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Browse Tropes

Marriage of Convenience

Friends to Lovers

Second Chance

amnesia

arranged marriage

assassin

athlete

baseball

basketball

beach town

beauty and the beast

best friend's brother

billionaire

boarding school

bodyguard

boss employee

brother's best friend

castle

celebrity

childhood friends

christian themes

christmas

cinderella retelling

college

competition

contemporary setting

contract marriage

cowboy

coworkers

crime family

danger

destination wedding

detective

doctor

dragons

dystopian

enemies to lovers

fairy tale retelling

fake dating

fake engagement

fantasy world

farm

fated mates

fish out of water

football

forced marriage

forced proximity

found family

frontier

golf

grumpy sunshine

he falls first

hidden identity

hidden past

historical setting

hitman

hockey

inheritance

island

kidnapping

love triangle

mafia

mail order bride

marriage in trouble

marriage pact

medical

medieval

military

mistaken identity

morally gray

mountain town

mystery

nanny

neighbor

office

one bed

opposites attract

organized crime

palace

pirate

pregnancy

prince

princess

protector hero

ranch

ranch hand

ranch inheritance

redemption

regency

rescue

reunion romance

revenge

road trip

rodeo

roommates

royalty

runaway bride

scarred hero

secret baby

secret identity

she falls first

sheriff

shifter

ship

single dad

single mom

slow burn

small town

soldier

sports

summer

teacher

time travel

touch her and die

treasure hunt

undercover

vacation

vampire

veterinarian

victorian

vineyard

wagon train

werewolf

western

widower

winter

workplace

Jane Austen retelling

Strangers to lovers

Love at first sight

One boat

Mythical quest

deadly secrets

Scandal

Traveling

Suspense

Vicar MMC

secrets

spies

friendly wagers

murder

Shakespeare retelling

rivalries

attempted kidnapping

It’s a Wonderful Life retelling

writer FMC

masquerade ball

forbidden romance

astronomy

wagers

Hero-villain theme

Thief

Sleeping Beauty retelling

dungeon

captive

fantasy monsters

abducting

siblings

Rumpelstiltskin retelling

Phantom of the Opera retelling

disability rep

chosen one

first love

never been kissed

age gap

spy

Scottish

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Intimacy Levels

Level 1

  • Holding hands/Affectionate touching
  • Compliments/confessing love
  • Low-description kissing
  • Tender embraces/cuddling
  • Blushing and sighing
  • Non-descriptive discussions of sex
  • Established relationships
  • Fade to black if married
  • Any sexual encounters from past only referred to, not described or on-screen

Level 2

  • Touch that signals attraction
  • No touching in underwear zone
  • Long kisses, lightly descriptive
  • Deeper kisses, tongue implied not described
  • Feel warm/flushed
  • Gasping, deep sighs, light growls and groans
  • Thinking/speaking about desire non-descriptive
  • Fade to black for established relationships after a scene that matches this level – but may be unpopular if not married

Level 3

  • Hands moving, still not in underwear zone
  • French kiss with tongue described
  • Make-out sessions still follow guidelines
  • Feel hot, sweating
  • Heavier gasping, groaning, deep growls, panting
  • More frantic and lose some control
  • Male shirt may come off, but nothing else
  • Leg may straddle waist, but no mention of arousal
  • If they lay down together anywhere, use little description of contact/moving
  • May happen in a bedroom or on a bed, but should be interrupted or end with fade to black scene. Keep focus on the emotion.
  • Fade to black should still happen between married couples or at the end of the book between engaged/committed couples.