I've realized something lately.The last few books I haven't finished haven't been because I didn't like the characters. Actually, in the case of Glow's Waverly and Fracture's Delaney, I actually really liked the characters.
And yes, yes, yes, before all you Fracture lovers start jumping on me that it's NOT A LOVE TRIANGLE!!1!!111!!eleven!!!, I understand that it doesn't end up being a love triangle, that Delaney understands she has a weird connection based on whatever happened to her brain, and ends up with Decker. That doesn't stop the first 157 pages (a good half of the book) of it being a love triangle.
With Glow, I don't even know if it ends up being a love triangle; I only got 48 pages into it before I gave up. But given that the summary is about "two young lovers on a ship bound for New Earth" and the first 48 pages gives us Waverly contemplating her love of Kiernan and thinking about what a potential relationship with Seth would have been like, I can only presume that's where it's heading.
I don't like love triangles. I've been over this before; I devoted an entire thoughts on post to that alone. It's not because I don't think they can work - I love me some Iron Fey, and give me Lancelot/Guinevere/Arthur any day.
But often times, they're there for unnecessary reasons.
And I realized that's what making me put this book down.
Why can't Kiernan and Waverly just be in love? Why can't Seth just be an old friend of Waverly's who was pulled away by his father, and that's why their relationship is weird?
Why can't Delaney fight the feelings she has for creepy-new-guy-with-the-same-powers-who-is-following-her-around (Troy) and focus on her semi-relationship with Decker? Why can't Troy feel a connection to her because of their abilities and use it to teach her rather than try to stick his tongue down her throat?
Why am I being given this silly love triangle that doesn't make sense in terms of the larger plot and the character development instead of focusing on what's actually important to the story?!
And that's why I keep putting these books down. Because the love triangles make the story bad - not because love triangles themselves are badly written, but because they're so unnecessary to the plot of some of these stories that it takes away from what could be an interesting story.
What makes you stop reading a book?
I can usually get through a book if the characters are authentic and interesting and real - even if the plot is meh. If the plot is meh, that's when I'll put it down. There are too many good books out there to spend hours reading something I don't enjoy.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you, though. The love triangles need to go. Possibly forever. Lance/Gwen/Artie excluded, of course.
Because young people can only think with their hormones so of course every single relationship no matter what the circumstances are, will be of a romantic notion, duh! (that was sarcasm which doesn't really come across in typing).
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with you! A love triangle done well (and you've got two good examples) can make for a really great read, but too often they're tossed in their for no particular reason. Like you said, in many cases the 2nd love interest could have been platonic with no real alteration to the story line, it's just a little harder to write that sometimes.
I can't think of any books I didn't finished just because of a love triangle, but I know there've been more than one or two that I've given bad reviews and ratings to because of bad love triangles.
So you're obviously a fan of Jane Eyre; do you consider that book as having a love triangle? Obviously there's not a lot of love in the second relationship of Jane's, but I'd still deem it a triangle of sorts....
ReplyDeleteI won't consider Jane Eyre a love triangle, simply because John and Jane don't have any actual affection for each other. John asks Jane to marry him because he thinks it's the right thing to do, and Jane thinks of John as more of a brother.
DeleteI hardly ever stop reading a book (mostly because I'm one of those OCD people who needs to finish what they start) but I'm also annoyed with all the love triangles in literature lately. The funny thing is I was talking to my mom about it and saying how they're ridiculous because they don't really happen in real life and then my mom told me about how my aunt was in a love triangle. A legit one. Not only that but the two guys were best friends. She ended up marrying my uncle and the other guy never got married after that. Crazy right? So yeah, I guess it does happen. Just on very rare occasions. But that aside I'm still not a fan. It always feels pretty tacked on to me too like the author is just using a cheap tactic to get the reader "hooked" I guess you could say. :/
ReplyDeleteI agree, I knew someone who was in a REAL love triangle but that doesn't mean I want to read one EVERY single time I read a YA novel. They happen most of the time because kids are lusting after one another, not because they are truly in love with two different people.
Delete-Cin
Just my thoughts..
I hardly ever don't finish a book (mostly because I'm kind of OCD where I have to finish what I start) but I also think that love triangles are pretty obnoxious. They've become a sort of cheap tactic for an author to "hook" their readers and get them emotionally invested. Sometimes it makes sense in the story but 99% of the time it doesn't, it's just unnecessary and then it just pisses me off. That being said I have never put down a book because of a love triangle but I have NOT picked up a book because of a love triangle before.
ReplyDeleteWouldn't it be nice to read a story with a good ol' non-love triangle romance? Where'd those go?
ReplyDeleteI don't hate the idea of love triangles but I'm tired of them. The plot is just overused to death in YA!
ReplyDeleteI was never keen on love triangles to begin with. Most of the time the two lovers are...so unappealing. And it always makes me wonder how the MC is struggling to make a decision between the two. I mean, it's obvious to me that the MC should ditch the two potential lovers and find someone else. But, alas, that doesn't happen, and the MC usually picks the lover that I can't stand the most. Sometimes it makes me feel like there is something wrong with me since I never pick the lover that the author and MC deem more desirable.
ReplyDeleteI say, down the the love triangles! They are over done, and like you say, I rarely find the love triangle adds anything to the story or aids in character development. It's like it's there because the author couldn't come up with a better conflict =\
I detest love triangles. They seem pointless and, more often than not, unrealistic. Any unnecessary romance will make me put down a book. I don't like it and it bugs the crap out of me.
ReplyDeleteI don't hate love triangles. Sometimes I think they work well. I approve of them if they're vital to the plot, not the main plot point. It also depends on my mood. They kind of are a teenager thing since both the love interests represent two different paths the MC can go through... I do see how there are a bit too many of them in YA these day though.
ReplyDeleteI rarely put down books, but the ones I do are books that I will never read again. It's not a particular reason, except I often get headaches when reading books I don't enjoy.
THIS. 100% THIS.
ReplyDeleteI'm on the No More Love Triangles bandwagon, but I think you hit on exactly why I can't stand reading most of them. They're unnecessary. Too many authors use them as crutches to add tension to an otherwise lackluster plot. Instead, I'd rather reading well-written characters who are happy to fall for one person or even *gasp* stay single for a while, and focus instead on a strong plotline instead of the red herring a lot of these triangles turn out to be.
Smiles!
Lori
I think writers tend to use love triangles because they instantly engage readers and make them have discussions. Take Team Edward and Team Jacob. These prompt discussions that ultimately lead to more money and more followers for the authors themselves.
ReplyDeleteI do think you make an excellent point though, because I can't stand unnecessary elements of a story. They're usually there because it's easier to include them than to actually add substance to a story, and I can't stand that.
It takes A LOT for me to stop reading a book. If I'm furiously annoyed by something, I'll have to see it through to the end. I only tend to give up on a book if it's fairly thick and I'm a third of the way through and my interest still hasn't been piqued. I hate giving up on books, so when I do it tends to be a rare occasion.
I'm not a love triangle fan either. I often cringe when coming across the suggestion of a love triangle in a book summary. Is it really necessary? What bugs me as much about them as anything is that it's (almost) always put out there like the character only has these two choices. Like no doubt, in the end of the book/series, the main character will make a choice between the two (or the choice will be made for them).
ReplyDeleteI completely agree! Love triangles are just so unrealistic and irritating. It was one of the many things that made me dislike Fallen. Glow I thought was actually pretty decent, and it is possible for love triangles to be well done. (The Maze Runner, for example) But if they overpower the story and don't make any sense then I can't continue reading the book.
ReplyDelete