I actually have pretty intense feelings regarding love triangles. Intense, as you know by the title, in a bad way. I don't like to write them. If I read them, then there's a list of things that I like to have checked off. I'm picky. Very. (In fact, I should probably chill a little bit).
Before I begin the bashing, I should say that in a cute, fluffy contemporary, I don't mind love triangles. If that's the focus of the book and the MC is growing and finding who she is as a result of it, then I don't mind it at all. It's just that I think there are way too many love triangles out there that don't really have a reason to exist.
Since many of my reviews/posts include little hints at how much I don't like them, here's a list of why: It should be noted that I am referring to YA.
It's cliche. In my opinion, this is a bad reason-- I don't like to judge a book by what comes before it. However, if 9/10 of the books I read have the exact same love story, I am not pleased. You know what I mean by exact same. There are 2 options for what story the "good" guy will have. The first is childhood friend, trusted by the MC, but she just doesn't feel the same way. He's more like her big brother, and she doesn't want to break his heart. Option the second-- he brings out the good in her and makes her feel safe and loved. It's all butterflies and rainbows in this relationship. And the bad boy... does he really need a description?
I always like the wrong guy. This isn't a legitimate reason but I needed to say that. Moving on.
It's unnecessary. By unnecessary, I mean: Is this really contributing to the plot? Or what kind of person the MC becomes? Does it help the story grow and gain depth? A lot of the time, the answers to those questions are gonna be no. (Particularly in dystopian YA).
It's unrealistic. For this one, I'm pretty much focusing on dystopian YA (though it can apply to various other genres as well), because I feel like dystopian should have the least love triangles while it has the most. About 99% of the time, the main character in a dystopian novel has her hands full. She's trying to save the world-- or her world. She's busy. And yet, she is falling in love with two separate guys-- so much so that it's all she can think about while a war rages on her doorstep.
No effort at all was put into creating the love triangle. Sometimes, the love interests are two-dimensional. They're flat. They're echoes of hundreds of other characters, with no personality and no purpose other than adding drama. Sometimes, the main character already loves one of them, yet another character is thrown in last minute-- even though there is no reason for them to be there.
I'm not a big fan of the The Hunger Games, but I do appreciate the love triangle. Katniss handles it well. She realizes that she does not need either guy to survive and that she is completely fine on her own. She puts love aside at the moment, because she's literally the symbol that started a war.
Of course, it's different if it's a fantasy novel or a contemporary novel. However, I think that regardless of the book, if there is a war/fight/greater evil in a book then that should be the focus.
All this aside, I do understand why love triangles are so popular. A lot of people like them. God knows the media loves them. What is more suitable to focus on in a book series than the love triangle?
Three teens venture into the abandoned Monroe estate one night; hours later, only two emerge from the burning wreckage. Chloe drags one Reznick brother to safety, unconscious and bleeding; the other is left to burn, dead in the fire. But which brother survives? And is his death a tragic accident? Desperate self-defense? Or murder?
Chloe is the only one with the answers. As the fire rages, and police and parents demand the truth, she struggles to piece together the story of how they got there-a story of jealousy, twisted passion, and the darkness that lurks behind even the most beautiful of faces…
Before we start, I'm just gonna say that I didn't like this as much as Dangerous Girls. I'm not really sure why, even. Maybe it was just that Chloe was a tad less psychotic than I wanted at first, or the action/suspense didn't really start for me until halfway through. I'm gonna try to have absolutely zero spoilers, but a few teenie ones might slip through.
There is insta-love, which I loathe in books and believe very few can actually pull off. (I like a slow burn). Even more than I hate insta-love, I hate love triangles where the girl knows she likes the other guy more, yet stays with the sweet, oblivious one. Both happened, although I'm not really sure it could be called insta-love for the following reasons.
The "Love" Triangle
The apostrophes are there as reminders that there isn't really any love in this book. Just a lot of manipulation and obsession.
Ethan did not make Chloe happy in the relationship. If she'd broken it off as soon as she realized that she couldn't be 100% happy with him, I wouldn't be angry at her for leading him on. If their relationship wasn't literally based on the fact that Chloe wanted a distraction, I wouldn't be angry at her for leading him on. But it was and so I am.
Was he a little clingy? Yeah, a little. Was it unbearable? No. She's his girlfriend. He wanted to spend time with her. In my opinion, he was adorable. Sweet. Innocent. (And yeah, completely oblivious). Everything that Oliver, his older brother, was not.
