Trope Rec Tuesday: The One That Got Away Returns for a Second Chance

Trope Rec Tuesday: The One That Got Away Returns for a Second Chance
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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!

The could have been. The almost there. The one that got away. This trope makes the characters nostalgic and fills them with unresolved feelings. It’s that person who maybe once upon a time could have been more, could have been their future. If they have tried a relationship, if they have tried to stay, if they have tried to work it out, maybe they could have achieved something greater. But destiny works in mysterious ways so that person leaves and “maybe this and maybe that” stops. Though it’s when they return that things gets interesting.

When the one that got away makes a comeback, our protagonist’s world shifts completely. That person takes a place in their lives where they see it as inconclusive. Unresolved feelings appear and they have to take a look at what could have been. Most of the time this ends up being a relationship of benefits because “of course they are only doing this to satisfy their needs and scratch an itch” right? But our poor naive protagonists don’t know what’s coming for them and we love to see the falling in love part. 

Kiss and Cry by Mina V. Esguerra

I recently read the third book in this series (all standalones tho!) which I also adored. Mina V. Esguerra’s romances are so natural and perfect for a quiet day in your house, drinking whatever you please at the moment. So Forward is the one I read, which features the brother of the heroine from this book. Some scenes overlap so that’s why I wanted to mention it and for you to pick it up next because when you get to start this one and meet Colin, you will want to know his HEA.

But first things first, let’s talk about Kiss and Cry. Calinda met Remirez ten years ago. She was a rising star in figure skating while he was a superstar in hockey. They had feelings, they wanted to have a relationship, but her parents and her coach forbade her of doing it, so she could focus on her career as a figure skater. They’re each others “could have beens”. Ten years later, they meet again and they want to experience all the things they might have done years ago. 

Me + Somebody’s Son by Christina C. Jones

My most recent read which I completely loved! Me + Somebody’s Son gives us the most adored kind of trope: florist meets bookstore manager. I adore the aesthetic this brings and I really think you will too.

Haven is done with love. She just wants to enjoy one-night stands. But then a one-night stand sends her flowers and she knows he wants more… so she throws the flowers away. She decides to go to the florist and order another one to put in the bookstore where she works. And finds August. He’s flirty, bigger and knows what he wants, which is Haven. 

I love when he says something like “You should have been mine,” meaning when they were in college. Haven was dating his friend when they met but both of them knew she was dating the wrong person. This book is hilarious and so good.

A Cowboy to Remember by Rebekah Weatherspoon

Rebekah’s debut with Kensington imprint brings us rich cowboys who look very, very good on top of a horse. It’s also inspired by Sleeping Beauty! We have the amnesia trope and childhood friends to lovers reunion with lots of fun moments between the couple. I loved all the scenes with the family and every single secondary character. Rebekah really makes me want to have a book for each secondary character and watch them find their happily ever after. *I’m sorry*

Chef Evie finds herself at the bottom of the stairs one night. She wakes up, not knowing anything about herself. The only thing her friends do is call her emergency contact: the Pleasants. But what Evie doesn’t know (because amnesia, hello!) is that she wasn’t in good terms with one Pleasant brother, Zach. She said goodbye to California ten years ago and never returned, but now she is going back to heal and to maybe, find someone who once upon a time she thought he would be hers. 

Keeping Miss Kalila by Tara Frejas

Tara Frejas books have always had a soft spot in my life. I haven’t yet read this one but by the blurb sounds really, really perfect. I don’t doubt that this story will deliver and make you fall in love with Kalila and Datu.

Kalila’s life is great; she has a job she loves, an adorable senior dog and she’s pregnant (via IUI)! But soon after, her first love, filmmaker Datu, returns. And he wants a second chance. It wouldn’t be hard to say yes to him because in fact she still loves him a little. When a crisis at her school hits, she might just focus on other things than her own desires. 

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