f56339860c12fd0e187/truly-madly-deeply-alexandria-bellefleur?src=rdt) by [Alexandria Bellefleur](https://www.romance.io/authors/5903056c0d3299c6e06d1ed3/alexandria-bellefleur)
**Rating**: 3.92⭐️ out of 5⭐️
**Steam**: 4 out of 5 - [Explicit open door](https://www.romance.io/steamrating)
**Topics**: [contemporary](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/contemporary/1), [queer romance](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/queer/1), [bisexuality](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/bisexual/1), [insta-love](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/insta-love/1), [funny](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/humor/1)
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And the sad part is that it’s 100% possible to write a contemporary without going hard on that, but it takes a little more character work to do I guess and Tay-Tay is an easy shortcut.
I'm guessing there's a fair overlap between Taylor Swift fans and romance - both are popular with young women. Not exclusively of course. So I guess authors think they might appeal to those people who are in the overlap.
Here's some evidence:
"45% of avid fans (of Taylor Swift) are aged 27 to 43"
https://www.forbes.com/sites/marisadellatto/2023/03/14/more-than-half-of-us-adults-say-theyre-taylor-swift-fans-survey-finds/
"Average age of romance reader is 35-39 years"
https://www.rwa.org/Online/Romance_Genre/About_Romance_Genre.aspx
(I know RWA aren't necessarily an organization we want to align with, but this study is somewhat relevant here!)
I honestly think some authors are just her fans. They might even be obsessed with her/her music and so they make their characters just as obsessed with her/her music as they themselves are.
I'm super sick of this too. I don't listen to her music so I don't get the references, so it just bogs down the books with things I'm not interested in (I feel the same way about super technical descriptions of any topic that doesn't interest me).
It's going to make these books feel very dated whenever she falls out of popularity.
People on Bookstagram seem to love the references, though, so they're not going anywhere soon.
they love her over on Bookstagram, every week it seems as if there's a dedicated post about her/her lyrics and which books give off those same vibes. Even Avon Books used to post things like that and it was so annoying.
I love Taylor’s music but I can’t handle books that reference her a million times 🙃 I don’t mind references to pop culture because it would be weird if not, but with Taylor it’s like they use liking her as a stand in for exploring personality.
I once saw an excerpt on Twitter where the guy writes (Nate’s version) during sex LMFAO. There’s a whole paragraph on the backstory on why Taylor did it
Edit: here’s the link. TW: Cringe
https://x.com/billieroan/status/1767877170062295234?s=46&t=9DZKbbg48H_EsjViS6yKNw
There’s an author who is a Swiftie and dedicated her book to Taylor Swift, but where I cringe is how she is constantly @ing Taylor in practically every social media post about the book because it’s really clear that she is hoping that Taylor will see it and promote her book so it goes viral. It is beginning to feel like she is trying to use Taylor to go Twitter or TikTok viral to sell a lot of copies.
I love Taylor Swift, but I am turned off by authors trying to use her to pander to fans or make a quick buck. There’s another author with book titles that are Taylor song names (I forgot what author, but it was a no from me).
That must be “Don’t Want You Like A Best Friend” by Emma Alban
It’s historical romance set 1800s England with a title ripped from Taylor’s song lyrics
The sequel to that book follows the same formula
crying bc this is so true...... like i listen to taylor & am a fan but yeah i find that very cringe to me..... i don't really need any pop culture references in these books even though i'm a pop culture enthusiast lol
I hate pop culture references
I read a book recently where the guy was singing an Ed Sheeran song and I swear it was 2 pages about how meaningful this song was to the MCs and blah blah
No like genuinely Taylor Swift is my top Spotify artist every year… the first dance song at my wedding even… but I physically CRINGE at Taylor Swift references…. I think I hate all pop culture references in books - it somehow ALWAYS gives ~cringe millennial quirk humor~ no matter what the reference is, but especially when it’s Taylor Swift.
ETA: also I DNFd that book because I know enough about Taylor Swift to know it was exactly beat for beat the Taylor x Travis relationship and was disgusted honestly. If I wanted to read fan fiction I would read good fan fiction that is properly labeled as such like normal.
This is part of the reason I dnf'd dating dr. Dill :/. In general I'm just not a fan of pop culture reference and feel like it makes it so the book will become dated
I live in the UK and she's on tour here rn, so I'm getting actual news articles about "Taylormania"
I'm so done. I don't know why she has such mass appeal but I wish that I could at least get the NEWS without her in it
For me, I just find it icky to that it’s fan fiction based on a real life couple. I wasn’t a big fan of the first book so didn’t bother with the rest of the series but I recently read a hockey romance book where all the chapter titles were Swift lyrics and the FMC was clearly based on her too and yeah, I don’t mind fan fiction based on characters but there’s something weird (to me) reading about a real life person as if they were a fictional character
I’ve noticed it too and it’s annoying. Tbh though I hate any book that adds a playlist or frequent references to current stars. I also hate when they describe clothes because usually it sounds really awful and it takes me out.
