Top Ten Tuesday – Favorite Tropes

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018!

Ah, tropes. We love them. We hate them. But, let’s face it, we all have ones that we can’t go without in our books, right? So, here are a few of my favorites.

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• Fake dating/marriage

Okay, but this needs to happen more?? Preferably, not in a contemporary setting. I far prefer it in fantasy — which was why I loved Serpent & Dove so damn much — but I still love it. It’s probably my favorite trope. I don’t know why, but I need more of it.

• Enemies-to-lovers

This one is a trope that I love when it’s done well. I’ve read some books where they weren’t convincing enemies. Or, I’ve read some with the lovers not really convincing me either. But, when it’s done well, it’s so amazing. Like in The Wicked King. That blew me away and damn is it good.

• Friends-to-lovers

Another one that I enjoy when done well! It doesn’t necessarily have the same issues that enemies-to-lovers has, but I really have to be convinced that they’re friends first.

• Sassy sidekick

Gotta love the sassy sidekick. Granted, I love anyone who’s sassy, but if you don’t have a sassy sidekick, what are you doing with your life? I mean that seriously, too. Try to think of a fantasy book that doesn’t have one. I’ll wait.

• Antiheroes

Antiheroes are, like, the best. I love those morally grey characters. Whenever I think of this trope, I always bring Jorg to mind. If you haven’t met him, he’s the MC in Prince of Thorns by Mark Lawrence. Boy is he shitty.

• Likable villain

I feel like this goes with antiheroes, but I mean this as a villain that you don’t want to like, but you do like. Maybe they’re funny. Maybe they’re quirky. Either way, they are solidly the villain in the story but you still kinda like them.

• “Villain” who goes through a big change and switches over

I call Wicked Saints to mind with this one. The person that the “good” MC hates and sees as the villain has a change of heart and realizes that what they believe is wrong and joins them. Gotta love that trope. Even if it is wordy.

• All-knowing narrator

I always think of The Book Thief for this one. I love a narrator who has their own mind and who does their own thing, but knows everything and is telling you about it all. It’s a great trope, although, like some of the others, it can get really annoying when it’s not done well.

• Magic school

I can’t not have this on my list. Harry Potter would be left out. But, also, I read Magic for Liars and that had it in there as well, with a unique twist that more reminded me of The Magicians with how dark it was.

• Character with a *~dark~* past

Last but not least. That one character who has a super dark past that they don’t want to talk about. Bonus points if they keep reminding the reader they have a dark past by dropping hints. This one, I love and I hate. Like, it’s annoying when I hate the characters because I want to throttle them and scream at them to spit it out. But when I like the characters, I want to coddle them.

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Do we share any favorite tropes?
What are yours?

August 20, 2019August 16, 2019 by bwreviews Categories: caidynTags: book blog, book blogger, book tag, t10t, tag, top ten tuesday, top ten tuesday - favorite tropes, ttt 7 Comments