List of romance novel tropes

This is a list of common romance tropes that you can use as inspiration in your own novel or writing. No matter if you’re writing a contemporary or historical romance, you’ll find plenty of tropes that you can use in your book here!

What are tropes?

Tropes are common themes, plot devices or motifs. In other words, they are common scenarios and patterns that take place in your novel.

For example, a common trope in contemporary romance novels the “meet cute” moment. That’s when the love interests meet each other, often in a “cute” way such as them bumping into each other on the street or if one of them has a flat tyre and the other offers to help change it.

List of romance tropes

Profession tropes

• Rock star

• Blue collar

• The pool boy

• Motorcycle

• Priest

• Neighbours

• Royalty

• Captive falls for captor

• Amateur detectives – the love interests work together to solve a crime

• Jock and cheerleader

• Au-pair

• Policeman

• Firefighter

• Politican

• Mafia

• Celebrities

• Billionaires

• Sports romance – any sports you can think of!

• Pop star

• Secret boss

• Roommates

• Sex workers

• Pen pals

• Lawyer

• Maid

• Bodyguard

• Undercover detective

• Therapist

• Secret royal

• Reality TV

• Secret billionaire

• Doctor and patient

• Nanny or child-care worker

• Cowboy

• Teacher

• Secretary

• Hate the job – one love interest loathes the other's job, usually for ethical reasons

• Childhood friend

• Men in uniform

• Landscaper or gardener

• Paramedic

• Athlete

• Medical

• Suspect and detective

• Secret identity

• Religious

• Matchmaker

Age tropes

• Age gap

• May-December – a drastic age difference between the love interests

• Coming of age

• Older couple

• Silver fox

• Cougar

Relationship type tropes

• Secret admirer

• Friends to lovers

• Love at first sight

• Secret stalker

• Jilted

• Aloof couple

• Star-crossed lovers

• Unrequited love

• Break up to save them

• Us against the world

• Rescuer

• Unattainable love interest

• The one that got away

• Road trip

• Wanting different things

• Just friends

• Two person love triangle – mistaken identity

• Rivals

• Fated mates

• Matchmaker gone wrong

• Always right

• Enemies to lovers

• First love

• Meet cute

• Work romance

• Against the odds

• Disguise

• Beauty and the beast

• Singles pact

• Reversal of fortune

• Lovers in denial

• Opposites attract

• Forbidden love

• Rich vs. poor

• Competition rivals

• Falling in love with the wrong person

• Wrong side of the tracks

• Soul mates

• Bait and switch

• Person in peril

• Not good enough for them

• Last to know

• Secret romance

• Frenemies

• Mistaken declaration of love

• Cyrano – when a nerdy person helps a popular person date someone by telling them what to do

• Destiny

• Fish out of water

• Dating the wrong person

• In love with partner's best friend

• Undercover romance

• Bully crush

• Right in front of you all along

• Hate to love you

• Riches to rags

• Friendship circle

• Best friend's sibling

• On the rocks - love interests who had broken up get back together

• Redemption story

• Long distance relationships

• All grown up

• Different worlds

• Betting

• Everyone can see it except them

• Fear of commitment

• Second chance

• Emotional scars

• Not good enough – a love interest thinks they aren't good enough to be loved

• Learn to love – one love interest falls in love with their teacher or mentor

• Allergic to commitment

• Miscommunication

• Secrets

• Coming out

• Reunion romance

Protagonist and love interest tropes

• Rake – a "loveable scoundrel", often a rich playboy who invests his money and time on women, drinking and gambling

