Week two of celebrating August being Read-A-Romance Month begins! This week we dive into tropes. What is a romance trope? What are some examples?
A romance trope is a recurring theme, plot device or character type. Readers come to have certain expectations about the story based on the trope. The best writers take a formula and make it their own. Google offers a long list of tropes but a few tropes are extremely popular. Let’s check those out.
- Amnesia trope is one of my least favorites. Example: Repeat by Kylie Scott
- Enemies to Lovers is my favorite trope. The characters hate one another at first but slowly develop romantic feelings. Examples: Book Lovers by Emily Henry or Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
- Fake Dating leads to real feelings. Example: The Bodyguard by Katherine Center
- Forbidden Love when a relationship is not allowed for some external factor. Examples: Slammed by Colleen Hoover or Twisted Games by Ana Huang
- Forced Proximity is loved by readers. The characters are forced to spend time together, usually against their will. Example: The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren
- Friends to Lovers when friends slowly realize they have feelings for one another. Example: The Cheat Sheet by Sarah Adams
- Grumpy/Sunshine trope is when one of the main characters is grumpy and the other is optimistic. Example: The Wall of Winnipeg and Me by Mariana Zapata
- Love Triangle is another one of my least favorite tropes even though it is very popular. Examples: Twilight by Stephenie Meyer and One True Loves by Taylor Jenkins Reid
- Marriage of Convenience story has the characters develop feelings after they marry. Example: The Devil in Winter by Lysa Kleypas
- Opposites Attract trope is a fun one because it’s usually unrealistic in real life. Example: Part of Your World by Abby Jimenez
- Second Chance Romance is the story of the one who got away. Example: Every Summer After by Carley Fortune
- Secret Identity is a story of one character hiding who they really are from the other. Examples: Thank You for Listening by Julia Whelan or Never Judge a Lady by Her Cover by Sarah MacLean
Shield of Sparrows by Devney Perry (https://devneyperry.com/) is an Enemies to Lovers trope and arranged marriage Fantasy Romance (aka Romantsy). Odessa is
not the princess who spent a lifetime training to marry the prince of Turah. In a twist of fate, she is wed to a stranger to honor a treaty and leaves for a faraway kingdom the next morning. Odessa has been overlooked and managed her entire life. What will happen when she asserts herself and becomes more than a pawn in someone else’s game?
This slow burn romance has all the magic and mythical creatures that fans of Rebecca Yarros and Sarah J. Maas love.
“Worried about me, my queen?” I rolled my eyes. “Only that you’d die and I wouldn’t get to spit on your grave.”
Look for Book Whisperer recommendations and other books at Knox County Online Library or your local independent book store each week.
Linda Sullivan is an avid reader and wants to make you one, too. For more recommendations or just to talk books, reach out to her at thebookwhisperertn@gmail.com. She can also be found @thebookwhisperertn on Instagram.
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