5 Supernatural Romance Reads for February 2020
Hiya reader friends!
This week in bookish things, I am discussing my top five supernatural romance reads! If you’re tackling the Classic Romance Reading Challenge, then you might have to start this list after February has ended, but it’s definitely worth checking out!
Hush, Hush Saga by Becca Fitzpatrick
Hush, Hush is a page-turner of a romantic thriller filled with fallen angels, Nephilim, and humans who are caught in the balance of forbidden love and the consequences angels face for falling for those humans. It’s fast-passed, action-packed, and well-balanced. Throw in compelling characters, villains you love to hate, and unfair universal rules, and you’ve got all of the elements of an amazing supernatural romance. It’s so perfect, I reread it ever single fall, and usually within a span of four days—one day for each book!
Nora finds forbidden love with her fallen angel, in the first installment of the New York Times bestselling Hush, Hush Saga.
Nora Grey is responsible and smart and not inclined to be reckless. Her first mistake was falling for Patch.
Patch has made countless mistakes and has a past that could be called anything but harmless. The best thing he ever did was fall for Nora. .
After getting paired together in biology, all Nora wants to do is stay away from Patch, but he always seems to be two steps ahead of her. She can feel his eyes on her even when he is nowhere around. She feels him nearby even when she is alone in her bedroom. And when her attraction can be denied no longer, she learns the secret about who Patch is and what led him to her, as well as the dark path he is about to lead her down. Despite all the questions she has about his past, in the end, there may be only one question they can ask each other: How far are you willing to fall?.
The Hush, Hush Saga by Becca Fitzpatrick.
The Immortal Series by Gillian Shields
This was one of the very first books I’d ever read, and my first supernatural romance at that! The story revolves around Evie who is shipped off to Wyldcliffe Abbey School after her grandmother dies. She makes friends with some of the other girls and enemies with others. One her first day of school, her taxi driver only takes her so close to the school and she must make the rest of the way on foot. On her way, she runs into a spectral horserider who is surprised she can even see him in the first place. He realizes she looks strikingly familiar and the familiarity draws him closer to her. I’ve always loved these books, not only because it got me into supernatural romance, but because of the enchanting story kept between their pages.
Wyldcliffe Abbey School for Young Ladies, housed in a Gothic mansion on the bleak northern moors, is elite, expensive, and unwelcoming. When Evie Johnson is torn away from her home by the sea to become the newest scholarship student, she is more isolated than she could have dreamed. Strict teachers, snobbish students, and the oppressive atmosphere of Wyldcliffe leave Evie drowning in loneliness.
Evie's only lifeline is Sebastian, a rebellious, mocking, dangerously attractive young man she meets by chance. As Evie's feelings for Sebastian grow with each secret meeting, she starts to fear that he is hiding something about his past. And she is haunted by glimpses of a strange, ghostly girl—a girl who is so eerily like Evie, she could be a sister. Evie is slowly drawn into a tangled web of past and present that she cannot control. And as the extraordinary, elemental forces of Wyldcliffe rise up like the mighty sea, Evie is faced with an astounding truth about Sebastian, and her own incredible fate.
Gillian Shields's electrifying tale will dazzle readers with suspense, mysticism, and romance.
The Immortals series by Gillian Sheilds.
Angel Trilogy by L.A. Weatherly
This series hooked me from the moment I’d read the synopsis—I mean hello!—angels gone rogue!—what’s not to love? (Especially for a Hush, Hush fan girl) The story throws you right into the action from the first page to the last and the action rarely stops. The story is definitely a page-turner and an action-packed romantic thriller.
When Alex finds himself falling in love with his sworn enemy, a half-angel with links to dark and dangerous forces, he discovers that nothing is as it seems, least of all good and evil. In the first book in a red-hot paranormal romantic trilogy, L. A. Weatherly sends readers on a thrill-ride of a road trip — and depicts the human race at the brink of a future as catastrophic as it is deceptively beautiful.
The Angel Trilogy by L.A. Weatherly.
House of Night by P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast
Take Oklahoma, Vampyres, highschool students, and forbidden romance, throw them all in a pot and stir them up and your get the House of Night series. Though I am only four books into the series, I can tell you know its fast-paced, action-packed, and filled to the brim with drama—both good and bad. As a fantasy enthusiast and Mythology buff, it was really refreshing to see the goddess Nyx done differently. In this story, she’s very much an active part of new, fledgling vampire, Zoey’s life and I love what P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast have done their twist on elements, mythology, and vampyres.
Enter the dark, magical world of the House of Night, a world very much like our own, except here vampyres have always existed.
One minute, 16-year-old Zoey Redbird is a normal teenager dealing with everyday high school stress: her cute boyfriend, Heath, the school's star quarterback who suddenly seems more interested in partying than playing ball; her nosy frenemy, Kayla, who's way too concerned with how things are going with Heath; her uber-tough geometry test tomorrow.
The next, she's Marked as a fledgling vampyre, forcing her to leave her ordinary life behind and join the House of Night, a boarding school where she will train to become an adult vampyre.
