Sam is geeky, dorky, gangly, and clumsy. Guys never look at him twice, which makes it difficult to find his one twue wuv. So when he's struck by lightning a rugby ball and a Highlander is standing over him, he's so dumbstruck he asks the guy out. And gets shot down. So much for being the Romantic Hero. 
 Ian has some history he's running away from, not the least of which is hopping from man to man. He wants to be the sort of guy who can make an emotional connection and not run away, but he has no practice with it. He has no idea if he's "boyfriend material" (to borrow a phrase from Bring It On), and he doesn't know if he can fall in love. He can't promise Sam anything. Except hot sex. (Lots of it! Thank goodness the scenes were much shorter toward the end.) 
 This was an amusing story in some respects and a serious story in others. I enjoyed Sam comparing his life to romance novel tropes (hence the title). It gave the story an interesting meta-layer where he's living out specific aspects of a story, and comments on it a few times. And then there are the moments where they're dealing with their inner demons, and it adds so much more to who they are and how they come together. It was blended together very well. 
 If I have any complaint, it's that Ian never gives Tierney another thought after running out on him. Don't get me wrong, I totally understand the running out on him. I just don't understand not having a little bit of guilt about it later, after the crisis has passed, because it was obvious that Tierney was seriously distressed and needed to talk to Ian about it. It seemed like Ian was reaching that conclusion at the time when he was trying to ignore his phone, but Ian was also fairly distracted and oblivious, too. 
 Very enjoyable. I can't wait to see which guy is next. =)