February 13: Love Freebie (Romances, swoons, OTPs, kisses, sexy scenes, etc.)
Sometimes love triangles and conflicting relationships add tension to a story and add depth to the characters both together and separately. Other times they seem to lack chemistry and exist purely to grind my teeth.
Some Love Triangles Which Infuriated Me…
Alyssa, Jeb & Morpheus // The Splintered Series by A.G. Howard
Jules, Joseph & Mirabella // Three Dark Crowns by Kendare Blake
Khalid, Shahrzad & Tariq // The Wrath and the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh
Twylla, Lief & Merek // The Sin Eater’s Daughter by Melinda Salisbury
Kath, Cole & Ten // Haunted Yarn Shop Mystery Series by Molly MacRae
Alina, Mal, Nikolai & the Darkling // The Grishaverse Trilogy by Leigh Bardugo
A Couple I Just Didn’t Get…
Vika, Nikolai & Pasha // The Crown’s Game by Evelyn Skye
Alex, Rishi & Nove // Labyrinth Lost by Zoraida Córdova
And A Couple I Thought Really Worked…
Lada, Radu & Mehmed // And I Darken by Kiersten White
Ersel, Ragna & Havamal // The Seafarer’s Kiss by Julia Ember
I haven’t really read any of the love triangles on your infuriated list-though I can’t believe how many people are on your list for the Grisha series, this is making me wary of reading the rest of the trilogy! I didn’t get the Vika/Nikolai/Pasha triangle either, especially since I didn’t ship Vika with either of them! I will agree that the Lada/Radu/Mehmed one worked well and I liked that in the end of that book Lada chose herself, not that I know what happens in the rest of the series.
My TTT: https://jjbookblog.wordpress.com/2018/02/13/top-ten-tuesday-146/
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I hear you on Jules/ Joseph/ Mirabella. I love the series but that really wasn’t my favorite love triangle. 🙂
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That one just felt so contrived to me. In a book with so much already going on, I really didn’t see what it added.
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I haven’t read any of these, but several sound interesting. Here is my Top Ten Tuesday.
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Thanks!
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I don’t mind the love triangle trope if done well, so I’m happy to see you focused on it for this week’s Top Ten Tuesday.
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I think they’re a hard sell, because you can usually tell who the author plans/wants as the OTP so it feels a bit like wasted time.
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My problem with love triangles is that I ALWAYS ship the couple I’m not supposed to. Alina and The Darkling? One of my favourite ships of all time! Morpheus and Alyssa? Heck yeah, I want that to happen! I just find that the wrong choice is always the more interesting character, and why would I want to ship the protagonist with someone who was as boring as a brick?
Great idea for a list!
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Very true! I also think the ‘right’ guy is usually the whole ‘nice guy TM’ trope which I despise. Like Jeb drove me insane. Overprotective, controlling and jealous? Why is that even an option?
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How have I never read a single one of these?!?!?? To the TBR we go! The cover for Seafarer’s Kiss is so amazing 😀
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It’s sooo pretty and unique. And really suits to book too, which is nice.
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Great list! The only one I’ve read is Shadow & Bone. I know that a lot of people are obsessed with that book, but I didn’t love it.
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I felt it was good, but not brilliant. It reminded me of other books I liked though. I thought the last book in the trilogy was where it really shone.
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I haaaate the Grisha one, because I HATE Mal! HATE HIM, forever and ever, amen. Lmao. But I agree with you on the And I Darken one – that is actually my personal favorite love triangle, because it’s so unique, and angsty, and it breaks my heart sometimes. (And I hate Mehmed.)
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LMAO 🤣 Totally agree about Lada. I really want see how it all pans out in the next two books.
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I loved The Wrath and the Dawn but I too was not a fan of that love triangle. No thank you. As for the Grisha Trilogy… I kind of liked The Darkling. Great list!
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Yeah, I wasn’t a huge fan of either of the TWATD love interests.
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Omg yes I hated the Love Triangles in Three Dark Crowns and The Rose and the Dagger sooo much 😫 Especially in TDC the Love situation was so unnecesary and just made my blood boild because I hate Joseph 😅
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I didn’t like Joseph at all either!
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