Double Booked Club

Every tag.
Explained.

What each label means, how we use it, and why it matters.

Tropes
Relationship dynamics
17 tags
Enemies to lovers
The MCs begin as rivals or antagonists. That tension is the spark.
Friends to lovers
A close friendship slowly — or suddenly — tips into romance.
Rivals to lovers
The MCs compete in the same space and the competition is the foreplay.
Second chance
Former lovers reunite and must navigate unresolved history.
Slow burn
The romance builds gradually — the tension is the point.
Grumpy / sunshine
One MC is guarded or difficult — the other is warm and relentlessly positive.
Age gap
A significant age difference between the MCs that is central to the dynamic.
Black love
The romance centers a Black couple, with Black joy and community as central themes.
Arranged marriage
The primary plot is built around a marriage arranged by or for the MCs. Sometimes the marriage is convenient for both, arranged as a debt (hello mafia!), or any other host of reasons.
Childhood friends to lovers
The MCs grew up together. Likely to see flashbacks as we learn why their love story could only happen between these pages.
Love triangle
The MC is torn between two (or more!) love interests.
Interracial relationship
The romance centers an interracial couple and that dynamic is meaningfully part of the story. However since this is Double Booked, at least one character is diverse.
Sapphic love
A romance between women.
Why choose
The MC has romantic relationships with more than one love interest, consensually and openly. And sometimes the boyfriends are boyfriends.
Polyamory
Multiple romantic relationships with the knowledge and consent of everyone involved.
MMF
A romance centered on two men and one woman.
Instalove
The MCs fall really, really fast. Often perfect in a novella. Often a great ground for a book where spice is the plot.
Tropes
Situation & setting
24 tags
Forced proximity
Circumstances trap the MCs together — same house, team, or small town.
Forbidden romance
Something external makes the relationship off-limits: family, rivalry, or status.
Workplace romance
The MCs work together and the job creates both the tension and the stakes.
Setting outside the U.S.
The romance is set abroad and the location is meaningfully part of the story.
Only one bed
A classic. Shared sleeping arrangements accelerate the tension.
Snowed in
Stuck together due to weather. Proximity does the rest.
Road trip
The journey itself is the setting — confined space, new places, forced togetherness.
Adventure or mission
The MCs are thrown together by a quest, assignment, or high-stakes task.
Royalty
One or more MCs hold royal titles or live in royal worlds.
Boss / employee
The power imbalance between a boss and their employee is the central tension.
Nanny / boss romance
A single parent (normally!) hires a nanny and forbidden feelings happen in between diaper changes and/or school pick ups.
Workplace rivals
The MCs work together and have a contemptuous relationship.
Bodyguard
One MC is hired to protect the other MC who is often a celebrity, fancy rich person, or member of an organized crime world.
Single parent
One MC is raising a child, who provides comedic relief, drama, and tension.
Found family
One or more MCs is part of a chosen family, and that bond is central to the development and/or the romance.
Roommates
The MCs live together. Ooops, we smashed moments are likely to happen.
Mafia
Organized crime is the world the romance lives in — power, danger, and loyalty at every turn.
Pirate
Pirates smashing on the high seas.
Vacation romance
Smashing in a hotel room, tropical escape, or winter chateau under time pressure of their short lived union.
Wedding
A wedding — planning it, attending it, or surviving it — is the catalyst or the setting.
Returning home
One MC comes back to a place they left and must face everything they left behind, especially an ex.
Fish out of water
One MC is wildly out of their element whether it's a small town or an alien planet.
Stranded together
An unexpected event leaves the MCs with no choice but to stay in each other's company.
Bookstore or library
A bookshop or library is central to the story's world and atmosphere.
F1
Formula 1 racing is the world the romance inhabits — speed, ambition, and the paddock.
Tropes
Plot devices
32 tags
Fake dating
They pretend to be a couple for external reasons — and feelings become very real.
Marriage of convenience
They marry for practical reasons first. Love — or feelings — follows.
Secret identity
One MC is hiding who they really are, and the reveal reshapes the relationship.
