So a couple of weeks back, I did a post about tropes that donโt bother me (and some I even like) and Katie @Never Not Reading requested that I do a follow up with recommendations in each of the categories. And since I am nothing if not accommodating, I obliged ๐ Althoughhhhh, I have to be honest, this might not be the most comprehensive list in the world, since a fair amount of the time I pick up books with these tropes, they disappoint. Either way, here are some books I did enjoy:
Forbidden Love
Gotta admit, this was the easiest category to do- there are just so many!!! And I love them all!! (most of the time ๐ )
Fake Dating
Ah this was the toughest. Truth be told, ever since I picked up To All the Boys, Iโve been trying to find more in this category, but a lot of them fall flat. Still, there are some good ones out there if you know where to look ๐
Enemies to Lovers
I had so many for this, but I decided to split them up so that there would be some for my other fave tropeโฆ
Secretly a sweetheart
Yeah thereโs a lot of overlap with Enemies to Lovers here! These two tropes go hand in hand for a reason!
Descent into darkness
Annnd basically every other Shakespearean tragedy ๐
Redemptive arcs
This was another super popular one in classics- maybe because it is a classic! (oof- that joke was painful- Iโll see myself out)
Rags to riches/Cinderella stories
Is it just me or does this happen more in movies? I could think of a gazillion rom coms with this and for some reason it was a struggle to think of more than a few books! (I also think someoneโs going to tell me at least one in the comments that Iโll be kicking myself for not remembering).
Do you like any of my recs? Or do you plan on checking any of these out? And do you have any recommendations for me? Let me know in the comments!
Great list! We always hear about how “bad” tropes are, but indeed, when done right, even the most cliche theme can end up with a beautiful message or heartwarming read!
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Thank you!! Absolutely!!
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These are some of my FAVORITE tropes especially fake dating and forbidden love. Yusssss I love me some love tropes โค๏ธ
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Thank you!!! ๐ Glad you like them too!! โค
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Fantastic lists!!! Rhysand really is a sweet heart, I love him!!
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Thank you! I know right?!
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Great lists!! I really enjoy forbidden love and fake dating too.
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Thank you! Awesome ๐
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I always forget that The Hunger Games falls into the Fake Dating trope. I agree, though, it’s the hardest category in this list to come up with examples for.
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yeah it does it in a really clever way as well. I know right!!
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Nice list here! I enjoy most of these, especially Cinderella. I can never tire of that one! ๐ Excellent post!
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Thank you!! Me too ๐
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My favorite is the enemies to lovers. Iโm such a sucker for intense battles that lead to a happy ending!
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Oh I totally get that!
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There are so many of my favorite books on this list that I can’t even begin to comment on them all! I love pretty much all of these tropes. ๐
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Ah I’m glad!! ๐
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So many fantastic books on this list and more than a few I’ll be adding to my tbr. These are some of my fave tropes too.
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Thank you!! And fab!!
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Forbidden love – I’d include Snow Falling on Cedars by David Guterson, one of my all-time favorite stories. A murder trial set against the backdrop of Japanese internment by the US government during WWII, it is beautifully and succinctly realized. And the love story – in the end, unrequited as it had to be.
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It seems the list of books we both love continues to grow, Shari. ๐ Snow Falling on Cedars is also one of my favourite books.
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Oh I definitely need to read it too then!!
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How wonderful! I’m sure you’re going to love it – it really is that good! ๐ โค
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Definitely – it’s on my short list of books not to be missed – even though my short list is several hundred books long – hee hee.
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Oh brilliant! Thank you so much for the recommendation- sounds wonderful!
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Very cool post! Never thought I’d see My Lady Jane in the same category of To Kill a Kingdom. Quite true, though.
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Thank you!! hehehe glad you agree ๐
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Really want to reread A Little Princess, it’s been so long!
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oh I love that book!
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I don’t even know what “fake dating” is. What is it?
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hehehe I feel so weird explaining this: people who have to fake date for *plot reasons* and end up falling in love- it’s verrry typically in the romance genre (and so not something you’re likely to have come across ๐ )
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Thanks. I’m not surprised I didn’t know what it was ๐
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Ooh I love forbidden love, fake dating, and enemies to lovers โค Definitely need to add some books to my TBR!
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So glad you agree!! โค Brilliant!
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I should have known that you would list books I’m already in love with, lol. We’re too much on the same page. Thanks for doing the post! I found a couple to add to my list!
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hehe I feared that would be the case ๐ hehehe yes! Thanks for reading anyway!
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Ah!! This list is EVERYTHING! I adore the Demon King, TATBILB (only seen the movie, but shhhh, haha), The Hunger Games, Scythe, The Dream Thieves, Cinder, Geekerella, Throne of Glass, The Wicked King, and To Kill a Kingdom. *sucks in breath* Whew, that was a lot! Haha. They’re all amazing though! โค
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Thank you!! hehehe I can understand that ๐ The movie version of TATBILB was just as good to be fair ๐ hehhehe glad you agreed on so many!!! ๐ โค
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I think I might call A Little Princess a reverse Cinderella story. She’s well off at first and then loses everything and is relegated to servitude. From that point until the end I see the Cinderella aspects, since she does find a way back to being a “princess”. But for some reason her “fall” stands out more in my mind than her eventual rise.
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Great point! I kind of love it for doing that though- it’s a nice twist on the idea (and why it always makes me cry ๐ )
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This reminds me I am late finishing my last Throne of Glass book! :p I need to bitch about that lady, it’s good for my sanity.
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hehehe I look forward to seeing it!