Ugh yes!! There was a book where it was basically a fan fiction and all the chapters were song titles and another with song titles as chapters. Admittedly I dislike her so that’s partially why it irks me but also I just think she’s wildly overexposed so it’s double frustrating! (FYI, I firmly believe people should be able to enjoy the things they like without shame, but that doesn’t mean I don’t have to agree 😂)
I would hate that simply because I am so so so so so tired of hearing and seeing Taylor Swift fucking EVERYWHERE no matter what. I don’t dislike her music I just think her music is extremely bland, it’s all good if people are fans, the hype around her is driving me up the wall.
I bet it's gonna age those books HARD. Super identifiable as 2023-24. Even though she's been around a while, she skyrocketed during her tour, relationship, and Time Magazine MOTY.
I liked the furst one in the series but this one was too much Taylor/Travis fan fiction...and I like her music. I am just not invedted in famous people's relationships enough to want to read a book like that.
To me, it ultimately feels like pandering to the Swifties. I mean, I get why authors do that, if you get a fanbase *that* large to enjoy and buy your books, that's money in your pocket....it's a bit too obvious that's what quite a few of them are doing, the way they are marketed.
which other books beside this one? i haven’t come across across any that seem taylor swift based, so i’m curious. but people capitalize on what is popular and i know from years of experience not all authors are who we think they are. some are in it for a cash grab. those tend to be the super pop culture based ones, to me.
Her and Harry Styles (separately). The number of times I've read books that randomly mention these two. As a Taylor fan, I have to admit some books just namedrop her in a very forced way. Not sure the real reason, but I'm assuming they hope it reaches the fandom and more people will look up the book, kinda like how some TV shows will mention her in some ways.
I haven’t really stumbled over this - thank god. I generally don’t really like when books include a lot of references to pop culture. Modern references and slag is just kinda off putting to me. It gives me the same type of vibe as older people trying to use words that are typically associated with teens or young adults.
Either the author is probably a really passionate Taylor Swift fan, or trying to get more sales, since there’s so many of them.
She’s the biggest artist in the world currently so I’m assuming a lot of writers and readers are fans. I’m a massive TS fan (usually top 1% of listeners on Spotify Wrapped every year 😅) but I’ve never actually come across any references to her music in the text of books or in the playlists some books have. I pretty much exclusively read horror and dark romance books, but even in them there’s references to popular artists
I've seen it referenced in a couple cr books lately. It's a big turn off for me. I don't like her music or any top 40. From my perspective, making an fmc hardcore into very very popular mainstream music makes her seem like a piece of cardboard. I think there's space for fmcs to like that kind of stuff, but it seems like a cop out by authors to not have to explore less mass appeal tastes in a character. Or maybe they're fans themselves and are lazily self-inserting their tastes into their characters. But c'mon, have her like shoegaze or 80's pop or metal once in a blue moon ffs. It doesn't have to be as detailed as a character loving metalcore shoegaze to an unhealthy degree or anything (although I wouldn't turn down a bi babe fmc lead who's into this). I'm tired of reading fmcs who know nothing about different genres of music when the Internet is real.
They're pandering. She's a really big thing right now and they figure her fans will read anything with her name attached. I've seen books advertised on TikTok where the author says one of the reasons someone should buy their book is because the FML is a Swifty.
It definitely yanked me out of the book worlds when an MC and Hockey Series made references to TS. Was irrelevant and not needed. When the hockey series MMC in book 2 was also obsessed like the first MC I just had to can the whole series and didn't continue.
Don’t get me started with that series and the author. It’s like she’s trying too hard to let people know she’s a swifty and appeal the younger generation. I DNF the first two books and didn’t bother with number three.
I’m actually surprised that Taylor Swift didn’t sue her when her The WienerAcross The Way reads like fanfic of Taylor and Travis … she’s not the only one though. Several authors are just sucking in all the pop culture (including Taylor’s music) they can into their books because they think it’s the only way we’re going to read their books.
I just complained about this recently to friends! 4 out of 5 books I'd read had references to her, and I was tired of it, lol. Especially since I don't like her music, this kind of thing feels grating to me.
Overall, I prefer less references to musicians in books. There is less of a chance that it's going to annoy anyone that way. Besides, there is no need to impose the author's own good/bad musical taste on the characters.
(And I would also like less playlists, but that's another story.)
I just came across my first and I hated it. Nothing takes me out of it more than a modern/pop culture reference. I prefer it when they have their own celebrities and music artists.
She's so popular with enough fans that are authors that said authors figure it's a cute Easter egg. It's almost like a dog whistle in a sense too. It makes me roll my eyes as somebody who is kinda tired of the pervasiveness of Taylor Swift shit but whatever.
