Top Ten Tuesday: My Favorite Romance Tropes

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl.

This week's Top Ten Tuesday topic: 
My Favorite Romance Tropes

There are an endless number of tropes - the chosen one, the main character who is an "outsider", the absentee parents - but all of my favorites happen to be centered around romance. Quelle surprise! Some of the most popular tropes don't do it for me (fake dating, enemies to lovers, for example) but here are the ones that do, plus some examples:

SECOND CHANCE ROMANCE
I love the idea that some loves are just meant to be. Sometimes timing or circumstances may end a relationship, but getting to see two characters reconnect down the road does my heart good.

    

FRIENDS TO LOVERS
Two friends who know each other well, who already care for one another, and then develop feelings that are more than friendly... I'm always there for it.

    

MEET CUTES
I mean, come on... it's not called a meet cute for nothing! :)

    

UNREQUITED LOVE
Oh, the agony. The character who pines away, who hides their true feelings - until one day, finally, the one they secretly love sees them in a different light. 

    

DAMAGED/TORTURED HERO
Oh yeah, I'm a total sucker for a damaged hero. The guy who has suffered. It could be anything from childhood trauma to the horrors of war, but I turn to mush for a tortured hero who manages to overcome his demons with the help of the woman who loves him.

    

SWEET, CINNAMON ROLL HERO
On the flipside, there are the sweet, soft guys. They're not angsty or snarky or cruel. They are thoughtful and caring and make the best boyfriends.

    

AGE GAP ROMANCE
I've always had a thing for age gap romances - maybe because there's an age gap between me and The Husband. 

    

FORBIDDEN ROMANCE
Whether a relationship is off-limits because the characters are from different social standings, different sides of a conflict, or different species, they almost always stand to lose big if found out. That always ups the stakes and leads to serious angst.

    

BAD BOY + GOOD GIRL
Don't you go rolling your eyes at me. I know this is one overused, played out trope. But I can't help it, I fall for the bad boy/good girl story every time.

    

TRAPPED/FORCED TOGETHER
Forced proximity is the perfect opportunity to have two characters get to know each other - or set aside differences for a common goal (like getting out of wherever they're trapped). It's also the perfect opportunity for some serious chemistry to develop.

    


WHAT ARE YOUR FAVORITE TROPES?

46 comments

  1. I like a good second chance romance. Not that I read a ton of romance books but when there is romance it's nice to see people reconnect and find love again. Meet cutes are fun too. So awkward sometimes!

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    1. Those awkward first encounters can make for some great reading. :)

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  2. Age gaps AND forbidden romance recs in one post?? I like you. And oh wow -- I haven't even investigated most of them yet because Sand and Ash is going straight to the top of my TBR. Amy Harmon is tough to find affordably, but she's incredible. There are not a lot of people I'd trust with this subject matter, but in her hands?? This is all decked out in bells and whistles of approval.

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    1. LOL I gotta say, your comment just gave me all the happy feels. :)
      And From Sand and Ash... I'm so jealous that you get to read it for the first time! It was my top book of 2017 and I still think about it!

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    2. So it turns out my local library miraculously has ONE Amy Harmon book, and it's this one. I checked it out yesterday, devoured it one sitting, and NOW I AM A PUDDLE OF FEELINGS AND EMOTION. That was SO good. And tied my stomach up in knots until the very end. And then released most of them, but not without stamping down a hard reminder of the horror that is Nazis. Hard to read at times...but so incredible and so worth it.

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    3. Oh, that's so awesome! I just love seeing that it made such an impact on you, too. (And you must be a super fast reader!)

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  3. Forced proximity can be a very interesting trope for sure.

    Here is our Top Ten Tuesday.

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    1. I love the dynamic that creates. Things can realistically be accelerated when that happens.

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  4. Yeah, meet cutes are a lot of fun to read.

    My TTT

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  5. I'm such a sucker for the second chance romance! I loooove a sweet cinammon roll hero too! I'm planning to do a recommendation list soon for that.

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    1. Squeeee! I can't wait to see your post on the sweet cinnamon rolls! :)

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  6. Great list! I love soft boys and I love a second chance romance, too - there's so much opportunity for some excellent chemistry when two characters have a history.

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    1. Totally agree, Jess. I love reading about characters who already have history. I feel like it makes for a richer story/relationship.

