All the Romance Tropes (that I can think of)

*** Most books contain several or many tropes ***

/* updated 5/30/2021 */ 

Accidental Cuddling (see also Only One Bed)

Accidentally falling/tripping into one another

Accidental text / email or phone call

Action / Adventure 

Adopting a baby/child

Affair 

Age Gap 

Alien

Alpha Hero

Amnesia/Fugue state

Angels 

Anti-hero

Apocalypse 

Arranged Marriage

Artist 

Athlete 

Auction

Avenging a Death

 

Back to School

Baby On The Doorstep: this might be an actual baby left for hero or heroine, or someone close to the hero/heroine leaving them unexpectedly in charge of a child

Bad Boy / Rebel

Bachelor Auction

Bad girl 

Beards 

Best Friend’s sibling

Beta Hero 

Big City 

Big family and lots of family dynamics 

Billionaire (Golden Sand by C.J. Miller)

Bodyguard 

Books Ends (location): have the book start and end in the same place, but the hero/heroine are drastically different from the start of the book

Boss/Employee

Break up 

Bridesmaid / Groomsman Affair 

Broken Hero/Heroine: may feel unworthy of love

Bromance

Brother's Best Friend 

Bullying Support / Bullying in the Past

 

Camping: great outdoors, sleeping bags zipped together - the modern version of sleeping in a tartan

CEO Boss 

Cinnamon Roll Hero: a hero who will take care of heroine

Christmas/ Holiday theme

Chef / Food  (Exquisite Sand by C.J. Miller)

Childhood sweethearts

Chronic Illness

Class differences

Cougar (older woman, younger man) 

Cowboys / Westerns: quiet confidence, wild and untamed

 

Dad’s Best Friend or Best Friend’s Dad

Dancing: one cuts in on another's dance

Damsels in Shining Armor / Dudes in Distress

Darkness confession - make a confession in the dark, but the other is already asleep

Demons 

Destined to be Together: imprinting

Destructive: hero or heroine thinks they are too garbage to be loved

Disasters: snowstorm, blackout, tornado

Divorce 

Doctor 

Dragons 

Drinking: hero/heroine drinks or is destructive, doesn't feel good enough for the heroine, self-loathing

Drunken mistake: tries to go into the wrong house, Vegas wedding

 Dystopian 

Elves 

 Enemies to Lovers

 

Fairy tale retelling: giving someone an apple, dress makeover, escape from the wicked stepmother

Fairies / Fae

Fake Engagement

Fake Relationship

Falling for Friend who was helping with a makeover to win over another

Falling in Love with Family’s Enemy

Family Reunion with Secrets Reveals (wedding, funeral)

Famous Person falls for Normal Person

Fated Mates

Firefighter

First kiss 

First love 

Fling 

Football player 

Forbidden Love

Forced Proximity

Found Family 

Friends to Enemies to Lovers or Friends to Lovers

Futuristic 

 

Ghosts 

Girl Next Door 

Given up on love 

Good Girl / Good guy 

Grand gesture

Groups of men/brothers/ friends: often each given their own book and HEA

Groveling/Begging for Forgiveness: in proportion to the size of the screw-up

Grumpy - but not grumpy at key times, like while sleeping

 

Handcuffed Together

Healthcare Workers / Medical

Hidden Baby

High Society 

Highlanders

Hockey player 

Holiday 

Hometown: returning to a hometown to reclaim a lost love

Home: orphan, foster care, never felt at home, or home was abusive and terrible. Finds home in the LI

 

Immigration Status: marriage due to this, but then becomes more

Insomniac: he can only sleep when she is with him

In Uniform: military, police, firefighter

 

Kidnapped /Captive 

Knights 

 

Lawyer 

Learning at the Feet of the Master

Left at the Altar

Let’s Just Get it Out of Our System

Love / Hate 

Love Triangle

Longing: aching to reach out, but holding back

Loveless marriage 

Mafia  / Organized Crime 

Magic Dress: Putting on this dress makes the heroine feel beautiful and everyone sees her as beautiful (like in Cinderella)

Mail-order Bride

Masks / doesn’t recognize, only HE recognizes: masquerades 

Marriage in Trouble

Marriage of Convenience

Match-Making gone wrong

May-December (age difference)

Medical or Sickbed: hero/heroine nursing the other back to health

Menage 

Mistaken Identity 

Mistress Contract

Military man/man in uniform

Missing Someone They Claim They Don’t Love

Morning after - sneaking out or accidentally waking the other 

Mortality Chain

Motorcycle Club 

Musician

Mutual (but secret) Pining

Mythology 

 

Navy SEAL

Next Door Neighbor 

Nickname: calling LI first name while others use title, calling hero/heroine by their last name when everyone else uses a title, a nickname no one else uses, use their name when everyone else uses a nickname

Nightmare - brings about a character revelation 

Not Like All the Others: the hero/heroine is different in the eyes of their beloved

 

Office romance 

Older woman, younger man 

Only One Bed

One Night Stand Shows Up Again

Opposite Attract

Opposite Occupations: arsonist / firefighter, environmentalist/oil executive, country/city 

Orphan: aunt or uncle caring for orphaned niece or nephew

 

Parenting: struggling, divorced, blended families

Partner in Danger

Pining hero/heroine

Pirate

Playboy 

Point of View: hero/heroine sees the other as no one else does

Politician 

Polyamory 

Poor as a child, Now Rich

Pregnancy

Pretend boyfriend/girlfriend/fiance

Professor / teacher 

Quirky hero or heroine 

 

Rags to Riches

Reformed Rake

Regency 

Reverse Harem 

Road Trip

Rock Star (Starlit Sand by C.J. Miller)

Rogue Cleaning Up : changes to win over the heroine

Royal

Runaway Bride / Groom

 

Sarcastic banter

Scottish hero - kilt-wearing

Secret baby

Secret Identity

Second Chances

Sexual Concerns: hero or heroine need something specific for sexual satisfaction that only that person gives them

Shifter

Sibling's Best Friend 

Single Parent 

Sleeping (see also insomnia) together, falling alseep together, big spoon, little spoon, can only fall asleep with you, holding you close in sleep, arms tightening around 

Small town / rural 

Smart hero/heroine (or nerdy hero or heroine)

Soulmates 

Sports romance 

Starchy Hero gets Unstarched

Star-Crossed Lovers

Stranded Together / Snowbound

Stripper 

Stuck together 

Student 

Sugar baby 

Sunshine and Grumpy 

Supernatural 

Surprise Baby (Midnight Sand by C.J. Miller)

Surrogate 

SWAT Team

Switched / Swapped babies

 

Taboo 

Tattoos 

Time Travel

Traitorous bodies

Transformation: Cinderella, Beauty and the Beast

Twins / Triplet Pregnancy

Twin Switch / Mistaken Identity 

 

Ugly Duckling

Up Against the Wall (kissing)

Unintentional Touching: hands brush and there’s a spark

Unlucky in love 

Unrequited Love 

 

Vacation 

Vampires 

Victorian 

Vikings 

Virgin or Never been kissed

Vampire

 

Wagers: to date or sleep with the other person

Waking up alone - but other is in the shower or went out for coffee/muffins

Wedding: someone needs a date for a wedding, hiring an escort or pretend boyfriend

Werewolves 

Western 

Will: has terms and conditions

Witches 

Woman in Jeopardy 

Workplace: boss suddenly sees his/her assistant in a new light (The Maestro by C.J. Miller)

Wrong brother / Mistaken Identity

 

Zip: Will you zip me up?