This Spring through the start of summer, I was not liking many of the romance books I was picking up. I could recognize them as good books, but they weren’t working for this reader. I couldn’t understand what was going on – romance is usually a go to genre for me. A friend commented that it seemed like the miscommunication trope and the second chance trope weren’t working for me. This got me thinking – what romance tropes do work? 

First–what is a romance trope? According to She Reads Romance , “a romance trope is a plot device or theme used within a romance novel giving a recognizable starting point to the story that a reader can recognize. Though many romance books can use one common romance trope, it is their storylines and characters that differentiate each book using this common plot device.” She also has a great list of a variety of tropes and their definitions. It’s fun to explore.

So I put my bookish hat on and did a very “scientific” study for the 4 and 5 star romance books I had read in 2022 and in 2023 so far to find out what tropes do work. Overwhelmingly the Enemies to Lovers is the winner followed closely behind by Grumpy Meets Sunshine (which could be considered very similar to Enemies to Lovers) and Fate Dating. Throw in a small town setting and that seems to be a winning combination.  Here’s a list of just 6 of my favorite Enemies to Lovers books. 

The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren 

Well Met by Jen DeLuca

You’re a Mean One, Matthew Prince by Timothy Janovsky 

Love on the Brain by Ali Hazelwood 

A Lady’s Guide to Fortune-Hunting by Sophie Irwin

The Kiss Curse by Erin Sterling

What else should I read? What are your favorite tropes? 

Wishing you many happy reading experiences!