Bet / dare / wager
The romance kicks off because of a bet — and someone always catches feelings first.
Surprise pregnancy
An unplanned pregnancy becomes a catalyst for the relationship.
Love after grief
One or both MCs are healing from loss — the romance is part of finding their way back.
Family pressure
Family expectations or interference are a central force in the story.
Revenge plot
One or both MCs are pursuing revenge — the romance complicates that mission.
One night stand
The romance begins with a one-night encounter that neither party expected to continue.
Secret relationship
The MCs keep their romance hidden from family, the public, or the world.
Secret baby
One MC discovers they have a child they didn't know about.
Marriage in trouble
A married couple (or more!) works through serious conflict to save or rekindle their relationship.
Retelling
A classic story, myth, or fairy tale reimagined with a romance at its center and an often diverse twist.
Reformed rake / playboy
A notorious flirt or womanizer meets the one person who makes them want to be different.
Morally grey
One or both MCs operate outside conventional morality. Think 'touch her and die' and violent crime as a love language. The hero might also be the villain.
He's a cinnamon roll
The love interest is sweet, earnest, and devoted — the opposite of the brooding alpha.
Chosen one
One MC is destined for something larger than themselves and the romance complicates that destiny. Imagine screaming at a story because they're smashing between gunfire.
Dual POV
The story alternates between both MCs' perspectives.
Epistolary
The romance unfolds through letters, texts, emails, or other written communication.
Amnesia plot
One MC loses their memory and the relationship is built on top of, or despite it.
Touch her and die
The love interest is fiercely, protectively devoted — harm the MC and face consequences. See morally gray MC where the 'die' is not a euphemism.
Strong friend group
The friend group is as central to the story as the romance.
Time pressure / deadline
An external countdown creates urgency to the story. The MCs might actually be lying to themselves about their ability to end their relationship when the timer runs out.
Conquering a checklist
One or more of the MCs have a list of tasks, goals, or romantic qualifications that drives the plot.
Coming of age
The romance is woven into a larger journey of self-discovery and growing up.
Holiday romance
The romance unfolds during a holiday period and the season shapes the story's tone.
Immigrant family
An immigrant family's dynamics, culture, and expectations are meaningfully woven into the story.
Class difference
A significant wealth or social class gap between the MCs is a source of tension.
Family business
The romance plays out against the backdrop of a family-run company or enterprise.
Duology / trilogy
The romance arc spans multiple books — the HEA is earned over a series.
ONS to oops, we work together
What started as a one-night stand gets complicated when the MCs realize they share a workplace.
Light stalking / kidnapping
The love interest's pursuit skirts the edge of acceptable — used as a fantasy device.
Kidnapping — the dark kind
Abduction in dark romance — always paired with content warnings. This is intentionally dark territory.
Tropes
Paranormal & fantasy
15 tags
Fated mates
The MCs are cosmically destined for each other. The tension is accepting — or fighting — that fate.
Monster lover
One MC is a monster — literal, not metaphorical — and the romance leans into that fully.
Omegaverse
A fictional world with alpha/beta/omega dynamics shaping power, biology, and romance.
Magical realism
Magic exists quietly alongside the real world — subtle, not epic.
Vampire / immortal
One MC is immortal and that shapes the emotional stakes of the romance.
Shifter
One MC can shift between human and animal form. Often paired with fated mates.
Witch
Magic-wielding MCs or a world steeped in witch lore — spells, covens, and power.
Fae
One or more MCs are fae, or the world is shaped by fae magic — courts, bargains, danger.
Angels & demons
Celestial or infernal beings are part of the romance — heaven and hell as backdrop.
Alien romance
One MC is extraterrestrial — the romance navigates the truly unknown.
Spell gone wrong
A magical mistake sets the story in motion. It's often comedic and likely deliciously chaotic.
Curse breaking or making
A curse — imposed or lifted — is the central force driving the plot.
Magical shop
A shop with magical properties is central to the setting and often to the meet.
Supernatural hidden world
A secret supernatural world exists beneath everyday reality — the MC discovers it.
