1. Enemies to lovers (or even lovers to enemies to lovers). Some examples are Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion (zombie and human), Even Villains Fall in Love by Liana Brooks (villain and superhero), Sweet Sensations also by Brooks (former lovers become enemies and reconciled) featured in the free short story anthology Tales from the SFR Brigade (alongside my enemies to lovers story Imprint with a thief and a marshal), Breathe into Existence by CE Kilgore, and even my Keir starts off with one of the main characters threatening to kill the other. I think what I love best about this trope is the complete reversal of two very powerful emotions.
2. Opposites attract. To be honest, this is only a degree different to enemies to lovers. But again, it's love bridging that divide, not necessarily between good and evil. It can be between a cloned assassin with a certain disdain for humans and such weaknesses as love finding her soulmate in a human, or a completely alien species having a meeting of minds with someone.
3. Lovers divided. Okay, I think you can see I have a very certain preference. It might be something as small as the couples' own individual reasons for believing they can't be together, that the other person doesn't want them, to a full blown intergalactic war. It's that love conquers all despite the odds that appeals to me. As a mainly sci-fi romance author, the whole of time and space can separate my couples, along with a good smattering of aliens for good measure.
So, do you have some good examples of those to recommend to me?
3 comments:
I do like the enemies to friends to lovers trope. And the second chance trope. Well, let's put it this way, I love all romance tropes, because it means I'm reading or writing a romance.
I loved Even Villains Fall in Love, too!
The Vine Witch is a wonderful enemies-to-lovers book I read recently. It's the first in a series. I highly recommend this one!!!
Enemies to lovers and second chances are great ones for both conflict and deeper relationships. I wish we could cast a spell for enemies to lovers, or at least enemies to talking to each other, over the real world. So many lost chances between disparate groups.
My favorite enemies to lovers story of all time is Romeo and Juliet. Though they never thought of each other as enemies, their families and the outside world did. I suspect when intergalactic wars or prejudices are involved it is similar. It takes a special hero/heroine to cross that divide and see someone from the other side as having more to them than simply being "the enemy."
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