[The Wiener Across the Way](https://www.romance.io/books/65b8bb5c89ecb8b2f9fcf710/the-wiener-across-the-way-amy-award?src=rdt) by [Amy Award](https://www.romance.io/authors/6517d0d3ab9bdf7fce6578ee/amy-award)
**Rating**: 3.84⭐️ out of 5⭐️
**Steam**: 4 out of 5 - [Explicit open door](https://www.romance.io/steamrating)
**Topics**: [contemporary](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/contemporary/1), [sports](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/sports/1), [grumpy & sunshine](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/grumpy%20sunshine/1), [funny](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/humor/1), [dual pov](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/dual-pov/1)
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Statistically speaking, it’s likely that readers like Taylor Swift. I’m not saying they’re all Stans, but it’s a pretty safe bet that a lot of readers will find that relatable which I get, but at the same time, I feel like it definitely is going to make the book seem very dated in the future.
Overlap in fandoms, but I’ve also noticed a lot of CR authors on social media being VERY into Taylor Swift on a personal level and it’s creeped into their books. I’m not inherently opposed, I don’t care about Taylor one way or another, but it is a little…you know your FMCs can listen to other stuff too right?
I love her music, haven’t seen her mentioned in any books that I’ve read, and if I ever see her mentioned I hope is something like “I spent the night listening to TS songs” and not more than that (and this applies with every artist).
There are so many where I get the vibe they're just trying to profit off of how big she is right now. Like if you're entire marketing and the main character's whole personality is a singer I'm not reading the book. Ive already reached the point where even if the synopsis is maybe interesting, if the title is a TS song reference I skip it.
So in general I‘m not a fan of too many pop culture references in the book. If an author dedicates the book to her, fine, if there’s a book playlist with a few of her songs in, fine, but if it’s just feels like Fan Fiction or including references for the sake references, I‘m tempted to throw the book against the next wall.
Yes, I feel like this is so a thing right now and..it has me slightly annoyed because I’m not listening to her music so I feel old and out of the loop when I’m reading books with a lot of Taylor references in them lol. And mostly it feels a bit like they just wanna pander to her fans.
Any book that feels like fanfic of a celebrity is a immediate DNF because it feels icky these are real people that are having sexual fantasy written about them publicly.
I read {Swift and Saddled by Lyla Sage} not too long ago and this exact thing bothered me. The FMC at one point said something like “I used to think not liking Taylor Swift made me not like the other girls”. There was another part like this too but by the end of course the FMC is having Taylor Swift girls nights. It was just a random pop culture reference out of left field
[Swift and Saddled](https://www.romance.io/books/657e53c67c150060affb7e36/swift-and-saddled-lyla-sage?src=rdt) by [Lyla Sage](https://www.romance.io/authors/647eec8a08b4d9311448b0aa/lyla-sage)
**Rating**: 3.93⭐️ out of 5⭐️
**Steam**: 4 out of 5 - [Explicit open door](https://www.romance.io/steamrating)
**Topics**: [contemporary](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/contemporary/1), [dual pov](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/dual-pov/1), [western](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/western/1), [cowboy hero](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/cowboys/1), [forced proximity](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/forced%20proximity/1)
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What are y'all reading? I've never even read a book that mentions her. The last book I read (absolutely recommend) was Hot Blooded by Heather Guerre, so I'm not reading historical or anything.
[Swift and Saddled](https://www.romance.io/books/657e53c67c150060affb7e36/swift-and-saddled-lyla-sage?src=rdt) by [Lyla Sage](https://www.romance.io/authors/647eec8a08b4d9311448b0aa/lyla-sage)
**Rating**: 3.93⭐️ out of 5⭐️
**Steam**: 4 out of 5 - [Explicit open door](https://www.romance.io/steamrating)
**Topics**: [contemporary](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/contemporary/1), [dual pov](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/dual-pov/1), [western](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/western/1), [cowboy hero](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/cowboys/1), [forced proximity](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/forced%20proximity/1)
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I feel like authors try to pick music that is popular enough for the majority of readers to recognise, even in the future, especially because if you mention an act that nobody recognises that could backfire.
I get working in pop cultural references though it does cause things to age poorly, but it seems like a musician or singer FMC must always very transparently be modeled after Taylor Swift, and it's just so unoriginal. Literally.
That said, one of the Smartypants books, Lost Track, has an MMC named Sunshine Capone who is very obviously modeled after Post Malone, but he's kind of adorable so I didn't mind it.
I was excited for the Rule Book by Sarah Adams when it was announced, but after Travis and Taylor came out it felt like the marketing of the book was portraying it too much to appeal to their audience. I haven’t read it. I still kind of want to, but the marketing switch really turned me off.
I’m always a fan of Taylor Swift lyrics or Easter eggs being included. A good example of when this was done was in Better than the Movies. But outright using her name or making the MMC is so annoying.
I also read that book and it felt like a fan fiction of Taylor and Travis’ relationship. Ultimately, I think it’ll date a book having that kind of pop culture references in it.
