Aaah! It’s Monday night and I still haven’t worked on my Top Ten Tuesday post for this week! Today was so busy (it was my boy’s first day of homeschool for the year and I had to go shopping) and I was about to go to bed but… good thing I remembered. Top Ten Tuesday is an awesome weekly gathering where we talk about books! It’s hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. Today we’re going to talk about our favorite tropes.
1. Variations of “There’s only One Bed!”
I don’t really care for a simple “there’s only one bed” because one of them can sleep on the floor, but there are ways to twist this. Lost in the forest and need to huddle for warmth? You have to share a room with close quarters? These make sense. I use this in the book I’m writing.
2. Enemies to Lovers
Two people start off hating each other and by the end of the book they can’t get enough of each other? Count me in!
3. Childhood Friends to Lovers
On the other end of the spectrum, I love when characters have been best friends since childhood and then they fall in love with each other.
4. Cinnamon Roll Boys
I just love cinnamon roll boys… I just want to give them a hug! Boys who had terrible childhoods, but they’re still sweethearts deep down. Even if they had to turn to a life of crime as a matter of survival.
5. Would-Be Lovers Trip Onto Each Other
These two have to get together somehow!
6. Morally Grey “Heroes”
I loved Adelina Amouteru in The Young Elites, even though she’s definitely not a good person. Although she does terrible things, I feel bad for her. She didn’t choose to be bad. Cardan from The Cruel Prince probably could fit into this category as well.
7. Strong Girls
She doesn’t have to face the entire Hun army on her own (that would be unrealistic anyway) but I like a girl who knows what she wants and doesn’t let people walk all over her.
8. Forbidden Love
I’m not talking about biological siblings, but if the two families aren’t on board, they’re an interracial couple in a society where that’s forbidden, or that sort of thing, I might like it.
9. Characters Go on a Journey
It can be a lot of fun to see the characters run off and have to travel the world.
10. Survival
Oh no! We’re lost in the forest and we have to find a way to survive! Even better if the characters have some sort of attraction to each other (or develop one).
It was hard to come up with ten this week (and I kinda put it off until the last minute too). Next week, when we talk about books I wish were in my personal library, should be easier. Anyway, how about you? What are your favorite tropes (or ones that you hate)? Looking forward to reading what you posted this week.
Enemies to lovers and childhood friends who fall in love are fun and never get old if done right, I think. I love journeys too, and morally gray characters.
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Everything has to be done right. Even love triangles can be good if done right (although they usually aren’t).
I am 100% here for all of these except maybe #2 & 6 (apparently I am allergic to conflict?). I recently rewatched Pushing Daisies, and that just cranked the interest level on #3 all the way back up (now, finding one THAT sweet is…difficult to impossible, but I persevere. In YA, Emmy & Oliver is a good one.)
Cracking up at #5, but when you’re right you’re right.
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Haha. In real life I can do without conflict, but it can be good in a book. I use #5 in a lot of my stories, LOL. If they’re going to train each other to fight (which I do a lot) inevitably one of them is going to knock the other onto the ground and they’re going to fall all over each other!
I’d never heard of the term Cinnamon Roll Boys before. It made me smile. 🙂
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I didn’t know what they were until sometime in the last year either, but I’ve loved them for a long time. Some of my favorite male characters are cinnamon rolls.
Great list! Yes I love soft boys and the “there’s only one bed” trope and all its variations. Morally grey heroes are my favourite heroes, and I will never get enough of people who like each other falling on each other. I’m trash for it.
Jess @ Jessticulates recently posted…Top Ten Tuesday | Books that subvert tropes
🙂 If we love them hopefully people will keep writing them! I know I’ve written some of these.
So much yes to many of these! Love a great cinnamon roll character and morally grey characters too. Also totally love the ‘one bed only’ trope! Haha I can’t believe I missed that one on my post 😂This is a great list!
Only one bed is popular!
We have quite a few of the same ones. I love survival as well and attraction in those is always a bonus!
I haven’t seen too many of those, although I’d like to read Switchback which probably has a survival attraction thing to it. Echoes had something of that vibe too.
Wonderful list! I especially like 1, 2, and 3. Here is our Top Ten Tuesday
Those seem to be popular this week.
I am there for all the romance tropes! And I also have a soft spot for cinnamon roll boys.
Leah recently posted…{Top Ten Tuesday} Spotlight on My Favorite Archetypes & Tropes
They’re my favorite boys, I think. Give me a well-written book with a cinnamon roll and I’ll probably like it.
The “share-a-room” or sometimes it’s a house rental, trope is always fun! I’ve seen it with Hallmark movies, and probably in books, too! Also, yay for the childhood friends! That’s ALWAYS a sweet trope or those I’ve read have been. 🙂
Thanks so much for visiting Finding Wonderland, Brooke.
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Thank you for blogging! The book I’m reading now (The Lady Rogue) has a lot of variations on the only one bed trope.
So many good ones! I love the “there’s only one bed” trope though I didn’t think about the sleeping on the floor cop-out. Your twists/solutions to that are great though and now I really want to read a book with this. Such a sucker for enemies to lovers as well and gotta love those survival stories too.
I didn’t think about it until this week, but they use this trope in Divergent and Four does sleep on the floor. It’s a twist because there’s actually multiple beds in the Dauntless compound, but Four wants to make sure Tris is safe.
Cinnamon roll boys are the best. I do love a good broody boy as well, but those cinnamon roll boys are so wonderful too.
Alicia @ A Kernel of Nonsense recently posted…Top Ten Tuesday: Tropes That I Refuse to Say Are Dead Until PoC Have a Chance to Utilize Them
As long as the broody boy isn’t a real jerk. If they’re pretending for one reason or another…
Childhood friends to lovers is a stupendous trope. I can never get enough of it, but I love journeys too, and oh! soft boys are the best.
Those are all so sweet. Lots of people seem to like them this week.
Awww Cinnamon Roll Boys! Love it! Oh, and definitely morally grey heroes and strong girls! Gorgeous list, Brooke!
Thank you!
AH YES!!! These tropes are everything but I am especially stoked to see the one bed trope make an appearance on your list. BECAUSE THAT ONE? Hoo, boy. I’m weak!
Haha looks like something more authors should put in their books!