Oliver was the "bad boy" of the love triangle, but really it runs a lot deeper than that. He's not just moody and snarky. He's evil. He's possessive and violent, but more than anything he's manipulative.
Oliver didn't make Chloe happy. He made her thrilled. The rush of adrenaline you get, the way you're suddenly aware of everything touching you, of the air rushing into your lungs, of your stomach in your throat and your heart pounding so hard you can feel it-- that is what Oliver made Chloe feel like. Like when you ride a roller coaster and it's about to drop. That crazy feeling of being wild and free and terrified at the same time. From the very moment she lays eyes on him, from the very first words he says to her, she feels like he knows the deepest, darkest parts of herself that even she is too afraid to get to know. She isn't wrong.
The Main Character
Chloe herself is rather hard to describe. At the beginning of the book (or rather, before things start to happen) Chloe is sweet and hardworking. That isn't to say she isn't angry. She just keeps it covered. She cares for her depressed mother while trying to get ready for college while keeping her job. Yeah. She's got a lot on her plate. What is different about this book other than Dangerous Girls (amongst a whole lot of other things) is that there is no questioning what happened. You know. While I did like that, I feel like it took away some of the dawning horror that I felt in DG.
Overall Thoughts
This book (in fact, so is Dangerous Girls) is very character-based. I feel like the author's main intention was making the characters as layered and incredible as possible. She succeeded.
Another thing that I really dig about Dangerous Girls and Dangerous Boys is telling the ending before telling anything else. It does keep me reading, even if I get a little bit bored or lost. Serious props to Abigail Haas.
Also, THE ENDING. Was it just me, or was the last bit of the book by far the best? I was feeling quite bad because I was going to rate this book quite poorly, but then the ending came and whacked me in the face. I have nothing but love for the reveal. And the last couple of lines. GAH. *flails aggressively*
Aimee@To the Barricade! tagged me aaages ago and I feel really bad for not doing it for so long but TA-DA!! I finally got my life together enough so that I can do a blog post. Thanks for tagging me, Aimee!
Tea: the foundation of your reading life.
Picture is not mine.
The Phantom Stallion series is probably what got me into reading. I used to be obsessed with horses and read nearly every children's series that had horses in them. However, this is the only one that I finished and liked for more reasons than oooh, horses. (Jake and Sam for life, man. OTP). I own almost the complete series and I'm still upset that I'm missing a few. *grabby hands*
Milk: a rich, smooth book.
What do you mean by rich and smooth? Do you mean descriptions? Because if you mean descriptions, Cruel Beauty had one of the richest settings and descriptions I've ever read. It was like you were right there. You could see the castle and feel the silky soft dresses.
Sugar: A book you love but is controversial
I wouldn't say I loved "To Kill a Mockingbird", but I did appreciate the message and the way it was delivered. I don't think I've actually read many controversial books, actually.
Ice: A book just for fun
Hex Hall is, in my opinion, an awesome lighthearted, snarky series. That's not to say it doesn't have faults-- it's got a whole lot of cliches. In fact, you can probably guess exactly what's going to happen. But that's why it's for fun! No stress, no flipping between the last few pages going WHAT DID I MISS (*cough* Dangerous Girls *cough*).
Silk stocking: A book that's much better than it sounds
Answering this would be a lot easier if it was A book that's much worse than it sounds. (Because it's very easy for me to view things negatively).
Did I love Twilight? No. But it wasn't awful! And I went in fully expecting it to be the worst thing to ever exist. It changed my mind. There are many worse books. The book was great, in my opinion. The movie is not. So if you watched the movie, thought, "Well, that was awful," and decided never to read the book-- please change your mind.
Not only does everyone who has heard of Twilight think it's horrible and cliche and ridiculous, they refuse to give it a chance. Don't be that guy.
Yinyang: A book with foreign influence
I'M SO HAPPY I HAVE AN ANSWER FOR THIS ONE. Shadow and Bone was influenced by Russian culture and it is quite wonderful. I'm just a teensy bit sad about this series because my ship is dead.
And yet again, I have no idea who to tag.
Selena, sister dearest, you are once again my go-to. You have 24 hours to accept the mission. This message will self-destruct. *Mission Impossible theme plays*
Anyone else who wants to join in, go ahead! Leave a link in the comments and I'll check your post out.
Hellooo, lovelies. Today, for the first time in ages, I read something. I was pleased. I threw confetti. I danced in a circle. Beforehand, I had been staring at my August TBR and thinking "wow, I feel absolutely zero motivation to do anything." And then I realized I'd put a novella on my list. YES. SOMETHING SHORT. (I thought it would be best to ease back in to former reading habits, or else my already shriveled brain would suffer a complete collapse).
