“It’s a grumpy/sunshine book, and there’s only one bed! Eeeeeek!”
Ever feel like book reviews or BookToks are speaking in a cryptic code that you can’t decipher? Something that goes beyond mere skibidi youth slang and “we’re-all-in-a-hurry” shortcuts like comps? There is one culprit for that, and it isn’t going anywhere: tropes.
What’s a trope?
In literary terms, a trope is a plot device or character attribute that is (over)used so commonly in a genre that it’s seen as commonplace, conventional or even cliché.
It’s a romance and the two protagonists who can’t stand each other pretend to be in a relationship for the sake of appearances? Guess what, they’re getting together for real and you can’t stop them. Are you currently reading a superhero book? There’s probably a villain who wants to take over the world, right?
Tropes are very useful to both writer and readers. They are so ubiquitous they cannot be copyrighted, so all the plagiarism scandals about one author using the other author’s “idea”, which turns out to be a basic love triangle trope, are just silly.
Not many books will achieve greatness by just stringing a bunch of tropes together, however. A wise author will use tropes as a jumping point and play with (or against) them as much as their creativity allows, to avoid a stale, predictable manuscript. House Andrews basically have trope torture chambers, you can hear the poor twisted things crying for mercy in each book, and that’s why I love them.
For us readers, tropes are an invaluable tool when we look for our next adventure. I always want romances with Cinnamon Roll heroes, will rarely pick up a Second Chance novel and can’t abide a miscommunication trope.
Tropes are also a way to ease us into a story with something familiar. “A book with magical detectives and political conspiracies? I don’t know if I would…oh, it’s got a Secret Billionaire? Oh yeah, give me 6 of them.” – someone about to join the BDH after reading Hidden Legacy, probably.
Trope trends
A website that can suck hours of your time in its rabbit holes is TV Tropes. You will also start making jokes that only the Chosen Ones understand, but that’s the Rule of Cool hehe.
I’ll give you just a few of my favorite things: raindrops on roses The Chunky Salsa Rule, Red Oni, Blue Oni, the Iron Butt Monkey, Applied Phlebotinum, Crapsaccharine World.
Once you start to recognise tropes everywhere, it also becomes apparent how they constantly go in and out of style and become viral or cancelled, according to the waves of social media opinion and the world (hopefully) learning better in some cases.
In the romance genre, we are currently living through the last days of Grumpy/Sunshine viralness (a subset of the Opposites Attract, where one of the characters is moody, taciturn, saturnine and the other one is a bubbly, chatty ray of sunshine). Enemies to Lovers is still going strong, after defeating the previous reigning champion, Fated Mates (who smell each other; what were we all thinking lol?). Forced Consent and Age Gap are relegated to the backstage or taboo indies. It might make your favorites harder to find or write about for commercial success, but I hope for a world where no one can dictate to adults what they should be reading.
What tropes are you interested in or glad to see the last of?
Edit: please keep it to discussion about tropes and not specific book or author recommendations. There will be designated blog posts for that!
I love the loner who gets more and more friends, gets a reliable team, develops, changes to be an (at least a bit) open to others person.
I do not know if there is a name for that, but that is the kind of book series I tend to stay till the end (or till someone eg kills of the team, the circle of friends,…)
Habe a nice day!
I love that too! It’s a range of tropes, from the Loner Turned Friend https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/LonerTurnedFriend to the Power of Friendship https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ThePowerOfFriendship
I discovered TVtropes about 10 years ago. I haven’t finished reading yet…
the end is NOT in sight hehe
That’s because there IS no end!!!!!!!!!!*eeeeeevil cackling*
Thank you!
I love the friends trope too!!! Probably my favorite although I often refer to it as “found family” where the main(s) end up with friends and family.
The found family trope? I love that…
I feel like the fated mates trope is still going strong… but maybe that is just kindle unlimited for you.
I’ve gotten to the point with storylines where I enjoy when the author acts like she is heading in the direction of a trope… and then completely side steps it with a mature and reasonable response.
I’ve long since felt like the romance genre has been in danger of propagating normality of abusive relationships.
I’ve enjoyed a few titles which took the “he’s a misunderstood AH who would never hurt me” trope and showed how yes, he was hurting her and that healthy relationships don’t have love bombing.
Sadly those titles get a lot of love and a lot of hate.
I agree with you on romance sometimes being way too close to abusive. It’s a trend that has been around a while. Alpha male does not equate to abusive/run over the female/control the female. But some books definitely cross that line for me.
That one is “found family” I think and I love it too!
I agree. My favorite series (53 + books so far) is still going strong & I am always looking for more in this trope.
OK, I am officially old. I had to google “skibidi”. Which led me to a subReddit which explained it using a bunch more slang terms I had never heard before.
That’s sigma, chat, no cap!
(Translation: that’s so cool, friend, no lie. And now that I, a woman in her 30s, said this, it will die a very uncool slang death :D)
The one I feel bad about is that Ohio has come to mean weird or cringe or uncool. “It’s all Ohio“. I don’t know what Ohio did to deserve it lol.
Maybe it’s from an old Bugs Bunny cartoon saying. The saying is “It’s hi in the middle and round at both ends. O-hi-o.” 🤣🤣🤣🤣
Otherwise, I’m not sure either.
That’s also a song! I heard it in an old movie (live action), but can’t remember which; an unattractive, older man from Ohio (maybe the anti-love interest? comic relief of some sort) kept singing it, over and over:
“It’s round on the ends and HIGH in the middle
Think, think, think, think, what’s my riddle?
Low on the ends and HIGH in the middle
It’s O-Hi-O!”
As an earworm, that song is right up there with the Rosalind Russell Wonderful Town classic:
“Why, oh, why, oh why, oh
Why did we ever leave Ohio?
Why did we wander
To find what lies yonder
When life was so cozy at home?
Wond’ring while we wander
Why did we fly? Why did we roam?
Oh why, oh why, oh
Did we leave O-Hiii-o?
Maybe we’d better go
(O-H-I-Oooo)
Maybe we’d better go home.”
Ohio has been a byword for not-cool on both coasts for at least the past eighty years, so it doesn’t surprise me that the youngs have picked it back up, along with skibidi. In the further words of Rosalind Russell, get hep!
I work with tweens. It comes from the video game Fortnite. Still not sure why, but “only in Ohio” became a catchphrase, and now it’s just Ohio. Kind of a riff on Florida Man.
We (in the UK) have ‘Normal for Norfolk (seriously weird)
I play Fortnite (47 here lol) and had no idea on Ohio lol
I live in Ohio. We know what we did. Many American astronauts have been from Ohio. It’s bad enough to make men want to flee the Earth.
We are ok paying our penance.
🤣😂🤣
Huh? What’s wrong with Ohio, Jaime? Mr. Wife’s career brought us to Cincinnati from New York State, and then Mr. Wife’s career brought us *back* to Ohio from Europe — and we were happy to settle in Cincinnati both times.
