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.
If you love retellings as much as I do, you might really love this post. Retellings are such a sure thing for me because you kinda know what’s going to happen if you’ve read the original source. But sometimes retellings aren’t that specific and they only might have some details of the original source. Both are a favorite of mine and I can really read anything with retellings as its core.
Some of my favorite retellings are Pride and Prejudice and Emma, both by Jane Austen. I also enjoy a You’ve Got Mail retelling or some similar trope like mistaken identity. I really love Greek myth retellings like Hades and Persephone! Much Ado About Nothing by Shakespeare is also one retelling I will 10/10 read. My favorite books have some of these retellings in a way and it’s a small detail that makes me love them even more.
Retellings can go from classic books, fairy tales, historical events, mythology, movies, and even more. You will find out I deeply enjoy every single one. If you have a favorite retellings be sure to reply to the tweet or tag me on Twitter telling me all about it! I love knowing about this and talking about books, plus recommending and getting recs is something I adore doing.
Here are some novels and the retellings they have:
Wintersong by S. Jae-Jones
One of my all-time favorite fantasy books! (I still haven’t read the sequel, shame on me, I know!) But the first one is so gorgeously written and the world-building and characters are everything and more. This story is inspired by ‘Labyrinth’, the movie with David Bowie! There is a Goblin King and the girl who goes into his world to retrieve and save her sister. But many things happen in between, seriously. So romantic and dark and beautiful.
Well Played by Katrina Ramos Atienza
This is a retelling of Pride & Prejudice! Lovely, filled with fun moments, Well Played is set at a college in the Philippines, with a soccer star and a math nerd. You’ll see all your favorite things about P&P in it if you love the original as much as I do! Definitely give it a go because it’s just so great and you’ll have the best time of your life.
Bollywood and the Beast by Suleikha Snyder
As you might already decipher from the title, Bollywood and the Beast is a Beauty and the Beast retelling. Rocky Varma knows a career in Bollywood is no easy thing and when the media comes for her she has to go hiding in her leading man’s mansion. There she meets his reclusive brother, a former action hero who has since gone away from the lights and frenzy. Sparks will definitely fly!
If I Loved You Less by Tamsen Parker
If you have read Emma by Jane Austen you will know why the title is named this way. Tamsen Parker just released this beautiful romance, an f/f Emma retelling set in Hanalei Bay and it’s a romance between matchmaker and surfer Theodosia and baker Kini ʻŌpūnui! It’s so true to the original source that if you are a fan like me, you will absolutely adore it to the heart.
The Star-Touched Queen by Roshani Chokshi
I will read anything by Roshani Chokshi. Her writing gets to my soul every single time and I always crave for more when I’m done with one of her books. The Star-Touched Queen takes inspiration from the Hades and Persephone couple. Girl goes into the land of the dead and marries the King of it all. It’s so powerful and beautiful, I can’t put into words how much it made me feel and how beautiful this book is. You have to pick it up!
How to Keep a Boy from Kissing You by Tara Eglington
This Much Ado About Nothing retelling is so cute and fun. It’s a Young Adult contemporary romance set in school. Our main characters have known each other since children and hate each other. Aurora, the main character, wants to have her first kiss but she wants it to be perfect. Of course Hayden, the boy, is not the one who will kiss her if she can help it. But he’s always there, always around to see her at her worst, and slowly, smoothly, something eventually happens!
