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Fiction Filters

Trope tagging and searching for books

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Books

Vibrant characters

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The Warrior’s Apprentice

Cover art for The Warrior's Apprentice
by Lois McMaster Bujold

Series:

The Vorkosigan Saga

Genres:

Science fiction and fantasy, Space opera

Tropes:

Coming of age, Cons and swindles, Fealty, Madcap adventures, Politics

Characters:

Character(s) with ADHD

Time Periods:

Long-Term Future

Places:

Military, Outer space

The Hands of the Emperor

Cover art for The Hands of the Emperor
by Victoria Goddard

Series:

The Lays of the Hearth-Fire

Genres:

Fantasy, Fantasy of manners

Tropes:

Fealty, Found family, Playing the long game, Politics, Unreliable narrator

Characters:

Asexual main character(s), Characters in their 50s, Characters in their 60s, Politician, Royalty

Time Periods:

Places:

Africa inspired setting, Pacific Islands inspired setting, Secondary World

Trade Me

Cover art for Trade Me
by Courtney Milan

Series:

Cyclone

Genres:

Contemporary romance, New adult fiction

Tropes:

Celebrity relationships, Fake dating, Life swap, Prince(ss) and pauper, Transactional relationship

Characters:

Athlete, Billionaire, Characters in their 20s, Characters with eating disorders, Chinese American main character(s), College student, Straight main character(s), Trans woman side character

Time Periods:

2010-2020

Places:

California, College

The Goblin Emperor

Cover art for The Goblin Emperor
by Katherine Addison

Series:

The Goblin Emperor

Genres:

Fantasy, Fantasy of manners, Gaslamp fantasy

Tropes:

Assassination, Dysfunctional family, Fealty, Forgotten heir, Mystery plot, Politics

Characters:

Character(s) with PTSD, Characters in their late teens, Introverted main character(s), Royalty, Straight main character

Time Periods:

Places:

Secondary World

A Marvellous Light

Cover art for A Marvellous Light
by Freya Marske

Series:

The Last Binding

Genres:

Fantasy of manners, Gaslamp fantasy

Tropes:

Dysfunctional family, Enemies to lovers, Grumpy/sunshine, Magical mystery, Magical society, Men loving men, Secret society

Characters:

Characters in their 20s, Mage, Queer main character(s), White/European main character(s)

Time Periods:

1900-1910

Places:

England

Check, Please!, Book 2: Sticks & Scones

Cover art for Check, Please!, Book 2: Sticks & Scones
by Ngozi Okazu

Series:

Check, Please!

Genres:

Contemporary romance, Hockey romance, New adult fiction, Sports romance

Tropes:

Celebrity relationships, Coming out, Ensemble cast, Found family, Grumpy/sunshine, Men loving men, Secret relationship, Sports teams, Stress baking

Characters:

Baker, Character with substance abuse issues, Character(s) with anxiety, Character(s) with PTSD, Closeted main character(s), Hockey player, Queer main character(s), Queer side character(s), Student athlete

Time Periods:

2010-2020

Places:

College, Massachusetts

Check, Please! Book 1: #Hockey

Cover art for Check, Please! Book 1: #Hockey
by Ngozi Okazu

Series:

Check, Please!

Genres:

Contemporary fiction, Contemporary romance, Hockey fiction, Hockey romance, New adult fiction, Realistic fiction, Sports fiction, Sports romance

Tropes:

Character blog, Ensemble cast, Found family, Grumpy/sunshine, Men loving men, Pining, Sports teams, Stress baking

Characters:

American main character, Baker, Bisexual main character(s), Canadian main character, Character with substance abuse issues, Character(s) with anxiety, Character(s) with depression, Character(s) with PTSD, Characters in their 20s, Characters in their late teens, Cisgender man main character(s), Closeted main character(s), College student, Figure skater, Gay main character(s), Hockey player, New adult main characters, Queer main character(s), Queer side character(s), Student, Student athlete, White/European diasporic main character(s), White/European main character(s)

Time Periods:

2010-2020, Information Age

Places:

Arena, College, Massachusetts, New England

Pride and Prejudice

by Anna Quindlen, Jane Austen

Series:

Genres:

Brit Lit, Comedy of manners, Humor, Literary Classics

Tropes:

Enemies to lovers

Characters:

White/Western European main character(s)

Time Periods:

Regency Era

Places:

British Isles, Domestic, England, Europe

Red, White & Royal Blue

Cover art for Red, White & Royal Blue
by Casey McQuiston

Series:

Genres:

Contemporary romance, New adult fiction

Tropes:

Celebrity relationships, Coming out, Enemies to lovers, Epistolary, Fake relationship, Long distance relationship, Men loving men, Politics, Secret relationship

Characters:

Bisexual main character(s), Characters in their 20s, Gay main character(s), Gay side character(s), Latine/Latin American main character(s), Royalty

Time Periods:

2010-2020

Places:

Austin, London, Los Angeles, Paris, Washington, D.C.

Gideon the Ninth

Cover art for Gideon the Ninth
by Tamsyn Muir

Series:

The Locked Tomb

Genres:

Occult mystery, Science fiction, Speculative fiction, Sword and sorcery

Tropes:

Anyone can die, Dysfunctional family, Everyone is gay, Tragic backstory, Unreliable narrator, Women loving women

Characters:

Characters in their late teens, Cisgender woman main character(s), Lesbian main character(s), Loner, Necromancer, Orphan, Queer side character(s), Warrior

Time Periods:

Long-Term Future

Places:

Castle, Fictional planet, Outer space

Search books…

Include:

Genres

Tropes

Character Traits

Setting: Time Period

Setting: Location

Sex Ratings

Language Ratings

Violence Ratings

Ending Type

Content Notes or Warnings

Appeal

Publication Date

Note that we don't have dates for all the books in our database.

Exclude:

Genres

Tropes

Character Traits

Setting: Time Period

Setting: Location

Sex Ratings

Language Ratings

Violence Ratings

Ending Type

Content Notes or Warnings

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Publication Date

Note that we don't have dates for all the books in our database.

Search Tips

  • use “quotation marks around a phrase” to search for an exact phrase
  • use – in front of a word or quoted phrase to exclude it from the search results, e.g. -“enemies to lovers”
  • right now, the checkbox options aren’t narrowed down as you search, but stay tuned! We’re working on it.

This is an academic research project on crowdsourced tagging and building a vocabulary for fiction.

How does this work?

  1. Add books to our database, if the book you want to tag isn’t already there. You can import your books from StoryGraph or Goodreads if you want to save time.
  2. Add tags to the books. Your tag set is your own, and you’ll be able to come back and edit it if you want. Other taggers can’t view your tag set or overwrite your tags.
  3. View the book, and use the tags to see what other books share your favorite tropes and characters!
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