I could not have been more thrilled when Janice from Janicu’s Book Blog said she’d be willing to do a guest post for me. Her reviews are always articulate, always balanced, and she’s made me seek out more than a handful of books based on her recommendation alone. If you haven’t dropped by her blog lately, do! And now, here she is, discussing several of her favorite fictional tropes. Thanks, Janice!
When it comes to reading, there are things that automatically rub me the wrong way (TSTL heroines, so-alpha-he-is-a-jerk heroes, sex mid-battle…don’t get me started), and then there are those common themes that make me feel warm and fuzzy. When I think of my favorite tropes, I came up with the following list and examples of books that have them:
[via Cute Overload]
Animal sidekicks. The weirder the better. Give me a little Chihuahua, a demon dog, or a cat who detects explosives. As long as they aren’t too cutesy, I’m sold.
- Blue Diablo by Ann Aguirre
- Bad to the Bone by Jeri Smith-Ready
- Hope’s Folly by Linnea Sinclair and many other Sinclair novels
- The Death Gate Cycle by Margaret Weis and Terry Hickman
- Stardoc series by S.L. Viehl
[via google images]
Hero admits that he was wrong.
- Pride, Prejudice, and Jasmine Field by Melissa Nathan (hero admits she scares him, hah).
- Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen (nothing beats Darcy’s letter)
- Mara, Daughter of the Nile by Eloise Jarvis McGraw (hero believes heroine to be a traitor)
[Annie Leibovitz for Vogue Magazine (via Once Upon a Blog)]
Beauty and the Beast stories.
- Beauty and Rose Daughter by Robin McKinley
- Beastly by Alex Flinn
- Valient by Holly Black (sort of)
- The Sundered series by Michelle Sagara
- One of these days I’m going to try out these romances with the Beauty and the Beast theme listed here in this blog post.
[via K. Y. Craft]
Hero/heroine is thrust into a situation where they must learn local customs and diplomacy. A stranger in a strange land. A newcomer to court.
- Cast in Courtlight by Michelle Sagara (The Chronicles of Elantra, Book 2)
- Crown Duel by Sherwood Smith
- Doubleblind by Ann Aguirre (Sirantha Jax , Book 3)
- A Mere Formality by Ilona Andrews (currently a free read on their site)
[via Vintage poster]
Romances where hero/heroine’s real identity is hidden.
- Crown Duel by Sherwood Smith (hero/heroine write to each other)
- Karma Girl by Jennifer Estep (hero is a superhero, heroine wants to know his real identity)
- Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones (heroine is turned into an old woman)
- Beauty and the Beast stories could be a subset of this
I have a lot more favorite tropes, but I think I’ll stop there, I’m sure you get the general idea, and it turns out I am not good at thinking up more than a handful of books with these favorite tropes in them! (Recommendations are very welcome though).
How about you? What are your favorite (or least favorite) tropes?
i also love beauty and the beast and mistaken identity/disguises in romance. youve got some *great* examples here, and talking about themes is always way more fun when you list books to go along with it, so thank you!!!
If you have more examples, I could love to hear them. I was staring at my bookshelves in deep thought when making this list. Ha.
Great list! I love all of these too. Crown Duel has been a book I’ve been wanting to read and after seeing it’s on two of these lists I really want to read it now. I’m going to have to look up some of the Beauty and the Beast stories I haven’t read too.
I really need to read *more* Sherwood Smith. It’s weird that CROWN DUEL is the only book of her’s I’ve read when I like it so much. And I have been told her INDA series has a great romance in it.
Love this post, Janice and Chelle! I’m also a big fan of Beauty and the Beast and hidden identity stories. I actually like any kind of retelling but B&B retellings are my favorite. I also enjoy love-hate relationships especially if they involve witty banter.
Yes, yes, yes to the B&B and hidden identity tropes. I’m a sucker for them, too.
Great guestpost
When I was younger, and in my harlequin phase I loved the mistaken identify. There was always some princess hiding and how I loved it
This reminds me, I should have put THE GOOSE GIRL by Shannon Hale on my list. Yes, princesses in hiding! Loved it.
I mentioned this to you in one of our early emails, but let me reiterate: I love this post on tropes!
The first book that popped to mind for B&B was Juliet Marillier’s Heart’s Blood (which I loved, as I love just about all of Marillier’s work.) I enjoy this trope, but, come to think of it, haven’t read many that fall into the category.
Love Doubleblind‘s inclusion on your local customs list! But I do have a deep, abiding soft spot for Vel, and considering he was the one that helped Jax learn… Also, yay! Howl’s!
Man are you right: It’s tough coming up with these on the spot. I thought for sure I had others, but they’re not on the tip of my tongue any longer. Huh.
Oh HEART’S BLOOD is a B&B retelling? I must have known that but forgotten it. I’ve been telling myself to buy it and I just bought it at my Border’s bookstore closing sale this weekend. Now I’m doubly happy I got it.
Right? Examples don’t spring that quickly to mind. I feel like there are more, if I just think long enough, but the mind is blank at the moment.
Yup, Heart’s Blood definitely falls into that category, and I could not have loved it more. So glad you got it! I’ll be looking forward to reading your thoughts.
Even now, having stood in front of my shelves looking, I can’t think of any! Incredible.
Comment fail.
I don’t know why my comment ended up as a reply to Kristen’s thread instead of a new comment.
That’s ok! I can reply here. Yes, love-hate relationships with bantering. You know what’s going to happen, but it’s fun to watch.
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Infinity yes to Mara, Daughter of the Nile. And more generally to heroes and heroines apologizing to each other. I like it when protagonists are sufficiently self-aware to notice when they’ve been a jerk, and then they want to make reparations. Yay for that.
Exactly. It tends to be the hero who is the butt and then never apologizes, but a heroine can do that too, so any apologizing for bad behavior = good. There’s something about a character having the courage and humility to do that that makes me feel like there’s hope for people. It drives me crazy when being a jerk is followed by pretending it never happened!
I love animal sidekicks, too, especially talking animals! My favorite is Manchee from the Chaos Walking series (talking dog!), and Faithful, from the Alanna series. Of course, animal sidekicks often mean the animal is going to die at some point…and that always breaks my heart.
I am against the dying of animal sidekicks.
I love animal sidekicks as well! It’s a big bonus if they talk (like in Tanya Huff’s Summon the Keeper).
This is another series I haven’t read but have to.
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Wonderful post Janice. Love especially the B&B retellings and unknown identities. Such fun. I’ve got a couple of your picks on my tbr list now.
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