Second on that. Love my Cincinnati. But have to admit Ohio is a state with a split personality — the northern part of the state is much different than the southern part. But let the haters hate; I’m content to stay under the radar and just enjoy my little haven.
More 😆😆😆
LOL !!! Thank you for my first laugh of the day!
I agree, born and raised in Ohio, and if we’re honest with ourselves, we know what we did…
Ohio is a gorgeous state but it’s been the butt of jokes as long as it’s been a state, I suspect. Even John Denver, of all people, wrote a song about it (“Saturday Night In Toledo, Ohio”; there’s a line about sitting around the bakery and watching the buns rise). The joke’s on those who believe the jokes though. Lots of good people and things come from there.
I’m crying laughing over here!
litrgp has been my jam for the last year. Got snatched up and it has not let me go since lol
Troping tropingly with extra tropes. Almost Romance levels of tropes.
And I love every paragraph.
Two tropes I despise: hurt, poutiness chapters of “miscommunication” ruining 2 characters (portayed as strong, confident types) getting together until an overly contrived, quirky scene reveals all. Not interested.
I bet there are cool names for these, but I don’t have a clue there. Off to check out links!
Ultimate “can’t stand it” trope is the character flips that sacrifices a perfectly good (or bad) character to serve the plot. Bad, sloppy, make whacky noise with a rolled up newspaper. I hate feeling betrayed after becoming invested.
Me, too, with more whacky sounds with a rolled up newspaper 😆 for second chances. I’m 74 and in all those years of watching all those people around me get divorced or break up, only two have remarried or found each other successfully. I cannot spend my disbelief for this one. (Finding your old high school crush is the worst.)
I luuuurve LitRPG! I’m currently in the middle of a progression series that just randomly turned into a dungeon adventure 3 books in :D! It is a genre, however, not a trope 🙂
I’ve binged LitRPG the last few years – I love it! Apocolypse? Trapped in game? Fallen/dragged through portal? Self aware dungeon/godcore? Weird and/or creepy build due to stubbornness? I’m here for it all!
System takeover with attack waves is my fave, as long as it focuses on base establishment! Oh, and super cozy stuff where they just advance in skill levels that have nothing to do with fighting.
I … don’t get litrpg. Probably because I have never played computer games, video games (well, other than say Pong or Tetris or Angry Birds; yes, I am that old, thank you very much) or D&D type games. I’ve read two book series which were touted as litrpg and the entire series seemed to be the character “leveling up” (yes, I had to look that up) in each book, getting some power she didn’t previously have.
What is it about the genre that draws you in?
You infer that there are people who haven’t gotten snatched up by it?
Mongo would be appalled!
Except I can’t decipher anything people are saying and when someone says the name Mongo, I think of a big dude riding a Brahman bull and punching a horse (instead of the rider).
*hides back under a rock*
Same. Litrpg, especially slice of life, I’m hooked!
I like what I call “hidden power” – the character who is a lot more powerful than they seem… you have the delicious sensation of knowing there’s something behind the scenes, and when they finally get to bust out some moves, it is very very satisfying. Then they go back to being their funny/humble/ordinary selves, but you never see them the same way again…
Me too, especially if it is not ridiculously overdone — just “paranormally realistic”, so to speak.
I was so glad to get to be at a panel for you guys on Saturday morning. My brother and I were sitting in the front row and I got to ask a question. Just so charming and engaging.
I call it the Harlan Corban trope, where things pile up and an innocent man is accused of a crime, his wife leaves him, his children are bullied, he is fired, rejected by his club, his friends, all humanity, and it is all a mistake. Somehow he crawls out from under this hideous fate and finds life, happiness and friends once more.
Once I realize I have wandered into one of these stories, I hurry out again.
Isn’t that the book of Job?
😆👍😆
lol
Ah, the poor, persecuted male. He deserves so much better! I also dislike the conventional beginning of cozy mysteries and chick lit and (paranormal) women’s fiction where the same happens to a woman, and she is usually also facing the ravages of middle age.
I so agree … I read for entertainment, not for trudging thru angst !!!
+1,000,000
Really tired of the 12 or kidnapped Princess types to a castle with a magic monster. And usually a maze.
The grumpy 30-something self-made bullionnnaire workaholic with a physique a body-builder would envy despite never spending any time in the gym, who’s life will be upended by the sunshine out-of-work over-qualified soon to be homeless heroine.
I’m to the point of instantly rejecting anything with “billionaire” in the description, unless it’s an author I already like.
I’m with you? House Andrews is literally the only billionaire stuff I read.
Right? There are approximately 2,800 billionaires in the real world, and approximately 2,800 hard body single billionaire books are published each month. I just run if it’s got billionaire in the title, or in the first 4 words of the blurb. Rohan’s wealth is incidental, not the only thing he’s got going for him.
This + 1000
If I read anything about a billionaire in the description I’m out. I am so tired of these books because most of the time the billionaire is an arrogant entiteled and mean guy and I do not understand what attracts the female main character (aside from the apparent hotness… 🙄)
Also, why is always the male main chsracter the billionaire and never the female main character? I feel that the woman only has money if she is born into a rich family, the main character is never the head of her multibillion company. Why is there never a down-on-his-luck poor male main character? I feel that this trope is so mysogynistic. Are women incapable of being successful or what? Grrr….
I run a mile from billionaire books too (although there might be a few exceptions), and I hate bully romance. Miscommunication annoys me, unless it’s really twisted up in the story.
That is why I love Silver Shark so much. Venturo is so nice, he is nothing like the trope billionairs
+1
I loathe the whole billionaire set-up — my wife and I used to scout them out and try to top each other with the sheer ridiculousness of their titles. She eventually became the queen of all time by finding “The Amish Billionaire “ at our local grocery store. There was really nowhere to go after that ….
😂😂
I find it really tedious when it becomes obvious that an author was writing a book just to include popular tropes rather than because they had an interesting story they wanted to tell that included or subverted those tropes. It’s also frustrating when some books are marketed only with “includes X popular trope,” “list of all the tropes included,” and then I have no idea what the book is actually about or those tropes are gestured at by the author but then the story doesn’t really include them. And there’s a lot of variance in how tropes can be used (in terms of being well executed or not, even the taboo ones). I’ve definitely DNF’d books that contained tropes I usually love. Ultimately, I try not to go by tropes to determine my TBR because I just find that kind of recommendation so uneven and unreliable, and it also keeps me reading in my comfort zone rather than seeking out new stories and authors.
The male lead (not the hero) who rapes the innocent heroine. They then find love…
This is a trope I see lamented as lost in reviews on Goodreads by old school romance afficionados…
I never understood. Do they get a thrill reading about this?
