Tropes. You’ve definitely heard of them. With the constant stream of content available today – everyone telling you what books to read, assuring you that if you enjoyed X, you’ll certainly love Y, and which fantasy book you should get based on your ideal lunch date – picking anything out of the infinite Waterstones shelves can seem daunting to say the least. This is where tropes can help. Tropes are motifs, subplots, or themes common among fiction, with popular tropes including love triangles, villain arcs, or enemies to lovers. The difference between a trope and a cliché is, I suppose, down to personal preference – one person may love the ‘Chosen One’ trope, whereas I personally can’t stand it – but knowing what sort of plots you’re drawn to in fiction can really help narrow down your options. If you’ve read my post about romantasy, it’s no secret that I can be quite… opinionated… about my reading choices, and could easily fill pages with my own thoughts on what tropes work. But that probably won’t be very informative. So, I put up a poll on the Inkwell society account asking what people’s favourite tropes were, and for some recommendations, and here’s what we got!
Friends to Lovers
This one is pretty self-explanatory, but it’s quite popular in conjunction with the love triangle trope. It can be a lot of fun to see a romance develop between two characters who start off as friends – perhaps they’re childhood best friends with a long history before the story, or perhaps they meet at the start of the book, and you get to see their whole relationship develop. Inkwell recommends:
- The Song of Achilles – Madeline Miller
- A Natural History of Dragons – Marie Brennan
- The Invisible Life of Addie Larue – V.E. Schwab
- The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo – Taylor Jenkins Reid
- Godkiller – Hannah Kaner
Right Person Wrong Time
Another romance trope, often with a very heart-breaking ending. However, if getting your soul ripped to shreds when you read is something you go for, you’ll probably enjoy this one! It’s a bit of a change if you’re sick of reading love stories with a happily-ever-after, skipping-into-the-sunset ending (not that there’s anything wrong with that either – sometimes it’s nice to end a book on a lighter note). Inkwell recommends:
- Me Before You – Jojo Moyes
- They Both Die At The End – Adam Silvera
- Normal People – Sally Rooney
- Before We Were Strangers – Renée Carlino
Enemies to Lovers
Sort of the opposite of the friends-to-lovers trope, this one works really well for darker, more angsty romance plots. This trope is particularly popular at the moment, particularly on BookTok. When done well, it can create a really interesting relationship dynamic, forcing characters to overcome deep-rooted flaws and differences, and evolve a relationship from one of hatred. Inkwell recommends:
- Folk of Air – Holly Black
- Pride and Prejudice – Jane Auesten
Personified Death
This trope is quite specific but can be incredibly powerful. Death is often a strong theme in a lot of fiction, and when a writer actually goes that one step further of making it an active character in the text, it’s even more haunting and poignant. Inkwell recommends:
- Reaper Man – Terry Pratchet
- The Book Thief – Markus Zusak
- Belladonna – Adalyn Grace
Found Family
Honestly, one of my personal favourites. This trope is about tight knit friendship groups, often formed between characters who started out as strangers. It works really well when there’s a range of incredibly different personalities, people who wouldn’t usually have any other reason to meet, but have been thrown together in whatever circumstances they find themselves in. Inkwell recommends:
- Anything by Sarah J Maas
- Six of Crows – Leigh Bardugo
- Lord of the Rings – J.R.R. Tolkien
Cannibalism as Desire
Another very specific one, and not one I know a lot about! It centres around the idea of being completely consumed by love and desire, sacrifice and passion, as well as ideas of the body and physicality. It’s interesting to see the fusion of a typically horrifying topic of cannibalism with the theme of romance.
- Bones and All – Camille DeAngelis
- Woman, Eating – Claire Kohda
- A Certain Hunger – Chelsea G. Summers
- The Uncanny Gastronomic – anthology, edited by Zara-Louise Stubbs
Redemption Arc
This trope can be very satisfying when it’s done well. The base of a good villain is a good origin story – nobody is evil for the sake of things – and sometimes it’s really rewarding to see a flicker of hope in these characters, something to root for. When a character flips from fully evil to fighting on the side of the heroes, it shows strong character development and adds a layer of depth to a character you may have started the novel despising. Inkwell recommends:
- Byzantium – Stephen R. Lawhead
- Emma – Jane Austen
- The Divine Comedy – Dante
Villain Arc
Opposite to the redemption arc, but often just as rewarding, is the villain arc. When a character starts a book so pure and good and the world they’re in just tears them to shreds – it can be incredibly emotional. Sometimes, if circumstances have been particularly cruel, it can be somewhat rewarding to see a character finally flip, fight for the revenge they feel they are owed. Other times, it can be tragic, watching a character become corrupted by forces beyond their control. Either way, it can be incredibly effective. Inkwell recommends:
- The Picture of Dorian Gray – Oscar Wilde
- A Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes – Suzanne Collins
- My Sister, the Serial Killer – Oyinkan Braithwaite
So, that’s a little summary of some popular fiction tropes among writers at York St John. Hopefully there’s a trope in there that you’ve not read much of before, or if not, maybe just a book recommendation that you wouldn’t have considered!
– Rose Williams
This blog post is in collaboration with the 2025 Beyond the Walls Anthology. The cohort behind the anthology are constantly producing high quality work in the run up to the final publication. You can find similar blog pieces in collaboration with the anthology here on the Where Ideas Grow blog. You can also listen to their podcast episodes on Spotify and find updates on the anthology on their social media platforms, all linked below.