Halloween
The romance is set around Halloween — the holiday and its atmosphere shape the story.
Author identity
BIPOC communities we center
BIPOC authors are also intersectional. Author identity is the basis of inclusion in the database and at least one of the categories below must be present for the author to be identified as BIPOC and qualify for the Double Booked database. Many authors have overlapping identities.
Black
The author is Black.
Latine
The author is Latine.
Asian / AAPI
The author is Asian and or a Pacific Islander.
Indigenous
The author is Native American, First Nations, or another Indigenous identity.
SWANA
The author is from or descended from one of 19 Southwest Asian or North African countries. Including: Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, and Yemen.
Caribbean
The author is from or descended from the Caribbean.
African
The author is from an African nation or is a first or second generation descendant. Distinct from the broader Black tag, which encompasses the diaspora.
Author identity
Additional identity tags
Queer
Author identifies as gay, lesbian, bi, pan, trans, non-binary, or queer.
Disabled
Author has a physical, cognitive, or chronic illness.
Neurodivergent
Author has ADHD, autism, or other neurodivergent.
Trans / Non-binary
Author identifies as trans or non-binary.
Character identity
Who the main characters are
These tags describe who the main characters are — separate from author identity tags.
Black MC
At least one main character is Black.
Queer MC
At least one main character identifies as LGBTQ+.
Latine MC
At least one main character is Latine.
Asian / AAPI MC
At least one main character is Asian or Pacific Islander.
Caribbean MC
At least one main character is Caribbean or of Caribbean descent.
African MC
At least one main character is African — distinct from the broader Black diaspora tag.
Indigenous MC
At least one main character is Native American, First Nations, or another Indigenous people.
Bisexual MC
At least one main character identifies as bisexual.
Neurodivergent MC
At least one main character is neurodivergent, including ADHD, autism, a learning disability, or similar.
Disabled MC
At least one main character has a chronic illness such as endometriosis or diabetes OR a physical or cognitive disability.
Curvy MC
At least one main character is plus-size and that is meaningfully part of their story.
Mature MCs
Both main characters are in their 40s, 50s, or beyond. If only one main character is 40+, the book would likely be tagged with the 'age gap' trope.
Chronic illness
The main character lives with a chronic illness that shapes their journey and the romance.
Mental health rep
The main character's mental health journey is meaningfully present in the story.
Genre
Overall story type & tone
15 tags
Contemporary
Set in the present day with realistic social dynamics. The most common genre in our catalog.
Dark
Content may include morally grey MCs, graphic violence, or deeply uncomfortable themes. Bad people may die at the hands of our MCs.
Fantasy
High or epic fantasy where romance is present but may not be the central focus.
Historical
Set in a specific historical period. Worldbuilding and period accuracy are core to the story.
Holiday
The romance plays out during or is driven by a holiday — Christmas, Thanksgiving, Easter, etc.
Paranormal
Includes vampires, shifters, fated mates, ghosts, or other supernatural elements.
Regency
Set during the British Regency era (roughly 1811–1820). Drawing rooms, social season, and a rigid class structure shape the romance.
Romantasy
Fantasy world with a central romance — magic systems, worldbuilding.
Rom com
Light, comedic tone with misunderstandings, banter, and often a funny central conflict.
Sci Fi
Science fiction elements — space, technology, or speculative futures — are part of the world the romance lives in.
Sports
One or more MCs are athletes, and the sport plays a central role in the story.
Small town
Grounded in a tight-knit, often rural community where everyone knows everyone.
Queer
Centers LGBTQ+ romance as the primary story.
Suspense
A thriller or mystery tone woven tightly into the romance arc.
Urban
City-set; often features gritty realism, street culture, or action driven crime-adjacent storylines.
Age range
Intended readership
Adult
MCs are 18+ and typically in their mid-20s or older. No restrictions on heat level.
New Adult
MCs are in their late teens to early 20s — college, early careers, first independence. Heat level varies.
Young Adult
MCs are typically 14–18. Generally closed-door or fade-to-black romance.