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Common romance novel abbreviations cheat sheet

4/12/2021

1 Comment

 
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If you spend any time at all on book Twitter or Facebook, you'll notice a bunch of abbreviations are used. Some of them are fairly obvious. Others...not so much. So, in case you find yourself puzzling over an abbreviation, here's a quick cheat sheet you can reference. (Please note, this list is by NO MEANS exhaustive. These are just some biggies I've noticed.) You're welcome:  
Abbreviation
Meaning
ARC
Advance Review Copy. Authors give them out sometimes before a release to drum up reviews and PR.
BBF
Book boyfriend
BBBW
These books have a Big, Black, Beautiful Woman as the heroine.
BBW
These books have a Big, Beautiful Woman as the heroine. Could apply to a heroine of any race. 
​BDSM
Bondage & Discipline, Dominance & Submission, Sadomasochism & Masochism
BOB
Battery Operated Boyfriend 
BWWM
Black Woman, White Male romance
DNF​
Did Not Finish
DUBCON
Dubious Consent (there are various degrees, of course, but this is seen by many as rape-y) 
FF
Female, Female romance
H
Hero
h
Heroine
HEA
Happily Ever After
HFN
Happy for Now
IR
Interracial Romance
KU
This means the book is in Kindle Unlimited
LGBTQ
Lesbian, Gay, Bi, Transgender, Queer romance
MC
This means the main character is in a motorcycle club 
MF
Romance with a Male/Female pairing
MMF
Romance with a 2 males and a female
MM
Romance with a Male/Male pairing
MPreg
Book is set in an alternate universe where males can get pregnant
NA
New Adult romance
TBR
To Be Read
TSTL
Characters that you deem Too Stupid Too Live 

But what about you? Seen any abbreviations that vexed you? Let me know! Maybe I can help... 

1 Comment
Gill
4/14/2021 03:28:24 am

It took me ages to get DIK, and YMMD. Lol. And the H/h irritates me in that female is lower case. I prefer F/M or M/F

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