That is, if she makes it through the Change - and not all of those who are Marked do. It sucks to begin a new life, especially away from her friends, and on top of that, Zoey is no average fledgling. She has been chosen as special by the vampyre Goddess, Nyx.
Zoey discovers she has amazing powers, but along with her powers come bloodlust and an unfortunate ability to Imprint with Heath, who just doesn't know how to take no for an answer.
To add to her stress, she is not the only fledgling at the House of Night with special powers: When she discovers that the leader of the Dark Daughters, the school's most elite group, is misusing her Goddess-given gifts, Zoey must look deep within herself for the courage to embrace her destiny - with a little help from her new vampyre friends.
The House of Night Series by Kristin and P.C. Cast.
The Darkest Powers Trilogy
One of the most gripping and thrilling supernatural reads from start to finish, The Darkest Powers Trilogy by Kelley Armstrong, centers around Chloe Saunders a 15-year old girl who’s life is about to change forever, from the first page of the novel. She likes the idea of being ordinary, only her life is far from it—she get shipped off to the Lyle group home after the label “schizophrenic” becomes synonymous with her own name and some unfortunate incidents. It’s up to her to unearth dark secrets and put together a past that will have readers running for the hills in terror.
"My name is Chloe Saunders and my life will never be the same again.
"All I wanted was to make friends, meet boys, and keep on being ordinary. I don't even know what that means anymore. It all started on the day that I saw my first ghost - and the ghost saw me.
"Now there are ghosts everywhere, and they won't leave me alone. To top it all off, I somehow got myself locked up in Lyle House, a 'special home' for troubled teens. Yet the home isn't what it seems. Don't tell anyone, but I think there might be more to my housemates than meets the eye. The question is, whose side are they on?
"It's up to me to figure out the dangerous secrets behind Lyle House...before its skeletons come back to haunt me."
The Darkest Powers Trilogy by Kelley Armstrong.
And that’s it for my top 5 Supernatural Romance Reads for February 2020! Have you ever read these stories? What do you think of this list? What is your favorite story mentioned here? Let me know your thoughts in the comments and as always, thanks for reading!
Further Reading:
Thumbnail photo by Jess Bailey.
—Payton
5 Contemporary Romances Everyone Should Read
Hi reader friends!
Welcome back, and if you’re new, thanks for dropping by! If you don’t know, here in the Bookish Things category on my blog, we talk about all things books, from books, reading challenges, author interviews and more!
This week, we’re talking about 5 Awesome Contemporary Romances to Read in February 2020! I decided to put a little twist on this reading challenge, by making each of these five a lesser-known read. We’ve got to share some love with the amazing reads that didn’t make it mainstream too, you know.
I’ve selected books from all sorts of writers and demographics with varying degrees of steaminess, so everyone is sure to find something great to read! (I can’t deny that the common theme with this selection is that of fine arts. What can I say? As both a reader and an artist, I love some good writing about ballet and painting!) Let’s hit the books! (not literally)
First Position by Melissa Brayden
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Anastasia Mikhelson is the rising star of the New York City Ballet. She’s sacrificed creature comforts, a social life, as well as her own physical well-being for perfection in dance. Even her reputation as The Ice Queen doesn’t faze her. Though Ana’s at the peak of her career, competition from a new and noteworthy dancer puts all she’s worked for in jeopardy.
While Natalie Frederico has shown herself to be a prodigy when it comes to ballet, she much prefers modern dance and living on her own terms. Life is too short for anything else. However, when the opportunity to dance with the New York City Ballet is thrust upon her, it’s not like she could say no. Dealing with the company’s uptight lead is another story, however. When the two are forced to work side-by-side, sparks begin to fly onstage and off.
—Melissa Brayden, First Position
This critical and adoring review of First Position, sums up the subject matter, the writing style, and the quality of the work, and I couldn’t agree more!
100 Days of Sunlight by Abbie Emmons🔥
When 16-year-old poetry blogger Tessa Dickinson is involved in a car accident and loses her eyesight for 100 days, she feels like her whole world has been turned upside-down.
Terrified that her vision might never return, Tessa feels like she has nothing left to be happy about. But when her grandparents place an ad in the local newspaper looking for a typist to help Tessa continue writing and blogging, an unlikely answer knocks at their door: Weston Ludovico, a boy her age with bright eyes, an optimistic smile…and no legs.
Knowing how angry and afraid Tessa is feeling, Weston thinks he can help her. But he has one condition — no one can tell Tessa about his disability. And because she can’t see him, she treats him with contempt: screaming at him to get out of her house and never come back. But for Weston, it’s the most amazing feeling: to be treated like a normal person, not just a sob story. So, he comes back. Again, and again, and again.
Tessa spurns Weston’s “obnoxious optimism”, convinced that he has no idea what she’s going through. But Weston knows exactly how she feels and reaches into her darkness to show her that there is more than one way to experience the world. As Tessa grows closer to Weston, she finds it harder and harder to imagine life without him — and Weston can’t imagine life without her. But he still hasn’t told her the truth, and when Tessa’s sight returns he’ll have to make the hardest decision of his life: vanish from Tessa’s world…or overcome his fear of being seen.
