tropes & things i hate in books

[@Boonicopter]

Not really a trope but I tend to avoid books that have a female character who hates on feminine things/ feminine acting women, like you can be a badass and also like skirts

[@abigase135]

Preach!

[@juibelly2318]

yes! hate the internalised misogyny some "not like other girls" girl have

[@g.3629]

I agree 100% it would be one thing if she was a GNC woman who hated feminine things for a real reason but its always been (in my experience) just major internalized misogyny

[@nyssarose8595]

Same. Kind of based on that, I also hate it when the FL shames other girls for liking what's consider "girly" stuff.

[@c4tlad]

yesss

[@sobsishere6643]

My most hated trope is instant love, like that’s not love that’s pure lust!!!! I like slow burn stuff more, you know where the feelings are complex!

[@kris-jf4ys]

YES! Like when a book is instalovey I always dnf it. To me it seems like the author just doesn’t know how to write romance. Readers want to see the journey of the main characters’ love and what they went through, not something so superficial as falling in love 5 pages in a book.

[@sobsishere6643]

@@kris-jf4ys EXACTLYYY! So trueee

[@mm5xo]

exactly the journey is the best part in romance

[@robynpukoszek44]

Yes! And they throw out the "i love you" after like 2 weeks. Just feels lazy and makes me feel the author cannot write a drawn out or slow burn romance and developed relationship

[@sobsishere6643]

@@mm5xo totally!!

[@JessCsBooks]

I really hate the trope of the best friends constantly being nosey about the main characters' love lives. Especially if a main character has expressed no interest in dating. I've literally never had any friends past college age who were so interested in my love life or been so meddlesome in that department.

[@chandlerainsley]

oooo yes this!!!

[@genevievemason3107]

Hahahahaha! That's what my husband said! I'll tell him about a book and he's like, "Why do these people care so much about their friend's love life? This book sounds dumb." 🤣

[@florencialorenzo230]

I love enemies to allies to friends to best friends to codependency to lovers, it’s the only kind that works for me.

[@m9i821]

it’s the only good one tbh

[@marta7111]

omg do you have any recs for that?

[@m9i821]

@@marta7111 i would say check out “from lukov with love” by mariana zapata, it’s a slowburn romance abt these two rival figure skaters who have to work together to win a championship and then they becomes best friends (then lovers)

[@alexisdavis2646]

that was perfectly explained wow

[@yetus3628]

i like bestfriends to enemies to reluctant friends to lovers 🤠

[@eliananoei652]

Before watching the video. My most hated trope is accidental pregnancies and hidden children.

[@madison8867]

I kinda love accidental pregnancies 😂😂

[@eliananoei652]

@@madison8867 I hate them with a burning passion and since it is the plot twist, it's never mentioned in the blurb:))

[@mysteriouspsyche]

Hard same. There was a recent romance I read the other day that was good until the accidental pregnancy at the end was thrown in. I think I really hate “the surprise pregnancy but I’m not going to tell them until I can convince them to have kids even though they don’t” trope. A 5 star can immediately fall to 1 star if that’s thrown in!

[@DishonorToUsAll]

The only way I would like it would be accidental child/baby acquisition :D fanfiction made me love it

[@anafrcc09]

Most people don't like it but I love accidental pregnancies too

[@0ElaEnchanted0]

With secret kids the one that I hate (is very common in fics, not sure if in books too) is a couple that used to be together but broke up but the woman got pregnant and never told the guy and then they found each other again and kinda start dating again but she doesn't tell him it's his kid, like wtf!

[@chandlerainsley]

yes!!!! it's so common and i hate it

[@anafrcc09]

I just read Dr. Stanton by TL Swan and he uses this trope and it was good. I think it just depends on the book. I have never heard a story like that in real life but for some reason this book made it a believable story.

