Insta-Love!

(Notes: This post is a lot like my anti-love triangles post. This isn't my review of The Mephisto Covenant; I haven't even finished the book yet. I used it for most of the examples because it's the worst case of Insta-Love! I've ever read.)

So I'm about halfway through The Mephisto Covenant, and something in it really, really bothers me in more than any other book I've read. The Insta-Love. >.<

It's not that love at first sight bothers me. It doesn't. It really doesn't. Being a writer myself, I understand that the characters don't have all the time in the world, and that the romantic parts are some of the best and most fun to write. The characters just have to find something attractive in each other besides looks. They have to be more connected then just through looks. And I'm sorry to say that most YA books today don't have this.

My main problem is that the romance today, especially the Insta-Love! kind is mostly told and shown through make-out sessions and fits of passion. There's no depth to them. None at all. And that comes from two things: the actual romance being flat, or the romantic interest.

When the romantic interest is flat in Insta-Love!, it's usually because we as the readers have barely seen the romantic interest. In The Mephisto Covenant, even though Jax is one of the narrators, he's barely anything beyond being obsessed with Sasha. In Darker Still, Denby is about as flat a character of major importance could get.

I also think that one of the things that really bothers me is when the romance takes place too early in the book. In The Mephisto Covenant, it starts on page 75. (Yes, I checked.) With the Infernal Devices and Daughter of Smoke and Bone, two of my favorite books, it's only about a week after the couple meets, but about half the book has gone by. In reality it isn't a long time, but since half the book and half the action has gone by, it seems longer. Plus, in paranormal romances, after about half the book they've usually been through a lot together; they have something that connects them. They have something that makes their romance deeper.

Like I said with love triangles: I don't despise Insta-Love! Not at all. But there just has to be a reason beyond looks. Most aren't well done at all, so that's why I dislike them. 

Love Triangles

They're such a popular romantic subplot these days. And I can't say I'm particularly fond of them. In fact, there's only one book series that I can think of that I actually like the love triangle it has: the Infernal Devices by Cassandra Clare. There are so many reasons I dislike love triangles, and here are just a few:

1) Half of the time it's not even a love triangle. I don't want to give away any spoilers, but for books like the Iron Fey series and the Hunger Games, I didn't really feel like it was a love triangle. The MC had already decided on who she wanted to be with; it was simply two guys lusting after a girl. It was just a way for publishers to hype up readers, because love triangles are 'in' right now.

2) The characters are really unbalanced. In many books, the guy who ultimately ends up the MC is way more developed and relatable than the looser. In Tempest Rising, the looser had an iota of time in the book, and I didn't get to know him very well. Although it probably happened unconsciously, the author sends a message right away to the reader.

3) The two guys are enemies/have some sort of horrific past/despise each other. Ash and Puck go way back, and their history isn't good. In Unearthly, Christian and Tuck aren't exactly best buds. This isn't a dislike, per say, but it's one of the reasons I love the Infernal Devices. Will and Jem are practically brothers. They respect each other, and in battle, they don't try to kill one another.

4) What ultimately happens is all the same. Especially if one guy is human and normal, or someone the MC has known all her life. The paranormal guy always wins. Yes, I get that he's way more sexy/hot/mysterious, but it would be nice for a little variation once in a while. 

5) It can make the main character seem really unlikeable. You have to be careful when writing love triangles because you don't want it to seem like the MC is cheating on one guy with the other. A lot of them are sort of done this way.

So it's not that I despise love triangles, it's just that they have to be done really well for me to enjoy them. Most of the ones I've read today aren't all that well done. 

Note: This is extremely picky, but they also bother me because of the name. 'Love triangle.' As I said sort of said yesterday in my post on Fury, I think it's very hard to be in love with two guys at once. But that could just be me. ;)