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.
Today’s trope is fake dating. I’m inspired by the new Netflix movie and adaptation of Jenny Han’s book, To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before. I adore how the fake dating trope developed there. It’s all about the contract first and making people jealous and not letting other people find out about stuff. Then between sweet moments spent together, family gatherings, deep talks at night, they fall in love. This is my favorite thing about the fake dating trope! Suddenly it all becomes too real for these two.
It can be fake dating for a weekend trip, for a wedding or event, for an inheritance, or for family to stop asking you personal questions. It’s magnificent to see the whole thing and how the little moments are the ones that break the fakeness of the relationship. Then one person realizes that this has been real since the start and practically they have been dating the whole time! I love seeing the realization and the inner turmoil that maybe the other person doesn’t feel the same. But as we know, romance books always have a happily ever after.