Happy Sunday Bibliofriends,

This week’s Six For Sunday continues our tropes theme and this time we’re discussing tropes we want to see more of. Any of my favourite tropes from my first Six For Sunday post this month I could read and read forever so I’ve tried to include a few of the less common tropes that I’d want to read more of here.

For those who don’t already know, Six for Sunday is weekly meme hosted by Steph over at A Little But A Lot. 

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Something where everyone dies at the end

I don’t think I’ve ever read a book where every single person dies at the end but maybe it could be fun different right?!

Anything with Water – seas, rivers, waterfalls, mermaids, pirates

Its not really a trope but anything with a water feature or where water is a major part of the world and I’m desperate to read it!

Coming Full Circle

Something which links right back to the very start whilst still containing the closure of the ending. I can’t quite explain how I see it in my head and I don’t just mean everything in the world going back to normal like it was at the beginning, but I’d love to see some reference which makes the beginning of the story relevant at the end.

Curve-ball Endings (done well)

Something where although I know this story has finished, the author has left the possibility wide open for another character or spin-off novel to take place within the world. Or a curve ball that comes so out of the blue that I’m shocked and left reeling by the end of it.

Enemies to Lovers / Forbidden Romances

We’ve covered this – I love this trope… more, more, more please!

Evil Triumphs

Sometimes, just sometimes I wish we’d see more of the villains winning in the story as opposed to the good side winning all of the time.

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Tell me your favourite tropes which you wish appeared more often? Do you ever consider writing your own novel just to feature an underrated trope? As always, leave me a comment to chat or drop me your Six for Sunday links below and I’d be happy to visit.

T xx

Happy Sunday Bibliofriends,

We’re continuing the trope theme this month in the #SixforSunday meme. For those who don’t already know, Six for Sunday is weekly meme hosted by Steph over at A Little But A Lot. 

This week seems a lot similar to last we in that we have gone from hated tropes to overdone tropes. I think the main reason for me hating tropes is because I feel like they’re repetitive and overdone so this week was a little difficult to not just repeat last week’s post! So here are some of my most hated, overdone tropes and the ones which really tipped me over the edge!

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Love Triangles

Unpopular opinion alert coming up: Katniss, Peeta and Gale are just one love triangle I really can’t fathom! Add to that mix Bella, Edward and Jacob as well as The Darkling, Alina and Mal… this is probably my biggest pet-peeve when it comes to tropes. I honestly can;t think off the top of my head of one love triangle I actually think was done well in literature apart from Buffy, Spike and Angel and that doesn’t really count!

Love at first sight

Can I add Bella and Edward in here again…? There’s a fair bit of Twilight bashing, sorry fans! So other than the classic Romeo and Juliet, insta-love just seems so predictive and grates on me how characters don’t get the chance to build up to those kind of feelings rather than have them rushed in by the author.

Ye Olde Worlde

So I really didn’t understand the world in the Red Queen series, it felt slightly medieval but then there was the dystopian kind of surveillance cameras and other bits dotted around that threw me off the scent a little as to what time period the book was placed in. I don’t always have to have a novel neatly fit into one time or another, however if there are mash-ups, time-hybrids or fictional liberties then I at least need these blatantly spelling out and woven into the world rather than me having to second-guess whilst trying to keep up with the characters and plot at the same time. Likewise with The Beholder…where did the radio transmitter come from?!

Copycats

I recently finished reading Shadow and Flame by Mindee Arnett which is the sequel to Onyx and Ivory; whilst I really enjoyed reading it and rated it 3.5 stars, part of me just couldn’t help get a sense of deja-vu when reading it. I won;t add any spoilers in here for anyone who may yet read the books, but it just felt like the plot was littered with little motifs or nods to things that have happened in other major book series out there (a darkened magically poisoned hand slowly killing its host remind you of anyone…?).

Happily Ever Afters

7 of the books I’ve read this year so far have had a happily ever after kind of feeling to them. Whilst I do enjoy a happy ending sometimes it seems far too good to be true. I hate to be on the pessimistic side but I like my endings with a tinge of sadness or sacrifice – think of Crooked Kingdom, Kingdom of Ash and Anna K – with sweeping epics and engrossing stories sometimes the Disney-fied “and they all lived happily ever after” just doesn’t cut it and match up to the storyline for me to believe in it enough.