—Abbie Emmons, 100 Days of Sunlight
100 Days of Sunlight is a poignant and heartfelt novel by author Abbie Emmons. If you like sweet contemporary romance and strong family themes then you’ll love this touching story of hope, healing, and getting back up when life knocks you down.
Glitterland by Alexis Hall 🔥🔥🔥🔥
Once the golden boy of the English literary scene, now a clinically depressed writer of pulp crime fiction, Ash Winters has given up on love, hope, happiness, and—most of all—himself. He lives his life between the cycles of his illness, haunted by the ghosts of other people’s expectations.
Then a chance encounter at a stag party throws him into the arms of Essex boy Darian Taylor, an aspiring model who lives in a world of hair gel, fake tans, and fashion shows. By his own admission, Darian isn’t the crispest lettuce in the fridge, but he cooks a mean cottage pie and makes Ash laugh, reminding him of what it’s like to step beyond the boundaries of anxiety.
But Ash has been living in his own shadow for so long that he can’t see past the glitter to the light. Can a man who doesn’t trust himself ever trust in happiness? And how can a man who doesn’t believe in happiness ever fight for his own?
—Alexis Hall, Glitterland
Blossom in Winter by Melanie Martins🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
If you haven’t seen my blog post in Bookish Things, “Author Interview: Melanie Martins” then you might not know I love this book! I devoured all 391 pages in less than two days because I literally could not put the darn thing down! (Who needs to work, anyway, right?) At least that’s what you’ll be thinking when you pick this book up. It’s fast-paced romantic thriller that is completely wild from start to finish. Don’t take it from me, here though, check out my Goodreads review that says it all.
Petra, a seventeen-year-old Dutch-American and the only heir of finance tycoon Roy Van Gatt, has always had her life rigorously planned and supervised by her strict father. From her internship at his hedge fund firm on Wall Street to her degree in economics at Columbia University, Petra is all set for a bright future in finance.
But everything falls apart when she develops a dangerous relationship with her father’s business partner and utmost confidant, Alexander Van Dieren. A Dutch nobleman, known as an unrepentant heartbreaker, twenty-three years her senior, and who is, above all else, her beloved godfather.
A twisted obsession for some, unconditional love for others, but one thing is sure: it’s a relationship that might cost them everything...
—Melanie Martins, Blossom In Winter
Roomies by Christina Lauren
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For months Holland Bakker has invented excuses to descend into the subway station near her apartment, drawn to the captivating music performed by her street musician crush. Lacking the nerve to actually talk to the gorgeous stranger, fate steps in one night in the form of a drunken attacker. Calvin Mcloughlin rescues her, but quickly disappears when the police start asking questions.
Using the only resource she has to pay the brilliant musician back, Holland gets Calvin an audition with her uncle, Broadway’s hottest musical director. When the tryout goes better than even Holland could have imagined, Calvin is set for a great entry into Broadway—until his reason for disappearing earlier becomes clear: he’s in the country illegally, his student visa having expired years ago.
Seeing that her uncle needs Calvin as much as Calvin needs him, a wild idea takes hold of her. Impulsively, she marries the Irishman, her infatuation a secret only to him. As their relationship evolves and Calvin becomes the darling of Broadway—in the middle of the theatrics and the acting-not-acting—will Holland and Calvin to realize that they both stopped pretending a long time ago?
—Christina Lauren, Roomies
Further reading:
Thumbnail photo by Brigitte Tohm.
—Payton
Author Interview: Melanie Martins (Author of Blossom In Winter)
Melanie Martins Blossom In Winter Press Kit Photo.
This is a spoiler-free interview!
Hi reader friends, meet Melanie Martins, author of Blossom in Winter, on romantic thrillers, the writing process, becoming an author, and upcoming news!
Melanie Martins has been quickly gaining attention and avid readers within the bookish community and specifically, the romance community for her spicy, controversial, and heart-wrenching romantic thriller, Blossom in Winter. Known by many as one of the most followed Luxury Travel Influencers on Instagram, Melanie flipped her corner of the internet on it’s head by changing her career path so dramatically—from travel blogging to novel writing—that’s quite a leap!
She did an interview with Thrive Global that gave us insight into the change in her career path, self-publishing and so much more. Now, I’ve gotten the incredible opportunity to sit down with her and discuss her debut novel, Blossom in Winter, which has earned her a 4.7/5-star rating on Goodreads and 4.1/5-star rating on Amazon. Considered on Goodreads as a “real page turner”, “engrossing and addictive” and a “damn roller coaster”, Blossom in Winter is definitely a must-read for Romantic Thriller enthusiasts everywhere.
Blossom in Winter very clearly falls into the Romantic Thriller genre. What do you think of Romantic Thrillers both as a reader and a writer? Have you ever written in this genre before?
Blossom in Winter is actually the first novel I ever wrote. I did write a short novel in Portuguese when I was seventeen but it was just for fun and it never saw the light of day. Although it also had an age-gap and a judge in it. I personally love writing thrilling love stories full of mystery, secrets, and twists and turns—it makes the story-line so much more engaging and different than the usual romantic plots which only focus on the development of the relationship between the main characters. As a reader, I feel much more hooked and entertained when there is an underlying plot going on, leaving me on the edge of my seat, which is probably why I’ve a hard time to connect with a predictable romances that only focus on the relationship with no real external conflict.
