What Is a Trope, Exactly?
A trope is a familiar pattern readers recognize and look for. It isn’t the same thing as a cliché. Done well, a trope is a promise: if you see it on the back cover, you know the kind of ride you’re getting.
There are a few types of romance tropes, and I’ve used three groups here:
- Relationship tropes describe how the couple gets together.
- Character tropes describe who the leads are.
- Setup and world tropes describe the situation they’re stuck in.
Most romance novel tropes fit into one of those three buckets, and The Waning has several in each.
Relationship Tropes
- Instant attraction. Nia and Drake notice each other the moment she walks into the wrong meeting, and neither one looks away first.
- Slow burn. The spark is instant. The trust is not. They earn every touch. Forced Proximity and Slow Burn article.
- Forced proximity. When something is hunting you in the night, the man who offers to keep watch ends up very close. same article
- Fated mates. Some connections feel decided before two people ever meet. Past life memories and reincarnation are part of the mix, and I’ll say no more. See the Fated Mates and Past Life Romance article.
- Sworn off love. Drake gave up on love a very long time ago. Nia didn’t get the memo.
Character Tropes
- Antihero and morally grey. Drake does the right thing, but not always in a tidy way. [LINK: Morally Grey Vampire Hero article]
- Protective alpha hero. He’s big, commanding, and the type to stand guard all night. He also waits for a nod before he touches her.
- Sunny heroine, grumpy hero. Nia cracks jokes in the middle of a crisis. Drake barely cracks a smile.
- Broken characters with emotional scars. Both leads carry old wounds, and neither pretends otherwise.
- A heroine on her own. Nia lost her mother at twelve, and her father is hard to lean on.
Setup and World Tropes
- A supernatural world hidden in plain sight. There’s a whole community tucked into the Maine woods, and most people drive right past it. See more at my Romanian Folklore and Hidden World article.
- Hidden identity. Nobody in this book is exactly who they say they are.
- Dark secrets. Layers of them, in families, in friendships, and in the past.
- A supernatural stalker. Something is feeding on Nia at night. It has red eyes, and it seems to know her.
- Found family. Some families are born. Some are chosen over centuries.
- Mentor and student. Nia has to learn fast, and there are people willing to teach her.
- Faith crisis and spiritual awakening. Raised in church, Nia has a lot of questions, and she’s done asking permission to ask them.
- Memory loss. Nia loses time, and she can’t always account for the gaps.
Find Your Favorite
If your favorite trope is on this list, you’ll probably like The Waning. If three or four are, I’d say you’re my kind of reader.
The hot vampire romance books page has a more complete description, and newsletter signup is where I share release news and first looks.