We all have our favorite romance trope, the one story that, though weβve read it
a million times with different characters and backdrops, we keep coming back for
more. Whether itβs the boy-next-door, the best friendβs older brother, the
billionaire wounded alpha, or maybe the marriage of convenienceβwe know it when
we see it, and we buy it on the spot.
Maybe we can relate to the story, or maybe we indulge in reading our ultimate
fantasies. Maybe you actually fell for your BFFβs older brother and created
memories that resonate with you even now. Or maybe you imagine yourself one day
βaccidentallyβ falling into the lap of that well-dressed business man you see on
the train every morning, that billionaire whoβs been waiting for a reason to talk
to you anyway.
My favorite romance happens to be the enemies-to-lovers story. I remember the
first time I watched the movie
The Cutting Edge. An ex-hockey player has
to team up with a diva figure skater to train and then compete in the Olympics.
Oh, how they hated each other at first. The lengths to which they resorted to
one-up each other on the rink and in life knew no bounds. So when they ultimately
fall for each other, the chemistry and passion and suspense was so much more
worth it. It left me screaming, βFINALLY!β at the TV screen. It really is one of
those movies where you want to push their faces together and make them kiss.
And who can dispute the enemies-to-lovers sparks in
Youβve Got Mail with
Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan? Or what about
Far and Away with Tom Cruise and
Nicole Kidman? Or maybe one of the very first enemies-to-lovers in literature,
Pride and Prejudice? And who grew up swooning over Anne Shirley and
Gilbert Blythe from
Anne of Green Gables? *Raises hand*
My point is, the characters start out with strong feelings for each other in the
beginning, so the passion is there, it just needs to be redirectedβand the leaps
and bounds they have to conquer to bypass their hatred of each other, PLUS any
other obstacles they have to overcome to be together, makes the payoff so much
bigger. So much more meaningful.
In fact, the enemies-to-lovers approach is how my husband and I fell for each
other. We both worked at the same restaurant; I was the hostess and he was the
bus boy. We hated each other (we were both sarcastic, smart-mouthed know-it-alls
and had never met our match before). I even broke a dish over his head...But, I
digress. Since we hated each other, and only spoke to one another when absolutely
required, management scheduled us together often. They figured the less talking,
the more work would be done. And it went this way for a long timeβ¦Until they
hired a new bus boy and scheduled him to my shifts. Thatβs when my would-be
husband became irate. When the new bus boy began flirting with me (by parroting
every word I said like my husband did), my husband informed him that copying was
βour gameβ and that he wasnβt invited. Game? I was ready to murder him on a daily
basis over a game?
And thatβs when I realized he had it bad for me. And that he was a little cute.
Okay, he was hot, but still infuriating. And maybe I enjoyed getting the last
word sometimes, or outmaneuvering him with my ninja vocabulary skills. And maybe
it wasnβt as fun being irritated by this new bus boy as it was by him, because
clearly New Guy wasnβt sufficient smart-ass competition. Cute, but boring. The
truth was, I missed my nemesis. And I had totally fallen for him.
So I guess you could say I have a personal connection with the enemies-to-lovers
romance story. What about you? Do you have any favorite tropes? Do you have
personal experiences, or do you fantasize about βwhat ifβ?
Anna Banks is the
New York Times bestselling author of the young
adult Syrena Legacy series and the young adult novel Joyride. She also wrote an
adult sci-fi romance, Degrees of Wrong, under her pen name Anna Scarlett.
She lives in the Florida panhandle with her husband and daughter, where she
enjoys pranking random people, coughing loudly at inappropriate times, drinking
sweet tea, and being southern in general. Her life goals include competing on
Wheel of Fortune, going to jail on a misunderstanding, and writing something
controversial or influential enough to appear on The Ellen Show. Her favorite
color is rainbow and her writerβs cat is a wiener dog named Puckledoo.
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Revenge was never this much fun...
When Rochelle Ransom auditioned for the dating show Luring Love, she had big
plans for winning the prize money to help her favorite charity-and if she won the
hot bachelor's heart, even better. But at the last minute she finds out the hot
bachelor is her ex-boyfriend, Grant Drake. Desperate to keep her distance from
him, she'll do anything-and everything-to get voted off.
Years ago, Rochelle broke Grant's heart, and he's out for revenge. There's no way
he'll vote her off.
After all, vengeance is a dish best served red-hot...and on live television.
When her hilarious antics to get kicked off the show escalate, Grant's reminded
why he fell in love with her the first time. Now he isn't sure which might be
more fun... Seeing how far Rochelle is willing to go to get away or how far he
will to keep her forever
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