Pango Romance Tropes Glossary

Published by Kaitlin Stevens, Updated Jan. 28, 2025

Whether you’re new to the world of Romancelandia or you’re a seasoned romance reader, you probably have a favorite trope, whether you realize it or not. Sometimes authors know what they’re doing, writing their favorite tropes, and sometimes a story just happens to fit into one coincidentally. Stories about best friends falling in love, or someone moving back to their hometown and realizing the one that got away is still around, or dark fantasy books that take two enemies and force them into close quarters where they start to see a different side of each other are all utilizing tropes, sometimes even more than one. 

Once you know which tropes make you tick, you can easily look for more books that use them to find your next steamy read. And if you’re a seller, using a trope as a hashtag is a great way to market one of your books for sale, too! But if you’re confused about what each trope means, this romance trope glossary is here to help.

Enemies-to-lovers romance books

It's a highly divisive trope, enemies-to-lovers. Few are indifferent, which is ironic because love and hate are closer to each other than love and indifference are. Both are strong feelings, which makes this trope work so well. Sometimes the MCs are enemies for good reason, like decades long family animosity, and sometimes it’s sillier, like someone took the last croissant one day at your favorite bakery and you’ve decided to hold a year-long grudge. But being sworn enemies can be sexy, especially since there’s such an unexpected factor in the attraction, and that makes for an addictive romance trope.

Our staff favorites:

• You, Again by Kate Goldbeck
• So We Meet Again by Suzanne Park
• Honey and Spice by Bolu Babalola
• The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren

Friends-to-lovers romance books

A classic for a reason, friends-to-lovers is just what it sounds like - friends becoming something more. A wide-ranging trope, this kind of pairing can occur in a book where lifelong best friends realize they have feelings for each other, or one has been secretly pining for the other without them realizing, or new friends are developing feelings for each other but being careful to not ruin the friendship. No matter how it starts, it ends in a sweet love story with someone who knows you better than you know yourself, and what’s more romantic than that?

Our staff favorites:

• Seven Days in June by Tia Williams
• Seoulmates by Susan Lee
• The Charm Offensive by Alison Cochrun
• Romancing Mister Bridgerton by Julia Quinn

Fake Dating

A fan favorite, fake dating is one of the best tropes to let miscommunication and mixed signals fly, which provides readers with a frustrating journey but ultimately satisfying payoff. As characters in these romances learn, it isn’t easy to act like you’re a couple in love without catching real feelings. A great example is Lara Jean Covey and Peter Kavinsky in Jenny Han’s widely popular To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before trilogy.

Our staff favorites:

• The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang
• The Ex Talk by Rachel Lynn Solomon
• Boyfriend Material by Alexis Hall
• Take a Hint, Dani Brown by Talia Hibbert

Grumpy/Sunshine

This beloved pairing is between one grumpy character and a happy-go-lucky character. Think of someone who always walks around with a rain cloud over their head, meeting someone who is always optimistic, and against all odds, falling for each other. Sometimes, authors of hetero romance books will say their book is reverse grumpy/sunshine, meaning the female MC is the grumpy one and the male MC is the sunshine. However, any gender can be grumpy or sunshine, and plenty of same-sex romances use the grumpy/sunshine trope!

Rivals to Lovers

Not to be confused with enemies to lovers, this one typically takes place in a workplace or academia romance. Some readers prefer this to enemies to lovers because they find it more believable. While the rivals may have had competitive reasons to hate each other, eliminating those reasons can pave the way for love to grow. Plus, competition can get steamy, whether it’s physical or mental.

Forced Proximity

Also known as the “only one bed” trope, this one makes romance happen by removing distance between the potential lovers. This is a trope that often interlopes with other tropes, like rivals or enemies to lovers. Two people who work together and have chemistry but dislike each other are suddenly forced to take a work trip together and the hotel they’re staying at only has rooms with one bed! Of course, it’s not only bed-related: sometimes sworn enemies are trapped in hiding together due to outside forces and being alone together reveals some dark, hidden secrets that lead to a new connection and understanding of each other and perhaps… love?

Second Chance Romance

A fun and sometimes devastating trope, second chance romance can sometimes overlap with other tropes, like friends to lovers. It’s a romance between two people who have always had a thing, but the timing wasn’t right. Or maybe something unavoidable occurred that drove them apart, like high school sweethearts moving across the country from each other and losing touch. But now, something is bringing these torn lovers back together and giving them a second chance to make it work. There’s so much joy in watching these stories unfold, especially in the little details like them remembering each other’s favorite snacks from way back when, and in discovering all the ways they’ve changed that only make them an even better match for each other. 

Opposites Attract

Similar to the grumpy-sunshine trope, opposites attract is what it sounds like: two people who have nothing in common but are inexplicably drawn to each other. A tortured artist who somehow falls for the all-business person who they met by chance. The spiritual, astrology-obsessed person falls for the strictly logical thinker. While it may seem like it shouldn’t work, in the right setting, these characters balance each other out. 

Love Triangle

What if you met the perfect person for you? They checked all your boxes of what your ideal partner should be, they planned great dates…and then you met someone else, who despite not being perfect on paper, just clicked with you in a way that you couldn’t ignore. Well, then you’d find yourself in a love triangle. Another divisive trope, readers often think that these aren’t done well enough because one love interest just isn’t electric enough to make sense. But there are plenty of books that nail this trope, like An American Marriage by Tayari Jones, which is coincidentally a great recommendation for people who loved the film Past Lives.

Insta-love

The insta-love trope occurs when a couple gets together and immediately fall head over heels for each other. This one works better for YA, because younger characters are more susceptible to big feelings, including falling in love at first sight. One could argue that any insta-love story is just infatuation or obsession, but some true romantics and lucky people really do click right away and stay in love. Whether you believe in it or not, it’s fun to read and fantasize about that kind of connection.

Forbidden Love

Similar to enemies or rivals to lovers, forbidden love romances are a tale as old as time, or at least as old as Romeo and Juliet. It’s not always as dramatic as teens from warring families, though. Sometimes it’s a little scandalous, like someone falling for their friend’s ex, or maybe dating someone they work with in a setting where the power dynamic is frowned upon. No matter the circumstances, there’s something undeniably romantic about the passion involved in going against all odds to be together.

Marriage Pact

Two best friends make a pact–if we aren’t married by a certain age, we’ll marry each other. Then that age comes, they’re both single, and suddenly, a joke made in passing ten years ago is feeling like a good idea. Similar to fake dating, this trope introduces what one or both characters believe to be a low stakes arrangement that gets complicated when feelings get in the mix.

Celebrity Romance

A fun and fantastical trope, a celebrity romance features one famous love interest and one non-famous, average Joe love interest. There’s plenty of room to explore all kinds of fun shenanigans in a book like this as the two people try to fit into each other’s worlds, and also plenty of room for miscommunication and heartache. The sweetest scenes tend to be the ones where the celebrity love interest longs for a normal experience and their normie love interest is able to make it happen for them.

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