Let’s Talk Bookish – Overused Book Tropes

Let’s Talk Bookish is a weekly meme, hosted by Rukky @ Eternity Books & Dani @ Literary Lion, where they discuss certain topics, share their opinions, and spread the love by visiting each others’ posts.

OCTOBER 15: OVERUSED BOOK TROPES (SUGGESTED BY ARIA @ BOOK NOOK BITS)

Prompts: Connected to my previous topic where we talked about tiresome characters, what are some tiresome tropes? Have you seen enough love triangles? Getting sick of enemies to lovers? What tropes have you had enough of, and can they ever be done well?

Welcome to the middle (already?!) of October, another LTB! Today’s topic kind of follows the previous topic of tiresome characters – this time we’re talking about tiresome tropes.

Overused? Or perhaps classic? I think sometimes it really just depends on how much the author leans into the tropes. Is it a classy or cheesy use? I think that’s what it usually comes down to. I really don’t have inherent problems with love triangles and enemies to lovers. Yes we can usually see them with a blaring red alarm a mile away. At the same time, I feel that just a hint of a suggested love triangle, or just a tense relationship becoming a close one…I really do think can be effective ways to kind of move the plot forward and to create the right amount of emotional tension.

I think where the real problem arises is where it’s just too much and they belabor the point that there’s a love triangle and both guys are so attractive and it’s just so hard for the girl to choose – these are the times that I desperately wish the author wouldn’t use such a trope.

For the genres that I tend to read though, there aren’t usually too many tropes that are overused. I feel that in thrillers and mysteries, tropes appear in so many different ways, sometimes in ways I didn’t even see coming, and I feel that rather than being “overused,” it’s more like an avenue for creativity – and I actually enjoy the same trope being twisted different ways and presented to me. In fact, I’d say that I’m often looking for the trope and trying to see how that type of character or plot is being fit into the thriller genre. Honestly the plots aren’t all that different when you break it down to its core elements, but the way it is executed really can change it from a 1-star all the way to a 5-star book.

For the books you all read, do you find that tropes appear too much? Or just the right amount? If you’re getting sick of a trope, is it because it isn’t executed well (or how you wanted)? Or is it because you personally just don’t enjoy the trope? Are there any tropes that just never work? Let me know in the comments below!

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