TTT: Favourite Tropes!

Favourite tropes!!

Yes!!! I love me a good trope! And since I'm predominantly a romance reader I have lots and lots of them I adore with every fibre of my romance reading soul... But I also read fantasy/urban fantasy so I've some non-romance related ones too.

I can't put them in any particular order for it'd change depending on my mood but here they are!
My favourite tropes!

Second Chance Romance

The one that got away!!!

I just love finding out what happened in the past and watching them overcome the hurt, the fear, the disappointment to find each other again.

Friends to Lovers

They've known each other for ages! Since they were kids! Since university! They've had each other's backs through thick and thin, good relationships and bad. They'd do anything for each other but it's not like that... Until it's like that!

Or maybe for one of them, it's always been like that and their love has been unrequited? Until it's not!

But then they're so scared of losing each other! Of losing everything! Too scared to accept that the other person actually feels the same way! But then they take the plunge and get everything they ever wanted!
Awwww.



Enemies to Lovers

Repeat after me... Someone being mean to you is not a sign of affection!
But... But, look!
They disliked/hated each other and were so rude/mean but then nice things! And they fell in love!!!

It's the mean boy who secretly loves you!

I know this trope can be problematic but when executed just right?



Fake Relationship

Just two people, for whatever reason, pretending to be a couple and then actually becoming one.
It can be dressed up so many ways!
To make someone jealous, to avoid going to a wedding solo, to receive an inheritance, to make a promiscuity king/queen seem respectable so you they don't get dropped by their label/sports team/investors...



Forced Proximity

Snowed in? Trapped in a cave? Car broken down and only one room at the motel? Marooned on an island? In a jungle? On Mars? And forced to rely on an enemy or a stranger for survival or comfort?!

Forbidden Romance

Two people, who are perfect for each other in every way but are forbidden from being together?
Family feud? Rivals? A supernatural and a human? A curse? Conflicting cultures? The boy from the wrong side of the tracks? The professor and the student?



The Special Snowflake

I love it! I love it when someone has some special destiny they're running from or fighting for... Or are running from and then something happens that makes them stop and step up!

The reluctant hero, the magically gifted, the predestined... Happy sigh.



The Beautiful Beasts

I'm talking about the moody broody guy with a heart of gold.
The bad guy with the squishy centre when it comes to the right person.
The criminals, the bikers, the mafia bosses, the wicked vampires and the pack leaders.
 The monsters who are more than what they seem...
The beastly, wicked, despicable, the morally ambiguous.
Sigh.

Okay... I think these - or some random combination of these - have my reading loves covered, lol.
What are your favourites?

TTT: Book Characters I’d Love to Be Besties With

Book Characters I’d Love to Be Besties With 

Ooooohhh! I like this topic!
Only, I seem to have similar things to say about each of the characters! I seem to want besties who are loyal, funny and a bit quirky. This shouldn't surprise me really considering who my real life peeps are but it did! Let no one call me self-aware...

Anyway! Behold the list. It's not got 10 people on it but it's close enough.
😊

Tori, Kai, Ezra, and Aaron from The Guild Codex: Spellbound series.

They're fiercely loyal, smart, and funny and will do anything for those they take into their fold.
They'd be good friends for the good times (parties and hanging out would be hilarious) and they'd be the best friends for the bad times there to fight with you and for you or to just give you a big hug when you need one most.

Rachel Morgan from The Hollows Series

Brave, principled and loyal, Rachel would make an awesome friend. 

Sure, she attracts trouble like manure does flies but she's worth it. 

If you're one of her people, she'll have your back and she'll never betray you. 

Life with Rachel in it would never be boring!

Rose Hathaway from Vampire Academy

Funny, brave and insanely loyal not to mention snarky and fun. Everybody should have a Rose in their life! I mean, she's literally willing to fight monsters and die to protect those she loves. 

Angela Clark from the I Heart Series

She's a complete and utter goofball, a hot mess, a one-woman calamity that seems to charge from one insane adventure to the next but she's funny, she's sweet, she's real but she's also got a spark of that Hollywood magic that makes her magnetic. She's the friend who'll come to you at 3am with pizza and wine for no other reason than you're feeling down and won't give you too much shit for dragging her out of bed! 

Mal from the Stage Dive Series

He's charmingly insane and funny as hell, a peacekeeper and low key gentleman. 

