I’m only my third post in this series and I already feel like the amount of tropes to talk about are endless. Absolutely anything you can think of is a trope and apparently, I really like most of them. Hence why I’m posting two ‘tropes I love’ in a row. I Haven’t posted one of these since May last year I think, but I have plans to post them more consistently in 2024.
Enemies to lovers
I think pretty much everyone will agree with me on this one. There’s just something about characters going from absolutely despising each other to gradually falling in love. But let’s be clear here and note that this does not work or is at all appealing if characters go from hating each other to instantly being in love. There is definitely a right balance that needs to be achieved. I’m not out here supporting toxic relationships.
With that being said you do need to be very careful when including this trope. If it is not played out properly with no growth or remorse then it can very quickly become toxic. Nobody wants to see a book where someone falls in love with their abuser. I’m looking at you, Colleen Hoover.
Personally, I think this trope only works well in fantasy. It makes sense in worlds that are magical and cutthroat to have people trying to kill each other only to realise they are actually in love. I’m not sure if that makes sense to other people, but it does to me. I don’t want enemies to lovers where they work in an office and they hate each other because they want the same promotion. It doesn’t have the same effect and (in my opinion) these books usually lack the emotional depth that a lot of fantasy has. Obviously, there are non-fantasy books with emotional depth but I’m talking about those awful romance books with real people on the covers. If you know, you know.
My favourite example of this is definitely The Wicked King by Holly Black. I am so in love with Jude and Cardan and their love/hate relationship. I probably got a little too invested at one point, but we won’t talk about that.
Magic academy
This is probably the most cringe-worthy trope to admit to liking, but I love it. I’m not entirely sure why. Is it weird to like this as a 24-year-old? Probably. However, and I know they are terrible so please don’t judge me, but I’ve been enjoying the Zodiac Academy series and well the trope is pretty much in the name.
This definitely all started with everyone’s childhood favourite, which will not be named for certain reasons I am sure you are all aware of. The idea of a boarding school, something that I am not at all familiar with, is quite interesting. Especially if you throw in magic as well.
This kind of mixes with the boarding school trope (more on that in a future post potentially) and I love it. I’ve always been interested in boarding schools, I never wanted to actually attend one, but the idea of them is super cool. Well in books and TV media, they are probably pretty boring in real life.
It is also one of the biggest tropes you see in Kindle Unlimited books, and because I use that quite a lot I have found myself naturally gravitating towards them. It also doesn’t help that they always have stunning covers that catch my eye.
This is the type of tope which I am sure I will outgrow quite soon (well probably not but let’s pretend). So, please tell me I’m not the only person who enjoys these types of books.
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Like this post? Why not read this one too: Book Review: By the Book by Jasmine Guillory