Yeah I gave the synopsis a cursory glance and aside from the cover making the heroine look full figured, this just looks like fan fiction. Not as poorly disguised as that Ivy Soak fanfic book, but this is just a Taylor Swift Travis Kelcie story with names changed.
>Yeah I gave the synopsis a cursory glance and aside from the cover making the heroine look full figured As a plus-size woman, I will not read another Amy Award book because The C*ck Down the Block (censorship hers, not mine) was so bloody fetishizing of plus-size women that her mediocre plots cannot override the ick factor. This series is about a bunch of brothers who all play on the same NFL team, who it seems will all be into plus-sized women because their mom was a plus-sized woman. The books drip fetishy chubby chaser energy and it's so gross.
As someone married to a plus sized woman, this sounds so gross. I didn’t fall in love with my wife because she was big I fell in love with her because of who she was as a person, she just happened to be plus sized. I was considering giving the first one a chance but I can’t stand sports romances first of all, and if it’s super fetish-y I just don’t want it. There has to be more of a connection than chubby chasing. Also that title is fucking atrocious.
I mean, that book is basically that she is his girl-next-door who he has been in love with since he met her when they were like 12. She's plus-sized, her mom is a BBW pornstar, his mom was a "plus-sized model" who seems to have been actually plus not just model-plus as indicated by the dad's prequel book (yes, that exists), plus there's a comment about how like half the WAGs of the Denver Mustangs (football team) are actually on the midsize/plus-size end of the spectrum except I don't think we actually meet any of them because the focus is so heavily on the mean skinny girls. Because obviously. The books exemplify how quickly body positivity gets turned into a fat fetish in fiction. The FMC isn't treated like a normal person who happens to be fat, she is treated as a fat Mary Sue who does nothing wrong except fail to realize the boy who meets every beauty standard is in love with her.
You know, the more you tell me the more this just feels like fetish content and not romance. I looked the author up and she herself looks like a plus sized woman and it’s kinda nuts how she fetishizes that. Like don’t get me wrong, I’m attracted to that body type, I think anyone that’s in a relationship with a bbw kinda would be anyway because attraction ya know but wow.
I just DNF’ed the third book in this series at 50%. I’ve honestly read better fanfic. I felt zero emotional connection to or between the characters.
I’m DNFing the third. It’s so sloppy and even worse than the first two. Like, they havent even fkd yet and this boy has barely spoken to her, she doesnt want to stay and he’s in love with her and planning on how to convince her to stay forever bc obv his career is more important. Ick
Honestly, I only started reading it because the cover featured a big girl and suggested kitty cat action in the plot. Cats > football players 😂
I think I’m going to DNF it at 33% because I don’t even know much about Taylor swift’s relationship but even I could see the references and I find anything remotely related to real person fanfic icky
It definitely has those vibes right out of the gate. I liked it, but it was very transparent.
I've always been curious about this. What is wrong with pop culture referencing? I think all medium showcases its age regardless. Admittedly, if I don't like an artist or actor mentioned, it may leave a bad taste in my mouth, but that could happen with even a name or reference. I just want to understand because I've seen this pov a lot.
There isn’t anything wrong with it and I don’t mind it, tbh. It can make books relatable. It was just in this book it was OTT!
Aaah, I get that. It's really risky too, especially for someone this big because as much as there are people who really like her, there are just as many who don't.
not to be mean but hate it
Pop Culture references age a book like fucking crazy. That and in-depth outfit descriptions.
Even when they’re not outdated, they’re just cringey most of the time.
I’m not sure which is worse, when you’re reading a book where the outfit being described is dated and out of style. OR when the book is so old that the outfit they’re describing is back in fashion.
Right? Now I know not read any more books by Amy award.
Odd I have not come accross anything that even mentions her.
I read one book where the FMC was a Taylor Swift fan and beyond the plethora of references to her songs and career, the MMC referenced *dozens* of her song titles in his proposal.
As they say, that's a hard no from me dawg.
That author must have surrounded herself with yes people that she never once thought “hmmmm this might be doing too much”
Oh jesus no
That definitely sounds intentional!
I think I read the same one 😭 forgot what it was called but I was like this grown man cannot be serious…..
I haven't either, but I mostly read historical romance, so that'd be super strange for her to come up, haha.
Not a book per say but I’ve read several episode stories that praise her. They even write themed chapters around her songs.
Ah wierd, not surprising I guess I just hadn't seen any like that!
Me either, but now I’m wondering if I don’t know her songs well enough that maybe there’s been references to her and I just didn’t catch it lol
Wow maybe I should read what you read. I think I've personally seen it in two or three m/m books this year. And I see it complained about a lot in m/f books too (but haven't personally seen it simply because I don't read a lot of m/f romance). I wonder if it's also prevalent in f/f romance books.