[@pinkopalrose]

Agree that trope is annoying and unfair to the guy. Like it’s his kid too and his responsibility to help and he just had a right to know. Every character that hides pregnancy from the father comes off as selfish to me. I’ve never read a book where the dad was abusive and that’s why she hide it but that would be the only exception I can think of

[@fannyb3051]

U basically described before we were strangers lmao I hated that book so much

[@juibelly2318]

"I just don't like fantasy romances with only smut. The world building is just so that they could bang" You can say ACOTAR, because same

[@lbhreads]

ugh I hate domestic thrillers to do with married people cheating. just get a divorce and save me reading these 200+ pages

[@chandlerainsley]

hahaha literally

[@ellie5560]

i never vibe with friends with benefits romances, especially when the fb are best friends. i find it so bizarre that you can go from being childhood, intimate best friends to suddenly thinking having sex is a good idea and won’t affect your relationship😭 i- it’s just doesn’t make sense and the fluidity is non-existent

[@chandlerainsley]

hahaha yeah that makes sense! i mean i guess i could understand developing an attraction but at that point just date? lol

[@ellie5560]

@@chandlerainsley exactly!! it ruins that juicy af slow burn pacing for me. the transition from best friends to lovers is too jarring and rushed when they decide to be fwb first

[@CharleyBSmith]

tbh i don't actually believe people like enemies to lovers as much as they say they do. i think they like snarky rivals to lovers cos actual enemy to lovers relationships they're quick to label as 'toxic' (case and point the captive prince trilogy)

[@mpan7376]

It’s funny that you ended that With captive prince because that is the book series that came to mind immediately. That series is a masterclass in enemies to lovers

[@kato6196]

My issue with love triangles is that if it's weak, like you said, there's no point, but if it's strong and all three have chemistry ... then I just want them to be a throuple 😅

[@chandlerainsley]

YES!!! this is probably why i want to write a polyam book so badly lol

[@mayareads708]

I love royalty in fantasy for the relationships between royals and non-royals. Love it. friendship or romance i just eat it up

[@najwam9403]

Do you have any recommendations?

[@luneluna307]

Me too! 😭❤️ do you have any good recommendations?

[@luneluna307]

@@najwam9403 the only one I have in mind right now is Cinder. I enjoyed it but I prefer this trope set in historic times rather than the future

[@najwam9403]

@@luneluna307 thank you!!

[@mayareads708]

@@luneluna307 I vant think of any 😅😅😅 i read it mostly in fanfiction ahhah

[@hinnaparmar]

I totally feel you on all these tropes especially the enemies to lovers. I feel like I’m the odd one out because I don’t love this trope. I do agree that the enemies to friends to lovers trope is top tier and is the only time, for me, that enemies to lovers is executed right!

[@magikforce4069]

The thing is with enemies to lovers,they skip the becoming friends thing and they suddenly love each other. Like why would love somebody who wanted to harm you a moment ago

[@amandamuniz8231]

I don’t like novellas/short stories either. I always feel like they’re underdeveloped (at least the ones I’ve read), I need full-length novels in order to get invested in the stories and connect with the characters.

[@ZwischenTausendZeilen]

Same! I tend to not like the pacing in novellas or how the conflicts are way too big for the shortness of a story to be resolved. I found that many novellas by Noelle Adams are the exception to my dislike :)) even though the covers look very boring!

[@heabooktubes]

“All the women must have him” literally droves of strangers. Yeah, that drives me crazy too. Especially if he’s there with a woman, it seems incredibly unbelievable that everywhere they go someone would hit on him, despite his significant other sitting right there. 🙄♥️🌸

[@bts_vinyl]

lol I'm the opposite when it comes to what I want in a romance epilogue 😂 The skip forward to marriage and children often feels too cheesy to me. I prefer it when it is a happy for now situation, or skipping forward to a HEA that doesn't necessarily include marriage/kids since those things aren't personally important to me.

[@chandlerainsley]

that totally makes sense!

[@mm5xo]

just starting to realize i don't like enemies to lovers but rivals to lovers... yk watered down enemies to lovers ig without the toxicity 😭. if y'all have any recommendations like that pls share!

[@mm5xo]

i also don't mind a slow burn the longer the better

[@m9i821]

first thing that comes to mind is from lukov with love by mariana zapata. they’re rival figure skaters and have to work together to win a championship. it’s a SLOW BURN with a lot of hurt/comfort and one bed trope.

