Rekindling Long-Term Relationships

Is a romance novel what your relationship needs? Reading romance novels can enrich your sex life, deepen your connection with your partner, and make you romantically more literate. Is it time to re-engage the passion in your relationship, by sparking the nostalgia of the honeymoon and introducing new ideas? Romance readers report revitalized intimacy, with shared reading linked to higher satisfaction. Readers report transformations in their real-life relationships after reading romance and romantasy.¹

What to do when the honeymoon phase ends and your sex life is on the back burner? Re-ignite the spark! First, prioritize intimacy. Find time and make time for each other, intimacy and sex. What are your partner’s intimacy needs? Sex needs? If necessary, schedule date nights and sex nights or days.

Second, physical touch is important. Don’t lose contact. Casual touching can lead to more intimate touching. Hold hands, sit within touching distance on the sofa, and reconnect with casual walk by hugs and caresses.

Third, try reading the spicy scenes of a romance novel to each other to start the conversation and/or the activity. Think of sex as the companion to real intimacy. It is an expression of real emotional intimacy. If you are comfortable, try acting out the scenes in real life.²

When you are ready, write your own romance novel or sex diary with ideas from real romance novels. Experiment and explore within your own comfort and safety levels.