Romance is one of the most popular book genres of 2024. Whether it's the central genre of a novel or simply a sub-genre, it is a captivating exploration of love, passion and emotional growth, centred around the evolving relationship between two characters. Whether set in a contemporary world, a fantastical one, or historical, the heart of the story lies in the emotional conflicts that stand in the way of love. Romance dives into the characters’ inner struggles, personal growths and the navigation of a relationship, promising a 'happily ever after' or perhaps a 'we were happy at one point'.

Romance spans across a range of tropes including enemies to lovers, friends to lovers, fake dating, soulmates, boy next door or, not enough time – but one thing they all have in common? These tropes hook readers by creating a swoon-worthy or heart-wrenching story whilst emphasising the power of true love.

Wondering where to start? Here’s our beginner’s guide to our favourite romance tropes!

Warning! This post includes some plot spoilers for the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series by Rick Riordan and the Six of Crows series by Leigh Bardugo.

Enemies to lovers ⚔️

The Cruel Prince by Holly Black

With the presence of Booktok in reading communities, especially as a tool for recommending and reviewing books, certain romance tropes are becoming more popular and a key one of these is ‘enemies to lovers’.

The trope is quite self-explanatory – two characters start off as enemies or rivals and then throughout the story are drawn into a romantic relationship. Also known as the ‘hate to love’ trope, enemies to lovers plays on the idea of there being a thin line between love and hate, and uses that to create complex and nuanced relationships between characters.

When people think of enemies to lovers, one of the most strongly recommended is The Cruel Prince by Holly Black. The high fantasy novel full of fae and dramatic turns is the first in a gripping trilogy that quite literally consumed my life for a number of weeks. The Cruel Prince is a book that once you pick it up, you can’t put it back down again.

The story follows Jude Durante who, along with her twin sister, were stolen away as children to live in the High Court of Faerie after the murder of their parents. As mortals, the two are deceived and mocked by the fae, and Jude wants nothing more than to leave the world she was forced into. Her biggest rival however, is the youngest son of the King of Faerie – Prince Carden. Wicked, sly, and taunting, Carden has made it his mission to make Jude’s life a living hell.

Jude becomes irrevocably drawn into the dark, twisting games of the High Court as she desperately tries to save her family. Through the journey, she will uncover dark things about herself and the Prince that she despises (or thinks she does).

Friends to lovers 💕

Happy Place by Emily Henry

On the opposite end of the spectrum from enemies to lovers is one of my personal favourite romance tropes – friends to lovers. Often full of miscommunication and mutual pining, friends to lovers is a cosy romance trope where two characters explore and uncover romantic feelings that they have for one another.

Monica and Chandler, Pam and Jim, Belly and Conrad – the examples of the friends to lovers romance trope are endless. However one of the most beautiful and romantic friends to lovers story lies within the pages of my favourite book – Happy Place by Emily Henry.

Harriet and Wyn started off as college friends, surrounded by the joy and laughter of their best friends. The two of them fell deeply in love in their 20s and became inseparable from one another – like bread and butter or salt and pepper. Every summer was perfect, spending time with their friends in their Maine cottage and telling stories into the wee hours of the morning. For years, everything was perfect.

So when Harriet is invited back to spend one more summer at the beach house with her two closest friends, she jumps at the chance. But when she arrives at its sandy doors, she’s stunned to see Wyn there
. . . and not exactly happy. Because she and Wyn broke up six months ago and they still haven’t told their friends. Now the two of them have to pretend that they’re still together to make their one last week at the beach house perfect. Can they do it for old times sake? Or will seeing each other be too fresh, and remind them too much of what could have been? Worse still, will they begin to fall for each other all over again?

Told through simultaneous storylines of their college years and the present, Happy Place explores how even best friends can fall in love, while exploring the concept of a second-chance romance.

Soulmates ✨

Percy Jackson and the Olympians by Rick Riordan

The 'soulmates' trope revolves around the idea that two people are destined to be together. The characters’ connection transcends ordinary love, implying a preordained or fated bond that draws them together no matter the circumstance. And no matter how many obstacles are placed in their path – distance, time, other relationships, or even death – the characters are inevitably meant to find one another.

This trope is so beautifully executed every time, whether it is on screen, novels or simply a quote from Doctor Strange: 'I love you in every universe'. So when I was thinking of a couple that is the ultimate example of this, my mind immediately went to Rick Riordan’s famous couple, and my favourite couple of all time – Percy and Annabeth, also known as Percabeth (or the slowest slow-burn of the century).

Percy and Annabeth embody the soulmates trope through their deep, destined connection. Throughout their adventures, they face countless dangers and challenges that could have torn them apart, yet they always find their way back to each other, growing closer with every trial. Whether it’s (spoilers ahead!) turning down immortality for each other, Percy getting his memories wiped and only remembering Annabeth, or falling into the lowest point in the universe so they wouldn’t get separated, their unbreakable connection makes them destined to be together.