[@mm5xo]

@@m9i821 ooh thanks i just read the wall of winnipeg and me by her and rlly enjoyed it!

[@PrincessAttorney]

Truuu most stuff marketed as enemies is actually rivals and sometimes not even that it’s just them being bitchy for the first two chapters and then mutual pining for the rest

[@tamara293]

@@PrincessAttorney finally someone said it 👀

[@BajuliiiQ]

The first time you said "new adult" in this video I heard it as "noodle" and now I can *never unhear it* 😩😩 it's noodle romance from now on

[@abigase135]

I can't unhear it 😂

[@miriamviolin]

I was actually so confused at first and googled noodle romance lol

[@randomme3095]

Thats all I heard throughout the video lol. I though it was some kind of romance books you read while eating 🤔😅

[@jennymaria86]

i thought it was just a new way of saying it...'noodle'...like shorthand for new adult...are you telling me she's saying 'new adult?'.......i'll stick with noodle lol. we'll start a trend. lol

[@haileyhughes]

“i don’t care that you don’t get your office space gina” 💀

[@chelsea2059]

I 100% agree on the multiple personality or repressed memory trope or twist in thrillers it just feels wrong or an easy out being exploited.

[@reagansimmons9926]

I used to LIVE for a good enemies to lovers romance but the market is just so oversaturated with them and they’re often so mediocre that my love for them has definitely waned :(

[@chandlerainsley]

yes same!!

[@laurie7609]

I really dislike hookups and friends with benefits in romances. It's often just so problematic and unromantic(not that it has to be romantic all the time). Also teenage pregnancies are just not a good plot twist.

[@Nina-df3zq]

Can I just say that in every video I just stare at her make up half the time? Her blush is just i m m a c u l a t e !

[@chandlerainsley]

heh thanks so much!

[@ruby7706]

i 100% agree with the mental illness twist trope in thrillers! as someone with psychosis and schizophrenia, i always get pissed af when im enjoying this book and bam! the twist is that they have psychosis and therefore violent and scary like im tired! im so tired! it's just lazy unimaginative writing to me! that and intellectual disability as well. it's just so ableist honestly. edit: one of my hated tropes is the romance blossoming between an oppressor and the oppressed i.e i guess u can say enemies to lovers but with unequal power dynamics? this is such a popular trope in fantasy which makes me ultra picky when reading fantasy books! like i don't care stop trying to tell me the oppressor falls in love with their captive or prisoner or whatever it's disgusting! i think the only book that managed to execute this so far was The Fate of Stars by S D Simper cos they addressed the power dynamics and also, with sapphic romances i'm not as weirded out about it?? but even then their romance made me like Er.. Hey Maybe Not? idk

[@eminasljivo9241]

oh and also, in romance i hate when an ex shows up and suddenly they're pregnant and the love interest to main character suddenly(maybe) has feelings for them. but wait that's not even the worst part, the pregenance thing was all made up just so they could get back with the main character's love interest.... literally keep that shit away from me I've read two books with that exact tropes and it made me puke.

[@jaziybabe]

I love pirates so muuuuch 😭 but that is probably a preference thing so I totally get it. But I would say if there was any book that could be an exception it would be Daughter of the Pirate King. All I will say is pirate soft boy. I love him so much. Also Black Enough is an incredible anthology. I think the only one I have ever given 5 stars. It’s really cool to get a little snippet of different black experiences. Very enjoyable and educational. Definitely recommend!

[@legumesss]

I don't like best friends to lovers. I mean, generally, friendship is a great foundation for a relationship, but in books I just prefer strong platonic best friends. Get your lover somewhere else lol Edit: I wish I could recommend anything but I get all my romance recommendations from you oops. Also, I don't care about a circus setting either, or worse some sort if theater group.

[@amandaortiz7777]

I don't like the trope of "the main character needs to sacrifice themselves/die at the end of the book for the rest of the characters to survive." (Veronica Roth - I'm looking at you.)

