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
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
Elves
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
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
Insomniac: he can only sleep when she is with him
In Uniform: military, police, firefighter
Kidnapped /Captive
Knights
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
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
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
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?
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