As someone on the Ace spectrum, the "found family" trope is probably the #1 in my own personal god tier. I was introduced to it about 23 years ago in Tamora Pierce's "Circle of Magic" series, and she just did the trope SO WELL that it's stuck with me all these years. I also do, admittedly, love the "enemies to lovers" trope, but particularly when it's done in a well-written bittersweet way. On the flipside, I REALLY dislike "instalove" and "fall in love in one day", but again, I'm some version of Ace, so I can't relate to it at all.
I present to you: Frenemies to lovers. These two people in a friendgroup who always bicker and of course they would NEVER be friends if it weren't for that other friend. But then they start hanging out together and going on Solo Missions... (Yes I'm just talking about the raven cycle)
Agree on Zoya in S&B! Haven’t seen many people talking about her, but she’s one of my favorite characters. I hope she becomes more popular as the show progresses 👀
I love what you said about enemies to lovers. I just feel like people are not enemies if they just don't like each other. They have to HATE each other, or even want to kill the other, that is an enemy. And I guess that's hard to do in contemporary fiction, and it feels impossible in in romances, especially romantic comedies. In Fantasy on the other hand, oh my god, it's my favourite, it can be so incredibly well done.
I LOOOVE the samll town troupe!!! it's just so wholesome how everyone is always involved in everyone else's lives and ahh I love it! (kinda surprised no one put it in lol)
LOVERS TO ENEMIES IS THE GOAT OF UNDERRATED TROPES, THANK YOU ! Seriously, thank you so much for hyping it up, it's so so so deserved. Especially in fantasy, I feel, because the setting so often facilitate that kind of rift between characters (being on two opposite factions, killing someone the other cared about, etc.)
I think the whole using each other's last name bit comes from either foreign media or decades past. Because, in certain foreign countries, it's rude to refer to people by their first name unless you're really personally familiar and close with each other. But, in the USA, you have kinda the opposite problem-where it's almost rude to de-personalize and refer to someone by their last name, unless you're in a professional Mr/Mrs/Ms type situation; but this was also something which was often done in places like the military or in school(at least in fiction), where you might have multiple people with the same first name, so you have to differentiate who you're speaking to or about so you call them by their last name to avoid confusion. And, somehow, it just trickled its way into romance-especially in situations where love-interests either work in some kind of a professional/team type situation and or in situations where the love-interests are at least one-sidedly kind of antagonistic toward each at the start. I think it entirely depends, for me, so I judge it on a case-by-case basis really-I've seen it work really well in a context where it actually makes sense, but I've also seen it done very juvenile and/or force and be really awkward and not really work for me at all too. Lol
Found family is one of my absolute favorite gripes but the other wasn’t in here - I LOVE when someone is taking care of someone else (usually when they’re sick). It’s just so sweet to me.
I used to work in a small office with about 30 people including some people out in the field. At one point we had 6 guys named James. Some used nicknames like Jim or Jimmy, but overall we called them by their last names. Only a handful of us were women and we all went by our first names.
I LOVE enemies to lovers in fantasy and scifi and it can be fun sometimes in YA contemporaries, but for some reason romance authors don't seem to understand it most of the time. I just think it's hard to make the enemy relationship work when you're in a setting where pulling a knife on someone isn't a valid and regular form of self-defense 😅
As a bisexual woman I fully support the mommy energy trope ; ) Zetian from Iron Widow and Rin are absolutely mommy, I am obsessed with both of them and I would do anything they want.
hey, Epithet Erased features quite a few things that are in the god tier one... There's only one book out rn, which is the third chronologically [it's a sequel to a show, mainly episodes 1-4], and the show is currently being written as 2 separate books [1-4 and 5-7] along with a sequel to episodes 5-7 and another book where all the characters are major characters. There might be more, I dunno. [Only 5 books are guaranteed, with there being a chance of 9 books.] Found Family is a pretty major one in episodes 1-4. 12-year-old Molly-Wolly-Doodle-All-The-Day Blyndeff [Yes, that's her canon full name.] gets trapped in a museum, eventually joining a group of criminals in Episode 2. Molly [unofficially] joins Giovanni Potage's Banzai Blaster team, gaining the minion name Bear Trap! I've seen Giovanni be called "Soup Dad" by some fans. In Epithet Erased: Prison of Plastic [the only book out currently], there's a lot less, most of it is in the last chapter... Molly and Lorelai are sisters, but Lorelai neglects a bunch of stuff [including Molly] and tbh I thought her epithet [power] was ARGUMENT when I first saw her... makes sense- /hj Molly's dad is literally the worst character, NO ONE in the fandom likes him, im not exaggerating. He neglects Molly [and Lorelai, but Molly is slightly worse tbh...] and LEFT HER AT THE MUSEUM... Molly did find Giovanni tho, Giovanni's probably gonna be promoted from "Boss" to "Dad" in the next books /j I WANT MARTIN BLYNDEFF DEAD. I HATE HIM. AND LORELAI, I'M PRETTY SURE YOUR MAN [Giovanni, Lorelai has a crush on him...] WANTS A MAN. Anyway, Epithet Erased my beloved.
