Chapter #37: Ranking Romance Book Tropes

Because, yes, there are levels to romance

Feeling My Shelf is a bi-weekly newsletter about books, life, and well, life with books. Grab your favorite caffeinated beverage and get comfy. First up, some recent reads.

1000 Words: A Writer's Guide to Staying Creative, Focused, and Productive All Year Round by Jami Attenberg

Inspired by Jami Attenberg’s #1000WordsofSummer, this must-read writer’s guide features insights and motivation from authors for (finally!) putting words on a page. The advice is straightforward (albeit a little repetitive at times). A gentle kick in the butt for anyone who’s struggling to write the story they’ve been dreaming about. I plan to pick it up anytime I need a little pep talk.

Monstrous by Jessica Lewis

After being forced to spend the summer before college in the strange, small town of Sanctum, Latavia is kidnapped from her aunt’s house and offered up as human sacrifice to an ancient monster that lives in the woods. But she convinces the monster to spare her life, and they join forces to get revenge on the creepy town. The pacing was good, the revenge was sweet, and although I could’ve done without the romance subplot, I enjoyed this.

Bright Red Fruit by Safia Elhillo

This beautifully written, coming-of-age novel in verse follows Samira, a sheltered Sudanese American teen and aspiring poet. She struggles to balance the expectations of her overprotective immigrant mother and the desire to do average teenage things. Things only get worse when she meets an older, well-known poet who manipulates her under the guise of “love.” The story is rich, heartbreaking, and mesmerizing, all at once, with some mythology references weaved in. It’s unputdownable!

You should’ve seen this one coming. I mean, in almost every newsletter, I rave about romance novels. At least one always shows up in the recent reads section (except today, which is interesting.) My love for this genre practically oozes off of the screen at this point.

And what better month than February to talk about all the sweet, swoony, smutty goodness even more?

Ranking romance tropes isn’t an original idea by any means.

A quick Google search will bring up tons of YouTube videos and blog posts from other readers sharing their thoughts, likes, and dislikes. Having seen some of those videos myself, I couldn’t help but notice how different my opinions were on some of the tropes. Which is why I felt it was high time to share my own thoughts.

Note that these rankings are all about the tropes and not about any books in particular. I’ve read plenty of meh books that featured my favorite tropes and a few amazing books with tropes I often avoid. It all depends.

Now, onto the rankings—from my least favorites to favorites.

the equivalent of nails on a chalkboard*

• Forbidden love: Sometimes there’s a good reason why things are forbidden. Also, I like my romances light and happy, not moody and dark with bunch of secrets.

• Love at first sight: Crush at first sight? Maybe. Love? Red flag.

• Billionaire/CEO: Often steamy, but yeah, not into the power dynamics of this trope.

• Age gap: Same deal as above.

not my favorite trope, but can be convinced to read it now and again

• Grumpy / sunshine: Can’t really get turned on when someone is constantly complaining.

• Brother’s best friend: This one was ranked higher when I was younger. You know, before I discovered that my brother’s once super-hot friends peaked in high school, which completely turned me off from the trope.

• Slow burn: THINGS ARE ALWAYS TOO DAMN SLOW! I’m always like just get it on already!!!

• Single parent: Kids in books can make things fun (they really do say the darnedest things!), but they also usually slow the romance down, and we know how I feel about slow burns.

i like this trope, but have to be in a mood to read it

• Friends-to-lovers: Again, all I can think about while reading books with this trope is “can y’all just get it on already?” Pacing is key here!

• Love triangle: As long as no one’s cheating, all good.

• Sports romance: Not really into sports in real life (though I will watch the Superbowl for halftime and the commercials!), but occasionally find myself mesmerized by a football, basketball, baseball, or tennis(!) love story.

• Small-town romance: They’re often comforting, full of charm, and feature a cast of eclectic (and nosey) characters. But being from small town myself, I need books with this trope in small doses.

i have a lot of love for this trope just not the most love

• Second chance: This once-lower-ranked-trope made it’s way up my list once I read Before I Let Go by Kennedy Ryan.

• Forced proximity: I really like this trope when it’s paired with enemies-to-lovers, forcing the rivals to spend an insufferable amount of time together for whatever (work, remote island, stuck elevator, one bed) reason.

• Coworkers-to-lovers: Maybe not a good idea in real life, but in books? All for it.

this trope is everything and I will read any book with it!!!

• Fake dating: Something about characters that aren’t in relationship pretending to be in a relationship and then actually ending up in a relationship is fun.

• One of us is famous: Okay, I think I love this one because the delusional side of me likes pretending that I, a complete and total regular, actually have shot with a famous actor.

• Enemies-to-lovers: My all-time, absolute favorite trope! Books with this trope are usually packed with the kind of tension and snappy banter that keeps me kicking my feet and giggling into the wee hours of the morning.

*but hey, try and change my mind with some good recommendations if you’re into these tropes!

Speaking of romances…I’m finally reading Honey and Spice by Bolu Babalola, which follows a “Black British woman who has no interest in love and unexpectedly finds herself caught up in a fake relationship with the man she warned her girls about.”

Books by Black authors to celebrate Black History Month. What is bookshelf wealth? The book behind American Fiction came out 23 years ago. It’s still current. So you want to be an artist. Do you have to start a TikTok? Why having a little hobby is so good for you, according to science. Author Kiley Reid wants to talk about money. “Lives of the wives” books won’t save us. Tia Williams has the range.

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