The notion that something, especially a location, “is almost another character” in a movie or book is a well-worn cliché. But in a city hungry for representation (on Capitol Hill, yes, but also in media that looks beyond federal Washington), the question of how writers use D.C. as a setting for their work is a fascinating one.

There are, of course, countless political potboilers set in the shadowy corners of government buildings and steakhouses. But what about the most popular and bestselling book genre: the romance novel? Your humble writer has read a slew of romance novels that ostensibly take place in the District to determine who, exactly, D.C. is in each of these books. Disclosure: this was probably the best assignment I’ve ever received.

Before we begin, a quick note on what defines the genre. According to the Romance Writers of America, there are two key elements to any romance novel: it must center around people falling in love (there can be any number of subplots but love should remain the main focus) and there’s got to be a happy ending.

All of the books mentioned here meet that criteria, so please don’t be irked by “spoilers” that the two leads wind up together in the end … because of course they do! The delight comes from discovering their journey to that destination.

The Worst Best Man, by Mia Sosa (2020)

The Plot: Wedding planner Carolina Santos teams up with marketing expert Max Hartley on a presentation for a posh D.C. hotel, which could result in her scoring a job as the hotel’s in-house wedding planner. The twist? Max’s brother used to be Lina’s fiancé, who jilted her at the altar, and Lina blames Max for the whole snafu. Max, on the other hand, finds Lina enrapturing, though their competition for the presentation includes who else but the very brother who left Lina on her wedding day. Drama! How will all this forced proximity affect Lina and Max’s relationship? I think you can guess that things get a little heated …

Who is D.C.? The book presents a version of the D.C. area that makes it clear the author lives locally, forgoing federal hoopla entirely. One telling example: the sole character who works in government is a D.C. Council staffer (one of Max’s housemates, because of course he lives in a group house). The Worst Best Man spotlights the Brazilian immigrant community in the region, and members of Lina’s family own a Brazilian grocery in Wheaton. There’s also a very memorable scene at Adams Morgan restaurant The Grill from Ipanema. One of Lina’s major stressors is finding affordable office space in D.C. after her cushy deal in Dupont ends, a very real and timely concern. While the book doesn’t beat you over the head with “You’re in D.C., okay!?!?” the region feels recognizable and real. Readers can return to Sosa’s D.C. in spring 2022, when her romance novel about Max’s best friend and Lina’s cousin, The Wedding Crasher, comes out.

Most notable sex location: There is an incredibly steamy scene involving a tulip field in rural Virginia that made me think, “Maybe I should go to a tulip field in rural Virginia.”

Sustained, by Emma Chase (2015)

The Plot: Ne’er-do-well defense attorney Jake Becker is more of a one-night stand kind of guy, until he meets Chelsea McQuaid. She’s just moved to D.C. to take care of her six nieces and nephews after their parents die in a car crash on I-495. He finds himself falling for Chelsea and all of the charming kiddos. The book, entirely told from Jake’s perspective, focuses a lot on his observations of various women’s toned legs and otherwise “banging little bod[ies]” as he tries to figure out if he wants to be a family man. Read as he evolves from the kind of guy who says, “A woman’s mind and personality don’t turn me on. It’s her other parts that hold my attention” to someone willing to have a conversation with a woman he wants to have sex with. (There’s also a sequel, Sidebarred, wherein Jake and Chelsea decide whether they want to have more kids.)

Who is D.C.? Chase told Washingtonian that she embarked on her Legal Briefs series (Sustained is one of a handful of novels that follow the romantic travails of Jake and his defense lawyer pals) after visiting D.C. for a weekend and seeing young, attractive people, who her husband suggested were likely lawyers. A lot of the book talks about the District like a cutthroat place where “everyone’s salivating to vote someone off the island” and it namechecks The Angry Inch, an Adams Morgan bar that was long closed prior to publication (to be fair, that Adams Morgan location has held an ever-changing parade of bars). But Chase clearly did research, particularly on the legal side of things — Sustained accurately describes the D.C. attorney general’s role in prosecuting juvenile crime, even noting the office’s restorative justice program.

Most notable sex location: They get it on in the pantry at her house as the six kids play outside. Don’t worry — there’s a lock on the door!

