I really dislike the clueless/dottering/senile family/parents/guardians. I especially hate this cliche when it is the cause of the heroine/hero’s problems. It’s really not that interesting to read about such aweful, unrealistic characters. It always seems like their only purpose is to give a herione an excuse to act like a doormat for a nobel reason (“she loves her family, see?”)

I also dislike any time the tension is about a character “not being able to love”. Unless there were serious issues (like abuse, isolation, etc), I just can’t fathom that an adult couldn’t figure out how “to love” someone. The best example I can think of for this is Untamed by Elizabeth Lowell. If I remember correctly, there was some magic aspect where the heroine had to be “truly loved” to have a prosperous marriage . The hero admitted that he respected, cared for, desired, enjoyed, ect the heroine but he kept on insisting that he was incapable of love. I feel like if he is able to do all the actions that make up loving, what was he missing that made it ‘love’. I guess it comes down to the question of what does it mean to love someone, and that’s for a whole other discussion!

DS, I don’t mind when I read the the Virgin Widow’s husband was a homosexual, only because I’ve only read one where that happened. And it wasn’t a villainous secret so much as a dangerous secret – I think it would have put her position as a widow in danger or something like that.

I agree that one of the biggest cop-outs is when the poor man suddenly becomes fabulously wealthy and gets a title. I read one book where at the end, they actually found a closer relative and he lost the title – and went back to relative poverty (or middle classery I can’t remember). It annoyed me for other reasons, but that one plot development made me smile. (As an Earl Desires by Lorraine Heath was the title, by the way).

I also agree that this is a fun topic, its always interesting to see what makes a book a wall-banger to another person.

Don’t mind virgin widows, but I prefer widows with little to no real sex experience, because that I could completely believe in an historical romance when marriage was more about alliances and money than love.

I like woman-disguised-as-boy, but only when the hero knows right away that he’s a she and uses that to his advantage. But when he’s clueless the whole time, it creeps me out that he is attracted to what, in his mind, is a boy. So yuck.

After the baby thing, I think my other least favorite is that the hero turns out to be related to a Duke or what have you and ends up with money and status. That just ruins the whole idea of the heroine falling in love with the hero for who is he…that should be good enough…even if that doesn’t fit with the realities of the time. Why can’t he just be superior in manufacturing or running a business? And make his money that way?

One of my favorite movies is “North and South” which involves the daughter of a now destitute clergyman who falls for a man who is lower class, but worked his way up to wealth and owning a very successful business.

This is a fun topic!

I HATE it when the girl tries to hide herself and be a boy/or man.

See, now, done well that is one of my faves — and done poorly, it’s a wallbanger. It’s partly because that’s the subject of a lot of my dissertation research, so I know something about what makes for successful gender impersonation and what doesn’t (in the 18th through 20th centuries in England and the US, anyway — beyond that I’m seriously extrapolating). I’m always willing to give this trope a chance.

Not so with captives — just hate ‘em. I just never can trust love that starts when there’s that big a power imbalance. I agree that there are probably examples of this done well, but because I avoid this trope like the plague, I’ll likely never read them. I can handle it if the love blooms after the captive is released (male or female, doesn’t matter), sometimes.

The will and amnesia are ones I rarely have seen done well. The will is common enough that I have sort of learned to look past it if the characters are worth it (but only because I’m not a lawyer). Amnesia has only worked for me in fantasy, where it can be magically induced (and thus magically healed). I will look for the examples recommended here.

@Carolyn: I think Georgette Heyer is an exception to any of these she cared to try!

I’m not sure how to articulate this one, but the trope I find I can’t read a book featuring is the one where by sleeping with the heroine, the hero is seriously committing some form of ethics violation. Either because she’s his secretary, his client or whatever. If the hero has to have the “I want her but it would be wrong to have her” conversation with himself, and if other people call the hero out on how being with the heroine is unprofessional, then he shouldn’t do it.

Mine is the “masquerading as someone else” trope. As in, “I’m playing a pauper, but I’m really a DUKE”. Or, “I’m playing a mechanic, but I’m really a kabillionaire.” And kind of premeditated deceit like that makes me nuts.

Love by deceit is a super hot button and almost always a DNF for me.

