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S2:E3.5 - Bonus: Romance Trope Recommendations
35 Plays2 months ago
In this special bonus episode, we’re pouring our hearts out with romance recommendations galore! Each pick comes with a list of classic tropes guaranteed to make you swoon, giggle, or even shed a happy tear. Whether you’re into enemies-to-lovers, fake dating, or second-chance sparks, we’ve got something to sweeten your TBR pile.
Books & Adaptations Mentioned:
- Viciously Yours by Jamie Applegate Hunter
- True Beauty by Yaongyi
- Unbreak My Heart by Nicole Jacquelyn
- Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen
- Sense and Sensibility Movie
- Lore Olympus by Rachel Smythe
- Rabid by Ivy Asher and Raven Kennedy
- Stroke the Flame by Elizabeth Briggs
- The Wolf King by Lauren Palphreyman
- Ghost Wife by Sejung
- Grip by Kennedy Ryan
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Thanks for listening to Based on a Book - see you in the next chapter!
Chapters:
(00:00) Introductions
(01:37) Crystal starts off our recs with one of our unhinged buddy reads!
(04:28) Friends to Lovers vs. Enemies to Lovers
(07:26) Tension over spice
(10:50) Keri said what?!
(13:00) Crystal is knee-deep in what?!
(18:25) Forced Proximity & Enemies to Lovers
Recommended
Transcript
Tropes Challenge Introduction
00:00:07
Speaker
Welcome to Based on a Book's bonus episode. If you caught the end of our Hating Game episode, we were challenging ourselves by giving romance books or movie recs by only describing it by tropes.
Understanding Tropes in Romance Genres
00:00:22
Speaker
For example, if I were to recommend the Hating Game, I would try to convince other people to read it by saying it has hate to love, secret pining, forced proximity, workplace romance, caretaking, and one-bedroom.
00:00:35
Speaker
Genres tend to be described in tropes by, I see it in a lot of the romance genre, whether it's categorizing the sub-genre or even spice levels or types of spice in a romance book if you go in that direction.
Tropes-Based Recommendations
00:00:48
Speaker
So as someone who never reads a synopsis and can read a book based on only the tropes, someone tells me I love these types of challenges.
00:00:59
Speaker
e So I want each of us to kind of go through and kind of say the rest of our recs because it was really hard to just pick one for our Hating game episode because we had a ton of them and that episode was super long. We apparently as long as the entire Hating game movie.
00:01:21
Speaker
We tend to have a lot to say. Yeah, we had a lot to say in that one. So we kind of just wanted to continue our recommendations because we had so much more and just recommend them based on the tropes.
Crystal's 'Viciously Yours' Review
00:01:35
Speaker
So Crystal, you want to start us off? Okay, I'm going to do the one that the three of us read together as a buddy read long before the podcast.
00:01:49
Speaker
Never forget. It was one of our, I think it was our first ever buddy read, wasn't it? I think it might've been. I think so. Or at least really close to one of our first. Yeah. Like officially on Storygraph buddy read. Yeah. Cause that's a really awesome feature that the Storygraph has. It's called Viciously Yours by Jamie Applegate Hunter, who is all over social media and she's hilarious. So you should follow her on Blue Sky, TikTok, Insta, all those But the tropes for viciously yours are fated mates, touch her and die, pen pals, orphan, inexperienced female main character, morally black, teach me, and other woman, other man,
00:02:38
Speaker
There's definitely a lot more, but these are like the main ones.
Tension vs. Explicitness in Romance
00:02:43
Speaker
And it's um definitely spacey. Definitely spacey. Oh yeah. ah I mean, if we went in the direction of like,
00:02:52
Speaker
Because there's they're saying the tropes of like a romance book, like the sub-dramas, and then you could go in the direction of doing like the spicy tropes, like quote, spicy tropes. Yeah. The different spice things going on in there. I mean, if you went in that direction, we could be here for days. There's not much of a plot to that book. And and and the author will admit it fully. The author says it. Yeah, she's like, I was not trying to write like but like like some sort of crazy literary masterpiece here. I was writing a spicy book and it's it's short, it's bingeable, it's easy, it's a one-off. there It is technically a series, but each one is standalone and it's really fricking good. And she summarizes the, instead of building the world in the book, she gives you a summary of how the world works in the beginning and it's pretty great and really fun. So I liked that one. Lindsey, you wanna go next?
