Why we're introducing a paid supporter plan

Romance.io has always been a small, independent website built for romance readers, by romance readers. We’re a tiny team that cares deeply about helping people find the books they love.

Over the past few years, income streams for independent websites like ours have become more precarious. Governments around the world are becoming increasingly restrictive about what they consider “appropriate” content. Companies, ad platforms and advertisers are following suit.

Recently, Amazon implemented a significant policy change: affiliate monetisation will no longer be provided for products Amazon classifies as “unsafe.” From our initial checks, many books on this site are impacted, books that tend to contain mature themes. For a romance-focused platform, this has real implications for long-term sustainability.

We want to remain independent — especially from what governments, corporations, and advertisers decide is appropriate reading.

By becoming a supporter, you help us protect that independence and ensure that Romance.io remains viable to run for many years to come.

That said, we firmly believe that full access to Romance.io should not depend on financial ability. We are not introducing gated features, premium search tools, or other special tiers of access. All functionality will remain available to everyone, now and in the future. Romance.io will continue to be fully usable without payment.

The only difference for supporters is that all ads will be disabled as a small thank-you for supporting the site.

If you choose to become a supporter, you’re helping preserve an independent space for readers. And if you can’t, you’re still just as welcome here.

Thank you for being part of this community!

Silke, founder of romance.io