Do We Need a New Romance Trope? The Second Opportunity Romance

As I was preparing some marketing materials for my latest book, Once and Again with the Viscount, I had a bit of trouble fitting it into some of the standard tropes. Most specifically, the second chance romance.

In my mind, this book fit that category as it was about two characters that had both had feelings for the other previously before starting a relationship in the present. However, while both had cared for the other, they had not ever actually been in a relationship before.

For many readers, the past relationship is what defines a second chance romance. That would mean my book would not fit the trope even though it was a second chance for them to find happiness with one another.

So, this got me thinking. What my book really is, is a second opportunity romance. I think there are many romances that would fit into this category, and I wonder if we need to add this to the list.

I can think of countless books where either one or both characters have pinned for the other for a long time. These are often in friends to lovers plots (one or both friends have been harboring feelings and missed out on their chance previously), or stories where one character is reuniting with the other after a period of time (return to hometown, move to the big city and lean on friend, etc.). In my mind, these are a type of second chance, but as there was no official relationship before, it’s now really the second shot, or second opportunity.

What do you think? Is this its own trope, or just a subset of the second chance romance? Does it matter if the relationship before was official, or just wished for?

Either way, I hope you’ll check out my second opportunity romance, Once and Again with the Viscount, now available on Amazon and in KU.