So I was chatting with an author friend and we got on the topic of romance tropes. (These are popular or overused themes often found in romance stories)
I love stories that contain the more popular themes: amnesia, secret marriage, marriage of convenience, and hidden babies.
Dead spouse comes back? Yes!
Sheik didn’t know about his heir? Yes!
Love them all and love them even more when they’re well done. I never get tired of them and will admit that my hidden weakness (or not so hidden) is marriage of convenience. I could read these all day long. LOL. I think I’m drawn to a man and woman put in a situation where they’re forced to deal with one another for a common goal or to save one or the other.
Remember When by Judith McNaught does an excellent job on a hero and heroine forced into a marriage to save the hero’s fortune. Bring on the angst. Bring on great dialogue and a romance for the ages.
Don’t get me started on Nathan Malone from Wild Card by Lora Leigh. **Cue tear-fest** Best return of dead spouse EVAH.
What about you? Are there any romance tropes that you like and what book was it done well in?
I think my favorite is long time friends whose friendship turns unexpectedly to romance. But I like the marriage of convenience in historical novels also.
Best friend romances are good, Susan. I also forgot second chance romances. I think silhouette used to have a line with sweethearts, divorcees etc finding love with one another again years later. Nothing like a good HEA 🙂
My favorite tropes are Alien abduction= found love, highland hunks who need heroine but don’t realise it, heroine has tragic past then found by Prince who treats her like queen, and (guilty pleasure) menage romances with HEA. I am sick of vampires, shifters and heroes who are cruel to heroine.
Alien abduction is a good one, Jonella. I love when the Earth woman meets the alien hottie.