Top 5 (Bad Tropes Done Well) Tuesday

Tropes once again! Not that I’m complaining – I do love tropes. Meeghan @ Meeghan Reads now comes up with all these fantastic prompts and go check which bad tropes she thinks are done well!

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1. PREGNANCY

Okay, so, I know last week I complained about the pregnancy trope, but now I’m going to mention a book that did it really well! Spoilers for the second book. I haven’t read the third book, but I’ve seen the movies a bunch of times and I did read the first two books.

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins (GR/SG) – 

This does the pregnancy trope so well! Sure, it’s not actually real (the baby), but it’s done so well and Peeta is my favourite and I definitely prefer him over Gale (I dislike Gale a lot. He’s just… boring, I guess? And Gale has the childhood friends-to-lovers trope, so… Find out below why I’m not a fan of that one).

And it’s perfect in the movie (because the movies are excellent) and the way Peeta reveals it is just so amazing and perfect and honestly, if the pregnancy in that book were to be true, I wouldn’t be upset. And then I know that they do end up having (real) kids at the end of the movie – not sure if that’s in the books as well. Which is actually okay for me! I didn’t mind seeing that!

2. CHILDHOOD FRIENDS-TO-LOVERS/FRIENDS-TO-LOVERS

Immediately thought of 13 Going on 30, because that is an amazing show of childhood friends-to-lovers where I didn’t mind that they’re childhood friends? Btw – the actress who plays 13 year old Jenna – she’s TURNING 30 this year and I think I might cry. Because that’ll be ME in 5 years.

But yeah, I’m not a big fan of either of these tropes, mostly because a lot of this trope presses the idea that a girl and guy can’t be friends because they’re always thinking of sleeping with the other – it’s just annoying. I’m fine with the trope and seeing the trope – if the two have chemistry, that is. I just get annoyed with this trope.

You Asked For Perfect by Laura Silverman (GR/SG) –
This is so so cute! Read it earlier this year and absolutely loved how it showed the two as friends at the beginning and then slowly transitioned into a relationship – like that was excellent and so well-done. Plus, the relationship was very cute!

3. INSTA-LOVE

I guess it’s because I’m not familiar with relationships but to me, you have to spend a lot of time with the person in order to fully understand them and then be able to love them. Also, I’d rather first become friends with the person and then think about dating. But then again, that’s just how I feel. Maybe there is also merit in seeing a person and falling in love with them then and there.

I actually couldn’t find an instalove book that I’ve read and liked. So do you know of one that’s good? Like I’ve said before, I’m not a big fan of romance books!

TOO ATTRACTIVE CHARACTERS

Not everyone in the world is attractive, okay? So where are the books with moderately attractive characters? Also, what’s the deal with paranormal characters being extremely hot? Is it stated in the contract that you must be super hot to become one? Or is beauty something that’s automatically added to you when you’re no longer a human?

Okay, I’m getting ahead of myself and will make me upset. Let’s look at a book, well, actually, a series, that features super attractive people and I’m not too upset about it.

Black Dagger Brotherhood by J.R. Ward (GR/SG) –
I guess you can say that a part of their attractiveness is probably due to their being a vampire/creature of the night. But seriously, I love reading this series and I don’t mind that they’re all absolutely gorgeous. Not at all!

5. LOVE TRIANGLES

It’s not EVEN a love triangle! It’s (mostly) 2 guys being attracted to 1 girl and the girl being attracted to both of them. But alas, the trope’s name stays, even if it’s incorrect. I dislike this one – sometimes because the girl always sees herself as super unattractive/plain and there’s 2 gorgeous guys after her. Like seriously, I think if there’s 2 guys after you then it must mean you’re attractive.

But I guess there has to be an exception to everything. So here’s a book that has the trope and I don’t mind it!

The Selection by Kiera Cass (GR/SG) –
Look, it’s a cringe series but I really like it! I’m more for Prince Maxon, mostly because the other guy (Aspen) has the childhood friends trope attached to him so bye-bye (also I’m pretty sure Aspen is a bit forceful with America or he thinks he knows better so again, bye!)

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See – these types of tropes I usually stay away from and tend not to seek out books that include them. So I don’t really have a lot of recs for them – since I don’t actively seek them out. Oh well.
Do you like any of these tropes? Or have you read a book with one these tropes and actually the trope was done okay enough? Tell me!