What’s a story without the tropes? Love them or hate them, they will be there, and the only thing that matters is how you feel about that trope. But, this isn’t so much about the many different tropes. It is about what tropes I adore and why I adore them. Yes, many of them will be more from romance books, but I write romance, so it makes sense. I will also use tropes from Fantasy and Isekai.
(1) Rivals to Lovers
Let’s not confuse this with the enemies-to-lovers trope. Now, I know not everyone likes this trope, but this trope is my sugar for my tea. I am all for meeting someone and not liking them because of personality differences or appearance, or a comment taken out of context. I have had that happen before, and I know others it has happened to. Romance hasn’t bloomed from these cases, but friendship or mutual understanding has once conversation takes place, which makes this trope very relatable to me. And I think another reason this trope is so easy to write is that people can dislike other people for petty reasons.
(2) Fake Relationship
You know the saying of fake it until you make it? Yeah, that’s pretty much how it is with this trope. No matter how it begins or the reason, there is something unique and funny when two people decide to fake a relationship. Extra points if the characters have a great sense of humor or are witty. It is pretty impressive the lengths people will go to keep up appearances and how much the opinion of others matters. Sometimes, getting thrown into this situation makes sense, like doing it to keep the paparazzi off your back or having an obnoxious ex-partner. Authors have gotten very creative with this trope, and I am here for it.
(3) The Reluctant Hero
I have a soft spot for the person who is qualified but doesn’t want to do the job, then is forced into the job, almost like the antihero. I’m not sure what it is about someone who is dragged into the fight instead of being left alone, but here we are. Kudos if the reluctant hero has a highly questionable personality. I don’t mean nervous or shy, but problematic, and everyone is either like “he’s all we got” or never notices the growing problem.
(5) Harem and Reverse Harem
Harems and Reverse Harems are a thing, but not a mainstream thing. It is more of an option for those who want to have multiple love interests without the love triangle. And there is no limit to how many partners a person may have, though I have only seen crazy numbers with light novels. Other times, it can be between two to four. Now I like not having to pick if everyone is willing to share.
(6) Reincarnated as the Villainess
This is popular in light novels, and the trope is precisely as it sounds. A person who knows how the story goes dies and wakes up in the villain’s body. More often than not, the villain has a very violent end, and now, it is up to the 2.0 to change the future to stay alive.
HONORABLE MENTIONS
- Enemies to Lovers
- Secret Baby
- Marriage of Convenience
- Second Chance Romance
Now, I want to know, which tropes do you love the most? Are they the same as mine? Or different? I’m curious.
