Ottawa startup uses 'vibe review' to match romance readers with books

Natasha Tardioli spent years tracking her romance reading on a spreadsheet, counting titles and noting what she wanted to read next. The system worked for looking back but fell short for looking ahead—existing book apps didn't match her tastes.

So she built her own. Romancy is a book discovery platform designed specifically for romance readers, using what Tardioli calls a "vibe review" to connect people with novels they'll actually love.

Tardioli, a former marketing director at Ottawa's L-Spark technology accelerator, launched the platform's first beta event on June 3 at Evermore Books. More than 30 people attended, and the local romance community embraced the new tool immediately.

The platform works by asking users to log books they've read and submit "vibe reviews"—written in their own words through guided questions—rather than traditional star ratings. "There's so much context about what you thought of it that really has nowhere to go," Tardioli explained. That context—whether you loved the pacing but hated the ending, or adored the author's voice but found the plot flat—feeds the algorithm in a reader's own language.

Romance publishing has become North America's most profitable genre segment. U.S. print romance sales jumped 24 per cent in 2025 alone and are now valued at approximately $19.7 billion. Yet the industry has a discovery problem: most recommendation systems push trending titles, leaving smaller authors—no matter how perfectly matched to a reader's taste—invisible.

Romancy's vibe check feature lets readers scan a physical book at a library or store to see how well it aligns with their tastes. Tardioli tested it herself and found overlooked titles with strong alignment to her interests. "Some of the titles in there don't have the same cover art as the trendy titles do right now," she noted, "so they're easier to overlook. But really the content of them is highly aligned to what I want to read."