Trope Tuesday: Enemies to Lovers vs. Friends to Lovers

I am taking a break from my usual top ten Tuesday to bring you Trope Tuesday.  Every Tuesday this month, in honor of my #RomanceReadsApril Instagram challenge.   I will discuss the merits of two tropes as well as give you some reading recommendations for each of trope.  Today’s Trope Tuesday is Enemies to Lovers v. Friends to Lovers.  

Enemies to Lovers: 

Definition:

A trope in fiction where characters start off their relationship as enemies and throughout the story become lovers.  This trope is used throughout fiction and can be found in almost every fictional genre.  

My Opinion:

I love this trope!  My favorite thing about an enemies to lovers story is there is almost always some AMAZING banter.  This is true whether you are talking about rom-com or a young adult fantasy.  The other thing I like is that the one or both characters come to some sort of understanding about the other that they hadn’t known before.  Be it a misconception or some sort of prejudice.  I like the idea of two people seeing past their differences to be together.  

Recommendations:

So in all honestly I probably have 100 enemies to lovers books to recommend, but that’s probably a lot for one post so I am going to limit it to 5.  These are all traditional romances books, but trust me you can find this trope anywhere.  If you want more recs, let me know! 

The Hating Game

THE hating Game

You Deserve Each Other

You Deserve Each Other

Alex, Approximately

Book Cover Alex Approximately by Jenn Bennett

The Worst Best Man

Book Cover The Best worst manby Mia Sosa

Captain

Captain

Friends to Lovers

Definition:

A trope in fiction where characters start off their relationship as friends and throughout the story become lovers.  

My Opinion:

I will be perfectly honest here, this is not a trope I love.  Sometimes there is some decent angst where maybe one of the friends realizes their feelings first, but it is just kind of boring.  If you have some recommendations that you think will change my mind, please share them with me.  

Recommendations: 

While this is far from my favorite trope, I do have some recommendations for you. These are all books that I’ve read and enjoyed.  You will notice that I did include some non-romance books in this list.   

Josh and Hazel’s Guide to Not Dating

josh and hazel's guide to not dating by Christina Lauren

International Player

International Player

FanGirl

Fangirl

Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda

Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda

Winter

Winter

3 Comments

  1. This was such a fun post! I love the idea of featuring tropes and give your opinion on them + recommendations. I liked the recommendations, yay for Fangirl and Simon being on the list. *dances*

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