Love this! What a great idea for book recommendations, because even if you don't personally like the trope you can still give book recs that contain it, for those who do, or talk about ones you think were done well or poorly. For generational trauma but an Indigenous Canadian author, The Strangers by Katherena Vermette.
Wow, you and I have almost the exact same taste in romance tropes! I strongly dislike enemies to lovers, instalove, and one bed, but I love second chance, friends to lovers, and fake dating! I do love boarding schools and treasure hunt/scavenger, hunts too though. A couple of my other favorites are coming of age and travel/road trip.
I still think enemies to lovers is top tier. The issue isn't the trope itself; it's that it's rarely done well and requires a lot of talent to execute. It got really popular and a lot of authors aren't understanding how to make it work, tbh. Found family is always so good. I'm liking second chance romance more too lately. I think second chance romance is another one that is hard to execute well too. Great video ❤
Please recommend me some of your personal favourite enemies to lovers books. It's my favourite trope but I've rarely found a few books that do it the way it's supposed to be done.
I love enemies to lovers, them arguing at the start is rivals to lovers. It's not enemies, theyre rivals. I dont like rivals to lovers. I adore enemies to lovers, where theyre trying to kill each other and absolutely despise each other.
I put enemies to lovers in overdone too. But I didn't do it for contemporary reads. I put it there because it is overdone and it is rarely done well. Usually the development necessary and all the steps needed to get to that stage where it is a well-done romance doesn't happen. To get to the romance they rush and skip over so many important milestones, and ends up creating a weaker relationship that I find unbelievable. So yeah, enemies to lovers is actually something I'm starting to dislike.
Oh now I wanna do this as well 😅 is there a way to link this ranking thing or am I gonna end up procrastinating by writing it all out myself Btw, I also truly love 'Lovers to Friends' And honestly what also I want is a true love triangle rather than a love angle, you know?
not me (female)remembering 16 years later how all the 7-8th grade guys would refer to me by my last name just for fun. i dont have a hard name, it was just a thing. we called some of the guys and another girl by their last names too and i genuinely couldn't tell you a reason 🤷
Wheh, I am currently reading Funny You Should Ask…and am learning I really don’t care for the celebrity romance trope. It’s just not doing anything for me and I’m pretty bored. Might DNF 😬😬😬
i love you and your channel but g2a is a grey market game key seller and it's not ethical to promote them. in g2a's case, they're a market that allows people to buy low and sell high, often with stolen credit cards. g2a's site hurts developers because they see no returns due to them buying in bulk from other distributors. another example is when people see a g2a ad for games like say stardew valley. if people click a g2a ad for stardew valley, only g2a gets that revenue. devs working on stardew valley see none of that money. g2a frequently takes out sponsored ads so that when people search for games, g2a's link is the first to show up above official links that support devs. this ultimately crushes indie studios which is why grey market sites for game keys are so problematic. i'm not trying to roast you by the way. i just wanted to educate and warn you and others how harmful this is.
As someone on the Ace spectrum, the "found family" trope is probably the #1 in my own personal god tier. I was introduced to it about 23 years ago in Tamora Pierce's "Circle of Magic" series, and she just did the trope SO WELL that it's stuck with me all these years. I also do, admittedly, love the "enemies to lovers" trope, but particularly when it's done in a well-written bittersweet way. On the flipside, I REALLY dislike "instalove" and "fall in love in one day", but again, I'm some version of Ace, so I can't relate to it at all.
More generational novels that are REALLY good - Homegoing, The Mountains Sing, How We Disappeared, The Lowland (not exactly but kinda).
I present to you: Frenemies to lovers.
These two people in a friendgroup who always bicker and of course they would NEVER be friends if it weren't for that other friend. But then they start hanging out together and going on Solo Missions...
