Plot Twist: These Book Tropes Own My Soul

Nov 3

Let’s talk best book tropes. The elements of the story that tell you immediately if you are going to love it, hate it, or be completely indifferent towards it. But in the case of these tropes, you’ll love them. Or so I’ve experienced.

WhatIsATrope?

Here, we are using “trope” to describe a plot device. It’s a recurring or predictable element of a story. Tropes are familiar and comforting. They can let a reader know what they are getting into before starting a book. Overused? Not in this opinion article. Cliche? Not in this opinion article. Cheesy? Not in this opinion article. You get the picture. Here - we love them!

There are so many different ones out there - second chance romance, friends to lovers, arranged marriage…

But NONE of those have anything on these nine tropes (yes, only nine… not ten… because there are only nine kickass tropes). If you want to get in your feels. If you want to be the characters in your books. If you want to laugh out loud at your book like a psycho. If you want to have a book hangover. Here’s what tropes you should be reading.

Did I put them in order? No, because they are all AMAZING!

The Enemies To Lovers Trope

Okay, I didn’t put them in order but this is the BEST of the best tropes.

There are many different ways this trope is handled by authors. The three main ones are sort-of-but-not-really-enemies, enemies-but one-of-them-always-knew-they-were-the-one, and literally-want-murder-each-other-emenies.

I’ll give the “sort of enemies” version some credit. It is so good. But the “wanting to murder each other” version is sooooo much better. Authors who do it this way take me on the journey of hatefulness right alongside the MC. I love walking through the emotional journey of true enemies learning about each other and the growth of that relationship. Their emotions, growth, and relationships really come to life in this trope.

Generally, this trope comes with a slow burn trope as well, so it’s a twofer. Additionally, the original enemy-turned-lover now wants to murder the “real” enemies. So you can even get a “he’d burn the world down for her” trope thrown in here. There are just so many ways to use this trope and combine it with other ones. I never get bored of it. Enemies to lovers will forever own my soul.

The Slow Burn Trope

The waiting. The build up. The anticipation. The frustration. When the slow burn trope occurs, it feels like the entire book is the ride to the top of a rollercoaster. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. When you finally reach the top, the payout is immediate. The part you’ve been waiting for finally happens. And. It. Is. So. Satisfying.

We have to wait through a good majority of the book before any real romance happens, but when it does… it’s so rewarding. The reader gets taken on this leisurely stroll to the romance. But when you get the first kiss, first spicy bit, or first declaration of love, you are screaming and jumping up and down for joy that it finally happened. You were waiting for it. But the main characters didn’t actually know it was coming. So, you just had to stay along for the ride.

For this trope, it is the waiting, but knowing there will be a payout for your patience. If the romance happens too fast, then you're just reading about an old, married couple that fight and have to do stuff together. Gross.

That’s why we want a slow burn. It’s build up with a satisfying conclusion. It’s anticipation with an end result It’s patience with the payout. It’s the feeling of needed to sneeze for so long that the sneeze is a relief (and if that doesn’t sound satisfying, think about it… it is).

The Who Did This To You? Trope

“Who did this to you,” says the mysterious, alpha male MC with a gruff voice, muscles, and beautiful hair to the tortured, beautiful, strong female main character. Cue *swooning.* Everything about this trope gets me. It’s usually followed by a declaration of murder for said person that did said thing to said female. Can. We. Just?!

It’s all about his love for her. He cannot stand to see her injured or in pain. So anyone who causes such things has now forfeited their life. Because her life is more important than theirs. She is the shining star of glory in the dark and evil world. She deserves only for wonderful, fantastic things to happen to her. And anything less, simply won’t do. At least that’s what the MMC in this trope thinks.

Okay, so maybe we don’t necessarily want our boyfriends to go around murdering people, but that’s the beauty of fantasy. We get to live in the book, with the murdering beau, so that we don’t seek out someone committing actual crimes on our behalf in the real world.

The He’d Burn The World Down For Her Trope

Once the declaration of love and adoration happens, our alpha MMCs now want nothing more than for the FMC to live and thrive. If anything gets in the way of her life or her thriving, the MMC will rip it apart with his bare hands if he has to.

