Does "Girly" = Lovey-Dovey?

Unless you happen to read either or both genres, you're likely apt to think that "women's fiction" is a euphemism for "romance". Not so, say the hard-core readers—because genre romance is a type of women's fiction.

Notice that the main similarities between women's fiction and genre romance can be summed up in three things:

1. appeal to positive emotions
2. life-affirming if not happy endings
3. usually read by women

Any type of book that is written to appeal to women falls under the umbrella of "women's fiction", just as anything written primarily for young adults is "YA", or for preteens is "middle grade". (Is there a "men's fiction" genre? I'll have to look into that.)

Women's fiction is primarily about the empowerment of women. What can woman do? The genre affirms life as we know it.

In genre romance, the spotlight is a romantic relationship. In chick lit, that light is focused on something else in the young working woman's life.

But notice that it is mostly light, fluffy, and happy, a la Shanna Swendson's Enchanted, Inc. series. The seriousness of what's happening can be hard to remember between the enchanted frogs and the villain's ADD. Everyday ordinary life is good, says women's fiction.

So, to answer the question in this post's title:

No, "girly" fiction is not necessarily romance.