• Tamed rakes

• Mary Sue – one love interest, often female, is unrealistically flawless

• Protective

• Childhood sweethearts

• Outcast from society

• Loveable rogue

• Widow

• Jock and nerd

• Grumpy vs. sunshine

• Puppy hero

• Good girls want bad boys

• Pretty boy

• Diamond in the rough

• Possessive

• Alpha hero

• Rags to riches

• The protector

• Anti-hero

• Oblivious to love

• Reformed villain

• All grown up

• Tortured lover

• Sworn off romance

• Cinderella

• Beta – one love interest is not an alpha and may be less confident

• Damsels out of distress

• Hunk

• Caretaker

• Ugly duckling

• Wallflower

• Not like other girls

• Playboy

• Physicality – such as big muscular guy vs. small girl

• Plus-size

• Reformed rakes

• I can fix him

• Innocent

• Girl next door

• Dude in distress

Ending tropes

• Happy ever after

• Happy for now

Sexy and steamy tropes

• Playboy with everyone but you

• Lady on the streets, freak in the sheets

• Virgin auction

• Reverse harem

• Harem

• Cougar

• Breeding

• Celibate hero

• One night stand

• Virgin

• Hookup 

Relationship tropes

• MMF – male, male, female

• MFM – male, female, male

• MM – male, male

• FF – female, female

• MF – male, female

• MFF – male, female, female

• Polyamory

• Ethical non-monogamy

• Bisexual hero(ine)

• BDSM

• Polygamy

Situation tropes

• Trapped

• Care for the injured – one love interest is injured and the other cares for them

• Forced proximity

• Innocent cohabitation

• One bed

• Gay or straight for you

• Blackmail 

Animal tropes

• Bonding through pets

• Animal wingman or woman – the pet sets their owner up!

Family relations

• Single parents

• Overprotective brother

• Sibling triangle – this is when someone falls in love with two siblings, not incest!

• Sibling's ex

• Surprise baby

• Orphans

• Widow

• Baby makes three

• Resistant children

• Unexpected inheritance

• Love interest's child brings everyone together

• Evil stepmother

• Best friend's partner

• Parents finding new love

• Infertility

• Step siblings

• Interfering family

• Sibling's best friend

• Twin swap

• Instant family

• Baby on the doorstep

• Love interest's child tries to break the couple apart

• Secret heir

• Secret lovechild

• Intergenerational trauma

• Unexpected parent

• Estranged family

Wedding tropes

• Bridesmaid and groomsman

• Bridal party

• Vegas marriage

• Meet at the wedding

• Runaway bride

• Wartime weddings

Workplace tropes

• Working with their ex

• Workplace romance

• Falling in love with their student's, teacher's or boss' parent

Marriage tropes

• Marriage of convenience

• Fake relationship

• Fake marriage

• Marriage of honour

• Marriage pact – love interest agree to get married under specific criteria, such as when they turn 35

• Fake divorce – one love interest thinks the other is divorced, but turns out they aren't!

• Fake engagement

• Already married

• Mail-order bride

• Arranged marriage

• Diplomatic or honour marriage

  Plot tropes

• Mistaken identity

• Amnesia

• Forced proximity

• Fish out of water – one love interest is in a new situation for which they are unprepared for

• Stranded together

• Ex is hanging around

• Fake death

• Back from the dead 

Location tropes

• Small town

• Big city

• Countryside

• Tropical island

• Outsider – one love interest is from out of town

Occasion tropes

• Christmas romance

• Home for the holidays

• Summer romance

• Holidays  

Troubled past tropes

• Dark past

• Secret past

• Rejected past

• Shared past

• Scars of the past

• Physical scars

Dark romance tropes (please skip this section if you prefer)

• Kidnapped

• Saved from attempted rape or assault

• Dangerous attraction – one love interest is dangerous and poses a risk to the other

• Power dynamics

Fantasy and magic romance tropes

• Paranormal

• Magical romance – one or more love interests have magical powers

• Love potions

• Magic

• Shape shifters

• Vampire and werewolf love triangle

• Time travel

• Robot or computer – a human love interest falls for a robot, computer or other form of artificial intelligence

• Fairytale retellings

Date tropes

• Prom date

• Fake date

• Blind dates

• Prank date