(Yes I'm just talking about the raven cycle)
Agree on Zoya in S&B! Haven’t seen many people talking about her, but she’s one of my favorite characters. I hope she becomes more popular as the show progresses 👀
Ooo I love how you gave recs with the tropes too!
I love what you said about enemies to lovers. I just feel like people are not enemies if they just don't like each other. They have to HATE each other, or even want to kill the other, that is an enemy. And I guess that's hard to do in contemporary fiction, and it feels impossible in in romances, especially romantic comedies. In Fantasy on the other hand, oh my god, it's my favourite, it can be so incredibly well done.
Found family will always be my favourite trope and I love how well Becky Chambers does it in her series!
I LOOOVE the samll town troupe!!! it's just so wholesome how everyone is always involved in everyone else's lives and ahh I love it! (kinda surprised no one put it in lol)
LOVERS TO ENEMIES IS THE GOAT OF UNDERRATED TROPES, THANK YOU ! Seriously, thank you so much for hyping it up, it's so so so deserved. Especially in fantasy, I feel, because the setting so often facilitate that kind of rift between characters (being on two opposite factions, killing someone the other cared about, etc.)
I think the whole using each other's last name bit comes from either foreign media or decades past. Because, in certain foreign countries, it's rude to refer to people by their first name unless you're really personally familiar and close with each other. But, in the USA, you have kinda the opposite problem-where it's almost rude to de-personalize and refer to someone by their last name, unless you're in a professional Mr/Mrs/Ms type situation; but this was also something which was often done in places like the military or in school(at least in fiction), where you might have multiple people with the same first name, so you have to differentiate who you're speaking to or about so you call them by their last name to avoid confusion. And, somehow, it just trickled its way into romance-especially in situations where love-interests either work in some kind of a professional/team type situation and or in situations where the love-interests are at least one-sidedly kind of antagonistic toward each at the start.
I think it entirely depends, for me, so I judge it on a case-by-case basis really-I've seen it work really well in a context where it actually makes sense, but I've also seen it done very juvenile and/or force and be really awkward and not really work for me at all too. Lol
Getting to watch Jananie’s videos before I go to sleep has become a well-loved past time of mine. You’re stunning as always, Jananie 🤩
Just wanted to say you have the most gorgeous hair ever!
Found family is one of my absolute favorite gripes but the other wasn’t in here - I LOVE when someone is taking care of someone else (usually when they’re sick). It’s just so sweet to me.
i never thought i'd live to see the day jananie says "yes mommy, i will do anything you say" 😂❤
I used to work in a small office with about 30 people including some people out in the field. At one point we had 6 guys named James. Some used nicknames like Jim or Jimmy, but overall we called them by their last names. Only a handful of us were women and we all went by our first names.
I love second chance romances too! Can you do a seperate video recommending different genre with second chance romance
I LOVE enemies to lovers in fantasy and scifi and it can be fun sometimes in YA contemporaries, but for some reason romance authors don't seem to understand it most of the time. I just think it's hard to make the enemy relationship work when you're in a setting where pulling a knife on someone isn't a valid and regular form of self-defense 😅
As a bisexual woman I fully support the mommy energy trope ; )
Zetian from Iron Widow and Rin are absolutely mommy, I am obsessed with both of them and I would do anything they want.
Can someone recommend some books with the antagonist turned ally trope?
hey, Epithet Erased features quite a few things that are in the god tier one...
There's only one book out rn, which is the third chronologically [it's a sequel to a show, mainly episodes 1-4], and the show is currently being written as 2 separate books [1-4 and 5-7] along with a sequel to episodes 5-7 and another book where all the characters are major characters. There might be more, I dunno. [Only 5 books are guaranteed, with there being a chance of 9 books.]
Found Family is a pretty major one in episodes 1-4. 12-year-old Molly-Wolly-Doodle-All-The-Day Blyndeff [Yes, that's her canon full name.] gets trapped in a museum, eventually joining a group of criminals in Episode 2. Molly [unofficially] joins Giovanni Potage's Banzai Blaster team, gaining the minion name Bear Trap! I've seen Giovanni be called "Soup Dad" by some fans. In Epithet Erased: Prison of Plastic [the only book out currently], there's a lot less, most of it is in the last chapter...
