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 remember very fondly the Summer and Seth kissing in the rain scene from The OC where he’s hanging upside down with a Spiderman mask on and Summer pulls down his mask only halfway and they kiss. Iconic, legendary, and lives in my mind rent free. There is something about kisses in the rain that just enchants me. They are definitely superior to kisses in other settings. Definitely more than kissing under a starry night. I mean, they’re kissing IN THE RAIN! Dripping wet! And those kisses always appear when both of them get to that point where they can no longer deny their feelings, right? Kisses in the rain are always perfectly placed.
People We Meet On Vacation by Emily Henry (5/11)
I recently finished this book and it completely destroyed me. Right now, I’m only a shell of my former self. I couldn’t stop reading it and it has every trope you can possibly imagine plus angst too.
Poppy and Alex have been best friends for 12 years. They have done 10 summer trips in total. Each one is more different than the last one. But two years ago, on the last summer trip they took, they fell out. Now, Poppy’s last happy memory is with Alex and she wants to go back to those times. She asks Alex for one last trip, but their dynamic is now different and this trip won’t be like the other, for sure.
Twice Shy by Sarah Hogle
Oh, the kissing in the rain scene in this one is god tier. Sarah Hogle has continuously held my heart in her hands and I’m so glad I get to experience her books. Maybell and Wesley, our sunshine/grumpy pair who get to meet under very unusual circumstances, but now have to share a mansion that both have inherited. They don’t start on the right foot, but it’s clear as day that they harbor an attraction toward the other person, and when it finally culminates into this kissing in the rain scene… oof, fireworks will appear inside your head.
White Whiskey Bargain by Jodie Slaughter
A kiss in the rain on top of a car? Yes, you heard right. White Whiskey Bargain is a swoony marriage of convenience romance you have to read once in your life. Two rival families have to team up in order to go against a bigger evil, so they decide to marry off the heirs of their respective families. Hannah is the boss of her family while Javier is her doting husband. These two are fire and the heat that will create this story will be hard to put down.
Too Good to Be Real by Melonie Johnson (7/6)
I’m going to be reading this one very, very soon, but in the meantime let’s talk about it. Because everything about this book sounds right down my alley.
Julia is a writer at a very popular website, but impending layoffs are now threatening her job. She wants to come up with a perfect pitch to impress her boss. When she finds out about a resort offering guests a chance to live all their rom-com dreams, she thinks she hits the jackpot! But as soon as she arrives at the resort, she has a meet-disaster with a seagull and a super cute guy.