I also hate the “I’ve loved him for years & he doesn’t even know I’m alive”. Girl get a life!
The only version of limerance I’ll read/watch is when she ends up getting someone a lot more awesome and outgrows all the things that kept her obsessed!
Yeah, a lot of romance books from the 1970s and 80s books were like that. 😬
+1
🤢🤮🤢
That right there is the one I don’t miss even a little bit.
I so hear you! Those make me so mad, so disappointed in the author that I immediately strike that author off my to be read list.
Very late to the thread but wanted to comment in case anyone else is late ;). The rape/”accidental assault” (I know, ugh) was done because back in the 70s, and maybe early 80s, you couldn’t have sex in a book with a single or “good girl”, AKA the heroine, because good girls don’t have sex. The assault or forced marriage or whatever allowed sex into the story because you don’t close the barn door after the horse loses their virginity. Yucky but true.
I’m horribly undiscerning when it comes to reading. I get bored and pick the first pretty cover, or the first “Oh God, what IS that on his arm, now I’m curious” cover. I have grown in wisdom and now I have my own permission not to finish everything I start. I don’t have enough me time to spend it frivolously reading something I don’t like.
I may be engaging in mental congress with just about anything that flips its pages at me, BUT I draw a line at social media. I only follow the authors who actually write the books I like best. You know. The ones I finish, then reread, then buy the print version to loan to my kid, and the graphic audio to listen to in the car, and then haunt the fan sites to gossip about the characters, and generate endless theories.
Maybe this is too much self-discovery. But hey. I turned 50 today. My mother labored on Labor Day 50 years ago. It might be time to contemplate my mental navel for a minute.
Happy birthday!
Wow. I turned 50 yesterday. Happy birthday to us!
Happy Earthside Day to both of you!
Absolutely agree and Happy Birthday to you! 🎉🎂
John Rogers (creator and writer of TV show “Leverage”): “You say trope, I say well-honed narrative tool.”
Favs: Found family. Competence p*rn. I will burn it all down for you.
I’m not sure those are official names for the tropes, but the BDH will understand me. 🙂
I understand and endorse this!
The trope torture chamber…😂😂😂😂
I’ve read really good books where the tropes used were so good and somewhat subtle, the tropes were possibly screaming “get me out of here!”
Then I’ve read books where the author is hitting the reader over the head with tropes right at the beginning of the book. Ugh!
I like the Bad News Bears trope, where a group of outcasts/unlikely heroes find success because of a really good leader.
Also I like the Swiss Family Robinson/Boxcar Children trope where people find themselves with nothing or in a situation completely different to what they know, and create a workable system for themselves. Kate Daniels has elements of that and it’s one of the things I love about that series.
I’m just naming these tropes myself, I’m sure TV Tropes has a different name for them.
I also really love the “make it work” trope, especially when they use things in ways I had never thought of.
As I understand this (and I love this trope too) it’s called the heroine’s journey. Gail Carriger wrote an excellent book about it.
There’s a famous musical that I used to love until I realized it was an ‘escape from Stockholm Syndrome’ and the escapee turns out to be a gold digger.
The series I’m reading currently uses the ‘transported from home world to become the Chosen One in the game world’ trope, but the main character is someone native to the game world. I’m in the second book of …six?… and really liking that twist on the trope.
So it’s a LitRPG where the MC *isn’t* the person who got ported? *raises eyebrow*
What’s the ported person doing, then?
Okay, fine, just tell me which book series, lol…
Long live the tropes! Totally here for:
Why choose/reverse harem
Cinnamon roll
Fated mates
Badass heroine
Monster lovers
Vampire almost anything
Shifter almost anything
Some levels of age gap
Billionaire
Lighter end Dark Mafia
MM, MFM
Storybook/mythological reimaginings
Touch her and die/protector
Dark lover, morally grey/black antihero with clear boundaries
I’m fairly easy to please! I do appreciate it when books have trope lists/content warnings. Some of those Dark Mafia ones are waaaay beyond the pale and disturbing/sickening. And I will definitely rage DNF on a book with non-con pregnancy. 🤮
ModR, you are truly evil, and TVTropes is exponentially bigger than the last time I swore never to visit again. I was just interested in ModR’s specific favorites! I wasn’t going to click through anywhere!
Dammit.
I decided not to go down that clickbait rabbithole lolz
Wise of you
I hate beyond all reason the hero who breaks out of jail to clear his own name. it makes me grind my teeth in fury!
Poor Edmond Dantes 🤣
lol, I’m just curious, but what is the alternative? Assuming true innocence of course.
Aw, c’mon…those movies with Tommy Lee Jones chasing around Harrison Ford and Wesley Snipes are fantastic!
I don’t know what most of these names mean. Cinnamon Roll?
I really hate when reviewers especially use acronyms that I don’t know. MC being one and of course the dreaded Mary Sue. If you want me to read it make it so I understand what you are saying without having to look up in a dictionary.
Oh, really hate reviews about books that act all high and mighty about the story. If you don’t like the story don’t read it and then review it with how much you didn’t like it full of acronyms and tropes that nobody knows.
When words are in red and underlined, it means there’s a link embedded if you click on them, often to explain it 🙂 . A cinnamon roll is a sweet, supportive, generally kind male hero. If he makes booboos, it’s usually because of a misunderstanding or good intentions gone bad. He’s the opposite of the domineering and forceful Alpha or Alphahole heroes.
Thanks!
Cinnamon Roll = a character that is sweet and squishy.
MC = Main Character.
Mary Sue/Gary Sue = characters that are perfect, flawless, everyone loves them and treats them as if they’re super-special. They’re seemingly able to do *everything* effortlessly, even if it makes NO sense…like a 14yo from Manhattan who has walked *everywhere* their entire life being able to backup a manual-shift tandem (pulling TWO boxes) tractor trailer into a tight parking spot as if they’ve been doing it for thirty years. No matter that they’re not old enough to have a driver’s license, much less a Commercial Driver’s License, and there’s never been one mention of them ever being behind the wheel of a car.
They always know/have/find the solution, to the point of suddenly developing/exhibiting a new power/skill they’ve NEVER had/shown/mentioned before; but they suddenly mystically realize how to do it flawlessly at the exact moment they need it to save the day.
Thank you!
+1
Those things smack of deus ex machina, which, while a device and not a trope, I hate with the fires of all the suns that has or will ever exist in this universe and beyond. I read a book once where the heroine was in AGONY over how to save her little shop. This agony was repeated from page one all the way through the climax and into the “next day in the hospital,” recovering, talking to her best friend who “oh by the way, I’m rich, here’s a check for the whole amount you need.” Lazy much? If the plot isn’t working, why force it? If you can’t actually resolve it, why was it so central to the plot? I lambasted that author in my review, then I stopped writing reviews for a while.
