“If you like . . .” popular YA fantasy tropes edition
Assassins / fighting / traINING SEQUENCES
to satisfy your need for a good training montage
Graceling by Kristin Cashore
set in a society where members are ‘graced’ with one specific power, we follow a girl who is graced in killing, and working for a corrupt king
main is fcking kick ass as hell, lots of training fight sequences that you can pretend have a dope soundtrack
A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab -
Lila fucking Bard??? And her knives?? Just read it, this series is killer and the main has the same obsession with her knives as I have with her p.s. you get magic competition montages what more do u want in life
Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo -
NiNA and INeJ. This book has a rotating PoV system, and of the two main girls one is a gorgeous waffle loving sorceress and the other is a fucking knife wielding acrobat that will fill your need for sneaky sneaky spy/assassin types
The Queen’s Thief series by Megan Whalen Turner -
In the later books you get some thicc duels on training grounds that will make you shit yourself so not quite a sequence but read it anyways ok
Nevernight by Jay Kristoff -
Assassin training sequences like you’ve never fucking seen please read it and love it
Le feminine and strong main
To satisfy your need for more gals who are allowed to have both strength and femininity
The Wrath and the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh -
queen of your life stuns everyone with her gorgeousness and the reader with her strength??
Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo -
coming at ya fast for a second time, Nina is girly af and also loves waffles which is just a perk you’ll love her i promise
Fire and Bitterblue by Kristin Cashore -
the main in this book is a monster known for her unearthly beauty which makes men go mad when they see her? Also she is v feminine and soft and loves children and wants babies and is STILL SO STRONG THANK YOU for this amazing portrayal
Falling Kingdoms by Morgan Rhodes -
Cleo is a pretty fcking princess and a romantic and is strong thank you v much
The Demon King by Cinda Williams Chima -
Raisa goes to SO MANY BALLS and has crushes on boys and never shuns her femininity this is so important.
The Queen’s Thief series by Megan Whalen Turner -
The goddamn Queen of Attolia she wears dresses and runs a kingdom what more do you want
enemies to lovers, friends to lovers, sexual tension
The Queen’s Thief series by Megan Whalen Turner -
Never will you be so wrecked over such subtle romance I’m not gonna spoil and tell you which trope is going on but I just need to plug this series every day so have it in every category
Fire, Graceling, and Bitterblue by Kristen Cashore -
all of these have romance and all of them are GOOD COMMUNICATIVE HEALTHY romances you’re welcome (ft. sexual tension on training grounds, star crossed lovers, and CAPTAIN OF THE GUARD)
Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo -
fucking coming at ya again here we are lotsa good romances in this just go for it it’s clearly a winner psst. enemies to friends to lovers trope
Falling Kingdoms by Morgan Rhodes -
le enemies to lovers trope coming at you STRONG if you’re that kind of trash read it
The Wrath and the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh -
again, the enemies to lovers thing played out BEAUTIFULLY
Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor -
urban fantasy featuring that otherworldly romance that you know you ate upppp p.s. romeo and juliet sorta deal
Trick by Natalia Jaster -
that whole “they get on each others nerves forever and bicker and then fall in deep love” shit (p.s. this is a little more nsfw but not as much as…..)
Captive Prince by C.S. Pacat -
ENEMIES TO LOVERS THIS BOOK IS THE EPITOME OF IT JUST READ IT (p.s. explicit graphic content)
Nevernight by Jay Kristoff -
Oh boy there’s some romance here it’s v nsfw also lgbtq+ rep and just all around how many tropes do u want bc shit it really does it all in the best way thx
The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller -
A retelling of the Iliad it’ll tear your heart out read it read it now I beg you
The Tiger’s Daughter by K. Arsenault Rivera -
Lgbtq+ !! just some gay princesses in love in an Asian-inspired fantasy setting with demons and everything you could ever want
