You Gotta Love ‘em…
The romance genre is filled with different tropes. Some of them are great and others are a little iffy. My favorites are friends to lovers, forced proximity, and the all-time favorite of enemies to lovers. I’m not especially happy with the love triangle, amnesia, or stepbrother tropes. They’re not my favorites, but a lot of people love them as well. I chose to talk about the enemies to lovers trope not only because it’s my favorite., but because there’s so many ways people can use it, and there’s so many novels that are based on this trope. It’s an all time favorite for a reason.
Passion & Angst:
The enemies to lovers trope begins with a couple that already has a type of passionate chemistry simmering between them. They already hate each other. and as the old saying goes, there’s a thin line between love and hate. Enemies to lovers use that thin line to its advantage.
This trope has the reader on edge from nearly the beginning. Unlike what a friend of mine calls the perma-love trope, which is love at first sight, which has its own obvious advantages, the couples in a love hate tug of war is going to make the audience laugh, choke on their coffee with the endless back and forth between our lead female and male characters, and spitting mad on one of their behalf’s.
Negotiation & Communication:
We’re dealing with two people who have no idea how to negotiate with one another. they’re too busy hating one another for whatever slight they perceived from one another. they are both always on the defense, waiting for a zinger from the other. they’re always waiting for the other shoe to drop. They have no intentions of letting the other get the upper hand in the battle of wits and are determined not to compromise. They rub each other raw, get on one another’s nerves, and intentionally sabotage one another.
Their idea of communication is either ignoring one another or full out battle. However, something significant happens, an inciting incident, if you will, that changes their outlook or their entire perception of each other. and the grounds for hate or dislike becomes questionable, and they learn to negotiate and communicate in a whole new way.
Hate Kiss?”
One of them finally gets annoyed enough with the other to kiss them. Oh boy, now we’re talking. That explosive chemistry begins to work in another way. The couple is amazed that the kiss was so good and arousing. Not only that, it gets the other person to shut up and pay attention even if it’s just because their mind is blown by sexual tension and amazement that their enemy has just become someone they want to jump.
Now, the not only has the perception changed, but they’re beginning to see each other differently. First they pretend it’s just a sex thing. Let’s be friends with benefits. They call or text each other to see when they can get together. The conversations or texts usually end up having more to do with everyday life then how they can get together soon. And now, they’re talking like normal people without even realizing it.
Then Comes Love:
Usually, an enemies to lover’s novel is going to go through a few stages of change. The people we first meet in chapter one has changed over the course of the novel. That’s one of the things I love about the enemies to lovers trope. The reader can actually see the arc of the characters. We get to know the real female’s business acumen. Maybe we get to know that the male character is more of a gentle soul than he appeared at the beginning. We see the different layers of the characters throughout the growth of the novel. We also get to see their relationship evolve over the life of the novel.
By the end of the novel even without the dark heart of the soul section where the couple breaks up for a while, has a difficult decision to make that will affect both of them, possibly have a near death situation, or some other big catastrophe that can affect their lives in a horrific way or tear the two apart, we know they have
Earned their happily ever after (HEA).
The enemies to lovers trope has several ways to evolve over the life of a romance novel. We, as readers, get to know the couple over time and root for them to learn and grow. We enjoy their banter, laugh out loud at their antics, and are thrilled when they get their HEA. The trope is a romance favorite of both authors and readers because the couple’s journey is so much fun to write and witness alike.
If you have a few enemies to lovers books to recommend, please reply with your recommendations. I’d love to add them to my reading list.
Till next we meet,
Happy reading & keep creating!
Nell Anthony
E-mail: 3inkpress@nellanthony.ink
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Yours in love & magic!
Nell Anthony 