Best YA Books and Romance Tropes

It's time to judge a book by its...LITERARY TROPES!

Readers are becoming more and more familiar with story-making lingo, from world building techniques to the bone structure that makes up predictable, much-loved storylines. So, what are the tried and tested tropes that have got the whole of TikTok in a chokehold? 

From star-crossed lovers in Red Queen and They Both Die at the End, to the evergreen fake dating trope of To All the Boys I Loved Before, and love triangles from Cassandra Clare and ACOTAR, there's a book here for everyone. We've got fantasy, we've got LGBTQ+ stories, and we've even got rip-your-heart-out, heart-throb enemies to lovers books...

Get ready to feel all the butterflies with friends to lovers and grumpy vs sunshine books, or to want to scream what team you're on in a love triangle debacle. What trope will you be?

GRUMPY VS SUNSHINE

Whoever said opposites attract was definitely a fan of the grumpy vs sunshine trope! In this trope, one of the two characters is grumpy or cold, whereas the other is content, positive and upbeat. And this creates the BEST chemistry!

ENEMIES TO LOVERS

This trope does what it says on the tin and NEVER disappoints. If you're after chemistry off the charts, characters that hate to love each other but love to hate each other, this is your trope!

FRIENDS TO LOVERS

If you're after a heartwarming story, where you'll be rooting for both characters from start to finish, this trope will have you SWOONING as two friends find love together.

STAR-CROSSED LOVERS

This is a classic trope we'll never get tired of. Two characters meant for each other, but the nature of their circumstances means their love story is destined to fail from the start. Romeo and Juliet fans, look no further!

FAKE DATING

The characters in this trope often find themselves in sticky situations, which they can only get out of by faking a relationship. But the lines often blur when you're pretending, and what you thought an act might just turn out to turn into reality...

LOVE TRIANGLE

Decisions, decisions... This trope is one we fall for time and time again, where the main character has to decide between two very different, but equally heart-throb-inducing love interests.