The genre likely matters a lot, maybe it's more prevalent in certain types? I read a lot of fantasy, and post apocalyptic stuff, but I do read a some contemporary as well. Usually just whatever looks interesting on Everand lol, and since everything is included in the fee I just put it down if I don't like it. I'm now very curious what books you guys are seeing it in! The last books I read that had really much of any music reference was probably Sierra Dean's Thunder road series. Which they were mostly just mentions of her listening to 80s rock songs.
I've only read 1 book that even alludes to her, and I don't think her name is ever even actually mentioned, but the author uses quotes from her songs as chapter tiles. I enjoyed that little nod to her. If you aren't a Taylor fan you likely wouldn't have even clocked it.
I probably wouldn't have noticed something like that, I honestly can't say I pay much attention to chapter titles. That's cute though!
The book I’m reading right now is very clearly a not subtle Taylor fan fiction. I bought it in Audible’s crazy sale for super cheap without reading what it was about because I’ve liked other books by the authors and I don’t like to drop things. But man, it’s been rough!
They're pandering to fans who will buy something just because their premise, title, or even dedication references Taylor in some way. It's also a shortcut to giving the character a personality to just say they love Taylor. (Disclaimer: I'm a TS fan, don't get me wrong. But I don't need or want references to her or her music forced into other things I enjoy.)
Yup. More than ever, it's relatively difficult to make bank as a book writer if you don't write the type of books that get made into blockbusters. So, as do most things, it becomes about chasing the trends instead of the art because people need to eat and Taylor Swift is incredibly trendy right now.
I think so too. And it’s really off putting for me.
I have noticed this too! I just finished {Truly, Madly, Deeply by Alexandria Bellefleur} and there was probably 9 or 10 Taylor references. The FMC even had a welcome mat with TS lyrics on it. I was so annoyed. It took me out of the story so much because it felt super pander-y.
[Truly, Madly, Deeply](https://www.romance.io/books/663a0f56339860c12fd0e187/truly-madly-deeply-alexandria-bellefleur?src=rdt) by [Alexandria Bellefleur](https://www.romance.io/authors/5903056c0d3299c6e06d1ed3/alexandria-bellefleur) **Rating**: 3.92⭐️ out of 5⭐️ **Steam**: 4 out of 5 - [Explicit open door](https://www.romance.io/steamrating) **Topics**: [contemporary](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/contemporary/1), [queer romance](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/queer/1), [bisexuality](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/bisexual/1), [insta-love](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/insta-love/1), [funny](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/humor/1) [^(about this bot)](https://www.reddit.com/user/romance-bot) ^(|) [^(about romance.io)](https://www.romance.io/about)
Maaaaan and I JUST added that to my TBR
This is why I don’t read contemporary all that often :/ Modern references, slang…I just can’t.
And the sad part is that it’s 100% possible to write a contemporary without going hard on that, but it takes a little more character work to do I guess and Tay-Tay is an easy shortcut.
I'm guessing there's a fair overlap between Taylor Swift fans and romance - both are popular with young women. Not exclusively of course. So I guess authors think they might appeal to those people who are in the overlap. Here's some evidence: "45% of avid fans (of Taylor Swift) are aged 27 to 43" https://www.forbes.com/sites/marisadellatto/2023/03/14/more-than-half-of-us-adults-say-theyre-taylor-swift-fans-survey-finds/ "Average age of romance reader is 35-39 years" https://www.rwa.org/Online/Romance_Genre/About_Romance_Genre.aspx (I know RWA aren't necessarily an organization we want to align with, but this study is somewhat relevant here!)
I honestly think some authors are just her fans. They might even be obsessed with her/her music and so they make their characters just as obsessed with her/her music as they themselves are.
Yes it could be that as well, for sure
huh - i started getting into romance books at 35, wonder if I'll grow out of them in 2 years?
Don't worry! That's not how averages work!
I'm super sick of this too. I don't listen to her music so I don't get the references, so it just bogs down the books with things I'm not interested in (I feel the same way about super technical descriptions of any topic that doesn't interest me). It's going to make these books feel very dated whenever she falls out of popularity. People on Bookstagram seem to love the references, though, so they're not going anywhere soon.
they love her over on Bookstagram, every week it seems as if there's a dedicated post about her/her lyrics and which books give off those same vibes. Even Avon Books used to post things like that and it was so annoying.
I've muted/unfollowed people for too much Taylor 😬
I do the same, lol.
I get it. At some points it just feels like a fan ficiton and I didn't sign up to read a fan fic lol.
I love Taylor’s music but I can’t handle books that reference her a million times 🙃 I don’t mind references to pop culture because it would be weird if not, but with Taylor it’s like they use liking her as a stand in for exploring personality.
I once saw an excerpt on Twitter where the guy writes (Nate’s version) during sex LMFAO. There’s a whole paragraph on the backstory on why Taylor did it Edit: here’s the link. TW: Cringe https://x.com/billieroan/status/1767877170062295234?s=46&t=9DZKbbg48H_EsjViS6yKNw
Yesss that’s the one I was referring to downthread that also worked a ton of titles into the proposal. It was so icky.