Their bond is forged not just by friendship and love, but by shared prophecies, quests and the complementary strengths of Percy’s undying loyalty and Annabeth’s unconditional love. Together, Percy and Annabeth defy all odds whilst solidifying their status as soulmates. They are the ultimate example of the One Direction lyric: 'not even the gods above, could separate the two of us'.

The boy next door 🏠

Better Than the Movies by Lynn Painter

The trope ‘boy next door’ is one of my personal favourites. It’s cliche but also the epitome of a swoon-worthy, cosy romance. It typically follows the main protagonist and their neighbour or someone they’ve known for a long time. Unlike overly charismatic love interests in other tropes, the boy next door exudes warmth, reliability and kindness, often making the protagonist realise that true love was right in front of them the whole time.

For many readers (including myself), this trope appeals to the fantasy of finding love in the comfort of a familiar person – someone who understands you on a deeper level, knows you at your best and your worst, and truly loves you for who you are.

Lynn Painter perfectly embodies the trope in Better Than the Movies where Wes Bennett is Liz Buxbaum’s childhood neighbour – it's a love story for those who adore Taylor Swift love songs and watching rom coms. Liz is a hopeless romantic, hoping that one day she will find her prince charming. But ever since they were little, Liz knew that Wes was not a prime candidate for her romantic comedy fantasies. Flash forward ten years, Liz’s forever crush, Michael, has moved back to town and she wants him to finally notice her, take her to prom and hopefully be her boyfriend. So when Michael and Wes become friends, Liz has no choice but to ask Wes for help.

Laid-back, funny and charming, Wes agrees to help her. But as Liz and Wes scheme to get Liz her magical romance, she’s shocked to discover that Wes isn’t the pain in the butt she always believed he was. And maybe she needed to rethink what she knew about true love and what ‘happily ever after’ truly is.

Fake dating 👩‍❤️‍🧑

The Spanish Love Deception by Elena Armas

The ‘fake dating’ trope is self-explanatory – two characters pretend to be in a relationship and throughout the arrangement, they typically establish ground rules to (futilely) keep the relationship strictly fake and avoid developing real feelings. The trope is an irresistible one that has won the hearts of romance lovers because of its humorous execution, obvious tension, and the thrill of watching characters who think they’re in control of their emotions slowly realise they’re falling in love.

The trope is seen in so many romance novels but one that has always stuck out to me is Elena Armas’ The Spanish Love Deception. The story follows Catalina Martín, who needs a date for her sister’s wedding in Spain to avoid embarrassment in front of her family and ex-boyfriend. And then, Aaron Blackford – the 6’4”, blue-eyed, co-worker who she dislikes with a burning passion – offers to step in as her fake 'boyfriend'.

Together, these two navigate the pretence of being in a relationship, but the fake dating setup begins to blur into something real. The forced closeness, the undeniable tension, the slow-burn chemistry – these two have it all. Aaron and Catalina’s fake relationship forces them to see each other in new ways, allowing for emotional walls to come down as they only have three days to convince everyone they’re actually in love.

The Spanish Love Deception is a perfect introduction to the ‘fake dating’ trope, as we watch the two characters who think they can keep their feelings at bay slowly realise their connection is far from fake.

Not enough time ⌛

Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

If I can find one person who can read a book with this trope and not burst into tears, I’ll be stunned. Once again, it is what the title suggests: two characters are made for each other, but as they are falling in love, some tragedy takes place and they don’t have enough time to finish their love story.

I cannot think of this romance trope without thinking of the heartbreaking story of Nina and Matthias from Leigh Bardugo’s fantasy smash hit Six of Crows. Please be warned that I will give some massive Six of Crows spoilers, so if you haven’t already read the duology – please stop reading!

If you have read the Six of Crows books you’ll know exactly where I’m going with this. Some may say that Nina and Matthias were doomed from the start – given that they met when she was kidnapped by him as a grisha or, more simply put, a witch.

The story takes place within the realms of Leigh Bardugo’s Grishaverse – initially established in the Shadow and Bone trilogy. Primarily set in the city of Ketterdam, the story tracks criminal mastermind Kaz Brekker as he assembles the six protagonists to organise a heist to end all heists. The group must break into the impenetrable Fjerdan prison and retrieve a prisoner to smuggle back to Ketterdam.

To do this, Nina and Matthias must work together despite their complicated past. However, as the all too familiar story goes – they fall in love. Across the Six of Crows duology, their complicated storyline intersects time and time again as they face punishment, addiction, and the ever-present looming threat of death.

This all comes to a head during their final mission in the second book, Crooked Kingdom. It is obvious to most readers that the two were destined to be together, but when Matthias gets shot Bardugo reveals that their love story has reached its final pages – the two of them have run out of time.

Right person, not enough time is an especially raw trope as it explores grief and passion, and leaves the reader feeling particularly heartbroken. The trope can be done beautifully, and if my copy of the book is anything to go by, it will leave you feeling devastated – demonstrated by the tear stains in Chapter 40.

Saskia de Leeuw Kyle and Alicia Vu are members of the 2024 Teen Advisory Board.