As I'd said before, I'd been wanting to read Gilded Ashes for a while, because A) Rosamund Hodge is fabulous and B) it is set in the same world of Cruel Beauty-- WHICH I LOVE.
(Also, Ignifex makes an appearance, except he is not referred to as Ignifex, because, well, obviously, the main character doesn't know his name. I nearly shrieked with joy when it dawned on me that he was in the book).
Orphan Maia doesn't see the point of love when it only brings pain: Her dying mother made a bargain with the evil, all-powerful ruler of their world that anyone who hurt her beloved daughter would be punished; her new stepmother went mad with grief when Maia's father died; and her stepsisters are desperate for their mother's approval, yet she always spurns them. And though her family has turned her into a despised servant, Maia must always pretend to be happy, or else they'll all be struck dead by the curse.
Anax, heir to the Duke of Sardis, doesn't believe in love either—not since he discovered that his childhood sweetheart was only using him for his noble title. What's the point of pretending to fall in love with a girl just so she'll pretend to fall in love with him back? But when his father invites all the suitable girls in the kingdom to a masked ball, Anax must finally give in and select a wife.
As fate would have it, the preparations for the masquerade bring him Maia, who was asked by her eldest stepsister to deliver letters to Anax. Despite a prickly first encounter, he is charmed and intrigued by this mysterious girl who doesn't believe in love. Anax can't help wishing to see her again—and when he does, he can't help falling in love with her. Against her will, Maia starts to fall in love with him too. But how can she be with him when every moment his life is in danger from her mother's deadly bargain?
~*~
The world is still gorgeous (although I wish there were more details on its background), and Rosamund Hodge's descriptions are definitely 80% of why I love her books. The amount of detail she puts into describing each emotion is immaculate, and each sentence is tailored to perfection.
TEACH ME YOUR WAYS.
The other 20% is the characters. None of them feel two-dimensional. None of the characters in Gilded Ashes are reduced to only evil-stepmother, evil step-sisters, or ever-cheerful Cinderella. Each character has a reason for why they are what they are. Which is, of course, awesome. I am a firm believer that everyone needs a purpose. No one is bad for no reason, just as no one is good without reason.
Maia is no where near the same person as Nyx (the main character of Cruel Beauty). She is sweet and gentle and kind because she's trying to protect others from the wrath of her mother (who is a ghost). She's terrified of showing her real feelings, and she's hidden them for so long that sometimes it's as though she forgets she has them.
This is not a dual-POV novella. We never get to see what it's like in Anax's mind, only Maia's. Anax was an interesting character, although I admit that I found him a little unlikable at the beginning. He improves-- but I didn't love his character. He was just mediocre, in my opinion.
Another thing: Rosamund Hodge does not do happy endings. She dangles it in front of your face and you think Oh, yes, this is exactly the goodness that these characters deserve and then NOPE. There are tears and blood and so much happens that you wind up gaping at the book-- sort of happy, but mostly just shocked.
Rosamund Hodge does bittersweet endings.
Mostly bitter.
While I loved this novella to bits, the ending felt way too rushed. It felt like things were at a very nice pace-- and then everything bad that could possibly happen, happens. Don't get me wrong-- I actually like it when things go wrong in books. Destruction, chaos... it tends to liven things up a bit. But... it felt overdone. Would I recommend reading this book? ABSOLUTELY. Would I recommend reading Cruel Beauty first? It's not necessary, but if you want a better understanding of the world, you probably should.
I was tagged by Rebekah @ Worldsmithing and Worldbuilding for the Liebster Award! 1) Thank you. 2) You are awesome. 3) *hands you virtual cake*
I'll try to find enough people to nominate to continue the awesomeness, but I might have to cut the number down since I... don't know a lot of bloggers, especially those with smaller amounts of followers. (I will admit I am very bad at finding new blogs to read-- if you have some favorites, let me know!).
11 Things About Moi:
1. I started driving recently, and the first time I saw another car on the opposite lane I flipped out and nearly drove into a ditch. (Not a proud moment).
