Ah, the romance novel. One of the most popular fiction genres since the dawn of time, and perfect for when we just want to relax and be happy. And the emergence of favorite tropes and plot lines in this genre make sure that there’s a story for every romance lover. But now? There’s too much romance novels. I’m fine with that- but what I don’t like is how easy it is to predict romance stories now. Since many of these tropes are in so many books now, many of them follow the same basic plot from beginning to end- even if the setting or characters are original.
But which of these tropes are the ones that we can guess the outcome on page 1? And which ones are most likely to shock us with a change in story? I’ve picked out 7 popular tropes in YA romance, and it’s time to rank them based on their predictability.
Starting with the most predictable…
7. Friends to Lovers
So, I love Friends to Lovers. It’s honestly the most wholesome romance trope, has the least tension between characters, and often leads to the cutest couples. Pretty much all my favorite YA romances include this trope or some variation of it, and it’s a huge favorite among romance fans. But god, it’s so obvious how the stories with this trope will end up. It’s almost always just going to be a bunch of encounters and scenes between the friends that eventually transform into love. There’s not a lot of room in the world of this trope for some more unexpected parts. I adore this trope so much, but the authors who write this trope need to start experimenting with the formula a bit.
6. Fake Dating
This trope really shouldn’t be as predictable as it is. Especially because a lot of times there’s a lot of drama that connects to why the main characters are fake dating, and drama always leads to unpredictability. But for some reason, it’s super easy to guess how books with this trope will end: the people who fake date end up actually falling in love, instead of having their dating actually being fake. Oh, and the book blurbs for books where fake dating is the main focus almost always reveals that the fake daters will end up dating for real, even if they try to hide it with a fancy “it’s all fake… right?”. (If you want a fake dating story that doesn’t follow this cliche, read Gwen and Art are Not in Love, which I reviewed a little while back!)
5. Grumpy/Sunshine
Honestly, the Grumpy/Sunshine trope is a trope I have mixed opinions on, because it can get annoying when one character is all “Hi! Let me help you with everything!” and the other is always “Leave me alone.” until the romance develops. And that sums up almost every book with this trope, since the character archetype is almost always the same: one love interest is the “sunshine” character who is frequently happy and nice, while the other love interest is more grumpy and critical. Sure, it can get a bit more surprising for the reader based on how the characters interact with each other, but this trope ultimately is one of the more predictable ones because of the general setup of the characters.
4. Second Chance Romance:
Second Chance Romance is another trope where the name gives away what’s going to happen: the leads are going to fall in love again after a previous breakup. However, the main reason why I believe this trope is less predictable than the previous ones is how it focuses on characterization. A huge part of Second Chance Romance is on how exactly the characters broke up and how it will shape their characters, especially to the point of how they decide to reconnect. Plus, not only can it provide some surprise when we learn how the characters broke up, but it can also add emotional depth to the characters, as they figure out how to rekindle their romance after how hard it affected them.
3. Enemies To Lovers (AKA Rivals To Lovers)
Arguably the most popular trope along with Friends to Lovers, Enemies to Lovers follows a really general formula: they hate each other, then they love each other. Simple. But there’s many ways for this trope to go, that ultimately make it one of the most surprising ones. One of these methods that I especially like is when they try to sabotage each other, since it can lead to a lot of shocking scenes. In addition, the heavy tension between the characters can lead to a more unpredictable “will they won’t they” storyline, and it’s hard to tell when they will just kiss already, which is stressful but also adds a bigger layer of surprise to the story. The general setup never changes, but authors make sure this trope never gets boring.
2. Forbidden Love
I was debating a lot between if I should have put this trope before or after Enemies to Lovers, but I ultimately decided on this trope for one reason: it’s ultimately more dramatic. While in Enemies to Lovers the relationships tend to be a bit more accepted by others, Forbidden Love adds heightened tension as the characters try to hide their relationship. When a romance is forced to be kept secret, it ultimately makes the story more dramatic and unpredictable. Plus, a lot of time it can lead to even more shocking events when the relationship is revealed to those against it, and many forbidden love stories even start off as Enemies to Lovers, combining two less predictable tropes into one combination of tension and shock.
1. Love Triangles:
Yes, I know that most adult YA readers find love triangles to be cliché and unrealistic. And although I’m mostly indifferent to this trope, I firmly believe it is the most unpredictable out of all the tropes on this list. Even a secret relationship between two lovers is less shocking and dramatic than one character being in love with two (or more) people that are super different from each other, but are still both absolutely perfect, and the character can only choose one to be with at the end. Plus, authors are smart enough when writing love triangles to not have a very obvious choice for the character: they make it a complicated battle for them to choose who they love without breaking another person’s heart or feeling regrets. Plus, love triangles are easy to combine with other tropes, such as one love interest being a former rival, or one of them being a recent ex that they want to get back with, for example. Even if this trope isn’t the most appreciated by readers right now, it’s still the one that can create the most shock and unpredictably.
And that’s my complete ranking on YA romance tropes, based on how predictable they are! I’m hoping that some of the ones that end up clichéd will be reinvented by authors in new and exciting ways, while we keep making shocking and unexpected stories with the more surprising tropes. Until next time, and remember to continue reading!
All images in this article were created with a mix of Canva and AI generated art.
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