A Blink And You Miss It Ending

Descendant of the Crane had such a massive build-up and whilst I really enjoyed reading it, the ending felt like the drop on a rollercoaster – one fell swoop and suddenly the novel stopped. I would much rather read seven books in a longer series and feel like everything has happened proportionately, than read over 300 pages of build up for a ten page ending.

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Which tropes do you feel need a massive overhaul? Which tropes do you love so much that you don’t care how often they’re overdone but you just have to read them? As always, leave me a comment to chat or drop me your Six for Sunday links below and I’d be happy to visit.

T xx

Happy Sunday Bibliofriends,

We’re continuing the trope theme this month in the #SixforSunday meme. I can’t decide whether it was easier to think of last week’s ‘tropes I love’ or this week’s ‘tropes I hate’. I think tropes are tricky territory for authors as some of them are extremely overdone, however get one and do it well and it can make for an amazing top-rated story.
For those who don’t already know, Six for Sunday is weekly meme hosted by Steph over at A Little But A Lot.

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Love Triangles

OMG the to-ing and fro-ing between different people, then my heart makes a case for each different person, and someone always seems to wind up disappointed… – I just find it annoying!

Love at first sight

I mean come on…call me a cynic, but really?!

Ye Olde Worlde

I think I’m done with the purely medieval settings – I need another element in there to make things exciting. What really annoys me is when I can’t actually work out what kind of historical period a novel is set in because it starts off medieval and then someone throws surveillance cameras or radio gadgets in there which just doesn’t fit together in my head!

Copycats

Sometimes it’s so obvious when a novel has copied elements or themes from other bigger novels/series and I hate it when they’re really obvious and stand out in the story.

Happily Ever Afters

Sometimes a little bit of heartache or sacrifice makes a plot line stronger or stick out in my mind. It can get quite boring when everything seems to work out all fine and dandy, especially when it takes about 500 pages to get there.

A Blink And You Miss It Ending

Just as above, I hate wading through about 500 pages of deep world-building, politics, character arcs and quest missions just to find out that the main part of the story or ending magical moment only lasts a few pages before the world is healed and evil is banished forever more.

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What are your pet hates when it comes to tropes? Which tropes do you think have been done to death and make you eye-roll at the words in front of you? As always, leave me a comment to chat or drop me your Six for Sunday links below and I’d be happy to visit.

T xx

Happy Sunday Bibliofriends,

We’re starting a new theme this month in the #SixforSunday meme. July is all about tropes! For those who don’t already know, Six for Sunday is weekly meme hosted by Steph over at A Little But A Lot.

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The Chosen One

From Harry Potter to Buffy the Vampire Slayer I’m such a fan of the ‘chosen one’ narrative. The idea that there is just one person whose destiny it is to try and stop the evil gets me really invested into a character.

The Powerful Artefact

Talismans, magical rings, powerful weapons, special maps, historical artefacts – I am an absolute sucker for motifs like this. It’s these little story knick-knacks which get my fantasy senses all a-tingling.

The ‘Here Comes the Cavalry’ Theme

When it seems like all hope is lost and evil is about to outnumber and triumph against the good – there’s that moment where all of a sudden, the cavalry arrives and turns back the tide against the forces of darkness. A bit like Gandalf at the Battle of Helm’s Deep and Doctor Strange in Avengers: Endgame – those moments of rallying the troops always seem to bring a little tear to my eye.

The Flawed-Hero/Villain (Anti-hero with a redemption arc)

Severus Snape is absolutely leading the way in this one and is one of my favourite characters in all of fiction. I know there has been a lot of debate about whether he is inherently a good guy or just someone that came out OK in the end but to me he is the ultimate flawed hero. I love any character whose motivations are unclear and you spend most of the series/novel considering whether they’re good or bad only to find out that they were really a good guy in the end.

Enemies to Lovers / Forbidden Romance

There’s just something angsty about this trope which, when it’s done well, has me hanging on every last word. This is sometimes where I start to delve into the realms of fanfiction ever so slightly (guilty pleasure!) but I much prefer this type of romance trope to any of the others out there, especially when the immediate soulmate type of romances are just so typical, predictable or cringe!

Cliffhangers

Is there any other way to end a book mid-series than with a jaw-dropping cliffhanger (I’m looking at you Holly Black in The Wicked King)?! I need that edge-of-my-seat thrill ride that leaves me hanging and craving the next instalment.

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What’s your favourite trope? If you’re loving some of the ones above then feel free to shout out some recs! Drop me your Six for Sunday links below and I’d be happy to visit!

Enjoy the last stretch of the weekend everyone.

T xx