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!
I always wanted to write about this trope, because I friggin adore it!!! I love when two people have feelings for each other, but they both think that the other one couldn’t possibly have feelings for them too. So all throughout the book you see them both get super big crushes on each other, and they keep blushing when they’re together, but when it comes to actually wondering if the other one can have the same feelings for them, they are like “OH THAT’S IMPOSSIBLE!” Then you see all the secondary characters who are around them constantly saying “these two are idiots in love” and you realize that yeah this is now your favorite trope. That’s what happened to me.
This tweet made me want to give you some recommendations. And it explains a bit more what this trope is about if you aren’t that sure yet.
If you’re as into this trope as I am, read on!
The Intimacy Experiment by Rosie Danan
I absolutely adored reading this book. When The Roommate, Rosie’s debut novel, came out, I really loved it. So when she announced that Naomi was going to have a book of her own, that made me so happy because I became a fan of Naomi the first time she appeared on scene. And she finally meets her match in The Intimacy Experiment.
Naomi Grant wants to extend her platform to live lecturing. But no one wants to help her achieve that. So when Ethan Cohen steps up and offers her a place to do it, she immediately wonders what the catch is. He wants to get young members into his shul and she wants a platform. Naomi and Ethan decide to team up to host a buzzy seminar series on Modern Intimacy, but of course, their attraction goes beyond any closed doors or their own imaginations.
My Fake Rake by Eva Leigh
For the friends to lovers fans, you’re going to love this one! My Fake Rake is about wallflower Lady Grace who wants to focus on her scientific career and not on the complications of society matches. But when a celebrated naturist returns home, she actually wants to be noticed now. So she comes up with her own little solution: to build the “perfect” man. Of course she asks her colleague, anthropologist Sebastian to help her. She’s going to transform this bespectacled, bookish guy into a fake… rake. But such close proximity is making Grace have all these new emotions. It’s a shame he is helping her marry someone else.
The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels by India Holton (Out June 15th)
I’m so very excited for this book to release, and I hope you are as well. It literally sounds like a dream come true because of all the tropes it has. Pirates, a lady thief, enemies to lovers, assassins, and flying houses? *chef kiss* I’m ready.
Cecilia is a perfect Victorian lady, but, you know, she’s also a thief. She’s part of the Wisteria Society crime sorority where she gets to drink tea, gossip, and acquire treasures by interesting means. On the other side, we have Ned, a dashing pirate, who becomes smitten by Cecilia immediately after meeting her. But he has orders to assassinate her.
Dare to Live, Dare to Love by Nicole C. Moon (Out June 1st)
Nicole is such a huge part of Romancelandia. She is a booktuber who recommends the best books, from YA fantasy to romance books. And now she is publishing her own book! Her debut romance novel! It sounds incredible, I cannot wait to read this as soon as it is out. (Nicole said there is super intense mutual pining! YES!).
Best friends to strangers to lovers. Who would have thought it would end up like this? Elle Jones is very focused on her job. She doesn’t have time for anything else, especially love. Dylan Andrews has recently returned from abroad when he bumps into Elle one day. In order to show Elle that love is real, he decides to write down a list of things to do together.
