Saturday @ Starbucks is a weekly feature hosted by Starbucks & Books Obsession.
This week's topic is:
Discussing Love Triangles with a Very Berry Hibiscus Refresher
Drink of the Week: Very Berry Hibiscus Refresher
The new refresher drinks at Starbucks are made with green coffee extract and real fruit juice. It is a unique way to the caffeine of coffee in a light and refreshing way. The very berry is sweet and delicious and wonderful for a nice spring or summer day.
Book Topic: Discussing Love Triangles
I have a love/hate relationship with love triangles when reading, especially in young adult books. Probably my biggest thing with love triangles is the discomfort and raw emotion that I always feel for the characters. One character is always on the losing end in a love triangle and when the book is really well written, I become very invested in the lives of the characters. This generally causes me great discomfort and I am overwhelmingly distraught for the character that gets the short end of the stick. While I usually cringe at a book that has a love triangle within it, that never stops me from delving into the book and becoming emotionally involved in the story line and the character's lives. I have read many amazing young adult novels with a love triangle in the plot and I think that is definitely a plot line that automatically sucks me into a book, especially if it is exceptionally written.
I know a lot of people had mixed feelings about the Matched series by AllY Condie but I was wholeheartedly upset for the characters and the love triangle between Cassia, Ky and Xander really got to mey
On the opposite side, in The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins, I was 100% Team Peeta and was not torn up by the love triangle between Katniss, Peeta and Gale at all.
When I read Daynight by Meghan Thompson, I liked both Ethan and Blake and really didn't know who I wanted her to choose. However, there was something about the way this book was written that I wasn't distraught or bothered by my indecision and I really would have been fine with either choice.
Perhaps my favorite love triangles of all young adult books I have read is between Tessa, Jem and Will in The Infernal Devices trilogy by Cassandra Clare. While I became very invested in this love triangle and loved both Will and Jem so much, I have never been more happy with the end of a series and how everything played out between all of the characters.
I truly believe that I have a problem with self-torture and I intentionally read books that I know are going to bring me great emotional distress. Love triangles almost always do that to me.
What about you? How do you feel about love triangles? Do you have a love/hate relationship with them like I do?
Next week's topic: Discussing Plot Pet Peeves
The refresher drink sounds great. I am all for caffeine any way I can get it. :) I don't really mind the love triangles, if they are done right. I agree some just make me want to pull my out hair though. Have a great Saturday!
ReplyDeleteJenea @ Books Live Forever
I personally love love (ha) triangles when they are done well. It's like double the romance and fun :) TID is also my all time favorite love triangle, for sure. I loved the ending of that one.
ReplyDeleteI really can't get behind love triangles. They're just so unappealing to me!
ReplyDeleteMaybe I'm an ol' softy, but I like the idea of following a love story between two people - I think the characters and their relationships are explored so much more deeply. When there's a triangle I find a lot of things are glossed over to make way for a bunch of unnecessary and repetitive drama.
Give me one boy to swoon over and leave out his inferior counterpart! :)
I used to be OK with love triangles, but it seems like they are in every book you read these days. I am starting to wonder if there is any other romantic device out there.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you, they need to be done well for me to really enjoy them too. TID had the most amazing ending and I honestly have never been that satisfied with the ending of a trilogy. :-)
ReplyDeleteYou make a really good point. Love triangles work for me in young adult but I do not like love triangles in adult or new adult novels. Those books are all about the romance for me too and I need it to only be between 2 people. :-)
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree with that. It seems like love triangles have become the norm for young adult books, especially dystopian and it can get old. :-)
ReplyDeleteSome love triangles can be done well and then I can be ok with it. But sometimes when both choices are awesome I just feel so BAD for the other guy, you know?
ReplyDeleteAlso... Gale! Ahh! Haha.
I've never read that before, but I've heard so many people rave about it. Tempted to check it out now .... if it's awful, I know who to blame :P
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with you. I hate when both choices are awesome. I am always so conflicted! :-)
ReplyDeleteHaha! You can blame me :-) but I loved it!
ReplyDeleteI loved Matched. I thought that was the best book of the series. I was undecided on the 2nd book, but the 3rd got better. You listed some good books. You can't go wrong with The Hunger Games. I haven't heard of Daynight, I might need to look into it.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the recommendation. :-) It's been added to my list to check into .
ReplyDeleteDefinitely love/hate. And I also love hating them :D
ReplyDeleteI was 100% Team Peeta too!!!
I have read only the first book of the Matched trilogy, and I wasn't in love (at all), so I don't see myself picking it up again. Especially not since everyone seems to be agreeing on that it was meh.
I agree, I love to hate them :-) You are right, so many people felt that way about Matched. I found the book plot a little blah but for some reason the love triangle really got to me.
ReplyDeleteI hate them. But then when reading, I get totally caught up in them. What I dislike is that they are overused and too predicable. The Hunger Games was my favourite (probably because Peeta was so uncliched). I have the Clockwork Prince to read, looking forward to seeing how that one will pan out.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed the Matched series too. Most people feel differently, but I really liked Crossed actually. You should definitely check out Daynight, it has a very interesting and unique plot. :-)
ReplyDelete