Top Five Favorite Book Tropes

    About 130 million books have been written ever in the history of people writing books. Hence, certain aspects or occurrences have been used and reused to the point that they've even been given their own names, such as the enemies-to-lovers trope. In this honest and unabridged post, I'll be tackling my top five personal favorites.

1. The Forced Proximity Enemies-to-Lovers

    I think it's safe to say that everyone has a soft spot for the classic enemies-to-lovers trope. However, my particular favorite is a subcategory of this trope with the addition of forced proximity. Think Katniss and Peeta or Annabeth and Percy. Biting insults turning into a ~relationship~ is just the kind of story arc that gets readers interested.

2. The On-Again-Off-Again Love Triangle

    Love triangles are also wildly popular among readers, but I'm a fan of the particular type where it's not 100% clear who the main character is going to end up with. Think Feyre, Rhysand, and Tamlin in ACOTAR or (don't come at me for this one) even Bella, Edward, and Jacob in Twilight. The conflicted main character trying to choose which love interest is "the one" and spending a lot of time being unsure or switching between them is one of the most exciting tropes to read.

3. The Chosen One

    I feel like this choice is kind of controversial because a lot of people don't like the idea of a "chosen one". This trope made my top five list because of the pressure it puts on the main character. It's like, "if you don't do the thing, then no one will, and everything will turn out bad". It opens up interesting conversation about prophecy/fate and its fulfillment. Besides, all the good YA fantasy series have one- Percy Jackson, Harry Potter, etc etc.

4. Insta-love In Very Certain Situations

    I know, I know, very edgy of me to pick this one. Notice the "In Very Certain Situations". Here's my thought: insta-love can work in a story if it's done right. Take, for example, Nicola Yoon's Everything, Everything or The Sun Is Also a Star. Insta-love works wonderfully in those stories. Now, of course, that is not always the case. But when it does work, I have to say that I really enjoy a fast-paced, cheesy romance.

5. The Redeemed Villain

    This is a shoutout to all the Luke Castellans out there. You've got to love a redeemed villain. A Voldemort-type evil bad guy is fine, but every once in a while we need a bit of variation. It's so much more heartbreaking to read the defeat of a villain that has an actual heart and conscience- and maybe even feels bad about the crime- than a villain who doesn't care about anyone or anything.

    And those are my top five favorite book tropes! Tell me in the comments if you agree or disagree with my thoughts. *mischievous grin*

    Sending happy thoughts, good vibes, and chapters that don't end in cliffhangers!

Love, 

Gurlaffe