Happy Endings, by Thien-Kim Lam (2021)

The Plot: Trixie Nguyen moves to D.C. determined to turn her burgeoning erotic sex toys business into a brick-and-mortar store. When she hosts a vibrator-selling bachelorette party at a soul food restaurant in Northeast D.C., she’s shocked to learn the establishment is co-owned by Andre Walker, an ex who broke up with her via Post-it note years prior. Andre’s family restaurant has been struggling since, ahem, “District Market” opened in Northeast, driving up rent and drawing hipsters elsewhere in the neighborhood. But the combo of the soul food and sex toys becomes a thriving combination for both of them, and they decide to keep up the partnership. After they clear the air about their painful breakup and start experimenting with some of the toys, conflict comes when their visions for their vocations and locations clash.

Who is D.C.? The central strife between the two leads is literally gentrification in D.C. — and Andre’s concerns that Trixie opening up her store in District Market would lead to the displacement of the businesses and residents in the neighborhood that he holds dear. Unlike many romance novels, whose conflicts basically boil down to “the leads didn’t have one conversation that would have cleared everything up,” this is a sticky, complicated fight that basically makes personal the economic and social dynamics playing out on a larger scale in D.C.  Happy Endings also shows off the Eden Center, where Trixie meets her friends and enjoys all manner of delicious Vietnamese food.

Most notable sex location: It’s probably not a coincidence that Lam establishes Andre’s fastidious cleaning of his family’s soul food restaurant early on, because the two of them definitely enjoy sex on that bar!

Meet You In The Middle, by Devon Daniels (2021)

The Plot: Kate Adams works for a Democratic senator, and Ben Mackenzie has the same job for a Republican. This book takes place immediately after an unnamed GOP president (clearly Donald Trump, though he goes unnamed) takes office. Hijinks ensue when they meet and begin to yank each other’s chains at the workplace (it’s a very “if he pulls your hair on the playground, he must like you” kind of vibe). Kate is convinced she can’t be friends with a Republican, because she’s horrified by the way the GOP enriches the already-rich at the expense of working families (this perspective is in keeping with recent polling, which finds Democrats are far less likely to want to be friends or date conservatives than vice versa). Ben insists that she’s close-minded for thinking this way, and that they have far more in common than not. Guess which one of them reconsiders their perspective!

Who is D.C.? Kate’s cold regard towards Ben begins to thaw when he comes into her office one night insisting that he, a random colleague she’s been fighting with, is not comfortable with her walking home alone from the Capitol because “We live in a city with one of the highest murder rates in the nation.” (While there’s unquestionably been a spike in homicides in D.C. of late, that increase has also been seen in other cities, suburbs, and rural areas — according to 2019 data, the District didn’t make the top 10 cities with the highest murder rates.) Kate somehow finds herself turned on by how possessive of her he is in that conversation. In a very on-the-nose detail, a bunch of Hill staffers meet at Union Pub.

Most notable sex location: While most of their hookups happen in their apartments, there is a rogue erection at a Maryland gun range.

Red, White And Royal Blue, by Casey McQuiston (2019)

The Plot: The dashing Alex Claremont-Diaz is a media darling when he becomes the First Son of the United States. (This is all happening in an alternate reality, wherein his mother, a Democrat from Texas, is elected president in 2016.) For reasons he can’t fully explain, he absolutely hates Great Britain’s Prince Henry, and the two get into a public spat that requires damage control, lest the two countries’ great relationship suffer. But their faux friendship, served up for the media, turns real quite quickly and then becomes … more than friendship, requiring Alex to reconsider his sexuality. The two are trying to keep their dalliance under wraps, because Alex’s mom is up for reelection and the royal family basically refuses to have an out member. But this is a romance novel, so obviously no secret stays that way for long.

Who is D.C.? Alex starts the book as a student at Georgetown, but he lives at the White House to save money on security costs. Most of the D.C. scenes happen at the White House, but it’s clear that Alex has a much stronger connection to his home state of Texas. One of the supporting characters lives in Columbia Heights, and there’s a cursory mention of Jumbo Slice, but Alex (and Henry, by extension) are mostly alienated from the city itself.

Most notable sex location: Wimbledon!

This story has been updated with the correct publication year for Red, White and Royal Blue.