The Book Wench

Hey reader – I figured this would be an interesting topic to write about.

There are a lot of tropes that I love and a lot that I dislike. And there are even some that I only like in certain circumstances.

Favorite Tropes

Enemies to Lovers – While these are generally not as high stakes as you would imagine with the trope name, they are still pretty juicy. Especially if it’s Grumpy/Sunshine.

Friends to Lovers – Usually so sweet, natural, and realistic.

Second Chance – don’t we all deserve them from time to time?

Found Family – As someone who has lost most of her family and has had to rebuild one of her own, I love this.

The Meet Cute – The more creative, the better.

The Meet Cringe – Sometimes they make me REALLY cringe, sometimes they just straight up make me laugh. But the schadenfreude is real.

Least Favorite Tropes

The Love Triangle – por que y no los dos/why not both girl!!

Insta Love or Love at First Sight – So not believable. You fell in lust and then maybe fell in love – but you can’t love someone you don’t know. And it takes way more than a month to get to know someone and love them, I’m sorry.

Celebrity Romance – See the power imbalance below – I have only read one author (*cough*Abby Jimenez*cough*) who could make me like this.

The Chase Scene – After watching 739 Fast and Furious movies, reading about chase scenes has become very trite and boring to be quite honest – especially when they are long.

Imbalanced Power Dynamics in Romance – So like employer/employee or Professor/Student. Just like in real life it’s gross.

Carelessly Discarding a Weapon in a Horror or Thriller – Just because they look dead doesn’t mean they are. C’mon, don’t throw down the knife until you are sure silly!

Tropes That Work Sometimes

The Chosen One – For the love of the Gods please don’t make the Chosen One and Mary Sue or Gary Stu. Be creative. Give them flaws. Make them realistic.

The Unreliable Narrator – don’t make me hate them or I’ll straight up DNF the book.

The Prophecy – Goes with the Chosen One a lot and can be done well if written well (aka done with care and good, thorough planning). Maybe throw in some ambiguity in there for funsies.

The Amateur Sleuth – Please don’t make them a know-it-all. Sherlock Holmes already exists and he is perfect – we don’t need a copycat.

The Gay Best Friend – Please, please, please don’t make them a caricature.

The Unplanned Pregnancy/Pregnant Ever After – Please don’t make them get pregnant just to get pregnant. Remember you can live a full life without kids as well. Make it make sense for the characters and the plot!

I know there are a ton more tropes out there, but these are the main ones that came to mind. What tropes do you love and what tropes do you hate? Are there any that you are okay with if they are done well?