Do you think you will write more Romantic Thrillers?
Yes, Blossom in Winter is the first book of a series and the second book “Lured into Love” will have even more thrilling events, twists, and difficult choices our main characters will have to make. Actually, the second book will be even more unpredictable and my goal is to make sure no reader will figure out the ending.
What do you think makes a compelling Romantic Thriller?
The build-up of events that take unexpected turns is definitely a must, along with creating some mystery around a particular character, event, or situation. This is something we see a lot in Blossom in Winter, especially around the Van Dieren’s family. In sum, when the reader thinks she’s got everything figured it out, and the unexpected happens leaving the reader surprised (and sometimes even shocked) is what makes, in my personal opinion, a great thriller.
Can you tell me a little bit about where you drew your inspiration while writing this book?
Romeo & Juliet, first and foremost. It’s by far my favorite story because of the eternal question “How far would you go for Love?” We may question if it was Love or pure lust, but in my opinion, Shakespeare wanted to explore, on a deeper level, the human nature and how far we can go for what we believe in and care about. I adapted the story to fit a contemporary romance, but there are a lot of resemblances—from the forbidden relationship between Petra Van Gatt & Alexander Van Dieren and all the external events that make it even more forbidden, to the ending. The quote from Elizabeth Elliott at the beginning of the book says it all: “There is nothing worth living for, unless it is worth dying for.” which would’ve been the perfect opening quote for Romeo & Juliet too.
What is your writing process like?
I always start with creating a board with the story-line, the external conflicts, the inner-trouble/worries, the characters’ personalities and bios, and how the ending is going to be. When it comes to the writing itself, I never wrote from start to finish, but rather by scenes. I might do the Prologue first and then jump to write a scene on Chapter 15. Since I knew the story-line and how it would go, I wrote the most important scenes first, and then the connecting ones.
Is there anything you’d do differently with your writing process next time?
Not with the writing process itself but rather with the post-writing, which is when the first draft of your manuscript is done.
In an interview with Thrive Global, you advise aspiring writers to write for their readers as opposed to themselves, but I’ve heard quite the opposite from many other writers. I know by this; you mean all works of writing can benefit from a second set of eyes. What did you learn from working through various stages of editing and how do you think it made you a stronger writer?
I worked with 3 editors; my development editor is a creative writing professor at the University of New York and former-executive editor at Harlequin, and the two others worked at Penguin and Simon & Schuster, and even today I’d consider myself an amateur. The best way you learn is actually through your readers and by reading in your genre. And by readers I mean your paying readers— those who pay to read your work. This is where I received the best advice ever. They were cold, harsh critiques but important nevertheless, to improve and become a better writer. I believe editors are great, but sometimes they don’t tell you all the harsh, cold truths you need to hear (they might not even know about them themselves). The more your novel is read, the more opinions you can gather and some of them can be as valuable as the opinion of an editor (and sometimes even better).
I’ve heard you are planning a launch for February. Can you give me any details about that?
I did what is called a soft launch on October 28, which is when you launch the e-book first. The idea of a soft launch is to gather as much feedback as possible and make any necessary adjustment before it goes to print (this is when you do offset/traditional printing of your book, not print-on-demand). On Valentine’s Day, I’ll have the 1st Edition of Blossom in Winter available on paperback which is an offset print. As a new self-published author, I’m a firm believer on gathering as much genuine feedback as possible before it goes to print and the best way to do so is by readers who [willingly] paid to read your work.
I know you made quite a career shift, from travel blogger to self-published author. Now that you’ve taken the plunge into writing, do you notice any overlap? Will you continue to do Luxury Travel Influencing or is writing your focus for now?
Photo by Melanie Martins.
I’m actually a writer at heart. When I was nineteen and a Law school student, all I wanted was to travel to exotic places (think Morocco, Egypt, Maldives, French Polynesia, Seychelles, etc.) and escape my rather boring college life, so becoming a travel blogger seemed the right path to achieve it. My boyfriend and I purchased a camera and we started to create content for hospitality/travel brands allowing us to travel and build my personal brand out of it. However, writing fiction is what I enjoy the most. Eight years ago, I would’ve never been able to write a novel in English since my level was quite basic (I’m French and Portuguese, English is my fourth language). For now, writing and the business aspect of self-publishing is what I want to focus on, but I will definitely continue to collaborate with some of my favorite brands such as the Four Seasons, the Ritz-Carlton, etc. in the future.
What advice would you give to new writers?
First, find your writing style. I realized after finishing my first manuscript of Blossom in Winter (a 125k words manuscript) that I hated reading it on the 3rd person and past-tense. It was so impersonal that I had to change it. I changed from 3rd person to first person but something was missing. Then I changed the past-tense to the present-tense and that was my eureka moment. Multiple first-person points-of-view became my writing style. Second, plan your story. There is nothing worse than not having a planned story-line; you will get stuck and not know what to write about. I wrote my first manuscript in three months because I had everything figured it out beforehand. Third, once you have a first draft, hire a development/line-by-line editor. A development editor will check everything from plot holes, pacing, characters development, etc., and might even do some copy-editing (if it’s a line-by-line editor). Your first manuscript is always horrible, believe me. Once you have a revised version, hire a copy-editor and lastly, a proofreader. It’s an investment, but if you are serious about your writing career, you should do it. Also, read as much as you can in the genre you want to write about.
