What is Sentient Object Romance?
A growing sub-genre within romance, sentient object romance typically involves a love story centered around one human character and one or more "sentient object" character(s): these are items or concepts that do not typically have human-like thoughts, a voice, emotions, etc. I personally describe it as the intersection between absurdity and romance, a type of tale that pokes a little fun at the interactions between characters by inserting an element of the unbelievable. While other romance genres such as fantasy, sci-fi, or omegaverse often have some governing rules, things are a little more fluid when it comes to SOR, which is largely free of genre-wide guiding principles or norms. Objects can either remain "as-is" or transform into more human-like shapes, often retaining some of their original characteristics in the process.
Arguably the most well-known name in SOR is Dr. Chuck Tingle, a trailblazer with a catalog of more than 400 titles and sentient object characters ranging from literal holidays to bisexual movie theaters, written from 2014 on. Other notable "proto-SOR" authors from the same time period include Leonard Delaney and Evelyn Cloves , both of whom contributed their own titles in 2015. SOR experienced a new spike in popularity in 2023 with the publication of Vera Valentine's door romance novella Unhinged, a love story between a woman and the front door in love with her.
Please note: The list below is not exhaustive and is a continual work in progress! A conscious choice has been made to exclude authors/covers that use generative AI (All current generative AI is artistic theft), and some judgement calls have been made on what constitutes sentient object romance vs. pure monsters/shifters/etc. I'm also not including all of Chuck Tingle's many fabulous titles because it'd read like a phone book at this point, and I don't mean a sexy sentient one!
Sentient Object Romances and Their Authors
Balloon Animals (Squeak by Vera Valentine, Squeal by Vera Valentine)
Cake / Birthday Cake (Caked by Holly Wilde)
Cheese (Why Cheese by Ellen Mint)
Christmas Stockings (The Stockings Were Hung by J.L. Logosz and Vera Valentine)
Copyright Page (Coaxed by the Copyright Page by Leonard Delaney)
Couch (Pushin' Cushions by Vera Valentine and Unfortunate Reads)
Cup / Stanley Cup (Cupped by Holly Wilde)
Deviled Egg (The Deviled Egg Made Me Do It by Holly Wilde)
Donut (Her Donut Shifters by Mia Harlan)
Door (Unhinged by Vera Valentine)
Earth (Earthed by Holly Wilde)
French Horn / Instrument (French Horny by Nora Noodle)
Freezer (Freezer Teaser by Missy Love)
Furby (Faulty by Nicole Parker)
Groceries (Bagged by the Groceries by Fannie Tucker)
Hot Dog (My Hotdog Came to Life and Screwed Me by Scarlet DeLorne and Sky Corgan)
Ice / Ice Cube (Wynter by Mia Harlan, Melt for Daddy by Holly Wilde)
Kool-Aid Man (Cold Sweat by Vera Valentine, Cherry Desire by Sloane Aycock)
Halloween Decorations (Monster Mash by Latrexa Nova)
Hammer (Nailed by Ames Winterbourne)
Hockey Stick (Handle Me by Unfortunate Reads)
Inflatables (Smashed by the Christmas Inflatables by S.R. Griffith)
Jack-in-the-Box (Jacked Up by Latrexa Nova)
Kudzu Vine (Taken by the Kudzu by S.R. Griffith)
Lamp (Light Me Up by Sabrina Cross)
Pastry (Her Pastry Shifters by Mia Harlan)
Pillow (Stuffed by Sylvia Morrow, Double Stuffed by Sylvia Morrow)
Peeps / Marshmallows (Mating with Mallows by Nora Noodle)
Plushies / Crochet Plushies (Corny by Sabrina Cross, Tangled by Sabrina Cross)
Present / Birthday Present (Wrapped by Nicole Parker)
Rake (Rake by Nicole Parker)
Rubber Ducky (Rubber Ducky Shifter Next Door by Mia Harlan, Ducked by Rebecca Massey and Adelyne Graves)
Sand Sculpture (Pounded by Poseidon by Holly Wilde and Thea Masen)
Seat / Airplane Seat (Airpeen by Holly Wilde)
Silverware / Fork / Spoon / Knife (Forked by Ruth Cardello, Spooned by Ruth Cardello)
Snowman / Frosty (Frosted by Rebecca Massey and Adelyne Graves, Frisky by Lauren Biel)
Socks (His Perfect Pair by Dickie Fitz)
Sunscreen (SPF Me by Holly Wilde)
TBR / To-Be-Read List (Taken by My TBR by Holly Wilde)
Teddy Bear (Banging My Birthday Bear by Holly Wilde, Snuggle by Sabrina Cross, Teddy by Christina Mattingly)
Thanksgiving Food (Back for Seconds by J.L. Logosz and Vera Valentine)
Triangle (Love Triangle by Sylvia Morrow)
Trees (Sap and Spile by Vera Valentine)
Underwear (His Perfect Fit by Dickie Fitz)
Vacuum (Milky by Daisy Jane, Love and Suction by Gerglug Writes, My Dirty Vaccum by Missy Love)
Watch / iWatch (Invaded by the iWatch by Leonard Delaney)
Yarn / Knitting (Holy Knit by Deborah Alexander)