Webtoon Recommendations
00:03:50
Speaker
All right. Everybody's going to come for me. I already know. But chose another webtoon comic. This one is called True Beauty. Yep. It was actually turned into a TV show in Korea. I think I've never seen it, but I enjoyed the comic. Its tropes are friends to lovers, love triangle, second chance and grump in sunshine.
00:04:20
Speaker
I love me some grump and sunshine. I was gonna say your last two ones were like grump and sunshine. You like that one. I do. I love me some enemies to lovers. I love me some grump and sunshine. Do you guys like friends to lovers or enemies
Debate: Enemies to Lovers vs. Friends to Lovers
00:04:36
Speaker
to lovers? Like if you had to pick. Enemies to lovers in every second time. Totally. Yeah, I totally agree. I feel that about insta love like i'm not a big insta love fan whatsoever and like i would i'd give me like a good like angsty romance all day long over like some insta love stuff and i'm always wanting like a friends to lover or enemies to lovers over friends to lovers absolutely unless you know we could get
00:05:10
Speaker
We could
Controversial Romance Tropes
00:05:11
Speaker
shake it up a little bit. We could do friends to enemies to lovers, like a child with friends. Then we yeah went to enemies to lovers. who I like that dynamic as well. So mine. I'm back with the spicy romances. Mine are spicy romances. Like, let's be honest. OK, so this is Unbreak My Heart by Nicole Jacqueline, I think her last name is. This one's a little controversial to some. This is love after loss, unrequited love, dislike to love, groveling hero, and best friend's husband.
Jane Austen's Classic Romance Discussion
00:06:02
Speaker
oh oh And I won't say just trust me,
00:06:08
Speaker
don't come for me but trust me and that's all i'm gonna say okay have i steered you wrong have i steered you wrong probably but just trust me i think back to uglies
00:06:29
Speaker
Okay, so my next one is actually one of my all-time favorite movies as well as books, but I like the movie better. It's Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen. The tropes are friends to lovers, love at first sight, age gap romance, second chance love, broken engagement, clingy, jealous girlfriend, secret engagement, damsel in distress,
00:06:59
Speaker
Gold Digger, Forced Proximity, and Grump in Sunshine. That's a good one. It is a good one. The movie, the screenplay, was written by Emma Thompson, who's like probably my all-time favorite human being in the whole entire wide world ever. and Besides Mandy Patinka. Yeah. Okay, that's fair. But it's definitely definitely a great read and a great watch.
00:07:25
Speaker
No spice. Zero spice. Yeah. Just longing looks and maybe some hand touching. I think at one point you see an ankle. Yeah. It is Jane Austen, folks. It's Jane Austen. I mean, when I see like the pride and prejudice, like, you know, the hand touch for like a second when he helps her into the carriage, you're just like, oh my God. It's c zero spice, but it's hot. Yeah. Like that's what I'm talking about. Like,
00:07:53
Speaker
the tension.
Lore Olympus & Rabid Recommendations
00:07:54
Speaker
There was like a point where like we all like really loved like the spicy romance books like when it was like first coming out but now it's like all about the tension like the tension is everything the tension the angst like and when you write the tension and like these like longing looks like these moments like going back to the hating game and just like they're not even kissing They're just like having this like proximity towards each other. It's like, yeah that's that feels spicier than them actually having sex. It's just so good. It's so good. I love it. Lindsey, you're up. Lindsey, you go. So my next one is another webtoon. Again, don't come for me.
00:08:48
Speaker
i
00:08:52
Speaker
Lore Olympus. Love that one. By Rachel Smythe. I think it's Smythe. It is Opposites Attract, Age Gap, Bad Boy, Forbidden Love, Who Hurt You. I think they're actually I haven't finished it. I'm sorry. I think there's another woman involved in there, too. Oh, it's good. Yeah. but It's a modern retelling of the taking of Persephone, if that. Oh, I need to read that one. Yeah, I'll check it out. It's good. It's also like published, too. So yes, ah it's it's finished. It's they or she completed it last year and they she had it like published. And it's not just on the Webtoon comic. You can actually go buy it.
Monster Romance Genres
00:09:43
Speaker
Mm hmm. Yeah, I like that one. That one's really good.
00:09:48
Speaker
Okay, so I have Rabid by Ivy Asher and Raven Kennedy. So this is a paranormal romance, specifically Wolfshifters.