What book are you reading right now? Do you have a favorite?
I’m currently reading The Kiss Thief (an arranged marriage novel by L. J. Shein and it’s the first time I’m reading from this author). I read mostly dark erotic romances, so one of my favorites is The Dark Duet series by C. J. Robert (for the plot—not the writing style, though). An easier read for me was Comfort Food by Kitty Thomas, but both of them explore Stockholm syndrome which I find fascinating.
Click here to view The Kiss Thief by L. J. Shien on Amazon
Click here to view Captive in the Dark (The Dark Duet Book 1) by C. J. Robert on Amazon
Click here to view Comfort Food by Kitty Thomas on Amazon
Photo by Melanie Martins.
Where can readers find and keep up with you?
I’m mostly active on my Facebook group Blossom in Winter (by Melanie Martins) but they can also find me on Instagram and Facebook under @melaniemartinsblog.
Click here to view Blossom in Winter by Melanie Martins on Amazon
Click here to view Blossom in Winter by Melanie Martins on Blossominwinter.com (Free worldwide shipping)
In closing, I’d like to include my own Amazon review of the book. I’d highly recommend it to every romance reader out there and especially if you enjoy reading Romantic Thrillers.
Click here to view my review of Blossom in Winter on Goodreads
And that’s it for my author interview with Melanie Martins. Have you read Blossom in Winter? If so, what did you think about it? And if not, why not? Get on with it already! I know you’ll love it! Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!
Click here to view Blossom in Winter by Melanie Martins on Amazon
Click here to view Blossom in Winter by Melanie Martins on Blossominwinter.com (Free worldwide shipping)
Thanks for reading my interview with Melanie Martins! If you’re looking for her contact links or where you can find the book, you’ve scrolled a bit too far. No fear though, just scroll up to the section above these pictures ^ and you should find it!
—Payton
How To Write Best Friends to Lovers Romance - That Feels Realistic
Hi writerly friends!
I’m back this week with another romance writing guide. Next week we’ll be discussing how to write believable hate-to-love romance, so I thought it’d be a great warm-up to show you guys how to writer believe best-friend-to-lovers romance. This is obviously a steppingstone and acts as the middle ground between enemies and more-than-friends in hate-to-love romance, so as you might expect, you can’t have one without the other.
However, your characters don’t always have to start out hating each other, they can indeed go from friends to lovers in a single story. Funnily for us, and embarrassingly for your characters and readers, it’s not exactly a straight shot, no—it’s a pretty rocky ride from best friends to lovers and it can be a tricky-to-write trope.
It’s unsurprising that the characters will have a bumpy time getting from one side to the other, as one is decidedly platonic and the other is decidedly romantic, and the transition from friends to lovers can be tough to read, even tougher to write, and often employs tons of awkward exchanges and cringe-worthy moments.
So, how do you write best-friends-to-lovers romance that is realistic and believable to the reader?
Step 1: Embrace The Weirdness
As you might expect, writing best-friends-to-lovers romance stories is going to feel weird, because plot twist, going from best-friends to lovers is weird! Not unearthing any best kept secrets, her—everyone knows it’s a weird shift, especially if you’ve known each other since childhood. So, when writing this trope, don’t shy away from all the weirdness, awkwardness, and embarrassing, gross feelings that happen, because it’s completely natural and these feelings should be present in the story. In fact, the reader should be able to pick up on these feeling and feel weird about it too. Secondhand embarrassment is a thing, and it’s something we want our readers turning pages to get to a point in the story when everything makes sense again and the awkwardness has died down a bit.
However, don’t go so far as to make it unrealistic. Yes, at times the uncomfortableness of the transition should be almost palpable to the reader, but keep the balance between rising and falling tension so that readers stay on the edges of their seats and grit the teeth at all the right moments.
Step 2: Determine Whether the Love is Mutual or Unrequited?
Before we get into the story structure for this trope, ask yourself whether the love between your characters or if it’s unrequited. This is very important to how the story will play out and what choices your characters will make based on their emotions, especially towards the resolution. Both routes can be delicious and heart-wrenching in their own right but know which one you’re going to go with in your own writing, will make the process a lot easier.
Jonah Hauer-King as Laurie Lawerence and Maya Hawke as Jo March in Little Women (2017) Photo by PBS.
To make it easier to chose which path your story will take, I’m going to give you a couple of examples, the first being Little Women by Louisa May Alcott, and the second being Emma by Jane Austen, (and no, I didn’t just pick these two because they involve someone being gifted a piano, but man isn’t that romantic?)
In Little Women, Laurie’s love goes unreturned when Jo tells him she never saw him as more than a friend. This sends him to Europe to avoid his heart break. When he returns after falling for Jo’s sister, being rejected again, and being inspired to do something with his life, he asks Jo to marry him. She rejects him again and ends up marrying someone else, but this story is a prime example of a best-friends-to-lovers romance that took a turn when the love was unrequited.