[@alyssanybakken]

YES I HATE THIS

[@nope4309]

I like it

[@magikforce4069]

Especially when it could’ve been any other character and it would’ve been the same

[@annaelizabeth3035]

Dude yeeessssss I absolutely hate fake swear words in fantasy! It sounds corny no matter what. There’s no getting out of how dumb they sound, I’ve genuinely never seen a good example of this lol

[@jaginaiaelectrizs6341]

It doesn't really bug me so much... maybe because I'm pretty used to hearing multilingual swears in real life too? Idk. I think, in fiction, sometimes it's used to circumvent bumping the general audience friendliness or appeal up or something? Same with saying a "rude gesture" but not specifying which one, it leaves it open to being interpeted as whichever rude gesture readers relate to more or as some fantasy gesture specific to that world. When I write something like "a rude gesture" I'm usually not thinking specifically just of flipping off. But, for me, it would be weird I guess if it's ONLY ever swears .. and never any other random fantasy words too?? 🤔🤔 (Or maybe in something that's clearly high-enough rated to just be direct about it anyway) That's probably just me though. ^^

[@dishadharmraj6986]

@@jaginaiaelectrizs6341 me too. I think because I'm multilingual I use cuss words on both languages depending on my level of pissed off-ness.

[@jaginaiaelectrizs6341]

@@dishadharmraj6986 🙂🙂

[@SM-fy4ij]

Friends to lovers I always avoid. Like just tell each other already lol. Also books that have an insane amount of flashbacks or a dual timeline, Ugly Love by Coleen Hoover comes to mind. I just feel like they could explain the past in one conversation instead of a book full of flashbacks 🤷🏾‍♀️

[@PrincessAttorney]

Yesss even when I objectively would enjoy the content of a flashback the instant I know I’m reading a flashback it ALWAYS tires me out. The only exceptions is if there’s one flashback at the very end to explain a mystery or something but even then I read “__ earlier” and I’m trudging thru and trying not to put the book down

[@mariboechat11]

I also hate enemies-to-lovers romances, but enemies-to-friends-to-lovers really works for me, one of my favorites is A Favor for a Favor by Helena Hunting. Your recommendations for this trope also really worked for me!

[@chandlerainsley]

ooo i'll have to check that one out!

[@robynpukoszek44]

I hate instalove in romances. I also really hate the obvious miscommunication and relationships ending misunderstandings just for the sake of drama. I also cannot read anything that takes place anywhere near New Orleans. Trying to read all the random French and Cajun accents gives me a migraine.

[@mm5xo]

RIGHT miscommunication as drama makes me think the authors lazy

[@juibelly2318]

omg yes obvious miscommunication bugs me soo much

[@nicoledeckrow573]

Yes, I came to leave this comment. Just tell the other person and let’s save me 200 pages of drama for no reason.

[@mariealhinho7283]

Chan: I don't like books that try too hard to be sad. Also Chan: * currently reading A Little Life *

[@chandlerainsley]

yeah this video i'm working on is. um. a disaster :)

[@hippolyte90]

I usually dislike the enemies to lovers trope because the couple tends to fall in love before the reasons for their enmity are resolved or explained. Also I absolutely hate when the hero and heroine get married less than a year after meeting each other. True love or not, IMO a year isn't enough time to truly get to know your partner, especially if you haven't lived together before the proposal.

[@leanaburborough-meha8941]

The brothers bestfriend thing I've figured out bugs me so much!! They generally go the same way (brother gets mad and punches bestfriend) etc. Probably also because my now fiancé is one of my brothers bestfriend's and my brother never got mad when I told him haha

[@PunchingRockets123]

Returning-to-our-small town romances and billionaire heroes are such overplayed romance tropes. I can’t stop rolling my eyes at the thought of them.

[@teacrcek9616]

What about we won't keep secrets from each other from now on and literally 3 sentences later something happens and somebody lies to protect someone AGAIN. It drives me crazy especially in trilogies.

[@zoeann386]

The spanish love deception by elena armas is branded as enemies to lovers although I would say it's more dislike than hate. It's slow burn so goes from dislike to friends and softness to love. It's my favourite book of the year, it hit me so hard in the feels

[@chandlerainsley]

i'm excited to finish that one!

[@MariaRuiz-bu3ey]

Yess I loved this book!!

