Ink & Wonder: Top 5 Fantasy Romance Tropes We Love (and 5 That Need to Die Already)
Kiss, Kill, or Rewrite? Fantasy Romance Tropes That Work (and Don’t) + Examples
I never promise my thoughts about books won’t have spoilers. I can’t be trusted not to spill the tea, especially when the tea is piping hot. As such, proceed at your own risk. 😉
Fantasy romance thrives on tropes, and let’s be honest—some of them are pure magic, while others… not so much. Whether they make us swoon or sigh in frustration, these storytelling staples shape the books we obsess over.
So let’s break down five fantasy romance tropes that steal our hearts—and five that could use a serious reinvention. Plus, book recs from stories I actually loved (or, in some cases, side-eyed).
🔥 5 Fantasy Romance Tropes We Love
1. Enemies-to-Lovers (The slow burn, the tension, the banter—chef’s kiss)
Why We Love It: The emotional whiplash. The I hate you but also maybe I love you energy. The kind of chemistry that makes us physically ache for them to just give in already. Watching two characters go from actively trying to murder each other to realizing they’d burn the world down to keep the other safe? Inject that straight into my veins.
How to Do It Right: The hatred should be earned. Give them real reasons to be enemies—clashing ideologies, opposing goals, betrayals that matter. It should be about more than just petty misunderstandings ("Oh no, I thought you kissed my sister, but actually you didn’t? Oops." No. Give me real conflict).
📖 Book Rec: The Heartless Hunter by Rebecca Ross (read my review here)
💛 Why It Works: Rune and Gideon aren’t just trading insults for the fun of it—their stakes are literally life and death. They each have every reason to want the other dead, which makes it all the more agonizing when that hatred starts turning into something else.
2. Forced Proximity (Oh no, we’re stuck together? What ever will we do?)
Why We Love It: It forces characters to actually talk, to drop their defenses, to wrestle with their attraction whether they want to or not. It’s the perfect pressure cooker for romance. Whether it’s a magical bond, a shared mission, or a single cursed bed in the entire kingdom, forced proximity makes every glance and touch feel forbidden—and we love every second.
How to Do It Right: The situation should actually matter. No convenient "we’re snowed in" nonsense unless there are real stakes attached. They need to rely on each other in a way that genuinely challenges their dynamic.
📖 Book Rec: Dance of Thieves by Mary E. Pearson
💛 Why It Works: Kazi and Jase don’t just get stuck sitting next to one another at the same party—they literally wind up chained together. They have to work together to survive, which means setting aside their very strong first impressions (which, uh, weren’t great).
3. Grumpy x Sunshine (The brooding warrior and the bubbly people-person)
Why We Love It: It’s the ultimate balance—one character is all doom and gloom, the other is a walking firecracker of joy. And watching the grump slowly, quietly melt while pretending they still don’t care? That’s serotonin.
How to Do It Right: The grump shouldn’t just be mean for the sake of it, and the sunshine shouldn’t be oblivious to the world around them. They both need depth—personalities beyond just their contrasting dynamic.
📖 Book Rec: Throne in the Dark by A.K. Caggiano
💛 Why It Works: Damien Maleficus Bloodthorne (yes, that’s his full name, and yes, it’s hilarious) is the brooding, ruthless demon prince, while Amma is actual human sunshine. Their banter? Chef’s kiss.
4. Fated Mates (Destiny said we belong together, but do we agree?)
Why We Love It: The inevitable pull. The angst of one (or both) characters fighting it. The deep, almost painful tension of knowing they belong together, but not being ready to accept it.
How to Do It Right: The bond should add conflict, not just be an easy pass to insta-love. Make them struggle with it. Make them earn it. Let them choose each other, even when fate already has.
📖 Book Rec: A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas
💛 Why It Works: Feyre finally realizing who her mate is hits different. The slow burn is exquisite. And let’s be real—Chapter 54 and 55 changed lives.
5. Morally Gray Love Interests (The villain who’s too charming for his own good)
Why We Love It: We love a good villain, but a true morally gray character isn’t just broody for aesthetic purposes. They force us to question what’s right and wrong. They make choices that actually have consequences—and we still can’t help but love them.
How to Do It Right: They need layers—not just a tragic backstory, but a real reason for their ruthlessness. If they claim to be morally gray, they should actually make morally questionable decisions. Don’t just give them an edgy aesthetic—make their actions matter.
📖 Book Rec: The Serpent and the Wings of Night by Carissa Broadbent
💛 Why It Works: Rhain is every bit the lethal, cunning vampire warrior he claims to be—but he’s also protective, strategic, and willing to do whatever it takes to survive. His darkness isn’t just for show—it shapes every choice he makes.
💀 5 Fantasy Romance Tropes We’d Rather Leave Behind (or Reinvent)
1. The Miscommunication Trope (Just talk to each other? Please?)
Why It’s Frustrating: When an entire book hinges on a single conversation that could have solved everything… yeah, no. There’s nothing more infuriating than watching two characters suffer—for entire chapters—when a single honest conversation could have unraveled the whole mess. Instead of meaningful conflict, we get pages of stubborn silence, half-truths, and avoidable misunderstandings.
How to Fix It: If your characters have secrets, give them a damn good reason to keep them. Maybe revealing the truth puts someone they love in danger. But if you rely on miscommunication to stretch out the conflict, it’s going to feel like the literary equivalent of yelling at the TV when a character runs upstairs instead of out the front door in a horror movie.
