To explain a little about what this post will be about, I’m taking the intro I did for the last one: In every romance book you read there are tropes or archetypes. You can also see them in shows, movies, plays, etc. 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 more. I decided to do a sort of Trope Tuesday piece where I will be talking about many tropes and recommend you all some of my favorites that fit.
What is a trope? Urban Dictionary explains it best I think: “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 for sure. 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.
The second Grand Slam of the year is on right now. Serena Williams is playing and I’m always left feeling happy when she’s on my screen, playing the sport she loves. She’s the queen of sports and the queen of everything. She’s one of the most decorated athletes in history. And I so want to do a tennis romance list because of the season. Roland Garros is the only clay court Grand Slam and it is always a challenge for some players. You can see their faces, their expressions, and they might not be their best when it comes to the court changing. But it is always a challenge – the sport, any kind of sport. It’s always great to see them conquer it.
Tennis romances aren’t that big in the romance community. We have football, baseball, hockey as the top 3 sports kings, but there are more sports than that. Not a team sport (except if you’re playing doubles, but either way you have a partner in that), tennis has its charm. The rivalry is better; closer, one-on-one. So the tropes we get in these sports that are one-person only are definitely some tropes to watch out for.
Game. Set. Match by Jennifer Iacopelli
More New Adult than Adult fiction, Jennifer’s novel made me feel all the things inside. It was like watching the matches in real life and you get that same feeling, the feeling of anticipation, of nervousness for your favorite player. It’s the story of three girls, three POVs, ready to be the best of the best. It all takes place in an elite tennis academy and the three girls (Penny, Indiana and Jasmine) all have it rough, each with their own problems to conquer. There is romance, matches, trouble and fun.
Love in Straight Sets by Rebecca Crowley
Regan is focued, ready to climb her way to the top after coming to tennis late in her life. But when her manager hires a new coach, she doesn’t want him there, at all. He’s a former Grand Slam winner and he knows Regan is a tennis player that drives coaches away. But he’s up for the challenge and thinks that there is more to Regan that just her outside persona.
Bryce by Nana Malone
Bryce, a rising tennis star, might lose it all. Even though he might not be looking for any help, because he’s that prideful, he needs it badly. Helps arrives as a new training partner named Tami, but she’s not here to withstand bad boys and trust fund kids. She knows those. So she wants him to run away and never come back. But interestingly enough… he isn’t running away.
McNeil’s Match by Gwynne Forster
Lynne is a twenty-nine-year-old former tennis player who just got divorced. She isn’t sure what to do now but faces the decision of returning to tennis after leaving it behind when she married. Can she do it? Meanwhile, Sloan is a businessman whose gruff appearance doesn’t let anyone know he has a caring and sensitive nature. And then he meets Lynne and he is the one who fully believes she can make that comeback she wants so badly.
Lucky Loser by Yolanda Wallace
In a competitive sport like tennis, love is the last on the list. But Sinjin is crushing hard for her former doubles partner and her friend Laure. But Laure has one rule and one rule only: don’t date other players. But everything can change if Sinjin is in the game.