[@ChloeSPBs]

I absolutely agree about ‘books about books’!! I think it usually gives big ‘im not like other people’ vibes and its so crunchy 😂😂

[@EverythingsRozy]

One of my favorite “beach reads” is 99% mine by sally thorne. It’s a brothers best friend, with a relationship gap, forced proximity and a happy for now ending but I love it. The slow burn is perfect and I think the resolution is believable and satisfying.

[@cristinaxrt]

one great enemies to friends to lovers is Get a Life, Chloe Brown. this was also super fun to read

[@avery3833]

yep, she’s already read this one! she actually highly recommended it

[@Meenieweenie]

This comment may have moved it way up my TBR! It sounds awesome, I can’t wait to get to it!

[@txdave]

I actually didn’t love that one! Thought it was a little overhyped!

[@aimun5255]

I wouldn't call them enemies as much as got off the wrong foot and just dislike that v quickly dissolved into romance tbh

[@Katiedora122]

"Pirates" - The Liveship Traders by Robin Hobb (a lot of magic ships sailing in a big fantasy world, but there's only one main pirate, and the characters are incredibly developed even though some of them really get put through it) "Saving the town" - Famous in a Small Town by Emma Mills (I'm always iffy when it comes to quirky small towns outside of Stars Hollow, but in this book they were raising money for school marching band and the characters were so good - she's one of my fave YA contemporary writes given that I barely touch that genre) Otherwise, I feel pretty similarly about a lot of these tropes. Enemies-to-lovers definitely need some kind of step in between or else really fucking good banter, and the only second chance romance I accept is Persuasion.

[@nikma3116]

I understand you with the male mc being sooooo irresistible that everyone wants him, I find really unbelievable and annoying and the brother's friend thing doesn't convince me either like I don't understand why it would be such a conflict

[@RealReaderEmily]

Accidental/unwanted/surprise pregnancy is a instant DNF for me

[@mandymckk]

For me, I normally hate fake dating, but Boyfriend Material is one of my favorites!

[@appleidover]

I hate enemies to lovers esp when their into each other but still trying to kill each other. What I like is when they’re on opposite sides and they’re secretly trying to save each other. Also the only book about a book that I liked was inkheart

[@isbaileyreading]

My least favorite is enemies to lovers if there's an actual reason they're enemies (like something happened in the past). I can handle dislike to lovers.

[@fictionalreality5131]

Agreed with the enemies to lovers trope, definitely need an evolution in the relationship not just going straight from hate to love.

[@jordyndees577]

In case your not liking "brother's best friend" also extends to "oh no, he's my best friend's brother!" I would 100% recommend "It Sounded Better in My Head" by Nina Kenwood. I think it's a super underrated YA contemporary that does the best friend's brother trope really well. It doesn't over-dramatize it or give it more angst than necessary, and rather than being this huge barrier, it's a small obstacle that mostly just provides a comedic effect. Loved the video!

[@chandlerainsley]

oo thanks for the rec!

[@ACourtofHooksAndBooks]

OOH! FOR THE THRILLER WITH THE TWIST AT THE END - its not a book but the movie us has that and it is WILD from beginning to end. Highly highly recommend

[@Ola-dv9it]

I completely agree with Enemies to Lovers. I love the idea of it, but I feel like it’s very difficult to execute well? However, a book I feel does this well is Skyhunter by Marie Lu because there are actual reasons as to why the characters involved come to not dislike one another. And the bond that is created is just so well done in my opinion!

[@johnadams7145]

I really hate poorly done love triangles. A well done one can be good. But when it is poorly done I hate it. An example is in Torch Against The Night from the Ember In The Ashes series it wasted at least 20 to 30 pages of a fake romance and people arguing. It ruined the first half of the book for me.

[@KatieColson]

I loved it! Everyone has such specific taste and I feel like I am always trying to figure out what my taste is. It’s like self discovery, ha.

[@chandlerainsley]

10000%

[@andshereadstoo7809]

Books about books/libraries one is so true! I never understood the hype around them, it all sounds really boring to me I'm glad someone else pointed it out !