On the flip side, Emma, by Jane Austen Emma is startled to realize after everything, she is the one who wants to marry Mr. Knightly. When she admits her foolishness for meddling in the romances of others, he proposes, and she accepts. This is a great example of friends who become lovers where the love is returned.
Step 3: Follow The Structure
Alright, now that we got that out of the way, let’s talk about the parts of the BFTL story structure (at least that’s the acronym I’m giving it because that’s just way to much to type every time, sorry, not sorry.)
Whether or not you go by the 3-Act Story Structure, every best-friends-to-lovers romance typically follows this basic format:
Foundation
Set-up
Aha moment
Conflict
Decision
Resolution
Foundation
The first part of the structure for this trope is the foundation, where we are introduced to all core story elements, characters, setting, premise and theme. Here, the reader will get to know what exactly the story they’re reading is.
Set-up
The second part of the structure is the set-up. This is where the meet cute would occur in romance, and for best-friends-turned-lovers romance, it is no different. Introduce the characters, their relationship at this point in the story, and begin laying the groundwork for the transition from best-friends to future lovers.
Click here to read my blog post for creating the perfect meet cute.
While your story might be set preceding or following the formation of your characters friendship, it is important to know how and when they became friends, because if they become lovers later on, this will be an important part in the evolution of their relationship.
Aha Moment
This part of the story is when the characters first realize they are in love with each other. If you chose to go with the unrequited love path, then here, they would learn that one likes the other and decide they don’t feel the same way in return. Consider what path you take for this part because it will really determine how the rest of the story plays out.
Does the one who is rejected continue pursuing their friend romantically, or do they give up on the first try? Does the one who only views their friend platonically have a change of heart and end up with their friend after all? Is it a messy back and forth that never really ends with the two friends becoming lovers? Is the timing ever right? These are all important questions to ask yourself during the aha moment, because it directly drives the following course of the story.
Conflict
Remember the questions I just asked you in the aha moment section? Those questions should be asked and answered in the conflict of the story. Here we see the true feelings come out and the characters will understand the scope of the situation before them.
Decision
Saoirse Ronan as Josephine "Jo" March and Timothée Chalamet as Theodore "Laurie" Laurence (2019). Photo by Wilson Webb .
In the decision part of the best-friends-to-lovers romance, readers will see what choice the characters make based on everything they know at this point and their emotions. They might decide to get together or break up as friends, for good. Everything that has happened has led to this moment and how they react will change the course of their friendship forever. If the love is unrequited, maybe they just stay friends, but it is likely things will be weird and they’ll have to go their separate ways, like Laurie and Jo in Little Women. Perhaps they do end up getting together and marrying with a happy ending such as Emma and Mr. Knightly in Emma.
Resolution
Where do your characters go from here? How does the friendship grow or die after the decisions are made? Is there room for growth as friends and lovers or have they done irreparable damage to a good thing? Unrequited love stories are especially juicy and heart-wrenching in the resolution.
And that’s it for my guide on how to write best-friends-to-lovers romance stories that are believable and realistic. What do you think of these types of stories? Did you like Little Women and Emma? Do you prefer writing mutual or unrequited love? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below, and as always, thanks for reading!
Further reading:
—Payton
How To Write The Perfect Meet Cute
Glen Powell as Charlie Young and Zoey Deutch as Harper in Set It Up. Gif by Payton Hayes.
Hello, writerly friends!
Today, we’re discussing the meet cute. What the heck even is a meet cute anyways? Well, according to Google, is an amusing or charming first encounter between two characters that leads to the development of a romantic relationship between them.
Of course, the way you do the meet cute is completely and totally up to you—it can be cute, funny, or disastrous and comical. How you do a meet cute is completely subjective and can be created in a number of ways, but today I am going to show you how to make a meet cute even cuter—like the cutest it could possibly be.
When the reader sees the meeting coming, characters do not
While you can craft a meet cute where both the reader and characters do not see it coming, I think it’s extra interesting when the reader does, because it’s like this little secret between the writer and the reader. I really love meet cutes that do this. It’s like the sense of rising dread you get when you’re reading parts of a story with building tension—except that it’s a good kind of dread because you want the characters to end up meeting. The reader knows something good will come out of this chance encounter, only they know it’s coming, and the characters do not.
Flinn is surprised when Rapunzel hits him with a frying pan during Disney’s Tangled’s meet cute (2010).
A great example of this kind of meet cute is in Disney’s Tangled, when Flynn Rider is running from the law and seeks refuge in Rapunzel’s conveniently hidden tower. We already know Rapunzel is inside and he definitely climbed up the wrong tower. The scene that follows does not disappoint, when Rapunzel smacks him in the face with a frying pan for climbing through her window. I would consider this a comical meet cute, but it works extra well because the viewer knows what will happen before the characters and it builds for extra spicy first meeting.
Joe Bradley wakes a sleeping Princess Ann in Roman Holiday (1953).
