Rival romances are not new – in fact, Jane Austen best captured the phenomenon in 1813’s Pride and Prejudice , in which Lizzie Bennet and Fitzwilliam Darcy were Such a perfect fit that they couldn't help but play against each other for 400 seconds. Page - But the trope is at a particularly intense moment right now.
It's impossible for me to sit down on the subway without seeing the cover of a book featuring two sexy people glaring at each other. There was no way I was walking by a bookstore without going in and buying four books featuring the most annoying men in the world who somehow became Prince Charming (this may have more to do with my personal spending habits, but it’s true is the fact). It's time to declare this summer from enemies to lovers.
Considering Austen's contribution to the genre, Audrey Belleza and Emily Harding's Elizabeth of East Hampton retells Pride and Prejudice as this season's enemies-to-lovers romance Romance movies are perfect. But she's not the only one: #1 New York Times bestseller Emily Henry has been leading the Enemies-to-Lovers genre for a while, including her hit book Beach Read ), she has written the new Funny Story , in which two opposites are dumped at the same time and forced to become roommates, and love blossoms; in Summer Fridays , Suzanne Rindell's "You've Got Mail" offers a new interpretation; Sajni Patel's The Design of Us tells the story of two co-workers who hate each other (classic) who start a fake romance (classic) and eventually fall in love (classic), while Carter Sai Cat Sebastian's "You Should Be So Lucky" offers a queer classic plot set in the baseball world of the 1960s. In Kuang Yulin's "How to End a Love Story," the hatred and trauma are deeper, but still enemies to lovers.
Granted, this metaphor always resonates during the hotter months. When traffic to the beach is heavy and CVS is no longer your favorite brand of sunscreen, everyone seems to be your enemy. If the winter holidays are a time for gratitude and comfort, summer is a time for feeling overheated and angry because you have to work on Fridays.
But there must be some reason why this statement is particularly popular this summer. Maybe it’s because we live in polarized times and this season is the last hurray before the presidential campaign reaches its climax (sorry to remind you). Maybe because we can go online and find out the most embarrassing things about everyone we match on Tinder, potential lovers instantly feel like enemies. Maybe it's because going from friends to lovers feels ideal until the romance doesn't work out and you think, "Wait, did I just lose a friend? I'd rather lose an enemy!"
You're bound to have enemies too (for many, they're called "exes"; for others, they're called "colleagues"), so if these characters can do it, why can't you?
Or maybe it's because dating is incredibly difficult right now, especially for straight women. Some of us have been on dating apps for over a decade, and after using Hinge for so long, there's so much anxiety and competition; it's hard to see anyone online as a friend. Faced with a cell phone full of rivals and dozens of stilted first dates, "Boysobering"—the new trend of ditching dates in the name of self-care—seems like the only option. But there's a way to keep hope alive: immerse yourself in a story about an enemy who succeeds in their own right. You're bound to have enemies too (for many, they're called "exes"; for others, they're called "colleagues"), so if these characters can do it, why can't you?
Plus, the enemies-to-lovers story is thrilling, funny, and downright sexy. We need sex appeal now more than ever. It wasn't the happiest of times; even the gossip about the royal family took a dark turn. Losing yourself in a voracious read is one of the best and only ways to get off your phone, stay off your ex’s Instagram, and escape for good.
If this is going to be the hottest summer on record, it might also be your personal hottest summer on record. It's time to dig into your enemy's numbers.