[@Georgiajafa]

“Flap away from me” 😂 I died 🤣 For me it’s brothers best friend 😤 it’s just so ridiculous and unrealistic it annoys me so much 🙃

[@SamanthaAndrieux]

When Chan said I don’t like blackmails in books, I was like “omg me too! They’re are always creepy and fetishized and borderline racist. Especially when white women authors do it, it’s just super uncomfy.” And than my brain was like ‘bitch! She meant “BLACKMAIL” ‘ 😂😂😂😂

[@Anam-jb2pr]

i was waiting for someone to say this 😩✋ i was so confused at first lmaoo

[@Anam-jb2pr]

@@Sara-hx6re lmfaoo sometimes i forget i did that

[@aurorae7448]

lol these are so specific but i agree so much especially books about libraries/books and books about carnavals/circuses

[@nessanastasia]

please read "The shadow of the wind" if you haven't already, it fits the trope 'a book about books' but it's basically a mystery with a hint of thriller and romance at the heart of it

[@morningstar7092]

I totally agree with whole happy for now thing! I need an epilogue too!!

[@cleawhaley3588]

i just started Sea of Ruin and i’m obsessed, but it is SO pirate-y! like it feels like watching Pirates of the Caribbean. also totally agree about WW2 books, i can never get into them because there’s SO many

[@t.a.summers]

Agreed on love triangles with weak legs - that turned me off most love triangle stories for the longest time and unfortunately I haven't picked up many stories that really do it well. I like watching videos like this because it's interesting to see what other people think over time and based on experiences. I know some tropes that I used to be okay with that I'm not anymore and others where the opposite is true. It depends on what stories you pick up overall and there are always exceptions to the rule. Great video and thanks for your thorough thoughts.

[@cochranellaeuknemosslayevryday]

THE BRIDGE KINGDOM!!!! For an exception to the enemies to lovers thing and royalty thing. It's a fantasy romance with plot and its ✨incredible✨ I promise!!!!!

[@chandlerainsley]

i'll definitely have to check it out!

[@mattb5881]

omg i have been trying to read the night circus for YEARS. i completely relate with that one!!

[@amyweber9127]

for WWII books I would definitely recommend Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys! it's not romanticized and I think its really different than most WWII books I've read

[@MissBOverseas]

Starting out with a Y’ALL not even 5 seconds in. I am living.

[@chandlerainsley]

yee haw

[@laurenmartin2247]

This video helped me realize a weakness in the current novel I'm writing, so now I can go address it! Thank you!

[@chandlerainsley]

Glad it was helpful!

[@isabeltorohoyos5776]

I agree with everything here!! especially the historical fiction set in WWII, but you mentioned The nightingale, and it's pretty much my only exception, the relationships in this book are very endearing and i love the way the author just doesn't romanticize the war. You should check it out or maybe just wait for the movie :)

[@pardonthisbookaddict]

The only blackmail plot I like is when the MC is the blackmailer. I have a brother and he wouldn’t care, so yeah, I agree with you on this trope.

[@abookishmess]

I will say. As someone with an older brother. If his best friend were to date me and break my heart, he would be put in a very conflicted position. Because naturally whenever someone breaks someone I'm close to heart I want to break their legs. Also its gambling on losing a close friend if this do go south and also changes the friend dynamic because the jokes or how one would act would constantly be looked at with scrutiny. Cause your older sibling would want to look out for you. So it's something I can get but it's often fumbled badly and I think it would be almost more interesting for them to get together and go through all the problems listed, and maybe not work out. Which would really suck because that fallout is never explored.

[@moviefiendz]

I actually feel the exact opposite with swearing in fantasy. If its an urban fantasy its fine, but I absolutely hate it in high fantasy. it just completely takes me out because its supposed to be another world. I prefer the cheesy in world swearing always. Also I'm gonna write a book called The Circus Library just for you lol

[@briannaalvarez8340]

I do agree with you on the whole everyone simping for the hot jock in high school it’s just so unrealistic and cringy that’s why I steer alway for high school romance

[@KD-CD]

I agree with the personality disorder especially when used to define a villain!!! Ellen Hopkins, Identical was the first book I ever read when I felt that the mental health was taken seriously