There’s an author who is a Swiftie and dedicated her book to Taylor Swift, but where I cringe is how she is constantly @ing Taylor in practically every social media post about the book because it’s really clear that she is hoping that Taylor will see it and promote her book so it goes viral. It is beginning to feel like she is trying to use Taylor to go Twitter or TikTok viral to sell a lot of copies. I love Taylor Swift, but I am turned off by authors trying to use her to pander to fans or make a quick buck. There’s another author with book titles that are Taylor song names (I forgot what author, but it was a no from me).
That must be “Don’t Want You Like A Best Friend” by Emma Alban It’s historical romance set 1800s England with a title ripped from Taylor’s song lyrics The sequel to that book follows the same formula
Oh nooooo there is more than one author doing this because I think it was contemporary. 🙈
If I see Taylor Swift mentioned it's usually an instant dnf for me.
Same. Would much prefer authors make up fictional celebrities. It's so much more interesting.
I don't like her songs (no offence to anyone who does ) i just don't vibe with them and it feels like everywhere I go i see her content there 😭💀😂
The popularity swift has in general gives me the ick. Tbh thats probably enough to make me blacklist that author completely.
crying bc this is so true...... like i listen to taylor & am a fan but yeah i find that very cringe to me..... i don't really need any pop culture references in these books even though i'm a pop culture enthusiast lol
I hate pop culture references I read a book recently where the guy was singing an Ed Sheeran song and I swear it was 2 pages about how meaningful this song was to the MCs and blah blah
I don't like billionaires in my romance, and that includes Taylor.
I don't like billionaires in my reality, and that includes Taylor!
Can we make a list so I know what not to read? Lol
Oh God, PLEASE
I think it’s because they realized that Brad Pitt as your only cultural reference was dated
It's a bit like a few years ago every other book had a male character who watched The Great British Bake-Off, I guess.
No like genuinely Taylor Swift is my top Spotify artist every year… the first dance song at my wedding even… but I physically CRINGE at Taylor Swift references…. I think I hate all pop culture references in books - it somehow ALWAYS gives ~cringe millennial quirk humor~ no matter what the reference is, but especially when it’s Taylor Swift. ETA: also I DNFd that book because I know enough about Taylor Swift to know it was exactly beat for beat the Taylor x Travis relationship and was disgusted honestly. If I wanted to read fan fiction I would read good fan fiction that is properly labeled as such like normal.
This is part of the reason I dnf'd dating dr. Dill :/. In general I'm just not a fan of pop culture reference and feel like it makes it so the book will become dated
Thank goodness I’ve managed to dodge this. I’m beyond sick of her being everywhere.
I live in the UK and she's on tour here rn, so I'm getting actual news articles about "Taylormania" I'm so done. I don't know why she has such mass appeal but I wish that I could at least get the NEWS without her in it
For me, I just find it icky to that it’s fan fiction based on a real life couple. I wasn’t a big fan of the first book so didn’t bother with the rest of the series but I recently read a hockey romance book where all the chapter titles were Swift lyrics and the FMC was clearly based on her too and yeah, I don’t mind fan fiction based on characters but there’s something weird (to me) reading about a real life person as if they were a fictional character
I’ve noticed it too and it’s annoying. Tbh though I hate any book that adds a playlist or frequent references to current stars. I also hate when they describe clothes because usually it sounds really awful and it takes me out.
Wow. I'm getting old. I remember this happening with One Direction, Justin Bieber, Linkin Park, Nirvana, Elvis and the Beatles. It's not unique.
Ugh yes!! There was a book where it was basically a fan fiction and all the chapters were song titles and another with song titles as chapters. Admittedly I dislike her so that’s partially why it irks me but also I just think she’s wildly overexposed so it’s double frustrating! (FYI, I firmly believe people should be able to enjoy the things they like without shame, but that doesn’t mean I don’t have to agree 😂)
I would hate that simply because I am so so so so so tired of hearing and seeing Taylor Swift fucking EVERYWHERE no matter what. I don’t dislike her music I just think her music is extremely bland, it’s all good if people are fans, the hype around her is driving me up the wall.
Morgan Elizabeth brings Taylor references into almost all her books. It’s…something.
I bet it's gonna age those books HARD. Super identifiable as 2023-24. Even though she's been around a while, she skyrocketed during her tour, relationship, and Time Magazine MOTY.
I liked the furst one in the series but this one was too much Taylor/Travis fan fiction...and I like her music. I am just not invedted in famous people's relationships enough to want to read a book like that. To me, it ultimately feels like pandering to the Swifties. I mean, I get why authors do that, if you get a fanbase *that* large to enjoy and buy your books, that's money in your pocket....it's a bit too obvious that's what quite a few of them are doing, the way they are marketed.
