7 Romance Tropes I Love to Hate (as an author)
Otherwise entitled: real people just don’t do that but man does it sell a book.
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Book Tropes: You Should See The Way They Look at You
Otherwise known as: the fresh scent of pine. Ahhh, this is such a fun niche trope. It generally happens in a ‘hero falls first’ situation, and let’s all admit together that we love us a pining hero. But there is the delicious potential for this uncertainty when any character falls first and is now vulnerable, unsure their love is requited. The best part about all of this troubled water our main character has to paddle through? There’s a happy ending…
Book Tropes: We Stan Step Parents!
Today’s niche trope is all about choosing to love. To me, the decision to step up as a parent figure is the definition of heroic, because it hits close to my own personal experience. I have been a single mom and I have been lucky enough to find a second chance with the most amazing husband and stepfather in the entire world. He’s the best. No arguing. Also, he’s mine. But you can have these books which feature a love…
Book Tropes: Award For Most Adorkable
Quick internet search tells me that a nerd is defined as; “a person seen as overly intellectual, obsessive, introverted, interested in obscure or not-popular things, and lacking social skills.” Basically? I am ALL OF THOSE THINGS. It’s like the internet knows my life!* *Dear NSA Agent skimming my blog: please do spend some quality time with my trope rec posts. I promise you will need reading material because my life is very boring and these books are more fun. Also…
Book Tropes: I Can’t Argue With You When You’re Sick!
For this post it’s that trope, nearly always employed in an enemies-to-lovers type situation, where one of the duo gets sick/injured or is suddenly in imminent danger. Ruh-roh, Scooby! Because they are acting like antagonists life conspires to basically FORCE their defenses down in a way the character would probably never do on their own. Isn’t it the best? When they’re happily spatting, all defensive maneuvers deployed, sarcasm shots launching A+ hard, and then it’s all “Wait, you’re sick? Really…
Book Tropes: A Mail-Order Happily Ever After
Another trope rec post! This time the specific mood I’m in is that carefully arranged, sometimes mail-ordered happily ever after. I’ve always loved mail-order bride books (despite knowing arranged marriage is much more complicated in real life). This isn’t reality, this is fiction, and in fiction picking a partner like you’re ordering an entrée from a menu ends perfectly every time. For this list I’m focusing on the mail-order trope but including some of the more standard arranged-marriage books because…
Book Tropes: The Grovel in The Novel
Sometimes I’m in the mood for a super specific, really niche trope. It’s like a food craving, where only that certain brand from that one store will do. In this case it’s a good old grovel. Not the little token apology with immediate making-out, ohhh no. I want the real down-and-dirty, sincere, I-fucked-up, oh-my-god-I-was-so-dumb, dawning realization. It doesn’t particularly matter to me which character (hero or heroine or all three heroes in a reverse harem) is doing the groveling. There…