As a self-proclaimed romance book fanatic who can be found reading them in any spare moment, I feel well-qualified to rank some of the best (and not-so-great) romance book tropes. Here’s my take on the tropes that have me giggling and kicking my feet – and the ones that make me want to throw my book across the room.
- insta-love
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Starting with an unfortunate classic, insta-love falls to the bottom of this list. Let me get this straight: you lock eyes with someone for the first time, and instantly, they’re the most breathtakingly perfect person you’ve ever seen in your entire life? You’re ready to pack your bags and move in with them right then and there? Call me a skeptic, but life and love (sadly) tend to be a lot more difficult than that. Sure, some of my favorite older novels – like The Great Gatsby – lean heavily on this trope, but in today’s romance landscape, it’s time to give this trope a permanent vacation.
- love triangles
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Ugh, love triangles. When done right, I can get behind them – think The Summer I Turned Pretty (Team Conrad, obviously) – but more often than not, they leave me frustrated and in a reading slump. There’s almost always one person we all know the protagonist will end up with, so the extra love interest stirring up drama just feels like an unnecessary roadblock. When it’s bad, I’m yelling at the pages, telling the main character to drop the dud and go for the obvious choice. Can’t we skip the drama and get to the good stuff already?
- friends to lovers
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Friends to lovers is the ol’ reliable of romance tropes – always there when you need it, but not always the most memorable. It’s heartwarming, don’t get me wrong, but if I’m being honest, sometimes I’m sitting there with my book, asking the characters if they can hurry up and date already because, honestly, what’s stopping them? I will say, when they finally do get together, it’s such a satisfying payoff that it makes it all fairly worth it.
- grumpy/sunshine
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Now, grumpy/sunshine? It’s pure joy wrapped in a romance. When a bubbly optimist who’s always down for a good time drags a brooding pessimist into chaos, you better bet I will be there for every page of it. The tension between them is palpable – on one side, you’ve got the grumpy character who’d rather stick to a routine, and on the other, you’ve got the sunshine one determined to show them how fun life can be. The rare smile from the grump – the moment they melt just a little bit – chef’s kiss. Red, White & Royal Blue absolutely nails this one.
- forced proximity
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Forced proximity is truly a top-tier trope. There’s just something about characters being shoved into close quarters – whether it’s solving a mystery together or having to sit next to each other at work – that sparks the best chemistry. This trope brings out some of the best banter that romance has to offer, and best of all, it pulls from many others, as the characters can start as strangers, friends, or rivals. I just can’t get enough of how closeness brings unwanted feelings to the surface (oh, and the only-one-bed scenes? Yeah, give me 15 of them right now).
- second chance
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Then there’s second chance romance – the tearjerker. Truly, I don’t think I’ve read a single one of these where I haven’t cried by the end. The years of pining and unresolved heartbreak, to then finally making it work, is just always going to have my tears flowing. Love and Other Words and Every Summer After are just a couple of my favorites, but I’m warning you to have a box of tissues handy. Miscommunication plotlines that would frustrate me in other stories feel bearable here – because they’re just part of the journey to the perfect ending.
- enemies to lovers
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And finally, the number one. The Pièce de Résistance. The crown jewel of romance book tropes: enemies to lovers. This is my all-time favorite, and it’s going to do it for me every. single. time. From the classics like Pride and Prejudice to my newer favorites such as The Love Hypothesis, Powerless, and Fourth Wing, this trope never disappoints. There’s just something truly amazing about watching two people who despise each other discover they can’t live without one another. The slow-burn yearning, the tension, the banter – this is peak romance. Does it get any more perfect than this?
In the end, romance tropes are the heart and soul of what makes a book addictive and fun to read. While some of them can feel overdone or cliché (looking at you, insta-love and love triangles), when done right, they too can deliver heartwarming moments.
I tend to love any romance book I read, but these top few are the ones that make my hopeless-romantic self extra happy – and my ever-growing book collection a little bit heavier.