Top Ten Tuesday Fifty Nine – Top Ten Favourite Book Tropes

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature/ meme hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl.

This weeks topic is one that I wasn’t particularly excited about at first for whatever reason, as I just couldn’t seem to think of or remember any of my favourite book tropes.  However, after doing a little googling of common YA tropes, I soon found myself with a list of tropes that I absolutely adore seeing in books and couldn’t wait to talk about, especially as it may lead me to some more recommendations for stories that feature some of these.

So here are six of my favourite book tropes!

Give me all of the found family books!  This is by far one of my favourite book tropes and so its no surprise that it is featured in some of my favourite books and series.  I am just a sucker for a mis-match band of characters coming together, possibly even forced to work together, and slowly learning to rely on and care for one another whilst facing whichever challenges lie in their way.

Trope in: The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater and The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers

Who doesn’t love a good old enemies to lovers romance, especially when it is done well.  The sexual tension and angst between the two characters just makes us root for them even more, especially as they are constantly denying their feelings for the other even as they grow and grow.  That moment when they finally admit their love for each other is one of the best and most satisfying ever to happen in a book.

Trope in: The Wrath & the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh and Red, White and Royal Blue by Casey McQuinston

I am so here for a main character who doesn’t play entirely by the rules, and who maybe does a few things that aren’t good or right, but is ultimately still the hero of the story.  Please give me all of your corrupted and morally-grey protagonists who I know I shouldn’t root for because they just murdered someone but who I still love and want to succeed nonetheless.

Trope in: The Cruel Prince by Holly Black and Forest of a Thousand Lanterns by Julie C. Dao

I don’t think I will ever get bored of an obscure prologue that makes little sense when you first read it, but then later goes on to explain a point of the plot, or acts as a piece of foreshadowing.  I am just always so intrigued when after a vague prologue we jump straight into the plot that at first seems to have no connection to the few pages that came before it.

Trope in: Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo and The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey

A fantasy instantly becomes so much more interesting to me if you so much as mention that it includes dragons.  I don’t know exactly why, but I just adore when a fantasy world includes dragons, particularly in a way that may be a little different to normal, or when they play an important role in the story.

Trope in: The Last Namsara by Kristen Ciccarelli and Siege & Storm by Leigh Bardugo

This one is particularly appealing to me if the reveal doesn’t happen at the very start of the book, but rather a little way into the story or even a few books in.  I just love it when after getting to know and root for our main character we then learn that they are somehow connected to the royalty in their world rather than their secret heritage being the main focus of the story.

Trope in: Snow Like Ashes by Sara Raasch and Cinder by Marissa Meyer

What are some of your favourite book tropes?  Do you agree with my choices?

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