In young adult fairytales, we find nannies and mothers telling tales of how young girls will find love in the form of a rich prince or lord from far, far away. When girls are still growing up, sometimes they’d even dream of that themselves. The romance genre is rife with stories about how a lower class individual meets someone rich, and how difficult it is just to be together. It’s a rather enchanting story that has many audiences captivated, myself included. In fact, it’s spanned an entire genre of books such as A Bride for the Billionaire by Ella Cari and the Brothers Grimm’s Cinderella, to movies like Maid in Manhattan and Pretty Woman.

So what is it about these stories that we love so much? What makes this sub-genre of romance so popular that the genre is now being dissected by various authors and scholars alike? Below are a few of them.

A modern day Prince Charming
While we may think we’re progressing in literature, there are certain themes that are timeless to us. It involves meeting our Prince, or Princess, Charming. It involves meeting the one person that would be our true love, and when we go to meet that person, we would have everything we want. That the person would protect us, would do everything in their power to keep us safe. And while it might not be that realistic now, it’s still a sweet dream we end up coming back to now and again.

Everlasting wealth
However, if those people are able to protect us, they must have some serious money. They have to be able to buy their own place (preferably a mansion or so), their own car, (something fancy, like a limo), and they have to be able to flaunt their wealth in ways that no one else is able to. In other words, a billion dollar romance has to have a love interest that you’re able to flaunt around, whether it be to friends, family, or even enemies.

A loneliness to dwell on
Of course, what would a story be without a conflict? A lot of these billion dollar romance conflicts often center around the love interest. Usually, they’re cold and brooding, and they need someone to literally shove them out of their shells and bring them into the world. Then of course, the protagonist will work to change them because they see something in them. It could be familial problems, or is it because someone is after their wealth, but either way, the conflict has to do with the loneliness they feel. And it’s up to the protagonist (usually) to bring them out of their loneliness.

These types of romances can be rather addictive. It’s a rag to riches tale reminiscent of all the dreams we’ve had before, whether it be to fall in love, or simply because we’re guaranteed luxurious lifestyles. Either way, this sub-genre is a modern day romance that almost anyone can enjoy.