The Wednesday Weekly Blogging Challenge is hosted by Long and Short Reviews. This week’s topic is: my favorite tropes of x genre.
I have a love/hate relationship with tropes. If done well, they can be so, so good. But when overused, they become blah and annoying. Especially in romance novels where everything has a tendency to be trite and cliché if not handled right. On the bright side, there are so many authors out there that know exactly how to handle a trope and make it feel like something exciting and new.
1. Friends to lovers. This is near and dear to my heart since the man I married was my best friend in high school. So, I love whenever this pops up in a novel. It’s something I enjoy in my own writing as well. I had a hard time coming up with an example for this since it’s so prolific a trope, I almost don’t even notice it. Mary Calmes’ All Kinds of Tied Down is a good one. US Marshals Miro and Ian discover after years of working together that they have an incredible connection.
2. Second chance. This is pretty much every B. J. Daniels/Delores Fossen/Debra Webb book I’ve ever read. One of my favorite examples of this is Debra Webb’s Faces of Evil series. When Jess returns home and sees Dan again after so many years away, sparks fly. Plus, it’s an amazing romantic suspense series with some pretty intense cliffhangers.
3. Fake dating. I don’t know why I love this trope so much since there is so much that can go wrong when you lie like this. However, it’s like a magnet and I’m drawn to stories with this trope. One of the best I’ve read lately is Boyfriend Material by Alexis Hall. Oliver and Luc are complete opposites and yet, somehow, they work. Honorable mention here: Fix Her Up by Tessa Bailey.
Nerdy Reader Girl 
I love the friends to lovers trope, too. And it’s also how I ended up with my spouse.
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Aw, those are the kind of relationships that survive, honestly. ❤
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I hadn’t thought of fake dating. Yes, that’s a good one. We have a lot of the same tropes on the list. :p
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I probably would’t have thought of fake dating either, but Boyfriend Material left a huge impression on me (so cute!). Hey, I guess they’re popular for a reason? 😀
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There we go!
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love friends to lovers!
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Right? And of all the tropes, it at least makes sense.
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One of the reasons I am not that into romance or chick lit type books is that there are so many tropes that tend to be cheesy! But I agree sometimes an author handles it right and rejuvenates the trope!!
My post.
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I can totally understand that because it put me off romance for a long time, too. Thanks for the visit!
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Enjoyed your post. I am wary of romance tropes, as you said done wrong they can be terrible, but done right add excitement. Also as you said there are several authors who do it well. My hats of to them. Thanks for sharing. Here’s mine. https://www.tenastetler.com/lsrs-wednesday-weekly-blogging-challenge-my-favorite-tropes/
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Thank you! I think it’s true in every genre though. The tropes have to be handled well for the story to be good.
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Oh, fake dating! Yes! Second chance can be a lot of fun too. My answer is here.
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I agree, they can all be pretty fun if the characters are right!
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Absolutely adore friends to lovers. My husband and I are still great friends after more than a decade of marriage lol
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That’s amazing, congrats! They’re definitely the kind of relationships that last. 🙂
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