It's all the rage right now--ENEMIES TO LOVERS. There's just something about the tension there--the tension that comes from two characters who were once sworn enemies but find themselves drawn to one another, often against their will. Unrequited enemies to lovers? Even better. TikTok has its own category for these books. They're in every single fantasy book ever.

Usually, they're all the same. The girl is a hero, and there are only two options: a) she's a nobody or b) she's the strongest fighter on the good guys' side. She's drop-dead gorgeous, probably has a guy best friend, has some kind of extreme talent, and is a shoo-in for queen. She might even be the princess.

Then we've got a guy who's a villain, by all intents and purposes. He's probably attacked our protagonist at least once (she is the protagonist, btw). This guy is either the evil king's son or the evil king's general. He's one of their best fighters and he's probably been assigned to hunt the girl down.

I don't know about you guys, but most of the time, this gives me the ick because the vibes are stalker-ish, abusive, and far too on the nose.

The guy is usually "redeemed" through the power of love, and most of the time this is a purely physical thing. There's not usually a friendship stage or even a stage where the two just work together--they're just enemies, and then one day, the tension becomes too much and they kiss. Not good. Not my favorite thing. BUT enemies to lovers can be fabulous if done well--so how do you do it well?

Let's pull a couple examples of GREAT usage of this trope. There may be some mild spoilers for the stories below, but I'll try to avoid them as much as possible (with the caveat, of course, that I'm outing these characters as getting together by the ending of the story.)

1. Gender-bend the enemies.

2. Remember: abuse is not enemies to lovers, and the story cannot all be based on secrets.

y'all knew this was coming

If  you've known me for five minutes you know how much I love Leigh Bardugo's books. She's the queen of epic fantasy, especially in the Shadow and Bone trilogy. But let's look at what is easily my least favorite dynamic: the "hot" but extremely dangerous man who wants the girl to join him so they can "change the world" together.

Darkles is a dangerous, dangerous man. There is a power dynamic between him and Alina that is dangerous. And let me make something very clear: just because she thinks he's attractive is NOT ENOUGH REASON TO SHIP THIS. 

"But Faith! It's enemies to lovers!" No, it's a power dynamic with abuse where the girl is manipulated into seeing an objectively attractive man as her savior. 

That is NOT enemies to lovers. I cannot stress the equal footing factor enough here. If your villain is trying to manipulate a girl into loving him, seeing him as her everything--that is not enemies to lovers. That is an abuse case. Call the police. Get a restraining order.

3. For the love of all that is holy, make it slow burn.

This contradicts my point about Willow, but that's a movie, so we'll focus on books (especially series) here. A wonderful, wonderful example of an enemies to lovers slow-burn series is Once Upon a Broken Heart by Stephanie Garber. 

We first meet Jacks, the male lead of this series, in the Caraval series, where he is hands-down a manipulative and bad person. He's a villainous man with villainous intent, but thankfully the girl in question in the Caraval series is also a manipulative and vindictive character out for her own purposes, so there still isn't the same kind of unequal footing we see in Shadow and Bone. However, in this spinoff, Jacks is still single and looking to mingle--with secrets, of course. Because there always are.

The girl in this story isn't a manipulative person. She's the definition of a cinnamon roll, small and sweet and believing in the power of love. Diving straight into a romance would be a terrible decision here--but this is a trilogy. Without spoilers (of course, the third one isn't out yet), Jacks has a LOT of space to grow here, and so does the girl in this series. We're looking at two highly dynamic characters whose attraction to one another comes with a HUGE dose of character growth, development, and change. 

In Conclusion:

I think that's the real secret of enemies to lovers: your characters need to be dynamic. Don't just make them fall in love against their will. Make a change happen IN THEM that then LEADS to the opportunity to fall in love with someone of a completely different ideology. And please please please do not make falling in love with a girl be the catalyst to change your villain. It's giving missionary dating and "but I can change him" and that's not just bad, it's tired. 

As I write this, I should let you know that one of my upcoming books is a slow, slow, SLOW-burn enemies-to-lovers romance across not one but FOUR books (with two books of prequel). No details yet, but hopefully that's enough to pique your interest. I will of course be sharing more as time goes on, mwahaha. 

What's a good example of enemies to lovers, in your opinion? Have you seen Willow? Chat with me down below!