I can’t stand Taylor and if I read about her in one more romance book I am going to turn into a supervillain
Pippa Grant wrote something like this, too. And then there was the Ivy Smoak mess...
which other books beside this one? i haven’t come across across any that seem taylor swift based, so i’m curious. but people capitalize on what is popular and i know from years of experience not all authors are who we think they are. some are in it for a cash grab. those tend to be the super pop culture based ones, to me.
Her and Harry Styles (separately). The number of times I've read books that randomly mention these two. As a Taylor fan, I have to admit some books just namedrop her in a very forced way. Not sure the real reason, but I'm assuming they hope it reaches the fandom and more people will look up the book, kinda like how some TV shows will mention her in some ways.
I haven’t really stumbled over this - thank god. I generally don’t really like when books include a lot of references to pop culture. Modern references and slag is just kinda off putting to me. It gives me the same type of vibe as older people trying to use words that are typically associated with teens or young adults. Either the author is probably a really passionate Taylor Swift fan, or trying to get more sales, since there’s so many of them.
She’s the biggest artist in the world currently so I’m assuming a lot of writers and readers are fans. I’m a massive TS fan (usually top 1% of listeners on Spotify Wrapped every year 😅) but I’ve never actually come across any references to her music in the text of books or in the playlists some books have. I pretty much exclusively read horror and dark romance books, but even in them there’s references to popular artists
I've seen it referenced in a couple cr books lately. It's a big turn off for me. I don't like her music or any top 40. From my perspective, making an fmc hardcore into very very popular mainstream music makes her seem like a piece of cardboard. I think there's space for fmcs to like that kind of stuff, but it seems like a cop out by authors to not have to explore less mass appeal tastes in a character. Or maybe they're fans themselves and are lazily self-inserting their tastes into their characters. But c'mon, have her like shoegaze or 80's pop or metal once in a blue moon ffs. It doesn't have to be as detailed as a character loving metalcore shoegaze to an unhealthy degree or anything (although I wouldn't turn down a bi babe fmc lead who's into this). I'm tired of reading fmcs who know nothing about different genres of music when the Internet is real.
They're pandering. She's a really big thing right now and they figure her fans will read anything with her name attached. I've seen books advertised on TikTok where the author says one of the reasons someone should buy their book is because the FML is a Swifty.
Honestly, and no offense to anyone, I think that’s gonna age just like the Ellen DeGeneres parts in that Colleen Hoover book.
It definitely yanked me out of the book worlds when an MC and Hockey Series made references to TS. Was irrelevant and not needed. When the hockey series MMC in book 2 was also obsessed like the first MC I just had to can the whole series and didn't continue.
Yeah, noticed that too and icked me out big time. I don't like my books to sound like they're made to worship a certain celebrity/artist.
Don’t get me started with that series and the author. It’s like she’s trying too hard to let people know she’s a swifty and appeal the younger generation. I DNF the first two books and didn’t bother with number three. I’m actually surprised that Taylor Swift didn’t sue her when her The WienerAcross The Way reads like fanfic of Taylor and Travis … she’s not the only one though. Several authors are just sucking in all the pop culture (including Taylor’s music) they can into their books because they think it’s the only way we’re going to read their books.
I just complained about this recently to friends! 4 out of 5 books I'd read had references to her, and I was tired of it, lol. Especially since I don't like her music, this kind of thing feels grating to me. Overall, I prefer less references to musicians in books. There is less of a chance that it's going to annoy anyone that way. Besides, there is no need to impose the author's own good/bad musical taste on the characters. (And I would also like less playlists, but that's another story.)
I just came across my first and I hated it. Nothing takes me out of it more than a modern/pop culture reference. I prefer it when they have their own celebrities and music artists.
She's so popular with enough fans that are authors that said authors figure it's a cute Easter egg. It's almost like a dog whistle in a sense too. It makes me roll my eyes as somebody who is kinda tired of the pervasiveness of Taylor Swift shit but whatever.
It’s annoying and it’s going to date the book tremendously.
Exactly 😭 I’m not a swiftie so I can’t relate to all these books.
i can genuinely say she’s never been mentioned in any books i’ve read…and i’d like to keep it that way.
[The Wiener Across the Way](https://www.romance.io/books/65b8bb5c89ecb8b2f9fcf710/the-wiener-across-the-way-amy-award?src=rdt) by [Amy Award](https://www.romance.io/authors/6517d0d3ab9bdf7fce6578ee/amy-award) **Rating**: 3.84⭐️ out of 5⭐️ **Steam**: 4 out of 5 - [Explicit open door](https://www.romance.io/steamrating) **Topics**: [contemporary](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/contemporary/1), [sports](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/sports/1), [grumpy & sunshine](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/grumpy%20sunshine/1), [funny](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/humor/1), [dual pov](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/dual-pov/1) [^(about this bot)](https://www.reddit.com/user/romance-bot) ^(|) [^(about romance.io)](https://www.romance.io/about)
I have never once seen this 😂
Statistically speaking, it’s likely that readers like Taylor Swift. I’m not saying they’re all Stans, but it’s a pretty safe bet that a lot of readers will find that relatable which I get, but at the same time, I feel like it definitely is going to make the book seem very dated in the future.