Can the war be fixed by the death of the FMC? The MMC would rather the war rage on. Will the world explode if the FMC lives? Fine by the MMC. Is all of humanity going to wither and die if the FMC doesn’t sacrifice her life? “Good riddance,” says the MMC.

Is it realistic? No. But this is OUR fantasy world. We get to appreciate the fact that the MMC cares this much. He would rather die with the rest of the world than live one moment without his woman. He usually succeeds at burning something down or murdering someone. Spoiler alert: the world almost never burns to the ground. But it’s the thought that counts.

The Forced Proximity Trope

Ooohh! Forced proximity. *Eek.* Whether our MCs are enemies, strangers, or newly falling for one another, forced proximity makes them be in close quarters. Obviously. Its wonderfulness is right there in the definition. This trope often comes in the way of being trapped in an enclosed environment, being forced to live together for some reason or another, or anything that pushes our MCs to be closer than they actually wish to be.

Generally, in this environment, the MCs will now have to speak to each other and to learn about each other, when they otherwise wouldn’t. This usually results in secrets revealed, compassion for one another, etc. The forced proximity scenes give us such a deep moment with the characters that is difficult to encapsulate in any other way. If the MCs don’t want to talk or don’t have the chance, this trope gives them a moment in time that wouldn’t otherwise exist.

Coming out the other side of this, the MCs are generally closer, more understanding of one another, and it kicks the relationship development up a notch. It’s classic. It’s lovely. It’s one of the best tropes.

The Only One Bed Trope

Falling along the same lines as forced proximity, only one bed generally comes into play within the forced proximity trope. So they are sort of hand-in-hand. But still different. Let me explain.

While forced proximity often results in an intellectual or emotional closeness, only one bed results in physical closeness. The MCs are now forced to face feelings or emotions that they have been denying throughout the book. Prior to being forced into one bed, they were denying their own sentiments and now they are at the forefront of their mind.

It’s just a classic romance trope that I find to be so exciting when it finally hits the page. I know what the trope does, but I don’t necessarily know how the scene will play out. They could simply lie there in their own inner turmoil. They might talk it out. They might get freaky. It could go so many ways but we know something is going to change in the relationship once we know they have to share a bed. That’s the beauty of this trope.

The Forbidden Love Trope

Now, I would say (and am saying right now) that this could be broken down into various tropes - best friend’s brother, brother’s best friend, dad’s best friend, etc. But for the purpose of explaining my love for this trope, it’s not forbidden love because someone might get their feefees hurt. It’s the love forbidden by the queen, the world, the species (get your heads out of the gutter; I’m talking about fae or vampires)...

Our MCs in this trope are battling through every obstacle, every person, every law in order to be together. Doesn’t that just make you want to root for them? The only correct answer here is, undoubtedly YES!

Occurring from the start of the romance, this trope generally maintains its status throughout the entirety of the book and/or series. Some tropes are a scene, or a beginning, or an ending, but this one is more than that. It’s the premise of the book’s conflict. The MCs have to overcome everything for each other. And no doubt - they will.

The Found Family Trope

We’ve all been here. Finding our people that accept us for everything we are - the good, the bad, the really bad. And when we don’t have it, it sucks. So reading a book where the MC, who generally has had a beyond crappy life, finds hers?! Ugh! The heart-wrenching satisfaction!

One of the best things about this trope is that it always results in fantastic side characters. In order to have found family, the family has to be amazing. So, while the main characters go about their business, the side characters add a level of depth that they need in order to continue on. For the main characters, the found family is essential to their personhood, their ability to overcome, and their character development. For us as readers, the found family become just as important to us as the main characters.

This trope gives a depth and connection to the story that two main characters just can’t do on their own. We get attached. We get to root for more people. We find our own family in these books.

The Age Gap Trope

Can I please just talk about the variations of this? Yes, I can. This is my blog. Again, we have a trope that can be used in different ways, which is why I find this particular trope to be dope. It’s a dope trope. And before anyone gets the ick from this trope, I’m not talking about underage girls or the grooming of minors, okay? Now that we’ve established that… onward!

Of course we have the standard 20 or 30 year age gap, but what’s the best version of this trope? The 500-year-old immortal being and the young 20-something-year-old who is just the most unique and interesting thing he’s ever seen. Gah! Don’t you want someone to be so enamoured that he has never seen anything like you in over five centuries?! The good news - you can… if you read this trope.