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!
One of my favorite characters is Emma from Emma by Jane Austen. Emma is a self-proclaimed matchmaker who loves pairing up her own friends so they can have their happily ever after. Sometimes it doesn’t work the way she thinks it would; her friends find love elsewhere. But it’s the thought that counts, I think. When Emma finds love herself — and she definitely wasn’t looking — it’s magnificent to see, right? Her job is to match people up, not to fall in love! These characters in the books below also get a 180° turn in their lives when they fall in love with an unexpected person.
Ten Kisses to Scandal by Vivienne Lorret
Vivienne Lorret actually wrote a whole series with matchmakers so if you enjoy this one you can totally go back and read the rest! Ten Kisses to Scandal implements the “never fall for your client” trope which matches perfectly with the matchmaker trope *wink*
The heroine Briar is a failing matchmaker. But she comes up with a solution to learn more about what makes people get that perfect attraction: she enlists the help of London’s most irredeemable rake to teach her all the things about it. Just what she needs, right? But he has his own rules to share with her and those are that for every lesson learned, she has to give him a kiss in return. No harm done, she thinks, because it’s only a job and she would never fall for a scoundrel…
Aisha by Ikhlas Hussain
This romance shares a lot of similarities with Emma and Pride and Prejudice, so if you are into both of these books, you are in for a treat.
What Aisha Ali believes in is arranged marriage. So she turns this into her job as a matchmaker at The Islamic Marriage Bureau. Of course someone comes along that makes her question everything she thought was right. When Adam Swift, a Muslim convert from Toronto, appears, Aisha’s beliefs and life get shaken up, forcing her to confront all her internalized prejudices.
Debauching the Virgin by Mel Blue
Melissa Blue is one author I know I will always enjoy. So whenever I hear she has a new book coming out, I am probably first in line to get it. Debauching the Virgin is not a new release but it’s definitely a little novella you need to be aware of. Because it doesn’t happen often that we get a virgin hero in a romance novel.
Amelia is a successful matchmaker to the rich, though her own love life is not very successful (she has two failed engagements under her belt). But she loves her job and her matchmaking record is one of the best out there. She has been celibate for a while and she is ready to get laid, so when her friend Seraphina pairs her up with Dwayne, our virgin pilot, she never thought this would get better. They have one week for Amelia to show Dwayne the art of seduction… and he happens to be a quick study.
True Pretenses by Rose Lerner
Rose Lerner writes some of the best historical romances out there. True Pretenses is about a Jewish conman who falls for the heiress who is supposed to be his mark. He is ready to match her up with his brother, but things don’t go according to plan when Rafe, the brother, disappears.
When she realized the guy she wanted was matching her up with his brother, Lydia was very disappointed. So when Ash’s brother suddenly runs off, she decides to take matters into her own hands and asks Ash to marry her. Will he choose his own happiness?