Knowing all the tropes (bit of hyperbole there, but a lot) I’ve gotten pretty jaded about things, and definitely hard to please. So I just loved it when I read a romance where it has _all the tropes_ – but gender flipped! Somehow, that made it so much better! And to make it even more meta 😉 the plot itself was about a woman needing to hire a male figurehead to be taken seriously, so also very much a comment on how “society” claims certain traits are “typically male/female”. Loved it. I mean, it still was all the same tropes. But at least it had me laughing out loud 😊
Also, yes, most tropes aren’t technically gendered – but how often is the billionaire a strong independent woman and the blushing virgin a man? How often is May the guy and December the gal? That’s what I meant by saying gender flipped 😊
You go girl! 😜 You are my heroine!
I know, right? Same for my sister. So why is it still so “noteworthy” when it happens?
Never mind me, I’ll be muttering “get off my lawn” and “them young ‘uns” next 😉
lol
Apparently with today’s 30 somethings – I can’t keep up with generational labels – older female, younger male is starting to be a norm. In my mid-boomer generation we joked about it – “Get ’em young, train ’em well” as one of my housemates put it – but it was still uncommon. Given the relative average emotional maturing process, the new norm makes more sense.
And they also have the teacher/student thing covered! (Which I personally find nauseating.)
Remington Steele TV show…one of my favorites.
My trope hot take is that it doesn’t count as a love triangle unless all 3 peeps are feeling each other. Otherwise is is just a love angle.
My favorite ones are grumpy/sunshine, only one bed, secret wizard, nerd/jock, single parent getting back out there, and friends to lovers.
I will not read non consent, slave/master, or age gap where the people knew each other when one party is a minor or student/teacher or professor. All of these speak to a gross violation of power. Sure these can sometimes be pulled off if it is like dad’s best friend, but the friend never knew the child as a child or if the teacher is teaching something to adults with zero stakes like knitting or pottery. I have issues with hot boss due to the power imbalance too although those can more frequently be pulled off.
I also am not the greatest fan of second chance romance since they are excepting me to buy that this relationship that already fell apart is going to be fine going forward. Also hate the “this storyline wouldn’t even be a thing if they’d just talk to each”. You are adults: communicate!
I like a synopsis of romance novel to have tropes so I can easily avoid the ones I hate. I rarely read reviews and don’t find those focusing on tropes helpful except as hastags but do write my own reviews with tropes I liked or didn’t like because I’m lazy.
You are my kind of people. 😁👍😁
When I tell people I’m living the second chance trope, I get one of two responses:
“That’s so romantic.”
“Have you lost your mind?”
Is it perfect this time around? No. (No relationship is.) Do some past issues raise their ugly heads? Absolutely. Is it a good, solid relationship this time around? Without a doubt. Second chances can work, but only if the things that pushed you apart the first time can be resolved in some way.
Amnesia. You know, the heroine/hero can’t remember anything but is innately good and survived Evil Deeds but doesn’t know why. His/her longing-from-afar
true love interest (see, there’s a two-fer trope) is there until a conk on the head returns our protagonist to the present.
I try to make it to the end of every book, but have been known to quit in disgust when I realize I’ve fallen into this never-never land.
The older I get, the faster I am to bail on a book. The first one I should have bailed on was in my 20s I think – Ancient Evenings by Norman Mailer. I kept waiting for it to get better, but it never did. Lesson learned! After that, I did bail as needed. Life is too short and there are too many better books out there.
I am so tired of the “an unputdownable Trope Trope trope adjective Trope genre” descriptions on Amazon.
Dislike–the my way or the highway “Alpha” portrayed as a Dom when they can’t be bothered to do aftercare.
like–oh no only one bed!
it’s not a troup (I don’t think) but gives me the complete ick when after a couple has ‘done the deed’ and the bloke gets a cloth and like, wipes the woman down?? What the heck is that?? So gross and makes me wonder what the hell has happened down there….
if I feel like that scene is coming up I’ll just skip ahead a few pages…..🤢
😂😂 I have always found that awkward to read.
Won’t read: nonconsensual, dom-sub, people beating up their partners
Annoying but I can read: heroine shackled in the spaceship but he’s a gentleman (seriously? Shackles in a spaceship? ) ; heroine kidnapped 3 times in one book (never learns?? Will probably end up shackled in a spaceship); evil twin Skippy
Most hilarious use of tropes: a fantasy that followed the whole Joan Wilder trope list: “killed my father, raped and murdered my sister, burned my ranch, shot my dog, and stole my bible!”
Oops, posted twice. Sorry.
No worried, fixed it 🙂
Enemies to lovers and arranged marriages are two of the tropes that often catch my attention. Especially in Webtoons!
10 years ago any shapeshifter/vampire romance was my cup of tea, now it must have something really peculiar that intrigues me
Tropes I love: found family (misfits preferably) reluctant hero (Han Solo, or Steve in Stranger Things) undercover as spouses, double life mild-mannered by day powerful witch by night, the calvary saves the day.
Tropes I don’t like: Abuse, second chances, pregnancy, miscommunication (unless it’s funny) instant sex,
I love redemptions Those stories where you discover that the bad guy is not so bad,Or better yet, go back and say: “I can be good, or at least kill fewer people”
Another Hugh fan, I take it? Ilona and Gordon took the secondary villain from the Kate Daniels books and turned him into an utterly believable hero. Still an asshole, but that works, too.
+1 – I will die on the hill that there was NO WAY Hugh could be redeemed and the Authors *DID IT*
Right?!? They took a textbook sociopath and gave him a backstory that made sense of his entire character arc. That is freaking impressive. And, having undergone an unwelcome education on the biology and sociology of trauma over the past few years, I find it even more believable. To paraphrase a specialist, the hardest things to forgive, in ourselves and others, are the ones done under the influence of trauma (trauma being defined as a stressful situation that the individual cannot escape by their own agency). That pretty well describes Hugh’s backstory.
I like Second Chance tropes in romance especially when written by authors of the calibre of Jane Austen (Persuasion is my favourite Jane Austen novel) and Georgette Heyer. The exception to this is if the reason they parted in the first place was The Big Misunderstanding/ Miscommunication. I always think “ Why didn’t you just sit down and talk to each other before you parted? Surely if you cared enough to seriously consider a life long commitment you could have risked embarrassment by articulating what the issue is and giving the other person a chance to explain before heartbreak? “
Thank heavens the grumpy/ sunshine trope is disappearing. I always think that, after the honeymoon is over, the grumpy one will revert to type and ultimately this will wear the sunshine one down. Always having to buoy another up must be an exhausting way to live.
