Popular Tropes: The Love Triangle

There are a million tropes that we always find ourselves faced with when reading. Some of them we will love, some of them we will hate, and some of them we will be on the fence with. One of the tropes that I see mentioned over and over is the Love Triangle. It’s a very popular trope, especially in older YA novels, but it’s also one I see many people mention in a negative way. Some will even swear a book off if there’s a love triangle involved. So I wanted to do a post that really discusses the pros and cons of the love triangle. Why is it enjoyable and why is it hated? I personally am actually on the fence when it comes to love triangles. I love them in some respects and I hate them in others.

I Love A Love Triangle…

I feel like my love of love triangles comes from the fact that when I first discovered YA, which is my favourite age range of book, all of the good paranormal books had a love triangle. Twilight! The Hunger Games! They all had it. And it was kind of the norm for YA books to always include a love triangle. I never really thought of it as a good or a bad thing… it just was. And I still love so many of those books so I can’t really say I hate love triangles.

I actually love the angst. The worry and the stress over whether your favourite boy will ‘win’. It’s all part of the reading experience for me. No matter what, you usually have a favourite of the two boys and spend the entire book (or series) agonising over whether he will be the one who gets to have his happy ever after. It’s part of what I love, especially in series. The angst of waiting for the next book to see how it all ends.

Another thing I love about love triangles is that usually, you’ll get a spin off for the ‘other guy’. With Covenant, we got Seth’s story with a new series. Likewise with Zayne from The Dark Elements and Harbinger series. Julie Kagawa has gone back to her Iron Fey series to give Puck his own series. So we get to spend more time with the characters and the world that we love.

… And I Hate Love Triangles!

This first reason is kind of the same reason I also love them… the angst! Although I love the angst of who will she pick… I also hate it! I stress out and I’m impatient. I need to know. Most series that I’ve read with love triangles, I’ve read the last few pages before starting the final book to find out who the girl will pick. I am too impatient to wait and see how it all plays out.

Love Triangles can really hurt you emotionally, especially if you end up loving both of the guys. Although usually you will prefer one of them, in many cases I end up really liking both guys in the love triangle. And then I’m torn and dreading the ending because I know either way, I will end up upset as one of them won’t get a happy ever after.

Another reason I don’t like love triangles is it can often take over from the plot. I am a very plot driven reader and I always like the romance to be in the background, secondary to the plot. When there’s a love triangle I always find that the book/series becomes more about the ‘who will she choose’ and the plot ends up getting pushed into the background. I need plot over romance every day!

Love Triangles I Think Are Done Well…

What do you think about this trope? Is it a YAY or a NAY from you?

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