Let’s be honest—we all have a favorite YA romance trope we can’t resist. Tell us your romance trope of choice (your secret is safe with us), and discover your next favorite novel! Whether it’s second-chance romance or forbidden love, we’ve got a YA book rec that you’ll adore.
YA Romance Trope: Second-Chance Romance
Book Rec: Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute by Talia Hibbert
Bradley Graeme is pretty much perfect. He’s a star football player, manages his OCD well (enough), and comes out on top in all his classes . . . except the ones he shares with his ex-best friend, Celine.
Celine Bangura is conspiracy-theory-obsessed. Social media followers eat up her takes on everything from UFOs to holiday overconsumption—yet, she’s still not cool enough for the popular kids’ table. Which is why Brad abandoned her for the in-crowd years ago. (At least, that’s how Celine sees it.)
These days, there’s nothing between them other than petty insults and academic rivalry. So when Celine signs up for a survival course in the woods, she’s surprised to find Brad right beside her.
Forced to work as a team for the chance to win a grand prize, these two teens must trudge through not just mud and dirt but their messy past. And as this adventure brings them closer together, they begin to remember the good bits of their history. But has too much time passed . . . or just enough to spark a whole new kind of relationship?
YA Romance Trope: Grumpy-Sunshine Pairing
Book Rec: Wild About You by Kaitlyn Hill
Natalie Hart has always been loud, unfiltered, and unapologetically herself. But then comes her freshman year of college, when she loses her merit scholarship and gains one pesky little anxiety diagnosis.
Hesitant to take out more student loans, Natalie decides to shoot her shot and applies to Wild Adventures, a popular outdoorsy reality show. Sure, Natalie prefers her twelve-step skincare routine to roughing it on the Appalachian Trail while competing in challenges against other college kids, but that scholarship prize money is calling her name. High risk, high reward, right?
Enter Finn Markum, her randomly assigned, capital-O Outdoorsy teammate whose growl could rival a black bear. These partners have more friction than a pair of new hiking boots. Or is it flirtation? Turns out falling in love might be the wildest adventure of all . . .
YA Romance Trope: Dating on Vacation
Book Rec: Beach Cute by Beth Reekles
Luna, Rory and Jodie are strangers in the need of a getaway . . .
Luna has unexpectedly broken up with her boyfriend.
Rory has to come up with a creative way to break it to her family she wants to pursue her art passion.
And as for Jodie, she feels lost in both life and love.
But these three strangers have one other thing in common: they are on their way to the same resort. As their lives collide under the sun, will they have a summer they’ll never forget?
YA Romance Trope: Fake Dating
Book Rec: Dungeons and Drama by Kristy Boyce
No one loves musicals more than Riley Morris—her dream is to be a Broadway director. But when the spring show is canceled, Riley has to figure out a way to bring it back. Easier said than done—she’s stuck working at her dad’s game store.
To get out of it, she convinces her co-worker Nathan Wheeler—the floppy-haired, glasses-wearing guy she barely knows from school—to help her. In exchange, she’ll help him make his gamer-girl crush jealous.
Soon Riley and Nathan are “a couple,” and people seem to believe it. But selling the ruse means joining Nathan’s role-playing game. To Riley’s surprise, the game is almost fun. And even more surprising, flirting with Nathan doesn’t require as much acting as she thought it would. . . .
YA Romance Trope: International Romance
Book Rec: Love Requires Chocolate by Ravynn K. Stringfield
Whitney Curry is primed to have an epic semester abroad. She’s created the perfect itinerary and many, many to-do lists after collecting every detail possible about Paris. Thus, she anticipates a grand adventure filled with vintage boutiques, her idol Josephine Baker’s old stomping grounds, and endless plays sure to inspire the ones she writes and—ahem—directs!
But all is not as she imagined when she’s dropped off at her prestigious new Parisian lycée. A fish out of water, Whitney struggles to juggle schoolwork, homesickness, and mastering the French language. Luckily, she lives for the drama. Literally.
Cue French tutor Thierry Magnon, a grumpy yet très handsome soccer star, who’s determined to show Whitney what she’s missing. Is this type-A theater nerd ready to see how lessons on the City of Lights can turn into lessons on love?
YA Romance Trope: Dating a Celebrity
Book Rec: All Roads Lead to Rome by Sabrina Fedel
Introverted, slightly anxious Astoria “Story” Herriot knows everything about Rome—her mom’s an attorney here and the two of them are living la dolce vita . . . at least until Story’s off to college in the fall.
But when Story is in the wrong gelato shop at the right time, she’s swept up in a fake dating scheme with Scottish heartthrob, Luca Kinnaird, to protect his relationship with a pop princess. There’s something in it for her, too—Luca promises to help fund a scholarship in her dad’s memory. Soon she’s showing Luca the best cafés, sightseeing at the Mouth of Truth, and picnicking at the ruins of the Abbey of Santa Maria del Piano. Story’s travel guide skills are 10/10, but what she knows about being a celebrity—or having feelings for one? Zero.
Pretending to be Luca’s guide—then his girlfriend—gets the paparazzi’s attention . . . and what’s true and what’s fake gets blurry as their different worlds crash together. Sophisticated, hot, rich, and with the most charming accent ever, Luca is full of surprises. And maybe, too, is Story’s perfectly planned future.
It’s a fairy-tale romance in the Eternal City . . . will it have a fairy tale ending?
Discover more of your favorite romance tropes in these titles!
