Romance/Erotica

3 Romance Book Apps Designed for Romance Readers

Laura Melgão

Staff Writer

Laura Melgão is a 27-year-old woman who still reads - and loves! - YA books. Feminist, sensible and an introvert by nature, she found an escape in books soon after she learned how to read. One of her recently found aims is to write to others about literature - simply what makes her world go round.

There are a lot of ereaders and apps for reading ebooks out there. But what about romance book apps? There are a few focused only on the genre, and specially designed for romance readers. Intrigued? Keep reading to find out more.

We know our favourite free reading apps and we all look for new ways to expand and transform our reading experiences. Indeed, nowadays we witness an ever-growing market that affords to be specialized and focus only on new concepts. That’s the case with these three apps I am about to present to you, where the reader is the main focus, plus, you know…romance.

Book+Main Bites

This romance book app is “built by romance readers, for romance readers.” It is perfect for all readers who are looking for their next book (romance, of course!). The special feature I found most interesting is the fact that you have at your disposal over 350 romance-related keywords to find the books and stories you want. Have you ever wanted to be able to search for a certain story plot? Book+Main is the answer.

For example, if you are into romance novels about single dads, this app categorizes its catalogue of bites into these tags to help you find so many titles with the premise you were looking for.

But how does it work?

The authors who are promoting their work share bites – excerpts from books, deleted and bonus scenes, post-epilogues, short stories – which you can read for free. If you like what you read, you can check out the book on Amazon, Apple Books, or Kobo and buy it. So, it’s a great way for writers to promote their work and readers to discover more romance titles.

Moreover, each bite is categorized with “flames,” from one to five, the more flames, the hotter the bite, which allows you to rank each excerpt from very sweet and innocent to super hot and sexy.

Book+Main Bites lets you create a personalized feed, which consists of the authors and type of content you want to see.

Advantages:

  • Free account
  • Lets you discover new and exclusive stories, new books, and new authors
  • Ideal for discovering your next romance read
  • Tons of romance-related keywords to search
  • Lets you connect with other romance readers

Disadvantages:

  • You can only read excerpts of books

Crave

“Meet your next book boyfriend” is one of the promises rooted in this romance book app. And if that does not make you jump up and down with excitement, I do not know what will. Crave is an interactive app that tries to transform your reading experience. Here, the characters come to life with texts, notifications, GIFs, or videos that pop up while you read your chapter inside the app. The premise is simple: instead of reading a story as a third-party, a pure observer who is an outsider from the plot, you see it unroll before your eyes as if you were part of it.

However, after 1000 words, you are “blocked” and have to wait for the next day to read another chapter. Crave divides the books into mini chapters that take only three to four minutes to read, including the multimedia elements. Every day a new bite-sized installment is added to the app, with supplementary videos, text exchanges, and more.

Besides all of these features, Crave was created to give readers a sneak preview of new, upcoming books before they hit the bookstores. Right now, the app includes books from Colleen Hoover, Abbi Glines, K.A. Tucker, Taylor Jenkins Reid, S.C. Stephens, Jodi Ellen Malpas, J. Daniels, and Zara Cox.

Advantages:

  • Lets you read upcoming books before they hit the public
  • You get access to exclusive materials about the books, the characters, and authors you are reading
  • Highly interactive
  • Lets you ask the authors questions about the stories

    Disadvantages:

    • After a free week, the app asks for a monthly subscription of $3.99
    • You can only read about 1000 words each day (one chapter)
    • A book costs $9.99 and you still can only read a chapter per day

    Dreame

    This one is not limited to the romance genre but has a very interesting characteristic: it’s focused on women and online series. From Dreame’s point of view, they “bring closer the audience to the author and allow them to participate in the writing process.” The platform takes into consideration the habits of women readers, and allows readers to exchange feedback with writers. By allowing you to connect with the writers, you have the opportunity to change the course of events in the stories you’re currently reading.

    Advantages:

    • Free account
    • Chance to read first chapters of a story for free
    • Access to many genres and categories
    • Opportunity to read, discover and support new authors
    • Chance to participate in the writing process along with the author

    Disadvantages:

    • If you want to read more on an author, you have to purchase coins
    • You have to wait several days to read the next chapters (if you do not purchase coins)