2. I have a very high tolerance for cold temperatures, but I hate the heat.
3. I got back into drawing and have been trying a few new styles-- my favorite so far is realism.
4. My favorite color is lime green. Then red, then black.
5. My mom always gets frustrated with me when I get shoes, because they're always black.
6. I can't stand tea, but I love coffee.
7. I have only once cooked something other than ramen noodles, eggs, and bacon.
8. I have been in 17 of the fifty states.
9. I speak tid-bits of Chinese and Korean, although I've never been in either country.
10. However, I have been in Taiwan, and the two main languages there are Chinese and Taiwanese. Chinese is the easier of the two. Also, Fun Fact: Taiwanese people do not speak Chinese with harsh "h" "sh" and "r" sounds. And so I also speak Chinese without a strong "mainland" accent.
11. My favorite animals have always been horses, followed closely by dogs.
Rebekah's Questions: 1. Do you listen to music while you write? If so, what? If not, why?
Yep. It feels weird if I write without it. Recently, I finished a second draft and I listened to the following album throughout the entire process.
It really depends on what kind of feeling I want. Music is all about emotion, so I think it's important to feel what your characters are feeling. I listened to a lot of sad songs (one of them being "Not About Angels" by Birdy) while writing a book about a ghost.
2. Do you have a certain type of character that you always love/root for? (I.e. the orphan hero, the bad boy/girl with a heart of gold, the loveable rogue). Why do you like them?
Hm. I guess I root for characters who use a lot of sarcasm and seem cold and aloof on the outside, but are actually just as emotional as anyone else and are constantly aware of other people's feelings. So... bad boy/girl with a heart of gold.
I'm not really sure why I like them. It's pretty corny to say that I feel like I relate to them, but on a certain level, I feel like I do, so...
3. Has your taste in books changed much in the past ten years? Do you find that you like a certain type of book now better than you did then?
I was five ten years ago.
Obviously, the answer is yes to both, but even if it was three years instead of ten, the answer would still be yes-- my taste in books has changed dramatically. I got into action, suspense, and dystopian books. Recently, I've been wanting to read more horror. Three years ago, I was allll about that contemporary.
4. What literary trope or cliche do you hate the most? Which one really doesn't bother you?
I don't know if this counts, but it's happened in so many YA books that I'm gonna role with it. The main character falls in love with a dude that's been
A) Stalking the MC.
B) Making many verbal jabs that are meant to hurt the MC.
C) Physically threatening the MC.
Reading about a relationship like this always ticks me off.
For one that doesn't bother me, I'd have to say... the character not listening to a person who tells them a specific location is haunted or something like that. I mean, you know the character is in a scary book. They don't. If someone told you a house was haunted, would you believe them?
5. Name one book that you love that no one else seems to have read. Include a picture and a link so the rest of us can check it out.
Um... I don't know about love, but I like So. B It quite a lot and would definitely recommend it.
Click on the pic to go to the GR page!
6. Do you prefer contemporary novels or historical fiction? Why?
That's a hard one. I would have to say historical fiction. I've read a few contemporary books, and they all feel mediocre to me. Maybe I'm just not reading the right ones.
7. If you write (stories, novels, poetry, anything other than blog posts), do you write with the hope to publish, or just for fun?
I write with the hope to publish. I really want to get my ideas and novels out there. I have for as long as I can remember.
8. Why did you start your blog? What keeps you posting?
I started my blog when my sister did, and I thought it looked really cool. What keeps me posting... I don't really know. I guess I like having a place to write down my thoughts.
9. If the internet disappeared overnight, how would you feel? Do you think life would be better or worse, and why?
A) I WOULD FEEL VERY BAD.
B) I think it would be worse. We live in a world that is so dependent on internet and being able to connect that everyone would flip out. Also, I go to an online school. Call me a giant nerd, but the idea of "cutting class" freaks me out.
10. If you could have tea (or coffee) and a chat with any author living or dead, who would you pick? What would you want to ask?
First of all, it would be coffee.
Secondly, I'm not sure. Maybe Vivian Vande Velde? Maggie Steifvater? Neal Shusterman? I CANNOT PICK ONE.
11. What do you like best about your writing or your blog? Why?
I like my dialogue in my writing.
I've been told it's good. ;)
My Questions
1. Who is your favorite superhero and why?
2. Top three genres? Why do you love them?
3. Have you ever written or started a book? If yes, where do you get inspiration to write? If no, have you ever wanted to?
4. What is the first book you remember reading? Did you like it?
5. Check your Goodreads. What is the book farthest back on your TBR? Do you still want to read it?
6. If you had to pick one character out of all the books you have read to switch places with, who would you pick?
7. Do you try to read a book before the movie/tv show comes out, after it comes out, or is it no big deal if you never read it?
