Discussion: Love Triangles

I’m pretty sure you guys all know my feelings about love triangles by now, but I’ll reiterate for any newcomers: I hate love triangles with a passion.

They used to be kind of cool and really ratcheted up the drama in the few books they appeared.  The love triangle trope was used, but it was fairly rare.

Enter the Twilight phenomenon.

Bella had to choose between Edward and Jacob and fans went nuts over the fact.  There were and still are ‘Team Edward’ and ‘Team Jacob’ fans and although the series is obviously finished they still go berserk over it.  Which is fine because if people are reading (even Twilight), that’s awesome.  But I’m getting a little off topic here.

The point is that enterprising authors and publishers saw how much a love triangle enhanced interest in the series by fans as well as how it generated buzz amongst the general public, who would then be compelled to read the book as well.  Can you see where I’m going with this?  So because of the ridiculously huge success of one triangle, now almost every single YA book I read with a female main character has two good-looking guys fighting over her.

Cue the eye-rolling.  I really hate how love triangles are forcibly added to the plot to create a dramatic subplot and I really, really hate how they’re so unbelievable 99% of the time.  The latter is often due to poor writing or the author doing a half-hearted love triangle because their editor told them to.  Love triangles can be done well (see: Cleopatra’s Moon), but those are rare and the fact is they’re so overdone.  Can we just let the trope die for a bit?  Or at least use cryogenics to freeze it for a few years, even a decade before reviving it.

So I’m done rambling about my hatred of love triangles, but what do you think?  Do you love or hate love triangles?  What was the worst love triangle you’ve ever read?  The best?  Why do you think so many authors use love triangles?

Mortality by Kellie Sheridan

Mortality by Kellie Sheridan(Cover picture courtesy of Goodreads.)

After surviving a deadly plague outbreak, sixteen-year-old Savannah thought she had lived through the very worst of human history. There was no way to know that the miracle vaccine would put everyone at risk for a fate worse than un-death.

Now, two very different kinds of infected walk the Earth, intent on nothing but feeding and destroying what little remains of civilization. When the inoculated are bitten, infection means watching on in silent horror as self-control disappears and the idea of feasting on loved ones becomes increasingly hard to ignore.

Starving and forced to live inside of the abandoned high school, all Savannah wants is the chance to fight back. When a strange boy arrives with a plan to set everything right, she gets her chance. Meeting Cole changes everything. Mere survival will never be enough.

[Full disclosure: I received a free copy through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.]

At first I thought this was going to be a mushy, lovey-dovey romance just set against the background of a zombie apocalypse.  While there’s romance, that’s certainly not the case because the blurb is a bit misleading.

First off, Savannah is an awesome character.  She can kick butt and kill zombies like it’s nothing, but at the same time she’s trained for a long time to be able to do so.  She’s definitely not one of these heroines that just magically gains killing powers out of nowhere.  Secondly, Zarah, the other girl whose point of view we see is an interesting contrast to Savannah.  She can’t kick butt and she has to use her wits to survive the first and second outbreaks with her new boyfriend Liam.  So how do these two stories converge?  Well, it’s definitely not how you would expect them to, thank goodness.  I’m just hoping that Kellie Sheridan does not go with one of my hated clichés in the next book, although from the ending it almost looks like that.  (Cringe.)

The plot was fast-paced and despite the point of view changes, Mortality never really got to a point where it lagged.  The zombies, or Zs as they’re mostly called here, are an omnipresent threat throughout the novel.  Although in contrast to many zombie apocalypse novels they’re not necessarily the main focus 100% of the time.  They’re prominent to be sure, but the romance between Savannah and the mysterious Cole does steal the attention away sometimes.  Although I really hated Cole as a love interest (what a selfish, brainless jerk!) I guess I can forgive Kellie Sheridan for that.  Cole is just really not my type of guy.

What I liked about Mortality is that when there are clichés, Kellie Sheridan did her best to put her own spin on them.  Cole is out searching for his uncle who was part of the cure and possibly the initial outbreak, but there’s quite a twist on that old trope.  I can’t say much on how she negates old tropes without giving the major plot points away, but trust me on this: there are very few clichés throughout the novel.  And while it’s not in the same category of awesome as Feed or The Return Man, I really can’t complain too much about Mortality.  It was pretty good and I’m looking forward to reading the next book, Duality.

