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This post contains minor spoilers for Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros.

The enemies-to-lovers trope is a popular one in romantic fiction, be it original or fanfic (I mean, just look at Dramione, or even the Anita Blake series). In thinking back on my own fiction, I don’t think I’ve ever written an actual E2L per se, although Lessons comes close. For those who don’t know, the trope is exactly what it sounds like: two people start a story as enemies but eventually become lovers. It can be a rewarding, enjoyable aspect to a story, but sometimes it can get a little annoying.

I’m currently reading Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros, and for the most part, I’m really enjoying it. Except, unfortunately, for the E2L part, because every time Violet (the main character) sees her enemy (Xaden — and what a ridiculous name) she goes from being an intelligent, capable young woman to a mess of hormones. Now, to be fair, I’ve never been an intelligent, capable young woman; maybe that’s what really happens in that situation. But it’s a little much, and it far too heavily foreshadows that Violet and Xaden will end up together. All the plot beats are there for it to happen — he has a legitimate reason to hate her family, he has institutional power over her, he is stronger than her (physically, in this case), and he has allies who also hate her, not for who she is but for what she represents. Oh, and he’s apparently very good-looking, because we can’t have an E2L where the enemy isn’t super-hot. (Although in this case it makes sense that he’s hot, at least from the neck down, because he has to engage in physical activity on a regular basis and we see him and all the other characters working out regularly, so I’ll give it a pass.) At least we aren’t in a situation where the main character gets down on herself for her appearance — Violet seems confident in what she looks like and her attractiveness to her chosen partners; there’s no “woe is me, I’m so plain” in this book.

There’s a reason the E2L trope is so popular: because it gives authors a way to include additional tension in the story while also pretty much guaranteeing that, at some point, there’s going to be an explosive sex scene. Sometimes it takes six books to get there (as with Anita Blake); sometimes it just takes one, or even half of one. But there’s a trick to making it work, and I think Jen Comfort (@kitt_masters) distills it down the best:

No one asked but I think the secret to making the enemies-to-lovers trope work is respect. They can loathe each other, but they have to loathe each other as equals. Like “sorry but no one else is allowed to murder this man but me” + “it’s an honor & privilege to despise you”

Fourth Wing has this, in a way — Xaden is grudgingly respectful of Violet as a human being, even though he is her enemy. When she proves she can do something, he updates his worldview and increases his respect for her.

I’m not done with the book yet, so I don’t know if they have sex in this one or if the author holds it off for a future book, but it’s going to happen. And I’ll probably enjoy reading it when it does. Just, if you’re going to do E2L, maybe try not turning your main character to goo every time she sees her enemy. (Or his enemy.) It’ll be more interesting that way.