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Iโve read Six books from this list all of which I have really enjoyed. There are several more that I have on my TBR to read at some point.
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Awesome!!!
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Omg! The Hunger Games is some series! I never thought Katniss and Peeta would eventually marry and have kids!?
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It really is! I know right?!
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You like a lot of the same tropes I do so I’m definitely looking closely at your lists here.
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Awesome!!
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I love Redemptive arcs, especially in ASOIAF and Broken Empire, the darker the character the better. It’s really good to see someone who was not on the straight and narrow trying to get his act together and especially the reasons behind that ^^ Ennemies to lovers that is awesome, I recently read Warbreaker by Brandon Sanderson and it is an important part of the story. If you haven’t read it I definitively recommend it =)
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Oh I really agree!!! ๐ It definitely is- oh that’s awesome- I really need to read more sanderson- thanks so much for the recommendation!! ๐
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great list! i love all these tropes as well. I also like quests and chase novels
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Thank you!! oh yeah, me too!
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You featured some amazing books in this post, and some of my favourite tropes as well. The Daughter of Smoke and Bone trilogy is one of my all-time favourites, I just love the relationship between Karou and Akiva, and enemies to lovers is actually one of my top tropes. I just can’t resist it. Carry On is a must, but I also loved The Wicked King (and am so excited for The Queen of Nothing too).
Great post. ๐ โค
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Thank you!! Me too!!! And yeah, I can’t resist it either!! Me too! Thank you! ๐ โค
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Gotta love all these tropes, especially Forbidden Love! A real classic and just wonderful to read about when done well. Romeo and Juliet will always be the first story that comes to my mind when I think about it. ๐โค
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Yeah for sure!! me too- tbh I had to resist the urge to put that on here, cos I just knew people would know about it already ๐ โค
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I’m such a sucker for forbidden love, fake dating and a good redemptive arc roll them into one and you’ve got my kind of book!
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Ahh so agree!!
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Love secretly a sweetheart and Fake Dating… though these are even more fun in #kdramas so yeah favorite tropes!! Though I’m never without an enemies to lovers read… this is hands down my favorite YA trope. Though forbidden love and friend to lover are others. Great recommendations! โค
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Ah glad you agree!! hehe I can understand that ๐ Oh yeah I like friend to lover as well. Thank you! โค
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OMGGGGGG THERE ARE SO MANY OF MY FAVORITE TROPES ON THIS LIST!
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Ah I’m really glad to hear it!!
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These are all my favorite tropes too especially forbidden love and enemies to lovers! Another top favorite of mine is hate to love. I’ve read some of these books in the list and I totally agree with them. I loved The Hating Game, Autoboyography, TOG, Adorkable, Fill In Boyfriend, Cinder&Ella, and ACOMAF.
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Oh brilliant!! I love that too!!! Ahh I’m glad you liked all of those!!
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I love all of these tropes! But especially Enemies to Lovers โค I am so glad that P&P made your list ๐
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Ah I’m glad!! Of course, it kinda had to ๐ โค
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Great post, I also love all of these tropes, especially when Fake Dating includes political pressure and the threat of death ๐
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Thank you! hahaha I know right ๐
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FAKE DATING! I have been looking for some good ones in this category. :]
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hehe me too tbh ๐
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Such a great list with many books I’ve loved and many books waiting on my TBR! I also love these tropes, especially Enemies to Lovers ๐
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Enemies to lovers and slow burn romances are the greatest tropes (in my opinion). I also love fairytale retellings, so loved the bit at the bottom on Cinderella ๐
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Love the recommendations for each category! Sooo want to get around to read Red Rising as well as all of Mark Lawrence’s books! ๐
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Thank you!! Ahh definitely recommend those!!
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Ahh what a great list! I love so many of these tropes, especially the forbidden love one, fake dating and ennemies to lovers ahh. โค โค Thank you for all the recommendations!
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Thank you so much for reading!! โค โค
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Excellent recommendation list! Off this trope list, my favorites are forbidden love & descent into darkness.
LOVE Jane Eyre & Wuthering Heights so much! They are among my favorite classics.
Have you read And I Darken by Kiersten White? If you like descent into darkness, I think you’d enjoy The Conqueror’s Saga. Actually I also loved her retelling of Frankenstein, The Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein.
I am actually not a huge fan of the hate-to-love trope. I feel like there is such a fine line there & oftentimes it is problematic… I DO think P&P did it right.
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Huh, I did NOT know Red Rising had a descent into darkness trope. (Why haven’t I read this yet?! I don’t know why either…) And as a fan of manga and Asian media as a kid, I have to say fake dating is one of my favorite tropes too. It’s just so deliciously satisfying when you see two people falling in love unexpectedly, almost like an enemies to lovers trope. ๐
I think most tropes when done well can’t be considered bad at all. It just depends on how much the storyteller commits to making it their own, and I’ll fall in love regardless of whether it’s been done or not. ๐ Terrific list!
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Nice choices! This made me realise tropes are a great way to recommend books โ I just put several of these on my list, particularly from the enemies to lovers and forbidden love categories โ it’s funny how knowing that the books use those tropes makes them more interesting to me ๐
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I have read a ton of these, but a redemption ARC that still brings tears to my eyes was Samantha’s in Before I Fall. I cried for her, because she became such a better person, and I wanted that time loop to end differently.
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Tropes aren’t always bad and there shouldn’t be shame in an attraction to a certain trope. They can be done well! Thanks for this.
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Really agree! Thanks for reading!
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I have a soft spot for the Cinderella ones.. I’ve always liked books where the hero starts poor and accumulates riches, status, power, skills, whatever.
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That’s a fun list!
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