My Top Ten Romance Tropes

Top Ten Tuesday

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted by That Artsy Girl. Each week there is a different topic. This week’s topic is a Love Freebie so I decided to do a post about my favorite romance tropes with two book recommendations for each one. I’m the kind of person that loves having some kind of romance in just about every book I read… I’m a hopeless romantic, what can I say lol. A lot of romance tropes drive people crazy and I’ll admit there are quite a few that do not float my boat at all. But the ten on this list are ones that I usually end up enjoying. Click on the book cover image to go to the Goodreads page for each book.

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TIME TRAVEL

Anything with a person traveling back in time and finding true love, I am there for it. Might be a bit obvious with my first choice of Outlander but hey, that’s one of my all time-favorites so it had to make the list. In addition to Mariana I would also recommend The Rose Garden by Susanna Kearsley that would fall under this category. I really enjoyed both.


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ENEMIES TO LOVERS

In this category you’ll find books like the classic Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen but I decided to recommend two that I have recently read and enjoyed. Well Met was super cute and I loved seeing Emily and Simon’s relationship shift and change throughout the book. Dating You/Hating You was also a fun read.


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FORBIDDEN LOVE

There are so many great books with a forbidden love story but I decided to go with two of my favorite fantasy forbidden love stories. In A Discovery of Witches, Diana, a witch, and Matthew, a vampire, are forbidden to be together and yet their love will change the world of the supernatural forever. In Daughter of Smoke and Bone, Karou and Akiva are beings from two different worlds… or are they? They are two different beings but who Karou really is makes their relationship forbidden.


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FAKE RELATIONSHIP

I put off reading To All The Boys for the longest time because I thought it would be too cutesy but I adored it. I devoured the entire trilogy in a few days and I’ve watched the Netflix adaptation probably at least 3 times. I’m really looking forward to the sequel which premieres on Netflix on the Feb. 12th! Lara Jean and Peter K forever! Another fake relationship story I really enjoyed was The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang.


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SECOND CHANCE AT LOVE

I really love when characters are able to take a second shot at love with someone it didn’t work out with the first time around. I love second chances in general so adding the romance to it has me sold. Say You Still Love Me was a book I really got into. A cute first love story that didn’t work out and years later they get another chance to rekindle the flame.  And of course, I couldn’t get through this list without adding one from Jane Austen. Persuasion is one of my favorites.


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OPPOSITES ATTRACT

I love reading about two people who seemingly wouldn’t fit together but something sparks between them. These are two recent favorites that fit into that category. Bringing Down the Duke has Annabelle, a recent female entrant into Oxford from a poor family and Sebastian, the Queen of England’s favorite duke. In The Simple Wild, Calla and Jonah are on completely opposite ends of the spectrum… She’s a city girl, he’s a wilderness man.


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SECRET ROMANCE

For one reason or another, some romances need to be kept a secret. In the case of The Royal We, a prince falls in love with an American and they try their hardest to keep their romance out of the tabloids. In Slammed, the new girl and the boy next door hit it off, and then find out that he is her teacher so their relationship has to be kept a secret.


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FRIENDS TO LOVERS

I loved both of these books. F*ck Marriage had a little bit of a difference where the guy had been carrying a torch for the girl for a decade while she was with his best friend. Maybe Someday had two strangers connecting over music, becoming friends and then more.


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SOULMATES/FATE

Last year I ended up binge reading the first 9 books in the Charley Davidson series. If you’re looking for a great paranormal series with a soulmate/fate angle, then look no further than First Grave on the Right. Another great fantasy series in this category is the Caster Chronicles series starting with Beautiful Creatures.


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LOVE TRIANGLE

Lastly there is the love triangle. I don’t typically read a lot of this trope but these are a couple that I really enjoyed. The Opportunist by Tarryn Fisher and The Host by Stephenie Meyer.


What are some of your favorite romance tropes?

 

Happy 4th of July!

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Happy 4th of July to my fellow Americans! To help celebrate today I am going to recommend some of my favorite books that are red, white, and blue.