My favourite heroines and heroes are people who have agency, aren’t superheroes who are all knowing and perfect, are willing to learn and grow, are honest, mature in their outlook and courageous in the face of difficulties, in other words the kind of protagonists Ilona Andrews writes. I enjoy the way they ride right up to edge of a trope and then veer off at the last moment. I love the scene in Wildfire where Nevada very politely explains to Rynda that Rogan and she are committed to each other and he is not going to be Rynda’s Plan B. A lesser author would have fallen into the “ big misunderstanding “ trap. Which reminds me that it must be time for a reread/ relisten to the Hidden Legacy series. My Graphic Audio Innkeeper ‘ movies in my mind’ need a break!
Some tropes I would read in a particular genre but not in others.
For example I read romance, (including erotica I think), SF and fantasy, YA and some crime.
But I don’t want to read distinctly romance tropes in my YA and SF and not too deeply romance and fantasy enmeshed books either. I’d rather keep my proper romance tropes firmly in genre.
I don’t mind crime tropes making their way across all the genres yet I don’t want full on police procedural nor intuitive sleuths popping out and about even in crime.
However I’m happy for secret heirs, orphan heroes, hidden identities, quests and good vs evil to trudge across all of my genres willy nilly.
And these days my nihilism has had about it all it can take just living so will skip all the grimdark, post-apocalyptic, woe is me stuff. Nietzsche is not my superman.
Some interesting tropes there hehe. Learn something new every damn day. Crapsaccharine world! Hehehe
Thanks for a fun blog. Not really into tv much anymore, but those tropes all work for books too. And I agree, no stupid miscommunication plots or second chances! Ugh
Not sure if it would be miscommunication or second chance, but I really dislike the get together, hate each other, back together and HEA. And it seems to be almost every freakin’ book!
Redemption/rising to the occasion is one of my favorite tropes. The hero who didn’t know they could (or would) sacrifice themselves for someone else.
and I HATE fated mates and helpless hostage to romance (Stockholm love).
I am firmly in Enemies to Lovers camp … I hope it never dies because I just love the snark.. which would be why I love the Grumpy v sunshine trope too … the banter!
My other trope I love is Found Family – it makes me feel all squishy inside!
Yes, one of my faves is the opportunity for witty snark lines in” enemies to lovers”- HA does it so well!
I have a couple of least-favorites. One we hardly see any more, which was the shivering innocent girl and the taciturn older man who makes her miserable until she loves him.
The other is the miscommunication trope. It usually requires the heroine or hero to be stupid and/or emotionally stunted. Ugh.
As long as there’s no protracted miscommunication or misunderstanding trope, I can normally roll with it. A slight misunderstanding or miscommunication that would be realistic is fine, but piling it on as a plot device to move the story forward is like hitting your poor MC over the head for some convenient amnesia for the umpteenth time and hoping there’s no permanent brain damage this time.
I’m also a bit of a Waifu fan, so harem or reverse harem tropes aren’t really my style.
“Fated Mates (who smell each other; what were we all thinking lol?)”
Mod R, you are hilarious, that was a literal lol for me.
I’m a complete sucker for a Morality Chain. <3
Nesting error, sorry
In fantasy specifically:
-Magic competition/gladiator games. (Obv, Magic Strikes is my fav because of that)
-Escape from prison/some type of enclosed place
In general:
-Found family
-Revenge
I grew up on fanfiction and I wish you could tag books like you can on AO3 and I’d just find every book with a troupe I like with easy. Would also enable me to steer clear of the ones I don’t! Still a sucker for grumpy/sunshine and also where one is self aware and pines quietly and the other is oblivious and just gets whacked in the face with their emotions half way through! I loathe pretty much everything with accidental pregnancy so would like to blacklist that. Equally happy to see the back of forced consent asap.
Gotta say I will be skip happy to see the end of the grumpy/sunshine- ESPECIALLY when the female is ditsy teenagey woman who has these odd moments of genius mixed with “oh my goodness, duh” and are for some inane reason completely irresistible to all the men in their sphere.
I like bad against worse. Of course the bad one saves the damsel.
Is competence crush a trope (yet)? I love kickass heroines and heroes who are underestimated and win through, and that’s one of the attractions for another character
I’ve heard it called competence porn!
Your Trope Fu is absolutely stronger than mine; this old fogy is so out of touch that of the above mentioned were over my head. (Although Second Chance was something I could guess.)
But ‘The Butler Did It!’ was actually before my time. LOL
Does it have a trope name? Topping my list of NEVER ever is the current proliferation of “I just turned 40, my life/job/marriage fell apart. I inherent shop/B&B/Inn from some distant relative of whom I had no knowledge and discover I am a witch….”
I think the genre is now termed “women’s mid-life paranormal fiction?”
In any case, WTF? I just can’t relate. Perhaps it is because I spent that portion of my life continuing with a full time professional career, four kids, a good husband (still around) & no time to whine, moan …
Don’t forget the super hot yet grumpy with emotional baggage gardener/handyman/obligatory “guy”. I feel your pain. Being of a certain age, sometimes I like older MCs. Still having a hard time finding one that doesn’t try my patience. Give me competence porn any day😁
“accidental pregnancy” is not accidental when strangers have sex without birth control. I won’t even read the description let alone the book!!! Grrŕ
omg yes. especially when guy also happens to be a millionaire! 🤦♀️
The only book that got the “accidental pregnancy right” had a reasonable failure of the birth control, not a failure to use birth control at all and everyone’s surprised at the subsequent pregnancy. TOTAL facepalm!
Yes, if your birth control method is 97% effective, and you’re one of the 3% that gets pregnant, *you* are still 100 % pregnant. You always need a Plan B, though not necessarily the pill popularly known by that name. This cannot be stressed enough imo.
I’m a sucker for grumpy sunshine where a woman is occupying the grumpy slot (and genuinely properly grumpy not just selfish or mean). I also enjoy enemies to friends.
My list of never:
Secret baby
MM
MC is a sports player
Historical Romance
Since one of the BDH mentioned Hugh, I may be the only one but I can’t get on board with the about face from evil guy to great guy and how easily he was forgiven.
+1
If not handled well, the miscommunication/failure to talk trope can be more frustrating than enjoyable.
I don’t read damsel in distress books. She can need extraction or assistance, just not always or without her active participation.
Absolutely, without a doubt, reversal of fortune: when the main character is in dire straits and by the end their life is SO much better. Usually some luck but also their hard work. Silver Shark fits this perfectly!!
Another is competence porn: where the main characters are damn good at what they do and the big villains are external rather than internal. Burn for me, anyone?!?
Oh God, I really, really, really dislike miscommunication! One honest conversation and the plot would be resolved in a page and a half. Just talk to each other. Sheesh.
+ 1000
It makes me want to throw the book across the room
On the one hand, I frequently agree. OTOH, I have read newspaper advice columnists daily for over 50 years. While I haven’t actually counted, I would estimate that this is the root of well over half the letters published. The fact is that it’s really easy to chicken out of asking someone for clarification.
