Tropes 101: We've Got Your Guide to the Rules of Romance (Exclusive)

Mar. 15, 2025

Berkley (2); Canary Street Press

Tropes. If you’ve spent any time at all in the world of romance novels, you’ve heard this word. Tropes, or a narrative convention that conveys a theme or motif, are not unique to romance — they exist across genres as a shorthand for what to expect.

There is so much variety in romance novels: You could be reading about college sweethearts, aliens falling in love in space, dukes and commoners marrying in theregency era, or maybe college-going aliens falling in love with dukes in the regency era (I’d read that!), but no matter the permutation of characters, once you identify which trope or tropes are at play, you know more or less how the story will go. Tropes are a starting point and in the hands of a skilled romance writer, they’ll open the door to twists and turns that will leave you breathless.

Some criticize the use of tropes as leaning on cliches or lacking originality, but tropes are as old as storytelling itself. Think of books you’ve read or movies you’ve watched that relied on “The Chosen One” as a theme or featuring a “Grizzled Detective” with special insight to solve the case. How about love at first sight?  Tropes help us set our expectations for what’s to come.

Berkley

Romance writers are excellent at combining tropes, of subverting the traditional view of a trope, and applying tropes to an infinite number of new settings, characters, and conflicts. In my new book,Just Our Luck,I combine the fake dating trope, where two people start out pretending only to find true love, and the grumpy/sunshine trope, where one person is optimistic and looks for the bright side where the other is more pessimistic and tends to be, well, grumpy! Throw in a donut shop setting and a winning lottery ticket and you get a tasty new story with well-loved themes.

But you know the old adage: you’ve got to know the rules to break them. See the list below to learn all about the basic tropes and great examples to fill out your to-read list!

Dell

Second-Chance Romance

Who doesn’t love a second chance? These novels give readers the opportunity to see characters take advantage of a fresh opportunity to get things right with the love they once lost.

Bramble

Friends to Lovers

Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers

Enemies to Lovers

The tension! The delicious conflict! This trope is one of the most popular for a reason—the characters begin with competing goals, ambitions, or desires and we’re able to see their conflict, their struggle to hold tight to their goals, their eventual growth and compromise, and then the bond that forms. The promise of two people who will most assuredly shift from hate to love to forever is a draw few can resist.

Marriage of Convenience

Fake Dating

When the Fake Dating trope is present, you can expect romantic moments for the sake of whoever the couple is trying to fool and then even more of them — even when no one is around — as the real love grows.

Library and Archives Canada

Sibling’s Best Friend

In this trope, the relationship is or feels forbidden, but in a way that may feel safer or more comfortable than other situations. Characters will often deny their feelings, hide their budding relationship from the sibling, and eventually give in to their feelings but need to keep it secret. Add in the possibility that one of them has had a secret crush on their older sibling’s friend for years and you know I’m picking up that book.

Vesper Press

Grumpy Sunshine

A bright-eyed optimist meets with a world-weary cynic and through the power of love and the machinations of the plot, they learn they bring out the best in each other.

Orbit

Fated Mates

With roots in mythology, fated mates showcases the idea of destiny, the power of love, and the idea that there is one person we’re meant to be with.

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source: people.com