February 15, 2013

3 things [2]: Valentines, eh?

Yesterday was Valentines (says my timezone).
Yes... my timezone can speak. And along with me the GMT timezone has book pet peeves.

Well... Today I'll just be listing 3 book (relationship related) pet PEEVES which bug me. You'll get the gist...

Instalove
Love. Is. At. First. Sight?
I don't tend to do the book-chucked-across-the-room drama queen act but instalove... Hey, annoying book-ruining (not just because it now has to be checked for bruises after my fit) thing. It is often accompanied by lots of romance which makes your stomach turn inside out (or at least mine). For example, instead of going to solve the issue he bites her... An ear nibbling, perfect boyfriend with greek god looks... Basically they are encouraging people to love for looks. That, to me, is what love is at first sight.

Vampires trying not to bite their love.
This is the parallel opposite. Oh, extremes. He's perfect, just in another way... His determination not to bite her- isn't it so valiant? I can say that this, single-handed, is what has soured my taste in Paranormal books. The other things are probably more contemporary (but can be in paranormal too) but this is just something which puts me off entering those vampire-teeming worlds. Why would I want a vampire when I could have a shapeshifer, a savant or a werewolf?

Mary-Sue love (and other such things)...
Because it isn't bad enough that this character is probably flawless, or whiny, or a miracle worker but they also have not one, probably not two but THREE (or more) people after them. At least two guys and often a friend (who is supposed to be straight but apparently is no longer) or another guy (because y'know Mike Newton was a necessary character). Perhaps it is just a love triangle, but what is so desirable about such characters? Nada.
Of course there are Marty Sam/Gary Sue's but they don't appear as much. There are characters which don't fit the description but still seem to get lots of admirers and that is as annoying as having to listen to a moan-a-page protagonist.

7 comments:

Athina said...

I loved your post!!
Look, I won't lie..I like love triangles in books and I hate istant love. Generally, I liked the way you put it even if I don't agree 100%.
But...nicely done!:)

AwesomeAmy said...

Oh My... Thankyou Athina! I'm glad somebody likes what I'm posting- I didn't expect full agreement especially as I was like 'I don't tend to do the book-chucked-across-the-room drama queen act'... Yeah, I don't normally! I'm glad we both hate instalove! :D
I don't hate all love triangles- it's hard to generalize them all as 'awful' especially as lots aren't love triangles- they are like arrows. Mary H - another blogger- put it much better than I ever could: sometimes we pretend to love the triangle when we really just love declaring a team.
And I think that sums it up quite adequately. How many people think that the Jacob-Bella-Edward love 'arrow' was well executed? How many people just like the argument of being one team rather than the other? It all comes down to... Vampire or werewolf? Robert P or Taylor L?
I would use Bella Swan as a perfect example for my 3rd point- Mary-Sue or not she had 3 guys after her. The Mike Newton branch of that weird shape might be a little weak, but rarely are all the branches strong. Which leads to the point... Why do they include them?

Now you can see why I put that I am getting slightly tired off them, even though I definitely wouldn't damage a book for it, of the amount of such things in YA literature... It just causes a distraction from the main plot (assuming it is, hopefully, a sub-plot) and the chick (or occasionally guy with two love interests) from reaching their ambition.
Romance, personally, isn't a good main storyline.

But thanks for hearing me out even though you don't agree totally (: Feel free to give me a rant back- I more than deserve an argument :P But do I deserve a nice-friendly debate? That is the question, lol!

Athina said...

I get your point and I liked what Mary H said.
I am not going to debate you, but..
have you read my post on love triangles? I have posted it sometime now. Here is the liknk http://between-my-lines.blogspot.gr/2013/02/voting-love-triangles-yes-or-no.html
Pretty much I say that some like and some I don't but it depends on the story and how the characters react. Take a look if you like :)

AwesomeAmy said...

Yes I did see that post & I also did the poll a while ago- I voted for 'Yes it doesn't bother me'...
I agree- it does depend on the story and how the characters react. As I said it might occasionally be a guy with two love interests- wouldn't you love to see that?
Not all characters react so badly that they are distracted from reaching their ambition but it's not the characters fault that it will distract from the main storyline. I wouldn't read a book without substance other than romance... It's not just that I'm anti-love triangles. I don't want anybody to think I detest them... There are original love triangles & there are amazing characters who deserve 2 or 3 guys as potential boyfriends... And I mean good ones, not ones that are creepers. Boy that bugs me too... Not just in books ;)

Unknown said...

I completely agree with you Amy, instalove is beyond irritating, I feel that when character's fall in love straight away it doesn't allow any emotion to develop and it doesn't really let the reader create an emotional link with the characters and feel the same love that they feel, because it's just there straight away.
A little unrelated to the topic but I love the way that you put your point across ^_^

AwesomeAmy said...

@Skies: That is true! I like how you put your post across too (I know not just from the comment but your amazing blog!) Feel free to accept my goodreads friend request...
@Athina: Following your goodreads reviews now- add me too if you like! :D

Mary H said...

I definitely agree with instalove being annoying. That's just not how it works. People don't love instantly or equally, to be honest. Two people in love are never going to have exactly the same feelings, and even when you do feel very powerfully about someone, it usually takes a while to get there.

As for characters trying to overcome their nature, I am much more willing to be open-minded. I enjoy reading about a character with some sort of true flaw that they constantly must battle. I don't care if it's a vampire trying to not kill people or an alcoholic trying to abstain or whatever. I have flaws too that I'm always trying to overcome in my own life. It's kind of a human condition thing, and as long as it's well-written, I'm okay with that.

Mary Sue/Gary Stu: This is a tough one. On one hand, there are characters in ya that are created to be "perfect" and are actually kind of boring and obnoxious. On the other, some times people just don't like a book and give unfair and unrealistic criticism by labeling a character MS/GS. In my experience women in particular are very critical and occasionally overly harsh with female characters. We need to make sure that when we actually use the MS label that it's correct and not just because we don't like the character. :)

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