That can be a function of either person’s temperament, and most often it’s both. We tend to gravitate to partners whose communication style is familiar, even if that familiarity is negative. So the original speaker may simply be insensitive, or might be flat-out narcissistic, and the other person may be cautious about speaking up because they’re used to someone who reacts badly to that.
Or, the listener may be afraid of having to leave the speaker if they find out something they don’t want to know. So they don’t ask. They’re afraid to rip that bandaid off and reveal the wound. And if the original speaker doesn’t notice the nonverbal response and offer further conversation to clarify, the downward spiral continues.
So it’s a fine line between what I think of as realistic miscommunication, a very broad category, and what I consider BS manufactured misunderstanding. This is one of those YMMV things that are probably determined in large part by one’s own life experience. I certainly read RL letters almost daily that make me want to bang my head on things just as much as any ridiculous fictional scene does.
Hear hear! (and they don’t).
I tend to find that knowing the tropes ahead of reading a new book is too much of a spoiler for my taste – especially if the central trope is so obvious that I know how the book will end by the time I’ve read the back cover!
On the other hand, if I’m actively comfort-reading after a tough day the tropes are more of a factor – then I can include or exclude real-life issues depending on whether I’m looking for encouragement or a mental holiday 🙂
I cannot abide a love triangle. Almost any other trope can be done well, but a hero that doesn’t know his/her own mind and tortures others with their own indecision is not for me.
This is a great topic, I HATE bullying or dude was horrible /abusive but women takes him back but he still is the same. Is this second chance?
I really like forced proximity and strong fmc with adventure/world saving (is there a name for this one?).
I love anything that manages to work in snark, with emotional layers and a quest. Loner with found family and strong sense of self who works towards making the world a better place.
I despise:
1. Weak heroines who rely on big strong men despite their supposed intelligence and stellar abilities. Oh, and the use of baby talk and whining. Bleck!
2. Any kind of harem trope, reverse or otherwise, unless it’s a plucky heroine who infiltrates one to steal or save something. I guess I’m a loyal monogamist;)
3. When the book blurb uses first person and goes infomercial as to why you’ll love this book. I don’t need someone telling me what to think- I’d rather make an informed decision based on plot/character basis.
4. I know this one is a pet peeve, but if there are a bunch of grammatical errors and homonyms in the book blurb. It seems disrespectful to the reader, like the author doesn’t care about producing quality work. I mean, beta readers and edits only make writers stronger, right? Invariably, it transfers to the story itself.
To clarify, I have no problem with the occasional typo in the body of the work- I mean, we’re all human, and there are a ton of words to get through- it would be super weird not to have a few. But in the book description? Ick!
It truly bothers me. Nine times out of ten, if you start reading the book anyway, it’s like a glitter bomb of bad grammar/spelling/homonym usage exploded inside, and no matter how hard you try to get past it to follow the story, you just keep finding glitter everywhere. I find it too distracting, and stop reading.
Truthfully, I’ve always wondered how authors view the editing process, and the importance of grammar. I fully admit that I am in search of the perfect commas save lives T-shirt. You know, the old, “Let’s eat kids,” versus, “Let’s eat, kids!” schtick.
I love me a good contract or fake marriage/dating trope, or forced cohabitation. love grumpy/sunshine! as long as the grump isn’t mean or alpha a*hole!
I hate hate hate the accidental baby trope especially when combined with billionaire trope. like wtf. like previous comments, if I see the word millionaire billionaire on the cover I’m out. if I see baby on the cover I’m also out.
I hear you on that. It pisses me off that the author would do that to a good female lead. Just baby-bomb her life out of nowhere. That takes an author off my to be read immediately!
I’m a sucker for a good friends-to-lovers trope book. And on days when I’m feeling morose, I like a good shifter book with oppressed-heroine-rising-out-of-the-ashes-to-save-herself trope
THISSSSSS!!!
I love a good (or bad) enemies to lovers trope. it’s got that slow burn that makes you want to smack everyone involved with a trout. Even better, when there’s a bond they’re resisting and/or repeatedly try to kill each other during their journey.
I have completely grown out of the “coming of age” tropes (I assume it’s a trope, I suppose). Books, movies, TV… doesn’t matter… I just can’t relate to that anymore and refuse to read it. If I see a synopsis that mentions teens or early 20s, I’m on guard immediately.
On the plus side, I do like an Alpha… though not so much the uber-alpha complete jerk style. More like extreme competence, some arrogance, plus protective instincts. Plus intelligent women… Kate and Curran are totally my faves.
I can handle any trope as long as the writing is stellar and there are compelling characters. Plenty of snark is a bonus. I would have said the villain to hero trope but then there was Hugh and what can I say — stellar. However, I am only willing to indulge an author for a few chapters but if the writing isn’t strong or the characters engaging, I close the book and move on. At 70 I’m too old to read lousy writing.
Jan F – you saved me a bunch of typing. At 78 I am in total agreement with what you said.
Seconded. Although the snark can be overdone if it happens at critical moments where focus is a life-or-death requirement.
Jan F … Me too! Exactly
Terrible trope: Love Potions. Your hero and heroine have overcome all obstacles to their love, but you still need to pad things out for another 15 chapters? Do you not feel like doing the work of creating interesting conflicts or obstacles for your characters to overcome? Feed one of them a love potion. Your readers will snore with excitement.
Reading the tropes reminds me of my favorite TV Deus Ex Machina (which I normally hate) The bad guys were totally winning and there was no way to defeat them because they had all the weapons. The good guys were pinned down and out of options. Then the bad guys started fighting over who would get to use the freeze ray that was their invincible weapon and they managed to freeze themselves. The last line in the episode was the leader of the good guys, as they realized what had happened. “Well, that went better than I expected.”
The easter egg earlier in the episode was the offhand comment, “How are they doing this? They are bay guys and shouldn’t be able to work together like this.”
Still makes me laugh.
My favorite trope is competent female characters. I want her to be strong and know how to solve problems. That doesn’t mean she isn’t in tough situations or has to make sacrifices but when she’s faced with them she knows what to do. I also love a friend’s to lovers slow burn romance. The build up and longing makes the payoff to die for.
I’m a sucker for the fake dating trope, along with enemies to lovers, and friends to lovers. I’ve been on a Rom-com reading kick lately, and all three of those show up a lot, sometimes in combination, which is my catnip! There are a lot tropes out there I enjoy, but just as many that will make me DNF a book so fast…
I grew up in the 90s. there is a ton wrong with Aladdin that i didn’t understand then, but diamonds in the rough is my ride or die trope. (I really didn’t understand why girls were dressing up as Jasmine as she didn’t impress first grade me)
I personally can not STAND the “fated mates” trope. It’s just so teen-ish/YA-ish “I wouldn’t have to go through all this angst of actually getting to know someone of the opposite sex if I could just KNOW who is my fated other instantly” cr*p that it makes me want to throw a book across the room. It takes WORK to form a relationship and make it work out long term, not just “fate”! And as a mature reader (who has made her own relationship work out for 33 years and counting) I am looking for that element in the romances/relationships I read about as well.