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  • Outlander by Diana Gabaldon – Come on, you had to be expecting this one from me *wink wink* One of my all time favorites. Time travel, romance, history, 16th century Scotland…  What more could you ask for?
  • Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor – Travel to the land of Weep with Lazlo Strange and experience this new world right alongside a sheltered librarian eager for adventure!
  • Goodbye Days by Jeff Zentner – I love this man’s writing. He just has a way of speaking to your soul. This book will make you cry so make sure you have some tissues on hand when you read it if you haven’t already.
  • Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys – Powerful World War II story about three people from different backgrounds working together to gain freedom.
  • The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern – Beautiful writing and storytelling. I was never a fan of the circus until I read this book and then I found myself DYING to see this magical circus.
  • A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab – Seriously awesome fantasy about alternate versions of London. Kickass characters, especially the spunky Lila Bard.
  • The Wrath & the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh – Gorgeous retelling of One Thousand and One Nights. This one will really tug at your heart strings.
  • The Cruel Prince by Holly Black – Easily one of my favorite books that I’ve read this year! Faeries, both evil and good, including an adorable little guy name Oak.
  • The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon – Exciting urban fantasy complete with a criminal underworld filled with clairvoyants, including Paige Mahoney.
  • Nevernight by Jay Kristoff – And of course, my other love, Nevernight! I can barely sum up my feelings about this book in a couple of sentences so just read my 5 star review here.

Have fun out there today everyone! Be safe and stay hydrated! Looks like it’s going to be a scorcher.

My Favorite Book Bloggers

20160831_162152Hey guys!  Today I have a post full of some great recommendations for my fellow book lovers!  Originally I was going to have this be a top 10 list but as I was making the list, I knew it would be too hard to pare down to 10 so instead I have 11 book bloggers to feature today!  I asked each of them to provide a few book recommendations.  So if you are have been looking for some book bloggers to follow or some books to check out, look no further than this post right here! Check out the blogs and books below!

Blog names link to the blogs and book titles link to the book’s Goodreads page.


Ashley @ Socially Awkward Bookworm

Ashley and I have a lot of books in common!  She is also the first and only blogger I have met in person.  She and I met up in California for Lauren Bird Horowitz’s Shattered Blue book tour!  We had a lot of fun!  Check out her blog for fun updates, book reviews, and more!

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Tricia @ Bookworm Coalition

Tricia is such an amazing person and has become one of my really good friends this year!  Tricia participates in a lot of blog tours and book blitzes so be sure to head over to check out her blog for great reviews, cover reveals, and more!

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Brandie @ Brandie is a Book Junkie

Brandie has been one of my blogger buddies almost ever since I started blogging a little over two years ago.  She has introduced me to so many great books, including the great Colleen Hoover!  Check out her blog for weekly features like Top Ten Tuesday and WWW Wednesday, as well as reviews and fun updates.

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Deanna @ A Novel Glimpse

I always have a fun time chatting with Deanna on Twitter about various things, including books of course.  I always end up adding books to my never ending TBR after reading her blog posts!  Check out her blog for reviews, blog tours, and more!

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Claire @ Art and Soul 

Not only does Claire have great taste in books, but she is also a fantastic baker! Every time I see her pictures of a new bake, I have to stop myself from drooling a little 😉  Check out Claire’s blog for reviews, weekly features, and delectable recipes to try out!

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Haley @ I Lay Reading

I’ve been following Haley’s blog for awhile now.  She reads and reviews from a large variety of genres so her blog is great for people who like to change it up.  Plus her rating system with the book dragons is one of my favorites!  For more great recommendations from Haley, check out her Must Reads page on her blog!

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Yvo @ It’s All About Books

Yvo is another blog that I’ve been following from the beginning of my blogging career.  We share many books in common and I also love adding books she is reading to my TBR because if she liked them, it’s a safe bet that I will like them too!  Check out Yvo’s blog for weekly features, reviews, book tags, and more!

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Nicole @ Away In Neverland

Nicole and I have a LOT of books in common!  Outlander, Harry Potter, The Lunar Chronicles, Game of Thrones, etc. So many! I love her posts on her blog and Instagram. Check out her blog for reviews, weekly features, and topic discussions like spoilers.

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Kelsey @ Darcy’s Book Blog

Another blogger I share a lot of books in common is Kelsey! I also love checking out her blog and Instagram for new books to add to my TBR.  Check out her blog for cover reveals, reviews, and more!

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Alicia @ A Kernel of Nonsense

Alicia is another blogger I have followed for a long time.  Our main shared love is all things Jane Austen.  This month she has an awesome month long celebration of Halloween going on her blog!

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Cassidy @ The Little Book Cottage

I’ve only been following Cassidy for a few months but we seem to have a lot of books in common as well!  Check out her blog for reviews complete with fantastic GIFs, weekly features, and more!

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Do you have any book blogs and/or books to recommend?  Leave them in the comments! 🙂