📖 Book Victim: Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros
😒 Why It Annoyed Me: Violet and Xaden could have easily just had a candid conversation and put their cards on the table. Instead, we got a dragged-out miscommunication that made me want to scream.
2. The “Not Like Other Girls” Heroine (Internalized misogyny isn’t a personality trait)
Why It’s Frustrating: When a protagonist’s entire personality revolves around how different she is from other girls—especially if it comes with an undercurrent of internalized misogyny—it makes her feel one-dimensional rather than empowering. There’s nothing inherently weak about wearing dresses, enjoying traditionally feminine things, or forming bonds with other female characters.
How to Fix It: Let female characters be complex—strong, soft, ruthless, kind, all at once. They don’t have to reject femininity to be powerful. A warrior can love combat and embroidery, a queen can be ruthless in court and wear lace, and a thief can wield a dagger and cry when her heart is broken. Strength comes in many forms, and rejecting femininity doesn’t automatically make a character compelling.
📖 Book Victim: Blood & Steel by Helen B. Scheuerer
😒 Why It Annoyed Me: Thea literally did not care about anybody but herself and was convinced she was destined to be the most famous Warsword of Thezmarr… despite having no training or real understanding of what it meant. And completely disregarded her sister’s hard work and all the other girls she grew up with in the process.
(In all fairness, maybe this was part of Thea’s character growth arc, but I had to DNF before I got there).
3. Insta-Love (Where’s the build-up?)
Why It’s Frustrating: The best romances make us feel the connection growing, but insta-love skips all the work. Instead of tension, longing, or meaningful interactions, we get characters falling for each other simply because the plot demands it. Love should be more than just an obligatory subplot—it should be something we root for, something that adds depth to the characters and the story.
How to Fix It: Give them reasons to fall in love that extend beyond physical attraction. Maybe they’re thrown together by circumstance and slowly build trust. Maybe they share past wounds and find comfort in each other’s presence. Maybe their dynamic starts with friction but transforms as they recognize something in each other no one else sees. When we see characters choose each other, despite the odds, the romance becomes infinitely more powerful.
📖 Book Victim: Fear the Flames by Olivia Rose Darling
😒 Why It Annoyed Me: It was trying to be enemies-to-lovers, but the characters Elowen and Cayden fell in love in 2.2 seconds and weren’t really enemies to begin with.
4. Love Triangles That Are Clearly One-Sided (We all know who they’re picking)
Why It’s Frustrating: Love triangles should be filled with tension, heartbreak, and genuine uncertainty—but too often, they’re just… pointless. When one love interest is obviously the endgame while the other is just there to cause temporary drama, it makes the entire triangle feel forced. If the second love interest has no real chance, what’s the point?
How to Fix It: Make the choice genuinely difficult, or let the triangle actually shape the protagonist’s growth. A good love triangle should feel like a real dilemma, where both love interests bring something valuable to the table. Their strengths, weaknesses, and relationships with the protagonist should be different but equally compelling. Maybe one is tied to the protagonist’s past and the other to their future. Maybe they both force the protagonist to grow, but in very different ways.
📖 Book Victim: Twilight by Stephenie Meyer (I know, an oldie but a perfect example)
😒 Why It Annoyed Me: Bella was never going to choose Jacob and be happy. He was always the consolation prize.
5. Amnesia as a Plot Device (Convenient memory loss? Again?)
Why It’s Frustrating: It’s often used to stall the plot rather than actually develop it.
How to Fix It: If a character loses their memories, make it meaningful—let it change them, not just delay the inevitable.
📖 Book Victim: Gold / Goldfinch by Raven Kennedy
😒 Why It Annoyed Me: This was a short-lived way to create a cliffhanger for Gold and give Auren something to do while Slade is trying to get to her. For me, it served no real purpose.
Final Thoughts
Love them or hate them, tropes are the foundation of fantasy romance. They shape our favorite love stories, fuel our wildest book obsessions, and, occasionally, make us want to throw our Kindles across the room. Some tropes are timeless, bringing just the right amount of tension, angst, or swoon-worthy romance. Others? Let’s just say they could use a little reinvention (or a permanent time-out).
As with everything, the most important thing when it comes to writing tropes readers can’t get enough of, is all in the execution. I’ve read great books that hinge on miscommunication and devoured every page (see my review of Rain of Shadows and Endings). I’ve also read terrible renditions of “enemies” to lovers. A poorly executed trope is bad no matter what it is and a well executed one is a page turner.
But I’m not the only reader with opinions.
Which fantasy romance tropes have you falling head over heels every time?
Are you a die-hard enemies-to-lovers fan?
Do you live for a slow burn that makes you suffer in the best way possible?
Or are you absolutely done with love triangles that go nowhere and miscommunication that drags on for entire books?
And if you’re writing your own fantasy romance—are you embracing these tropes or flipping them on their heads? Maybe your chosen one choses a different destiny, or your broody love interest actually communicates instead of running away to avoid having say how he feels for 80% of the book. Whatever it is, I want to know!
Drop your favorite (and least favorite) tropes in the comments—let’s discuss, debate, and celebrate the ones that keep us coming back for more. 💬📚🔥
💛 M