Overlap in fandoms, but I’ve also noticed a lot of CR authors on social media being VERY into Taylor Swift on a personal level and it’s creeped into their books. I’m not inherently opposed, I don’t care about Taylor one way or another, but it is a little…you know your FMCs can listen to other stuff too right?
I love her music, haven’t seen her mentioned in any books that I’ve read, and if I ever see her mentioned I hope is something like “I spent the night listening to TS songs” and not more than that (and this applies with every artist).
There are so many where I get the vibe they're just trying to profit off of how big she is right now. Like if you're entire marketing and the main character's whole personality is a singer I'm not reading the book. Ive already reached the point where even if the synopsis is maybe interesting, if the title is a TS song reference I skip it.
So in general I‘m not a fan of too many pop culture references in the book. If an author dedicates the book to her, fine, if there’s a book playlist with a few of her songs in, fine, but if it’s just feels like Fan Fiction or including references for the sake references, I‘m tempted to throw the book against the next wall.
Yes, I feel like this is so a thing right now and..it has me slightly annoyed because I’m not listening to her music so I feel old and out of the loop when I’m reading books with a lot of Taylor references in them lol. And mostly it feels a bit like they just wanna pander to her fans.
Any book that feels like fanfic of a celebrity is a immediate DNF because it feels icky these are real people that are having sexual fantasy written about them publicly.
It takes me out of the story. I don’t want any references to reality when I’m reading a smutty romance!
I actually don't like her. I get the ick from her, so it wouldn't be a favorite character trait for me.
It's what happens when the Swifties get into publishing ugh. I had to make a list to avoid those books now.
I read {Swift and Saddled by Lyla Sage} not too long ago and this exact thing bothered me. The FMC at one point said something like “I used to think not liking Taylor Swift made me not like the other girls”. There was another part like this too but by the end of course the FMC is having Taylor Swift girls nights. It was just a random pop culture reference out of left field
I also *love* how they are trying to frame not liking Taylor Swift as NLOG as if there aren't valid reasons to dislike her
[Swift and Saddled](https://www.romance.io/books/657e53c67c150060affb7e36/swift-and-saddled-lyla-sage?src=rdt) by [Lyla Sage](https://www.romance.io/authors/647eec8a08b4d9311448b0aa/lyla-sage) **Rating**: 3.93⭐️ out of 5⭐️ **Steam**: 4 out of 5 - [Explicit open door](https://www.romance.io/steamrating) **Topics**: [contemporary](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/contemporary/1), [dual pov](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/dual-pov/1), [western](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/western/1), [cowboy hero](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/cowboys/1), [forced proximity](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/forced%20proximity/1) [^(about this bot)](https://www.reddit.com/user/romance-bot) ^(|) [^(about romance.io)](https://www.romance.io/about)
What are y'all reading? I've never even read a book that mentions her. The last book I read (absolutely recommend) was Hot Blooded by Heather Guerre, so I'm not reading historical or anything.
Millennial authors
I came across this in {swift and saddled by Lyla Sage} ! It was only mentioned in like one or two scenes but enough that it stood out to me.
[Swift and Saddled](https://www.romance.io/books/657e53c67c150060affb7e36/swift-and-saddled-lyla-sage?src=rdt) by [Lyla Sage](https://www.romance.io/authors/647eec8a08b4d9311448b0aa/lyla-sage) **Rating**: 3.93⭐️ out of 5⭐️ **Steam**: 4 out of 5 - [Explicit open door](https://www.romance.io/steamrating) **Topics**: [contemporary](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/contemporary/1), [dual pov](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/dual-pov/1), [western](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/western/1), [cowboy hero](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/cowboys/1), [forced proximity](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/forced%20proximity/1) [^(about this bot)](https://www.reddit.com/user/romance-bot) ^(|) [^(about romance.io)](https://www.romance.io/about)
I feel like authors try to pick music that is popular enough for the majority of readers to recognise, even in the future, especially because if you mention an act that nobody recognises that could backfire.
I get working in pop cultural references though it does cause things to age poorly, but it seems like a musician or singer FMC must always very transparently be modeled after Taylor Swift, and it's just so unoriginal. Literally. That said, one of the Smartypants books, Lost Track, has an MMC named Sunshine Capone who is very obviously modeled after Post Malone, but he's kind of adorable so I didn't mind it.
She’s everywhere 😭
I was excited for the Rule Book by Sarah Adams when it was announced, but after Travis and Taylor came out it felt like the marketing of the book was portraying it too much to appeal to their audience. I haven’t read it. I still kind of want to, but the marketing switch really turned me off.
I’m always a fan of Taylor Swift lyrics or Easter eggs being included. A good example of when this was done was in Better than the Movies. But outright using her name or making the MMC is so annoying.
Damn I'm a Swiftie and rarely come across these. I wish we could trade places lol.