[@NatalieJ22]

I’m generally not a huge fan of novellas either but I did like Next to Never by Penelope Douglas. I feel like it gives the backstory that was really missing in the fall away series and it does a good job of setting the ground work for Falls Boys

[@ItingaNicholas]

I agree with your comments on brothers best friend books. I really do like that “trope” but I agree they sometimes go way too far with treating it as “forbidden”. Like really, it’s not that big a deal…

[@sassysarahreads]

Pirate trope that is really good and has a female captain who is also a siren and has to bring a god to a location is Black Sun! That’s more of a subplot in the book, but I found that it was one of the few pirate stories I was super invested in because it wasn’t about being a pirate. We got precious cargo and it could kill us was the plot while piracy was the background. Ughhhh those two tropes for thrillers make me so annoyed especially the multiple personality trope.

[@mirandaolson7403]

I completely agree regarding novellas and short stories...

[@magikforce4069]

The hero and villain couple one. This trope could be executed right but I haven’t seen it. It’s usually the hero with the villain who wants them dead or has basically already ruined their whole life like killing every single person they love. Like there’s no way you could relate to the hero falling for that villain. Or the villain is obsessive over the hero,that one doesn’t need an explanation. Or the bully romances either. This person has been degrading you for years but whatever, he had a crush on you the whole time.

[@nicodemusfleur]

Lol, that comment about V.E. Schwab made me laugh -- I don't like her writing, and almost didn't buy "The House in the Cerulean Sea" because she gave the cover quote.

[@ameliaceleste84]

I think an exception for enemies to lovers would be the bridge kingdom! Heroine definitely progresses slowly in loving the hero even tho they are married (arranged). They do not get together until they start to respect each other.

[@amandamuniz8231]

I think my favorite pirate book is the Daughter of the Pirate King duology by Tricia Levenseller! It’s a YA “fantasy” and I really liked both books, but especially book 2!

[@marissacottrell]

that's the one I thought of when she mentioned pirates too! I think that duology is much much better than To Kill a Kingdom so might be worth giving it a go

[@amandamuniz8231]

@@marissacottrell Yes!! I’ve enjoyed every Tricia Levenseller book I’ve read but this duology is really pretty great! The story is pretty well developed and interesting enough and I connected with and enjoyed all of the characters, even the side characters. I’m now waiting for a spin-off book for a couple that was teased in book 2 😂

[@laurynjohnson5966]

Friends with benefits when one person already knows they want more!! Even worse if the other person “has a change of heart” or goes along with it and they magically end up dating. I’d rather have my heart ripped out when one of them falls in love and the other person doesn’t!!

[@booksbyandby5985]

I was fully invested in this video, bravo! I could relate to some of these, and some I love!

[@laurlovesliterature]

I feel the same about WWII historical fiction!! Its always so romanticized and it makes me feel strange! Also, with the books with family issues, Everything I Never Told You has such beautiful family dynamics.

[@chandlerainsley]

i've been meaning to read that one!

[@sdrawkcabemdaer5]

I haaaaate when the entire tension of the plot comes from characters refusing to communicate with each other and running into easily resolved misunderstanding -- like seeing the love interest with a friend and immediately assuming they are cheating/seeing someone else, or overhearing an out of context conversation and leaping to the most dramatic conclusions. They always jump to drastic decisions instead of just talking it out 😩. A little bit of miscommunication is fine, but I need something more than stubborn idiocy to drive the plot, and it feels like those plot "twists" have all been done to death.

[@headphonebooks7319]

I also don’t like enemies to lovers. I don’t really understand how you can go from hating someone to wanting to make out with them when you still hate them and nothing has changed. I definitely need it to be enemies to friends to lovers for me to actually enjoy it because if they’re friends then you can understand more why they would like each other. I think an exception for me would be By Your Side by Kasie West (which also takes place in a library but I don’t remember it being extremely bookish aside from that) but it also has this hate to friends to lovers thing that was done well.

