SISTER’S COLLAB: The Battle of the Tropes | romance edition ❤️

Welcome to another (long-awaited) sister’s* collab…

*Sophie (main blogger) and Beth (runner of The Nook 🌻)

🍄THE AWESOME SISTER COLLAB…. WHO’S WHO!!

… and get excited because we have tropes, romance and A FLOW CHART!!

Basically, we are faced with 8 (romance) tropes and using the flow chart we are going to narrow it down to the best trope of them all.

🍄 Using My Favourite Tropes to Create a Romance TBR

ROUND ONE

friends-to-lovers VS fake dating

BETH🌻: Friends-to-Lovers is a bit too nicey-nice for me (when I’m reading a book, in real life though, it’s the best surely?) so FAKE DATING took the edge here – especially as with this option lots of hilarity can ensue.

SOPHIE🍄: This is a close one, but fake dating can sustain an episode, FRIENDS-TO-LOVERS can sustain a series. You can pull at so much intimate closeness and history with it. I love fake dating, but it is a wee bit of a one-trick pony.

As it is a clash, we have each given the two tropes a rating out of 10 and the one with the highest overall score wins.

FAKE DATING: [total score] 17 [sophie – 8, beth – 9]
FRIENDS-TO-LOVERS: [total score] 16 [sophie – 9, beth – 7]

the winner is fake dating!

SOPHIE🍄: the injustice of it all.

only one bed VS soul mates

BETH🌻: ONLY ONE BED, inspired by my current read of The Flatshare where the main characters share one bed without knowing each other, I’m really enjoying the concept as it’s not something I’ve personally seen before.

SOPHIE🍄: I agree, ONLY ONE BED. Half because soul mates aren’t for me. One of the best things about love is that it isn’t rare. I don’t like the limitation of soul mates. And half because only one bed is gloriously awkward and intimate. The characters aren’t acting for anyone but each other, and I LOVE it.

the winner is only one bed!

sunshine & grumpy VS forbidden love

BETH🌻: SUNSHINE & GRUMPY because who doesn’t love opposites attract, especially when they bring the best out in each other – plus I feel that this reflects my own relationship.

SOPHIE🍄: SUNSHINE AND GRUMPY is my favourite, so I completely agree with Beth. Forbidden love is tense and romantic, but the way sunshine and grumpy character play off each other is amazing. It really brings out the best.

the winner is sunshine & grumpy!

love triangle VS enemies-to-lovers

BETH🌻: When couples start off as ENEMIES and grow into LOVERS I usually find a lot of smiling to myself happens as the author has a lot of room to make the conflicts at the start funny and charming, and then when they fall in love it’s the happy ending we all love.

SOPHIE🍄: I’ll admit this duo feels a bit like a no brainer. Love triangles can be tedious but the ENEMIES-TO-LOVERS journey can be the best kind to read about. The ‘playful hate’ to ‘damn, I actually care about you’ to ‘pure passion’. Well, that journey is in the hall of fame.

the winner is enemies-to-lovers!

ROUND TWO

fake dating VS only one bed

SOPHIE🍄: Oh, how friends to lovers should have been here.

SOPHIE🍄: This is actually a hard choice because these both make for fun scenes with tons of romantic tension. Basically, what I look for in a romance. Both these tropes feel pretty equal but for the battle’s sake, I pick… ONLY ONE BED. I have a soft spot for it. When done right, it is so intimate, endearingly awkward and only about the people in the relationship.

BETH🌻: A very tricky choice indeed, but I’m taking a different turn and going with FAKE DATING. Though there is much awkwardness and sweetness in sharing a bed, what takes the edge for me with fake dating is that there’s usually more -and I hate this word- ‘banter’. I enjoy it when they’re bouncing off each other and the people around them to create funny social situations.

SOPHIE🍄: Fake dating has been my nemesis in this post. I mean all your reasons are great, but still.

BETH🌻: LOL it’s haunting you, tehehe, sorry babes.

time to give them a score…

ONLY ONE BED: [total score] 16.5 [sophie – 8.5, beth – 8]
FAKE DATING: [total score] 17 [sophie – 8, beth – 9]

the winner is fake dating!

sunshine & grumpy VS enemies-to-lovers

SOPHIE🍄: If you’ve been reading, you know my answer. SUNSHINE & GRUMPY SUPREMACY *ding ding, we have found our winner, I hope*. This trope covers so much and never quits because their personalities don’t change. I love how the characters bounce off each other, pulling at each other’s strengths and weaknesses. PERFECTION. *smiles like an idiot at this trope*

BETH🌻: I couldn’t agree more, SUNSHINE & GRUMPY is the boss in this duo- you get that fabulous contrast in personalities which leads to entertaining exchanges and delicious moments but without the ‘hate’ that comes in the enemies to lovers trope where at first there is war! (Don’t get me wrong, I love that too sometimes)

SOPHIE🍄: Yay!! We get it!!

BETH🌻: We do!!!! High five sister!

the winner is sunshine & grumpy!

ROUND THREE

the final round

fake dating VS sunshine & grumpy

SOPHIE🍄: We’ve been here before. SUNSHINE & GRUMPY. I swear if fake dating wins this one… I do like fake dating. It’s so much fun. But it cannot defeat sunshine & grumpy. It is simply open to more. And frankly, I cannot lose to fake dating a third time!

BETH🌻: Well, for me it has to be fake dating because ….noooo I’m only kidding (hands up if I got ya). My true answer is also SUNSHINE & GRUMPY because it’s that beautiful blend of opposites that we all just love. The sweet and the sour, the night and day, the good, the bad and the ugly. I love reading about people who fit together because of their differences.

SOPHIE🍄: You kind of got me there… for half a second. I was getting my battle gear on. Thankfully, SUNSHINE & GRUMPY REIGNS STRONG, and you said the perfect explanation as to why it is our WINNER!! Opposites always attract, baby!

the winner is sunshine & grumpy!

the final results

recommendations for book with the SUNSHINE ☀️ & GRUMPY 🌩️ trope

Thank you to these posts for some recommendations, please visit them for more information.

(1) Buzzfeed, (2) Wordy and Whimsical and (3) Wordy and Whimsical again

Be honest, do you agree with the winner me and Beth selected? If not, which trope would have been your winner? Have you got any book recommendations for any of these tropes?