The art of a friends-to-lovers trope

I must preface this by clarifying that this is all opinion. I am not a writer and cannot say how difficult it is to write a successful trope; I am just a frequent reader.

The secret that I believe is critical to having a successful friends-to-lovers trope is this secret pining that one character must have for another. When reading a friends-to-lovers trope, getting the right amount of pining can be challenging without making it a love triangle.

In this instance, I have three examples. In Red, White, and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston, the relationship between the 2 main characters blossoms into a friendship and becomes romantic over time. However, a third person is not brought in during this friend stage. One person falls for the other, and then the other one (over time) realizes that these feelings are shared, and they get together.

Similarly, the book One Last Stop, also written by Casey McQuiston, also has this development of a relationship without introducing a third member. One Last Stop features a sapphic relationship that is a friends-to-lovers trope, but it does not feel the need to introduce a love triangle.

The main plot does not need to be strengthened by weakening the relationship that is present and is being developed from the beginning.

However, now I will introduce a book that was still a good read, but didn't quite introduce the friends-to-lovers trope correctly, in my opinion. That book is The Quantum Weirdness of the Almost-Kiss by Amy Noelle Parks. The people in this relationship have been lifelong friends, with the boy pining over the girl, but she falls for another boy.

In this book, the friends-to-lovers trope is established in a way where the reader knows that the two main characters will end up together. Instead of one character slowly realizing their feelings, the main character, Evie, falls for another boy, then later realizes that she likes her best friend, Caleb, and everything goes downhill. The strong relationship between these 2 characters has been weakened because he has been shut down by her finding another guy, and she had to go through another guy to realize that Caleb is who she wants.

The problem with this way of writing this trope is the collateral damage. One character is introduced as a love interest for the main character, and they are developed and, in the end, are usually not at fault. They are introduced just to be dumped later, creating an uncomfortable feeling.

Having the pining between friends develop into a relationship because that is what the characters find within each other, is so much nicer than introducing a third person to confuse the main character.

Are you a fan of the friends-to-lovers trope?

• Yes
• No