Ok, he loves to meddle (especially in love lives) but he has a big heart and it's firmly in the right place so why wouldn't I want Mal as a bestie? Plus, he's a rockstar so think of the stories he'd tell!

Okay, that's it. I can't think of any more. I'm sure there are more but brains a blank!

Who would you want as your book bestie?

This or That?

I'm sure there are lots of these knocking around but I spotted this list over on Nicole's blog and discovered that this list originated on Cait's blog and I wanted to play so... Here we go!

Welcome to the "BOOKISH THIS OR THAT TAG || BUT THE STRESSFUL TORTUROUS EDITION"!

🌻

Series or Standalones?

Series. 

I love a good book series.
The way the characters and relationships are developed slowly over time is the best thing ever.

That doesn't mean a standalone doesn't have its place but even with standalones, I like series of interconnected standalones so we get a glimpse of how previous characters are doing on occasion.

Magic Earned or Magic Born?

Meh, it doesn't matter as long as there is a good story or character development arc.

Enemies to Lovers or Friends to Lovers?

Oh... Oh, I like them both.
I guess that enemies to lovers are harder to get right so can be more hit or miss as to whether I like it so I'm going to go with friends to lovers.

Hilarious Banter or Emotional Ruin?

Hillarious banter. I'm not a fan of emotional ruin. In fact, no matter how much I think I'll enjoy a book, if it threatens to wreck me it'll sit on my kindle forever untouched.

Seriously, the number of Colleen Hoover books I own but am not brave enough to read is ridiculous and that's just one example.

Love Triangle or Insta Love?

Really?! I have to choose one of these?!
Ugh. Okay.
Love triangle.
Instalove is ridiculous but a love triangle is believable. 

Keyboard Smash Names or All Names Start with the Same Letter?

Er? I don't think I have a clue what a keyboard smash name is... But I definitely prefer it to every character's name starting with the same letter so... Keyboard smash?

Mean Parents or Dead Parents?

Why can't there just be normal parents? Not all parents are mean or dead!

Oh okay... Dead parents, so they're not present and annoying me.

Supermodel Looks or Constantly Says How “Plain” They Are?

I honestly don't care about what they look like but I would care if they were constantly waxing on about it! So, I guess for the purposes of this question that means supermodel looks?

Face on Cover or Typography on Cover?

Oooh! Tricky tricky... I'm going typography.
Faces will annoy me if they don't fit the character description.
Typography tends to come with beautiful artwork and that's never (yet) been annoying.

Villain Turning a Little Good or Hero Turning a Little Bad?

Villian turning a little good!
Or hero turning a little bad.
Honestly, I'm not fussy on this. I like it when it's shown that no one is 100% one thing and everyone has nuances to their personalities. 

Best Friend Dies or Love Interest Dies?

Best friend dies. (< no hesitation!)

I'm sorry but if you're building up a romance for me and you kill one of them preventing them ever getting a happy ending then you can go do one!
And I'll probably avoid any and all subsequent books by the author. I don't read romance for realism or for tragedy. I read it for a happy ending!

Awesome Writing with a Dull Plot or Amazing Plot with a Murderously Bad Writing?

Oh, I've encountered this so many times... Seriously. The number of times I've loved a story but wished someone else had written it!
And, it doesn't matter how awesome your writing is if the story is dull as charcoal.
So... Amazing plot with murderously bad writing!

Ooohhh, do you think we can team up those authors? The excellent writers with poor imaginations with those excellent imaginations but piss poor writing skills and make a super author?

Cliffhanger Ending or Heartbreaking Ending?

That depends.
I don't like heartbreak and I don't like cliffhangers.
However, if we're talking a cliffhanger at some point in a series, I'll deal. If it's the end of the series, I'll rage.
If it's heartbreak at a mid-point in a series, I'll deal and hope it resolves in later books. If a series ends on heartbreak? The author is dead to me.

If I had to choose? I'd go cliffhanger ending and hope for more books to end it nicely.
Heartbreak will never be acceptable.

Breaking the Spine or Dog-Earing the Pages?

Don't care!
I'm a book savage and I'm not particular about either!
Mwahahahahaha.

“Bad Boy” Trope or “Perfect Golden Boy” Trope as the Love Interest?

I hate golden boys. I love bad boys.
Bad boys!

Although, it needs to be said that while I'll tolerate a fair amount of dickish behaviour from my bad boys I expect them to have a big squishy centre when it comes to their lady!