Another example of a meet cute where the viewer/reader knows of the meeting before the characters actually meet is Roman Holiday, when Princess Ann shirks her royal responsibilities to see Rome for herself and eventually ends up falling asleep on a street. When the scene shifts to Gregory Peck playing cards with the guys, viewers just know the two are going to meet. After his night out, we see him walking down the same street Ann has fallen asleep on and we’re already anticipating their meeting.
Milo Ventimiglia as Jess Mariano and Alexis Bledel as Rory Gilmore in Gilmore Girls (2000).
Another example of a meet cute where the characters don’t know they’ll be meeting it is in Gilmore Girls, Season 2, Episode 5. Not only does this episode include Jess' first appearance, but it's also the first episode that Rory and he meet. He steals her copy of Allen Ginsberg's "Howl," only to return it to her later in the episode with notes in the margins because Ginsberg is love, you guys. Ah, Jess Mariano — you book thieving-and-annotating bad boy. When Jess swipes Howl from Rory’s room during that ill-fated dinner hosted by Lorelai, and then returns it filled with margin notes, Rory was definitely impressed. (And so were we.) This scene effectively sets up the characters before they even know each other, themselves and shows us that there’s more than meets the eye, both for the mischievous Jess and their tumultuous relationship down the line.
This kind of meet cute makes the reader feel smarter because they know something the characters don’t. This is why it feels like a special little secret between the reader and the writer because the reader feels like he or she has already figured the story out. This is especially effective if you have plot twists and turns later on in the story, because the ground work for the surprises will already be laid out for you.
Characters don’t know they’ll be seeing a lot of each other
Piggybacking on the idea that the characters don’t know they’ll end up together, another meet cute that works really well in many stories is when the characters don’t know they’ll be seeing a lot of each other and/or aren’t too thrilled about it. This is especially fun for awkward situations where the character thinks “oh well, I’ll never see them again anyways,” and then come to find out that they will be seeing them again, and a lot more at that. Awkward is cute, writers.
Gugu Mbatha-Raw as Dido Elizabeth Belle and Sam Reid as John Davinière in Belle.
Pro tip: a sense of awkwardness or secondhand embarrassment is a fantastic feeling to give the reader. It’s as strong as , if not stronger than fear or desire, because its such a vulnerable emotion and it’s one we go out of our way to avoid. If you can invoke this in your reader, then congratulations, you’ve effectively written something that makes people feel.
A great example of this type of meet cute is in the movie Belle, when Dido and John run into each other on her late-night walk. She is startled at first when she finds that he actually came bringing news for her uncle and even more so when she discovers her uncle is John’s tutor and they’ll be seeing a lot more of each other.
Another example of this type of meet cute is in Jane Eyre when Jane first meets Mr. Rochester, he doesn’t tell her who he is, but later when she returns home, she recognizes his dog and realizes the true identity of the man she’d met on the road, earlier that day.
This kind of meet cute is really great because not only does it introduce a whole new level of awkward! but it also allows us to get to know the characters before they know each other and makes their relationship down the road, a lot cuter.
Irony, or something happening that would never happen later in the story
Megan Follows as Anne Shirley and Jonathan Crombie as Gilbert Blythe in Anne of Green Gables (1985).
This is probably one of the most powerful, yet hard to pull off versions of the meet cute, but if you can nail it, it can prove for a really effective first meeting and adds dept to the relationship later. Using irony in your meet cute makes the meeting 100x better because when these two characters are in love some day and they look back on their relationship later, it will be so funny to look back and think about how ironic their first encounter really was.
One great example of the use of irony in a meet cute is in Anne of Green Gables when Anne Shirley breaks Gilbert Blythe’s slate over his head out of temper when he teases her repeatedly. This was a very effective and ironic meet cute because the two characters would never behave in such a way after they’d gotten together but it really makes for a memorable first meeting.
“I've loved you ever since that day you broke your slate over my head in school." Oh Gil❤️
The second meeting is even more awkward
Okay, the only thing better than making your reader feel the palpable awkwardness is making them feel it twice! (Or three times if you’re gutsy enough!) This kind of meet cute is incredibly effective, especially if you tie it in with the first two where 1) only the reader knows they will meet and 2) they don’t know they’ll run into each other a lot more following the first meeting. This makes for a really, really strong meet cute where the characters and the reader are almost swimming the awkward emotions and the only way to move past it is to keep reading and see how it plays out.
The first meeting happens and once it’s over and done, you can bring it back around for the second meeting which is filled to the brim with potential for even more awkwardness, shyness, embarrassment and dramatic meet cute goodness!
An example of this meet cute is in Downton Abbey when Mary Talbot and Matthew Crawley meet for the first time, she walks in on Matthew saying some offhanded things to his mother. He is talking about how he will likely be shoved into an arranged marriage with one of the Talbot daughters since their parents had heard he was a bachelor. She says she hopes she isn’t interrupting anything but of course, that proves to be the case when they meet again later and its super awkward.
Callback to the meet cute
Megan Follows as Anne Shirley and Jonathan Crombie as Gilbert Blythe in Anne of Green Gables (1985).
