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 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.
Who doesn’t love Tom Hanks? I remember one day, on Twitter, when he was trending and someone tweeted that they were afraid of seeing why he was trending, that maybe he said something problematic, they would have to cancel him, etc. But no, as usual, he said something really nice and was the most humble man in Hollywood.
But yeah, it’s easy to relate Tom Hanks to romance novels, right? He has done so many rom-coms and basically his career started with them. Remember Splash (1984)? So yeah, this is an ode to him and his work. What I’m going to do is match some of his most emblematic romantic comedies with a romance novel. Ready?
Splash → Your Heart Will Grow by Chace Verity
Splash (1984) is about a young man who falls in love with a mysterious woman who so happens to be a mermaid. I know Your Heart Will Grow doesn’t really feature the same trope but it does feature mermaids and it’s beautiful. Chace Verity continues to write books that are really outstanding and books that you will go back to once you’re done. Get ready to fall in love with this pansexual mermaid and her soldier.
Sleepless in Seattle → Back to the Good Fortune Diner by Vicki Essex
It’s hard to pinpoint a trope here but what I’m grabbing from this movie is the kid part. So in the movie Tom Hanks aka Sam has a kid named Jonah. Jonah… what does he do? He tries his hardest to match Sam and Annie (Meg Ryan’s character).
In Back to the Good Fortune Diner, we have Tiffany Cheung returning to her hometown and meeting again Chris, the boy she used to tutor when they were young. Chris needs help on tutoring his son and Tiffany agrees for it to be a temporary job but it’s clear Chris wants something more in their relationship. It’s a shame because Tiffany isn’t staying… or is she?
You’ve Got Mail → Hold Me by Courtney Milan
You thought I wouldn’t mention this but guess what!!!! Every time I get the chance to mention Courtney’s novel I will. You’ve Got Mail has the “we met online and like each other but in real life we are rivals/we dislike each other” trope. And Hold Me has everything and more. It’s my favorite romance novel and with reason. Courtney writes layered characters that can grow into something more of what they appeared to be. One minute you’re hating Jay and the next, hello you’re my new bae. Courtney is that good, believe me.
Larry Crowne → Off the Ice by Piper Vaughn and Avon Gale
This was the only one I could come up with. But maybe I don’t know a lot of “returning to school after so long” romance books. Because Larry Crowne goes something like that: Larry returns to college and falls for his teacher. So I thought of Off the Ice because yes, Tristan, hockey player, returns to finish his business degree because he knows he won’t be a hockey player forever. There he meets sociology professor, Sebastian Cruz. It fits perfect, right?
Do tell me if you know more titles with this trope!
Tom Hanks → Waiting For Tom Hanks by Kerry Winfrey
I HAD TO! I had to, people. It’s a perfect choice. If you love everything about Tom Hanks, you gotta get Waiting for Tom Hanks this June 11th. Our heroine is rom-com obsessed and she craves her own meet-cute like a Tom Hanks’ romantic comedy (hello!!!!). But she gets a meet-fail with a cute guy, so let’s hope this turns into a happily ever after, alright? (Every romance ends in a HEA tho hehe).