Molly and Lorelai are sisters, but Lorelai neglects a bunch of stuff [including Molly] and tbh I thought her epithet [power] was ARGUMENT when I first saw her... makes sense- /hj
Molly's dad is literally the worst character, NO ONE in the fandom likes him, im not exaggerating. He neglects Molly [and Lorelai, but Molly is slightly worse tbh...] and LEFT HER AT THE MUSEUM... Molly did find Giovanni tho, Giovanni's probably gonna be promoted from "Boss" to "Dad" in the next books /j
I WANT MARTIN BLYNDEFF DEAD. I HATE HIM. AND LORELAI, I'M PRETTY SURE YOUR MAN [Giovanni, Lorelai has a crush on him...] WANTS A MAN.
Anyway, Epithet Erased my beloved.
Your hair is gorgeous! 💜💜
Love this! What a great idea for book recommendations, because even if you don't personally like the trope you can still give book recs that contain it, for those who do, or talk about ones you think were done well or poorly.
For generational trauma but an Indigenous Canadian author, The Strangers by Katherena Vermette.
Wow I didn’t realize there were so many tropes! My favorite is the competition one.
Thank you for the amazing content lately, you’ve been popping off😍👏🏻
Wow, you and I have almost the exact same taste in romance tropes! I strongly dislike enemies to lovers, instalove, and one bed, but I love second chance, friends to lovers, and fake dating!
I do love boarding schools and treasure hunt/scavenger, hunts too though. A couple of my other favorites are coming of age and travel/road trip.
I still think enemies to lovers is top tier. The issue isn't the trope itself; it's that it's rarely done well and requires a lot of talent to execute. It got really popular and a lot of authors aren't understanding how to make it work, tbh. Found family is always so good. I'm liking second chance romance more too lately. I think second chance romance is another one that is hard to execute well too. Great video ❤
Please recommend me some of your personal favourite enemies to lovers books. It's my favourite trope but I've rarely found a few books that do it the way it's supposed to be done.
Too real
A generational sister book with a curse 'Fortunes of Jaded Women' was super fun. Highly recommend
Oooh have you read Fireborne by Rosaria Munda? It's a YA fantasy that you might love for the friends to enemies dynamic!
You always have such great video ideas 🙌🏻
Im currently reading Little Fires Everywhere :)
I love enemies to lovers, them arguing at the start is rivals to lovers. It's not enemies, theyre rivals. I dont like rivals to lovers. I adore enemies to lovers, where theyre trying to kill each other and absolutely despise each other.
What about return to hometown? Is that a trope. If so, I love it
Thank you for this! I love a good tier ranking 👏🏽
A good Multi generational book is The Many Daughters of Afong Moy. It was beautiful and heartbreaking. Definitely worth a read
another one for fake dating I didn’t know I’d love as much was ‘Honey & Spice’ aaahhhhh
I agree about the celebrity romance thing buuut have you seen Notting Hill?
I put enemies to lovers in overdone too. But I didn't do it for contemporary reads. I put it there because it is overdone and it is rarely done well. Usually the development necessary and all the steps needed to get to that stage where it is a well-done romance doesn't happen. To get to the romance they rush and skip over so many important milestones, and ends up creating a weaker relationship that I find unbelievable. So yeah, enemies to lovers is actually something I'm starting to dislike.
Oh now I wanna do this as well 😅 is there a way to link this ranking thing or am I gonna end up procrastinating by writing it all out myself
Btw, I also truly love 'Lovers to Friends'
And honestly what also I want is a true love triangle rather than a love angle, you know?
not me (female)remembering 16 years later how all the 7-8th grade guys would refer to me by my last name just for fun. i dont have a hard name, it was just a thing. we called some of the guys and another girl by their last names too and i genuinely couldn't tell you a reason 🤷
You Had Me at Hola is a good celeb/celeb romance.
Wheh, I am currently reading Funny You Should Ask…and am learning I really don’t care for the celebrity romance trope. It’s just not doing anything for me and I’m pretty bored. Might DNF 😬😬😬
💜💜
i love you and your channel but g2a is a grey market game key seller and it's not ethical to promote them. in g2a's case, they're a market that allows people to buy low and sell high, often with stolen credit cards. g2a's site hurts developers because they see no returns due to them buying in bulk from other distributors. another example is when people see a g2a ad for games like say stardew valley. if people click a g2a ad for stardew valley, only g2a gets that revenue. devs working on stardew valley see none of that money. g2a frequently takes out sponsored ads so that when people search for games, g2a's link is the first to show up above official links that support devs. this ultimately crushes indie studios which is why grey market sites for game keys are so problematic. i'm not trying to roast you by the way. i just wanted to educate and warn you and others how harmful this is.