All of these are great ways to effectively nail the meet cute for your characters, but you get bonus points for bringing it back up later on in the story. It’s really fun to see the characters in love reflecting on their embarrassing first meeting and makes for a great treat for the reader. A callback is a really effective literary device where something happens in the beginning of the story and is later referenced towards the end of the story in another context, essentially calling it back to the reader’s memory.
Audrey Hepburn as Princess Ann and Gregory Peck as Joe Bradley in Roman Holiday (1953).
Some particularly cute examples of this callback to the meet cute is in Anne of Green Gables when Gil calls her Carrot, endearingly, in Roman Holiday when Princess Ann says “So happy, Mister Bradley,” in reference to her muttering “So happy” in her sleep on the street, and in Jane Eyre when Mr. Rochester says, “You always were a witch” to Jane in reference to their very first meeting when he’d said “Get away from me, witch!”
These are just a few really well-done meet cutes and you’ll find it’s always the little things that make these meeting iconic, memorable, and downright adorable.
That’s it for the secrets to the perfect meet cute. Try using them all and let me know what you think. Do you prefer to use one version over another or do you like using them together? Do you ever call back to your meet cutes? What is the most important element of a meet cute? And what are some of your favorite meet cutes? Let me know in the comments below!
Further reading:
Thumbnail photo by Natalie.
—Payton
Classic Romance Reading Challenge for February 2020
If you’re new, thanks for dropping by and if you’ve been around for a minute, this month, we’re talking about romance, because it’s February and most people associate romance with February (even though I know Valentine’s day is just an excuse to eat chocolate— but hey I’m not complaining, I love chocolate and I’ll shamelessly eat it whenever I can.)
I digress. Today, in the bookish things’ category, I am giving you guys a February Romance Reading Challenge. It’s very much like Booktober, where the bookish community participates in various thriller, horror, and downright creepy reading challenges to get in the Halloween holiday spirit. However, this reading challenge comes with a twist: classics. In this reading challenge, we’re going to be reading classic romances. Not only will we start the year of strong with some of the well-known classics but will be in the mushy mood all month! Let’s get reading!
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
Jane Eyre, a young orphan under the care of her cruel, wealthy aunt attends the Lowood school where her life is less than idyllic. She studies there for years before taking a governess position at a manor called Thornfield, where she teaches a lively French girl named Adele. There, she meets a dark, impassioned man, named Mr. Rochester, with whom she finds herself secretly falling in love with. However, this classic romance transcends melodrama to portray a woman’s passionate search for a wider and richer life than that which Victorian society traditionally allowed.
Click here to view Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte on Amazon
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
I could go on and on for days about Austen’s Writing and she definitely has the novels to support that loving rant, but I’ll save you guys the sifting and just say that if you’re going to read Jane Austen, why not read her quintessential romance novel, Pride and Prejudice. It has all the elements of an amazing romance novel and is one of, if not the greatest romance novel of all time. It’s a witty comedy of manners that features splendidly civilized sparring between the proud Mr. Darcy and the prejudiced Elizabeth Bennet as they play out their spirited courtship in a series of eighteenth-century drawing-room intrigues.
Click here to view Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen on Amazon
Breakfast at Tiffany’s by Truman Capote
An American classic that inspired one of the most influential movies of all time, Breakfast at Tiffany’s is a classic romance that opens with the unnamed narrator meeting for the first time, Holly Golightly. The two are both tenants of an apartment building on Manhattan’s upper, east side. As the story progresses, the reader learns more and more about Holly and the relationship between her and the narrator as he recounts fondly their memories and finds himself quite enamored with her curious lifestyle. She, a country girl turned New York Café Society, works as an expensive escort (not prostitute) and hopes to marry one of the wealthy men she accompanies one day.
Click here to view Breakfast at Tiffany’s by Truman Capote on Amazon
Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
Another novel from the other Bronte sister, this wild, passionate romance story of the intense and almost obsessive love between Catherine Earnshaw and Heathcliff, a foundling adopted by Catherine’s father continues to strike readers today. The story is one of, if not perhaps the most haunting and tormented love stories ever written and tells the tale of the troubled orphan, Heathcliff and his doomed love for Catherine.
Click here to view Wurthering Heights by Emily Bronte on Amazon
Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare
What list would be complete without a little Shakespeare and especially, his most famous story, Romeo and Juliet. Though anyone who has actually read it will tell you that the story doesn’t have a particularly happy ending (in fact, its particularly unhappy, if you ask me) the story is a classic romantic tale that showcases one of the most important questions humanity has ever faced, and that is: how far will one go for love? Elizabeth Eliot said, “There is nothing worth living for, unless it is worth dying for.” which eloquently and succinctly describes Romeo and Juliet.
Click here to view Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare on Amazon
Try reading these in order of most romantic to least romantic to start the month out with a really romantic read and finish it out on a little reader heartbreak. Or, read least to most romantic to end February with a happy ending.
What do you think of my February 2020 Classic Romance Reading Challenge? Have you read any of these stories before? Which of these five is your favorite and which is your least favorite? For me personally, I really enjoyed Pride and Prejudice and I look forward to rereading it this month, however I’d say Wuthering Heights makes number 5 on my list. Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!