Romantic suspense is blend of two popular literary genres, which are romance and suspense. It basically features a love story with a notable plot twist, which is often a mystery or suspense. There are millions of books representing these two features, such as Jasmine: A Woman of Color by Monique Boyd, Verity by Colleen Hoover, The Witness by Nora Roberts, The Girl in Cabin 13 by A.J. Rivers, and Saving Meadow by Riley Edwards.
While romantic suspense continuously garners a wide array of readers, it cannot be denied that many fanatics have observed various tropes in the stories. Tropes are primarily defined as a particular theme or device utilized in tales or movies. People often referred to it as cliché. That said, here are the typical romantic suspense tropes you might have observed in reading tales of his unique genre.
Friends to Lovers
This is often observed in many books and even films. Without a doubt, this trope works because the girl and the boy already have knowledge about one another and have somehow developed an emotional bond that can strengthen the future romance. Like most tales, there are different devices that are mixed to also highlight the suspense feature. Thus, among the many stories that showcase this trope, such as Tears of Moon by Nora Roberts and Unbreak Me by Michelle Hazen.
Second Chance Romance
You probably have experienced this trope in some time in your fiction-like life. This is often called as reunion romances because a couple who already parted ways decided to give it another shot at love. There may be some expectations that were set by the patrons as to why the power couple initially broke up to see the developments on both characters and the way they can find a better love to one another. Mixed with a dash of suspense, getting a second chance on romance might be a little too difficult or eerie road to take.
Enemies to Lovers
Have you read Stay Sweet by Siobhan Vivian? What about When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon? Then, you might have observed how the main character and its love interest are clashing with one another before becoming head over heels with each other. There are different kinds of things that the future couple is fighting or disagreeing, which can also be the reasons why they slowly fall in love with one another. This trope is the best one to use to heighten the thrill and attraction of the readers to the story. Although this is often utilized, especially in young adult romance books, this never fails to hook the readers up.
Workplace Romance
Often a workplace romance is conflicted with work ethics and the prying eyes of other colleagues. But, there are still successful workplace romances in romance genre alone, such as in Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella. When it comes to romantic suspense novels, the common scenario is that the one or the other has a dark secret that the character is trying its best to hide from his prospected significant other. This secret can either make or break the growing attachment between them.
The Lie
In most suspense novels, a particular lie heightens the tension of the story. The lie can center on toxic relationships, creepy cults, and other eerie or beyond the normal situations. It is commonly inflicted in psychological thriller books or films. A great film that showcase this trope is Secret Obsession, which is a 2019 movie starred by Brenda Song. The husband lied to the main character and have made her believed that he is her real husband and they are living a perfect life.
Missing Person
A missing person in every romantic suspense book always leads the story into a great amount of twists and turns. The main character, on its journey to find the missing person, stumbles upon many events that can either stray him on achieving his goal or push him to solve the mystery. The missing individual may be the protagonist’s love interest, which encourages him to find her or it could be an important person in his life that is the key to a significant event or secret.
Alex Writes 