Found Family
Do my Secrets of Brownhill characters stack up?
I’d honestly never heard of the Found Family trope before I started lurking around Bookstagram. It was an eye-opening moment, to be sure. Yay! There’s a name for a trope I love. A pack of friends bonding, teasing, supporting, questing, and they bring with them so many fascinating dynamics. An Individual with all their personal baggage, interacting with each of the other individuals and their own baggage. It’s what soap operas are made of! At best, Found Family brings lots of fun banter, at worst, toxic love triangles and competition. Both are a delight to read and write.
So, I thought I’d compare my little Found Family in The Secrets of Brownhill series to a comparable one from another New Adult romance series: Off Campus. I’m going to stick with how the characters are portrayed in the TV series, rather than the books by Elle Kennedy, since the show is fresher in my mind. (Although, I did read the books and loved them. I even used The Deal as a comp for Caged in Silver!) Here’s what I came up with (naming the characters from left to right in the photo):
Dean Di Laurentis—He’s the perfect fit for my character, Rime Goshawk. The player, the charmer, the “Six Flags” who isn’t interested in a serious relationship. Until he is. He brings fun, energy, and a manly bravado to the group, but underneath he’s a teddy bear.
Garrett Graham—Our leading man parallels my MMC, Leo Hawthorn, so well. They’re both driven and focused until the right girl stumbles into their lives, then they melt into sweet, protective puddles who only have eyes for her. Oh, and both Garrett and Leo are leaders, although they’re occasionally uncomfortable in that role.
Hannah Wells—Kennedy’s FMC is just like mine, Betts Peterson. Neither will settle for anything less than the man who truly sees her. Sensitive and gentle, but strong underneath, she’s the group’s barometer. If she’s upset or nervous, something’s wrong, and everyone had better listen.
John Tucker—He’s the quiet creative, just like my Aaron Wright. Tucker is an amateur gourmet chef, and Aaron is a musician, one of those who can play any instrument and any song you can suggest. These guys fly under the radar, but they’re faithful, reliable, and often witty. We can’t have a found family without them.
John Logan—There’s always that one person who could be considered the “heart” of group, and that’s Logan in Off Campus, and Avery in The Secrets of Brownhill. These two know how everyone else in the group is feeling, what they need, and how to help. They’re sometimes a little crafty, at other times, direct and bold, but they always have everyone’s best interest at heart.
Allie Hayes—I love Allie in the show. She’s all drama and passion. An emotional rollercoaster. And that’s my Liv, Betts’ BFF. I don’t want to spoil either the show’s next season, or my second book, but suffice it to say, both these girls will come into their own.
Jules Logan (not pictured)—In the show, Jules is Logan’s younger sibling. A bit ruthless at times, but surprisingly caring underneath. They’re a valuable part of the group and a great friend to have when things get rough. That’s Topaz Adder in The Secrets of Brownhill: aloof on the outside, awesome on the inside.
So what have we learned from this little study? Well, it seems most group “casts” follow a formula, one that creates the best group dynamics. There’s the leader, the mother, the unhinged one. Someone prone to moodiness, someone especially helpful, someone serious. And I think if we look at our own circles IRL, we’ll see the same sort of pattern. Maybe this is why we love Found Family in our fiction!
New and updates:
I was on a Podcast! Yes, I'm serious, haha. Check it out Tender and Tempting Tales. I loved chatting all things romance with Tara and Jenna. It was truly a blast!
ARCs for Harnessed in Gold go out soon (the week of July 19th), but there’s still time to sign up if you’re interested! Just fill out my handy-dandy little form.
Harnessed in Gold releases August 10th! It’s up for preorder now, and if you haven’t read book one, Caged in Silver, it’s on KU as well as ebook and paperback and will also be FREE July 24-26 as part of Indie Romantasy Reads’ Adult Summer Reading List SYKD!
Swaps and Promos:
As always, it helps me and these other authors out a ton when you click on these links. And hopefully you’ll find your next great read!
Author V.M. Pire is running a kickstarter campaign for Wings of Betrayal, the second book in her dark urban fantasy series, Erin Snow, and oh my goodness the swag and special edition! You must check this out!
Tropes: Fated Mates, Hidden Identities, Morally Grey, Angels Demons & Nephilim, Prophecy, Best Friends to Lovers, Multi-POVTropes: Fated Mates, Hidden Identities, Morally Grey, Angels Demons & Nephilim, Prophecy, Best Friends to Lovers, Multi-POV
I’m also featuring two other swaps I hope you’ll check out: A Kiss of Winter by Joline Pearce and Remotely Love by Lori Thorn
And don’t forget the promos! These are great ones for those of you who love paranormal, fantasy, and sci-fi romance (links in the picture captions):
So with less than a month until Harnessed in Gold releases, I need to get back to editing, lol. Thank you so much for reading and clicking, and if you haven’t watched (or read) Off Campus, get busy! It’s the perfect summer entertainment!
💕Mara
Oh Found Family is one of my favorite tropes! Probably why I love ensemble casts so much, as it OFTEN pops up there. It's also a very common trope that happens at TTRPG tables (why yes, almost all my D&D games have gone this route lol)
I'm always excited to discover a trope that fits with what I'm writing. There are soooo many of them.