This leads to iconic moments and dynamite scenes before the disdain and warring atmosphere slowly turns to empathy for one another. The tension! The protagonists’ interactions are always at the opposite ends of the emotional spectrum and there’s always conflict in the beginning. What are the possible explanations for the popularity of the enemies-to-lovers trope?Ĭould be anything, but here are some obvious reasons:

Why We Love Reading Enemies to Lovers Stories The origins of enemies-to-lovers can be traced as far as the 15 th century with Le Morte D’Arthur written by Sir Thomas Malory in 1485 having this type of romance.īut I’m sure this isn’t the oldest enemies-to-lovers work that’s been published, there are older ones that are still on some shelf somewhere.Ĭontemporary enemies-to-lovers fantasy books have also enjoyed success in young adult and adult literature. The enemies-to-lovers trope isn’t a new one and, as a matter of fact, contemporary just adopted it. Then something happens, and they start to see that they have a lot of things in common. The one I like, which is also prevalent in real life, involves characters who have a background of hating each other (maybe because they had an unfortunate misunderstanding). You also have a plot where characters naturally hate one another but a flame of love helps them to grow past their innate distaste. In some novels, you have a story where someone goes pretends to fall in love, but their motive is to murder their new partner.

In most cases, the two characters happen to be opposites but in the end, they find a way to love each other.Īlthough the ‘enemies to lovers’ theme seems this simple to explain, the stories in the books can take various shapes and forms and happen under complicated conditions. 3.11) Final Words on the Best Enemies to Lovers Books Enemies to Lovers Trope ExplainedĮnemies-to-lovers novels revolve around two characters falling in love despite some preexisting conditions.

Enemies to lovers