I could talk for days about why marriage of convenience is one of the most satisfying tropes to write and read (IMO), but here’s my attempt at a shortened version of why tropes are magical, and why I believe Marriage of Convenience reigns supreme.
(Okay, I’m sort of joking. I write all the tropes and love them dearly… but Marriage of Convenience is my comfort food—both to write and to read.)
Why Romance Tropes Are Magical
As a reader, the beauty of tropes lies in the promise. I know what I’m walking into when I pick up a book, and in a world that feels increasingly chaotic and unpredictable, that predictability feels safe.
But isn’t that what we all love about romance novels in general?
We know we’ll get a happily ever after.
We expect a little emotional damage along the way.
And we expect the payoff to be worth the tension and heartbreak that the author puts us through.
Tropes deliver on those expectations.
Reading by Mood: Tropes for Every Vibe
⇨ With forbidden love, we know we’re in for delicious angst.
⇨ With billionaire romances,we’re promised luxury, snobbery, and scandal.
⇨ With rom-coms,we get chaos, witty banter, and those moments that have us kicking our feet, laughing.
Sometimes I read by mood. Sometimes I want something thick with plot and tons of steam. And sometimes, there are tropes I avoid like the plague. (Hi, love triangles. You’re the worst.)
But that’s the magic of romance: there’s something for everyone.
Some of my closest friends live in a messy love triangle and let’s be real, I’ve probably watched Twilight close to five hundred times in my life. (Team Edward when I was younger but now I just watch for Charlie. IYKYK.)
Tropes That Match Your Vibe (And Where to Find Them)
And that’s the beauty of tropes: they let you find books that match your current vibe. Life is short. Why waste your time reading something you’re not going to enjoy?
In a billionaire mood?
There’s a trope for that. Might I recommend my book Flames in the Frost on Galatea?
Read Flames in the Frost 
Want a one-night stand turned enemies to lovers?
I’ve got those. My book After the Crash placed 3rd in Inkitt’s 2024 Writing Contest!
Grumpy sunshine mixed with a holiday theme?
Check out Love in Litigation.
Age gap and single dad?
Beyond the Blueprint on Galatea has that.
Roommates, witty banter, and forced proximity?
Yep, During the Storm on Inkitt checks all those boxes too.
Tropes are a kind of communication between author and reader. That’s why I always list the tropes at the beginning of my stories on Inkitt—it’s my way of saying:
Here’s what you’ll get if you read my book.
Marriage of Convenience: My Obsession
There’s just something about a grumpy MMC muttering “my wife” through clenched teeth that makes me feral.
Throw in one bed, two people who’ve sworn off love, and a delicious simmer of tension, and I’m ruined.
From slow-burn glances to the moment everything clicks and they realize they’re hopelessly, irrevocably in love? Magic.
Why It Works So Well
Why do I love Marriage of Convenience so much?
Because it has everything:
- High stakes
- Opposites attract (usually)
- Delicious banter
- And a hero who thinks love is off the table, only to fall harder than anyone. Usually in the worst (read: best) way. I love it even more when he falls first and acts surprised by his feelings (though we all expected it, of course.)
3 Books Where I Let This Trope Run Wild
1. Second Rodeo (on Inkitt)
The two leads marry for the love of a piece of land. Literally. They both put in offers on the same property, and the owner refuses to sell to just one. Solution? Get married. (Obviously.) And then accidentally fall in love as roommates while they fix up the property
2. Chasing Bandit
The hero has one shot to inherit his family’s ranch—thanks to a dusty, outdated clause in a contract that requires him to be married. Enter the only woman willing to fake it for the right reasons (don’t worry, she’s got her own agenda).
Cue them being unable to keep their hands off each other while they fake their marriage to the rest of the world, fight with each other (lots of my wife growls), and eventually fall in love.
3. Within the Sin Bin (Spicy Hockey Romance on Inkitt)
Read Within the Sin Bin
The MMC is a PR disaster. The only thing that can save his public image and ensure that he doesn’t lose his professional hockey contract? Marrying his lawyer’s daughter—who agrees in exchange for a career-making promotion: partner at her father’s firm at just thirty years old.
Professional mess meets personal chaos and loads of spicy moments as these two marry for reasons other than love but fall for each other along the way.
Why This Trope Will Always Have Me in a Chokehold
In each of these stories both characters need something — desperately — and fake marriage is the only way to get it.
And then we get to watch the magic unfold:
- The lingering glances
- The accidental touches
- The tension and denial
- The slow, inevitable unraveling of their walls
Because that’s what makes romance so satisfying, right? We want the in between.
The banter, the arguing, the push and pull, the are they or aren’t they that makes the eventual surrender so, so worth it.
That’s why marriage of convenience will always have me in a chokehold. It’s the trope I’ll always write, always read, and absolutely die on a hill defending.
In fact, I’m already thinking about my next marriage of convenience right now.