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  7. ooh I love second chance romance. And friends to lovers as well because I like that they already know each other so well.

    -Lauren
    www.shootingstarsmag.net

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    1. Same here, Lauren. I love that friends to lovers already have some background and history.

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  8. I'm just going to go ahead and say YES. To all of these. I love them!

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  9. You don't like fake relationship? Shocking, but I get it's not for everyone. And I do appreciate seeing a few different tropes on your list. I definitely appreciate a good age gap romance and sweet cinnamon roll hero! Yes!

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    1. I know, I feel like the total black sheep with that one. :) Everyone seems to love fake relationships and hate to love... and I'm just like, meh. LOL

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  10. I'm so bad about tropes. I don't know that half of them ARE tropes lol and I don't usually read/like a book just because of them. My exception - enemies to lovers. That's my catnip.

    Karen @ For What It's Worth

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    1. Ha. I actually questioned a lot of options that I ended up discarding. I couldn't decide if they were tropes or sub-genres.

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  11. I love a good Meet Cute. Books, movies, television...if you give me a meet cute you're already ahead of the game with me.

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    1. Same here, Cheri! Starting with a meet cute means you've immediately got my attention and the game is yours to lose. :)

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  12. I think I erased my own comment. In any case, I love this topic and have to agree with Karen that Hate to Love is my favorite trope. It can be hard to pull off, but when it works I think it really works!

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    1. Hate to love is such a popular one. I'm the black sheep when it comes to that one. :)

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  13. Friends to Lovers and Second Chance Romance made my list this week too. Love those so much!

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  14. OMG! You featured one of my most favorite second chance romances - Love and Other Words. I am trash for that trope. As far as adult romances are concerned, that is my number one trope. It's an epic do-over, and I like that idea that even when they were apart, there was some love still between them. Like a soulmate thing.

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    1. Oh, Love and Other Words. Love, love, loved it! Macy and Elliot just captured my heart.♥

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  15. I like friends to lovers, and also meet cutes - I love hearing people's stories about how they met!

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    1. Some meet cutes are just so darn... okay, cute... that they stick with you. The post office meeting in What If It's Us is one of those for me. :)

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  16. YES PLEASE MORE LOVE FOR SOFT BOYS!!! ugh I love this??? They don't get enough appreciation. Who doesn't want a hero who's actually sweet and nice and such boyfriend-material 😭💓

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    1. Yeeeessss!!!! Sweet, soft boys... we need more of those!

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  17. So many good ones! And quite a few I forgot on my list! I can't believe I forgot forbidden love!

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    1. Forbidden love always seems to amp up the tension and the angst and I'm all for it. :)

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  18. Aaaan that's why you are my book sister Tanya!!! Seriously these are all my fav if you had the single mom/dad or the surprise baby!

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    1. Definitely book sisters! :) And how could I forget single dads?! Gah!

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  19. Keionda @Keionda Hearts BooksAugust 21, 2019 at 2:20 PM

    Ummmm YYEESSSSSS!!!! I love ALL of these tropes! You've given me SO many books to add to my TBR. And now, I'm kind of stressed because I NEED TO READ ALL OF THESE NOWWWW <3

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    1. Hey you! I've missed your face... um, your words... uh, you know what I mean! :) And yes, definitely go read all of these Right. Now. I'll be waiting. *taps foot impatiently*

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  20. I need to read what you recommended.
    www.rsrue.blogspot.com.

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  21. I love these! I love all of these! I can't believe I actually missed some of them off my list! I love the cinnamon roll guys! Unrequited love. Damaged heroes... All good.

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    1. As much fun as it is to read about the bad boys, I sure do love the sweet guys! :)

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  22. YES. So much yes, Tanya. Great picks as always. I love that you included Addicted in the friends to lover category. I think that was one of the first ones that made me love that trope so I'm obviously partial to it! I absolutely love that you included forbidden romances, too. Those are a timeless one for me when it comes to romance and angst and ugh, I just love a good forbidden love story.

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    1. I'll admit that I have a rather unhealthy attachment to the Addicted characters. LOL They became so real to me over the course of 10 books (I haven't moved on to the Like Us series yet) and I hurt with them, celebrated with them... I'm practically an honorary Calloway. :)

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