I love competence porn, but only if it applies to both. That is why I love Silver Shark and Fated Blades and of course Kate so much.
Not sure where this one falls as a trope, but I’m currently enjoying the down-on-their luck MC, so HAS to work for or as the villain – and they find out it’s fun!
RE Ohio: Well, a number of decades ago we burned a river and then recently a train killed a town. So we have that going for us.
Yes, I’m an Ohio native.
The trope I dislike the most is “I had to cheat on you for your own good”. I’ve seen it in a few contemporary second chance romances and one paranormal romance. Usually the hero has had a bad thing happen to him: a curse, a physical handicap/injury, emotional issues, etc. which will effect him for the rest of his life or destroy his career. He has a wonderful relationship with the heroine, who would never leave him for something so trivial. So he has to destroy his relationship with the heroine by either actively cheating on her or pretending to cheat on her, so that it drives her away (because he knows that she can now do better than him and have a better life without him). I find this quite infuriating and incites feelings of kindle throwing. The heroine always forgives him for his stupidity.
I’m with you on the miscommunication trope, I think it’s laziness on the author’s part, but I know it happens sometimes. So, if I happen to start this kind of book, I usually finish it….eventually.
Love enemies/antagonists to lovers, mainly to see how they overcome their issues. If they happen to be grumpy/sunshine trope, I’ll endure.
I love it when the Knight In Shining Armor is female and the Damsel In Distress is manly enough to be rescued. Role reversal in an apocalyptic setting is a plus.
And everything needs a bit of fierce battle, clever magic, and soulful loving/caring.
I just don’t want to be able to predict exactly what’s going to happen. If I wanted to do that, I would write my own. So use any trope you want, outside the icky coercion ones, but keep me guessing a little.
Also at this point in life (mid 60s) my brain seems to be wired for a particular balance of elements like character, humor, action, setting, romance etc. If any of those get weighted at the expense of others, it makes reading tougher for me.
*Also omit the fated partners one. Predestination, really? Never could wrap my mind around that one.
I just can’t grok the trope of men having babies. I love a good M/M romance, and happy if they adopt or otherwise love to raise kids. I’m fine with all the lovely fantasy abilities — delighted if they can teleport, turn invisible, manifest, necromance, shift into wolves, or fly thru the air, but I won’t read M/M books where the submissive male gets pregnant.
A trope I really like, but that’s hard to find, is something like “backstage in fairyland/space”–basically, small stories about regular people living somewhat ordinary lives, but in a fantastical setting. Innkeeper has some of that (and lots of other reasons to love it), and the Wilmington Years, also, although those are more like “secretly most-badass-people ever *trying* to live somewhat ordinary lives.”
Unfortunately, these sometimes turn into a trope I really don’t like (not House Andrews books!). I don’t know what to call it, maybe The Chosen One? but in a series, when the main character gradually gains new powers with every book and turns out to be the the Most Powerful Being In the Universe who everyone loves all the time and who is fated to save said universe. I don’t give up on many books/series but I’ve bailed out of a few of these.
Oh, and one I absolutely cringe from is “wrongly accused”–I just can’t read or watch those. I don’t think they’re inherently bad, they just push the wrong buttons for me and I revert to my childhood running-out-of-the-room-at-kissing reactions. Even if I really like the book otherwise, I’ll have to skip ahead to where the truth comes out and then maaaybe go back to read the under-suspicion chapters.
I have spent far too much time on tvtropes. The site should filter through a PSA warning you to stay away.
Tropes I absolutely cannot stand, bully/I’m helpless against your touch tropes. UGH!
Guilty pleasure tropes Hallmark tropes.
Other ones I love are yes
I will add the trope I dislike are the mafia/outlaw tropes. If they are bad men then why on earth would I find them a likeable character? It seems mafia books are abundant right now and I just can’t.
Weak to strong is my current go to. Though preferably there is actual growth and not insta success. That’s boring. Isekai/ reincarnation is a strong second. I do like romance included but I tend toward those that have more to the plot then the 2 characters just falling in love
I love female questers, friends to lovers, found family, shared competence to solve a problem. I also really like to see enemies to allies and redemption arcs for the side villains.
Hate sacrificing yourself or the relationship for the good of the other person without discussing it with them. Most miscommunication trope lasting longer than a couple days drives me nuts. I will never understand when the characters see their significant other kiss/hug someone else and immediately turn away, thereby missing the rejection of unwanted advances and creating more misunderstandings.
Also, any story that stars with the leads sleeping together with one or both of them drugged or drunk, which is frequently paired with the aggravating I’m back with your precocious kid, is off my to read list.
Call it Lies Bite Back. I don’t like liars, and I don’t like lies, and I don’t like stories that start out with her (usually her) telling a complete stranger an apparently harmless lie, generally to cover embarrassment. And then it bites back… No mas, por favor.
Let me know when you want my favorite misused or overused word. (Hint: it’s “massive,” which, friends, means heavy. Not big, heavy. Heavy. Not necessarily big.
Sorry – I still love a well written “fated mates” story. 😉
i may be old school, but i miss the ‘hero’s journey’ tropes, i just don’t find those stories anymore, it’s always subversions instead. i also love ‘coming of age’ stories
Don’t know if it’s a trope, but I need angst.
Never will read a love triangle.
Can we please get rid of the “my parent’s marriage failed so of course mine will to” trope? Like shoot it off to Jupiter?!
Tropes I really dislike:
miscommunication tropes – really want to stab those with something pointy
guy helps girl discovery her inner strength – I mean, it was ok in Karen Marie Moning, but most of the time soooo patronizing
Tropes I like:
strong, smart women who can handle their own s&*t (is this a trope? Either way, it’s the bestest)
realistic love – not that fluffy rainbow and sunshine stuff, but real relationships with real, well, all the things
for a more typical trope – forced proximity – this can be great fun when done well, and can include funny entertaining conversations at its best
one that i hate is the male interest who is in the Mob/MC/evil gang who is evil, evil, evil and the too stupid to live female lead who does not run for the hills the second she claps eyes on him. Why are the writers who write that doing it? If he’s in the trafficking industry, why in the world would anyone think “He lliuurrvvveeesss me and won’t do that to me.” Yes he will in a New York minute. He has no reason not too. you aren’t any different than all the other people he’s trafficing/getting hooked on drugs etc.
is slow burn a trope? as in the main character is clueless but the reader is not, I like those when they are well written
I dislike the second chance trope, but I will read if I like the premise enough and the writer(s) and have sometimes enjoyed.
Despite not liking second chance much in general, I do like the secret baby trope. I am just entertained when the author(s) make me believe this actually could have happened.
