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. I adore some of 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.
One trope that has been consistently one of my favorites throughout the years is age gap or age difference. It is also called May/December relationship and if you see this it means there is a big gap between the characters’ ages. This love comes with another trope but I’m not cheating! Sometimes it appears with the grumpy and sunny archetypes. I actually adore when the older character is grumpy and the younger character is the sunny, energetic, joyful one. *It makes me emotional*
I, of course, think that there is obviously a fine line in the power imbalance part so have to stay in that line carefully because if there is a big power imbalance, it makes me a bit uncomfortable. Luckily in my experience I haven’t read many like this so I am able to say my age difference trope experience has been really good with some books that have become my all-time favorites and I hope they can become, or one of them can become, some of your favorites as well.
Let’s get down to business, alright.
So Sweet by Rebekah Weatherspoon
Get ready to crave your own sugar daddy. So Sweet is all about Kayla. Her current situation is not looking good. So she decides to sign up to Arrangements, an online dating site that matches young women with older men with lots of money. She thinks it won’t work but SURPRISE! It does. She matches with a pretty handsome silver fox billionaire and their love story begins. There are three books, each a novella, each as wonderful as the last one. They’re all together and they are all the story of Kayla and Michael living their lives to their fullest. They’re truly amazing.
Off the Ice by Avon Gale and Piper Vaughn
Tristan knows he can’t play hockey forever so he decides to finish his degree. But he didn’t expect his new teacher to be standoffish Sebastian Cruz. The dynamics between these two are so sweet and soon enough they become really domestic and very romantic. What I love about this novel is a tiny detail: they actually wait until after they’re done being teacher/student to make a move. From there everything goes high up and stays there. This book will play with your emotions and you’ll have a hell of a ride.
No Strings Attached by Mina V. Esguerra
Let’s switch things up alright? How about, this time, the one who is older is the girl and the one who is younger is the guy? I just described No Strings Attached. Carla is turning the big 3-0 and she is single. Her best friends are trying to match her up with banker-type guys but nothing is working. And then one day she meets Dante. Definitely not a banker-type and definitely not her age. He’s five years younger! This love story is so very sweet and the setting, the characters, all of it will make you fall in love.
Team Phison by Chace Verity
My go-to comfort read. They meet online, inside a video game. One of them asks the other one to help him know how to play and the other one agrees. They form a very strong bond and friendship blooms but they can’t stop talking to each other! Will one of them take the first step? A super short novella that will fill your insides with so much joy. Low on angst and epicly romantic, Team Phison is there every time I feel down and it always manages to get me back up.
Black Rainbow by J.J. McAvoy
If you love How to Get Away With Murder, get this romance. You won’t regret! Thea spent an amazing week with one Levi Black. What she didn’t expect is that when morning arrived and she has to go to class, Levi welcomes her as her new teacher! Between law school and this new discovery, her life is upside down. She considers dropping the class, but she has a goal in mind and she must reach it even if she has to destroy everything in her path. This novel is full on high emotions and tension, your heart will surely stop at some epic moments!
Coffee Boy by Austin Chant
Austin Chant has become one of my favorite authors. Coffee Boy is the story of Kieran. He gets an internship in a political campaign, something he didn’t expect to happen. He also didn’t expect having a front row seat to the campaign strategist’s painful crush on their straight boss and his own crush on that same campaign strategist! Swoon with this novella and fall madly in love with this office romance between a trans man and his cute and shy boss.
