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!
Forced proximity trope is one we can all agree to love. It creates excitement, cuteness and our hearts can’t help but go a little bit faster when our main couple is close. Forced proximity is all about two characters that are, well, forced to be close to each other. This can be because of weather-related reasons, because of their friends, parents, or maybe because there is only one bed in this inn they’re both staying. If you are searching for a more specific forced proximity trope, like snowbound, you can go to my other Trope Tuesday post about it.
I especially love this trope when it’s paired with enemies to lovers, or dislike to love, because we have characters who really don’t like each other and often banter when they’re close. And when they’re forced to be together in this kind of situation, they always reveal their inner thoughts and the other person finds out their true selves and realize that they’re all not that bad and actually they might think in a similar way. *cue falling in love at that moment* The forced proximity trope really brings out the best in you, I swear, when you read it, the romance just hugs you completely and promises you that it will be a good time.
A Wicked Kind of Husband by Mia Vincy
Mia Vincy has some of the most colorful covers I’ve seen. With that watercolor effect, she has bewitched us with her historical romances. A Wicked Kind of Husband gives us a marriage of convenience, two people who have seen each other only once (on their wedding day!), and lots of fun moments between them while they’re falling madly in love. They both arrive in London and now need to share a house together. When they meet each other after two years, they don’t even recognize each other! Until their friends tell them that they are married to the other one… It sounds amazing, right?
West Coast Love by Tif Marcelo
An aspiring food journalist and a grumpy cameraman are the protagonists of this romance. They both auditioned for the same job (being the host of a show that covers Labor Day holiday BBQ festivals) but Victoria, the food journalist, got it. They now have to work together and Joel even has to help her because she doesn’t like BBQ and knows nothing about it while Joel knows it like the back of his hand. When the producer realizes they have some sort of chemistry, they decide to feature both of them on camera!
Wanna Bet? by Talia Hibbert
Friends to lovers, you say? Talia Hibbert has something for you. If you aren’t familiar with Talia’s work, Wanna Bet? Is a good book to start with. As I said, it has friends to lovers, forced proximity, pining for a long time, and so much more. This book is GOLD.
Jasmine doesn’t do relationships. Her longest relationship is her friendship with her best friend Rahul. Though he has been in love with her for years, he cannot act on it. Not until disaster drives Jasmine into his spare bedroom… FOR A MONTH! Angsty romance where both want each other but are too afraid to act on their feelings. Also Rahul is a virgin and we don’t get enough virgin heroes in romance!
Grumpy Fake Boyfriend by Jackie Lau
Fake romance that has to pretend to be a couple because the heroine’s ex is going to be at this friend retreat so now they even have to sleep in the same room, in the same bed, because if not, everyone will know they are lying! Bubbly, energetic heroine meets grumpy, reserved hero in this romantic comedy. Jackie Lau never disappoints and surely after reading this one you will want to read all her backlist and every single of one of her books is SO GOOD.
