Romance and book communities run on abbreviations. Here are the ones you'll meet most often in reviews, blurbs and reader forums.
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| HEA | Happily ever after — the couple ends together for good |
| HFN | Happy for now — together and hopeful, without a permanent commitment |
| DNF | Did not finish — a book the reader abandoned |
| TBR | To be read — the (endless) pile or list of books waiting |
| ARC | Advance reader copy — an early copy sent to reviewers |
| POV | Point of view; dual POV alternates between the two leads |
| MC / MMC / FMC | Main character / male main character / female main character |
| M/M, F/F, M/F, MMM | The genders of the romantic leads |
| OTP | One true pairing — a reader's favourite couple |
| Ship | To root for a couple (from "relationship") |
| Closed door / open door | Whether intimate scenes happen off or on the page |
| Slow burn | The romance develops slowly over the book |
| Insta-love | Characters fall in love almost immediately |
| Cinnamon roll | A sweet, kind character who must be protected |
| Morally grey | A character whose actions are ethically ambiguous |
| KU | Kindle Unlimited, Amazon's e-book subscription |
| Standalone | A book that doesn't need a series to be understood |
| Novella | A short novel, roughly 17,500–40,000 words |
| CW / TW | Content warning / trigger warning |
More: romance tropes, heat levels explained, how long it takes to read a book.