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!
McDreamy is here to make all your dreams come true. Ok, not really him, but his roles in some romantic comedies will inspire my book recommendations today. He has some iconic roles that are perfect pairings for romance books that match that particular movie character. More than the actual movie or the theme of the movie, I’m taking his characters as inspirations. Was he a billionaire playboy? A single dad? That’s what we’re using today and then I’ll give you a book that has a character just like that for you to read! Sounds good, right?
Patrick Dempsey as Ronald Miller in Can’t Buy Me Love
Ronald, wants to be popular, so he gives money ($1,000!!) to a cheerleader to pretend to date him for a month. Many things happen, but eventually he sees he’s in the wrong and gets her back in the end. This is basically a fake dating trope teen romance comedy movie so let’s search for a book that matches this trope.
I’m recommending: Vlog Like You Love Me by Clarisse David
This new David title is a perfect choice for sunny and calm days on your comfiest couch. It’s a young adult romance so it’s actually fitting with the movie because it takes place in high school so we have that. Vlogger heroine plans to ask the nerdy hero to have a fake relationship with her so they both make their exes jealous.
Patrick Dempsey as Peter Connor in Lucky 7
This time around Dempsey has the role of a bagel shop owner who is in love with the main heroine. She is going to use him and date him in order to dump him and actually marry the guy she is in love with because her mother predicted she would marry her seventh boyfriend. But she starts to develop feelings for this bagel shop owner. So now we’re going to recommend you a book with a hero who owns a restaurant, café, or any kind of food-related shop.
I’m recommending: Her Twin Baby Secret by Therese Beharrie
These two rival restaurant owners will grow together and fall in love in this delicious and fun novel! Enemies to lovers but also make it fake dating please. This novel surely is the one you dream of and I’m telling you you have found it!
Patrick Dempsey as Robert Philip in Enchanted
To be honest, Enchanted is definitely one of my comfort movies that I could watch anytime. I just adore the concept of a real-life princess falling in love with a cynical widower single father who doesn’t believe in love anymore.
I’m recommending: Grumpy Jake by Melissa Blue
Melissa Blue wrote one of my favorite 2019 books. Grumpy single dad starts a relationship with his son’s kindergarten teacher. At first, they don’t really hit it off really smoothly but it quickly changes and we have a really fluffy and compelling romance.
Patrick Dempsey as Tom Bailey in Made of Honor
Personally I don’t really like the circumstances this movie starts with: best friend falls in love with the heroine but she is engaged already. Like he has been her best friend FOR A LONG TIME and he now realizes he loves her AFTER she returns happy and engaged from her work trip. He decides that he has to do something to make her see she is with the wrong man. This pisses me off because now that she is finally happy and she is already engaged, best friend thinks hey let’s do this because why not. This is something I don’t like about the best friends trope because they always think they know the heroine better than the other love interest, but actually haven’t done anything in their time of being friends.
And the other trope in this movie is the reformed playboy one, because Dempsey’s character is clearly a playboy but when he is ready to get his best friend back, he decides he is done with sleeping around.
I’m recommending: A Scandal By Any Other Name by Kimberly Bell
Reformed rake, heir to his grandfather’s Dukedom, travels to the country to avoid his grandpa. There he meets his best friend’s sister-in-law and mistakes her for an untroubled debutante. They know lonely but now they get to share things together. Are they ready for more or will they return to their isolated lives?
Patrick Dempsey as Jack Qwant in Bridget Jones’s Baby
Jack Qwant is a billionaire inventor of a dating website who has a one-night stand with Bridget Jones. We have a lot of billionaire characters in romance so let’s get into this ASAP.
I’m recommending: One Bed for Christmas by Jackie Lau
The heroine of this romance is the CEO of a dating app company so a perfect match for this movie! It also has forced proximity trope and crushing for a long time. It’s a great choice as a holiday pick but you can also read it right now and hope for some snow if you’re currently in a hot-weathered place. Fun and genuine situations turn into sexy times and we got ourselves a romance story!
If you want me to do other actors or actresses movie roles as romance books, just let me know! Thanks for sticking to the end.
1 thought on “Trope Rec Tuesday: Romance Books For Patrick Dempsey Romcoms”
I think Julia Roberts or Katherine Heigl could be good ones!