I give this book 4/5 stars.

Amazon     Barnes and Noble

Piece of My Heart by Lynn Maddalena Menna

Piece of my Heart by Lynn Maddalena Menna(Cover picture courtesy of NetGalley.)

Still in high school, Marisol Reyes gets the chance of a lifetime to be a real singer, and she leaps at it. After all, this is the dream she held on to, all the days and nights she spent growing up on means streets of East Harlem. Marisol never gave in–no matter what her boyfriend or her best friend had to say. Who cares if only one in a hundred pretty, talented girls make it? She will be the one. In her rush to fame, Marisol tramples on the heart of her loyal best friend, and Julian, the boy she loves. But will it be worth it?

One night at a private gig in the Hamptons, the little Latino girl with the big voice from East Harlem gets a severe reality check. A famous rapper who claims to be interested in her talents turns out to be interested in something else, threatening not only Marisol’s dreams but her body and soul. Will the realities of the gritty New York music scene put out the stars in Marisol’s eyes forever?

[Full disclosure: I received an ARC ebook through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.]

I have some mixed feelings about this book.  On one hand, the premise is amazing and the descriptions Lynn Maddalena Menna writes are beautiful.  On the other hand, the writing felt rushed as Marisol just all of a sudden got discovered and there were times I wanted to slap her for being so cocky.

Marisol is not a perfect character and I can usually deal with that just fine.  She’s gorgeous?  Okay, fine.  She’s a good singer?  That’s okay too.  But does she have to be perfect at almost everything?  All of a sudden, out of absolutely nowhere she writes her own song or inadvertently avoids a disastrous situation by nothing but pure chance (AKA author intervention).  Marisol can be a bit shallow at times, but it seems like it’s a product of how she was brought up as well as confidence about her talent.  However, it can get tiresome when she constantly fights with her friends over putting her career first.  And by the end, it does seem like she’s learned her lesson but it was definitely a painful process and overall she doesn’t feel more mature.

The plot was amazingly fast paced, which I loved.  What I didn’t like was how Menna transitioned from scene to scene.  Whenever the characters had to travel, it was like they’d magically pop there without any clues for the reader to understand they’d hopped on a train or walked.  They were just suddenly at their destination.  Or, when it seemed like things were slowing down, some new drama would just pop up out of nowhere that was not really relevant to the plot.  Despite this, I’m actually quite fond of her writing style overall.  Aside from scene transitions, the amount of description and dialogue was balanced perfectly and the plot did move along quite nicely.

There were some unexpected plot twists and there were some important messages about self-esteem and how sick the entertainment industry can be, but on the whole Piece of My Heart was okay.  It isn’t great, but neither is it bad; it falls somewhere in the middle.  Despite some hiccups, it’s a strangely addictive story, possibly because of the premise and how it was generally executed well.  What I’m trying to say is that it’s light reading for the most part: it’s really good until you think deeply about it.  And for some people, that’s perfectly fine.  I just think Lynn Maddalena Menna missed an opportunity to really send out a great message to readers.  Still, there is so much potential here that yes, I will be checking out her future books.  I’m sure she is one of those writers that will improve with more experience.

I give this book 3/5 stars.

Amazon     Barnes and Noble

My First eReader: Thoughts and Observations

Carrie Pictures 2013 006Yes, today I bought my Kindle Paperwhite!  I was a little skeptical walking into the store, but after playing around on the display one and liking what I saw, I decided I really was going to buy it after all.  Of course, being really excited about my purchase I’ve already spent a couple hours on it.  So here are my thoughts and observations about it, in no particular order:

1.  It’s really light!

This is great because some days I can’t handle holding heavy books.  One of the advantages of this is that I can hold it comfortably in almost every position and that it doesn’t weigh much at all.

2.  The screen is really easy on the eyes.

I was really pleasantly surprised at how much the screen looks like the page of a real book.  Being able to adjust the brightness to accommodate different levels of light in different rooms is awesome as well.  And the best part?  Unlike with a computer screen, my eyes don’t get tired after a couple of hours.  So now I can read ebooks just as quickly as I read physical books, a great bonus for all of the authors on my waiting list.

