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Fiction Filters

Trope tagging and searching for books

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Realistic fiction

Fiction taking place within what we consider our reality.

This is the preferred term. Synonyms are included. You can turn off synonyms.

Narrower terms: Romance, Mystery, Contemporary fiction, Thriller, Historical fiction, Western, Religious fiction, Paranormal romance, Historical romance, Contemporary romance, Western romance, Gothic romance, Romantic thriller, Erotic romance, Sports romance, PNR, Regency romance, Viking romance, Victorian romance, Medieval romance, Tudor romance, Elizabethan romance, American Civil War romance, World War I romance, WWI romance, World War II romance, WWII romance, WW2 romance, World War 2 romance, WW1 romance, World War 1 romance, Colonial romance, Stuart romance, Georgian romance, Pirate romance, Americana romance, Hockey romance, Historical mystery, Cozy mystery, Procedural, Hobby mystery, Paranormal mystery, Bounty hunter mystery, Noir mystery, Whodunit, Serial killer mystery, Occult mystery, Forensic procedural, Detective mystery, Police procedural, FBI procedural, Locked room mystery, Military fiction, Military, Satire, New adult fiction, Generational saga, Sports fiction, Chick lit, Women's fiction, Coming-of-age fiction, CoA, Relationship/marriage fiction, Family saga, Slice of life, Hockey fiction, Bildungsroman, Conspiracy thriller, Military thriller, Legal thriller, Medical thriller, Spy thriller, Supernatural thriller, Historical thriller, Political thriller, Psychological thriller, Disaster thriller, Eco thriller, Bounty hunter thriller, Great Depression fiction, Victorian fiction, World War II fiction, World War I fiction, Regency fiction, American Revolutionary War fiction, American Civil War fiction, Documentary fiction, WWI fiction, WW1 fiction, World War 1 fiction, World War 2 fiction, WW2 fiction, WWII fiction, Pirate fiction, Viking fiction, Biographical Fiction, Weird west, Mexican wars, Lawmen fiction, American Civil War western, Bounty hunter western, Australian western, Cattle drive western, Cowpunk, Eurowestern, Gunslinger fiction, Indigenous conflicts, Indian wars, Land rush western, Outlaw western, Fantasy western, Acid western, Town tamer western, Prospecting western, Range War western, Trapper western, Mountain men western, Mountain man western, Wagon trail western, Contemporary western, Neo-western, Western horror, Northern western, Feminist Western, Christian fiction, Amish fiction, Wiccan fiction, Hindu fiction, Religious thriller, Mormon fiction, Islamic fiction, Jewish fiction, Christian romance, Biblical fiction, Christian fantasy, Acts of the Apostles fiction, Amish romance, maqama

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.

Darling Rose Gold

Cover art for Darling Rose Gold
by Stephanie Wrobel

Series:

Genres:

Contemporary fiction, Psychological thriller

Tropes:

A taste of their own medicine, Betrayal, Evil matriarch, I'm the real victim here, Loosely based on a true story, Manipulative bastard, Unreliable narrator

Characters:

Character(s) with depression, Character(s) with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Characters aged over 50, Characters in their 20s

Time Periods:

Information Age

Places:

United States

Any Way the Wind Blows

Cover art for Any Way the Wind Blows
by Rainbow Rowell

Series:

Genres:

Coming-of-age fiction, New adult fiction, Relationship/marriage fiction, Urban fantasy, Vampire fiction

Tropes:

Enemies to lovers, Found family, Gay for you, I'm not into labels, Men loving men, Miscommunication, Prince(ss) and pauper, Unreliable narrator

Characters:

Biracial main character, Black/African diasporic main character(s), Character(s) with depression, Character(s) with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Characters in their late teens, English main character, Gay main character(s), Morally grey main character, New adult main characters, Orphan, White/European diasporic main character

Time Periods:

Information Age

Places:

London

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

Cackle

Cover art for Cackle
by Rachel Harrison

Series:

Genres:

Contemporary fiction, Urban fantasy, Witchcraft fiction

Tropes:

Fish out of water, Found family, Frumpy to fabulous, Hot witch, I don't need no man, The power was inside you all along, The real monsters are the humans, Unreliable narrator

Characters:

Ageless or immortal characters, Character(s) with anxiety, Character(s) with depression, Characters in their 30s, High school teacher, Morally grey main character, Teacher, White/European diasporic main character

Time Periods:

Information Age

Places:

Upstate New York

Alice Isn’t Dead

Cover art for Alice Isn't Dead
by Joseph Fink

Series:

Genres:

Creature horror, Paranormal mystery, Science fiction

Tropes:

Conspiracy, Depressing road trip, Inhuman killer, Missing spouse, Second chance romance, Stranger than fiction, The bad guys aren't human, Woman in a man's world, Women loving women

Characters:

African American main character(s), American main character, Character(s) with anxiety, Character(s) with depression, Characters in their 30s, Lesbian main character(s), Truck driver

Time Periods:

Information Age

Places:

United States

Bath Tangle

Cover art for Bath Tangle
by Georgette Heyer

Series:

Genres:

Regency romance

Tropes:

Characters:

Time Periods:

Regency Era

Places:

Bath
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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

Appeal

Authors

Publishers

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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