And the number of romance-specific bookstores in the U.S.—from Tropes & Trifles in Minneapolis to the Ripped Bodice in New York City and L.A.—has grown from just two in 2020 to more than 20 today.

Reëxamining Romantic Tropes with the Ripped Bodice Leah Koch, a co-owner of the romance bookstore, describes how the genre has changed and what makes it special. February 12, 2025 ...

Like its peers in the broader genre, paranormal romances often follows romance tropes, but with fantastical twist. There’s the “fated mate” or “true mate” trope, where a character has ...