00:10:02
Speaker
Enemies to lovers. I love me a shift of romance, sorry. Rejected mates. Oh, I love rejected mates so much. Rejected mates is my jam. Like if anyone that has rejected mates recommendations out there, please send them to me. I'm begging you. I love rejected mates romance books.
00:10:28
Speaker
has groveling. We love a grovel and an excellent grovel. A really, really good grovel. Other woman drama and a ah scarred female main character. yeah There's also a ah spicy trope that I was going to say, but I might keep it to myself.
00:10:58
Speaker
Oh, you have to see it.
Dragon Shifter Romance
00:11:01
Speaker
There's also, this is a paranormal wolf shifter. There's also nodding. I mean, it's a wolf shifter. So okay. Okay. Okay. Moving on.
00:11:19
Speaker
Oh, Lord. Okay. Okay. All right. I'm good. I'm good. Well, Crystal's face was shook. The silence, the silence. I mean, this goes back into like the, the like. The Bigfoot conversation. The Bigfoot conversation. That's exactly what I was thinking. Like, you know, we gotta know like, is, I'm just gonna say, is Bigfoot dick like the same as like guerilla dick or like man dick? Like,
00:11:56
Speaker
I mean like inquiring minds. So if there's somebody out there writing the Bigfoot romance, I like. Somebody has to be. We need the monster romance authors to come forward. Please, if you know, inquiring minds.
Binge-Reading Spicy Romances
00:12:12
Speaker
So my next wreck is ah you guys are going to actually laugh at this one. I just feel like nodding. That's like my last stroke. Like, OK.
00:12:26
Speaker
Yeah, there you go. Like Carrie, wrap it up. And moving on.
00:12:33
Speaker
Lord. Okay, okay so my my last one that I have written down is Stroke the Flame. It's volume one in her elemental dragons series by Elizabeth Briggs. It's a dragon shifter romance with reverse harem.
00:12:51
Speaker
fated mates, fighting fate, forced proximity, chosen one slash prophecy, and a strong female heroine.
00:13:05
Speaker
It was really good. I'd like to spend through those. I remember that. I remember whenever you were playing those. Because I was like, you guys, I am knee deep in Dragon Dick. What's going on here? Was that the one that you got? I think you got that for Stuff Your Kindle Day or something. Yeah, I got the first one for one of the Stuff Your Kindle Days. And I was like, I'll read the first one. It'll be fine. And then like purchase, purchase, purchase, purchase, like. Yeah. was Blew through them all in like a week and a half. It was. It just kind of kept my brain going. It was hilarious in moments and just super, super spicy, super spicy. Like it's a five on the spice, five alarm chili spice.
00:13:54
Speaker
Five on the It was probably like the first super spicy book I'd read in a long time because I just really hadn't like this was before we even started doing buddy reads is when I read this one. Yeah, we were actually gonna read it together. We were gonna read it together. here here did like it for a It was like I'm good. Yeah, I remember reading I think I read like the first I want to say like 10% in and I was like, I've been here before I've done this. No, it's super true. Yeah, it is it's super trope heavy. It is very predictable through the whole thing.
00:14:37
Speaker
But it was just it had been so long since I had really read yeah like binged read a book and Totally super bingeable. It was super easy. There was nothing
Anticipation for 'Wolf King' Sequel
00:14:48
Speaker
about it. That was like super like You know high literature, you know But it was also just really enjoyable. Mm-hmm Yeah, sometimes when I take like a long break From like the super spicy reads and I come back to them I love them so much more. Yeah, absolutely. And and I was like, oh, I miss like reading these. And then I'll read another one. And I'm like, no. Yup. Yup. Sometimes it's just much. But sometimes it's like, that's all I want is a super spicy book. Yeah. i I use them as like, quote, palette cleansers. And we have that another. What did we we read it as a group that like,
00:15:35
Speaker
What was it? Yeah, Wolf King. And the second one is about to come out. yeah um And that one I'm really excited for. That has like a love triangle trope in it. A love triangle trope.
00:15:50
Speaker
I you kind of like, I wouldn't say fated mates, but like mated for life kind of situation. Yeah. There's definitely um theres some sort of mate situation happening there. I don't know. We don't know exactly what's going on. Old shifters. Yeah. But like, there's some sort of prophecy. There's magic. There's yeah chosen one. ti ba it's Yeah. So I'm, I'm, I'm excited to see how that second one, when that comes out.
