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Valentine’s day is almost here, so today on Fable and the Verbivore we’re unpacking our favorite romance tropes.

In our conversation, we touch on a wide range of books and movies that have relationships we root for and enjoy - from the classic Much Ado About Nothing to the paranormal Alice in Zombieland to the rom-com The Love Hypothesis. And we dig into romance story elements that draw us in and talk a little about why.

Here are a few of the romance tropes that we explore:

• Fake Dating

• Forced Proximity

• Friends to Lovers

• Enemies to Lovers

• Opposites Attract

• Witty Banter

• Supportive / Funny Friends

• Soulmates

Towards the end of this episode, we also talk about some of the books and tropes that have surprised us. Ones we weren’t expecting to connect with, but that we’re glad we branched out and experienced.

We hope you enjoy this episode, it definitely was a fun conversation for us.

Keep reading, writing, and putting your voice out there!

Into the woods,

Fable & The Verbivore

Notes:

A trope is defined as a “a significant or recurrent theme; a motif.”

We both mention romance tropes that we personally enjoy, but there are many more out there. Here are some articles that we found helpful in preparation for this conversation:

• Masterclass “7 Popular Romance Fiction Tropes to Keep Your Readers Hooked”

• “101 Romance Tropes For Writers” by Writers Write

• Book Riot “Romance Tropetonite: Forced Proximity” by Jessica Avery

Books & Movies Mentioned:

• The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

• Dance of Thieves by Mary E. Pearson

• The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood

• The Wedding Date by Jasmine Guillory

• Emma by Jane Austen

• Emma (2020) – Directed by Autumn de Wilde

• Would Like to Meet by Rachel Winters

• Opposite of Always by Justin A. Reynolds

• We Hunt the Flame by Hafsah Faizal

• The Ex Talk by Rachel Lynn Solomon

• Today Tonight Tomorrow by Rachel Lynn Solomon

• Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

• The Hating Game by Sally Thorne

• Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare

• Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

• Uprooted by Naomi Novik

• Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen

• The Soulmate Equation by Christina Lauren

• 27 Dresses (2008) – Directed by Anne Fletcher

• The Magnolia Sword: A Ballad of Mulan by Sherry Thomas

• Twilight by Stephenie Meyer

• Alice in Zombieland by Gena Showalter

• The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren

• Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion

• Warm Bodies (2013) – Directed by Jonathan Levine

• Pride + Prejudice + Zombies (2016) – Directed by Burr Steers

• Not Quite a Husband (The Mardens) by Sherry Thomas

• Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker – Directed by J.J. Abrams

• You’d Be Mine: A Novel by Erin Hahn

Music from: https://filmmusic.io
’Friendly day’ by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com)
Licence: CC BY (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)