8. On that topic, what's your favorite book to movie/tv show?
9. What's your opinion on fairytale retellings? Do you love them, or do you feel like they ruin the magic of the original?
10. Have you ever wanted to get a tattoo? Do you have one?
11. Are there any countries that you want to travel to? If so, why that country?
Click the pic for more info about Beautiful People!
Beautiful People is hosted by Cait at Paper Fury and Sky at Further Up and Further In. They are both completely awesome and deserve all the cake.
The characters I chose are Quinn (17) and Luna (19), the sisters in that post-apocolyptic, alien-filled, also weapon-filled book I've mentioned on both this blog and on Twitter.
1. How long have they known each other, and how close are they? They've known each other their whole lives. It's hard to say exactly how close they are. I mean, they trust each other with their lives, but at the same time, they're afraid to address certain "issues" within their friendship. They both struggle with sharing how they feel, but most of the time, they know the other person understands anyways. 2. What’s their earliest memory of being best friends?
Luna remembers taking care of Quinn as a little girl, huddled in the backseat of her dad's old truck while her parents tried to get away from the wide-spread panic and all the attacks.
Quinn remembers throwing her Barbie doll at Luna when they were fighting. (Pleasant, as she always is). 3. Do they fight? How long do they typically fight for? See above.
They fight a lot. Because of how unwilling they are to talk about how they feel while simultaneously being afraid of pushing the other person away, there's less talking and more poisonous looks and bitter retorts. Their fights last a while, and Luna is typically the first to try and smooth things over. Quinn tends to simultaneously want to confront the problem and ignore it. A lot of how she's kept herself together is by ignoring how she feels.
4. Are their personalities similar or do they compliment each other? Quinn is a ball of negative energy. Luna is a ball of noticeably less negative energy.
They're both stubborn and loyal, but Quinn tends to feel things in the extremes. She struggles with showing her feelings more than Luna and is cold and aggressive. This stems from the fact that she has never seen a world without war. Luna, on the other hand, is warmer and more accepting. She holds more responsibility than Quinn, which often results in her blaming herself for things that go wrong. Her positive outlook on life is what's kept her from destroying herself with guilt and worry. 5. Who is the leader of their friendship (if anyone)? Luna. 6. Do have any secrets from each other?
No. Even if they try to hide things, the other finds out soon enough, just by reading how the other one reacts to certain topics. 7. How well do they know each other’s quirks and habits? As well as their own, and, occasionally, better. 8. What kind of things do they like to do together? Is it bad that I laughed a little? Talk, I suppose. Tease. Engage in playful verbal combat. They live in a world where you don't spend time doing things you enjoy. You spend time doing what you need to survive. 9. Describe each character’s fashion style (use pictures if you’d like!) How are their styles different/similar? Hm. Well, Quinn wears dark colors. She likes combat boots, loose t-shirts, and leather. Luna likes flannel, cargo pants, and layers. I imagine that if they could dress however they wanted, they would look something like this:
Luna
Quinn
10. How would their lives be different without each other?
They would both be dead.
I tried to think of something more... pleasant, but I came up empty. Maybe Luna would have lived, but Quinn wouldn't have made it past a couple years.
All links go to PDF forms of the books, and all author links go to the Goodread's pages of each author. Each of these books are for sure going to be read this month and also will have reviews on my blog. It's possible that I will read other books, but they likely won't have reviews here.
I've heard a lot of good things about this book, and I've wanted to read it for ages. I feel like this will be a very character-centric book, instead of focusing on the world or setting. (Which pleases me). Plus, it's about to be a movie.
Dude. Fae? I'm in. All in. Even though I didn't really love Throne of Glass, I'm willing to give this one a chance (BECAUSE FAE).
Plus, Feyre sounds boss. She killed a wolf before she even knew anything about the Fae. Maybe it was attacking her and there was a desperate lunge for survival, but still.
I've actually started this book before. Usually, if I don't read a book in a day, I forget I even meant to read it in the first place, and this was one of those times. Oops.
I'm reading this for the same reason I'm reading Gilded Ashes. I loved Cruel Beauty (even though the ending wasn't very satisfying) and I love twisted fairytale retellings.
I know there's only five, but school is starting soon (*sobs*) and so I won't be able to spend as much time reading and writing. Blogging will probably slow back down, but I've been planning a few posts, so if it does slow down, it shouldn't be immediate. Hopefully, reviews will still be coming, maybe with a few update posts thrown in just to keep you posted on how many tears I will crying over school and having to write huge essays again. (I know you love my whining).