00:16:18
Speaker
Yeah. Lizzie, did you have another rec that before I continue to walk all over this podcast? My last one's really short. It's pretty self explanatory. It's called Ghost Wife. It's another webtoon. And it is protective hero, paranormal, ghosts and demons and creepy crawly things and it's really good. and short it's It's a lot shorter than like True your Beauty and Laura Olympus, much much shorter, fewer episodes. Yeah. Interesting. I have another
00:17:00
Speaker
one, but it's actually a two and a half book series.
Series Recommendations: Best Friend's Sister Tropes
00:17:05
Speaker
I would say it's two books in like a prequel novella. It's called the grip series by Kennedy Ryan. Uh, so first book is flow or first like prequels flow. The first book in the series technically is grip on the second book is still, so this is best friend sister.
00:17:30
Speaker
mutual pining so it's like an epic love story like one couple series over the all books second chance romance jealousy force proximity also like kind of workplace or it's like rapper manager x drama and swoon worthy hero o It's one of my favorite series and swoon worthy heroes and understatement. Like one of the most swoon worthy heroes I've ever read. Like the man writes poetry. Oh, good poetry. The most amazing words ever. Okay. Okay. Just saying.
00:18:24
Speaker
I feel like we all three of us apparently really love forced proximity or it's just basically in everything. Yeah, I kind of feel like it's- It's in everything. Basically in everything. like if You can kind of like bring that into every book, kind of. I'm not mad about it. No, I'm not mad at it. I mean, how else are we going to force these two people to be together and around each other? Right, love each other, damn it, now kiss.
Controversy in Romance: Miscommunication and Conflict
00:18:51
Speaker
You also see it often with enemies to lovers. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Like how else are we going to argue? Right. And like hate each other. We need this fight. And then fall in love. Pretty much. Exactly. Like that's why like I'm someone like, do you guys like a miscommunication trope or like a misunderstanding? It depends. I'll take miscommunication because you just failed at communicating. No, yeah that's just too juvenile for me. Yeah, definitely. i I like go back and forth on it. It's like, or like when people really hate like a third act conflict, it's like,
00:19:35
Speaker
I get why people don't like a third act conflict but it's like also I'm here to like for the drama like I'm not here to like just like have a great time the whole time like then I would be bored you know that's fair that's fair like I want drama like just I guess I want to be a little surprised by
Importance of Conflict in Romance
00:19:54
Speaker
it. Like any third act breakups I need for there to be, ah I need there to be a little bit of a twist on it. yeah Like if it's just like, we got in enough fight and we broke up. Okay. Well, saw that coming. But it was like, grandma showed up and pulled the inheritance unless we break up and now we've got to figure out how we're going to work. Whatever. like Not grandma. I don't know.
00:20:17
Speaker
Grandma, you traitor. The the evil matriarch. Actually, I think that actually did happen in the Thornbirds. Yeah, that did happen in the Thornbirds. Sorry. Yeah. I i always like go back and forth with like miscommunication trope or like misunderstanding because it's like, I want the drama though. like The drama is what entertains me. Absolutely. like like Honestly, I'm the type of person which is probably like controversial. like A lot of people don't like this, but I'm the person that like wants there to be things that frustrate me in this romance book and like conflict and back and forth and stuff because I think that brings like passion in the romance book and that brings passion me as a reader into this relationship as well and
00:21:08
Speaker
It helps you get invested. yeah Yeah. Yeah. When I'm, I get invested when I'm angry sometimes. Same. That's just what happens. I feel that deeply. Yeah. So that's it for our recommendations. So thank you everyone for joining us.
Closing Remarks and Listener Engagement
00:21:24
Speaker
I hope we added something to your never ending TBRs or maybe convince you to pick up something that you usually want to gravitate towards.
00:21:33
Speaker
So all the links to the podcast platforms will be available in the descriptions. Also, all the links that are recommendations that we just said will also be available in the descriptions. Don't forget to check us out on Blue Sky, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok. We love having conversations with everyone on social media and leave us some romance recommendations if you have them.
00:21:58
Speaker
Also, don't forget to check out our link in the description for adaptation submissions. We look through them and add them to our spreadsheet for the podcast. Who knows, you might see us covering them in future episodes. So thanks for listening and we will catch you in the next chapter of Based on a Book. Bye. Bye.