3.  Even PDFs look pretty good on it.

Before getting my ereader my preferred file choice was a PDF and I was a little worried about transferring them over to my Kindle.  However, I was pleasantly surprised at how good they look on the screen.  The writing is a little small, but that’s really only a temporary problem.  Most writers in the future will have access to .mobi files and if not, the occasional PDF won’t kill me.

4.  It’s convenient.

I still prefer physical books if I’m keeping them for my own reading pleasure, but for authors sending me books the Kindle Paperwhite is perfect.  Most authors sell through Amazon so they can send me a .mobi file more often than they can send me a PDF.  In addition to that, I can take my ereader wherever I want and not be limited by how bad my back pain is on a given day.  Now I have no excuse to procrastinate on my In Progress list!

So to everyone who recommended ereaders for me, thank you so much.  I know now that I made the right decision and that the Kindle Paperwhite is perfect for me.  Give yourselves a pat on the back from me, will you?

Starlet’s Light by Carla J. Hanna

Starlet's Light by Carla J. Hanna(Cover picture courtesy of Goodreads.)

Young Hollywood actress, Liana Marie Michael, gives up the fight until she sees the light.

Isolated on set in the United Kingdom, Lia struggles through the 5 Stages of Grief while shooting her last feature film. Cancer survivor, Oscar winner, and victim of several crimes, Lia sinks into despair as her heart fails. With supportive childhood friend Manuel Biro, and the help from Swiss billionaire-heir Pierre Lambert, Lia is ‘so done’ with acting and learns that she needs more than just a man’s love to prevail.

STARLET’S LIGHT is a touching story of Lia’s struggle with trust and commitment as she shapes the role she plays in her own life.

[Full disclosure: I received a free print copy from the author in exchange for an honest review.]

Remember how yesterday I said Starlet’s Run was better than the first book, Starlet’s Web?  Well Starlet’s Light is better than both!  The overall quality of writing is better, the characters are better as they mature and Carla Hanna’s message comes through loud and clear but not in an obnoxious manner.

Finally Lia sets off on her own away from Manuel for a change and she also meets Pierre.  I hope I’m not spoiling too much when I say that a love triangle happens.  Yes, I was inwardly cringing when I thought I knew what Carla Hanna was doing to Lia’s love life, but she had such an amazing twist on the love triangle that all was forgiven.  In fact, more authors should do love triangles that way.  It would certainly make for more interesting books and less one dimensional characters.

But while there is quite a bit of romance going on, Lia emerges as a character that isn’t completely dependent on the men in her life.  She has her own interests, both loves and hates her career as an actress and struggles to control her life despite her failing health.  Lia grew quite a bit in the first and second books in the series, but it’s really Starlet’s Light where she becomes a memorable character.  She doesn’t have it easy and you can really feel her suffering, but with the help of her friends and her spirituality she makes it through to a sort of acceptance of her condition.  Her realization at the end of the novel only makes you connect with her more.  Lia’s far from perfect and she realizes that, making her my favourite character in the series.

As I said about the first two books, this is not a book you read for the plot.  No, this is a book you read for the message as well as the characters.  And believe me, the message is terrifying as we get to see even more about how horrible Hollywood is behind the scenes.  I had my own terrifying realization as well while reading this: I’m fat.  My dear little sister, who is described as a stick by pretty much everyone who sees her is fat.  Why?  Because we’re not that Hollywood size 0.  Now, this didn’t make my self esteem plunge so much as make me realize how cookie-cutter the Hollywood ideal is.  Seriously, Lia’s skewed view of beauty in the beginning is terrifying once it’s pointed out to you as a reader and it sends the message home better than any PSA or Dove Self-Esteem Project video.

If you haven’t started the series yet, I’d highly recommend it.  Even for those of us who don’t like romance in general, the Starlet series is still a worthwhile read.  If you like great main characters who actually grow throughout the series, you’ll love it.  And, of course, if you’ve already read the first two books you’ll love the third installment of the series.

I give this book 5/5 stars.

Amazon     Barnes and Noble