YouTube is a vast, sprawling, social media smorgasbord. For me, it’s what I watch while I’m cleaning a room; it’s what I listen to while I’m making dinner. It’s also what I use to find cool listicles on weird or unusual facts, or search for new tips and tricks while writing a book.
Like other avid readers, I also use YouTube to keep up on all things romance. Sometimes I look for trope recommendations. Other times I’m on the hunt for media analyses.
If you’re looking for some light entertainment, here’s a quick list of romance-related YouTube channels that you can check out, too.
1. Mina Le
Subject: Fashion, Film, & Culture
Mina Le might not seem like an obvious choice for a YouTube channel devoted to all things romance. After all, the channel’s primary focus is costuming in TV shows, movies, and fashion subcultures. There’s an emphasis on historical costuming, too.
That said, historical romance is big in Romancelandia. In fact, we’d bet good money that some of our readers write romance in that subgenre, too. If this scenario describes you—or you just like learning more about what your favorite characters are wearing—then Mina Le is a great resource.
With humor, wit, and precision, Mina’s videos follow an easy-going structure, where each video is devoted to a piece of media or a fashion trend. Once the focus is established, Mina breaks down the fashion looks and explains what works about the costumes, along with what was interesting about their construction.
The channel is blunt when these costumes fail, but never truly mean. The recent video on why Bridgerton costumes don’t work is one of my more recent favorites.
2. Peace Love Books
Subject: Book Recommendations & Reviews
Peace Love Books is a YouTube booktube channel devoted to all things romance. I love it for its massive catalogue of recommendations, and how it’s basically a one-stop shop for video listicles featuring very specific tropes.
Run by Jessica—who delivers the videos in a quick, no nonsense style—Peace Love Books caught my attention because of its sheer scope of coverage. Have a pen and paper ready, though (or at least the Notes app open and ready). Peace Love Books tends to go through the recommendations fairly fast.
3. ModernGurlz
Subject: Fashion, Film, & Culture
Like Mina Le, this channel isn’t a one-for-one when it comes to romance recommendations. It’s also not talking directly about books.
If you’re a contemporary romance fan, however, or you loved the rom com trend that dominated the early 2000s, then you absolutely have to check out ModernGurlz. It’s a channel devoted to all things pop culture from the early aughts, and is perfect when it comes to romance-adjacent YouTube channels. Once I started watching, I was hooked.
Talking about everything from the costume choices in Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen, to the quality of the romantic arcs in the Barbie films, ModernGurlz just fits with romance readers who grew up during this era. It breaks down and dissects old shows that aged badly, but never in a way that talks down about the genre. It celebrates the 2000s without romanticizing it. The laid-back approach of the channel makes you feel like you’re sitting down with old friends.
Basically: Follow this channel if you’re looking for thoughtful commentary on the media that shaped romance readers. Definitely watch the whole back catalogue for this channel, too. It’s worth the time investment.
4. LaceyBooklovers
Subject: Book Recommendations & Reviews
LaceyBooklovers is another one of my favorite booktube channels. I love it because it’s devoted to all things romance, and because of its approachable coverage style.
A fan of enemies-to-lovers, bodyguard romances, and other notable tropes, Lacey is best for romance book reviews. For each video, a topic or time frame is picked (such as the month of December). Once that’s done, Lacey breaks down what worked for each book that was read in a casual, laid-back manner.
I like how this channel doesn’t rush through the reviews; how it is always keen to explain the plot of each book in detail. What makes it even better is that when explaining what worked and didn’t, the channel tries to do so without spoilers. If there are spoilers, Lacey is always careful to preface it. The channel is also not afraid to recommend older romance novels, which I enjoy, too.
Overall, it’s a great channel for book lovers.
5. iWriterly
Subject: Publishing
iWriterly is a good channel for romance readers if they plan to write their own novels. Although it doesn’t focus exclusively on romance, it does talk about it as a genre. It also talks about what you need to do to be successful in the field at large.
Run by Meg LaTorre—an indie author who used to work at a literary agency—iWriterly is all about the business of publishing. From constructing characters, to spacing out plot beats, to marketing your book to your intended audience, iWriterly has it all.
This video on self-publishing mistakes to avoid is one of my recent favorites.
Binge-Watch a YouTube Romance Channel
Booktube and its adjacent field of media commentary is absolutely huge, with hours upon hours of content. Obviously there’s more amazing channels out there, so if you’re looking for additional recommendations, here’s a list of Black romance booktubers to follow.
Do you have a different channel you want to recommend that’s not featured on either list? Tell us about it in the comment section.