Secret baby >>> accidental baby (although a lot of time they are the same, the execution can nuance it a lot), and I have a strong preference for the former.
If I see the term “rag tag” in a blurb or review, I cross the book off my to-read list.
I love super competent MCs. I also love a villain who has a sense of humor and is the MC. And I love to read a story that includes a home remodel as part of the plot development. But only if the author sees it through to the end. I need my payout with the finished remodel!
Would love to see the age gap twisted around where both of the couple are say over a thousand years old but one is like 15 years older than the other and can’t help thinking of the other as the best friends little sister/brother lol
I despise bully/enemies to lovers and am mystified by its popularity as a trope. Have you ever had an enemy? I have, and the VERY last thing I would ever want is a more intimate relationship with someone that is cruel and mean.
I also dislike secret baby/pregnancy/Mpreg intensely and will not read. And motorcycle club books … just horrible.
And lying … I hate lying so much. Not only is it disrespectful to the other characters in the book, but it skews the plot. Instead of a focus on fighting/surviving/etc. the big bad, all internal thoughts are focused on The Lie: covering up The Lie, justifying The Lie, feeling bad about The Lie. I lose respect for the lying MC if they don’t come clean early on. The longer it goes, the more disgusted I get.
What do I love? Almost everything else except abusive romance. And too-stupid-to-live female MCs. And alphaholes.
I hate the miscommunication trope. Every once in a while, you could almost understand why the characters don’t talk it out. But in the worst ones, the purposeful avoidance and misunderstanding of a simple situation to cause tension is just annoying.
My personal worst miscommunication example was the movie (if you want to call it that) Batman vs Superman. I was hoping Wonder Woman would get a clue by four and beat everyone over the head with it and I would gladly pitch in.
My least favorite Trope is the Too Stupid to live. Can’t stand the Heroine who won’t ask basic questions and then puts everyone in danger.
Sunny/Grumpy!!! I can always count on some happy and even comedy. The world is grumpy and I am all about Sunny.
I have also become a fan of WhyChoose/Reverse Harem. Navigating multiple types of relationships is difficult to write well and I enjoy reading it
I am so sick of the rich guy poor girl Cinderella like k dramas stories. Specifically ones where that’s it, where neither character is like able one is just rich and the other poor and they must fight their friends and society to be together! That and evil female fiancés, I am a girls girl and idk why hate the other girl when the guy is the problems
I enjoy Overly Sarcastic Trope Talk videos on Youtube.
Tropes that make me walk away if I know about them in advance:
Miscommunication in place of a plot
Love triangle
Persecuted hero
Newly divorced inherits (why are stories featuring middle aged women always focused on ruined life and divorce?!)
Snarky glass bowl mislabeled as empowered strong woman
Reading the links, I have to admit that I ADORE the word “handwavium;” and “unobtanium” is just a brilliant invention.
I will also say that the “miscommunication” trope annoys me to the point of quitting a series. There was a really long series whose first books I enjoyed, but after a while, they became a real chore. Then came the book whose conflict could have been resolved with a half-dozen words which had no reason not to be said right up front. But it would have killed the plot dead, so, 70,000 words later they finally clear up the big question. I tossed the rest of the books on the discard pile. (I had to google creatively as I’d forgotten too much – it’s a series from Terry Goodkind. It’s also grotesquely violent.)
I spent a couple of years reading paranormal romance books, so the “fated mate” trope was a constant. And I’ve wandered through several of the “enemies to lovers” which can be fun or annoying, depending on the author. I find the whole “billionaire” romance trope to be irritating, because I strongly suspect the authors have no clue how a billionaire really thinks. I don’t mind the “second chance” books too much – again, some authors handle it better than others.
I read quite a few “family” series, but that may be just because it’s an economical way of having a collection of characters who you run across in multiple books.
Tropes are useful and I have no problem with them, as long as the author WRITES WELL and engages my attention. Working with or against a trope isn’t nearly as important to me as the overall writing and story-telling.
I wish the Enemies-to-Lovers Bully trope would die the horrible death it deserves.
One of the reasons I love your books are the tropes that include “mutual respect for abilities” and “cooperation to achieve a goal”. I can’t stand “girl afraid of her power” and “forced consent”. There is still a lot of steam to be found with respect and consent and authors can still write good stories while valuing diversity. Thank you for proving that.
I love a good trope! I read a ton of romance and I live for:
– Touch her and die
– Enemies to lovers
– Why choose
– Powerful and competent MMC
– Sunshine FMC
– Forced Proximity
– MMC will burn down the world but is only soft for the FMC
I absolutely loathe
– Cheating
– Second chances
– Lies
– Miscommunication
I also love a really good angsty, totally toxic, unhealthy obsessive romance with a villain as the hero. Because it’s fiction and I can enjoy it safety.
Oh man! As an avid reader AND tv series/movie friend I cannot believe a world of classifications was just around the corner. AND I knew nothing of it being this big!!
Thank you so much Mod R for opening my eyes 🙂
I hate most second chance. Very few of them are done right but the ones that done right are treasures. “What It Means to Be You” is a second chance manhwa done right. You gotta try this.
That is the only second chance troupe I love, and I have read hundreds……
We have a saying here “A good husband is a new husband.”
I LOATHE reverse harm but cannot overdose on Fated Mates, which is a bit frustrating since Fated Mates seems to be fading except in badly written app serials and RH appears to be ascendant right now.
Found- or made- family is always a winner, and healthy family relationships and the existence of friends in the characters’ lives.
Meh on second chance romance and age gap and really dislike stupid miscommunications that are what the drama hinges on; they’re usually too silly to carry the plot.
LOVE a good grovel, HATE when it’s due to miscommunication or Other Woman drama. Detest Other Woman drama and cheating.
Ooey, gooey cinnamon roll heroes are the absolute best, and competence porn is just Actively avoid love triangles and (often paired to billionaires) poor, pathetic, jobless, helpless, and soon-to-be-homeless (and usually WAY young) heroines; “Sweetie, you don’t need a man, you need skills and a job… so maybe start with a job.”
Alpha holes are only fun when the FMC is strong enough to hold her own and make him work for it, and the entire concept of bully romance is only slightly less awful than step-sibling or guardian/ward or boyfriend’s father or other family-adjacent romance. Just no. Sooooooooooooo much no.
Surprise pregnancies are awesome…but only when there’s NO POSSIBLE WAY a pregnancy can happen.
Sllloooooooowwwww buuuuuurrrrrrrrrrrrn. Never gets old, requires actual character- and relationship-development.
Grumpy/sunshine is usually fun, especially when (rarely) she’s the grump and he’s the sunshine.
I love shifters but they’re so common now that the stories are often defined by their other tropes. Shifters plus RH or age gap or second chance? Usually a nope. Shifters plus impossible pregnancy, magical heritage, or apocalypse? I’m so there!