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Fiction Filters

Trope tagging and searching for books

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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

Esmeraldas Blick

Cover art for Esmeraldas Blick
by Karoline Toso

Series:

Esmeraldas Blick

Genres:

Historical fiction

Tropes:

Baby acquisition, Doorstop baby, Framed for a crime, Rape, Surprise baby acquisition

Characters:

Adult characters, Child characters, Priests and Clergy

Time Periods:

Medieval

Places:

France, Paris

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

Banana Fish, Vol. 1

by Akimi Yoshida, Matt Thorn (Translator)

Series:

Banana Fish

Genres:

Conspiracy thriller

Tropes:

Betrayal, Conspiracy, Fish out of water, Hostage situation, Organized crime

Characters:

Adult characters, American main character, East Asian main character(s), Gangster, Photographer, Teen main character(s)

Time Periods:

1980s

Places:

New York City

Due Diligence

Cover art for Due Diligence
by Anna Zabo

Series:

Takeover (Anna Zabo)

Genres:

Contemporary romance

Tropes:

Coworkers to lovers, Men loving men

Characters:

Queer main character(s), White/European diasporic main character(s)

Time Periods:

2010-2020

Places:

Seattle

Peter Cabot Gets Lost

Cover art for Peter Cabot Gets Lost
by Cat Sebastian

Series:

The Cabots (Cat Sebastian)

Genres:

Historical romance

Tropes:

Grumpy/sunshine, Men loving men, Only one bed, Prince(ss) and pauper, Road trip

Characters:

Characters in their 20s, New adult main characters, White/European diasporic main character(s)

Time Periods:

1960s

Places:

United States

Spelunking Through Hell: A Visitor’s Guide to the Underworld

Cover art for Spelunking Through Hell: A Visitor's Guide to the Underworld
by Seanan McGuire

Series:

InCryptid

Genres:

Urban fantasy

Tropes:

Interdimensional travel

Characters:

Ageless or immortal characters, Bounty hunter, Mage, Straight main character(s), Warrior, White/European diasporic main character(s)

Time Periods:

2010-2020

Places:

Alternate dimension, Fictional planet, Michigan

The Devil You Know

Cover art for The Devil You Know
by Kit Rocha

Series:

Mercenary Librarians

Genres:

Post-apocalyptic fiction, Science fiction romance

Tropes:

Corporate overreach, Dystopia, Found family

Characters:

Time Periods:

Short-Term Future

Places:

American South

The Long Game

Cover art for The Long Game
by Rachel Reid

Series:

Game Changers

Genres:

Contemporary romance, Hockey romance, Sports romance

Tropes:

Coming out, Enemies to lovers, Long distance relationship, Rivals to lovers, Secret relationship

Characters:

Bisexual main character(s), Closeted main character(s), East Asian main character(s), Hockey player, Russian main character

Time Periods:

2020-2030

Places:

Boston, Montreal, Toronto

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

The Order of the Pure Moon Reflected in Water

Cover art for The Order of the Pure Moon Reflected in Water
by Zen Cho

Series:

Genres:

Wuxia

Tropes:

Band of misfits, Religious artifacts, Secret backstory, Transporting important cargo, Travel

Characters:

Bandits, Chinese-coded main character(s), East Asian main character(s), Gender nonconforming main character(s), Malayan-coded main characters, Mercenary, NBLW, Nun

Time Periods:

Malayan Emergency inspired time period, Wuxia time period

Places:

China inspired setting, Malaya inspired setting

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

Heated Rivalry

Cover art for Heated Rivalry
by Rachel Reid

Series:

Game Changers

Genres:

Contemporary romance, Hockey romance, Sports romance

Tropes:

Enemies to lovers, Long distance relationship, Men loving men, Rivals to lovers, Secret relationship, Sports teams

Characters:

Bisexual main character(s), Closeted main character(s), East Asian main character(s), Hockey player, Queer main character(s), Russian main character

Time Periods:

2010-2020

Places:

Boston, Toronto

Feed

Cover art for Feed
by Mira Grant

Series:

Newsflesh

Genres:

Dystopian fiction, Political thriller, Zombie horror

Tropes:

Character blog, Dystopia, Pandemic, Politics, Road trip, Unreliable narrator

Characters:

Blogger, Characters in their 20s, Journalist

Time Periods:

Short-Term Future

Places:

America, California

Leviathan Wakes

Cover art for Leviathan Wakes
by James S.A. Corey

Series:

The Expanse

Genres:

Space opera

Tropes:

Band of misfits, Ensemble cast, Gateways and wormholes, Ghost ship, Mystery plot, Politics

Characters:

Middle-aged characters

Time Periods:

Long-Term Future

Places:

Outer space

All Systems Red

Cover art for All Systems Red
by Martha Wells

Series:

The Murderbot Diaries

Genres:

Space opera

Tropes:

Android, Corporate overreach, Dystopia, Found family, Snarky AI

Characters:

Agender main character(s), Asexual main character(s)

Time Periods:

Long-Term Future

Places:

Outer space

The Scum Villain’s Self-Saving System Vol. 1

by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu

Series:

Genres:

Xianxia

Tropes:

Betrayal, Crush on teacher, Plot armor, Snarky AI, Story-aware narrator, Transmigration, Unreliable narrator

Characters:

Characters in their 20s, East Asian main character(s), Teacher, Teen main character(s)

Time Periods:

Places:

East Asia inspired setting

Satisfaction Guaranteed

by Karelia Stetz-Waters, Lori Prince (Narrator)

Series:

Genres:

Contemporary romance

Tropes:

Opposites attract

Characters:

Time Periods:

Places:

The Monster Baru Cormorant

by Seth Dickinson

Series:

The Masquerade

Genres:

Fantasy

Tropes:

Deadly game, Fish out of water, Road trip, Unreliable narrator

Characters:

Femme fatale, Lesbian main character(s), Morally grey main character, Nonbinary main character(s)

Time Periods:

Places:

The Traitor Baru Cormorant

by Seth Dickinson

Series:

The Masquerade

Genres:

Fantasy, Historical fantasy, Speculative fiction

Tropes:

Feelings denial, Feelings realization, Rivals to lovers, Unreliable narrator, Women loving women

Characters:

Character with substance abuse issues, Character(s) with TBI, Lesbian main character(s), Morally grey main character

Time Periods:

Places:

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Search Tips

  • use “quotation marks around a phrase” to search for an exact phrase
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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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