I hate it when he’s doing it because no one could possibly see past his money/title to love the REAL man. *eyeroll*

Now, I loved how CL Wilson handled it in her Lord of the Fading Lands debut. There was mention of it and it was key to them getting together but it wasn’t the only reason they stayed together. You could actually seem them falling in love and the predestined mate was more of a sidebar. I haven’t read her other stories in that series because I loved how their story ended – I knew they’d be together and didn’t really want to witness their continuing struggle. I’m all for the rose colored happy ending in romances.

Agree about hating predestined mate especially if it is a paranormal and a whole series is set up on the premise that each character is going to find their predestined mate. Always makes me think of lazy writing.

I like how Kresley Cole handles the pre-destined mate business. Although confronted with a mate early in the book, the heroines fight, fight, fight against it and the heroes, while more inclined to go along with the idea, still need to deal with their sense of being utterly flabbergasted. There is still a journey from meeting to love and although we know how the mate thing will end up it doesn’t feel that much different than the HEA in other genres.

There are also stories based on misunderstandings and then there is the Big Mis. The Big Mis happens when anyone with some maturity or sense would have just asked about the ambiguous situation or the bad information they received from their honey’s ex about their honey– and oh so quickly and thoroughly believed!

I slept with your brother but I love you for me it always seems kind of incestuous to sleep with your intended family members and really what would the neighbors think!!!

The missing husband back from the dead doesn’t work for the soaps (for me at least) and always the plot involves the “widow” never having another relationship while her “dead hubby” is “dead” I guess the life goes on does not apply for the weak widow who drops her panties might readily when her “dead hubby” does appear, sure he wasn’t keeping his zip in the upward position while being “dead”
I truly hated Lora Leigh last seal book who’s hero was gone for several years.

The I forgot to tell you about your baby plot I truly truly abhor because there is not excuse for a woman not to tell that man that she slept with that she is pregnant, if the guy is such a loser she should not have slept with him in the first place plus it tells a lot to the reader that she TSTL twit and I’m not going to be rooting for her

I also hate the plot where the heroine was done wrong by her exh and his ow and here comes the hero to save the day by being richer more handsome than the ex, etc etc etc, why can’t she pull herself out of the mire herself make herself a success and than meet the rich soon to be hubby #2.

There was too much premeditation and intention on both of their parts for this to be a Big Mis plot (at least, as I think of the concept.)

Elle, we may be in one of those apples/oranges discussions, where my definition doesn’t match up with yours (or anyone else’s – I could be out in left field here). – I think of the Big Mis as primarily a failure to communicate, that is, the plot moves along because people aren’t able to say what they’re thinking/feeling (for whatever reason – reticence or courtesy or misreading a person, as in Pride and Prejudice, or ulterior motives, as in Bet Me and Beast).

People do wear masks in social settings, and I think well-done romance shows us people getting to know each other – taking off their masks – and falling in love.

Beast is my favorite Ivory. They both know by the middle of the book that they love each other, but he doesn’t come clean about the deception until 5 pages from the end. It’s something that could be cleared up with one conversation, and it’s a tribute to Ivory’s writing ability that Charles’ reasons for not being honest are convincing.

Which is all to say, that even the most annoying trope (lots of people seem to hate the Big Mis) can be done well in the hands of a skilled author, as Elizabeth noted above.

Although I can’t think, offhand, of any excellent “secret baby” or “virgin widow” novels.

I really dislike older women/younger men storylines – but only if the older woman constantly dwells on that fact and breaks up with/can’t commit to hero just because he’s younger (which most of them do). Otherwise, it’s a really interesting and uncommon trope. In fact, if Zac Efron showed up on my doorstep tomorrow, I’d probably star in this trope (what? he’s only three years younger, a girl’s allowed to dream.)

Maybe I’m misunderstanding the Big Mis, but aren’t Bet Me (by Jennifer Crusie), Beast (by Judith Ivory), and Pride and Prejudice (by Jane Austen) examples of that particular trope?

Perhaps *I* am misunderstanding the Big Mis, but I would not consider Ivory’s Beast to be an example of this trope. The hero of Beast *deliberately* approached the heroine while in disguise and seduced her, and she went along more than willingly *despite* the fact that she already engaged to the hero. Yes, she falls in love with her own fiance/husband without realizing it or later recognizing him when she sees him again, but there was never any confusion on his part (except regarding how to extract himself from the mess that he had made.) There was too much premeditation and intention on both of their parts for this to be a Big Mis plot (at least, as I think of the concept.)

Like Kim, I also dislike the “Destined Mate” trope (which is so common in paranormals these days.) I know that others adore it, but to me it kind of sucks the romance out of the story.