Has your taste changed?

Yes, my taste has changed a great deal.

I'm the same way. I don't mind tasteful sex in books but the days of saying "hello" and ending up sleeping together within 10 minutes do nothing for me anymore. I much prefer a good storyline, slow burns are the best. I didn't read romance books until 20 or 25 yrs ago and then I started with Julie Garwood. I loved Regency books but for the past few years I've been enjoying romantic suspense or contemporary romance. I went through a period where I read every Pride and Prejudice variation I could find but again, not so much anymore.
Speaking of motorcycle books my favorites are by Lauren Gilley ( Fearless: The Complete Novel (Dartmoor Book 1) by Lauren Gilley (Kindle Edition)) and all of the books that follow. I received an email from her that she has another book in her Lean Dog Legacy Series that will be out next year! Yea! She's been writing a PNR series, not my cup of tea.

To be honest I almost wish my taste would change back to the Regency/historical books as so many are mentioned here.

This is a great question.
I just started looking at my recent buys and at my library and comparing the books.
I think my tastes have broadened and if the younger me could see what I am into now she would blush and hide away, I used to read mostly fantasy or Harlequin romance. Now I rarely read new Harlequin published books and re-read the ones I still own. 

My tastes have changed, but I've been reading romances for at least 50 years; the books have changed as well! I was reading what I could find in romances; they were pretty tame but still good such as Phyllis Whitney, Mary Stewart, Victoria Holt. Oh, I inhaled those books! and then there were the Harlequins. I really didn't like them; way back then, the gals only were secretaries, teachers or worked with young children, and they just about died when the H frowned at them! I kept wanting girls with backbones & willing to branch out in their lives.

Happily, 2 things happened; mid-70's I discovered the bodice rippers (Woodiwiss, McBain, Lindsey, etc. I never cared for Rogers), and a few years later Silhouette started publishing! HOORAYY! I was buying all the Silhouette Desires & Intimate Moments, plus several of the other lines. Since then, I don't enjoy the old bodice rippers that much; little too much awareness now, and of the contemporaries back then; I keep getting caught on the smoking & the technology differences! Gal was in trouble the other day; I thought pull out your cell phone! (written before cell phones existed!) But some of the authors; worth it! This is where I met Krentz, Lowell, Estrada, Browning, Roberts....

Now, I read almost anything except High school/young adult (I have no wish to endure their angst again!--probably one of the reasons I don't like Taylor Swift!) and cheating. If the h or H cheat on each other; I drop the book. And I'm afraid I don't care if they're separated or getting a divorce, they're still married (until after the divorce is finalized)! I read historical, all eras, contemporary, romantic suspense, paranormal, BDSM, MFM & most other letter arrangements, science fiction, fantasy, etc. But I read most of those types back in the 70's also. Well, couldn't find the BDSM & letter arrangements back then...probably didn't know where to look! Oh, & a friend of mine was under orders to get to my kindles before my Mom; that's where the wilder stuff went (BDSM, letter arrangements, & insta-lust as you gals call it)

SO don't know that my tastes have changed that much; more that the books have changed in availability & focus. And yes, some of the love scenes do seem to go on too long & I want the story to keep moving; I do skim them a bit sometimes, esp. in rereads!

My tastes change every few weeks or months. I mostly stick to one kind of book for a while, whether it is by genre, or trope, or writing style. Even my taste regarding clean or erotica goes in cycles. What can I say? I am fickle.

The great thing about this is that, when I rediscover a trope, I have tons of new books that have come out (hopefully), AND I have tons of old books to reread.
The bad thing of course, is that I lose track of which books I liked and which not, so there are books I remember that I can't find, and books that I forgot out of self-preservation that I try again.

All in all though, it is a good time to be a romance reader!

I miss Charlotte Boyett-Compo, too.  The other day all of her books came up on my Ammy feed.  Guess her kids/estate are keeping the books coming.  You and I already have them, but maybe someone new will discover her.

~Linda~

Here's what I wrote in my introduction on the board back in 2017 ~

"I'm a long time (LONG time) reader of romance. I started with Georgette Heyer and Barbara Cartland back in the seventies (along with Valley of the Dolls and Sydney Sheldon and James Michener and basically any book that came my way). I read the first JD Robb book when it was published along with books by JAK, Elizabeth Lowell, LaVyrle Spencer, and more.

These days I read romances of many flavors ~ historical, contemporary, new adult, m/m, paranormal, fantasy, alien, and so on.

I read in other genres, too, but romance has long been my favorite."

I'd say that my tastes have changed; I'd also agree that there are many more types of romances commonly available today than in the seventies.

I think I'm reading significantly more non-romances today than I was in 2017. I read a good number of space opera and urban fantasy books. Admittedly, I'm always happy when they contain a romantic element.

Regards,
Kareni

I'm not really sure if my tastes have changed or not. I have always been drawn to the HEA/HFN books over non fiction, the genre was not important as long as that element was there. My reading has expanded with the different categories being introduced. My memory may be failing me but I don't really remember some of the sub categories being mainstream available in the small rural community I lived in during the 60's/70's. We had the horror, thriller/adventure, gothic, historical and contemporary stories. But the shifter, male/male romances, space operas (with romance) were not there.

The only exception? I am not reading as many of the Harlequin series, I find they are too short.