[@marissacottrell]

What the Wind Knows by Amy Harmon is set in the 1920's (so two strikes lol) but is centered around the Irish independence movement and some time travel. I thought it was really good, but I'm not sure where you fall on time-travel romances. It might be worth giving a shot, particularly the audiobook, which really got the accents and eerie vibe right

[@amandamuniz8231]

that book has been on my tbr for the longest time but I always read the synopsis and get the impression it’ll be overly emotional. What did you think?

[@marissacottrell]

@@amandamuniz8231 haha I'm a pretty emotional person, so I had a good time with it. I would say that the emotion in the story isn't overdone or sappy. It builds because you really come to care for the characters, and because of the time travel element, you know that some dark times are ahead. There's also some poetry and whimsical elements in the story (similar to the Kiss of Deception series) that help with the worldbuilding. It was a transporting reading experience for me

[@siddubois4753]

Also you are glowing sis!!!! Beautiful af 💁🏻‍♀️✨

[@chandlerainsley]

ty!!

[@kaoticgoodkate]

I've loved so many of the same books as you so you can imagine how shocked I am to find out we have wildly different taste in tropes

[@PrincessAttorney]

Ok holy crap I was watching a romance drama series and I seriously fell in love with it and it became my everything for like the week that I watched it, but then I genuinely lost my mind and basically had a breakdown bc in the THIRD TO LAST episode out of NOWHERE there was the WORST miscommunication conflict I’ve ever seen to date and they suddenly didn’t see each other for five years and the female lead GOT W THE SECOND MALE LEAD?!? THE WEAK LEG?!?! It became a show-that-shall-not-be-named for me honestly it felt like the ultimate treachery

[@sarosen5731]

not sure if this counts as a trope but i hate when a romance has “my other half”/“you complete me” elements. like as if someone was only 1/2 a person before getting boo’d up hahaha

[@muna3033]

I've been meaning to recommend this book for a while but commenting makes me anxious. When Beauty Tamed The Beast by Eloisa James really threw me for a loop and subverted a lot of typical historical romance tropes in an interesting way. Something about broken men and a hot girl who have great dialogue and banter really makes my day.

[@chandlerainsley]

thanks for the recommendation! i love eloisa james books but haven't read that one yet!

[@jlafaro]

Only one I disagree with is second chance romances. My #2 fave trope after best friends to lovers. Guess it takes me back to The Notebook LOL. Something about being apart for so long and never finding something else and you just never forget your ultimate love. Love it.

[@MadetoOrderNutrition]

I hate in a thriller when a new narrator comes in half way through the book. Like you're reading about all these crazy things happening and then some random person that you'd never suspect comes in and is like "I was mad so here's all the things I did"...idk if that makes sense haha

[@oluwatamilorefaneye4166]

This reminds of Susan Choi's book, Trust Exercise. A new narrator was introduced mid way into the book and it was very confusing. The narrator were also unreliable which makes it worse. DNF

[@thatb1h855]

bestie this is exactly what i was looking for😫😫

[@g.3629]

Also enemies to lovers is something I think would only work in like a long form tv show or series (but would have to take place over the course of the entire series AND cannot be the main point of the book) because it can show the way they interact as enemies, the redemption arc the slow peace between the two characters the developing romance. Please Im making myself sad bc I've never seen a good one.

[@LaraRico-y9o]

i think my most hated troop of all time has to be when the main love interest suddenly vanishes to pay his entire attention to someone else, and the protagonist gets all jealous in the process. i can't stand it, and it stopped me from reading crescendo of the hush hush series because i read something like this in the back of the cover.

[@kailamcd]

I 💯 agree with the enemies to lovers take! Except it's my favorite trope?? But I need the acknowledgement of what was bad or wrong, the reconciliation. You can't just tell me 'and now all that abuse is cool because they're hot and they gotta get some'.

[@crystalsbookishlife]

The pirate vibe is pretty minimal in Sea of Ruin. Like it's there....but it's not a huge focus? It's much more about the complex relationship.

[@hangoodrich983]

Loved this! Also, your hair and makeup are sooooo beautiful!

[@chandlerainsley]

thank you!!

[@mihaelaflorea7901]

Not a huge fan of short stories either. But I will say that Cassandra Clare's short story collections usually are important for extra context for certain things in the different series.