Hello all! With Valentine's Day just behind us, I think it's safe to say that many of us have romance on the brain. So, what better time than now to talk about some of my favorite romance tropes? And to link in with February is Fantasy Month again, for every trope, I'm going to include a few fantasy book recommendations that I think really showcase what I'm talking about.

Favorite Romance Tropes

Slow Burn. I think my love for this trope is well-established — the surest way to make me enjoy a romance is to make it a good slow-burn, where the question isn't isn't "Will they or won't they?" but rather "How long will it take both of them to realize what's going on?" After all, half the joy of a slow burn is spotting it long before the characters do and then making much of hand-touches and smiles and definitely-not-dates. Whether this takes place over the course of a series or in a single book, I'm certain to enjoy it.
If you want to read this, try . . . For a single-book slow-burn, I happen to be very fond of my most recent release, Song of the Selkies. Not only does it have a proper "crockpot romance" (which is to say, everything is lovely and tender and there's pining), it comes with bonus Faramir and Eowyn vibes. That said, I would also classify Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones as this type of romance — even though the book is short, the love story is drawn out and clever readers see the romance coming long before the characters will admit it. And for a series-long slow-burn, there's W.R. Gingell's City Between.
Princess and Rogue Parings. This is a another trope that I've mentioned loving plenty of times and that I enjoy writing as much as I enjoy reading. Happily, this dynamic shows up fairly frequently: a man — perhaps an actual rogue, perhaps just someone with roguish traits — who's been living only for himself meets a woman caught up in what everyone else needs (or expects) her to be. As a result, he finds a reason to be selfless, and she has a chance to be seen and loved solely for herself. And for the reader, that means we get two characters who probably play off each other in really fun ways, probably a healthy dose of snark, and a redemption arc. Plus, it frequently overlaps with the Ladykiller in Love trope, in which a guy known for liking the ladies in general, but not getting permanently attached to any of them, finds himself head-over-heels in love — probably with the one woman who'd never fall for his usual advances. What more could a girl want?
If you want to read this, try . . . So many good choices — though some of my favorites examples of this trope are actually in movies, not books (and not always fantasy movies either). But probably my favorite bookish example (aside from Howl) is found in Starflower by Anne Elisabeth Stengl. Bard Eanrin may not be a rogue, but he shares most of the essential characteristics, and Starflower certainly fits the princess profile . . . and their relationship is one of my favorite aspects both of this book and the series as a whole. I also love the way this plays out in books 3 and 4 of The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer, and you'll also find it in a lot of H.L Burke's Supervillain Rehabilitation/Romance Project books. (I'm pretty sure Accidentally a Superhero would be the best example, but I haven't read that one yet.)
Friends to Lovers. This frequently overlaps with the slow-burn trope, but there's just something lovely about seeing a pair of friends turn into something more, or in reading an established romance where it's clear that the couple cared about each other as friends long before they even thought about kissing. I especially love the childhood-friends-to-lovers variant and the idea that these two characters have always been and always will be by each other's sides.
If you want to read this, try . . . If you want the childhood friends version of this, pick up Lady Dragon, Tela Du or Snowfield Palace, both by Kendra E. Ardnek. (It's also in the backstory for Through a Shattered Glass, just saying . . .) On the other hand, if you'd like a version that overlaps with the next trope on this list, you'll probably be very pleased with the romance in the DragonKeeper Chronicles by Donita K. Paul, which has a lovely antagonists-to-friends-to-lovers-to-happily-married-couple sequence over the course of books two through five.
Antagonists to Lovers. This is more commonly known as enemies to lovers, but I'm using the broader term of "antagonists" because the category of books I'm describing includes everything from legitimate, blades-at-the-throats enemies to people who are more just . . . rivals, or who annoy each other until they start to see things differently. In any case, the journey as couples in this trope come to see from one another's perspectives, sympathize with someone they disliked, and usually find some kind of redemption in the process is just so lovely to read . . . and the fact that the characters usually have a lot of deliciously snarky and charged interactions, as well as begrudgingly tender moments, doesn't hurt either.
If you want to read this, try . . . For actual enemies to lovers, you can't go wrong with An Enchantment of Ravens by Margaret Rogerson or Gothel and the Maiden Prince by W.R. Gingell. On the other hand, if you're looking for characters who are merely antagonistic, but not necessarily outright enemies, pick up A Thieving Curse by Selina R. Gonzalez or Echo North by Joanna Ruth Meyer.
Married Adventure Couples. Does this count as a romance trope? I don't know, but I absolutely love when a fictional couple gets married and then continues having adventures and being awesome, with the added benefit of being secure in their relationship so they know they already have each other's backs and becoming a fabulous battle couple (if they aren't that already). It's both a nice change of pace from the drama of pre-marriage couples and a reminder that "happily ever after" doesn't mean nothing interesting ever happens again.
If you want to read this, try . . . As already mentioned, this appears in the last two books in the DragonKeeper Chronicles by Donita K. Paul. It's also heavily present from book 4 onward in Kendra E. Ardnek's Bookania Quests series — and, conveniently, book 4 is one of the series entry points. Unfortunately, I can't think of many other examples — if you know of any, make sure you let me know!