To explain a little about what this post will be about, every Trope Tuesday post starts with the same introduction. In every romance book you read there are tropes or archetypes you find inside its pages. You can also see them in shows, movies, plays, etc. Every type of entertainment and media. Romantic tropes are everywhere, and they are fabulous. I adore them and I always tend to find my favorite ones in romance books so I can enjoy them even more. Trope Tuesday is a weekly column where I share books that I know people will enjoy with a specific central trope.
What is a trope? Urban Dictionary explains it best: “Despite the erroneous definitions already published here, trope on the interwebs really refers to an often overused plot device. It can also be described as another variation on the same theme. TV shows, movies, comics, games, anime’, & books are full of tropes & many rabid fan-sites now name & track said tropes with a self-explanatory title for each one.” We can name a few: accidental pregnancy, best friends to lovers, sibling’s best friend, marriage of convenience, and so many more. Your favorite couples? They probably got a trope too! It’s always so nice to realize or find out your favorite romance trope and keep searching for books with the same theme. So really? I’m just helping you find that new favorite book of yours. If ever you want a post on a trope I haven’t done yet, do drop me a tweet at @thebookvoyagers and let me know!
One of my favorite tropes is the You’ve Got Mail one. I assign this trope to the books that have two people who, in real life, hate each other but their online personas actually really, really like each other. So it’s sort of like a love square because when they realize their feelings towards another, it becomes complicated when they think about that online person they kinda have feelings for too! But, news flash, they’re the same person!!! It’s always fun to see this trope and I have a few favorites with it. This Trope Tuesday, though, is all about the upcoming romance books coming out in 2021. And we have a few ones that I’m just dying to read!
To Sir, with Love by Lauren Layne
You bet that when I saw Lauren Layne was writing a You’ve Got Mail romance, I TBR’d it so quickly.
To Sir, with Love follows the life of Gracie who inherits her father’s champagne shop when he passes away. She realizes that they’re barely scraping by. Complicating everything further, a giant corporation wants to turn the store into a parking garage, and the handsome head of the company Sebastian is annoying as hell. Instead of sharing her worries with her family and friends, she decides to make use of a dating app where matches get to know each other through messages and common interests before sharing names and photos! This is where she meets “Sir”. While she’s falling in love with this Sir online, she doesn’t know she has already met him offline.
Hana Khan Carries On by Uzma Jalaluddin
I actually started reading this book and I’m so excited to continue. Uzma Jalaluddin’s previous novel is Ayesha At Last, a Pride and Prejudice romance. But her sophomore novel is none other than a You’ve Got Mail wonder!
Hana’s family owns a halal restaurant, but sales are going very slow. In her free time, she loves doing her podcast. Even a cute anonymous guy is messaging her and showing his support towards her dreams and goals! But when a new rival restaurant opens close by, everything comes crashing down. And the young owner of the restaurant is not helping matters. Plus this might not be the first time they’ve talked to each other!
Last Chance Books by Kelsey Rodkey
So Last Chance Books doesn’t have an online element but it is a You’ve Got Mail-inspired romance, because the heroine Madeline is currently working at her family’s bookstore when a new chain bookstore named Prologue opens across the street and threatens to shut her family’s place of work down.
As we know You’ve Got Mail stars Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks. Their characters have rival bookstores because Hanks’ character’s family runs a chain of mega bookstores while Ryan’s character’s family runs an independent bookstore. Last Chance Books by Kelsey Rodkey follows this aspect! It will give you prank wars, cute moments and falling in love with the person you least expect.
